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to be english as he had heard that nation was fit war with ihe he never would have conducted ns to these good compassionate creatures seemed to witb each other who should take the most care of us they a bed of sheep skins close to the fire for captain cheap i laid him upon it and indeed bad it not been for the kind he now met with he could not have survived di a longer though it was now about midnight they went out and killed a sheep of which they made and baked a large cake of meal anybody may imagine what a this was to wretches who had not tasted a bit of bread or any wholesome diet for such a length of time we could eat no longer we went to sleep about the fire which tbe indians took care to keep up in the morning the women came from far and near each bringing with her almost every one had a in her hand containing of the e er owl or i i potatoes or at y e fell to w aa if we bad e t in t and employed ourselves go for the beat part of tbe t evening the men filled our ing wi them me of a liquor they called made of very unlike our oat ale in ta te which i ill those who a sufficient quantity of it for a little has io effect as soon as the was out a fresh of was brought in and ia this manner we passed the whole time we remained with those hospitable indians ey well people extremely well both men women and vastly neat in their the m pi s dress is called by them which is a square piece of loth generally in of colours with a in of it wide enough to let their heads o f it brings on their shoulders half of it falling before and the behind them under this they wear a short kind of sleeves or neck they have wide something like the dutch and on their a sort of t i any feet to them but never any their hair is always very smooth and tied very tight up in a great bunch close to the neck some wear a very neat bat of their o wn making and others go without the women ear a shift like the men s shirts j without sleeves and o er it a re piece of cloth which they fasten before with al l silver pin and a of different they take m much care of their hair as the men and both have always a kind of bound very tight about the forehead and fast behind in short these people are as as the d s nations we had met with before were up mi our first coming here they had despatched a messenger to hie spanish at a town of considerable to inform him of our arrival at t e en of j m days this man returned with an order to the chief of d by hon john j indians we were t to us to a l ij where there would be a party of to receive j y these poor people now seemed to be under great concern i us hearing by the messenger the preparations that were g to receive us for they stand in vast dread of the l they were very desirous of knowing what we were we told them we were english and nt time at war with the upon which they appeared of us than ever and i verily believe if they would have concealed us amongst them lest we i e to any harm they are so far from in the spanish that they the very name of a and i am not surprised at it for they are kept under such and such a laborious slavery by mere dint of hard usage and that it appears to me the most absurd in the world that the should rely upon these people for assistance upon any emergency embarked in ie evening and it was night before we got to the place where we were to be delivered up to the spanish guard we were by three or four officers and a number of soldiers all with their drawn who surrounded us as if they had the most formidable enemy to take charge of instead of three poor helpless wretches who notwithstanding the good living we had met with amongst these kind indians could hardly support ourselves they carried us to the top of a hill and there put us under a shed for it consisted of a roof without any sides or walls being quite open and here w were to y upon the cold ground all sorts of people now came to at us a a sight but th indian women never came handed i they always brought with them fowls or some k id of provision to u so that we lived well enough however we found a very difference b the treatment we had met with the indians and what we now experienced from the with the d by of wet quite at to do ts we m if we only went ten to attempt at getting f some of tiiat we had two fe drawn to attend ns about the from came to see not from a motive of passion bat m a report spread by oar indian q we had some things of great about us hm s en captain cheap pall out a gold the thing the good father did was to out of ins a bottle of brandy and give us a in order to op hearts he then came to tiie point asking us if w had no watches or rings captain had never suspecting that the indian had ml watch having	35
that our soldiers when tb y came into the house had none of them any shoes on but wore like the indians without any feet to them they liad monstrous great spurs some of silver and others of k e which made i rattling when they walked like chains they were all stout strong looking men as the of the island in general are after a good supper we sheep skins laid near the fire for us tp sleep on early in morning we mounted again and after riding some miles iy ss the country we came to the water side were we found sm l waiting for us with some officers in them of the soldiers dismounted and embarked with us a few sent round with the horses it was three days before we arrived at as the tides between this island and the main art so rapid that no boat can stem them the same precaution was taken here as at we passed through a whole lane of soldiers armed as i mentioned those to have before excepting a few who had the they have here the soldiers upon our journey had given a account of el or the king s palace the governor s house and therefore we expected to see something very magnificent but it was nothing better d by of a large barn off into several the governor was sitting at a large table covered of red having all the principal officers him some he made ns sit down to co i us by his who a stupid old fellow f neither talk nor spanish bnt said he was j land had above forty years in that and formerly been al was taken by tiie s m the governor kept us to supper and w across the court to our apartment place that had served to keep the g m kitchen however as it was dry over head we thought selves extremely well lodged was a soldier k the door wi a drawn in his hand to our ring out which was quite unnecessary as we knew not to go if we bad been at liberty one of these soldiers io k m great fancy to my ragged which had still some sands about it and in exchange gave me an old the sort of garment with a hole in the middle to put one head through as above related to be worn by the indians and a bit of my waistcoat that remained he pair of breeches j now should have myself very hand f equipped if i had but another shirt the next ds about noon the governor sent for us and we dined at im table after which we returned to our lodging we w alone for every body was curious to see us we above a week jn this manner when ihe was off and we were allowed to look about us a little b to go out of the palace as were to call it we every day with the governor but were not very f md of ms fast days which succeeded each other too quickly make with his steward and cook by means i always carried my pockets to my apartment i passed my time agreeably soon after we had leave ta by john the or go wherever we pleased every house open to us and though it was about an hour after we had ed they always spread a table thinking we could never eat after we had suffered and we were much of the same d they are in general a charitable good sort of l at ignorant and governed by l ir priests who believe just what they please the im chiefly spoken here even by one amongst r and say they think it a finer language than their ml the women have fine and many of them handsome they have good voices and can a ht upon a but they have an ugly custom smoking which is a v ry scarce here and therefore is looked upon as a great treat when they meet at one s houses the lady of the house comes in with a large pipe crammed with tobacco and after taking two or hearty she holds her head under her cloak lest any of tiie smoke should escape and then it after you see it coming out of her nose and ears she then hands the pipe to the next lady who does the same till it has gone through the whole company their houses are but very mean as will be easily imagined by what i have said tiie governor s they make their fire in the middle of their rooms but have no chimneys there is a small hole at end of the roof to let the smoke out it is only the better sort of people that eat bread made of wheat as they grow very little here and they have no mills to grind it but then they have great plenty of the finest potatoes in the world these are always in the ashes then scraped and served up at meals instead of bread they breed abundance of swine as ihey supply both and with they are in no want of sheep but not with cows owing i in a great measure to own in not clearing they would be at ihe pains to do j d by n of tbe might have sufficient pasture their trade which is used tl america instead of plants which the continually employed in cutting quite to the i i little carved boxes which the j put their work in carpets and neatly all round for these both in and are the people of the first fashion as well as the ii fo way of riding dress and are esteemed to be much for a than any kind of coat whatever they have what they call	35
an annual ship tr m a never expect more than one in the year though happens that two have come and at other times been two or three years without any when this hi are greatly distressed as this ship brings th m linen hats ribbons tobacco sugar brandy and wipe this latter article is chiefly for the use of the churches w an from used all over south america instead of tea is also a necessary article this ship s is chiefly consigned to the who have more employed for them than all tiie rest of the inhabitants f ther and of course almost the whole trade i is no money current in this island if any person wants a yards of linen a little sugar tobacco or any brought from he gives so many of in exchange some time after we been a snow arrived in the from which great joy amongst the inhabitants as they had no he j before from the alarm lord had n up m lt this was not the annual vessel but one of those that i mo before which come unexpectedly the was an old man well known upon the island w ko had here once in two or three years for more than thirty y ui past he had a remarkable large head and therefore d by hen john by given him of o de or b l he had not been hare a week before he i io i and told him with a j f that he had not slept a wink he came into g all the governor was pleased to allow three l ri r to walk about ii of them t every moment they would board his and her away this he said when he had above finds aboard j e governor assured him he would be f f r us and that he might sleep in quiet though at the same time he could not help laughing at the man a a l ihe people in the town did these assurances did not sat the he used the utmost in of ma and put to sea again not thinking himself safe till he liad lost sight of the island it was about three months alter hb that mr was brought in by a party that the governor had sent to the southward on purpose to fetch q he was in a wretched condition upon his first arrival but soon recovered with the good living he found here it is usual for the governor to a tour every year the several districts belonging to his government on this occasion he took us with him the first place he visited was on the main and from thence to at these places he holds a kind of court all the chief ne meeting him and informing him of what passed since hia last visit and receiving fresh orders for the year to come at we had the same liberty we enjoyed at and visited every body it seemed they had forgot all the ceremony used our first landing here which was with an intent if us believe it was strongly fortified for now they let us see plainly that they had neither fort nor gun at they had a little fort with a small ditch and a old honey guns without carriages and which do not defend the harbour in the least while we d by of thb were at the old lady at whose home we lay night upon leaving the college sent to the and begged i might be allowed to come to weeks this was granted and i went and about three weeks with her very happily as she seemed hi as fond of me as if i had been her own son she ii f ling to part with me ag in bat as the governor to he sent for me and i left my with regret amongst the we visited at waa ne belonging to an old priest who was esteemed one of w richest persons npon the island he had a niece of whom be was extremely fond and who was to inherit all he po s he had taken a great deal of pains with her education she was reckoned one of the most accomplished of her person was good though she could be called a regular beauty this young lady did me be honour to take more notice of me than i deserved and proposed to her uncle to convert me and afterwards begged his consent to marry me as the old man upon her he readily agreed to it and accordingly on the first visit i made him me with the young lady s proposal and his approbation taking me at the same time into a room where there se and boxes which he unlocked first m what a number of fine clothes his niece had and then wardrobe which he said should be mine at his amongst other things he produced a piece of linen ke said should immediately be made up into shirts for i own this last article was a great temptation to me i had the resolution to withstand it and made the best i could for not accepting of the honour they me for by this time i speak spanish well enough to myself understood amongst the indians who had come to meet by hon were of who had hi to kindly our first landing upon one of a man had been of and pot in irons and to be more severely wife ei not learn his crime or whether the governor did not it in a great measure to show ns his power over these however we were under great concern for man who had been extremely kind to ns and begged captain cheap to with the governor for him this he did and was released e governor	35
him at the same time with great warmth it was to mi he owed it or he would have made a severe example of him the young man seemed to have been in no of punishment as i believe be felt all a man could do from the of being put in irons in the public square before all his brother aud many hundreds of other indians i this was not a very step of ihe governor as the came after to captain cheap to him for his goodness and in all probability would remember the english for some time after and not only he but all the other who had been witnesses of if and who seemed to feel if possible even more than the young man did we now returned to and the governor told s when annual ship came whidi they expected in december we should be sent in her to we several while we were here one day as i happened to be upon a visit at a house where i was very well acquainted aft indian came in who lived at many distance from s town and who had made this journey in order to purchase some trifles he wanted amongst other things he had bought some prints of saints very proud of these he produced them and put them into the hands of the women who very devoutly first crossed themselves with them and afterwards kissed them then gave them to me saying at the d by i t of the same such a kiss them they were right in their c returned them to the indian without going k at that very instant there happened a violent of an earthquake which they entirely to the the saints and au quitted the house as fast as they j it should fall heads for my part i made hei ot my way home for fear of being knocked on the li w out of the house by the n ble who looked on me as the of au this mischief and did not return to that i till thought this affair was forgotten here is a very good harbour but the entrance is very for those who are with it as the ti i are so extremely rapid and there are sunken rocks m tiie is channel the island is about seventy round ana body of it lies in about degrees minutes ii the most southern settlement the have in these mm summer is of no long duration and most of the round they have hard of wind and much rain ihe upon the there is a times with great and is subject to violent tions one of these alarmed the whole island whilst w it sounded in the night like great guns in the j ing the governor mounted his horse and rode f forwards from his house tp the fort saying it was i english coming in but that he would give them a wi meaning i suppose that he would have left tbe n a good fire in his house for i am certain he would h ve been in the if he had seen anything like a li t ship coming in women of the first fashion wear shoes or stockings in the ho m but only wear npon particular occasions i have ofl seen them ing to the church which stood opposite to the house bare legged walking through mud and water and at d by john ll di door pat on their and ng and pall n ain when came though they in m handsome and have good yet of l paint in so a manner that it is impossible to h ia their faces when you see them the governor and here was a native of the government which f f by that is for three years which ap to be a long to them as their re but though th make the most of it the towns of and consist only of scattered houses without street though both have their places or as an towns have is very excepting nt the time the ship arrives then th thither all parts of the island to purchase what matters they v ant and as soon as at ia done to or it was about the middle of ship came in and the second of january board of her she was bound to with e having been driven i e of the tide very near those sunken rocks men b o e found a great sea without and as the was as deep as any laden her de were well washed she was a fine vessel of about two and tons the timber the ships of this j of is excellent as they last a prodigious time for tb y assured the vessel we were then in had be n built above years the captain waa a and knew not the least of sea affairs the second captain or master the and his mate were all three and very the pilot was a and all the rest of the crew were indians and the latter were all slaves a d fellows but never suffered to go aloft lest they fl the owners so much money by it the indians were active brisk men and very good by of thb men for that we had on board the head of j as passenger he and captain cheap were admitted into great cabin and with the captain and for we were obliged to rough it the whole passage i ll is when we were tired we lay down upon the c in the open air and slept as well as we could but t j nothing to us who had been used to fare so much w well eating with the master and i ways had their meals upon the quarter deck and at them as	35
we do small beer and all rest of the day w smoking cigars the fifth day we made the land four or five to e southward of and soon alter falling calm a western swell hurried us in very towards the shore dropped the lead several times but had such deep water could not anchor they were all much alarmed when we came out of the cabin for the first time having been the whole passage as soon as he was informed of the danger he went back into the cabin and brought out image of some saint which he desired might be hung up in the which being done he kept i that if we had not a breeze soon he would certainly h overboard soon after we had a little wind from land when the carried the image back with an ip f great triumph saying he was certain that we should not j without wind long though he had given himself over lost some time before it came next morning we in port of in that part which is opposite to the ships lay so near the land that they have generally an ashore as there is eight or ten close to it aiid the come off the hills with such violence that if it was not for this method of securing them they would be out this is only in summer time for in the winter no ships ever attempt to come in here the d by hon john prevail and drive in such a sea that they most soon be spanish captain w upon the governor of the fort informed him that he had four english prisoners on board were ordered ashore in the afternoon and were received tf npon the beach by a file of soldiers with their fixed who surrounded us and then marched up to fort attended by a numerous mob we were carried the governor whose house was full of officers he was blind asked a few questions and then spoke of nothing but the strength of the garrison he commanded and desired to know if we had observed that all the lower battery w s brass guns we were immediately after by his order put into the condemned hole there was nothing but four bare walls excepting a heap of lime that filled one third of it and made the place swarm with in such a manner that we were presently covered with them some of admiral s soldiers were here in garrison that had been landed from his ships at as he could not get round cape horn a box was placed at our door and we had always a soldier with his fixed to prevent our stirring out curiosity of the people was such that our prison was continually full from morning till night by which the soldiers made a pretty penny as they took money from every person for the sight in a few days captain cheap and mr were ordered up to st as they were known to be officers by having saved their but mr and i were to continue in prison captain cheap expressed great concern when he left us he told me it was what he had all along dreaded that they would separate us when we got this country but he assured me if he was permitted to speak to the president that he would leave till he obtained a grant for me to be sent i to no sooner were they than we very badly a common by d of soldier who was ordered to provide for u each once a day a few potatoes d pi water the other soldiers of the garrison as well people who to see us took notice of it p soldier it was cruel to treat as in tiiat manner ed c was the governor allows me half a real a f fi j d t of men what can i do it is he that am shocked every time i bring them though that could not he provided for j them we this time lived much b and brought wine and fruit we took it m our cat had been represented to tile governed aud i re as ed our pay as to the we were right in o ur ui it had been mentioned to him b all and li was that we might starve for we should have no him and that he b e should never be t m this speech of the governor was m de almost every one who came to in gave us something even the mule drivers take their tobacco in whidi they kept money and i us half a real all this we would have to our but he would receive a from us us might still it and the whole we re was some weeks he laid aside half his daily pay to supply tm though he had a six children and never could hate l least hope ov of any til years after i had the singular pleasure of making him when my circumstances w re much better than his one night when we were locked tip there happened a m an we expected every roof and walls of our prison ix fall in upon w and what added to tiie horror the si of and is ik next prison j i ii d by were nearly heavily loaded k ii ho are kept here to work upon the al ill they are condemned to the a fe after this we were told an order was come from the to the governor to send us np to st which is and is the capital of there were ib time several ships in the port from delivering so that almost every day there were large of ii going up to st with the goods the	35
r dollars or about eighteen shillings of ur money it mast a very poor indian who has not his four or five homes there are no better in ihe world than the and that is not surprising for they never choose to go ar k on foot tl y always have o saddle the l is a long at ae m m r is of m te f than any weapon whatever for with d by f w i l n i ofi their are all to this they the as the other end is al t to the saddle the horse immediately turns aiid tiie beast caught the or him in what manner he thinks proper are so that ey will take from f pi nd a glove or handkerchief while horse is upon full w and i have seen them jump upon the back of i t all the efforts of the beast could not throw l i produces all sorts of it is famous lar gold silver iron tin lead and but some of hi do not understand working especially th supply all and send likewise a great to hie climate of is i believe the finest ie world what th call their winter does not last three and even that is very moderate as may be imagined manner of building for they have no chimneys in their all the rest of the year is delightful for though from i n or eleven in the morning till five in the afternoon it is very hot yet the evenings and mornings are very cool and pleasant ia the time of the year it is from six in the till two or three in the morning that the people of this meet to divert themselves with music and other at which there is plenty of as are well supplied with ice from the neighbouring at these many are carried on y think of nothing else throughout year their fa are very agreeable the women dance well and very gracefully they are all bom with an ear for music most of them have delightful voices and play u n and the latter at first appears a very instrument for a woman yet that pr is soon over far other nation upon it they are d by c c c p t and pi j dance or ey do it and t with an exceeding good tb y bat they take d ii f ia uke our than anything else i em fi l and npon these they women are h an and v l their c their hair which ia as aa they wear of a vast length wi i upon the head than a few il li in and twist than a ia a diamond rose their a little light waistcoat they wear over their n before and lap oyer and have k ei rich lace x f in their ha upper or silver and in f the finest linen covered all law the sleeves of these are immensely the air is cool they have a mantle which is only of ba f af the finest colours round which there is i wh n they go abroad they wear a veil which ia so that one eye is only seen their feet are very small value themselves as much upon it as the chinese shoes are and cut their stockings silk and they love to have the ei of an hang a little below the shoulders are very naked and indeed you may their whole shape by their manner of dress th n m sparkling eyes ready wit a great deal of good strong disposition to gallantry i by the description of one house you have an idea all rest you first come into a courts on one of is the stable you then enter a hall on one of large room about twenty feet wide and by i g n ff i i tl e v ab io is covered i le ed her at end of ig j i d in bed and with a io and e on a it in veiy ent two room one aad tf and other are detached e r i end ihe garden im ay f their te di mm t w m th in they to the tea which the cm as i ia i drank a day this is a silver with raised ni on ii a a httle c made out of a small or aad led silver l ey put the first add ar they j ease and pour hot en them and it immediately of along silver at the end of to prevent the and here it is reckoned a piece of politeness for the two or three times first and it tiie to wiping it eat so highly with ted that those who are not used to it upon the fin t on an hour afterward it custom here though you have the greatest act two or three girls at tlie ine bringing in a little silver plate d by of d witb a who you will c t n what he has you which must dose ft c or it be l m en the at we should never h n b at sometimes here have wished to his table he expected us once ie which we never failed and he vii politely he was a man of very amiable i respected l everybody in and ie that country was appointed of te w i whenever we asked it to make an i for ten or twelve days at a a very pleasant spot belonging to don a me l and a very ma a y y agreeable lady of st a ve tone we also some had from i to country houses we a ac ii	35
ihe city and in many i are a great many people of veiy good from old spain next to us whose name and as my name hke it tiiat we were she had a a young woman who both played and sung remarkably she was reckoned the voice in st th aw a i great deal of company and we were welcome ie we pleased we were a long time in this but we passed it agreeably the four to his coach bnt v at or kind of a drawn by one mule bum are a here and to l of that kind i saw at or d by it m done hy f who ii fe i r be a proof of it is found that f others there wh ti f p i i i die a d th the l a au be brought in from the fm t nothing on their horns to prevent their th te ee aa they at i have w i when the came at him w y the s a p th i u al hia l d a there tip a the bi tha whole le a hint ai thin n iq i m am i i i i t u h e p f ed white i waa th if di ate aa fine aa f mi i i an a ei ii t ic ly t ai ct e a ii i i tim i g m e d a a p tha ir ami i hi e be they a tj lit i tt th ii w ia done r ht in ai c p v i u mt the it to n ad hay nothing a and ba i ont a lady came by and gave a to i t i had tbe nd i aa a d hie tor a loi time after i t of hia at the for had i run lad i after with tiie crowd and i i or th w r o d by two for bo i mu w i re aid m a ir the is t i i tl i t fc them tbat imder the weight m aad often the t the palace regularly ike of i are v all are dear ol or a t r aad every other in w here had been taken hy and had been for time tt i t treatment they had received and it is o n that it waa chiefly owing to that of onr reception here waa bo good they had l thing bat and handled very ao i both of and ad taken by the bnt some of them told ao happy on board the not have been if the had with um to am alter we had been here time mr religion and of course tm president sent r ns and informed as a bound to spain had pot into that we should her alter good friend mr and all our p set out for and a being t forgot to before d by i id i six a i y fm tm i the i we a w oar we we w re him i mt aa now no io e t mi e into wai w n wm i bow a me m h quite bim we k lodgings tiu the ship was ready to and diverted ha good al im mm to do witli the or ma tm l mt a poor little place are indeed a good the r de tile reception of tlie al we on board to st she o m b died and twenty sixteen and sixty men l i i on and amongst i oi a man of very i and known in england who with years upon a design of b some of the near we now to conception in order to join three other that were likewise home as this was a time of the year when the win prevail npon i wn stood off a long way to the westward making tbe of we did not get the bay of till the th of january where we at and there tiie the d and the the three french were to accompany it is bnt sixty to we had been so d by of s ex bat is aa t the windy p i as are id e to have a li i i t way of passage st a i a l i aod or the tb bay c is a ie bi rt i aad two i nay a af but only hi fine i best place is of in five or six aad where you are i m m town has no other d bat a low the ai i before m pleasant and tiie of all kinds in s ne we i of very lar re i y were quite harmless i hav of by the in they tell i feature b to be in it and made tiie experiment of but i never was in any place that so as st and they bite is so ven that i have seen fi it i sights i ever saw m my life and it if proper are not applied ki by one im and that part of my face toned as as i tiie a a n of a kind of stone they the stone in le east an is the stone i ck my and dropping off was put into milk till it had the it had extracted and then f ed i a tiie pain and i was soon afterwards well ships remained at conception the people were d by a d m i m ii	35
m m of it mi io au at tint mi il r aa it b n di l rt the at p i the iii s i we of an ear bat w h we j to i fi r ta i of a i a ay the ni a way to the ard aad m ward of above ft wm we could make any on h m i e we met wm a h obliged ae to ue to a i a for di we oi with a pro and after l was almost e i i we to tbe ai da di of the ah ant to waa a thing on ihe line when that d by m mm n m til i q i r ta it a art o id vo tb t to that ht wm m ii it mi b ii t i h and ten o as i te i out of ti v r j ti m l i wa l aw aa ah we ta ff i f tbey bo took out te aad were in if b an l a m now da alarmed it fell calm but t bad na ao that w ha to be english war the o a a o bi i tht mr d by i h j ma worn t f for the of i am te two in k a b d it p w i l y f te w ant tr m on i mi r ia c i ei to me wi hm ma ofl gold i oa mi i di i l hy iii ie tim mi p il th e i i ii o li im s as if mm a os r to we of mr in nigh ind to o r tt tile to i from two of on a i the tb at six ia ite ve mm ur i nd what is l tt waa p m war cape had or two off it mi bat h f n t ai them for m i a ship be a in we to in d by mi m li m of i il fit im f warn io r i t m h w my i li w te cm j m te d on the ii m b t ii ii c f i gi im l i tf ai ng to ty af tr i t l or ki o i r i t ml to lifted p i f a rt wi ji mi j oa aft im i lit ii to mm tim i ships no sooner i l d by wm ii mi ti the j to ii li ii i b to mt to o the tbe t a f an el whole in il w i ii l mm wai ft if mi ia f ii ef t md te wa mm l i a i r a r ri if ite i ai t wm oat of me he the other rigid hie ho e kept w tree not ee im of lier i t ih of october the oi ie i e i i i h e m hie the oi df th o the ana md men men so m o et n to il e ot m u or t to d by am t tlie was p art i y co to im who go ho aad ir st il n cm we had i in i of v ov im ji ig i i i mt i to r p in w jo l iii od io aa ro ir to it b o a it we liad m i i a wm to large j re f mm tho r to m ao took the k a a d h od i m from the to ship at ready to sail we took travelled to town where ire were obliged to r weeks we had im y of j ve the k to a paid wh we had got p w g river into the road a french ii aa ready to sail upon a the x lu d to to an anchor and if ho to m oa im i and u in the road lie d by ki to i wc t r tp ia we had day before sim we saw aad le cf his a e m e nt to land us he a i the we were ib e we c e p m ne d ef of hunted ma to land mt war appeared te and to oe she her boat on board informed ne be he from waa the by i tain we went mi of one of tiie h had with him to land na at where we and directly out for port but c cheap waa so tired by tiie he he proceed no farther that tin he no much te k aid no longer therefore it waa agreed mr a and e i hot here an waa started ng ae little we had it waa to be not at to pay to london and ny proportion that it was by enough to pay without a for a bit open the road fir hie these	35
of history had a private and familiar existence and were not wholly contained within that cold array of outward action which we are compelled to receive as the adequate representation of their lives if this impression can be given much is accomplished setting aside grandfather and his and excepting the adventures of the chair which form the machinery of the work nothing in the pages can be termed the author it is true has sometimes assumed the license of filling up the outline of history with details for which he has none but imaginative authority but which he hopes do not nor give a false to the truth he believes that in this respect his narrative will not be found to convey ideas and impressions of which the reader may find it necessary to his the author s great doubt is whether he has by ic v p in writing a book which will be by the class for whom he it to make a lively and entertaining narrative for children with such material as is presented by the sombre stem and rigid characteristics of the and their descendants is quite as difficult an attempt as to manufacture delicate out of the granite rocks on which new england is founded d by by ic the whole history grandfather s chair in parts by ic by grandfather s chair part i chapter i grandfather had been sitting in his old all that pleasant afternoon while the children were pursuing their various sports far oflf or near at hand sometimes you would have said grandfather is asleep but still even when his eyes were closed his thoughts were with the young people playing among the flowers and of the garden he heard the voice of who had taken possession of a heap of decayed branches which the gardener had from the and was building a little hut for his cousin and himself he heard s voice too as she and watered the which had been given her for her own he could have counted every footstep that took as he his along the by ic gravel walk and though grandfather was old and gray haired yet his heart leaped with joy whenever little came fluttering like a butterfly to the room she had made each of the children her in turn and now made grandfather her too and thought him the of them all at last the children grew weary of their sports because a summer afternoon is like a long lifetime to the young so they came into the room together and clustered round grandfather s great chair little who was hardly five years old took the privilege of the youngest and climbed his knee it was a pleasant thing to behold that fair and golden haired child in the lap of the old man and to think that different as they were the hearts of both could be with the same joys grandfather said little laying her head back upon his arm i am very tired now you must tell me a story to make me go to sleep that is not what story like answered grandfather smiling they are better satisfied when they can keep their awake but here are and and i cried cousin who was twice as old as little we will all three keep wide awake and pray grandfather tell us a story about this strange looking old chair by ic grandfather s chair now the chair in which grandfather sat was made of oak which had grown dark with age but had been rubbed and polished till it shone as bright as mahogany it was very large and heavy and had a back that rose high above grandfather s white head this back was curiously carved in open work so as to represent flowers and foliage and other devices which the children had often gazed at but could never understand what they on the very of the chair over the head of grandfather himself was a likeness of a lion s head which had such a savage grin that you would almost expect to hear it growl and the children had seen grandfather sitting in this chair ever since they could remember any thing perhaps the younger of them supposed that he and the chair had come into the world together and that both had always been as old as they were now at this time however it happened to be the fashion for ladies to adorn their drawing rooms with the oldest and chairs that could be found it seemed to cousin that if these ladies could have seen grandfather s old chair they would have thought it worth all the rest together she wondered if it were not even older than grandfather himself and longed to know all about its history do grandfather talk to us about this chair she repeated by ic grandfather s chair well child said grandfather patting s cheek i can tell you a great many stories of my chair perhaps your cousin would like to hear them too they would teach him something about the history and distinguished people of his country which he has never read in any of his school books cousin was a boy of twelve a bright scholar in whom an early and sensibility began to show themselves his young fancy kindled at the idea of knowing all the adventures of this venerable chair he looked eagerly in grandfather s face and even a bold brisk restless little fellow of nine sat himself down on the carpet and resolved to be quiet for at least ten minutes should the story last so long meantime little was already asleep so grandfather being much pleased with such an attentive audience began to talk about matters that happened long ago d by s chair chapter ii but before relating the adventures of the chair grandfather found it necessary to speak of ihe circumstances that caused the first	35
settlement of new england for it will soon be perceived that the story of this remarkable chair cannot be told without telling a great deal of the history of the country so grandfather talked about the as those persons were called who thought it sinful to practise the religious forms and ceremonies which the church of england had borrowed from the roman these suffered so much persecution in england that in in many of them went over to holland and lived ten or twelve years at and but they feared that if they continued there much longer they should cease to be english and should adopt all the manners and ideas and feelings of the dutch for this and other reasons in the year they embarked on board of the ship and crossed the ocean to the shores of cape there they made a settlement and called it which though now a part of was for a long time a colony by itself and thus was formed the earliest settlement of the in america meantime those of the who remained by v grandfather s chair in england continued to suffer grievous persecution on account of their religious opinions they began to look around them for some spot where they might worship god not as the king and thought fit but according to th of their own when their brethren had gone from holland to america they themselves they likewise might find refuge from persecution there several gentlemen among them purchased a tract of country on the coast of bay and obtained a from king charles which them to make laws for the in the year they sent over a few people with john at their head to commence a plantation at peter one or two more had built houses there in and may be considered as the first of that ancient town many other prepared to follow and now we come to the chair my dear children said grandfather this chair is supposed to have been made of an oak tree which grew in the of the english earl of between two and three centuries ago in its younger days ft used probably to stand in the hall of the earl s castle do not you see the coat of arms of the family of carved in the open work of the back but when his daughter the lady was married to a by v certain mr johnson the earl gave her this valuable chair who was mr johnson inquired he was a gentleman of great wealth who agreed with the in their religious answered grandfather and as his belief was the same as theirs he resolved that he would live and die with them accordingly in the month of april he left his pleasant abode and all his comforts in england and embarked with the lady on board of a ship bound for america as grandfather was frequently by the questions and observations of his young we deem it advisable to omit all such as is not essential to the story we have taken some pains to find out exactly what grandfather said and here offer to our readers as nearly as possible in his own words the story of the lady the ship in which mr johnson and his lady embarked taking grandfather s chair along with them was called the in honor of the lady herself a fleet of ten or twelve vessels with many hundred passengers left england about the same time for a multitude of people who were discontented with the king s government and oppressed by the were over to the new world one of the vessels in by ic s chair the fleet was that same which had carried the to and now my children i would have you fancy yourselves in the cabin of the good ship because if you could behold the passengers aboard that vessel you would feel what a blessing and honor it was for new england to have such they were the best men and women of their day among the passengers was john who had sold the estate of his forefathers and was going to prepare a new home for his wife and children in the wilderness he had the king s in his keeping and was appointed the first governor of imagine him a person of grave and benevolent aspect dressed in a black velvet suit with a broad around his neck and a beard upon his chin there was likewise a minister of the gospel whom the english had forbidden to preach but who knew that he should have liberty both to preach and pray in the forests of america he wore a black cloak called a cloak and had a black velvet cap fitting close to his head as was the fashion of almost all the in their company came sir richard who had been one of the five first of the new colony he soon returned to his native country but his descendants still remain in new england by ic grandfather s chair and the good old family name is as much respected in our days as it was in those of sir richard not only these but several other men of wealth and pious ministers were in the cabin of the one had banished himself for ever from the old hall where his ancestors had lived for hundreds of years another had left his quiet in a country town of england others had come from the of oxford or cambridge where they had gained great fame for their learning and here they all were tossing upon the uncertain and dangerous sea and bound for a home that was more dangerous than even the sea itself in the cabin likewise sat the lady in her chair with a gentle and sweet expression on her face but looking too pale and feeble to endure the hardships of the every morning and evening the lady	35
gave up her great chair to one of the ministers who took his place in it and read passages from the bible to his companions and thus with prayers and pious conversation and frequent singing of hymns which the breezes caught from their lips and scattered far over the desolate waves they their voyage and sailed into the harbor of in the month of june at that period there were but six or eight dwellings in the town and these were by ic grandfather s chair with roofs of straw and wooden chimneys the passengers in the fleet either built huts with bark and branches of trees or erected tents of cloth till they could provide themselves with better shelter many of them went to form a settlement at it was thought fit that the lady should in for a time she was probably received as a guest into the family of john he was the chief person in the plantation and had the only comfortable house which the new comers had beheld since they left england so now children you must imagine grandfather s chair in the midst of a new scene suppose it a hot summer s day and the windows of a chamber in mr s house thrown wide open the lady looking paler than she did on is sitting in her chair and thinking mournfully of far off england she rises and goes to the window there amid patches of garden ground and corn field she sees the few wretched of the with the still and cloth tents of the passengers who had arrived in the same fleet with herself far and near stretches the dismal forest of pine trees which throw their black shadows over the whole land and likewise over the heart of this poor lady all the inhabitants of the little village are busy one is clearing a spot on the verge of by v the forest for his another is the trunk of a fallen pine tree in order to build himself a dwelling a third is in his field of indian corn here comes a out of the woods dragging a bear which he has shot and shouting to the neighbors to lend him a hand there goes a man to the with a and a bucket to dig a mess of which were a principal article of food with the first scattered here and there are two or three dusky figures clad in of fur with ornaments of bone hanging from their ears and the feathers of wild birds in their coal black hair they have of shell work across their shoulders and are armed with bows and arrows and flint headed these are an indian and his attendants who have come to gaze at the labors of the white men and now rises a cry that a pack of wolves have seized a young calf in the pasture and every man up his gun or and runs in chase of the beasts poor lady watches all these sights and feels that this new world is fit only for rough and hardy people none should be here but those who can struggle with wild beasts and wild men and can toil in the heat or cold and can keep their hearts firm against all and dangers but she is not one of these her gentle and timid spirit sinks within her and by v turning away from the window she sits down in the great chair and wonders whereabouts in the wilderness her friends will dig her grave mr johnson had gone with governor and most of the other passengers to boston where he intended to build a house for lady and himself boston was then covered with wild woods and had fewer inhabitants even than during her husband s absence poor lady felt herself growing ill and was hardly able to stir from the great chair whenever john noticed her despondency he doubtless addressed her with words of comfort cheer up my good lady he would say in a little time you will love this rude life of the wilderness as i do but s heart was as bold and resolute as iron and he could not understand why a woman s heart should not be of iron too still however he spoke kindly to the lady and then hastened forth to till his corn field and set out fruit trees or to bargain with the indians for or perchance to the building of a fort also being a magistrate he had often to punish some or evil by ordering him to be set in the stocks or at the post often too as was the custom of the times he and mr the minister of held long religious talks together thus john was a man of by ic s chair ness and had no time to look back to his native land he felt himself fit for the new world and for the work that he had to do and set himself resolutely to accomplish it what a contrast my dear children between this bold rough active man and the gentle lady who was fading away like a pale english flower in the shadow of the forest and now the great chair was often empty because lady grew too weak to arise from bed meantime her husband had pitched upon a spot for their new home he returned from boston to travelling through the woods on foot and leaning on his pilgrim s staff his heart within him for he was eager to tell his wife of the new home which he had chosen but when he beheld her pale and hollow cheek and found how her strength was wasted he must have known that her appointed home was in a better land happy for him then happy both for him and her if they remembered that there was a path to heaven as well from	35
this heathen wilderness as from the christian land whence they had come and so in one short month from her arrival the gentle lady faded away and died they dug a grave for her in the new soil where the roots of the pine trees their and when her bones had rested there nearly two by ic grandfather s hundred years and a city had sprung up around them a church of stone was built upon the spot almost at the commencement of the foregoing narrative had galloped away with a prodigious clatter upon grandfather s stick was not yet returned so large a boy should have been ashamed to ride upon a stick but and had listened attentively and were affected by this true story of the gentle lady who had come so far to die so soon grandfather had supposed that little was asleep but towards the close of the story happening to look down upon her he saw that her blue eyes were wide open and fixed earnestly upon his face the tears had gathered in them like dew upon a delicate flower but when grandfather ceased to speak the sunshine of her smile broke forth again o the lady must have been so glad to get to heaven exclaimed little grandfather what became of mr johnson asked his heart appears to have been quite broken answered grandfather for he died at boston within a month after the death of his wife he was buried in the very same tract of ground where he had intended to build a dwelling for lady and himself where their house would have stood there was his grave by ic grandfather s chair i never heard any thing so melancholy said the people loved and respected mr johnson so much continued grandfather that it was the last request of many of them when they died that they might be buried as near as possible to this good man s grave and so the field became the first burial ground in boston when you pass through street along by king s chapel you see a burial ground containing many old grave stones and monuments that was mr johnson s field how sad is the thought observed that one of the first things which the had to do when they came to the new world was to set apart a burial ground perhaps said if they had found no need of burial grounds here they would have been glad after a few years to go back to england grandfather looked at to discover whether he knew how profound and true a thing he had said d by grandfather s chair chapter m not long after grandfather had told the story of his great chair there chanced to be a our friend after disturbing the household with beat of drum and shouts races up and down the staircase of ch and much other uproar began to feel the quiet and confinement within doors intolerable but as the rain came down in a flood the little fellow was hopelessly a prisoner and now stood with sullen aspect at a window wondering whether the sun itself were not extinguished by so much moisture in the sky had already exhausted the less eager activity of the other children and they had themselves to occupations that did not admit of his companionship sat in a recess near the book case reading not for the first time the night s dream was making a of beads for a little figure of a sister of charity who was to attend the hill fair and lend her aid in the monument little sat on grandfather s with a picture book in her hand and for every picture the child was telling grandfather a story she did not read from the book for little had not much skill in reading but told the story out of her own heart and mind by ic was too big a boy of course to care any thing about little s stories although grandfather appeared to listen with a good deal of interest often in a young child s ideas and fancies there is something which it requires the thought of a lifetime to comprehend ut was of opinion that if a story must be told it had better be told by grandfather than little grandfather i want to hear more about your chair said he now grandfather remembered that had galloped away upon a stick in the midst of the narrative of poor lady and i know not whether he would have thought it worth while to tell another story merely to gratify such an as but laid down his book and the request drew her chair nearer to grandfather and little immediately closed her picture book and looked up into his face grandfather had not the heart to disappoint them he mentioned several persons who had a share in the settlement of our country and who would be well worthy of remembrance if we could find room to tell about them all among the rest grandfather spoke of the famous a minister of the gospel who did much good to the inhabitants of mr afterwards went back to england and was by ic s to but grandfather did not tell the children what became of this upright and zealous man at last in fact his were growing impatient to hear more about the history of the chair after the death of mr johnson said he grandfather s chair came into the possession of he was a clergyman who arrived at and settled there in doubtless the good man has spent many a hour in this old chair either a sermon or reading some book of till midnight came upon him unawares at that period as there were few lamps or candles to be had people used to read or work by the light of these supplied the place of the midnight oil to	35
the learned men of new england grandfather went on to talk about and told the children several particulars w have not room to repeat one incident which was connected with his life must be related because it will give the reader an idea of the opinions and feelings of the first of new england it was as follows the red cross while sat in grandfather s chair at his humble residence in john by ic grandfather s chair would often come to visit him as the clergy had great influence in concerns the minister and magistrate would talk over the of the day and consult how the people might be governed according to laws one thing especially troubled them both in the old national banner of england under which her soldiers have fought for hundreds of years there is a red cross which has been there ever since the days when england was in to the pope the cross though a holy symbol was by the because they considered it a of now whenever the train band of was the soldiers with at their head had no other flag to march under than this same old banner of england with the red cross in the midst of it the banner of the red cross likewise was flying on the walls of the fort of and a similar one was displayed in boston harbor from the fortress on castle island i profess brother captain would say after they had been talking of this matter it a christian man s heart to see this cross flying over our heads a stranger beholding it would think that we had undergone all our hardships and dangers by sea and in the wilderness only to get new for the pope of rome by v truly good mr would answer you speak as an honest man and christian should for mine own part were it my business to draw a sword i should reckon it sinful to fight under such a banner neither can i in my pulpit ask the blessing of heaven upon it such probably was the way in which and john used to talk about the banner of the red cross who was a prompt and resolute man soon determined that if she could not have a banner of her own should at least be delivered from that of the pope of rome not long afterwards there was a military muster at every able man in the town and neighborhood was there all were well armed with steel caps upon their heads plates of iron upon their breasts and at their backs and of steel around their necks when the sun shone upon these ranks of iron clad men they flashed and blazed with a splendor that the wild indians who had come out of the woods to gaze at them the soldiers had long swords and which were fired with matches and were almost as heavy as a small cannon these men had mostly a stern and rigid aspect to judge by their looks you might have supposed that there was as much iron ia by ic grandfather s their hearts as there was upon their heads and breasts they were all devoted and of the same temper as those with whom afterwards the throne of england they hated all the relics of superstition as much as himself and yet over their heads was displayed the banner of the red cross was the captain of the company while the soldiers were expecting his orders to begin their exercise they saw him take the banner in one hand holding his drawn sword in the other probably he addressed them in a speech and explained how horrible a thing it was that men who had fled from into the wilderness should be compelled to fight under its here perhaps he concluded his address somewhat in the following style and now fellow soldiers you see this old banner of england some of you i doubt not may think it treason for a man to lay violent hands upon it but whether or no it be treason to man i have good assurance in my conscience that it is no treason to god wherefore i have resolved that we will rather be god s soldiers than soldiers of the pope of rome and in that mind i now cut the cross out of this banner and so he did and thus in a province by ic s chair belonging to the crown of england a captain was found bold enough to the king s banner with his sword when and the other wise men of of it they were being afraid that s act would bring great trouble upon himself and them an account of the matter was carried to king charles but he was then so much engrossed by with his people that he had no leisure to punish the in other times it might have cost his life and her i should like to know grandfather said when the story was ended whether when cut the red cross out of the banner he meant to imply that was independent of england a sense of the independence of his adopted country must have been in that bold man s heart answered grandfather but i doubt whether he had given the matter much consideration except in its religious bearing however it was a very remarkable affair and a very strong expression of character grandfather proceeded to speak further of and of other persons who sat in the great chair as will be seen in the following chapter by ic b chair chapter said grandfather did not keep possession of the chair a great while his opinions of civil and religious matters differed in many respects from those of the rulers and of now the wise men of those days believed that the country could not be safe unless all the inhabitants thought and felt alike does	35
there were likewise near river in the region which is now called new thus at various points along the coast of new england there were of englishmen though these were independent of one another yet they had a common dependence upon england and at so vast a distance from their native home the inhabitants must all have felt like brethren they were fitted to become one united people at a future period perhaps their feelings of brotherhood were the stronger because different nations had formed to the north and to the south in canada and were colonies of french on the banks of the river was a colony of dutch who had taken possession of that region many years before and called it new grandfather for aught i know might have gone on to speak of and virginia for the good old gentleman really seemed to suppose that the whole surface of the united states was not too broad a foundation to place the four legs of his chair upon but happening to glance at he perceived that this naughty boy was growing impatient and meditating another a stick so here for the present grandfather suspended the history of his chair d by chapter v the children had now learned to look upon the chair with an interest which was almost the same as if it were a conscious being and could remember the many famous people whom it had held within its arms even lawless as he was seemed to feel that this venerable chair must not be upon nor although he had no scruple in taking such liberties with every other chair in the house treated it with still greater reverence often taking occasion to smooth its cushion and to brush the dust from the carved flowers and grotesque figures of its back and arms would sometimes sit a whole hour especially at twilight gazing at the chair and by the spell of his up its ancient occupants to appear in it again little evidently employed herself in a similar way for once when grandfather had gone abroad the child was heard talking with the gentle lady as if she were still sitting in the chair so sweet a child as little may talk with angels such as the lady had long since become grandfather was soon for more stories about the chair he had no difficulty in relating them for it really seemed as if every by ic s chair person noted in our early history had on some occasion or other found repose within its comfortable arms if grandfather took pride in any thing it was in being the possessor of such an honorable and historic elbow chair i know not precisely who next got possession of the chair after governor went back to england said grandfather but there is reason to believe that president sat in it when he held the first commencement at college you have often heard children how careful our forefathers were to give their young people a good education they had scarcely cut down trees enough to make room for their own dwellings before they began to think of establishing a college their principal object was to rear up pious and learned ministers and hence old writers call college a school of the is the college a school of the now asked it is a long while since i took my degree you must ask some of the recent answered grandfather as i was telling you president sat in grandfather s chair in when he conferred the degree of bachelor of arts on nine young men they were the first in america who had received that honor and now my dear i must confess that there are contradictory statements and by ic s chair some uncertainty about the adventures of the chair for a period of almost ten years some say that it was occupied by your own william first speaker of the house of representatives i have nearly satisfied myself however that during most of this questionable period it was literally the chair of state it gives me much pleasure to imagine that several successive of sat in it at the council board but grandfather interposed who was a matter of fact little person what reason have you to imagine so pray do imagine it grandfather said with s permission i will replied grandfather smiling let us consider it settled therefore that and each of them when chosen governor took his seat in our great chair on election day in this chair likewise did those excellent while holding with the chief of the province who were the governor sat in this chair too whenever messages were brought to him from the chamber of representatives and here grandfather took occasion to talk rather about the nature and forms of government that established themselves almost by ic grandfather s chair in and the other new england colonies were the natural growth of the new world as to it was at first intended that the colony should be governed by a council in london but in a little while the people had the whole power in their own hands and chose the governor the and the representatives the people of old england had never enjoyed any thing like the liberties and privileges which the of new england now possessed and they did not adopt these modes of government after long study but in simplicity as if there were no other way for people to be ruled but continued grandfather when you want instruction on these points you must seek it in mr s history i am merely telling the history of a chair to proceed the period during which the sat in our chair was not very full of striking incidents the province was now established on a secure foundation but it did not increase so rapidly as at first because the were no longer driven from england by persecution however there	35
was still a quiet and natural growth the towns and made new purchases of lands from the indians a very memorable event took place in the colonies of by ic grandfather s chair and new haven formed a union for the purpose of assisting each other in difficulties and for mutual defence against their enemies they called themselves the united colonies of new england were they under a government like that of the united states inquired no replied grandfather the different colonies did not compose one nation together it was merely a among the it somewhat resembled the league of the which you remember in history but to return to our chair in it was highly honored for governor sat in it when he gave audience to an from the french governor of or a treaty of peace between and the french colony was then signed did england allow to make war and peace with foreign countries asked and the whole of new england was then almost independent of the mother country said grandfather there was now a civil war in england and the king a you may well suppose had his hands full at home and could pay but little attention to these remote colonies when the parliament got the power into their hands they likewise had enough to do in keeping down the thus new by ic s england like a young and hardy lad father and mother neglect it was left to take care of itself in king charles was then became protector of england and as he was a himself and had risen by the of the english he showed himself a loving and indulgent father to the colonies in america grandfather might have continued to talk in this dull manner nobody knows how long but suspecting that would find the subject rather dry he looked sideways at that little fellow and saw him give an involuntary whereupon grandfather proceeded with the history of the chair and related a very entertaining incident which will be found in the next chapter d by fi chapter vi according to the most records my dear children said grandfather the chair about this time had the misfortune to break its leg it was probably on account of this accident that it ceased to be the seat of the of for assuredly it would have been ominous of evil to the if the chair of state had upon three legs being therefore sold at alas what a for a chair that had figured in such high company our venerable friend was knocked down to a certain captain john this old gentleman on carefully examining the chair discovered that its broken leg might be with iron and made as serviceable as ever here is the very leg that was broken exclaimed throwing himself down on the floor to look at it and here are the iron how well it was mended when they had all sufficiently examined the broken leg grandfather told them a story about captain john and the pine tree shillings the captain john was the master of and all the money that was made there this was a new d by line of business for in the earlier days of the colony the current consisted of gold and silver money of england and spain these being scarce the people were often forced to their instead of selling them for instance if a man wanted to buy a coat he perhaps exchanged a bear skin for it if he wished for a barrel of he might purchase it with a pile of pine boards were used instead of the indians had a sort of money called which was made of and this strange sort of was likewise taken in payment of debts by the english bank bills had never been heard of there was not money enough of any kind in many parts of the country to pay the of the ministers so that they sometimes had to take of fish of corn or of wood instead of silver or gold as the people grew more numerous and their trade one with another increased the want of current money was still more sensibly felt to supply the demand the general court passed a law for establishing a of shillings and captain john was appointed to manufacture this money and was to have about one shilling out of every twenty to pay him for the trouble of making them by ic all the old silver in the colony was handed over to captain john the battered silver and i suppose and silver and broken and silver buttons of worn out coats and silver of swords that had figured at court all such curious old articles were doubtless thrown into the melting pot together but by far the greater part of the silver consisted of from the mines of south america which the english who were little better than had taken from the and brought to all this old and new silver being melted down and the result was an immense amount of splendid shillings and each had the date on the one side and the figure of a pine tree on the other hence they were called pine tree shillings and for every twenty shillings that he you will remember captain john was entitled to put one shilling into his own pocket the soon began to suspect that the master would have the best of the bargain they offered him a large sum of money if he would but give up that twentieth shilling which he was continually dropping into his own pocket but captain declared himself perfectly satisfied with the shilling and well he might be for so diligently did he labor by ic s chair that in a few years his pockets his money bags land his strong box were overflowing with shillings this was probably the case when he came into possession of	35
grandfather s chair and as he had worked so hard at the it was certainly proper that he should have a comfortable chair to rest himself in when the master had grown very rich a young man samuel by name came a to his only daughter his daughter whose name i do not know but we will call her was a fine hearty by no means so slender as some young ladies of our own days on the contrary having always fed on indian and other she was as round and plump as a herself with this round rosy miss did samuel fall in love as he was a young man of good character industrious in his business and a member of the church the master very readily gave his consent yes you may take her said he in his rough way and you find her a heavy burden enough on the wedding day we may suppose that honest john dressed himself in a coat all the buttons of which were made of pine tree shillings the buttons of his were and the knees of his small by ic grandfather s chair clothes were with thus attired he sat with great dignity in grandfather s chair and being a old he completely filled it from elbow to elbow on the opposite side of the room between her sat miss she was blushing with all her might and looked like a full blown or a great red apple there too was the bridegroom dressed in a fine purple coat and gold lace waistcoat with as much other finery as the laws and customs would allow him to put on his hair was close to his head because governor had forbidden any man to wear it below the ears but he was a very young man and so thought the and miss herself the master also was pleased with his new son in law especially as he had miss out of pure love and had said nothing at all about her portion so when the marriage ceremony was over captain whispered a word to two of his men servants who immediately went out and soon returned in a large pair of scales they were such a pair as merchants use for weighing and quite a was now to be weighed in them daughter said the master into one side of these scales by ic s miss or mrs as we must dow call her did as she was bid like a dutiful child without any question of the why and wherefore but what her father could mean unless to make her husband pay for her by the pound in which case she would have been a dear bargain she had not the least idea and now said honest john to the servants bring that box hither the box to which the master pointed was a huge square iron bound chest it was big enough my children for all four of you to play at hide and seek in the servants with might and main but could not lift this enormous and were finally obliged to drag it across the floor captain then took a key from his unlocked the chest and lifted its ponderous lid behold it was full to the brim of bright pine tree shillings fresh from the and samuel began to think that his father in law had got possession of all the money in the treasury but it was only the master s honest share of the then the servants at captain s command heaped double of shillings into one side of the scales while remained in the other went the shillings as handful after handful was thrown in till plump aod ponderous as she was they fairly weighed the young lady from the floor by ic s there son cried the honest his seat in grandfather s chair take these shillings for my daughter s portion use her kindly and thank heaven for her it is not every wife that s worth her weight in silver the children laughed heartily at this legend and would be convinced but that grandfather had made it out of his own head he assured them faithfully however that he found it in the pages of a grave historian and had merely tried to tell it in a somewhat style as for samuel he afterwards became chief justice of well grandfather remarked if wedding portions now a days were paid as miss s was young ladies would not pride themselves upon an airy figure as many of them do d by si s chair chapter vn when his little audience next assembled round the chair grandfather gave them a his tory of the persecution which began in and raged for about three years in he told them how in the first place twelve of the of george fox the first in the world had come over from england they to be impelled by an earnest love for the souls of men and a pure desire to make known what they considered a revelation from heaven but the rulers looked upon them as the of all government and religion they were banished from the colony in a little while however not only the first twelve had returned but a multitude of other had come to rebuke the rulers and to preach against the priests and houses grandfather described the hatred and scorn with which these were received they were thrown into they were beaten with many women as well as men they were driven forth into the wilderness and left to the tender of wild beasts and indians the children were amazed to hear that the more the were and imprisoned and banished the more did the increase both by the of strangers and by by grandfather s chair from among the but grandfather told them that god had put something into the soul of man which always turned	35
the of the to naught he went on to relate that in two named william robinson and were hanged at boston a woman had been to die with them but was on condition of her leaving the colony her name was mary in the year she returned to boston although she knew death awaited her there and if grandfather had been correctly informed an incident had then taken place which her with our story this mary had entered the master s dwelling clothed in and ashes and seated herself in our great chair with a sort of dignity and state then she proceeded to deliver what she called a message from heaven but in the midst of it they dragged her to prison and was she executed asked she was said grandfather grandfather cried his fist i would have fought for that poor woman ah but if a sword had been drawn for her said it would have taken away all the beauty of her death it seemed as if hardly any of the preceding by ic stories had thrown such an interest around grandfather s chair as did the fact that the poor persecuted wandering woman had rested in it for a moment the children were so much excited that grandfather found it necessary to bring his account of the persecution to a close in the same year in which mary was executed said he charles the second was restored to the throne of his fathers this king had many vices but he would not permit blood to be shed under pretence of religion in any part of his the in england told him what had been done to their brethren in and he sent orders to governor to forbear all such proceedings in future and so ended the persecution one of the most mournful passages in the history of our forefathers grandfather then told his that shortly after the above incident the great chair had been given by the master to the rev mr jo he was the first ry but to his pastoral duties there he learned the language of the red men and often went the woods to preach to them so earnestly did he labor for their that he has always been called the to the indians the mention of this holy man suggested by ic to grandfather the propriety of giving a brief sketch of the history of the indians so far as they were connected with the english a short period before the arrival of the first at there had been a very grievous plague among the red men and the and minister s of that day were inclined to opinion that providence had sent this n order to make room for the the english but ow not why we indian s life is less precious in the eye of heaven than that of a white man lie that as it may death had certainly been very busy with the savage tribes in many places the english found the deserted and the corn fields growing to waste with none to harvest the grain there were heaps of earth also which being dug open proved to be indian graves containing bows and flint headed and arrows for the indians buried the dead warrior s weapons along with him in some spots there were and other human bones lying in and the year afterwards the small broke out among the indians multitudes of whom died by this terrible disease of the old world q m fi them less powerful been for nearly half a century after the arrival of the english the red men showed themselves by ic s chair rally inclined peace and they made submission when they might have made successful war the by the famous captain miles w some of them in without any for so doing in and the following year there was the most dreadful war that had yet occurred between the indians and the english the assisted by a celebrated indian chief named bore the of this war with but little aid from many hundreds of the hostile indians were or burnt in their their fled to another tribe after his own people were defeated but he was murdered by them and his head was sent to his english enemies from that period down to the time of king s war which w ill be ned h there was not much trouble but the were always on their guard and kept their weapons ready for the conflict i have sometimes doubted said grandfather when he had told these things to the children i ha ve m es doubted whether was than a single man among who realized that an indian s a mind a heart and an immortal soul that single man was john all the rest of the early seemed to think that the indians were an inferior d by s cr ie race of be whom the creator had merely possession of beautiful country till the white should be in want of it did the pious men of those days never try to make christians of them asked sometimes it is true answered grandfather the and ministers would talk about and the red people but at the bottom of their hearts they would have had almost as much expectation of a wild bear of the woods and making him fit for paradise they felt no faith in the success of any such attempts be cause the y had no love for the poor i now was full of love for them and therefore so full of faith and hope that he spent the labor of a lifetime in their behalf i would have conquered them first and then converted them said ah y there spoke the very spirit of our forefathers replied grandfather but mr had a spirit he looked upon them as his brethren he persuaded as many of them as he could to	35
ignorance and chiefly for this end it may be we were directed across the ocean when these other visitors were gone mr bent again over the half written page he dared hardly a moment from by ic grandfather s chair his toil he felt that in the book which he was there was a deep human as well as heavenly wisdom which would of itself suffice to and the savage tribes let the bible be diffused among them and all earthly good would follow but how slight a consideration was this when he reflected that the eternal welfare of a whole race of men depended upon his accomplishment of the task which he had set himself what if his hands should be what if his mind should lose its vigor what if death should come upon him ere the work were done then must the red man wander in the dark x f for ever impelled by such thoughts as these he sat writing in the great chair when the pleasant summer breeze came in through his open and also when the fire of forest logs sent up its blaze and smoke through the broad stone chimney into the wintry air before the earliest bird sang in the morning the s lamp was kindled and at midnight his weary head was not yet upon its pillow and at length leaning back in the great chair he could say to himself with a holy triumph the work is finished it was finished here was a bible for the indians those long lost descendants of the ten tribes of would now learn the history of their forefathers that grace which the ancient by v grandfather s chair had was offered anew to their children there is no in believing that when his long life was over the of the indians was welcomed to the celestial by the of ancient days and by those earliest and who had drawn their inspiration from the immediate presence of the they first had preached truth and salvation to the world and separated from them by many centuries yet full of the same spirit had borne the like message to the new world of the west since the first days of christianity ther been no man more worthy to be numbered in ihe brotherhood of the than my heart is not satisfied to think observed that mr s labors have done no good except to a few indians of his own time doubtless he would not have regretted his toil if it were the means of saving but a single soul but it is a grievous thing to me that he should have toiled so hard to the bible and now the language and the people are gone the indian bible itself is almost the only of both c if ve should doubt that ig of zeal his brother s good then remember h ow by v the toiled and if you should feel your own self interest pressing upon your heart too closely then think of s indian bible it is good for the world that such a man has lived and left this emblem of his life the tears into the eyes of and he acknowledged that had not toiled in vain little put up her arms to grandfather and drew down his white head beside her own golden locks grandfather whispered she i want to kiss good mr and doubtless good mr would gladly receive the kiss of so sweet a child as little and would think it a portion of his reward in heaven grandfather now observed that dr francis had written a very beautiful life of which he advised to he then spoke of king philip s war which began in and terminated with the death of king philip in the following year philip was a proud fierce indian whom mr had vainly endeavored to convert to the christian faith it must have been a great anguish to the continued grandfather to hear of mutual slaughter and outrage between his own countrymen and those for whom he felt the affection of a father a few of the praying indians joined the followers of king philip a by ic greater number fought on the side of the english in the course of the war the little community of red people whom mr had begun to was scattered and probably never was restored to a flourishing condition but his zeal did not grow cold and only about five years before his death he took great pains in preparing a new edition of the indian bible i do wish grandfather cried you would tell us all about the battles in king philip s war o no exclaimed who wants to hear about and knives no replied grandfather i have no time to spare in talking about battles you must be content with knowing that it was war that the indians had ever against the white men and that at its close the english set king philip s head upon a pole who was the captain of the english asked their most noted captain was church a very famous warrior said grandfather but i assure you that neither captain church nor any of the officers and soldiers who fought in king philip s war did any thing a part so glorious as mr did when he translated the bible for the indians let be the said to himself and i will be the captain by ic s chapter ix the children were now accustomed to round grandfather s chair at all their moments and often it was a striking picture to behold the white headed old with this wreath of young people around him when he talked to them it was the past speaking to the present or rather to the future for the children were of a generation which had not become actual their part in life thus far	35
was only to be happy and to draw knowledge from a thousand sources as yet it was not their time to do sometimes as grandfather gazed at their fair countenances a mist of tears his spectacles he almost regretted that it was necessary for them to know any thing of the past or to provide aught for the future he could have wished that they might be always the happy youthful creatures who had hitherto around his chair without inquiring whether it had a history it grieved him to think that his little who was a flower bud fresh from paradise must open her leaves to the rough breezes of the world or ever open them in any so sweet a child she was that it seemed fit her infancy should be immortal but such were merely flitting shadows across the old man s heart he had by ic grandfather s chair faith enough to believe and wisdom enough to know that the bloom of the flower would be even and happier than its bud even within himself though grandfather was now at that period of life when the veil of is apt to hang heavily over the soul still in his inmost being he was conscious of something that he would not have exchanged for the best happiness of childhood it was a bliss to which every sort of earthly experience all that he had enjoyed or suffered or seen or heard or acted with the of his soul upon the whole had contributed somewhat in the same manner must a bliss of which now they could have no conception grow up within these children and form a part of their for immortality so grandfather with renewed cheerfulness continued his history of the chair trusting that a wisdom than his own would extract from these flowers and weeds of time a fragrance that might last beyond all time at this period of the story grandfather threw a glance back weird as far as the year he of the ill concealed reluctance with which the in america had acknowledged the sway of charles the second on his restoration to his father s throne when death had stricken that mighty protector had no than in new england the by ic s new king had been more than a year upon the throne before his accession was ed in boston although the neglect to perform the ceremony might have subjected the rulers to the charge of treason during the reign of charles the second however the american colonies had but little reason to complain of harsh or treatment but when charles died in and was succeeded by his brother james the of new england began to tremble king james was a roman catholic and was known to be of an arbitrary temper it was feared by all and chiefly by the that he would assume power and attempt to establish throughout his our forefathers felt that they had no security either for their religion or their liberties the result proved that they had reason for their apprehensions king james caused the of all the american colonies to be taken away the old of which the people regarded as a holy thing and as the foundation of all their liberties was declared void the were now no longer they were entirely dependent on the king s pleasure at first in king appointed joseph a native of to be president of new england but soon afterwards sir an officer of the by ic s chair english army arrived with a commission to be governor general of new england and new york the king had given such powers to sir that there was now no liberty nor scarcely any law in the colonies over which he ruled the inhabitants were not allowed to choose representatives and consequently had no voice whatever in the government nor control over the measures that were adopted the with whom the governor consulted on matters of state were appointed by himself this sort of government was no better than an absolute the people suffered much wrong while sir ruled over them continued grandfather and they were apprehensive of much more he had brought some soldiers with him from england who took possession of the old fortress on castle island and of the on port hill sometimes it was that a general of the inhabitants was to be by these soldiers there were reports too that all the ministers were to be slain or imprisoned for what inquired because they were the leaders of the people said grandfather a minister was a more formidable man than a general in those days well while these things were going on by ic s chair in america king james had so the people of england that they sent over to holland for the prince of orange he had married the king s daughter and was therefore considered to have a claim to the crown on his arrival in england the prince of orange was proclaimed king by the name of william the third poor old king james made his escape to france grandfather told how at the first intelligence of the landing of the prince of orange in england the people of rose in their strength and the government of sir he with joseph ran and his other principal were thrown into prison old who had been governor when king james took away the was called by the people to govern them again governor was a venerable old man nearly ninety years of age said grandfather he came over with the first and had been the intimate companion of all those excellent and famous men who laid the foundation of onr country they were all gone before him to the grave and was the last of the grandfather paused a moment and smiled as if he had something very interesting to tell his he then proceeded and now now	35
now by ic now my dear little what chair do you think had been placed in the council chamber for old governor to take his seat in would you believe that it was this very chair in which grandfather now sits and of which he is telling you the history i am glad to hear it with all my heart cried after a shout of t thought grandfather had quite forgotten the chair it was a solemn and affecting sight said grandfather when this venerable with his white beard flowing down upon his breast took his seat in his chair of state within his remembrance and even since his mature age the site where now stood the town had been a wild and forest covered the province now so fertile and spotted with villages had been a desert wilderness he was surrounded by a shouting multitude most of whom had been born in the country which he had helped to they were of one generation and he of another as the old man looked upon them and beheld new faces every where he must have felt that it was now time for him to go whither his brethren gone before him were the former all dead and gone asked all of them replied grandfather had been dead forty years died a by ic very old man in sir henry was in london at the beginning of the reign of charles the second and and who had all been of were now likewise in their graves old was the sole representative of that departed brotherhood there was no other public man remaining to connect the ancient system of government and manners with the new system which was about to take its place the era of the was now completed i am sorry for it observed for though they were so stern yet it seems to me that there was something warm and real about them i think grandfather that each of these old should have his statue set up in our state house out of the hardest of new england granite it would not be amiss said grandfather but perhaps clay or some other material might suffice for some of their but let us go back to our chair it was occupied by governor from april until may sir william then arrived in boston with a new from king william and a commission to be governor d by s chair chapter x what became of the chair inquired the outward aspect of our chair replied grandfather was now somewhat the worse for its long and services it was considered hardly magnificent enough to be allowed to keep its place in the council chamber of in fact it was banished as an article of useless lumber but sir william happened to see it and being much pleased with its construction resolved to take the good old chair into his private mansion accordingly with his own hands he repaired one of its arms which had been slightly why here is the very arm interrupted in great and did sir william put in these with his own hands i am sure he did it beautifully but how came a governor to know how to mend a chair i will tell you a story about the early life of sir william said grandfather you will perceive that he well knew how to use his hands so grandfather related the wonderful and true tale of the sunken treasure picture to yourselves my dear children a handsome old fashioned room with a large open by ic at end ia which is u ms gold cup with some other splendid articles of gold and silver plate in another part of the room opposite to a tall looking glass stands our beloved chair newly polished and adorned with a gorgeous cushion of velvet with gold in the chair sits a of strong and sturdy frame whose face has been by northern and blackened by the burning sun of the west indies he wears an immense flowing down over his shoulders his coat has a wide of golden foliage and his waistcoat likewise is all over and be ith gold his red rough hands which have done many a good day s work with the hammer and are half covered by the delicate lace at his wrists on a table lies his silver sword and in a corner of the room stands his gold headed cane made of a beautifully polished west indian wood somewhat such an aspect as this did sir present when he sat in grandfather s chair after the king had appointed him governor of truly there was need that the old chair should be and decorated with a crimson cushion in order to make it suitable for a magnificent looking personage but sir william had not always worn ai gold embroidered coat nor always sat so much by ic s at his ease as he did in grandfather s chair he was a poor man s son and was bom in the province of where he used to tend sheep upon the hills in his boyhood and youth until he had grown to be a man he did not even know how to read and write tired of tending sheep he next himself to a and spent about four years in the crooked limbs of oak trees into knees for vessels in when he was twenty two years old he came to boston and soon afterwards was married to a widow lady who had property enough to set him up in business it was not long however before he lost all the money that he had acquired by his marriage and became a poor man again still he was not discouraged he often told his wife that some time or other he should be very rich and would build a fair brick house in the green lane of boston do not suppose children	35
of silver in his arms that single lump was worth more than a thousand dollars the sailors took it into the boat and then rowed back as speedily as they could being in haste to inform captain of their good luck but confidently as the captain had hoped to find the spanish wreck yet now that it was really found the news seemed too good to be true he could not believe it till the sailors showed him the lump of silver thanks be to god then cries captain we shall every man of us make our fortunes the captain and all the crew set to work with iron and great hooks and lines fishing for gold and silver at the bottom of the sea up came the treasure in abundance now they beheld a table of solid silver once the property of an old spanish now they found a vessel which had been destined as a gift to some catholic church now they drew up a golden cup fit for the king of spain to drink his wine out of perhaps the bony hand of its former owner had been grasping the precious cup and was drawn up along with it now their or fishing lines were loaded with masses of silver there by ic were also precious stones among the glittering and sparkling so that it is a wonder bow their radiance could have been concealed there is something sad and terrible in idea of all this wealth from the devouring ocean which had possessed it for such a length of years it seems as if men had no right to make themselves rich with it it ought it have been left with the of the ancient who bad been drowned when the ship was wrecked and whose bones were now among the gold and but captain and his crew were troubled with no such thoughts as these after a day or two they lighted on another part of the wreck where they found a great many bags of silver dollars but nobody could have guessed that these were money bags by remaining so long in the salt water they had become covered over with a crust which had the appearance of stone that it was necessary to break them in pieces with and when this was done a stream of silver dollars out upon the deck of the vessel the whole value of the recovered treasure plate precious stones and all was estimated at more than two millions of dollars it was dangerous even to look at such a vast amount of wealth a sea captain who had assisted in the enterprise utterly lost his by ic reason at the sight of it he died two years afterwards still about the treasures that lie at the bottom of the sea it would have been better for this man if he had left the of the in possession of their wealth captain and his men continued to fish up plate and dollars as as ever till their provisions grew short then as they could not feed upon gold and silver any more than old king could they found it necessary to go in search of better resolved to return to england he arrived there in and was received with great joy by the duke of and other english lords who had fitted out the vessel well they might rejoice for they took by far the greater part of the treasure to themselves the captain s share however was enough to make him comfortable for the rest of his days it also enabled him to fulfil his promise to his wife by building a fair brick house in the green lane of boston the duke of sent mrs a magnificent gold cup worth at least five thousand dollars before captain left london king james made him a knight so that instead of the obscure who had formerly dwelt among them the inhabitants of boston welcomed him on his return as the rich and famous sir william by ic ti s chapter xl sir william continued grandfather was too active and adventurous a man to sit still in the quiet enjoyment of his good fortune in the year he went on a military expedition against the french colonies in america conquered the whole province of and to boston with a great deal of plunder why grandfather he was the greatest man that ever sat in the chair cried ask what he thinks replied grandfather with a smile well in the same year sir william took command of an expedition against but did not succeed in the city in being then in london king william the third appointed him governor of and now my dear children having followed sir william through all his adventures and hardships till we find him comfortably seated in grandfather s chair we will here bid him farewell may he be as happy ia ruling a people as he was while he tended sheep whose fancy had been greatly taken by the adventurous disposition of sir william was eager to know how he had acted and what happened to him while he held the office of governor but grandfather had made up his mind to tell no more stories for the present by ic s chair s possibly one of these days i may go oa with the adventures of the chair said he but its history becomes very obscure just at this point and i must search into some old books and before proceeding further be sides it is now a good time to pause in our narrative because the new which sir william brought over from england formed a very important epoch in the history of the province really grandfather observed this seems to be the most remarkable chair in the world its history cannot be told without it with the lives of distinguished men and the great events that have befallen the country	35
true replied grandfather smiling we must write a book with some such title as this of mt own times bt grandfather s chair that would be beautiful exclaimed clapping his hands but after all continued grandfather any other old chair if it possessed memory and a hand to write its recollections could record stranger stories than any that i have told you generation to generation a chair sits familiarly in the midst of human interests and is witness to the most secret and confidential intercourse that mortal man can hold with his fellow the by ic human heart may best be read in the fireside and as to external events grief and joy keep a continual around it and within it now we see the glad face and glowing form of joy sitting merrily in the old chair and throwing a warm fire light radiance over all the household now while we thought not of it the dark clad grief has stolen into the place of joy but not to retain it long the imagination can hardly grasp so wide a subject as is embraced in the experience of a family chair it makes my breath flutter my heart thrill to think of it said yes a family chair must have a deeper history than a chair of state o yes cried expressing a woman s feeling on the point in question the history of a country is not nearly so interesting as that of a single family would be but the history of a country is more easily told said grandfather so if we proceed with our narrative of the chair i shall still confine myself to its connection with public events good old grandfather now rose and quitted the room while the children remained gazing at the chair so vivid was his conception of past times would hardly have deemed it strange if its former occupants one after another had resumed the seat which they had each left vacant such a dim length of years ago by ic s tt first the gentle and lovely lady would have been seen in the old chair almost sinking out of its arms for very weakness then in his cloak and band earnest energetic and benevolent then the figure of anne with the like gesture as when she presided at the of women then the dark intellectual face of young in years but in sage counsel old next would have appeared the win and who sat in the chair while it was a chair of state then its ample seat would have been pressed by the comfortable of the honest master then the half shape of mary the persecuted woman clad in and ashes would have rested in it for a moment then the holy form of would have it then would have arisen like the shade of departed the venerable dignity of the white bearded governor lastly on the gorgeous crimson cushion of grandfather s chair would have shone the purple and golden magnificence of sir william but all these with the other historic personages in the midst of whom the chair had so often stood had passed both in substance and shadow from the scene of ages yet here stood the chair with the old coat of by ic grandfather s arms and the flowers and foliage and the fierce lion s head at the summit the whole apparently in as perfect preservation as when it had first been placed in the earl of s hall and what vast changes of society and of nations had been wrought by sudden or by slow degrees since that era this chair had stood firm when the of kings were thought its frame has proved stronger than many frames of government more the thoughtful and boy might have mused but now a large yellow cat a great favorite with all the children leaped in at the open window perceiving that grandfather s chair was empty and having often before experienced its comforts laid herself quietly down upon the cushion and little all laughed at the idea of such a successor to the of old times said little putting out her hand into which the cat laid a velvet you look very wise do tell us a story about grandfather s chair d by grandfather s chair part ii chapter i grandfather dear grandfather cried little pray tell us some more stories about your chair how long a time had fled since the children had felt any curiosity to hear the of this venerable chair s adventures summer was now past and gone and the better part of autumn likewise dreary chill november was howling out of doors and the atmosphere with sudden showers of wintry rain or sometimes with of snow that rattled like small pebbles against the windows when the weather began to grow cool grandfather s chair had been removed from the summer parlor into a smaller and room it now stood by the side of a bright blazing grandfather loved a wood fire far better than a grate of glowing or than the dull heat of an invisible furnace which seems ta by ic think that it has done its duty in merely warming the house but the wood fire is a kindly cheerful spirit with mankind and knowing that to create warmth is but one of the good offices which are expected from it therefore it dances on the hearth and laughs through the room and plays a thousand and throws a joyous glow over all the faces that it in the twilight of the evening the fire grew brighter and more cheerful and thus perhaps there was something in grandfather s heart that cheered him most with its warmth and comfort in the gathering twilight of old age he had been gazing at the red embers as intently as if his past life were all pictured there or as if it were a prospect	35
of the future world little s voice aroused him dear grandfather repeated the little girl more earnestly do talk to us again about your chair and and and little had been attracted to other objects for two or three months past they had in the sunshine of the present and so had forgotten the shadowy region of the past in the midst of which stood grandfather s chair but now in the twilight illuminated l y the flickering blaze of the wood fire they looked at the old chair and thought that it had by ic never before worn such an interesting aspect there it stood in the venerable majesty of more than two hundred years the light from the hearth quivered upon the flowers and c that were wrought into its back and the lion s head at the summit seemed almost to move its jaws and shake its mane does little speak for all of you asked grandfather do you wish me to go on with the adventures of the chair oh yes yes grandfather cried the dear old chair how strange that we should have forgotten it s long oh pray begin grandfather said for i think when we talk about old times it should be in the early evening before the candles are lighted the shapes of the famous persons who once sat in the chair will be more apt to come back and be seen among us in this glimmer and pleasant gloom than they would in the vulgar daylight and besides we can make pictures of all that you tell us among the glowing embers and white ashes our friend too thought the evening the best time to hear grandfather s stories be cause he could not then be playing out of so finding his young unanimous in their petition the good old gentleman took up the narrative of the historic chair at the point where he had it by ic b chapter ii you recollect my dear children said grandfather that we took leave of the chair in while it was occupied by sir william this fortunate treasure you will remember had come over from england with king s commission to be governor of within the limits of this province were now included the old colony of and the of and sir william had likewise brought a new from the king which served instead of a constitution and set forth the method in which the province was to be governed did the new allow the people all their former liberties inquired no replied grandfather under the first the people had been the source of and the rest of them had been by the choice of the people without any interference of the king but henceforth the governor was to hold bis station solely by the king s appointment and during his pleasure and the same was the case with the lieutenant governor and some other high officers the people however were still allowed to choose representatives and the governor s counsel was chosen by the general court would the inhabitants have elected sir by ic s asked if the choice of governor had been left to them he might probably have been a successful can answered grandfather for his adventures and military had gained him a sort of renown which always goes a great way with the people and he had many popular characteristics being a kind warm hearted not ashamed of his low origin nor haughty in his present elevation soon after his arrival h proved that he did not blush to recognize hit former associates how was that inquired he made a grand festival at his new brick house said grandfather and invited all the ship of boston to be his guests at the head of the table in our great chair sat sir himself treating these hard handed men as his brethren jokes with them and talking familiarly about old times i know not whether he wore his embroidered dress but i rather choose to imagine that he had on a suit of rough clothes such as he used to labor while he was the ship carpenter an need not be ashamed of trade observed for the peter the great once served an to it did sir william make as good k governor as he was a carpenter i asked by ic history says but little about his merits as a ship answered grandfather but as a governor a great deal of fault was found with him almost as soon as he assumed the government he became engaged in a very frightful business which might have perplexed a wiser and better cultivated head than his this was the delusion and here grandfather gave his such details of this melancholy as he thought it fit for them to know they shuddered to hear that a frenzy which led to the death of many innocent persons had originated in the wicked arts of a few children they belonged to the rev mr minister of these children complained of being pinched and pricked with pins and otherwise tormented by the shapes of men and women who were supposed to have power to haunt them both in darkness and daylight often in the midst of their family and friends the children would pretend to be seized with strange and would cry out that the were them these stories spread abroad and caused great tumult and alarm from the foundation of new england it had been the custom of the inhabitants in all matters of doubt and difficulty to look to their ministers for counsel so they did now but unfortunately the ministers and wise men were more than the people by ic s cotton a very learned and eminent clergyman believed that the whole country was full of and who had given up their hopes of heaven and signed a with the evil one nobody could be certain that his nearest neighbor or most	35
intimate friend was not guilty of this imaginary crime the number of those who pretended to be by grew daily more numerous and they bore testimony against many of the best and people a minister named george was among the accused in the months of august and september and nineteen other innocent men and women were put to death the place of execution was a high hill on the outskirts of so that many of the as they stood beneath the gallows could discern their own in the town the of these persons seemed only to increase the madness the afflicted now grew bolder in their many people of rank and wealth were either thrown into prison or compelled to flee for their lives among these were two sons of old the last of the mr a pious minister of boston was cried out upon as a in open court mrs hale the wife of the minister of was likewise accused philip english a rich merchant of by ic s chair found it necessary to take flight leaving his property and business in confusion but a short time afterwards the people were glad to invite him back the thing that the did continued grandfather was to cry out against the governor s own beloved wife yes the lady of sir william was accused of being a witch and of flying through the air to attend witch meetings when the governor heard this he probably trembled so that our great chair shook beneath him dear grandfather cried little clinging closer to his knee is it true that ever come in the night time to frighten little children no no dear little replied grandfather even if there were any they would flee away from the presence of a pure hearted child but there are none and our forefathers soon became convinced that they had been led into a terrible delusion all the prisoners on account of were set free but the innocent dead could not be restored to life and the hill where they were executed will always remind people of the and most humiliating passage in our history grandfather then said that the next remarkable event while sir william remained in the chair was the arrival at boston of an by ic s fleet in it brought an army which was intended for the conquest of canada but a malignant disease more fatal than the broke out among the soldiers and sailors and destroyed the greater part of them the spread into the town of boston and made much there this dreadful sickness caused the governor and sir francis who was commander of the british forces to give up all thoughts of attacking canada soon after this said grandfather sir william quarrelled with the captain of an english and also with the of boston being a man of violent temper gave each of them a sound beating with his cane he was a bold fellow observed who was himself somewhat to a similar mode of settling more bold than wise replied grandfather for complaints were carried to the king and sir william was summoned to england to make the best answer he could accordingly he went to london where in he was seized with a malignant fever of which he died had he lived longer he would probably have gone again in search of sunken treasure he had heard of a spanish ship which was cast away in the lifetime of and many other were by ic b s lost ia h r together with the immense wealth of which they had robbed the south american kings why grandfather exclaimed what magnificent ideas the governor had only think of all that old treasure which had lain almost two centuries under the sea sir william ought to have been buried in the ocean when he died that he have gone down among the sunken ships and of treasure which he was always dreaming about in his lifetime he was buried in one of the crowded of london said grandfather as he left no children his estate was inherited by his nephew from whom is descended the present of the noble is not aware perhaps that the prosperity of his family originated in the successful enterprise of a new england ship carpenter d by b chapter iii at the death of sir william proceeded grandfather our chair was to mr a famous school master in boston this old gentleman came from london in and had been teaching school ever since so that there were now aged men like myself to whom master had taught their he was a person of venerable aspect and wore a long white beard was the chair placed in his school asked yes in his school answered grandfather and we may safely say that it had never before been regarded with such awful reverence no not even when the old of sat in it even you my boy would have felt some respect for the chair if you had seen it occupied by this famous and here grandfather endeavored to give his an idea how matters were managed in schools above a hundred years ago as this will probably be an interesting subject to we shall make a separate sketch of it and call it the old fashioned school now imagine yourselves my children in master s school room it is a large by ic s chair dingy room with a floor and is lighted by windows that turn on hinges and have little diamond shaped panes of glass the scholars sit on long benches with before them at one end of the room is a great fire place so very spacious that there is room enough for three or four boys to stand in each of the chimney corners this was the good old fashion of when there was wood in the forests to keep people warm without their digging into the of the earth for	35
coal it is a winter s day when we take our peep into the school room see what great logs of wood have been rolled into the fire place and what a broad bright blaze goes leaping up the chimney and every few moments a vast cloud of smoke is puffed into the room which sails slowly over the heads of the scholars until it gradually settles upon the walls and ceiling they are blackened with the smoke of many years already next look at our old historic chair it is placed you perceive in the most comfortable part of the room where the generous glow of the fire is sufficiently felt without being too intensely hot how stately the old chair looks as if it remembered its many famous occupants but yet were conscious that a greater man is sitting in it now do you see the venerable school master severe in aspect with a black d by by ic d by s chair cap on his head like an ancient and the of his white beard drifting down to his very what boy would dare to play or whisper or even glance aside from his book while master is on the behind his spectacles for such if any such there be a rod of is hanging over the fireplace and a heavy lies on the master s desk and now school is begun what a murmur of tongues like the whispering leaves of a wind stirred oak as the scholars con over their various tasks amid just such a murmur has master spent above sixty years and long habit has made it as pleasant to him as the hum of a bee hive when the insects are busy in the sunshine now a class in latin is called to forth steps a row of queer looking little fellows wearing square skirted coats and small clothes with buttons at the knee they look like so many in their second childhood these lads are to be sent to cambridge and educated for the learned professions old master has lived so long and seen so many generations of school boys grow up to be men that now he can almost what sort of a man each boy will be one shall hereafter be a doctor and administer and and stalk gravely through life with by ic ra another shall at the bar and fight his way to wealth and honors and in his declining age shall be a member of his majesty s council a third and he is the master s favorite shall be a worthy successor to the old ministers now in their graves he shall preach with great and effect and leave volumes of sermons in print and manuscript for the benefit of future generations but as they are merely school boys now their business is to poor whose verses which he took so much pains to polish have been mis and mis and by so many generations of idle there sit down ye two or three of you i fear are doomed to feel the master s next comes a class in these boys are to be the merchants shop and of a future period hitherto they have only in and apples hereafter some will send vessels to england for and all sorts of wares and to the west indies for sugar and rum and coffee others will stand behind and measure and ribbon and by the yard others will the blacksmith s hammer or drive the plane over the carpenter s bench or take the and the and learn the trade of shoe making many will follow the sea and become bold rough sea captains by ic s this class df boys io short must supply the world with those active skilful hands and clear sagacious heads without which the affairs of life would be thrown into confusion by the theories of and visionary men wherefore teach them their table good master and whip them well when they deserve it for much of the country s welfare depends on these boys but alas while we have been thinking of other matters master s watchful eye has caught two boys at play now we shall see awful times the two are summoned before the master s chair wherein he sits with the terror of a judge upon his brow our old chair is now a judgment seat ah master has taken down that terrible rod short is the trial the sentence quickly passed and now the judge to execute it in person in these good old times a school master s blows were well laid on see the rod has lost several of its twigs and will hardly serve for another execution mercy on us what a the make i my ears are almost though the comes through the far length of a hundred and fifty years there go to your seats poor boys and do not cry sweet little for they have ceased to feel the pain a long time since by ic s and thus the away now it is twelve o clock the master looks at his great silver watch and then with tiresome deliberation puts the into his desk the little multitude await the word of dismissal with almost irrepressible impatience you are dismissed says master the boys retire treading softly until they have passed the threshold but fairly out of the school room lo what a joyous shout what a and of feet what a sense of recovered freedom expressed in the merry uproar of all their voices what care they for the and rod now were boys created merely to study latin and no the better purposes of their being are to sport to leap to run to shout to slide upon the ice to snow ball happy boys enjoy your play time now and come again to study and to feel the and	35
the to morrow not till to morrow for to day is thursday lecture and ever since the settlement of there has been no school on thursday therefore sport boys while you may for the morrow with the rod and the and after that another morrow with troubles of its own now the master has set every thing to rights and is ready to go home to dinner yet he goes by ic the old man has spent so much of his life in the smoky noisy that when he has a he feels a if his place were lost and himself a stranger in the but forth he goes and there stands our old chair vacant and solitary till good master his seat in it to morrow morning grandfather said i wonder whether the boys did not use to upset the old chair when the school master was out there is a tradition replied grandfather that one of its arms was in some such manner but i cannot believe that any would behave so as it was now later than little s usual bed time grandfather broke off his narrative promising to talk more about master and his scholars some other evening d by oe s chapter accordingly the next evening grandfather resumed the history of his beloved chair master said he died in after having taught school about seventy years it would require a pretty good scholar in to tell how many he had inflicted and how many rods he had worn out during all that time in his tenderness for his pupils almost all the great men of that period and for many years back had been into eminence by master moreover he had written a which was used in schools more than half a century after his death so that the good old man even in his grave was still the cause of trouble and to idle school boys grandfather proceeded to say that when master died he the chair to the most learned man that was educated at his school or that had ever been born in america this was the renowned cotton minister of the old north church in boston and author of the grandfather which we sometimes see you reading said yes replied grandfather the is a strange history in which true events and real personages move before the by ic reader with the dreamy aspect which they wore in cotton s singular mind huge volume however was written and published before our chair came into his possession but as he was the author of more books than there are days in the year we may conclude that he wrote a great deal while sitting in this chair i am tired of these school masters and learned men said i wish some stirring man that knew how to do something in the world like sir william would sit in the chair such men seldom have leisure to sit quietly in a chair said grandfather we must make the best of such people as we have as cotton was a very distinguished man grandfather took some pains to give the children a lively conception of his character over the door of his library were painted these words be short as a warning to visitors that they must not do the world so much harm as to interrupt this great man s wonderful labors on entering the room you would probably behold it crowded and piled and heaped with books there were huge ponderous and and little in english latin greek hebrew and all other languages that either originated at the confusion of or have since come into use all these books no doubt were tossed about in confusion thus forming a visible emblem of by ic the manner in which their were crowded into c s brain and in the middle of the room stood a table on which besides printed volumes were strewn manuscript sermons historical tracts and political all written in such a queer blind hand that a writing master would have gone mad at the sight of them by this table stood grandfather s chair which seemed already to have contracted an air of deep as if its cushion were stuffed with latin greek hebrew and other hard matters in this chair from one year s end to another sat that prodigious cotton sometimes devouring a great book and sometimes one as big in grandfather s younger days there used to be a wax figure of him in one of the boston representing a solemn dark person in a minister s black gown and with a black letter volume before him it is difficult my children observed grandfather to make you understand such a character as cotton s in whom there was so much good and yet so many and undoubtedly he was a pious man often he kept and once for three whole days he allowed himself not a morsel of food but spent the in prayer and religious meditation many a night did he watch and pray by ic s chair these and made him meagre and haggard and probably caused him to appear as if he hardly belonged to the world was not the delusion partly caused by cotton inquired he was the chief agent of the mischief an grandfather but we will not suppose that he acted otherwise than he believed that there were evil spirits all about the world doubtless he imagined that they were hidden in the corners and of his library and that they peeped out from among the leaves of many of his books as he turned them over at midnight he supposed that these were every where in the sunshine as well as in the darkness and that they were hidden in men s hearts and stole into their most secret thoughts here grandfather was interrupted by little who hid her face in his lap and murmured a wish that he	35
would not talk any more about cotton and the evil spirits grandfather kissed her and told her that angels were the only spirits whom she had any thing to do with he then spoke of the public affairs of the period a new war between france and england had broken out in and had been raging ever since in the course of it new england suffered much injury from the french and indians who often came through the woods from canada by ic and the frontier towns villages sometimes burnt and the inhabitants within a day s ride of boston the people of new england had a bitter hatred against the french not only for the mischief which they did with their own hands but because they the indians to hostility the new knew that they could never dwell in security until the provinces of should be subdued and brought under the english government they frequently in time of war undertook military against and canada and sometimes the by which those were defended but the most earnest wish of their hearts was to take and so get possession of the whole province of canada sir william had once attempted it but without success aud soldiers were often sent from england to assist the in their warlike in port royal a fortress of was taken by the english the next year in the month of june a fleet commanded by admiral sir arrived in boston harbor on board of this fleet was the english general hill with seven of soldiers who had been fighting under the duke of in the government of was called upon to by ic grandfather s chair find provisions for the army and fleet and to raise more men to assist in taking canada what with and of soldiers there was now nothing but warlike bustle in the streets of boston the drum and the rattle of arms and the shouts of boys were heard from morning till night in about a month the fleet set sail carrying four from new england and new york besides the english soldiers the whole army amounted to at least seven thousand men they for the mouth of the river st cotton prayed most fervently for their success continued grandfather both in his pulpit and when he down in the solitude of his library resting his face on our old chair but providence ordered the result otherwise in a few weeks tidings were received that eight or nine of the vessels had been wrecked in the st and that above a thousand drowned soldiers had been washed ashore on the banks of that mighty river after this misfortune sir set sail for england and many pious people began to think it a sin even to wish for the conquest of canada i would never give it up so cried nor did they as we shall see replied grandfather however no more attempts were made during this war which came to a close in the people of new england were probably glad by v grandfather s chair of some repose for their young men had been made soldiers till many of them were fit for nothing else and those who remained at home had been heavily to pay for the arms and all the other endless expenses of a war there was great need of the prayers of cotton and of all pious men not only on account of the sufferings of the people but because the old moral and religious character of new england was in danger of being utterly lost how glorious it would have been remarked if our forefathers could have kept the country with blood yes said grandfather but there was a stern warlike spirit in them from the beginning they seem never to have thought of questioning either the morality or piety of war the next event which grandfather spoke of one that cotton as well as most of the other inhabitants of new england heartily rejoiced at this was the accession of the of to the throne of england in it on the death of anne hitherto the people had been in continual dread that the male line of the who were descended from the king charles and the banished king james would be restored to the throne in that case as the family were roman it was supposed that they by ic s chair would attempt to establish their own religion throughout the british but the of and all his race were so that now the descendants of the old were relieved from many fears and the importance of this event observed grandfather was a thousand times greater than that of a election in our own days if the people dislike their president they may get rid of him in four years whereas a of kings may wear the crown for an unlimited period the german was proclaimed king the balcony of the town house in boston by the title of george the first while the trumpets sounded and the people cried amen that night the town was illuminated and cotton threw aside book and pen and left grandfather s chair vacant while he walked hither and thither to witness the d by chapter v cotton continued grandfather was a bitter enemy to governor and nobody more than he when that was removed from the government and succeeded by colonel this took place in the new governor had been an in the renowned duke of s army and had fought in some of the great battles in now i hope said we shall hear of his doing great things i am afraid you will be disappointed answered grandfather it is true that colonel had probably never led so a life while fighting the french as he did now while governing this province of bay but his troubles consisted almost entirely of with the the king bad ordered him to lay claim to a fixed salary	35
oldest doctor in town contented himself with remarking that no such thing as was mentioned by or and it was impossible that modern should be wiser than those old a second held up his hands in dumb astonishment and horror at the madness of what cotton proposed to do a third told him in pretty plain terms that he knew not what he was talking about a fourth requested in the name of the whole medical that cotton would confine his attention to people s souls and leave the to take care of their bodies in short there was but a single doctor among them all who would grant the poor minister so much as a patient hearing this was doctor he looked into the matter like a man of sense and finding beyond a doubt that had rescued many from death he resolved to try the experiment in his own family and so he did but when the other heard of it they arose in great fury and began a war of words written printed and spoken against cotton and doctor by ic s ton to hear them talk you would have supposed that these two and benevolent men had the ruin of the country the people also took the alarm many who thought themselves more pious than their neighbors that if providence had ordained them to die of the small it was sinful to aim at preventing it the strangest reports were in circulation some said that doctor had contrived a method for conveying the sick headache and all diseases from one n to another and them through the whole community others that the evil one had got possession of cotton and was at the bottom of the whole business you must observe children that cotton s fellow citizens were generally inclined to doubt the wisdom of any measure which he might propose to them they recollected how he had led them astray in the old de and now if he thought and acted ever so wisely it was difficult for him to get the credit of it the people s wrath grew so hot at his attempt to guard them from the small that he could not walk the streets in peace whenever the venerable form of the old minister meagre and haggard with and was seen approaching were and shouts of derision by ic m and and bitter laughter the women snatched away their children from his path lest he should do them a mischief still however bending his head meekly and perhaps stretching out his hands to bless those who him ha pursued his way but the tears came into his eyes to think how blindly the people rejected the means of safety that were offered them indeed there were melancholy sights enough in the streets of boston to draw forth the tears of a compassionate man over the door of au most every dwelling a red flag was fluttering in the air this was the signal that the small had entered the house and attacked some member of the family or perhaps the family old and young were struggling at once with the friends and relatives when they met one another in the streets would hurry onward without a grasp of the hand or scarcely a word of greeting lest they should catch or com the and often a coffin was borne hastily along alas alas said cotton to himself what shall be done for this poor people oh that providence would open their eyes and enable them to discern good from evil so furious however were the people that they threatened vengeance against any person who should dare to practise though by ic s chair it were only in his own family this was a bard case for cotton who saw no other way to rescue his poor child samuel from the disease but he resolved to save him even if his house should be burnt over his head i will not be turned aside said he my shall see that i have faith in this thing when i make the experiment on my beloved son whose life is dearer to me than my own and when i have saved samuel they will be persuaded to save themselves accordingly samuel was and so was mr walter a son in law of cotton doctor likewise many persons and while hundreds died who had caught the from the garments of the sick almost all were preserved who followed the wise physician s advice but the people were not yet convinced of their mistake one night a destructive little instrument called a hand was thrown into cotton s window and rolled under grandfather s chair it was supposed to be filled with the explosion of which would have blown the poor minister to but the best informed are of opinion that the contained only and and was meant to plague cotton with a very evil perfume this is no strange thing in human experience by ic men who attempt to do the world more good than the world is able entirely to comprehend are almost invariably held in bad but yet if the wise and good man can wait awhile either the present generation or posterity will do him justice so it proved in the case which we have been speaking of in after years when was universally practised and thousands were saved from death by it the people remembered old cotton then sleeping in his grave they acknowledged that the very thing for which they had so and persecuted him was the best and wisest thing he ever did grandfather this is not an agreeable story observed no replied grandfather but it is right that you should know what a dark shadow this disease threw over the times of our forefathers and now if you wish to learn more about cotton yon must read his biography written by mr of you will find it very	35
entertaining and instructive but perhaps the writer is somewhat too harsh in his judgment of this singular man he him fairly indeed and understands him well but he his character rather by than by sympathy now his life by ic r s should have been written by one who all his faults would nevertheless love him so grandfather made an end of cotton telling his that he died in at the age of sixty five and the chair to this gentleman was a famous advocate of the people s rights the same year william a son of the celebrated bishop arrived in boston with the commission of governor he was the first that had been appointed since the departure of colonel governor took up his residence with mr while the province house was during this period he was always with a seat in grandfather s chair and so comfortable did he find it that on removing to the province house he could not bear to leave it behind him mr therefore requested his acceptance of it i should think said that the people would have the king always to a native born new to govern them undoubtedly it was a grievance answered grandfather to see men placed in this station who perhaps had neither talents nor virtues to fit them for it and who certainly could have no natural for the country the king generally bestowed the of the american colonies upon or by ic s on at court or officers the people knew that persons would be very to make the good of the country to the wishes of the king the st ii therefore endeavored to keep as much x as possible in their own hands by refusing to settle a fixed salary upon the it was thought better tp pay them according to their deserts did governor work well for his money asked grandfather could not help smiling at the im of s question nevertheless it put the matter in a very plain point of view he then described the character of governor representing him as a good scholar possessed of much ability and likewise of integrity his story affords a striking example how unfortunate it is for a man who is placed as ruler over a country to be compelled to aim at any thing but the good of the people governor was so chained down by his instructions from the king that he could act as be might otherwise have wished consequently his whole term of office was wasted in quarrels with the i am afraid children said grandfather that governor found but little rest or comfort in our old chair here he used to sit dressed in a coat which was made of rough shaggy cloth by ic grandfather s chair outside but of smooth velvet within it was said that his own character resembled that coat for his outward manner was rough but his inward disposition soft and kind it is a pity that such a man could not have been kept free from we but so were his with ihe representatives of the people that he fell into a fever of which he died in the had refused him a salary while alive but they appropriated money enough to give him a splendid and funeral and now grandfather perceived that little had fallen fast asleep with her head upon his indeed as observed she had been sleeping from the time of sir s expedition against until the death of governor a period of about eighteen years and yet after so long a nap sweet little was a golden haired child of scarcely five years old it puts me in mind said of the story of the enchanted princess who slept many a hundred years and awoke as young and beautiful as ever d by grandfather s chapter vi a few evenings afterwards cousin happened to inquire of grandfather the old chair had never been present at a ball at the same time little brought forward a doll with whom she had been holding a long conversation see grandfather cried she did such a pretty lady as this ever sit in your great chair these questions led grandfather to talk about the fashions and manners which now began to be introduced from england into the provinces the simplicity of the good old times was fast disappearing this was partly owing to the increasing number and wealth of the inhabitants and to the additions which they continually received by the arrival and settlement of people from beyond the sea another cause of a and artificial mode of life among those who could afford it was that the example was set by the royal under the old the were the representatives of the people and therefore their way of living had probably been marked by a popular simplicity but now as they represented the person of the king they thought it necessary to preserve the dignity of their station by the practice of high and gorgeous and besides the profitable by v s chair offices under the government were filled by men who had lived in london and had there contracted fashionable and luxurious habits of living which they would not now lay aside the wealthy people of the province them and thus began a general change in social life so my dear said grandfather our chair had entered the province house if often have been present at balls and though i cannot give you a description of any particular one but t doubt not that they very and slaves in gorgeous waited on the guests offered them wine ill of massive silver were there slaves in those days exclaimed yes black slaves and white replied grand father our ancestors not only bought from africa but indians from south america and white people from ireland these last were sold not for life but for a certain number of years in order to pay	35
the expenses of their voyage across the atlantic nothing was common than to see a lot of likely irish girls advertised for sale in the newspapers as for the little negro babies they were offered to be given away like young perhaps would have liked one to with instead of her doll said laughing by ic s but little clasped the doll closer to her bosom now as for this pretty doll my little said grandfather i wish you could have seen what splendid dresses the ladies wore in those times they had and and and and high head dresses and all sorts of fine things and they used to wear of such enormous size that it was quite a journey to walk round them and how did the gentlemen dress asked with full as much magnificence as the ladies answered grandfather for their holiday suits they had coats of figured velvet crimson green blue and all other gay colors embroidered with gold or silver lace their which were five times as large as modern ones were very splendid sometimes the whole waistcoat which came down almost to the knees was made of gold why the must have shone like a golden image said and then continued grandfather they wore various sorts of such as the tie the the the major the the the feather top and the full bottom their three hats were with gold or silver they had shining at the knees of their small clothes and by ic s chair likewise in their shoes they wore swords with beautiful either of silver or sometimes of polished steel with gold oh i should like to wear a sword cried and an embroidered crimson velvet coat said laughing and a gold waistcoat down to your knees and knee and shoe said laughing also and a added little not knowing what was the article of dress which she recommended to our friend grandfather smiled at the idea of s sturdy little figure in such a grotesque he then went on with the history of the chair and told the children that in king george the second appointed to be governor of in place of the deceased governor mr was a native of the province but had spent much of his life in europe the new governor found grandfather s chair in the province house he was struck with its noble and stately aspect but was of opinion that age and hard services had made it scarcely so fit for company as when it stood in the earl of s hall wherefore as governor was fond of splendor he employed a skilful artist to the chair this was by ic grandfather s chair done by and it and by the carved work of the elbows and likewise the flowers of the back the lion s head now shone like a veritable lump of gold finally governor gave the chair a cushion of blue with a rich golden fringe our good old chair being thus proceeded grandfather mt glittered with a great deal more splendor than it had exhibited just a century before when the lady brought it over from england most people it for a chair of the latest london fashion and this may serve for an example that there is almost always an old and time worn substance under all the glittering show of new invention grandfather i cannot see any of the remarked who had been examining the chair very you will not wonder that it has been rubbed off replied grandfather when you hear all the adventures that have since befallen the chair gilded it was and the room in the province house was adorned by it there was not much to interest the children in what happened during the years that governor remained in the chair at first like colonel and governor he was engaged in with the about his salary but as he found it impossible to get a fixed sum he finally obtained the king s leave to by ic accept whatever the chose to give him and thus the people after this long contest for the privilege of their own money as they saw fit the remainder of governor s term of ce was principally taken up in to settle the honest john s shillings had long ago been worn out or lost or melted down again and their place was supplied by bills of paper or which were valued at three pence and upwards the value of these bills kept continually sinking because the real hard money could not be obtained for them they were a great deal worse than the old indian of shells these of the medium were a source of endless plague and perplexity to the rulers and not only in governor days but for many years before and afterwards finally the people suspected that governor was secretly to establish the mode of worship in the provinces there was enough of the old spirit remaining to cause most of the true sons of new england to look with horror upon such an at tempt great exertions were made to induce the king to remove the governor in he was compelled to resign his office and grandfather s chair into the bargain to mr by ic chapter vn william said grandfather had come from england a few years before and be gun to practise law in boston you will think perhaps that as he had been a lawyer the new governor used to sit in our great chair reading heavy law books from morning till night on the contrary he was as stirring and active a governor as ever had even sir william hardly equalled him the first year or two of his administration was spent in trying to the bat in after a peace of more than thirty years war broke out between france and england and i suppose said the went to take canada not exactly said grandfather though	35
went to england and thence was to france on public business meanwhile as had not resigned his office lieutenant governor acted as chief magistrate in his stead d by s chair chapter in the early twilight of eve and and and little hand in hand and stood in a round grandfather s chair they had been joyous throughout that day of mingling together in all kinds of play so that the house had echoed with their airy mirth grandfather too had been happy though not he felt that this was to be set down as one of the good of his life in truth all his former had borne their part in the present one for his years of infancy and youth and manhood with their blessings and their had flitted before him while he sat silently in the great chair vanished scenes had been pictured in the air the forms of departed friends had visited him voices to be heard no more on earth had sent an echo from the infinite and the eternal these shadows if such they were seemed almost as real to him as what was actually present as the merry shouts and laughter of the children as their figures dancing like sunshine before his eyes he felt that the past was not taken from him the happiness of former days was a possession for ever and there was something in the mingled sorrow of his lifetime that became akin to by ic s happiness after being long in the depths of his heart there it a change and grew more precious than pure gold and now came the children somewhat with their wild play and sought the quiet enjoyment of grandfather s talk the good old gentleman rubbed his eyes and smiled round upon them all he was glad as most aged people are to find that he was yet of consequence and could give pleasure to the world after being so merry all day long did these children desire to hear his sober talk oh then old grandfather had yet a place to fill among living men or at least among boys and girls begin quick grandfather cried little for wants to hear you and truly our yellow friend the cat lay upon the hearth rug in the warmth of the fire up her ears and turning her head from the children to and from grandfather to the children as if she felt herself very sympathetic with them all a loud like the singing of a tea kettle or the hum of a spinning wheel that she was as comfortable and happy as a cat could be for had and therefore like grandfather and the children had kept a good does want to hear me said grandfather smiling well we must please if we can by ic grandfather s chair and so he took up the history of the chair from the epoch of the peace of by one of the provisions of the treaty which the new had been at so much pains to take was restored to the king of france the french were afraid that unless their colonies should be better defended than heretofore another war might deprive them of the whole almost as soon as peace was declared therefore they began to build strong in the interior of north america it was strange to behold these warlike castles on the banks of solitary lakes and far in the midst of woods the indian his on lake looked up at the high ram parts of stone piled on stone with and the white flag of france floating above there were similar on lake and near the great falls of and at the sources of the river and all around these and castles lay the eternal forest and the roll of the drum died away in those deep the truth was that the french intended to build all the way from canada to they would then have had a wall of military strength at the back of the english so as completely to hem them in the king of england considered the building of by ic grandfather s chair these as a sufficient cause of war which was accordingly commenced in governor said grandfather had returned to boston in while in paris he bad married a second wife a young french girl and now brought her to the province house but when war was breaking out it was impossible for such a bustling man to stay quietly at home sitting in our old chair with his wife and children round about him he therefore obtained a command in the english forces and what did sir william do asked he staid at home said grandfather and was general of the the of the english army which were now sent across the atlantic would have scorned to fight under the orders of an old american merchant and now began what aged people call the old french it would be going too far astray from the history of our chair to tell you one half of the battles that were fought i cannot even allow myself to describe the bloody defeat of general near the sources of the river in but i must not omit to mention that when the english general was wounded and his army the remains of it were preserved by the skill and of george washington at the mention of this illustrious name the by ic ther s chair started as if a sudden sunlight had gleamed upon the history of their country now that the great had arisen above the horizon among all the events of the old french war grandfather thought that there was none more interesting than the removal of the inhabitants of fr the first settlement of this ancient province of the french in until the present time its people could scarcely ever know what kingdom held dominion over they were a	35
peaceful race taking no delight in warfare and caring nothing for military renown and yet in every war their region was with iron hearted soldiers both french and english who fought one another for the privilege of ill treating these poor harmless sometimes the treaty of peace made them subjects of one king sometimes of another at the peace of had been to england but the french still claimed a large portion of it and built for its defence in these were taken and the whole of was conquered by three thousand men from under the command of general the inhabitants were accused of supplying the french with provisions and c doing other things that their these were probably true observed grandfather for the were by ic grandfather s chair descended from the french and had the friendly feelings towards them that the people of had for the english but punishment was severe the english to tear these poor people from their native homes and scatter them abroad the were about seven thousand in number a considerable part of them were made prisoners and transported to the english colonies all their dwellings and churches were burnt their cattle were killed and the whole country was laid waste so that none of them might find shelter or food in their old homes after the departure of the english one thousand of the prisoners were sent to and grandfather allow ed his fancy to follow them thither and tried to give his an idea of their situation we shall call this passage the story of the a sad day it was for the poor when the armed soldiers drove them at the point of the down to the very sad were they likewise while tossing upon the ocean in the crowded transport vessels but it must have been still when they were landed on the long wharf in boston find left to themselves on a foreign strand then probably they huddled together and by ic grandfather s chair looked into one another s faces for the comfort which was not there hitherto they had been confined on board of separate vessels so that they could not tell whether their relatives and friends were prisoners along with them but now at least they could tell that many had been left behind or transported to other regions now a desolate wife might be heard calling for her husband he alas had gone she knew not whither or perhaps had fled into the woods of and had now returned to weep over the ashes of their dwelling an aged widow was crying out in a lamentable tone for her son whose affectionate toil had supported her for many a year he was not in the crowd of and what could this aged widow do but sink down and die young men and maidens whose hearts had been torn asunder by separation had hoped during the voyage to meet their beloved ones at its close now they began to feel that they were separated for ever and perhaps a little girl a golden haired child of five years old the very picture of our little was weeping and wailing for her mother and found not a soul to give her a kind word oh how many broken bonds of affection were here country lost friends lost their wealth of cottage field and herds all lost together i every tie between these poor by ic s chair and the world seemed to be cut off at once they must have regretted that they had not died before their exile for even the english would not have been so pitiless as to deny them graves in their native soil the dead were happy for they were not while they thus stood upon the wharf the curiosity and of the new england people would naturally lead them into the midst of the poor thrust their heads into the circle wherever two or three of the were conversing together how puzzled did they look at the sound of the french tongue there were seen the new england women too they had just come out of their warm safe homes where every thing was regular and comfortable and where their husbands and children would be with them at nightfall surely they could pity the wretched wives and mothers of or did the sign of the cross which the continually made upon their breasts and which was by the descendants of the did that sign all pity among the spectators too was the noisy brood of boston school boys who came running with laughter and shouts to gaze at this crowd of oddly dressed foreigners at first they danced and around them full of merriment and mischief but the despair of the soon by ic s chair bad its effect upon these thoughtless lads and melted them into tearful sympathy at a little distance from the throng might seen the wealthy and merchants whose stood on long wharf it was to touch these rich men s hearts for they bad all the comforts of the world at their com and when they walked abroad their were seldom moved except by the of the pavement their toes leaning upon their gold headed they watched the scene with an aspect of composure but let us hope they distributed some of superfluous coin among these purchase food and a night s lodging after standing a long time at the end of the wharf gazing as if to catch a glimpse of their lost the strangers began to stray into the town they went we will suppose in parties and groups here a hundred there a score there ten there three or four who possessed some bond of unity among themselves here and there was one who utterly desolate stole away by himself seeking no companionship whither did they go i imagine them wandering about the streets telling the town s in unintelligible	35
words that no earthly affliction ever equalled what had befallen them man s brotherhood with man was by grandfather s chair to make the new understand this language the strangers wanted food some of them sought hospitality at the doors of the stately which then stood in the of street and the north square others were at the humble wooden where dwelt the petty shop and pray heaven that no family in boston turned one of these poor from their door it would be a reproach upon new england a crime worthy of heavy if the aged women and children or even the strong men were allowed to feel the pinch of hunger perhaps some of the in their wanderings through the town found themselves near a large brick edifice which was in fix m the street by an iron railing wrought with fantastic figures they saw a flight of red steps ascending to a above which was a balcony and misery and desolation give the right of free passage every where let us suppose then that they mounted the flight of steps and passed into the province house making their way into one of the apartments beheld a richly clad gentleman seated in a stately chair with upon the carved work of its back and a gilded lion s head at the summit this was governor meditating upon matters of war and state in grandfather s chair by ic if an incident did happen reflecting what a ruin of peaceful and humble hopes had been wrought by the cold policy of the and the iron hand of the warrior might have drawn a deep moral from it it should have taught him that the poor man s hearth s sacred and that armies and nations have no right to it it should have made him feel that england s triumph and increased dominion could not to mankind nor to heaven for the ashes of a single cottage but it is not thus that and warriors grandfather cried with emotion trembling in his voice did iron hearted war itself ever do so hard and cruel a thing as this before you have read in history of whole regions laid waste said grandfather in the removal of the the troops were guilty of no cruelty or outrage except what was inseparable from the measure little whose eyes had all along been full of tears now burst forth a sobbing for grandfather had touched her sympathies more than he intended to think of a whole people in the world said with eyes there never was any thing so sad it was their own fault cried by ic grandfather s chair why did not they fight for the country where they were born then if the worst had happened to them they could only have been killed and buried there they would not have been then certainly their lot was as hard as death said grandfather au that could be done for them in the english provinces was to send them to the or bind them out to task masters and this was the fate of persons who had possessed a comfortable property in their native country some of them found means to for but though it was the land of their forefathers it must have been a foreign land to them those who remained behind always cherished a belief that the king of france would never make peace with england till his poor were restored their country and their homes and did he inquired alas my dear said grandfather it is improbable that the slightest whisper of the woes of ever reached the ears of louis the the grew old in the british provinces and never saw again their descendants remain among us to this day they have forgotten the language of their ancestors and probably retain no tradition of their misfortunes but if i were an by ic can poet i would choose for the subject of my song since grandfather first spoke these words the most famous of american poets has drawn sweet tears from all of us by his beautiful poem of and now having thrown a gentle gloom around the fireside by a story thai made the children feel the blessing of a secure and peaceful hearth grandfather put off the other events of the old french war till the next evening d by chapter ix in the twilight of the succeeding eve when the red beams of the fire were dancing upon the wall the children grandfather to tell them what had next happened to the old chair our chair said grandfather stood all this time in the province house but governor had seldom an opportunity to repose within its arms he was leading his troops through the forest or sailing in a flat boat on lake or sleeping in his tent while the awful of sent its roar through his dreams at one period in the early part of the war had the chief command of all the king s forces in america did his young wife go with him to the war asked i rather imagine replied grandfather that she remained in boston this lady i suppose had our chair all to herself and used to sit in it during those brief intervals when a young french woman can be quiet enough to sit in a chair the people of were never fond of governor s young french wife they had a suspicion that she betrayed the military plans of the english to the of the french armies and was it true inquired probably not said grandfather but the by ic mere suspicion did a great deal of harm partly perhaps for this reason but much more account of his as a general he was deprived of his command in and recalled to england he never afterwards made any figure in public life as grandfather s chair had no properties and did	35
not even run on it be supposed to have marched in person to the old french war but grandfather delayed its momentous history while he touched briefly upon some of the bloody battles and the tidings of which kept continually coming to the ears of the old inhabitants of boston the woods of the north were with fighting men all the indian tribes uplifted their and took part either with the french or english the rattle of and roar of cannon disturbed the ancient quiet of the forest and actually drove the bears and other wild beasts to the more cultivated portion of the country in the vicinity of the the children felt sa if they were transported back to those forgotten times and that the from the army with the news of a battle lost or won might even now be heard galloping through the streets grandfather told them about the battle of george in when the gallant colonel a officer was slain with many of his countrymen but general johnson by ic grandfather s chair and general with their army drove back the enemy and wounded the french leader who was the baron a gold watch from the poor baron is still in existence and still marks each moment of time without complaining of weariness although its hands have been in motion ever since the hour of battle in the first years of the war there were many on the english side among these was the loss of fort in of fort william henry in the following year but the greatest misfortune that the english ing the whole war was the of general with his army from the of in he attempted to storm the walls but a terrible conflict ensued in which more than two thousand englishmen and new were killed or wounded the slain soldiers now lie buried around that ancient fortress when the plough passes over the soil it turns up here and there a bone up to this period none of the english had shown any military talent the earl of and general had each held the chief command at different times but not one of them had won a single important triumph for the british arms this ill success was not owing to the want of means for in general had fifty thousand by ic s soldiers under his command but the french general the famous de possessed a great genius for war and had something within him that taught him how battles were to be won at length in sir was appointed commander in chief of all the british forces in america he was a man of ability and a skilful soldier a plan was now formed for that object which had so long been the darling wish of the new and which their fathers had so many times attempted this was the conquest of canada three separate armies were to enter canada from quarters one of the three commanded by general was to on lake and proceed to the second at the head of which was sir himself was destined to reach the river st by the way of lake and then go down the river to meet the third army this last led by general was to enter the st from the sea and ascend the river to it is to and bis army that england owes one of the most splendid triumphs ever written in her history grandfather described the siege of and told how led his soldiers up a rugged and lofty precipice that rose from the shore of the river to the plain on which the city stood by ic s this bold adventure was achieved in the darkness of night at daybreak tidings were carried to the de that the english army was waiting to give him battle on the plains of this brave french general ordered his drums to strike up and immediately marched to encounter he marched to his own death the battle was the most fierce and terrible that had ever been fought in america general was at the h d of his soldiers and while encouraging them onward received a mortal wound he against a stone in the agonies of death but it seemed as if his spirit could not pass away while the fight yet raged so doubtfully suddenly a shout came across the they flee they flee and for a moment lifted his languid head who flee he inquired the french replied officer then i die satisfied said and expired in the arms of victory if ever a warrior s death were glorious s was so said grandfather and his eye kindled though he was a man of peaceful thoughts and gentle spirit his streamed to the soil he had added to the dominion of britain his dying breath was mingled with his army s shout of victory oh it was a good death to die cried with glistening eyes was it not a good death by ic s chair made no reply for his heart burned within him as the picture of dying on the blood stained field of victory arose to his imagination and yet he had a deep inward consciousness that after all there was a truer glory than could thus be won there were other battles in canada after s victory resumed grandfather but we may consider the old french war as having terminated with this great event the treaty of peace however was not signed until the terms of the treaty were very to the french for all canada and all and the island of cape in short all the that france and england had been fighting about for nearly a hundred years were surrendered to the english so now at last said new england had gained her wish canada was taken and now there was nobody to fight with but the indians said grandfather mentioned two other important events the first	35
certain that it would any other that ever dashed the long slopes of the common as for he happened to be just at this moment about the history of the chair kind old grandfather had made him a present of a volume of engraved portraits representing the features of eminent and famous people of all countries among them found several who had formerly occupied our chair or been connected with its adventures while grandfather walked to and fro across the room the imaginative boy was gazing at the historic chair he endeavored to summon up the portraits which he had seen in his volume and to place them like living figures in the empty seat the old chair has begun another year of its existence to day said we must make haste or it will have a new history to be told before we finish the old one yes my children replied grandfather with k smile and a sigh another year has been added by ic s to those of the two centuries and upward which have passed since the lady brought this chair over from england it is three times as old as your grandfather but a year makes no impression on its frame while it the old man nearer and nearer to the earth so let me go on with my stories i may accordingly grandfather came to the fireside and seated himself in the venerable chair th lion s head looked down with a aspect as the children clustered around the old gentleman s knees it almost seemed as if a real lion were peeping over the back of the chair and smiling at the group of with a sort of lion like little whose fancy often her with singular ideas exclaimed that the lion s head was nodding at her and that it looked as if it were going to open its wide jaws and tell a story but as the lion s head appeared to be in no haste to speak and as there was no record or tradition of its having spoken during the whole existence of the chair grandfather did not consider it worth while to wait d by s chair chapter n my boy said grandfather do you remember who was the last of the chair it was lieutenant governor answered sir francis the new governor had given him the chair instead of putting it away ia the garret of the province house and when we took leave of he was sitting by his fireside and thinking of the past adventures of the chair and of what was to come very well said grandfather and you that this was in or at the close of the old french war now that you may fully comprehend the remaining adventures of the chair i must make some brief remarks on the situation and character of the new england colonies at this period so grandfather spoke of the earnest loyalty of our fathers during the old french war and after the conquest of canada had brought that war to a triumphant close the people loved and the king of england even more than if the ocean had not rolled its waves between him and them for at the distance of three thousand miles they could not discover his bad qualities and their love was increased by the dangers which by ic s chair they had encountered in order to his glory and extend his dominion throughout the war the american had fought side by side with the soldiers of old england and nearly thirty thousand young men had laid down ihe t lives for the honor of king george and the loved him the better because they had done and suffered so much for his sake but there were some circumstances that caused america to feel more independent of england than at an earlier period canada and had now become british provinces and our fathers were no longer afraid of the bands of french and indians who used to assault them in old times for a century and a half this had been the great terror of new england now the old french soldier was from the north for ever and even had it been otherwise the english colonies were growing so and powerful that they might have felt fully able to protect without any help from england there were thoughtful and sagacious men who began to doubt whether a great country like america would always be content to remain under the government of an island three thousand miles away this was the more doubtful because the english parliament had long ago made laws which were intended to be very to england at the expense of by ic by these laws the were forbidden to manufacture articles for their own use or to carry on trade with any nation but the english now continued grandfather if king george the third and his had considered these things wisely they would have taken another course than they did but when they saw how rich and the colonies had grown their first thought was how they might make more profit out of them than heretofore england was in debt at the close of the old french war and it was pretended that this debt had been contracted for the defence of the american colonies and that therefore a part of it ought to be paid by them why this was nonsense exclaimed did not our fathers spend their lives and their money too to get canada for king george true they did said grandfather and they told the english rulers so but the king and his ministers would not listen to good advice in the british parliament passed a stamp act what was that inquired the stamp act replied grandfather was a law by which all deeds bonds and other papers of the same kind were ordered to be marked with the king s stamp and without this	35
mark they were declared and void now in order to get a blank sheet of paper with the by ic s king s stamp upon it people were obliged to pay three pence more than the actual value of the paper and this extra sum of three pence was a tax and was to be paid into the king s treasury i am sure three pence was not worth telling about remarked it was not for three pence nor for any amount of money that america quarrelled with england replied grandfather it was for a great principle the were determined not to be except by their own representatives they said that neither the king and parliament nor any power on earth had a right to take their money out of their pockets unless they freely gave it and rather than pay three pence when it was demanded they resolved to sacrifice all the wealth of the country and their along with it they therefore made a most stubborn resistance to the stamp act that was noble exclaimed i understand how it was if they had quietly paid the tax of three pence they would have ceased to be and would have become of england and so they about a great question of right and wrong and put every thing at stake for it you are right said grandfather and it was really amazing and terrible to see what a change came over the aspect of the by ic by ic d by s chair people the moment the english parliament had passed this oppressive act the former history of our chair my children has given you some idea of what a harsh stern set of men the old were for a good many years back however it had seemed as if these characteristics were disappearing but no sooner did england offer wrong to the colonies than the descendants of the early proved that they had the same kind of temper as their forefathers the moment before new england appeared like an humble and loyal subject of the crown the next instant she showed the grim dark features of an old king resisting grandfather spoke briefly of the public measures that were taken in opposition to the stamp act as this law affected all the american colonies alike it naturally led them to think of consulting together in order to procure its for this purpose the of proposed that from every colony should meet in accordingly nine colonies both northern and southern sent to the city of new york and did they consult about going to war with england asked no answered grandfather a great deal of talking was yet to be done before england and america could come to blows the stated the rights and the of by ic s chair the they sent an petition to the king and a memorial to the parliament that the stamp act might be this was all that the had it in their power to do they might as well have staid at home then said by no means replied grandfather it was a most important and memorable event this first coming together of the american people by their representatives from the north and south if england had been wise she would have trembled at the first word that was spoken in such an assembly these and as grandfather observed were the work of grave thoughtful and prudent men meantime the young and hot headed people went to work in their own way it is probable that the of would have had little or no effect on the british if the violent deeds of the american people had not shown how much excited the people were liberty was soon heard of in england what was liberty tree inquired it was an old elm tree answered grandfather which stood near the corner of street opposite the market under the spreading branches of this great tree the people used to whenever they wished to express their by ic grandfather s chair feelings and opinions thus after a while it seemed as if the liberty of the country was connected with liberty tree it was glorious fruit a tree to bear remarked it bore strange fruit sometimes said grandfather one morning in august two figures were found hanging on the sturdy branches of liberty tree they were dressed in square skirted coats and small clothes and as their hung down over their faces they looked like real men one was intended to represent the earl of who was supposed to have advised the king to tax america the other was for the of a gentleman belonging to one of the most respectable families in what harm had he done inquired the king had appointed him to be of the answered grandfather mr would have made a great deal of money by this business but the people frightened him so much by hanging him in and afterwards by breaking into his house that he promised to have nothing to do with the and au the king s friends throughout america were compelled to make the same promise d by s chapter iii lieutenant grandfather now began to be in our old chair he had formerly b een much respected and beloved by the people and had often proved himself a friend to their interests but the time was come when he could not be a friend to the people without ceasing to be a friend to the king it was pretty generally understood that would act according to the king s wishes or wrong like most of the other gentlemen who held offices under the crown besides as he was brother in law of the people now felt a particular dislike to him i should think said as mn had written the history of our forefathers he would have known what the temper of the people was and so have taken care not to wrong	35
them he trusted in the might of the king of england replied grandfather and thought himself safe under the shelter of the throne if no dispute had arisen between the king the people would have had the r of a wise good and patriotic magistrate but from the time that he took part against the rights of his country the people s love and respect were turned to scorn and hatred and he never had another hour of peace by ic s chair in order to show what a fierce and dangerous spirit was now aroused among the inhabitants grandfather related a passage from history which we shall call the mob oh the evening of the twenty sixth of august a was kindled in king street it high upward and threw a ruddy light over the front of the town house on which was displayed a carved representation of the royal the gilded of the glittered in the blaze the of this was ttie well known signal for the of boston to in the street before the tar barrel s of which the was made were half burnt out a great crowd had come together they were chiefly and men together with many young and all those idle people about town who are for any kind of mischief doubtless some school boys were among them while these rough figures stood round the blazing you might hear them speaking bitter words against the high officers of the province governor and other men whom king george delighted to honor were as to the country now and then perhaps an officer of the crown passed along the street by ic s chair wearing the gold hat white wig and embroidered waistcoat which were the fashion of the day but when the people beheld him they set up a wild and angry howl and their faces had an evil aspect which was made more terrible by the flickering blaze of the i should like to throw the traitor right into that blaze perhaps one fierce would say yes and all his brethren too another might reply and the governor and old into the of it and the earl of along with them muttered a third and burn the whole pack of them under king george s no matter if it him some such expressions as these either shouted aloud or muttered under the breath were doubtless heard in king street the mob meanwhile were growing and and seemed ready even to set the town on fire for the sake of burning the king s friends out of house and home and yet angry as they were they sometimes broke into a loud roar of laughter as if mischief and destruction were their sport but we must now leave the for a time and take a peep into the lieutenant governor s splendid mansion it was a large brick house decorated with and stood in garden court street near the north square by ic s while the angry mob in kin street were shouting his name lieutenant sat quietly in grandfather s chair of the evil that was about to fall upon his head his family were in the room with him he had thrown off his embroidered coat and powdered wig and had on a loose flowing gown and purple velvet cap he had likewise laid aside the cares of state and all the thoughts that had wearied and perplexed him throughout the day perhaps in the enjoyment of his home he had forgotten all about the stamp act and scarcely remembered that there was a king across the ocean who had resolved to make of the new possibly too he had forgotten his own ambition and would not have exchanged his situation at that moment to be governor or even a lord the wax candles were now lighted and showed a handsome room well provided with rich furniture on the walls hung the pictures of s ancestors who had been eminent men in their day and were remembered in the history of the country every object served to mark the residence of a rich aristocratic gentleman who held himself high above the common people and could have nothing to fear from them in a corner of the room thrown carelessly upon a chair were the scarlet by ic grandfather s chair robes of the chief justice this high office as well as those of lieutenant governor and judge of was filled by who or what could disturb the domestic quiet of such a great and powerful personage as now sat in grandfather s chair the lieutenant governor s favorite daughter sat by his side she leaned on the of our great chair and looked up affectionately into her er s face rejoicing to perceive that a quiet smile was on his lips but suddenly a shade came across her countenance she seemed to listen attentively as if to catch a distant sound what is the matter my child inquired father do not you hear a tumult in the streets said she the lieutenant governor listened but his ears were than those of his daughter he could hear nothing more terrible than the sound of a summer breeze sighing among the tops of the elm trees no foolish child he replied patting her cheek there is no tumult our boston are satisfied with what mischief they have already done the king s friends need not tremble so resumed his pleasant and peaceful meditations and again forgot that there were any troubles in the world but his family were alarmed and could not help straining their ears by ic s to catch the slightest sound more and more distinctly they heard shouts and then the of many feet while they were listening one of the neighbors rushed breathless room a mob a terrible mob cried he they have broken into mr s house and into mr s and have made themselves drunk with the	35
in his cellar and now they are coming hither wild as so many flee lieutenant governor for your life for your life father dear father make haste shrieked his children but would not to them he was an old lawyer and he could not realize that the people would do any thing so utterly lawless as to assault him in his peaceful home he was one of king george s chief officers and it would be an insult and outrage upon the king himself if the lieutenant governor should suffer any wrong have no fears on my account said he i am perfectly safe the king s name shall be my protection yet he bade his family retire into one of the neighboring houses his daughter would have remained but he forced her away the and uproar of the mob were now heard close at hand the sound was by ic s terrible and struck with the same sort of dread as if an enraged wild beast had broken loose and were roaring for its prey he crept softly to the window there he beheld an immense of people filling all the street and rolling onward to his house it was like a flood that had swelled beyond its bounds would sweep every thing before it trembled he felt at that moment that the wrath of the people was a thousand fold more terrible than the wrath of a king that was a moment when a and an like might have learned how powerless are kings and great men when the low and humble range themselves against them king george could do nothing for his servant now had king george there he could have done nothing for himself if had understood this lesson and remembered it he need not in after years have been an exile from his native country nor finally have laid his bones in a distant land there was now a rush against the doors of the house the people sent up a hoarse cry at this instant the lieutenant governor s daughter whom he had supposed to be in a place of safety ran into the room and threw her arms around him she had returned by a private entrance father are you mad cried she will the by ic s king s name protect you now come with me or they will have your life true muttered to himself what care these for the name of king i must flee or they will me down on the door of my own dwelling hurrying away he and his daughter made their escape by the private passage at the moment when the broke into the house the foremost of them rushed up the staircase and entered the room which had just quitted there they beheld our good old chair facing them with quiet dignity while the lion s head seemed to move its jaws in the unsteady light of their perhaps the stately aspect of our venerable friend which had stood firm through a century and a half of trouble arrested them for an instant but they were thrust forward by those behind and the chair lay then began the work of destruction the carved and polished mahogany tables were shattered with heavy clubs and to with the marble and were broken the volumes of s library so precious to a man were torn out of their covers and the leaves sent flying out of the windows containing secrets of our country s history which are now lost for ever were scattered to the winds by s chair the old portraits whose fixed looked down on the wild scene were rent from the walls the mob in their and destruction as if these pictures of s forefathers had committed the same as their a tall looking glass which had hitherto presented a of the enraged and drunken multitude was now smashed into a thousand we gladly dismiss the scene from the mirror of oar fancy before morning dawned the walls of the house were all that remained the interior was b dismal scene of ruin a shower in at the windows and when and his family returned they stood shivering in the room where the last evening had seen them so peaceful and happy grandfather said indignantly if the people acted in this manner they were not of even so much liberty as the king of england was willing to allow them it was a most act like many other popular movements at that time replied grandfather but we must not decide against the justice of the people s cause merely because an excited mob was guilty of outrageous violence besides all these things were done in the first fury of resentment afterwards the by ic s h ib sl people grew more calm and were more by the counsel of those wise and good men who conducted them safely and through the revolution little with tears in her blue eyes said that she hoped the neighbors had not let tenant governor and his family be in the street but had taken them into their houses and been kind to them the perilous situation of our beloved chair inquired what had become of it nothing was heard of our chair for some time afterwards answered grandfather om day in september the same of whom i before told you was summoned to appear at high noon under liberty tree was the strangest that had ever heard of for it wa issued in the name of th whole people who thus took upon the authority of a sovereign power mr dared not accordingly at the appointed hour he went much against his will to liberty tree here interposed a remark that poor mr found but little liberty under liberty tree grandfather assented it was a stormy day continued he the gale blew violently and scattered the yellow leaves of liberty tree all along the street mr s wig was	35
dripping with water drops by ic s and he probably looked haggard and to the earth beneath the tree in grandfather s chair our own venerable chair sat mr richard a justice of the peace he administered an oath to mr that he would never have any thing to do with the a vast of people heard the oath and shouted when it was taken there is something grand in this said i like it because the people seem to have acted with and dignity and this proud gentleman one of his majesty s high officers was made to feel that king george could not protect him in doing wrong but it was a sad day for poor mr observed grandfather from his youth upward it had probably been the great principle of his life to be faithful and obedient to the king and now in his old age it must have puzzled and distracted him to find the sovereign people setting up a claim to his faith and obedience grandfather closed the evening s conversation by saying that the discontent of america was so great that in the british parliament was compelled to the stamp act the people made great but took care to keep liberty tree well and free from and worms they foresaw that there might yet be occasion for them to under its far projecting shadow by ic s chapter iv the next evening who remembered that our chair had been left standing in the rain under liberty tree earnestly grandfather to tell when and where it had next found shelter perhaps she was afraid that the venerable chair by being exposed to the of a september gale might get the in its aged joints the chair said grandfather after the of mr s oath appears to have been quite forgotten by the multitude indeed being much bruised and rather owing to the violent treatment it had suffered from the mob most people would have thought that its days of usefulness oyer nevertheless it was conveyed away under cover of the night and committed to the care of a skilful he our old friend so successfully that in the course of a few days it made its ap in the public room of the british coffee house in king street but why did not mr get possession of it again inquired i know not answered grandfather he considered it a and disgrace to the hair to have stood under liberty tree at all events he suffered it to remain at the british coffee house which was the principal hotel in by ic boston it could not possibly have found a situation where it would be more in the midst of business and bustle or would witness more important events or be occupied by a greater variety of persons grandfather went on to tell the proceedings of the king and of england after the of the stamp act they could not to think that their right to tax america should be disputed by the people in the year therefore they caused parliament to pass an act for laying a duty on tea and some other that were in general use nobody could now buy a pound of tea without paying a to king george this scheme was pretty contrived for the women of america were very fond of tea and did not like to give up the use of it but the people were as much opposed to this new act of parliament as they had been to the stamp act england however was determined that they should submit in order to compel their obedience two consisting of more than seven hundred british soldiers were sent to boston they arrived in september and were landed on long wharf thence they marched to the common with loaded fixed and great pomp and parade so now at last the free town of boston was guarded and by red coats as it had been in the days of old sir by v in the month of november arrived there were now four thousand troops in boston the common was with their tents some of the soldiers were lodged in hall which the inhabitants looked upon as a consecrated place because it been the scene of a great many meetings in favor of liberty one regiment was placed in the town house which we now call the old state house the lower flower of this edifice had hitherto been used by the merchants as an exchange in the upper stories were the chambers of the judges the representatives and the governor s council the venerable could not to consult about the welfare of the province without being by and pass ing among the of the british soldiers likewise were posted at the lodgings of the officers in many parts of the town when the inhabitants approached they were greeted by the sharp question who goes there while the rattle of the soldier s was heard as he presented it against their breasts there was no quiet even on the sabbath day the of the were shocked by the uproar of military music the drum and drowning the holy organ peal and the voices of the singers it would appear as if the british took every method to insult the feelings of the people by ic s grandfather cried impatiently the people did not go to fighting half soon enough these british red coats ought to have been driven back to their vessels the very moment they landed on long wharf many a hot headed young man said the same as you do answered grandfather but the elder and wiser people saw that the time was not yet come meanwhile let us take another peep at our old chair ah it drooped its head i know said when it saw how the province was disgraced its old friends never would have borne such doings the chair proceeded grandfather was	35
now continually occupied by some of the high as the king s friends were called who frequented the british coffee house officers of the too which stood on the opposite side of king street often sat in the chair their tongues against john why against him asked because he was a great merchant and against paying duties to the king said grandfather well frequently no doubt the officers of the british when not on duty used to fling themselves into the arms of our venerable chair fancy one of them a red captain in his scarlet uniform playing with the of by ic s his sword and making a circle of his brother officers merry with ridiculous jokes at the expense of the poor and perhaps he would call for a bottle of wine or a steaming bowl of and drink confusion to all our grave old chair must have been at such scenes observed the chair that had been the lady and which the holy had consecrated it certainly was little less than replied grandfather but the time was coming when even the churches where had long preached the word of god were to be torn down or by the british troops some years passed however before such things were done grandfather now told his that in sir francis went to england after having been governor of ten years he was a gentleman of many good qualities an excellent scholar and a friend to learning but he was naturally of an arbitrary disposition and he had been bred at the university of oxford where young men were taught that the divine right of kings was the only thing to be regarded in matters of government such ideas were ill adapted to please the people of they rejoiced to get rid of sir francis but liked his successor lieutenant governor no better than himself by ic s about this period the people were at an act committed by a person who held an office in custom house some lads or young men were his windows he fired a at them and killed a poor german boy only eleven years old this event made a great noise in town and country and much increased the resentment that was already felt against the servants of the crown now children said grandfather i wish to make you comprehend the position of the british troops in king street this is the same which we now call state street on the south side of the town house or old state house was what military men call a court of guard defended by two brass which pointed directly at one of the doors of the above edifice a large party of soldiers were always stationed in the court of guard the custom house stood at a little dis i down king street nearly where the bank now stands and a was continually before its front i shall remember this to morrow said and i will go to street so as to see exactly where the british troops were stationed and before long observed grandfather i shall have to relate an event which made king street sadly famous on both sides of the atlantic the history of our chair will soon bring us to this melancholy business by ic s here grandfather described the state of things which arose from the ill will that existed between the inhabitants and the red coats the old and sober part of the town a people were very angry at the government for sending soldiers to over awe them but those gray headed men were and kept their thoughts and feelings in their own breasts without putting themselves in the way of the british the younger people however could hardly be kept within such prudent limits they red with wrath at the very sight of a soldier and would have been willing to come to with them at any moment for it was their opinion that every tap of a british drum within the of boston was an insult to the brave old town it was sometimes the case continued that happened between such wild young men as these and small parties of the soldiers no weapons had hitherto been used except fists or but when men have loaded in their hands it is easy to that they will soon be turned against the of those who provoke their anger grandfather said little looking fearfully into his face your voice sounds as though you were going to tell us something awful d by s chapter v little by her last remark proved her self a good judge of what was expressed by the tones of grandfather s voice he had given the above description of the enmity between the town s people and the soldiers in order to prepare the minds of his for a very terrible event it was one that did more to the quarrel between england and america than any thing that had yet occurred without further preface grandfather began the story of the boston it was now the d of march the sunset music of the british was heard as usual throughout the town the shrill and rattling drum awoke the echoes in king street while the last ray of sunshine was lingering on the of the town house and now all the were posted one of them marched up and down before the custom house treading a short path through the snow and longing for the time when he would be dismissed to the warm fireside of the guard room meanwhile captain was perhaps sitting in our great chair before the hearth of the british house in the course of the evening there were two or three slight which by ic seemed to indicate that trouble was at hand small parties of young men stood at the corners of the streets or walked along the narrow of soldiers who were dismissed from duty passed by them	35
shoulder to shoulder with the regular step which they had learned at the whenever these took it appeared to be the object of the young men to treat the soldiers with as much as possible turn out you backs one would say crowd them oflf the side walks another would cry a red coat has no right in boston streets oh you rebel perhaps the soldiers would reply glaring fiercely at the young men some day or other we ll make our way through boston streets at the point of the once or twice such as these brought on a which passed oflf however without much notice about eight o clock for some unknown cause an alarm bell rang loudly and hurriedly at the sound many people ran out of their houses supposing it to be an alarm of fire but there were no flames to be seen nor was there any smell of smoke in the clear frosty air so that most of the went back to their own and sat talking with their wives and children about the of the times by ic others who were younger and less r in the streets for there seems to hare been a that some strange event was on the eve of taking place later in the evening not far from nine o clock several young men passed by the town house and walked down king street the was still on his post in front of the custom pacing to and fro while as he a gleam of light from some neighboring window glittered on the barrel of his at no great distance were the and the where his were probably stories of battle and down towards the custom house as i told you came a party of wild young men when they drew near the he halted on his post and took his from his shoulder ready to present the at their breasts who go s there he cried in the tones of a soldier s challenge the young men being boston boys felt as if they had a right to walk their own streets without being to a british red coat even though he them in king george s name they made some rude answer to the there was a dispute or perhaps a other soldiers heard the noise and ran hastily from the to assist their comrade at the same time many of the town s people by grandfather s chair rushed into king street by various avenues and gathered in a crowd round about the it seemed wonderful how such a multitude had started up all of a sudden the wrongs and which the people had been suffering for many months now kindled them into a rage they threw snow balls and of ice at the soldiers as the tumult grew louder it reached the ears of captain the officer of the day he immediately ordered eight soldiers of the main guard to take their and follow him they marched across the street forcing their way roughly through the crowd and the town with their a gentleman it was henry afterwards general of the american caught captain s arm for heaven s sake sir exclaimed he take heed what you do or here will be stand aside answered captain do not interfere sir leave me to manage the affair arriving at the s post captain drew up his men in a with their faces to the crowd and their rear to the when the people saw the officer and beheld the threatening attitude with which the soldiers them their rage became almost by ic fire you backs some you dare not fire you cowardly red coats cried others rush upon them shouted many voices drive the to their down with them down with them let them fire if they dare amid the uproar the soldiers stood glaring at the people with the of men whose trade was to shed blood oh what a crisis had now arrived up to this very moment the angry feelings between england and america might have been england had but to stretch out the hand of reconciliation and acknowledge that she had hitherto mistaken her rights but would do so no more then the ancient bonds of brotherhood would again have been knit together as firmly as in old times the habit of loyalty which had grown as strong as instinct was not utterly overcome the perils shared the won in the old french war when the soldiers of the colonies fought side by side with their comrades from beyond the sea were yet england was still that beloved country which the called their home king george though he had frowned upon america was still as a father but should the king s soldiers shed one drop of american blood then it was a quarrel to by ic s chair the death never never would america rest satisfied until she had torn down the royal authority and trampled it in the dust fire if you dare hoarsely shouted the people while the of the were turned upon them you dare not fire they appeared ready to rush upon the captain waved his sword and uttered a command which could not be distinctly heard amid the uproar of shouts that issued from a hundred throats but his soldiers deemed that he had spoken the fatal fire the flash of their lighted up the street and the report rang loudly the it was said too that the figure of a man with a cloth hanging down over his face was seen to step into the balcony of the and discharge a at the crowd a of smoke had the scene it rose heavily as if it were to reveal the dreadful spectacle beneath it eleven of the sons of new england lay stretched upon the street some sorely wounded were struggling to rise again others stirred not nor groaned for	35
they were past all pain blood was streaming upon the snow and that purple stain in the midst of king street though it melted away in the next day s sun was never forgotten nor forgiven by the people d by c s chair grandfather was interrupted by the violent sobs of little in his earnestness he had neglected to soften down the narrative so that it might not the heart of this infant since grandfather began the history of our chair little had listened to many tales of war but probably the idea had never really impressed itself upon her mind that men have shed the blood of their fellow creatures and now that this idea was forcibly presented to her it affected the sweet child with bewilderment and horror i ought to have remembered our dear little said grandfather reproachfully to himself oh what a pity her heavenly nature has now received its first impression of earthly sin and violence well take her to bed and comfort her heaven grant that she may dream away the recollection of the boston grandfather said when and little had retired did not the people rush upon the soldiers and take revenge the town drums beat to arms replied grandfather the alarm bells rang and an immense multitude rushed into king street many of them had weapons in their hands the british prepared to defend themselves a whole regiment was drawn up in the street expecting an attack for the appeared ready to throw themselves upon the by ic and how did it end asked governor hurried to the spot said grandfather and the people to have patience promising that strict justice should be done a day or two afterward the british troops were withdrawn from town and stationed at castle william captain and the eight soldiers were tried for murder but none of them were found guilty the judges told the jury that the and violence which had been offered to the soldiers justified them in firing at the mob the revolution observed who had said but little during the evening was not such a calm majestic movement as i supposed i do not love to hear of and in the street these things were unworthy of the people when they had such a great object to accomplish nevertheless the world has seen no movement than that of our revolution from first to last said grandfather the people to a man were full of a great and noble sentiment true there may be much fault to find with their mode of expressing this sentiment but they knew no better the necessity was upon them to act out their feelings in the best manner they could we must forgive what was wrong in their actions and look into their hearts and minds for the honorable motives that impelled them by ic s chair and i suppose said there were men who knew how to act of what they felt there were many such replied grandfather and we will speak of some of them hereafter grandfather here made a pause that night had a dream about the boston and thought that he himself was in the crowd and struck down captain with a great club dreamed that he was sitting in our great chair at the window of the british coffee house and beheld the whole scene which grandfather had described it seemed to him in his dream that if the town s people and the soldiers would but have heard him speak a single word all the slaughter might have been averted but there was such an uproar that it drowned his voice the next morning the two boys went together to state street and stood on the very spot where the first blood of the revolution had been shed the old state house was still there presenting almost the same aspect that it had worn on that memorable evening one and seventy years ago it is the sole remaining witness of the boston d by grandfather s chair chapter vi the next evening the lamp was lighted earlier than usual because was engaged in looking over the collection of portraits which had been his new year s gift from grandfather among them he found the features of more than one famous personage who had been connected with the adventures of our old chair grandfather bade him draw the table nearer to the fireside and they looked over the portraits together while and likewise lent their attention as for little she sat in grandfather s lap and seemed to see the very men alive whose faces were there represented turning over the volume came to the portrait of a stern grim looking man in plain attire of much more modern fashion than that of the old but the face might well have one of those iron hearted men beneath the portrait was the name of samuel he was a man of great note in all the doings that brought about the revolution said grandfather his character was such that it seemed as if one of the ancient had been sent back to earth to the people s hearts with the same of tyranny that had distinguished the earliest he was as religious as they as stern and and as deeply by ic grandfather s chair with principles he better than any one else may be taken as a representative of the people of new england and of the spirit with which they engaged in the struggle he was a poor man and earned his bread by an humble occupation but with his tongue and pen he made the king of england tremble on his throne remember him my children as one of the strong men of our country here is one whose looks show a very character observed turning to the portrait of john i should think by his splendid dress and aspect that he was one of the king s	35
friends there never was a greater contrast than between samuel and john said grandfather yet they were of the same side in politics and had an equal agency in the revolution was born to the inheritance of the largest fortune in new england his tastes and habits were aristocratic he loved gorgeous attire a splendid mansion magnificent furniture stately and all that was glittering and in external things his manners were so polished that there stood not a nobleman at the of king george s throne who was a more skilful than john might have been nevertheless he in his embroidered clothes and samuel in his by ic coat wrought together iii the cause of liberty acted from pure and rigid principle though he loved his country yet thought quite as much of his own popularity as he did of the people s rights it is remarkable that these two men so very as i describe them were the only two from pardon by the king s on the next leaf of the book was the portrait of general joseph recognized the name and said that here was a greater man than either or was an eloquent and able replied grandfather he deserves a lasting memory for his zealous efforts in behalf of liberty no man s voice was more powerful in joseph s if his death had not happened so early in the contest he would probably have gained a high name as a soldier the next portrait was a venerable man who held his thumb under his chin and through his spectacles appeared to be attentively reading a manuscript here we see the most illustrious boston boy that ever lived said grandfather this is but i will not try to into a few sentences the character of the sage who as a frenchman expressed it snatched the lightning from the sky and the by ic from a tyrant mr sparks must help you to the knowledge of the book likewise contained portraits of james and both of them grandfather observed were men of wonderful talents and true patriotism their voices were like the stirring tones of a trumpet the country to defend its freedom heaven seemed to have provided a greater number of eloquent men than had appeared at any other period in order that the people might be fully instructed as to their wrongs and the method of resistance it is marvellous said grandfather to see how many powerful writers and soldiers started up just at the time when they were wanted there was a man for every kind of work it is equally wonderful that men of such different characters were all made to unite in the one object of establishing the freedom and independence of america there was an providence above them here was another great man remarked pointing to the portrait of john yes an earnest warm tempered honest and most able man said grandfather at the period of which we are now speaking he was a lawyer in boston he was destined in after years to be ruler over the whole american people whom he contributed so much to form a nation by ic s chair grandfather here remarked that many a new who had passed his boyhood and youth in obscurity afterward attained to a fortune which he never could have foreseen even in his most ambitious dreams john the second president of the united states and the equal of crowned kings was once a and country lawyer the first of the declaration of independence served his with a merchant samuel afterwards governor of was a small and a tax general was a physician general a farmer and general a general the best soldier except washington in the army was a and a blacksmith all these became illustrious men and can never be forgotten in american history and any boy who is born in america may look forward to the same things said our ambitious friend after these observations grandfather drew the book of portraits towards him and showed the children several british and members of parliament who had exerted themselves either for or against the rights of america there were the earl of mr and lord north these were looked upon as deadly enemies to our country by ic grandfather s chair among the friends of america was mr afterward earl of who spent so much of his wondrous eloquence in to warn england of the consequences of her injustice he fell down on the floor of the house of lords after uttering almost his dying words in defence of our privileges as there was one of the wisest men and greatest that ever the world produced there was colonel who had been among our fathers and knew that they had courage enough to die for their rights there was charles james fox who never rested until he had silenced our enemies in the house of com it is very remarkable to observe how many of the in the british parliament were favorable to america said grandfather we ought to remember these great englishmen with gratitude for their speeches encouraged our fathers almost as much as those of our own in hall and under liberty tree opinions which might have been received with doubt if expressed only by a native american were set down as true beyond dispute when they came from the lips of or fox but grandfather asked were there no able and eloquent men in this country who took the part of king george by ic grandfather s chair there were men of talent who said what they could in defence of the king s proceedings replied grandfather but they had the worst side of the argument and therefore seldom said any thing worth remembering moreover their hearts were faint and feeble for they felt that the people scorned and detested them they had no friends no defence except in the of the british troops a fell upon	35
all their faculties because they were against the rights of their own native land what were the names of some of them inquired governor chief justice judge the reverend and several other were among the most noted answered grandfather i wish the people had and every man of them cried that wish is very wrong said grandfather you must not think that there was no integrity and honor except among those who stood up for the freedom of america for aught i know there was quite as much of these qualities on one side as on the other do you see nothing admirable in a faithful to an cause can you not respect that principle of loyalty which made the give up country friends fortune every thing by ic rather than be false to th ir king it was a mistaken principle but many of them cherished it and were to it oh i was wrong said and i would risk my life rather than one of those good old should be and the time is now come when we may judge fairly of them continued grandfather be the good and true men among them honored for they were as much our countrymen as the were and thank heaven our country need not be ashamed of her sons of most of them at least whatever side they took in the contest among the portraits was one of king george the third little clapped her hands and seemed pleased with the bluff good nature of his but thought it strange that a man with such a face indicating hardly a common share of intellect should have had influence enough on human affairs to the world with war grandfather observed that this poor king had always appeared to him one of the most unfortunate persons that ever lived he was so honest and conscientious that if he had been only a private man his life would probably have been and happy but his was that worst of fortunes to be placed in a station far beyond his abilities by ic and so said grandfather his life while he retained what intellect heaven had gifted him with was one long mortification at last he grew with care and trouble for nearly twenty years the monarch of england was confined as a madman in his old age too god took away his so that his royal palace was nothing to him but a dark d by s chapter vn our old chair resumed grandfather did not now stand in the midst of a gay circle of british officers the troops as i told you had been removed to castle william immediately after the boston still however there were many custom house officers and englishmen who used to in the british coffee house and talk over the affairs of the period matters grew worse and worse and in the people did a deed which the king and more than any of their former doings grandfather here described the affair which is known by the name of the boston tea party the americans for some time past had left off tea on account of the oppressive tax the east india company in london had a large stock of tea on hand which they had expected to sell to the americans but could find no market for it but after a while the government persuaded this company of merchants to send the tea to america how odd it is observed that the liberties of america should liave had any thing to do with a cup of tea grandfather smiled and proceeded with his narrative when the people of boston heard that several of tea were coming across d by the atlantic they held a great many meetings at hall in the old south church and under liberty tree in the midst of their three ships arrived in the harbor with the tea on board the people spent more than a fortnight in consulting what should be done at last on the th of december they demanded of governor that he should immediately send the ships back to england the governor replied that the ships must not leave the harbor until the custom house duties upon the tea should be paid now the payment of these duties was the very thing against which the people had set their faces because it was a tax imposed upon america by the english government therefore in the dusk of the evening as soon as governor s reply was received an immense crowd hastened to s wharf where the tea ships lay the place is now called liverpool wharf when the crowd reached the said grandfather they saw that a set of wild looking figures were already on board of the ships you would have imagined that the indian warriors of old times had come back again j for they wore the indian dress and had their faces covered with red and black paint like the indians when they go to war these grim figures hoisted the tea on the decks of the by ic s broke them open and threw all the contents into the harbor grandfather said little i suppose indians don t love tea else they would never waste it so they were not real indians my child answered grandfather they were white men in disguise because a heavy punishment would have been inflicted on them if the king s had found who they were but it was never known from that day to this though the matter has been talked of by all the world nobody can tell the names of those indian figures some people say that there were very famous men among them who afterwards became and whether this be true i cannot tell when tidings of this bold deed were carried to england king george was greatly enraged parliament immediately passed an act by which all vessels were forbidden to take in or	35
discharge their at the port of boston in this way they expected to ruin all the merchants and starve the poor people by them of employment at the same time another act was passed taking away many rights and privileges which had been granted in the of governor soon afterward was summoned to england in order that he might d by s give his advice about the management of american affairs general an officer of the old french war and since commander in chief of the british forces in america was appointed governor in his stead one of his first acts was to make instead of boston the metropolis of by the general court to meet there according to grandfather s description this was the most gloomy time that had ever seen the people groaned under as heavy a tyranny as in the days of sir boston looked as if it were afflicted with some dreadful so sad were the inhabitants and so desolate the streets there was no cheerful hum of business the merchants shut up their and the laboring men stood idle about the but all america felt interested in the good town of boston and were raised in many places for the relief of the poor inhabitants our dear old chair exclaimed how dismal it must have been now oh replied grandfather a gay throng of officers had now come back to the british coffee house so that the old chair had no lack of company soon after general became governor a great many troops had arrived and were upon the common boston was now a and fortified town by ic s chair for the general had built a battery across the neck on the road to and placed guards for its defence every thing looked as if a civil war were close at hand did the people make ready to fight asked a continental assembled at philadelphia said grandfather and proposed such measures as they thought most to the public good a provincial was likewise chosen in they the people to arm and discipline themselves a great number of minute were the americans called them minute men because they engaged to be ready to fight at a minute s warning the english officers laughed and said that the name was a very proper one because the minute men would nm away the minute they saw the enemy whether they would fight or run was soon to be proved grandfather told the children that the first open resistance offered to the british troops in the province of was at colonel with thirty or forty men prevented the english colonel with four times as many regular soldiers from taking possession of some military stores no blood was shed on this occasion but soon afterward it began to flow general sent eight hundred soldiers to by ic s chair about eighteen miles from boston to destroy some and provisions which the had collected there they set out on their march in the evening of the th of april the next morning the general sent lord with nine hundred men to strengthen the troops that had gone before all that day the inhabitants of boston heard various some said that the british were ing great slaughter among our countrymen others affirmed that every man had turned out with his and that not a single soldier would ever get back to boston it was after sunset continued grandfather when the troops who had marched forth so proudly were seen entering they were covered with dust and so hot and weary that their tongues hung out of their mouths many of them were faint with wounds they had not all returned nearly three hundred were dead or dying along the road from the had risen upon the and driven them back was this the battle of asked yes replied grandfather it was so called because the british without provocation had fired upon a party of minute men near meeting house and killed eight of them that fatal which was fired by order of by v grandfather s chair major began the war of the revolution about this time if grandfather had been correctly informed our chair disappeared from the british coffee house the manner of its departure cannot be satisfactorily ascertained perhaps the keeper of the coffee house turned it out of doors on account of its old fashioned aspect perhaps he sold it as a curiosity perhaps it was taken without leave by some person who regarded it as public property because it had once figured under liberty tree or perhaps the old chair being of a disposition had made use of its four legs and run away from the seat of war it would have made a terrible over the pavement said laughing meanwhile continued grandfather during the mysterious non appearance of our chair an army of twenty thousand men had started up and come to the siege of boston general and his troops were up within the narrow of the on the th of the famous battle of hill was fought here general fell the british got the victory indeed but with the loss of more than a thousand officers and men grandfather cried you must tell us about that famous battle no said grandfather i am not like by v chair other battles shall not hold a place in the history of our quiet and comfortable old chair but to morrow evening and yourself and dear little too shall visit the of hill th re you shall see the whole business the burning of and all with your own eyes and hear the cannon and with your own ears d by s chair chapter viii thb next evening but one when the children had given grandfather a full account of the of hill they entreated him not to keep them any longer in suspense about the fate of his chair the reader will recollect that at	35
the last accounts it had trotted away upon its poor old legs nobody knew whither but before gratifying their curiosity grandfather foimd it necessary to say something about public events the continental which was assembled at philadelphia was composed of from all the colonies they had now appointed george washington of virginia to be commander in chief of all the american armies he was at that time a member of but immediately left philadelphia and began his journey to on the d of july he arrived at cambridge and took command of the troops which were general o grandfather exclaimed it makes my heart throb to think what is coming now we are to see general washington himself the children crowded around grandfather and looked earnestly into his face even little opened her sweet blue eyes with her lips apart by ic grandfather s chair and almost held her breath to listen so instinctive is the reverence of childhood for the father of his country grandfather paused a moment for he felt as if it might be to introduce the shade of washington into a history where an ancient elbow chair occupied the most prominent place however he determined to proceed with his narrative and speak of the hero when it was needful but with an simplicity so grandfather told his that on general washington s arrival at cambridge his first care was to the british troops with his spy glass and to examine the condition of his own army he found that the american troops amounted to about fourteen thousand men they were extended all round the of boston a space of twelve miles from the high grounds of on the right to mystic river on the left some were living in tents of some in rudely constructed of boards some in huts of stone or turf with curious windows and doors of basket work in order to be near the centre and the whole of this wide stretched army the commander in chief made his head quarters at cambridge about half a mile from the a mansion house which perhaps had been the country seat of some tory gentleman was provided for his residence by ic s chair when general washington first entered thb mansion said grandfather he was ushered up the staircase and shown into a handsome apartment he sat down in a large chair which was the most conspicuous object in the room the noble figure of washington would have done honor to a throne as he sat there with his hand resting on the of his sword which was placed between his knees his whole aspect well the chosen man on whom his country leaned for the defence of her dearest rights america seemed safe under his protection his face wa than any had ever wrought in marble none could behold him without awe and reverence never before had the lion s head at the summit of the looked down upon such a face and form as washington s why grandfather cried clasping her hands in amazement was it really so did general washington sit in our great chair i knew how it would be said i foresaw it the moment grandfather began to speak grandfather smiled but turning from the personal and domestic life of the illustrious leader he spoke of the methods which washington adopted to win back the metropolis of new england from the british the army when he took command of it was by v grandfather s chair without any discipline or order the considered themselves as good as their officers and seldom thought it necessary to obey their commands unless they understood the why and wherefore moreover they were for so short a period that as soon as they began to be respectable soldiers it was time to discharge them then came new who had to be taught their duty before they could be of any service such was the army with which washington had to contend against more than twenty british some of the men had no and almost all were without heavy cannon for the british were much wanted there was but a small quantity o powder and ball few tools to build with and a great deficiency of provisions and clothes for the soldiers yet in spite of these difficulties the eyes of the whole people were fixed on general washington expecting him to undertake some great enterprise against the hostile army the first thing that he found necessary was to bring his own men into better order and discipline it is wonderful how soon he transformed this rough mob of country people into the semblance of a regular army one of washington s most invaluable characteristics was the faculty o bringing order out of confusion all business by v which he had any concern seemed to itself as if by magic the influence of his mind was like light gleaming through an world it was this faculty more than any other that made him so fit to ride upon the storm of the revolution when every thing was and drifting about in a troubled sea washington had not been long at the head of the army proceeded grandfather before his soldiers thought as highly of him as if he had led them to a hundred they knew that he was the very man whom the country needed and the only one who could bring them safely through the great contest against the might of england they put entire confidence in his courage wisdom and integrity and were they not eager to follow him against the british asked doubtless they would have gone his sword pointed the way answered grandfather and washington was anxious to make a decisive assault upon the enemy but as the enterprise was very he called a council of all the in the accordingly they came from their posts and were ushered into the reception room the commander in arose from our great	35
chair to greet them j what were their names asked there was general ward replied by ic s chair grandfather a lawyer by profession he had commanded the troops before s arrival another was general charles lee who had been a colonel in the english army and was thought to possess vast military science he came to the council followed by two or three dogs who were always at his heels there was general too who was known all over new england by the name of old put was it he who killed the wolf inquired the same said grandfather and he had done good service in the old french war his occupation was that of a farmer but he left his plough in the at the news of battle then there was general gates who afterward gained great renown at and lost it again at of island was likewise at the council washington soon discovered him to be one of the best officers in the army when the were all assembled washington consulted them about a plan for the english but it was their opinion that so perilous an enterprise ought not to be attempted the army therefore continued to boston preventing the enemy from obtaining supplies of provisions but without taking any immediate measures to get possession of the town in this manner the summer autumn and winter passed away by ic s chair many a night doubtless said grandfather after washington had been all day on horse back galloping from one post of the army to another he used to sit in great chair in earnest thought had you seen him you might have supposed that his whole mind was fixed on the blue china which adorned the old fashioned fireplace but in reality he was meditating how to capture the british army or drive it out of boston once when there was a hard frost he formed a scheme to cross the charles river on the ice but the other could not be persuaded that there was any prospect of success what were the british doing all this time inquired they lay idle in the town replied grandfather general had been recalled to england and was succeeded by sir william the british army and the inhabitants of boston were now in great distress being shut up in the town so long they had consumed almost all their provisions and burnt up all their fuel the soldiers tore down the old north church and used its rotten boards and for to their distress the small broke out they probably lost far more men by cold hunger and sickness than had been slain at and hill what a dismal time for the poor women and children exclaimed by ic grandfather s chair at length continued grandfather in march general washington who had now a good supply of powder began a terrible and from heights one of the cannon balls which he fired into the town struck the tower of the street church where it may still be seen sir william made preparations to cross over in boats and drive the americans from their but was prevented by a violent gale and storm general washington next erected a battery on nook s hill so near the enemy that it was impossible for them to remain in boston any longer cried clapping his hands triumphantly i wish i had been there to see how the englishmen looked and as grandfather thought that boston had never witnessed a more interesting period than this when the royal power was in its death agony he determined to take a peep into the town and imagine the of those who were it for ever d by chapter ix alas for the poor said grandfather until the very last morning after washington s troops had shown themselves on nook s hill these unfortunate persons could not believe that the audacious as they called the americans would ever prevail against king george s army but when they saw the british soldiers preparing to on board of the ships of war then they knew that they had lost their country could the have known how bitter were their regrets they would have forgiven them all their il deeds and sent a blessing after them as they sailed away from their native shore in order to make the children sensible of the pitiable condition of these men grandfather out peter chief justice of under the crown and imagined him walking through the streets of boston on the morning before he left it for ever this of grandfather s fancy may be called the tory s farewell old chief justice threw on his red cloak and placed his three hat on the top of his white wig in this garb he intended to go forth and take a parting look at objects that had been familiar to him from his youth accordingly he d by grandfather s chair began his walk in the north part of the town and soon came to this edifice the cradle of liberty had been used by the british officers as a play house would that i could see its walls to dust thought the chief justice and in the bitterness of his heart he shook his fist at the famous hall there began the mischief which now to asunder the british empire the of in hall have made of a loyal people and deprived me of my country he then passed through a narrow avenue and found himself in king street almost in the very spot which six years before had been by the blood of the boston the chief justice cautiously and shuddered as if he were afraid that even now the of his countrymen might stain his feet before him rose the town house on the front of which were still displayed the royal arms within that edifice he had justice to the people in the days when his name	35
before the brother of chief justice had been compelled to acknowledge the of the people by taking the oath which they prescribed this tree was connected with all the events that had severed america from land accursed tree cried the chief justice his teeth for anger overcame his row would that thou been left standing till and every other traitor were hanged upon thy branches then thou have been down and cast into the flames he turned back hurried to long wharf without looking behind him embarked with the british troops for and never saw his country more throughout the remainder of his days chief justice was agitated with those same conflicting emotions that had tortured him while taking his farewell walk through the by ic s streets of deep lore and fierce burned in one flame within his struggled with he felt as if one breath of his native air would renew his life jet would have died rather than breathe the same air with and such likewise were the feelings of the other a thousand in number who departed with the british army were they not the most unfortunate of men the misfortunes of these observed have made them think of the poor of they had a sad time of it i suppose said but i choose to rejoice with the rather than be sorrowful with the grandfather what did general washington do now as the rear of the british army embarked from the wharf replied grandfather general washington s troops marched over the neck through the gates and entered boston in triumph and now for the first time since the landed was free from the dominion of england may she never again be subjected to foreign rule never again feel the rod of oppression dear grandfather asked little did general washington bring our chair back to boston by ic i know not how long the chair remained at cambridge said grandfather had it staid there till this time it could not have found a better or more appropriate shelter the mansion which general washington occupied is still standing and his apartments have since been by several eminent men governor while a professor in the university resided there so at an after period did mr sparks whose invaluable labors have connected his name with the immortality of washington and at this very time a venerable friend and contemporary of your grandfather after long beyond the sea has set up his staff of rest at washington s head quarters you mean professor grandfather said oh how i should love to see the author of those beautiful of th night we will visit him next summer answered grandfather and take and little with us and too if he will be quiet d by chapter x when grandfather resumed his narrative the next evening he told the children that he had some difficulty in tracing the movements of the during a short period after general washington s departure from cambridge within a few months however it made its appearance at a shop in boston before the door of which was seen a striped pole in the interior was displayed a stuffed a s skin a bundle of indian arrows an gun a walking stick of governor s a wig of old cotton s and a colored print of the boston in short it was a s shop kept by a mr pierce who himself on having shaved general washington old put and many other famous persons this was not a very dignified situation for our venerable chair continued grandfather but you know there is no better place for news than a s shop all the events of the war were heard of there sooner than any where else people used to sit in the chair reading the newspaper or talking and waiting to be shaved while mr pierce with his and was at work upon the heads or of his other customers i am sorry the chair could not itself by ic s t to some more suitable place of refuge said it was old now and must have longed for quiet besides after it had held washington in its arms it ought not to have been compelled to receive all the world it should have been put into the pulpit of the old south or some other consecrated place perhaps so answered grandfather but the chair in the course of its varied existence had grown so accustomed to general intercourse with society that i doubt whether it would have contented itself in the pulpit of the old there it would have stood solitary or with no companion than the silent organ in the opposite gallery six days out of seven i incline to think that it had seldom been situated to its mind than on the floor of the snug little s shop then grandfather amused his children and himself with all the different sorts of people who had occupied our chair while they awaited the leisure of the there was the old clergyman such as dr wearing a white wig which the took from his head and placed upon a wig block half an hour perhaps was spent in and this reverend e to a skull there too were of the continental army who required their hair to be and so as to give them by ic s b a bold and martial aspect there once in a while was seen the thin care worn melancholy of an old tory with a wig that in times long past had perhaps figured at a province house ball and there not sat the rough captain of a just returned from a successful in which he had captured a dozen richly laden vessels belonging to king george s subjects and sometimes a rosy little climbed into our chair and sat staring with wide open eyes at the the rattle snake and the other of the s shop his mother bad sent	35
him with sixpence in his hand to get his glossy curls off the incidents of the revolution lied the s customers with topics of conversation they talked sorrowfully of the death of general and the failure of our troops to take q for the new were now as anxious to get canada from the english as they had formerly to conquer it from the french but very soon said grandfather came news from philadelphia the most important that america had ever heard of on the th of july had signed the of independence the thirteen colonies were now free and independent states dark as our prospects were the inhabitants welcomed these glorious tidings and resolved to perish rather than again bear the yoke of england i by s and i would perish too cried it was a great day a glorious deed said high with enthusiasm and grandfather i love to think that the ia showed themselves as bold and true as the soldiers in the field for it must have required more courage to sign the declaration of independence than to fight the enemy in battle grandfather in s view of the matter he then touched briefly and hastily upon the prominent events of the the thunder storm of war had now rolled south ward and did not again burst upon where its first fury had been felt but she contributed her full share to the success of the contest wherever a battle was fought whether at long island white plains brandy wine or some of her brave sons were found slain upon the field in october general surrendered his army at to the american general gates the captured troops were sent to not long afterwards doctor and other american made a treaty at paris by which france bound herself to assist our countrymen the gallant was already fighting for our freedom by the side of washington in a french fleet commanded by count d spent a considerable time in boston harbor it marks by ic the of human affairs that the french our ancient enemies should come hither as comrades and brethren and that kindred england should be our foe while the war was raging in the middle and southern states proceeded grandfather had leisure to settle a new constitution of government instead of the royal this was done in in the same year john who had been president of was chosen governor of the state he was the first whom the people had elected since the days of old but grandfather who had been governor since the british were driven away inquired general and sir william were the last whom you have told us of there had been no governor for the last four years replied grandfather had been ruled by the to whom the people paid obedience of their own accord it is one of the most remarkable circumstances in our history that when the government was by the war no nor the slightest confusion ensued this was a great honor to the people but now was proclaimed by sound of trumpet j and there was again a settled government grandfather again to the progress of the war in general drove the by ic s british from the southern states in october of the same year general washington compelled lord to surrender his at in virginia this was the last great of the contest king george and his ministers perceived that all the might of england could not compel america to her to the crown after a great deal of discussion a treaty of peace was signed in september now at last said grandfather after weary years of war the of returned in peace to their families now the stately and dignified leaders such as general and general with their powdered hair and their of blue and were seen about the streets and little boys ran after them i suppose remarked and the grown people bowed respectfully they deserved respect for they were good men as well as brave answered grandfather now too the inferior officers and came to seek some peaceful occupation their friends remembered them as and smooth young men but they returned with the erect and rigid mien of some on and wooden legs others had received wounds which were still in their many alas had fallen by ic in battle and perhaps were left on the bloody field the must ha ne been sick of war observed one would have thought so said grandfather yet only two or three years elapsed before the folly of some men caused another of soldiers this affair was called war because a captain was the chief leader of the o grandfather don t let there be another war cried little grandfather comforted his dear little girl by her that there was no great mischief done war happened in the latter part of and the beginning of the following year its principal cause was the of the times the state of in its public capacity was very much in debt so likewise were many of the people an took place the object of which seems to hare been to the course of law and get rid of debts and taxes james a good and able man was governor of he sent genial at the head of four thousand men to put down the general who had fought through several hard in the revolution managed matters like an old and totally defeated the at the expense of very little blood by ic s there is but one more public event to be recorded in the history of our chair proceeded grandfather in the year samuel was elected governor of i have told you what a distinguished he was and how much he resembled the stern old could the ancient of who lived in the days of the first have arisen from their graves they would probably have for samuel to be governor well grandfather i	35
hope he sat in our chair said he did replied grandfather he had long been in the habit of visiting the s shop where our venerable chair for of its former had now spent eighteen not uncomfortable years such a remarkable piece of furniture so evidently a of long departed times could not escape the notice of samuel he made minute into its history and ascertained what a succession of excellent and famous people had occupied it how did he find it out asked for i suppose the chair could not tell its own history there used to be a vast collection of ancient letters and other documents in the tower of the old south church answered grandfather perhaps the history of our chair was contained among these at all events samuel by ic appears to have been well acquainted with it when he became governor he felt that he have no more honorable seat than that which had been the ancient chair of state he therefore purchased it for a trifle and filled it for three years as governor of and what next asked that is all said grandfather heaving a sigh for he could not help being a little sad at the thought that his stories must close here died in at the age of above and ten he was a great but a poor man at his death he left scarcely property enough to pay the expenses of his funeral this precious chair among his other effects was sold at and your grandfather who was then in the strength of his years became the with a mind full of thoughts that struggled for expression but could find none looked at the chair he had now learned all its history yet was not satisfied oh how i wish that the chair could speak cried he after its long intercourse with man kind after looking upon the world for ages what lessons of golden wisdom it might it might teach a private person how to lead a good and happy life or a how to make his country prosperous by ic s chair chapter xi grandfather was struck by s idea that the historic chair should utter a voice and thus pour forth the collected wisdom of two centuries the old gentleman had once possessed do share of fancy and even dow its fading sunshine occasionally among his more sombre reflections as the history of the chair had exhausted all his facts grandfather determined to have recourse to fable so after warning the children that they must not mistake this story for a true one he related what we shall call grandfather s dream and where were you last night where were you and dear little i you had all gone to rest and left old grandfather to alone in his great chair the lamp had grown so dim that its light hardly illuminated the shade the wood fire had into heavy i among which the little flames danced and and about like and here sat grandfather all by himself he knew that it was yet he could not help longing to hear your merry voices or to hold a chat with some old friend because then his pillow would be visited by by f dreams but as neither children nor friends were at hand grandfather leaned back in the great chair and closed his eyes for the sake of meditating more profoundly and when grandfather s meditations had grown very indeed he fancied that he heard a sound over his head as if somebody were preparing to speak hem it said in a dry tone h e m hem as grandfather did not know that any person was in the room he started up in great surprise and peeped hither and thither behind the chair and into the recess by the fireside and at the dark nook yonder near the nobody could he see said grandfather to himself i must have been dreaming but just as he was going to resume his seat grandfather happened to look at the great chair the rays of fire light were flickering upon it in such a manner that it really seemed as if its frame were all alive what did it not move its elbow there too it certainly lifted one of its ponderous fore legs as if it had a notion of drawing itself a little nearer to the fire meanwhile the lion s head nodded at grand father with as polite and a look as a lion s carved in oak could possibly be expected to assume this is strange good evening my old friend said the dry by b t s u and voice now a little cleared than before we have been intimately acquainted so long that i think it high time we have a chat together grandfather was looking straight at the lion s head and could not be mistaken in supposing that it moved its lips so here th mystery was all explained i was not aware said grandfather with a civil salutation to his companion that you possessed the faculty of speech otherwise i should often have been glad to converse with such a solid useful and substantial if not brilliant member of society oh replied the ancient chair in a quiet and easy tone for it had now cleared its throat of the dust of ages i am naturally a silent and sort of character once or twice in the course of a century i my lips when the gentle lady departed this life i uttered a groan when the honest master weighed his plump daughter the pine tree shillings i chuckled audibly at the joke when old took the place of the tyrant i joined in the al and upon my wooden legs for joy to be sure the were so fully occupied with their own feelings that my sympathy was quite unnoticed and have often	35
held a private chat with your asked by ic s often the chair i once talked with sir william and my ideas about the cotton had several conversations with me and derived great benefit from my historical reminiscences in the days of the stamp act i whispered in the ear of bidding him to remember what stock his countrymen were descended of and to think whether the spirit of their forefathers had utterly departed from them the last man whom i favored with a was that stout old republican samuel and how happens it inquired grandfather that there is no record nor tradition of your abilities it is an uncommon to meet with a chair that can talk why to tell you the truth said the chair giving itself a nearer to the hearth i am not apt to choose the most suitable moments for my lips sometimes i have begun to speak when my back in my arms was inclined to take an after dinner nap or perhaps the impulse to talk may be felt at midnight when the lamp dim and the fire into decay and the or thoughtful man finds that his brain is in a mist i have uttered my wisdom in the ears of sick persons when the of fever made them toss about upon my cushion and so it happens by ic s that though my words make a pretty strong impression at the moment yet my remember them only as a dream i not wonder if you my excellent friend were to do the same to morrow morning nor i either thought grandfather to however he thanked this respectable old chair for beginning the conversation and begged to know whether it had any thing particular to communicate i have been listening attentively to your of my adventures replied the chair and it must be owned that your you to be held up as a pattern to nevertheless there are a few which i should be glad to see supplied for instance you make no mention of the good knight sir richard nor of the famous nor of those old judges and yet i have borne tha weight of all these distinguished characters at one time or another grandfather promised if ever he have an opportunity to repeat his narrative the good old chair which still seemed to retain a due regard for outward appearance then reminded him how long a time had passed it bad been with a new cushion it likewise expressed the opinion that the figures on its back would show to much advantage by the aid of a little by s and i have had a complaint in this joint the chair to lift one of lis legs ever since his wheel against me il shall be attended to said grandfather and now venerable chair i have a favor to during an existence of more than two centuries you have had a familiar intercourse with men who were esteemed the wisest of their day doubtless with your you have up many an invaluable lesson of wisdom you certainly have had time enough to guess the riddle of life tell us poor mortals then how we may be happy the lion s head fixed its eyes thoughtfully upon the fire and the whole chair assumed an aspect of deep meditation finally it beckoned to grandfather with its elbow and made a step sideways towards him as if it had a very important secret to communicate as long as i have stood in the midst of affairs the chair with a very i have constantly observed that truth and love are the chief of every happy life justice truth and love exclaimed grand we need not exist two centuries to find out that these qualities are essential to our happiness this is no secret every human being is born with the instinctive knowledge of it by ic grandfather s chair ah cried the chair drawing back in surprise from what i have observed of the dealings of man with man and nation with nation i never should have suspected that they knew this all important secret and with this eternal lesson written in your soul do you ask me to new wisdom or you out of my petty existence of two or three centuries but my dear chair said grandfather not a word more interrupted the chair here i close my lips for the next hundred years at the end of that period if i shall have discovered any new of happiness better than what heaven has already taught you they shall assuredly be given to the world in the energy of its utterance the chair seemed to stamp its foot and trod we hope upon grandfather s toe the old gentleman started and found that he had been asleep in the great chair and that his heavy walking stick had fallen down across his grandfather cried little clapping her hands you must dream a new dream every night about our chair and and said the same but the good old gentleman shook his head and declared that here ended the history real or of grandfather s chair d by stories west sir samuel johnson queen by ic this small volume and others of a similar character from the same hand have not been composed without a deep sense of responsibility the author regards children as sacred and would not for the world cast any thing into the fountain of a young heart that might and its waters and even in point of the reputation to be aimed at literature is as well worth as any other the writer if h succeed in pleasing his little readers may hope to be remembered by them till their own old age a far longer period of literary existence than is generally attained by those who seek immortality from the judgments of full grown men d by stories chapter i when	35
edward temple was about eight or nine years old he was afflicted with a disorder of the eyes it was so severe and his sight was naturally so delicate that the surgeon felt some apprehensions lest the boy should become totally wind he therefore gave strict directions to keep him in a darkened chamber with a over his eyes not a ray of the blessed light of heaven could be to visit the poor lad this was a sad thing for edward it was just the same as if there were to be no more sunshine nor moonlight nor glow of the cheerful fire nor light of lamps a night had begun which was to continue perhaps for months a longer and night than that which are compelled to endure when their ship is throughout the winter in the ocean his dear father and mother his brother george and the sweet face of little rob by ic must all vanish and him in utter darkness and solitude their voices and footsteps it is true would be heard around him he would feel his mother s embrace and the kind pressure of all their hands but still it would seem as if they were a thousand miles away n and then his studies they were to be entirely given up this was another grievous trial for edward s memory hardly went back to the period when he had not known how to read many and many a holiday had he spent at his book over its pages until the deep twilight confused the print and made all the letters run into long words then would he press his hands across his eyes and wonder why they pained him so and when the candles were lighted what was the reason that they burned so dimly like the moon in a night poor little fellow so far as his eyes were con he was already an old man and needed a pair of spectacles almost as much as his own grandfather did and now alas the time was come when even grandfather s spectacles could not have assisted edward to read after a few bitter tears which only pained his eyes the more the poor boy submitted to the surgeon s orders his eyes were and with his mother on one side and his little friend on the other he was led into a darkened chamber by ic s s mother i shall be very miserable said edward sobbing oh no my dear child replied his cheerfully your was a precious gift of heaven it is true but you would do wrong to be miserable for its loss even if there were no hope of it there are other besides what come to us through our eyes none that are worth having said edward ah but you will not think so long rejoined mrs temple with tenderness ah of us your father and myself and george and our sweet will try to find occupation and amusement for you we will use all our eyes to make you happy will they not be better than a single pair i will sit by you all day long said in her low sweet voice putting her hand into that of edward and so will i ned said george his elder brother school time and all if my father will permit me edward s brother george was three or four years older than himself a fine hardy lad of a bold and ardent temper he was the leader of his comrades in all their and amuse ments as to his at study there was not much to be said he had sense and ability enough to have made himself a scholar but by ic found so many pleasanter things to do that he seldom took hold of a book with his whole heart so fond was george of boisterous sports and exercises that it was really a great token of affection and sympathy when he offered to sit all day long in a dark chamber with his poor brother edward as for little robinson she was the daughter of one of mr temple s dearest friends ever since her mother went to heaven which was soon after s birth the little girl had dwelt in the household where we now find her mr and mrs temple seemed to love as well as their own children for they had no daughter except nor would the boys have known the blessing of a sister had not this gentle stranger come to teach them what it was if i could show you s face with her dark hair smoothed away from her forehead you would be pleased with her look of simplicity and but might think that she was some what too grave for a child of seven years old but you would not love her the less for that so brother george and this loving little girl were to be edward s companions and while he should be kept prisoner in the dark chamber when the first bitterness of his grief was over he began to feel that there might be some comforts and in life even for a boy whose eyes were covered with a by ic k b i thank you dear mother said he with only a few sobs and you and you too george you will all be very kind to me i know and my father will not he come and see me every day yes my dear boy said mr temple for though invisible to edward he was standing close beside him i will spend some hours of every day with you and as i have often amused you by relating stories and adventures while you had the use of your eyes i can do the same now that you are unable to read will this please you edward oh very much replied edward well then said his father	35
this evening we will begin the series of stories which i promised you some time ago d by chapter ii when evening came mr temple found edward considerably revived in spirits and disposed to be resigned to his misfortune indeed the figure of the boy as it was dimly seen by the in a well stuffed easy chair looked o very comfortable that many people might have envied him when a man s eyes have grown old with gazing at the ways of the world it does not seem such a terrible misfortune to have them little robinson sat by edward s side with the air of an accomplished nurse as well as the of the chamber would permit she watched all his motions and each varying expression of his face and tried to anticipate her patient s wishes before his tongue could utter them yet it was noticeable that the child manifested an indescribable awe and whenever she fixed her eyes on the for to her simple and affectionate heart it seemed as if her dear friend edward was separated from her because she could not see his eyes a friend s eyes tell us many things which could never be spoken by the tongue george likewise looked awkward and confused as stout and healthy boys are accustomed to do in the society of the sick or afflicted never having felt pain or sorrow they are by ic b o t from not knowing how to with the of others well my dear edward inquired mrs temple is your chair quite comfortable and has your little nurse provided for all your wants if so your father is ready to begin his stories oh i am very well now answered edward with a faint smile and my ears have not forsaken me though my eyes are good for nothing so pray dear father begin it was mr temple s design to tell the children a series of true stories the incidents of which should be taken from the childhood and early life of eminent people thus he hoped to bring george and edward and into er acquaintance with the famous persons who have lived in other times by showing that they also had been children once although mr temple was scrupulous to relate nothing but what was founded on fact yet he felt himself at liberty to clothe the incidents of his narrative in a new so that his might understand them the better my first story said he shall be about a painter of pictures dear me cried edward with a sigh i am afraid i shall never look at pictures any more we will hope for the best answered hi by ic father in the mean time you must try to see things within your own mind mr temple then began the following story west dan in the year there came into the world in the town of a infant from whom his parents and neighbors looked for wonderful things a famous preacher of the society of friends had about little ben and foretold that he would be one of the most remarkable characters that had appeared on the earth since the days of william on this account the eyes of many people were fixed upon the boy some of his ancestors had won great renown in the old wars of england and france but it was probably expected that ben would become a preacher and would con multitudes to the peaceful doctrines of the friend west and his wife were thought to be very fortunate in having such a son little ben lived to the ripe age of six years without doing any thing that was worthy to be told in history but one summer afternoon in his seventh year his mother put a fan into his hand and bade him keep the flies away from the face of a little babe who lay fast asleep in the cradle she then left the room by ic stories the boy waved the fan to and fro and drove away the flies whenever they had the impertinence to come near the baby s face when they had all flown out of the window or into distant parts of the room he bent over the cradle and delighted himself with gazing at the sleeping infant it was indeed a very pretty sight the little personage in the cradle peacefully with its hands under its chin looking as full of quiet as if angels were singing in its ear indeed it must have been dreaming about heaven for while ben stooped over the cradle the little baby smiled how beautiful she looks said ben to himself what a pity it is that such a pretty smile should not last for ever now ben at this period of his life had never heard of that wonderful art by which a look that appears and in a moment may be made to last for hundreds of years but though nobody had told him of such an art he may be said to have invented it for himself on a table near at hand there were pens and paper and ink of two colors black and red the boy seized a pen and sheet of paper and kneeling down beside the cradle began to draw a likeness of the infant while he was busied in this manner he heard his mother s step approaching and hastily tried to conceal the paper by ic my son what hast thou been doing inquired his mother observing marks of confusion in his face at first ben was unwilling to tell for he felt as if there might be wrong in stealing the baby s face and putting it upon a sheet of paper however as his mother insisted he finally put the sketch into her hand and then hung his head expecting to be well but when the good lady saw what was on the paper in	35
lines of red and black ink she uttered a scream of surprise and joy bless me cried she it is a picture of little sally and then she threw her arms round our friend arid kissed him so tenderly that he never afterwards was afraid to show his performances to his mother as ben grew older he was observed to take vast delight in looking at the hues and forms of nature for instance he was greatly pleased with the blue of spring the wild roses of summer and the scarlet cardinal flowers of early autumn in the decline of the year the woods were with all the colors of the rainbow ben seemed to desire nothing better than to gaze at them from till night the purple and golden clouds of sunset were a joy to him and he was continually to draw the figures of trees men mountains houses by ic stories cattle ducks and with a piece of chalk on barn doors or on the floor in these old times the indians were still numerous in every year a party of them used to pay a visit to because the of their ancestors had formerly stood there these wild men grew fond of little ben and made him very happy by giving him some of the red and yellow paint with which they were accustomed to adorn their faces his mother too presented him with a piece of thus he now had three colors red blue and yellow and could manufacture green by mixing the yellow with the blue our friend ben was and doubtless showed his gratitude to the indians by taking their in the strange dresses which they wore with feathers and bows and arrows but all this time the young artist had no nor were there any to be bought unless he had sent to philadelphia on purpose however he was a very ingenious boy and resolved to manufacture paint for himself with this design he laid hold upon what do you think why upon a respectable old black cat who was sleeping quietly by the fireside said little ben to the cat pray give me some of the fur from the tip of thy tail though he addressed the black cat so yet ben was determined to have the fur whether by ic stories she were willing or not who had no t zeal for the fine arts would have resisted if she could but the boy was armed with his mother s and very off enough to make a paint brush this was of so much use to him that he applied to madam s again and again until her warm coat of fur had become so thin and ragged that she could hardly keep comfortable through the winter poor thing she was forced to creep close into the and eyed ben with a very but ben considered it more necessary that he should have paint than that should be warm about this period friend west received a visit from mr a merchant of philadelphia who was likewise a member of the society of friends the visitor on entering the parlor was surprised to see it ornamented with drawings of indian chiefs and of birds with beautiful and of the wild flowers of the forest nothing of the kind was ever seen before in the habitation of a farmer why friend west exclaimed the philadelphia merchant what has possessed thee to cover thy walls with all these pictures where on earth thou get them then friend west explained that all these pictures were painted by little ben with no better materials than red and yellow and a piece d by of and with made of the black cat s fur verily said mr the boy hath a wonderful faculty some of our friends might look upon these matters as vanity but little appears to have been born a painter and providence is wiser than we are the good merchant patted on the head and evidently considered him a wonderful boy when his parents saw much their son s performances were admired they no doubt remembered the prophecy of the old preacher respecting ben s future eminence yet they could not understand how he was ever to become a very great and useful man merely by making pictures one evening shortly after mr s return to philadelphia a arrived at spring field directed to our little friend ben what can it possibly be thought ben when it was put into his hands who can have sent me such a great square as this on taking oflf the thick brown paper which enveloped it behold there was a paint box with a great many cakes of paint and of various sizes it was the gift of good mr there were likewise several squares of canvas such as artists use for painting pictures upon and in addition to all these treasures some beautiful of these were by ic stories the first pictures that ben had ever seen except those of his own drawing what a joyful evening was this for the little artist at he put the paint box under his pillow and got hardly a wink of sleep for all night long his fancy was painting pictures in the darkness in the morning he hurried to the garret and was seen no more till the nor did he give himself time to eat more than a or two of food before he hurried back to the garret again the next day and the next he was just as busy as ever until at last his mother thought it time to ascertain what he was about she accordingly followed him to the garret on opening the door the first object that presented itself to her eyes was our friend giving the last touches to a beautiful picture he had copied portions of two of the and made one picture out of both	35
picture of christ healing the sick which he gave to the hospital at philadelphia it was exhibited to the public and produced so much profit that the hospital was enlarged so as to accommodate thirty more if west had done no other good deed than this yet it would have been enough to him to an honorable remembrance for ever at this very day there are thirty poor people in the hospital who owe all their comforts to that same picture we shall mention only a single incident more the picture of christ healing the sick was exhibited at the royal academy in london where it covered a vast space and displayed a multitude of figures as large as life on the wall close beside this admirable picture hung a small and faded landscape it was the same that little ben had painted in his father s garret after receiving the paint box and from good mr he lived many years in peace and honor and died in at the age of eighty two the story of his life is almost as wonderful as a fairy tale for there are few stranger than that of a little unknown boy in the of america into the most distinguished english painter of his day let us each make the best use of our natural abilities as west did and with the blessing of providence we shall arrive at some good end as for fame by ic stories it is but little matter whether we acquire it or not thank you for the story my dear father said edward when it was finished do you know that it seems as if i could see things without the help of my eyes while you were speaking i have seen little ben and the baby in its cradle and the indians and the white cow and the pigs and kind mr and all the good old almost as plainly as if they were in this very room it is because your attention was not disturbed by outward objects replied mr temple people when deprived of sight often have more vivid ideas than those who possess the perfect use of their eyes i will venture to say that george has not attended to the story quite so closely no indeed said george but it was a very pretty story for all that how i should have laughed to see ben making a paint brush out of the black cat s tail i intend to try the experiment with s oh no no george cried earnestly my cannot spare her tail edward being an invalid it was now time for him to retire to bed when the family bade him good night he turned his face towards them looking very loth to part i shall not know when morning comes by ic stories he sorrowfully and besides i want to hear your voices all the time for when nobody is speaking it seems as if i were alone in a dark world you must have faith my dear child replied his mother faith is the soul s and when we possess it the world is never dark nor lonely d by stories chapter in the next day edward began to get accustomed to his new condition of life once indeed when his parents were out of the way and only was left to take care of him he could not resist the temptation to thrust aside the and peep at the anxious face of his little nurse but in spite of the of the chamber the experiment caused him so much pain that he felt no inclination to take another look so with a deep sigh he resigned himself to his fate pray talk to me said he somewhat impatiently now was a remarkably silent little girl and did not possess that of disposition which renders some children such excellent companions she seldom laughed and had not the faculty of making many words about small matters but the love and earnestness of her heart taught her how to amuse poor edward in his darkness she put her knitting work into his hands you must learn how to knit said she what without using my eyes cried edward i can knit with my eyes shut replied then with her own little hands she guided edward s fingers while he set about this new occupation so awkward were his first attempts by ic that any other little girl would have laughed heartily but preserved her gravity and showed the utmost patience in taking up the innumerable which he let down jn the course of an hour or two his progress was quite encouraging when evening came edward acknowledged that the day had been far less wearisome than he anticipated but he was glad nevertheless when his father and mother and george and all took their seats around his chair he put out his hand to grasp each of their hands and smiled with a very bright expression upon his lips now i can see you all with my mind s eye said he and now father pray tell us another story so mr temple began born died on christmas day in the year was born at the small village of in england little did his mother think when she beheld her new born babe that he was destined to explain many matters which had been a mystery ever since the creation of the world s father being dead mrs was married again to a clergyman and went to reside at north her son was left to the by ic t care of his good old grandmother who was very kind to him and sent him to school in his early years did not appear to be a very bright scholar but was chiefly remarkable for his ingenuity in all mechanical occupations he had a set of little tools and of various sizes by himself with the aid of these	35
contrived to make many curious articles at which he worked with so much skill that he seemed to have been born with a saw or in his hand the neighbors looked with vast admiration at the things which and his old grandmother i suppose was never weary of talking about him he ll make a capital workman one of these days she would probably say no fear but what will do well in the world and be a rich man before he dies it is amusing to conjecture what were the of his grandmother and the neighbors about s future life some of them perhaps fancied that he would make beautiful furniture of mahogany rose wood or polished oak with ivory and and gilded and then doubtless all the rich people would purchase these fine things to adorn their drawing rooms others probably thought that little was destined to be an and would build splendid for the no by ic stories and gentry and churches too with the that had ever been seen in england some of his friends no doubt advised s grandmother to him to a clock maker for besides his mechanical skill the boy seemed to have a taste for which would be very useful to him in that profession and then in due time would set up for himself and would manufacture curious like those that contain sets of dancing figures which issue from the dial plate when the hour is struck or like those where sails across the face of the clock and is seen tossing up and down on the waves as often as the indeed there was some ground for supposing that would devote himself to the manufacture of since he had already mad one of a kind which nobody had ever heard of before it was set a going not by wheels and like other but by the dropping of water this was an object of great to all the people round about and it must be confessed that there are few boys or men either who could contrive to tell what a clock it is by means of a bowl of water besides the water clock made a sun dial thus his grandmother was never at a loss to know the hour for the water clock would tell it in the shade and the dial in the sunshine by ic st is the sun dial is said to be still ia existence at on the corner of the house where dwelt if so it must have marked the passage of every sunny hour that has elapsed since was a boy it marked all the famous moments of his life it marked the hour of his death and still the sunshine slowly over it as regularly as when first set it up yet we must not say that the sun dial has lasted longer than its maker for will exist long after the dial yea and long after the sun itself shall have to decay possessed a wonderful faculty of acquiring knowledge by the simplest means for instance what method do you suppose he took to find out the strength of the wind you will never guess how the boy could compel that unseen and wanderer the wind to tell him the measure of its strength yet nothing can be more simple he jumped against the wind and by the length of his jump he could calculate the force of a gentle breeze a brisk gale or a tempest thus even in his boyish sports he was continually searching out the secrets of philosophy not far from his grandmother s residence there was a which on a new plan was in the habit of going thither frequently by ic st and would spend whole hours in examining its various parts while the mill was at rest he into its internal machinery when its broad sails were set in motion by th wind he watched the process by which the mill stones were made to and crush the that was put into the after gaining a thorough knowledge of its construction he was observed to be unusually busy with his tools it was not long before his grandmother and all the neighborhood knew what had been about he had constructed a model of the though not so large i suppose as one of the box traps which boys set to catch yet every part of the mill and its machinery was complete its little sails were neatly made of linen and whirled round very swiftly when the mill was placed in a draught of air even a puff of wind from s mouth or from a pair of was sufficient to set the sails in motion and what was most curious if a handful of of wheat were put into the little they would soon be converted into snow white flour s were enchanted with his new they thought that nothing so pretty and so wonderful had ever been seen in the whole world but said one of you have forgotten one thing that belongs to a mill by ic what is that asked for he supposed that from the roof of the mill to its foundation he had forgotten nothing why where is the miller said his friend that is true i must look out for one said and he set himself to consider how the deficiency should be supplied he might easily have made the miniature figure of a man but then it would not have been able to move about and perform the duties of a miller as captain had not yet discovered the island of did not know that there were little men in the world whose size was just suited to his wind mill it so happened however that a mouse had been caught in the trap and as no other miller could be found mr mouse was appointed to that important office the new	35
made a very respectable appearance in his dark grey coat to be sure he had not a very good for honesty and was suspected of sometimes stealing a portion of the grain which was given him to grind but perhaps some are quite as as this small as grew older it was found that he had far more important matters in his mind than the manufacture of toys like the little all day if left to himself he was either absorbed in thought or engaged in some book of by ic stories or natural philosophy at night i think it probable he looked up with curiosity to the stars and wondered they were worlds like our own and how great was their distance from the earth and what was the power that kept them in their courses perhaps even so early in life felt a that he should be able hereafter to answer all these questions when was fourteen years old his mother s second husband being now dead she wished her son to leave school and assist her in managing the farm at for a year or two therefore he tried to turn his attention to farming but his mind was so bent on becoming a scholar that his mother sent him back to school and afterwards to the university of cambridge i have now finished my anecdotes of s boyhood my story would be far too long were i to mention all the splendid which he made after he came to be a man he was the first that found out the nature of light for before his day nobody could tell what the sunshine was composed of yoa remember i suppose the story of an apple s falling on his head and thus leading him to discover the force of which keeps the heavenly bodies in their courses when he had once got hold of this idea he never permitted his by ic mind to rest until he had searched out all the laws by which the are guided through the sky this he did as thoroughly as if he had gone up among the stars and them in their the boy had found out the of a the man explained to his fellow men the of the universe while making these he was accustomed to spend night after night in a lofty tower gazing at the heavenly bodies through a his mind was lifted far above the things of this world he may be said indeed to have spent the greater part of his life in worlds that lie thousands and millions of miles away for where the thoughts and the heart are there is our true existence did you never hear the story of and his little dog diamond one day when he was fifty years old and had been hard at work more than twenty years studying the theory of light he went out of his chamber leaving his little dog asleep before the fire on the table lay a heap of manuscript papers containing all the discoveries which had made during those twenty years when his master was gone up rose little diamond jumped upon the table and the lighted candle the papers immediately caught fire just as the destruction was completed opened the chamber door and perceived that the by ic labors of twenty years were reduced to a heap of ashes there stood little diamond the author of all the mischief almost any other man would have the dog to immediate death but patted him on the head with his usual kindness although grief was at his heart oh diamond diamond exclaimed he thou little the mischief thou hast done this incident affected his health and spirits for some time afterwards but from his conduct towards the little dog you may judge what was the sweetness of his temper lived to be a very old man and acquired great renown and was made a member of parliament and received the honor of from the king but he cared little for earthly fame and honors and felt no pride in the of his knowledge all that he had learned only made him feel how little he knew in comparison to what remained to be known i seem to myself like a child observed he playing on the sea shore and picking up here and there a curious shell or a pretty while the boundless ocean of truth lies before me at last in when he was and five years old sir died or rather he ceased to live on earth we may be permitted to believe that he is still searching out by ic stories the infinite wisdom and goodness of the creator as earnestly and with even more success while his spirit animated a mortal body he has left a fame behind him which will be as as if his name were written in letters of light formed by the stars upon the midnight sky i love to hear about mechanical such as the water clock and the little remarked george i suppose if sir had only thought of it he might have found out the steam engine and all the other famous inventions that have come into use since his day very possibly he might replied mr temple and no doubt a great many people would think it more useful to manufacture steam engines than to search out the system of the universe other great besides have been endowed with mechanical genius there was david an american he made a perfect little water mill when he was only seven or eight years old but this sort of ingenuity is but a mere in comparison with the other talents of such men it must have been beautiful said edward to spend whole nights in a high tower as did gazing at the stars and the and the but what would have by ic stories done	35
had he been blind or if his eyes had been no better than mine why even then my dear child observed mrs temple he would have found out some way of his mind and of his soul but come little is waiting to bid you good night you must go to sleep and dream of seeing all our faces but how sad it will be when i awake murmured edward d by t chapter iv in the course of the next day the harmony of our little family was disturbed by something like a quarrel between george and edward the former though he loved his brother dearly had found it quite too great a sacrifice of his own to spend all his play time in a darkened chamber edward on the other hand was inclined to be he felt as if his eyes entitled him to demand that every body who enjoyed the blessing of sight should contribute to his comfort and amusement he therefore insisted that george instead of going out to play at foot ball should join with himself and in a game of questions and answers george resolutely refused and ran out of the house he did not edward s chamber till the evening when he stole in looking confused yet somewhat sullen and sat down beside his father s chair it was evident by a motion of edward s head and a slight trembling of his lips that he was aware of george s entrance though his footsteps had been almost with her serious and earnest little face looked from one to the other as if she longed to be a messenger of peace between them mr temple without seeming to notice any of these circumstances began a story d by t samuel johnson born died sam said mr michael johnson of one morning i am very feeble and today you must go to in my stead and tend the in the market place there this was spoken above a hundred years ago by an elderly man who had once been a at in england being now in reduced circumstances he was forced to go every market day and sell books at a stall in the neighboring village of his son to whom mr johnson spoke was a great boy of very singular aspect he had an intelligent face but it was and distorted by a humor which his eyes so badly that sometimes he was almost blind owing to the same cause his head would often shake with a tremulous motion as if he were afflicted with the when sam was an infant the famous queen anne had tried to cure him of this disease by laying her royal hands upon his head but though the touch of a king or queen was supposed to be a certain remedy for it produced no good effect upon sam johnson at the time which we speak of the poor lad was not very well dressed and wore shoes from which his toes peeped out for his old father had by ic barely the means of supporting his wife and children but poor as the family were young sam johnson had as much pride as any nobleman s son in england the fact was he felt conscious of uncommon sense and ability which in his own opinion entitled him to great respect from the world perhaps he would have been glad if grown people had treated him as as his school fellows did three of them were accustomed to come for him every morning and while he sat upon the back of one the two others supported him on each side and thus he rode to school in triumph being a personage of so much importance sam could not bear the idea of standing all day in market offering books to the rude and ignorant country people doubtless he felt the more reluctant on account of his shabby clothes and the disorder of his eyes and the tremulous motion of his head when mr michael johnson spoke sam and made an indistinct grumbling in his throat then he looked his old father in the face and answered him loudly and deliberately sir said he i will not go to market mr johnson had seen a great deal of the lad s obstinacy ever since his birth and while sam was younger the old gentleman had probably used the rod whenever occasion seemed to by ic require but he was now too feeble and too much out of spirits to contend with this stubborn and violent tempered boy he therefore gave up the point at once and prepared to go to himself well sam said mr johnson as he took his hat and f if for the sake of your foolish pride you can suffer your poor sick father to stand all day in the noise and confusion of the market when he ought to be in his bed i have no more to say but you will think of this sam when i am dead and gone so the poor old man perhaps with a tear in his eye but certainly with sorrow in his heart et forth towards the gray haired feeble melancholy michael johnson how sad a thing it was that he should be forced to go in his sickness and toil for the support of an ungrateful son who was too proud to do any thing for his father or his mother or himself sam looked after mr johnson with a sullen countenance till he was out of sight but when the old man s figure as he went stooping along the street was no more to be seen the boy s heart began to him he had a vivid imagination and it tormented him with the image of his father standing in the market place of and offering his books to the noisy crowd around him sam seemed to behold him arranging his	35
cows and oxen for sale and pig with herds of swine and farmers with cart loads of and all other produce of the soil now and then a farmer s red faced wife trotted along on horseback with butter and cheese in two large the people of the with country and other visitors from the neighborhood walked hither and thither trading quarrelling and making just such a bustle as their fathers and had made half a century before in one part of the street there a with a ridiculous merry who kept both grown people and children in a roar of laughter on the opposite side was the old stone church of with ivy climbing up its walls and partly its windows by ic there was a clock in the gray tower of the ancient church and the hands on the dial plate had now almost reached the hour of noon at this hour of the market a strange old gentleman was seen making his way among the crowd he was very tall and and wore a brown coat and small clothes with black stockings and shoes on his head was a three hat beneath which a gray wig thrust itself out all in disorder the old gentleman the people aside and forced his way through the midst of them with a singular kind of gait rolling his body hither and thither so that he needed twice as much room as any other person there make way sir he would cry out in a loud harsh voice when somebody happened to interrupt his progress sir you intrude your person into the public what a queer old fellow this is l the people among themselves hardly knowing whether to laugh or to be angry but when they looked into the venerable stranger s face not the most thoughtless among them dared to offer him the least impertinence though his features were and distorted with the and though his eyes were dim and yet there was something of au and wisdom in his look which impressed them all with awe so they stood aside to let by ic stories him pass and the old gentleman made his way across the market place and paused near the corner of the ivy church just as he reached it the clock struck twelve on the very spot of ground where the stranger now stood some aged people remembered that old michael johnson had formerly kept his the little children who had once bought picture books of him were now yes here is the very spot muttered the old gentleman to himself there this unknown personage took his stand and removed the three hat from his head it was the hour of the day what with the hum of human voices the of cattle the of pigs and the laughter caused by the merry the market place was in very great confusion but the stranger seemed not to notice it any more than if the silence of a desert were around him he was in his own thoughts he raised his brow to heaven as if in prayer sometimes he bent his head as if an weight of sorrow were upon him it increased the of his aspect that there was a motion of his head and an almost continual tremor throughout his frame with singular and of his features the hot sun blazed upon his by ic t is f bead but he seemed not to feel its a dark cloud swept across the sky and rain drops into the market place but the stranger not the shower the people began to gaze at the mysterious old gentleman with superstitious fear and wonder who could he be whence did he come wherefore was he standing bare headed in the market place even the school boys left the merry and came to gaze with wide open eyes at this tall old man there was a cattle in the village who had recently made a journey to the market in london no sooner had this man thrust his way through the throng and taken a look at the unknown personage than he to one of his acquaintances i say neighbor would ye like to know who this old gentleman is ay that i would replied neighbor for a chap i never saw in my life somehow it makes me feel small to look at him he s more than a common man you may well say so answered the why that s the famous doctor samuel johnson who they say is the greatest and man in england i saw him in london streets walking with one mr yes the poor boy the sam with whom we began our story had become the by ic st famous doctor samuel johnson he was universally acknowledged as the wisest man and greatest writer in all england he had given shape and to his native language by his dictionary thousands upon thousands of people had read his his and his noble and wealthy men and beautiful ladies deemed it their highest privilege to be bis companions even the king of great britain had sought his acquaintance and told him what an honor he considered it that such a man had been born in his he was now at the summit of literary renown but all his fame could not the bitter remembrance which had tormented him through life never never had he forgotten his father s sorrowful and look never though the old man s troubles had been over so many years had he forgiven himself for in such a pang upon his heart and now in his old age he had come hither to do penance by standing at noon day in the market place of on the very spot where michael johnson had once kept his the aged and illustrious man had done what the poor boy refused to do by thus	35
expressing his deep repentance and humiliation of heart he ho ed to gain peace of conscience and the forgiveness of god my dear children if you have grieved i by ic will not say your parents but if you have grieved the heart of any human being who has a claim upon your love then think of samuel johnson s penance will it not be better to redeem the error now than to endure the agony of remorse for fifty years would you not rather say to a brother i have forgive me than perhaps to go hereafter and shed bitter tears upon his grave hardly was the story concluded when george hastily arose and edward likewise stretching forth his hands into the darkness that surrounded him to find his brother both accused themselves of each the other s forgiveness and having done so the trouble of their hearts vanished away like a dream i am glad i am so glad said in a low earnest voice now i shall sleep quietly to night my sweet child thought mrs temple as she kissed her thou never know how much strife there is on earth it would cost thee many a night s rest d by to chapter vi about this period mr temple found it necessary to take a journey which interrupted the series of stories for several evenings in the interval edward practised various methods of and amusing his mind sometimes he meditated upon beautiful objects which he had formerly seen until the intensity of his recollection seemed to restore him the gift of sight and place every thing anew before his eyes sometimes he repeated verses of poetry which he did not know to be in his memory until he found them there just at the time of need sometimes he attempted to solve questions which had perplexed him while at school then with his mother s assistance he learned the letters of the string which is used in some of the institutions for the blind in europe when one of his friends gave him a leaf of saint mark s gospel printed in characters he endeavored to read it by passing his fingers over the letters as blind children do his brother george was now very kind and spent so much time in the darkened chamber that edward often insisted upon his going out to play george told him all about the affairs at school and related many amusing incidents that happened among his comrades and informed him by ic t what sports were now in fashion and whose the highest and whose little ship sailed on the pond as for she repeated stories which she had learned from a new book called the flower people in which the snow drops the the the roses and all that lovely tribe are represented as telling their secrets to a little girl the flowers talked sweetly as flowers should and edward almost fancied that he could behold their bloom and smell their fragrant breath thus in one way or another the dark days of edward s confinement passed not unhappily in due time his father returned and the next evening when the family were assembled he began a story i must first observe children said he that some writers deny the truth of the incident which i am about to relate to you there certainly is but little evidence in favor of it other respectable writers however tell it for a fact and at all events it is an interesting story and has an excellent moral so mr temple proceeded to talk about the early days of born died not long after king james the first took the place of queen elizabeth on the throne of by ic land there lived an english knight at a place his name was sir he spent his life i suppose pretty much like other english knights and in those days hunting and and drinking large quantities of ale and wine the old house in which he dwelt had been occupied by his ancestors before him for a good many years in it there was a great hall hung round with coats of arms and and swords which his forefathers had used in battle and with horns of deer and tails of which they or sir himself had killed in the chase this sir had a nephew who had been called after himself but who was generally known in the family by the name of little his father was a younger brother of sir the child was often sent to visit his uncle who probably found him a troublesome little fellow to take care of he was for ever in mischief and always running into some danger or other from which he seemed to escape only by miracle even while he was an infant in the cradle a strange accident had befallen him a huge which was kept in the family snatched up little in his and with him to the roof of the house there this ugly beast sat grinning at the spectators as if he had done the most thing imaginable by ic fortunately however he brought the child down again and the event was afterwards considered an omen that would reach a very elevated station in the world one morning when was five or six years old a royal messenger arrived at with tidings that king james was coming to dine with sir this was a high honor to be sure but a very great trouble for all the lords and ladies knights guards and who waited on the king were to be as well as himself and more provisions would be eaten and more wine drunk in that one day than generally in a month however sir expressed much thankful ness for the king s intended visit and ordered his butler and cook to make the best preparations in their power so a great fire	35
was kindled in the kitchen and the neighbors knew by the smoke which poured out of the chimney that boiling and were going on merrily by and by the sound of trumpets was heard approaching nearer and nearer and a heavy old fashioned coach surrounded by guards on horseback drove up to the house sir with his hat in his hand stood at the gate to receive the king his majesty was dressed in a suit of green not very new he had a feather in his hat and a triple round his neck and by ic over his shoulder was a hunting horn instead of a sword altogether he had not the most dignified aspect in the world but the gazed at him as if there was something and divine in his person they even shaded their eyes with their hands as if they were dazzled by the glory of his countenance how are ye man cried king james speaking in a scotch accent for scotland was his native country by my crown sir but i am glad to see ye the good knight thanked the king at the same time kneeling down while his majesty alighted when king james stood on the ground he directed sir s attention to a little boy who had come with him in the coach he was six or seven years old and wore a hat and feather and was more richly dressed than the king himself though by no means an child he seemed shy or even sulky and his cheeks were rather pale as if he had been kept within doors instead of being sent out to play in the sun and wind i have brought my son to see ye said the king i hope sir ye have a son of your own to be his sir made a bow to the little prince whom one of the attendants had now taken out of the coach it was wonderful by ic to see how all the spectators even the aged men with their gray themselves before this child they bent their bodies till their almost swept the dust they looked as if they were ready to kneel down and worship him the poor little prince from his earliest infancy not a soul had dared to contradict him every body around him had acted as if he were a superior being so that of course he had the same opinion of himself he naturally supposed that the whole kingdom of great britain and all its inhabitants had been created solely for his benefit and amusement this was a sad mistake and it cost him dear enough after he had ascended his father s throne what a noble little prince he is exclaimed sir lifting his hands in admiration no please your majesty i have no son to be the of his royal but there is a nephew jf mine somewhere about the house he is near the prince s age and will be but too happy to wait upon his royal send for him man send for him said the king but as it happened there was no need of sending for master while king james was speaking a rugged bold faced sturdy little thrust himself through the throng of and attendants and greeted the prince with by ic a broad stare his and which had been put on new and clean in honor of the king s visit were already soiled and torn with the rough play in which he had spent the morning he looked no more abashed than if king james were his uncle and the prince one of his customary this was little himself here please your majesty is my nephew said sir somewhat ashamed of s appearance and make your to the king s majesty the boy made a pretty respectful to the king for in those days children were taught to pay reverence to their king james who himself greatly on his asked a few questions in the latin grammar and then introduced him to his son the little prince in a very grave and dignified manner extended his hand not for to shake but that he might kneel down and kiss it nephew said sir pay your duty to the prince i owe him no duty cried thrusting aside the prince s hand with a rude laugh why should i kiss that boy s hand all the were amazed and confounded and sir the most of all but the king laughed heartily saying that little had a stubborn english spirit and that it was well for by ic his son to learn what sort of a people he was to rule over so king james and his train entered the house and the prince with and some other children was sent to play in a separate room while his majesty was at dinner the young people soon became acquainted for boys whether the sons of or of all like play and are pleased with one another s society what games they diverted themselves with i cannot tell perhaps they played at ball perhaps at s perhaps at leap perhaps at prison bars such games have been in use for hundreds of years and princes as well as poor children have spent some of their happiest hours in playing at them meanwhile king james and his were with sir in the great hall the king sat in a gilded chair under a at the head of a long table whenever any of the company addressed him it was with the deepest reverence if the attendants offered him wine or the various of the festival it was upon their knees you would have thought by these tokens of worship that the monarch was a supernatural being only he seemed to have quite as much need of those vulgar matters food and drink as any other person at the table but fate had ordained	35
that good king james should not finish his dinner in peace by v stories all of a sudden there arose a terrible uproar in the room where the children were at play angry shouts and shrill cries of alarm were mixed up together while the voices of elder persons were likewise beard trying to restore order among the children the king and every body else at table looked aghast for perhaps the tumult made them think that a general rebellion had broken out mercy on us muttered sir that nephew of mine is in some mischief or other the naughty little getting up from table he ran to see what was the matter followed by many the guests and the king among them they all crowded to the door of the play room on looking in they beheld the little prince charles with his rich dress all torn and covered with the dust of the floor his royal blood was streaming from his nose in great abundance he gazed at with a mixture of rage and and at the same time a puzzled expression as if he could not understand how any mortal boy should dare to give him a beating as for there stood his sturdy little figure bold as a lion looking as if he were ready to fight not only the prince but the king and kingdom too yon little villain cried his uncle what have you been about down on your knees this instant and ask the prince s pardon how by ic t dare you lay your hands on the king s majesty s royal son he struck me first grumbled the little and i ve only given him his due sir and the guests lifted up their hands in astonishment and horror no punishment seemed severe enough for this wicked little who had dared to resent a blow from the king s own son some of the were of opinion that should be sent prisoner to the tower of london and brought to trial for high treason others in their great zeal for the s service were about to lay hands on the boy and him in the royal presence but king james who sometimes showed a good deal of sagacity ordered them to thou art a bold boy said he looking at little and if thou live to be a man my son would do wisely to be friends with thee i never will cried the little prince stamping his foot peace peace said the king then addressing sir and the attendants harm not the for he has taught my son a good lesson if heaven do but give him grace to profit by it hereafter should he be tempted to over the stubborn race of let him remember little and his own bloody nose by t so the king finished his dinner and departed and for many a long year the childish between prince charles and was forgotten the prince indeed might have lived a happier life and have met a more peaceful death had he remembered that quarrel and the moral which his father drew from it but when old king james was dead and charles sat upon his throne he seemed to forget that he was but a man and that his meanest subjects were men as well as he lie wished to have the property and lives of the people of england entirely at his own disposal but the and all who loved liberty rose against him and beat him in many battles and pulled him down from his throne throughout this war between the king and on one side and the people of england on the other there was a famous leader who did more towards the ruin of royal authority than all the rest tiie contest seemed like a between king charles and this strong man and the king was when the monarch was brought to trial that warlike leader sat in the judgment hall many judges were present besides himself j but he alone had the power to save king charles or to doom him to the after sentence was pronounced this victorious general was entreated by his own children on their knees to rescue his majesty from death by ic no said he sternly better that one man should perish than that the whole country should be ruined for his sake it is resolved that he shall die when charles no longer a king was led to the his great enemy stood at a window of the royal palace of he beheld the poor victim of pride and an evil education and power as he laid his head upon the block he looked on with a steadfast gaze while a black veiled lifted the fatal axe and smote off that head at a single blow it is a righteous deed perhaps he said to himself now englishmen may their rights at night when the body of charles was laid in the coffin in a gloomy chamber the general entered lighting himself with a torch its gleam showed that he was now growing old his was with the many battles in which he had led the van his brow was wrinkled with care and with the continual exercise of stem authority probably there was not a single trait either of aspect or manner that belonged to the little who had so stoutly with prince charles yet this was he he lifted the coffin lid and caused the light of his torch to fall upon the dead monarch s face then probably his mind went back over all the marvellous events that had brought the by v king of bind to this coffin and had raised himself an humble individual to the possession of power he was a king though without the empty title or the glittering crown why was it said to himself or might have said as he gazed at the pale	35
features in the why was it that this great king fell and that poor has gained all the power of the realm and indeed why was it king charles had fallen because in his manhood the same as when a child he to feel that every human creature was his brother he deemed himself a superior being and fancied that his subjects were created only for a king to rule over and rose because in spite of his many faults he mainly fought for the rights and freedom of his fellow men and therefore the poor and the oppressed all lent their strength to him dear father how i should hate to be a king exclaimed edward and would you like to be a inquired his father i should like it well replied george only i would not have put the poor old king to death i would have sent him out of the kingdom or perhaps have allowed him to live in a small by ic st house near the gate of the palace it was too severe to cut off his head kings are in such an unfortunate position said mr temple they must either be almost by their subjects or else be and in either case it is a pitiable lot oh i had rather be blind than be a king said edward well my dear edward observed his mother with a smile i am glad you are convinced that your own lot is not the hardest in the world d by chapter vii it was a pleasant sight for those who had eyes to see how patiently the blinded little boy now submitted to what he had at first deemed an intolerable calamity the beneficent creator has not allowed our comfort to depend on the enjoyment of any single sense though he has made the world so very beautiful yet it is possible to be happy without ever beholding the blue sky or the green and earth or the kind faces of those whom we love thus it appears that all the external beauty of the universe is a free gift from god over and above what is necessary to our comfort how grateful then should we be to that divine benevolence which showers even superfluous upon us one truth therefore which edward s blindness had taught him was that his mind and soul could dispense with the assistance of his eyes doubtless however he would have found this lesson far more to learn had it not been for the of those around him his parents and george and aided him to bear his misfortune if possible they would have lent him their own eyes and this too was a good lesson for him it taught him how dependent on one another god has ordained us to be that all the necessities of mankind should them to mutual love by ic st so edward loved his friends and perhaps all the world better than he ever did before and he felt grateful towards his father for spending the evenings in telling him stories more grate ful probably than any of my little readers will feel towards me for so carefully writing those same stories down come dear father said he the next evening now tell us all about some other little boy who was destined to be a famous man how would you like a story of a boston boy asked his father oh pray let us have it cried george eagerly it will be all the better if he has been to our schools and has on the common and sailed boats in the pond i shall feel acquainted with him then well then said mr temple introduce you to a boston boy whom all the world became acquainted with after he grew to be a man the story was as follows in the year or about that period a boy used to be seen in the streets of boston who was known among his school fellows and by the name of ben ben was horn in so that he was now about ten by ic stories years old his father who had come o er from england was a soap and and resided in milk street not far from the old south church ben was a bright boy at his book and even a brighter one when at play with his comrades he had some remarkable qualities which always seemed to give him the lead whether at sport or in more serious matters i might tell you a number of amusing anecdotes about him you are acquainted i suppose with his famous story of the whistle and how he bought it with a whole of and afterwards repented of his bargain but ben had grown a great boy since those days and had gained wisdom by experience for it was one of his that no incident ever happened to him without teaching him some valuable lesson thus he generally more by his misfortunes than many people do by the most favorable events that could befall them ben s face was already pretty well known to the inhabitants of boston the and other people of note often used to visit his father for the sake of talking about the affairs of the town or province mr was considered a person of great wisdom and integrity and was respected by all who knew him although he supported his family by the humble trade of boiling soap and making by ic while his father and the visitors were holding deep about public little ben would sit on his stool in a comer listening with the greatest interest as if he understood every word indeed his features were so full of intelligence that there could be but little doubt not only that he understood what was said but that he could have expressed some very sagacious opinions out of his own mind but in those	35
days boys were expected to be silent in the presence of their elders however ben was looked upon as a very promising lad who would talk and act wisely by and by neighbor his father s friends would sometimes say you ought to send this boy to college and make a minister of him i have often thought of it his father would reply and my brother promises to give him a great many volumes of manuscript sermons in case he should be educated for the church but i have a large family to support and cannot afford the expense in fact mr found it so difficult to provide bread for his family that when the boy was ten years old it became necessary to take him from school ben was then employed in cutting candle into equal and filling the with and many families in boston spent their evenings by the light of the candles which he had helped to make by ic you see in his early days as well as in his manhood his labors to throw light upon dark matters busy as his life now was ben still found time to keep company with his former school fellow s he and the other boys were very fond of fishing and spent many of their leisure hours on the margin of the mill pond catching perch and tom which came up thither with the tide the place where they is now probably covered with stone and brick buildings and thronged with people and with of all kinds but at that period it was a spot on the outskirts of the town where flitted and screamed overhead and salt meadow grass grew under foot on the edge of the water there was a deep bed of clay in which the boys were forced to stand while they caught their fish here they in mud and mire like a flock of ducks this is very uncomfortable said ben one day to his comrades while they were standing mid deep in the so it is said the other boys what a pity we have no better place to stand if it had not been for ben nothing more would have been done or said about the matter but it was not in his nature to be sensible of an inconvenience without using his best efforts to find a remedy so as he and his comrades by ic t were returning from the water side ben suddenly threw down his string of fish with a very determined air boys cried he have thought of a scheme which will be greatly for our benefit and for the public benefit it was queer enough to be sure to hear this little chap this rosy ten year old boy talking about schemes for the public benefit nevertheless his companions were ready to listen being assured that ben s scheme whatever it was would be well worth their attention they remembered how he had conducted all their ever since he had been old enough to wear small clothes they remembered too his wonderful contrivance of sailing across the mill pond by lying flat on his back in the water and allowing himself to be drawn along by a paper if ben could do that he might certainly do any thing what is your scheme ben what is it cried they all it so happened that they had now come to a spot of ground where a new house was to be built scattered round about lay a great many large stones which were to be used for the cellar and foundation ben mounted upon the highest of these stones so that he might speak with the more authority you know lads said he what a plague it by ic stories is tt be forced to stand in the yonder over shoes and stockings if we wear any in mud and water see i am to the knees of my small clothes and you are all in the same unless we can find some remedy for this evil our fishing business must be entirely given up and surely this would be a misfortune that it would that it would said his comrades sorrowfully i propose continued master that we build a wharf for the purpose of carrying on our you see these stones the workmen mean to use them for the of a house but that would be for only one man s advantage my plan is to take these same stones and carry them to the edge of the water and build a wharf with them this will not only enable us to carry on the fishing business with comfort and to better advantage but it will likewise be a great convenience to boats passing up and down the stream thus instead of one man fifty or a hundred or a thousand besides ourselves may be by these stones what say you lads shall we build the wharf ben s proposal was received with one of those shouts wherewith boys usually express their delight at whatever completely suits their views nobody thought of questioning the right by ic t and justice of building a wharf with stones that belonged to another person shouted they let s set about it it was agreed that they should all be on the spot that evening and commence their grand public enterprise by moonlight accordingly at the appointed time the whole gang of youthful assembled and eagerly began to remove the stones they had not calculated how much toil would be requisite in this important part of their undertaking the very first stone which they laid hold of proved so heavy that it almost seemed to be fastened to the ground nothing but ben s cheerful and resolute spirit could have induced them to ben as might be expected was the soul of the enterprise by his mechanical genius he contrived	35
methods to the labor of the stones so that one boy under his directions would perform as much as half a dozen if left to themselves whenever their spirits he had some joke ready which seemed to renew their strength by setting them all into a roar of laughter and when after an hour or two of hard work the stones were transported to the water side ben was the engineer to the construction of the wharf the boys like a colony of performed a by ic great deal of labor by their multitude though the individual strength of each have ac but little finally just as the moon sank below the horizon the great work was finished now boys cried ben let s give three cheers and go home to bed to morrow we may catch fish at our ease shouted his comrades then they all went home in such an ecstasy of delight that they could hardly get a wink of sleep the story was not yet finished but george s impatience caused him to interrupt it how i wish that i could have helped to build that wharf exclaimed he it must have glorious fun ben for ever say i it was a very pretty piece of work said mr temple wait till you hear the end of the story father inquired edward whereabouts in boston was the mill pond on which ben built his wharf i do not exactly know answered mr temple but i suppose it to have been on the northern verge of the town in the vicinity rf what are now called and streets that thronged portion of the city was once a marsh some of it in fact was covered with water by ic stories chapter vm as the children had no more questions to ask mr temple proceeded to relate what consequences ensued from the building of ben s wharf continued in the morning when the early were gleaming on the and roofs of the town and the water that surrounded it the came rubbing their eyes to begin their work at the foundation of the new house but on reaching the spot they rubbed their eyes much the harder what had become of their heap of stones why sam said one to in great per here s been some at work while we were asleep the stones must have flown away through the air more likely they have been stolen answered sam but who on earth would think of stealing a heap of stones cried a third could a man carry them away in his pocket the master who was a kind of man stood scratching his head and said nothing at first but looking carefully on the ground he discerned innumerable tracks of little feet by ic with shoes and some these tracks with his eye he saw that they formed a beaten path towards the water ah i see what the mischief is said he nodding his head those little the they have stolen our stones to build a wharf with the immediately went to examine the new structure and to say the truth it was well worth looking at so neatly and with such skill had it been planned and finished the stones were put together so securely thi there was no danger of their being loosened by the tide swiftly it might sweep along there was a broad and safe platform to stand upon whence the little might cast their lines into deep water and draw up fish in abundance indeed it almost seemed as if ben and his comrades might be forgiven for taking the stones because they had their job in such a manner the that built this wharf understood their business pretty well said one of the ma sons i should not be ashamed of such a piece of work myself but the master did not seem to enjoy the joke he was one of those unreasonable people who care a great deal more for their own rights and privileges than for the convenience of all the rest of the world by ic sam said he more than usual go call a so sam led a and inquiries were set on foot to discover the of the in the course of the day were issued with the signature of a justice of the peace to take the bodies of and other evil disposed persons who had stolen heap of stones if the owner of the stolen property had not been more merciful than the master it might have gone hard with our friend and his fellow but h for them the gentleman had a respect foi ben s father and moreover was amused with the of the whole affair he therefore let the off pretty easily but when the were dismissed the poor boys had to go through another trial and sentence and suffer execution too from their own fathers many a rod i grieve to say was worn to the stump on that unlucky night as for ben he was less afraid of a than of his father s mr as i have mentioned before was a sagacious man and also an upright one he had read much for a person in his rank of life and had pondered upon the ways of the world he had gained more wisdom than a whole library of books could have taught him ben had a greater reverence for his father than for by v s any other person in ihe world as well on of bis integrity as of his sense and deep views of things consequently after being released from the of the law ben came into bis father s with no small of mind come hither began mr in his customary solemn and tone the boy approached and stood before his s chair reverently to hear what judgment this good man would pass upon his late offence he felt that now	35
the right and wrong of the whole matter would be made to appear said his father what could induce you to take property which did not belong to you why father replied ben hanging his head first but then lifting his eyes to mr frank un s face if it had been merely for my own benefit i never should have dreamed of ic but i knew that the wharf would be a public convenience if the owner of th st should build a house with them nobody will enjoy any advantage except himself now i made use of them in a way that was for the advantage of many persons i thought it right to aim at doing good to the greatest number my son said mr solemnly so as it was in your power you have done a by ic al g harm to the public than to the owner cf the stones how can that be father asked ben because answered his father in building your wharf with stolen materials you have committed a moral wrong there is no more terrible mistake than to what is right for the sake of a seeming those who act upon such a principle do the utmost in their power to destroy all that is good in the world heaven forbid said no act continued mr can be for the benefit of the public generally which injustice to any individual it would be easy to prove this by examples but indeed can we suppose that our all wise and just creator would have so ordered the affairs of the world that a wrong act should be the true method of a right end it is to think so and i do verily believe that almost all the public and private misery of mankind arises from a neglect of this great truth that evil can produce only evil that good ends must be wrought out by good means i will never forget it again said bowing his head remember concluded his father that whenever we vary from the highest rule of right just by v we do an injury to the world it seem otherwise for the moment but both ia time and in eternity it will be found so to the close of his life ben never this with his father and we have reason to suppose that in most of his lie and career he endeavored to act upon the principles which that good and wise man had then taught him after the great event of building the wharf ben continued to cut and fill candle for about two years but as he had no love for that occupation his father often took him to see various at their work in er to discover what trade he would thus ben learned the use of a great many tools the knowledge of which afterwards proved very useful to him but he seemed much inclined to go to sea in order to keep him at home and likewise to gratify his taste for letters the lad was bound to his elder brother who had lately set up a office in boston here he had many opportunities of reading new books and of hearing instructive conversation he exercised himself so successfully in writing composition that when no more than thirteen or fourteen years old he became a con to his brother s newspaper ben vas also a if not a poet he made two by ic o t ol bs one about the of ca i and the other about the black beard who not long before the american seas when bed s verses were printed his brother sent him to sell them to the town s people wet from the press buy my shouted as he through the streets with a on his arm who u buy a ballad about hack beard a penny a a penny a piece who buy my if one of those roughly composed and rudely printed could be discovered now it be worth more than its weight in gold in this way our friend spent his boy hood and youth until on account of some with his brother he left his native town and went to philadelphia he landed in the ter city a and hungry young man bought three pence worth of bread to satisfy his appetite not knowing where else to go he entered a meeting house sat down and fell fast asleep he has not told us whether his were visited by any dreams bnt it would have been a strange dream indeed and an incredible one that should have foretold how great a man he was destined to become and how much he would be honored in that very city where he was and unknown so here we finish our story of the childhood by ic of one of these days if you would know what he was in his manhood you must read his own works and the history of american independence do let us hear a little more of him said edward not that i admire him so much as many other characters but he interests me because he was a yankee boy my dear son replied mr temple it would require a whole volume of talk to tell you that is worth knowing about there is a very pretty anecdote of his flying a in the midst of a thunder storm and thus drawing down the lightning from the clouds and proving that it was the same thing as his whole life would be an interesting story if we had time to tell it but pray dear father tell us what made him so famous said e i have seen his portrait a great many times there is a wooden bust of him in one of our streets and marble ones i suppose in some other places and towns and ships of war and and	35
banks and and children are often named after why should he have grown so very famous your question is a reasonable one george answered his father i doubt whether s philosophical discoveries important as they were or even his vast political services would have by ic d by d by stories given him all the fame which he acquired it appears to me that poor richard s did more than any thing else towards making him familiarly known to the public as the writer of those which poor richard was supposed to utter became the and household friend of almost every family in america thus it was the of all his labors that has done the most for his fame i have read some of those remarked edward but i do not like them they are all about getting money or saving it well said his father they were suited to the condition of the country and their effect upon the whole has doubtless been good although they teach men but a very small portion of their duties d by ix hitherto mr temple s had all been about boys and men but the next evening he himself that the quiet little would perhaps be glad to hear the story of a child of her wn sex he therefore resolved to the youthful adventures of of who began to be a at the age of no than six years if we have any little girls among our readers they must not suppose that is set before them as a pattern of what they ought to be on the contrary the tale of her life is chiefly profitable as showing the evil effects of a wrong education which caused this daughter of a king to be both useless and here follows the story queen deed in the royal palace at the capital city of there was born in a little princess the king her father gave her the name of in memory of a girl with whom he had been in love his own name was and he was also called the lion of the north because he had gained greater fame in war than any other prince or general then alive with this kin for their commander the had made by selves terrible to the emperor of germany and to the king of and were looked upon as the chief defence of the religion the little was by no means a child to confess the she was remarkably plain the queen her mother did not love her so much as she ought partly perhaps on account of s want of beauty and also because both the king and queen had wished for a son who might have gained as great renown in battle as his father had the king however soon became exceedingly fond of the infant princess when was very young she was taken violently sick who was several hundred miles from travelled night and day and never rested until he held the poor child in his arms on her recovery he made a solemn festival in order to show his joy to the people of and express his gratitude to heaven after this event he took his daughter with him in all the journeys which he made throughout his kingdom soon proved herself a bold and sturdy little girl when she was two years old the king and herself in the course of a journey came to the strong fortress of on the were soldiers clad in steel which glittered in the sunshine there were likewise great pointing their black mouths at by ic stories and little and ready to out their smoke and thunder for whenever a king enters a fortress it is customary to him with a royal of but the captain of the fortress met and his daughter as they were about to enter the may it please your majesty said he taking off his steel cap and bowing profoundly i fear that if we receive you with a salute of cannon the little princess will be frightened almost to death looked earnestly at his daughter and was indeed apprehensive that the thunder of so many cannon might perhaps throw her into con he had almost a mind to tell the captain to let them enter the fortress quietly as common people might have done without all this head but no this would not do let them fire said he waving his hand is a soldier s daughter and must to bear the noise of cannon so the captain uttered the word of command and immediately there was a terrible peal of thunder from the cannon and such a of smoke that it enveloped the whole fortress in its volumes but amid all the din and sion was seen clapping her little hands and laughing in an ecstasy of delight probably by ic nothing ever pleased her father so much as to see that his daughter promised to be fearless as himself he determined to her exactly as if she had been a boy and to teach her all the knowledge needful to the ruler of a kingdom and the commander of an army but should have remembered that had created her to be a woman and that it was not for him to make a man of her the king derived great happiness from his beloved it must have been a pleasant sight to see the powerful monarch of playing in some magnificent hall of the palace with his merry little girl then he forgot that the weight of a kingdom rested upon his shoulders he forgot that the wise was waiting to consult with him how to render the greatest nation of europe he forgot that the emperor of germany and the king of france were together how they might pull him down from his throne tes forgot all the perils and cares and of a royal life and was as happy	35
my name twice in order to make up for the hesitating and ineffectual way in which he uttered it i ask your pardon sir hut i hear you are going to to morrow i knew the pale elderly face with the red nose and the patch over one eye and likewise saw something characteristic in the old fellow s way of standing under the arch of a gate only revealing enough of himself to make me recognize him as an acquaintance he was a very shy personage this mr and the trait was the more singular as his mode of getting his bread necessarily brought him into the stir and of the world more than the of men yes mr i answered wondering what interest he could take in the fact it is my intention to go to to morrow can i be of any service to you before my departure if you pleased mr said he you might do me a very great favor a very great one repeated i in a tone that must have expressed but little alacrity of although i was ready to do the old man any amount of kindness no special trouble to myself a very great favor do you say my time is brief mr and i have a good many preparations to make but be good enough to tell me what you wish ah sir replied old i don t quite like to do that and on further thoughts mr perhaps i had better apply to some older gentleman or to some lady if you would have the kindness to make me known to one who may happen to be going to yoa are a young man sir the does that fact lessen my for your purpose asked i however if an older man will suit you better there is mr worth who has three or four years the advantage of me in age and is a much more solid character and a to boot i am only a poet and so the critics tell me no great affair at that but what can this business be mr it begins to interest me especially since your hint that a lady s influence might be found desirable come i am really anxious to be of service to you but the old fellow in his civil and manner was both and obstinate and he had now taken some notion or other into his head that made him hesitate in his former design i wonder sir said he whether you know a lady whom they call not personally i answered although i expect that pleasure to morrow as she has got the start of the rest of us and is already a resident at but have you a literary turn mr or have you taken up the of women s rights or what else can have interested you in this lady by the by as i suppose you know is merely her public name a sort of mask in which she comes before the world retaining all the privileges of privacy a contrivance in short like the white of the veiled lady only a little more transparent but it is late will you tell me what i can do for you please to excuse me to night mr said you are very kind but i am afraid i have troubled you when after all there may be no need perhaps with your good leave i will come to your old to morrow morning before you set out for i wish you a good night sir and beg pardon for stopping you and so he away and as he did not show himself the next morning it was only through subsequent events that i ever arrived at a plausible conjecture as to what his business could have been arriving at my room i threw a lump of coal upon the grate lighted a cigar and spent an hour in of every hue from the brightest to the most sombre being in truth not so very confident as at some former periods that this final step which would mix me up with the was the wisest that could possibly be taken it was nothing short of midnight when i went to bed after drinking a glass of particularly fine on which i used to pride myself in those days it was the very last bottle and i finished it with a friend the next before setting out for ii there can hardly remain for me who am really getting to be a frosty bachelor with another white hair every week or so in my moustache there can hardly up again so cheery a blaze upon the hearth as that which i remember the next day at it was a wood fire in the parlor of an old farm house on an april afternoon but with the fitful of a wintry snow storm roaring in the chimney vividly does that fireside re create itself as i away the ashes from the embers in my memory and blow them up with a sigh for lack of more inspiring breath vividly for an instant but anon with the gleam and with just as little for my heart as for my the logs were long ago burnt out their genial glow must be represented if at all by the merest glimmer like that which rather than shines from damp fragments of decayed trees the wanderer through a forest around such chill mockery of a fire some few of us might sit on the withered leaves spreading out each a palm towards the imaginary warmth and talk over our exploded scheme for the life of paradise anew paradise indeed nobody else in the world i am bold to affirm nobody at least in our bleak little world of new england had dreamed of paradise that day except as the pole suggests the nor with such materials as were at	35
hand could the most skilful have constructed any better imitation of eve s bower than might be seen in the snow hut of an but we made a summer of it in spite of the wild it was an april day as already hinted and well towards the middle of the month when morning dawned upon me in town its temperature was mild enough to be pronounced even by a like myself in one of the houses of a brick block each house of the warmth of all the rest besides the of its individual furnace heat but towards noon there had come snow driven along the street by a north blast and the roofs and side walks with a business like perseverance that would have done credit to our january tempest it set about its task apparently as much in earnest as if it had been from a for months to come the greater surely was my heroism when puffing out a final of cigar smoke i quitted my pair of bachelor rooms with a good fire burning in the grate and a closet right at hand where there was still a bottle or two in the champagne basket and a of in a box quitted i say these comfortable quarters and plunged into the heart of the pitiless in quest of a better life the better life possibly it would hardly look so now it is enough if it looked so then the greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one s self a the truest heroism the romance is to resist the doubt and the wisdom to know when it ought to be resisted and when to be obeyed yet after all let us acknowledge it wiser if not more sagacious to follow out one s day dream to its natural although if the vision have been worth the having it is certain never to be otherwise than by a failure and what of that its fragments as they may be will possess a value that not in the most ponderous realities of any practicable scheme they are not the rubbish of the mind whatever else i may repent of therefore let it be reckoned neither among my sins nor follies that i once had faith and force enough to form generous hopes of the world s destiny yes and to do what in me lay for their accomplishment even to the extent of a warm fireside flinging away a lighted cigar and travelling far beyond the strike of city through a drifting snow storm there were four of us who rode together through the storm and worth who had agreed to be of the number was accidentally delayed and set forth at a later hour alone as we the streets i remember how the buildings on either side seemed to press too closely upon us that our mighty hearts found barely room enough to throb between them the too looked dreary i had almost called it dingy coming down through an atmosphere of city smoke and on the side walk only to be into the impress of somebody s patched boot or over shoe thus the track of an old was visible on what was from the sky but when we left the and our muffled beat upon a desolate extent of country road and were by the blast as soon as stamped then there was better air to breathe air that had not been breathed once and again air that had not been spoken into words of falsehood formality and error like all the air of the dusky city how pleasant it is remarked i while the flew into my mouth the moment it was opened how very mild and is this country air ah don t laugh at what little enthusiasm you have left said one of my companions i maintain that this atmosphere is really and at any rate we can never call ourselves men till a february north shall be as grateful to us as the breeze of june so we all of us took courage riding and merrily along by stone fences that were half buried in wave like and through patches of where the tree trunks opposed a snow side towards the north east and within ken of deserted with no foot prints in their avenues and past scattered dwellings whence puffed the smoke of country fires strongly with the of burning sometimes a traveller we shouted a friendly greeting and he his ears to the and the snow spray and listening eagerly appeared to think our courtesy worth less than the trouble which it cost him the he understood the shrill whistle of the blast but had no intelligence for our tones of brotherhood this lack of faith in our cordial sympathy on the traveller s part was one the romance among the innumerable tokens how difficult a task we had in hand for the of the world we rode on however with still spirits and made such good companionship with the tempest that at our journey s end we professed ourselves almost loth to bid the rude good by but to own the truth i was little better than an and began to be suspicious that i had caught a fearful cold and now we were seated by the brisk fireside of the old farm house the same fire that so faintly among my reminiscences at the beginning of this chapter there we sat with the snow melting out of our hair and and our faces all a blaze what with the past and present warmth it was indeed a right good fire that we found awaiting us built up of great rough logs and limbs and fragments of an oak tree such as farmers are wont to keep for their own since these crooked and boughs could never be measured into	35
for the market a family of the old might have swung their kettle over precisely such a fire as this only no doubt a bigger one and it with my coal grate i felt so much the more that we had transported ourselves a world wide distance from the system of society that us at breakfast time good comfortable mrs foster the wife of stout foster who was to manage the farm at a fair and be our in the art of bade us a hearty welcome at her back a back of generous breadth appeared two young women smiling most but looking rather awkward withal as not well knowing what was to be their position in our new arrangement of the world we shook hands affectionately all round arid congratulated ourselves that the blessed state of brotherhood and at which we might fairly be dated from this moment our greetings were hardly concluded when the door opened and whom i had never before seen important as was her place in our enterprise entered the parlor this as the reader if at all acquainted with our literary biography need scarcely be told was not her real name she had assumed it in the first instance as her magazine signature and as it accorded well with something imperial which her friends attributed to this lady s figure and they half adopted it in their familiar intercourse with her she took the in good part and even encouraged its constant use which in fact was thus far appropriate that our however humble looked her new philosophy had as much native pride as any queen would have known what to do with iii a knot of bade us welcome in a fine frank mellow voice and gave each of us her hand which was very soft and warm she had something appropriate i recollect to say to every individual and what she said to myself was this i have long wished to know you mr and to thank you for your beautiful poetry some of which i have learned by heart or rather it has stolen into my memory without my any choice or about the matter of course permit me to say you do not think of an occupation in which you have done yourself so much credit i would almost rather give you up as an associate than that the world should lose one of its true poets ah no there will not be the slightest danger of that especially after this praise from said i smiling and blushing no doubt with excess of pleasure i hope on the contrary now to produce something that shall really deserve to be called poetry true strong natural and sweet as is the life which we are going to lead something that shall have the notes of wild birds through it or a strain like the wind in the woods as the case may be is it irksome to you to hear your own verses sung asked with a gracious smile if so i am a knot op very sorry for you will certainly hear me singing them sometimes in the summer evenings of all things answered i that is what will delight me most while this passed and while she spoke to my companions i was taking note of s aspect and it impressed itself on me so distinctly that i can now summon her up like a ghost a little than the life but otherwise identical with it she was dressed as simply as possible in an american print i think the dry goods people call it so but with a silken between which and her gown there was one glimpse of a white shoulder it struck me as a great piece of good fortune that there should be just that glimpse her hair which was dark glossy and of singular abundance was put up rather and without curls or other ornament except a single flower it was an of rare beauty and as fresh as if the hot house gardener had just it from the stem that flower has struck deep root into my memory i can both see it and smell it at this moment so brilliant so rare so costly as it must have been and yet enduring only for a day it was more of the pride and pomp which had a luxuriant growth in s character than if a great diamond had sparkled among her hair her hand though very soft was larger tl most women would like to have or than they could afford to have though not a whit too large in proportion with the spacious plan of s entire development it did one good to see a fine intellect as hers really was although its natural tendency lay in another direction than towards literature so she was indeed an the admirable figure of a woman just on the hither verge of her richest maturity with a combination of features which it is safe to remarkably beautiful even if some fastidious persons might pronounce them a little deficient in softness and delicacy but we find enough of those attributes everywhere by way of variety at least was s bloom health and vigor which she possessed in such that a man might well have fallen in love with her for their sake only in her quiet moods she seemed rather indolent but when really in earnest particularly if there were a of bitter feeling she grew all alive to her i am the first comer went on to say while her smile beamed warmth upon us all so i take the part of hostess for to day and welcome you as if to my own fireside you shall be my guests too at supper to morrow if you please we will be brethren and sisters and begin our new life from daybreak have we	35
our various parts assigned asked some one we of the softer sex responded with her mellow almost broad laugh most to hear but not in the least like an ordinary woman s laugh we women there are four of us here already will take the domestic and part of the business as a matter of course to to boil to roast to to to wash and iron and and sweep and at our intervals to repose ourselves on knitting and sewing these i suppose must be feminine occupations for the present by and by perhaps when our individual begin to develop themselves it a knot of may be that some of us who wear the will go a field and leave the weaker brethren to take our places in the kitchen what a pity i remarked that the kitchen and the house work generally cannot be left out of our system altogether it is odd enough that the kind of labor which falls to the lot of women is just that which chiefly artificial life the life of mortals from the life of paradise eve had no dinner pot and no clothes to mend and no i am afraid said with mirth gleaming out of her eyes we shall find some difficulty in the system for at least a month to come look at that snow drift sweeping past the window are there any ripe do you think have the been gathered to day would you like a or a nut shall i run out and pluck you some roses no no mr the only flower is the one in my hair which i got out of a green house this morning as for the garb of added she shivering i shall not assume it till after may day assuredly could not have intended it the fault must have been entirely in my imagination but these last words together with something in h t manner irresistibly brought up a picture of that fine perfectly developed figure in eve s earliest garment her careless generous modes of expression often had this effect of creating images which though pure are hardly felt to be quite when bom of a thought that passes between man and woman i it at the romance that time to s noble courage conscious of no harm and the petty which take the life and color out of other women s conversation there was another peculiarity about her we seldom meet with women now a days and in this country who impress us as being women at all their sex away and goes for nothing in ordinary intercourse not so with one felt an influence breathing out of her such as we might suppose to come from eve when she was just made and her creator brought her to adam saying behold here is a woman not that i would convey the idea of especial gentleness grace modesty and shyness but of a certain warm and rich characteristic which seems for the most part to have been refined away out of the feminine system and now continued i must go and help get supper do you think you can be content instead of pine apples and all the other of adam s supper table with tea and toast and a certain modest supply of ham and tongue which with the instinct of a i brought hither in a basket and there shall be bread and milk too if the innocence of your taste demands it the whole now went about their domestic utterly declining our offers to assist further than by bringing wood for the kitchen fire from a huge pile in the back yard after up more than a sufficient quantity we returned to the sitting room drew our chairs close to the hearth and began to talk over our prospects soon with a tremendous stamping in the entry appeared foster uncouth and bearded he came from the cattle a knot of v in the bam and from the field where he had been until the depth of the snow rendered it impossible to draw a he greeted us in pretty much the same tone as if he were speaking to his oxen took a from his iron tobacco box pulled off his wet cow hide boots and sat down before the fire in his feet the steam arose from his soaked garments so that the stout looked and like well folks remarked you be wishing yourselves back to town again if this weather holds and enough there was a look of gloom as the twilight fell silently and sadly out of the sky its gray or themselves with the fast descending snow the storm in its evening aspect was decidedly dreary it seemed to have arisen for our especial a symbol of the cold desolate that invariably haunt the mind on the eve of adventurous to us back within the boundaries of ordinary life but our courage did not we would not allow ourselves to be depressed by the snow drift trailing past the window any more than if it had been the sigh of a summer wind among rustling boughs there have been few brighter seasons for us than that if ever men might dream awake and give utterance to their wildest visions without dread of laughter or scorn on the part of the audience yes and speak of earthly happiness for themselves and mankind as an object to be for and probably attained we who made that little semi circle round the blazing fire were those very men we had left the rusty iron the romance frame work of society behind us we had broken through many that are powerful enough to keep most people on the weary tread mill of the established system even while they feel its almost as intolerable as we did we had down from the pulpit we	35
had flung aside the pen we had shut up the we had thrown off that sweet which is better after all than most of the within mortal grasp it was our purpose a generous one certainly and absurd no doubt in full proportion with its generosity to give up whatever we had heretofore attained for the sake of showing mankind the example of a life governed by other than the false and cruel principles on which human society has all along been based and first of all we had ourselves from pride and were striving to supply its place with familiar love we meant to lessen the laboring man s great of toil by performing our due share of it at the cost of our own and we sought our profit by mutual aid instead of it by the strong hand from an enemy or it from those less shrewd than ourselves if indeed there were any such in new england or winning it by selfish competition with a neighbor in one or another of which fashions every son of woman both and his share of the common evil whether he chooses it or no and as the basis of our institution we to offer up the earnest toil of our bodies as a prayer no less than an effort for the advancement of our race therefore if we built splendid castles k a knot of perhaps they might be more called and pictured beautiful scenes among the coals of the hearth around which we were and if all went to rack with the crumbling embers and have never since arisen out of the ashes let us take to ourselves no shame in my own behalf i rejoice that i could once think better of the world s than it deserved it is a mistake into which men seldom fall twice in a lifetime or if so the and higher is the nature that can thus persist in error stout foster mingled little in our conversation but when he did speak it was very much to son p practical purpose for instance which man among you he is the best judge of swine some of us must go to the next fair and buy half a dozen pigs pigs good heavens had we come out from among the multitude for this and again in reference to some discussion about raising early vegetables for the market we shall never make any hand at market said foster unless the women folks will undertake to do all the we haven t team enough for that and the regular farm work reckoning three of you city folks as worth one common field hand no no i tell you we should have to get up a little too early in the morning to with the round boston it struck me as rather odd that one of the first questions raised after our separation from the greedy struggling self seeking world should relate to the possibility of getting the advantage over the outside in the romance their own field of labor but to own the truth i very soon became sensible that as regarded society at large we stood in a position of new hostility rather than new brotherhood nor could this fail to be the case in some degree until the bigger and better half of society should range itself on our side so pitiful a as now we were inevitably from the rest of mankind in pretty fair proportion with the of our mutual bond among ourselves this dawning idea however was driven back into my inner consciousness by the entrance of she came with the welcome intelligence that supper was on the table looking at herself in the glass and perceiving that her one magnificent flower had grown rather languid probably by being exposed to the of the kitchen fire she flung it on the floor as as a village girl would throw away a faded violet the action seemed proper to her character although it would still more have the of this beautiful woman to scatter fresh flowers from her hand and to revive faded ones by her touch nevertheless it was a singular but irresistible effect the presence of caused our heroic enterprise to show like an a a pastoral a in which we grown up men and women were making a play day of the years that were given us to live in i tried to this impression but not with much success it really me observed as we left the room that mr should be such a i should not have thought him at all the sort of person to be turned back by a puff of contrary wind or a few snow drifting into his face a knot of do you know personally i inquired no only as an i mean of some of his lectures said she what a voice he has and what a man he is yet not so much an intellectual man i should say as a great heart at least he moved me more deeply than i think myself capable of being moved except by the stroke of a true strong heart against my own it is a sad pity that he should have devoted his glorious powers to such a and positively hopeless object as this of about which he makes himself and his small so very miserable to tell you a secret i never could a before could you by no means i answered neither can i now they are indeed an disagreeable set of mortals continued i should like mr a great deal better if the had been left out at all events a a mere matter of taste i wish he would let the bad people alone and try to benefit those who are not already past his help do you suppose he will be content to spend his life or even a few months	35
right to come in said laughing and what are we thinking of it must be mr i went to the door and flung it wide open there sure enough stood his shaggy great coat all covered with snow so that he looked quite as much like a bear as a modem hospitality this said he in those deep tones of his which seemed to come out of a chest as as a barrel it would have served you right if i had lain down and spent the night on the door the step just for the sake of putting you to shame but here is a guest who will need a and softer bed and stepping back to the wagon in which he had hither received into his arms and deposited on the door step a figure enveloped in a cloak it was evidently a woman or rather judging from the ease with which he lifted her and the little space which she seemed to fill in his arms a slim and girl as she showed some hesitation about entering the door with his usual and lack of ceremony ui ed her forward not merely within the entry but into the warm and kitchen who is this whispered i remaining behind with him while he was taking off his great coat who really i don t know answered looking at me with some surprise it is a young person who belongs here however and no doubt she has been expected or some of the can tell you all about it i think not said i glancing towards the new comer and the other occupants of the kitchen nobody seems to welcome her i should hardly judge that she was an expected guest well well said quietly we make it right the or whatever she were remained standing precisely on that spot of the kitchen floor to which s kindly hand had impelled her the cloak falling partly off she was seen to be a very young woman dressed in a poor but decent gown made high in the neck and without any regard to fashion or smart thb ness her brown hair fell down from beneath a hood not in curl but with only a slight wave her face was of a wan almost sickly hue habitual seclusion from the sun and free atmosphere like a that had done its best to blossom in too scanty light to complete the of her aspect she shivered either with cold or fear or nervous excitement so that you might have beheld her shadow on the fire lighted wall in short there has seldom been seen so depressed and sad a figure as this young and it was hardly possible to help being angry with her from mere despair of doing anything for her comfort the ed to me that she was some desolate kind of a creature doomed to wander about in and that though the of our had tempted her into a human dwelling she would not remain long enough to melt the out of her hair another conjecture likewise came into my mind s sphere of action i deemed it possible that he might have brought one of his guilty to be wrought upon and restored to spiritual health by the pure influences which our mode of life would create as yet the girl had not stirred she stood near the door fixing a pair of large brown melancholy eyes upon only upon she evidently saw nothing else in the room save that bright fair rosy beautiful woman it was the strangest look i ever witnessed long a mystery to me and forever a memory once she seemed about to move forward and greet her i know not with what warmth or with what words the romance but finally instead of doing so she drooped down upon her knees clasped her hands and into s face meeting no kindly reception her head fell on her bosom i never thoroughly forgave for her conduct on this occasion but women are always more cautious in their casual than men what does the girl mean cried she in rather a sharp tone is she crazy has she no tongue and here stepped forward no wonder if the poor child s tongue is frozen in her mouth said he and i think he positively frowned at the very heart will be in her bosom you women can warm it among you with the warmth that ought to be in your own s appearance was very striking at this moment he was then about thirty years old but looked several years older with his great shaggy head his heavy brow his dark complexion his abundant beard and the rude strength with which his features seemed to have been out of iron rather than or from any finer or softer material his figure was not tall but massive and and well his original occupation which as the reader probably knows was that of a blacksmith as for polish or mere courtesy of manner he never possessed more than a tolerably educated bear although in his moods there was a tenderness in his voice eyes mouth in his gesture and in every indescribable which few men could resist and no woman but he how looked stem and and it was with that meaning in his glance the table that first met s eyes and began his influence upon her life to my surprise of whose haughty spirit i had been told so many examples absolutely changed color and seemed and confused you do not quite do me justice mr said she almost i am willing to be kind to the poor girl is she a of yours what can i do for her have you anything to ask of this lady said kindly to the girl i remember you mentioned her name before we left	35
from the thick of his meditations like a tiger out of a make the reply possible and himself back into the solitude of his heart and mind the poor fellow had contracted this habit from the intensity with which he contemplated his own ideas and the sympathy which they met with from his a circumstance that seemed only to strengthen the confidence that he to them his heart i imagine was never really interested in our scheme but was forever busy with his strange and as most people thought it plan for the of through an appeal to their higher instincts much as i liked it cost me many a groan to him on this point he ought to have commenced his investigation of the subject by some huge sin in his proper person and examining the condition of his higher instincts afterwards the rest of us formed ourselves into a committee for providing our infant community with an appropriate name a matter of greatly more difficulty than the reader would suppose was neither good nor bad we should have resumed the old name of the premises had it possessed the oil flow which the were so often happy in the romance communicating to their local but it chanced to be a harsh ill connected and interminable word which seemed to fill the mouth with a mixture of very stiff clay and very pebbles suggested sunny glimpse as expressive of a vista into a better system of society this we turned over and over for a while acknowledging its but concluded it to be rather too fine and sentimental a name a fault inevitable by literary ladies in such attempts for sun burnt men to work under i ventured to whisper which however was down and the very harshly as if he had intended a latent satire some were for calling our institution the in view of its being the one green spot in the moral sand waste of the world but others insisted on a for the matter at a s end when a final decision might be had whether to name it the or so at last finding it to hammer out anything better we resolved that the spot should still be as being of good enough the evening wore on and the outer solitude looked in upon us through the windows gloomy wild and vague like another state of existence close beside the little sphere of warmth and light in which we were the and of a moment by and by the door was opened by foster with a cotton handkerchief about his head and a candle in his hand take my advice brother farmers said he with a great broad and get to bed as soon as you can i shall the horn at daybreak and until bed time we ve got the cattle to and nine cows to milk and a dozen other things to do breakfast thus ended the first evening at i went shivering to my chamber with the miserable consciousness which had been growing upon me for several hours past that i had caught a tremendous cold and should probably awaken at the blast of the horn a fit subject for a hospital the night proved a feverish one during the greater part of it i was in that of states when a fixed idea remains in the mind like the nail in s brain while innumerable other ideas go and come and flutter to and fro constant transition with intolerable had i made a record of that night s half waking dreams it is my belief that it would have anticipated several of the chief incidents of this narrative including a dim shadow of its catastrophe starting up in bed at length i saw that the storm was past and the moon was shining on the snowy landscape which looked like a lifeless copy of the world in marble from the bank of the distant river which was in the moonlight came the black shadow of the only cloud in heaven driven swiftly by the wind and passing over meadow and vanishing amid of trees but on the hither side until it swept across our door step how cold an was this vi s sick chamber the horn sounded at daybreak as foster had us harsh drawn out and as sleep as if this hard hearted old had got hold of the of doom on all sides i could hear the creaking of the as the brethren of started from slumber and thrust themselves into their all no doubt in their haste to begin the of the world put her head into the entry and foster to cease his and to be kind enough to leave an of and a of water at her chamber door of the whole household unless indeed it were for whose habits in this particular i cannot of all our society whose mission was to bless mankind i apprehend was the only one who began the enterprise with prayer my sleeping room being but from his the solemn murmur of his voice made its way to my ears compelling me to be an of his awful privacy with the creator it affected me with a deep reverence for which no familiarity then existing or that afterwards grew more intimate between us no nor my subsequent perception of his own great errors ever quite it is so rare in these times to meet with a man of habits s sick except of course in the pulpit that such an one is decidedly marked out by a light of shed upon him in the divine interview from which he passes into his daily life as for me i lay and if i said my prayers it was backward cursing my day as bitterly as patient job himself the truth was the hot house warmth of a town residence and the luxurious life	35
said he gravely smiling you know nothing about sickness and think your case a great deal more desperate than it is death should take me while i am in the mood replied i with a little of my customary levity have you nothing to do in life asked that you fancy yourself so ready to leave it nothing answered i nothing that i know of unless to make pretty verses and play a part with s sick and the rest of the in our pastoral it seems but an sort of business as viewed through a mist of fever but dear your own is evidently to be a priest and to spend your days and nights in helping your fellow creatures to draw peaceful dying and by which of my qualities inquired he can you suppose me fitted for this by your tenderness i said it seems to me the reflection of god s own love and you call me tender repeated thoughtfully i should rather say that the most marked trait in my character is an severity of purpose mortal man has no right to be so as it is my nature and necessity to be i do not believe it i replied but in due time i remembered what he said probably as suggested my disorder was never so serious as in my ignorance of such matters i was inclined to consider it after so much preparation it was positively rather to find myself on the mending hand au the other members of the community showed me kindness according to the fuu measure of their capacity brought me my every day made by her own hands not very if the truth must be told and whenever i seemed inclined to converse would sit by my bed side and talk with so much vivacity as to add several to my pulse her poor uttle stories and tracts never half did justice to her intellect it was only the lack of a avenue that drove her to seek development in she was made the romance among thousand other things that she might have heen for a stump i recognized no severe culture in her mind was full of weeds it startled me sometimes in my state of moral as well as bodily faint to observe the of her philosophy she made no scruple of all human institutions and scattering them as with a breeze from her fan a female in her attacks upon society has an instinctive sense of where the life lies and is inclined to aim directly at that spot especially the relation between the sexes is naturally among the earliest to attract her notice was truly a magnificent woman the homely simplicity of her dress could not conceal nor scarcely the of her presence the image of her form and face should have been multiplied all over the earth it was the rest of mankind to retain her as the spectacle of only a few the stage would have been her proper sphere she should have made it a point of duty moreover to sit to painters and and to the latter because the cold decorum of the marble would consist with the utmost of so that the eye might be with her material perfection in its i know not well how to express that the native glow of in her cheeks and even the flesh warmth over her round arms and what was visible of her full bust in a word her compelled me sometimes to close my eyes as if it were not quite the privilege of modesty to gaze at her illness and exhaustion no doubt had made me sensitive s i noticed and wondered how contrived it that she had always a new flower in her hair and still it was a hot house flower an flower a flower of the such as appeared to have sprung passionately out of a soil the very weeds of which would be and unlike as was the flower of each successive day to the preceding one it yet so its richness to the rich beauty of the woman that i thought it the only flower fit to be worn so fit indeed that nature had evidently created this in a happy for the one purpose of s head it might be that my feverish clustered themselves about this peculiarity and caused it to look more gorgeous and wonderful than if beheld with temperate eyes in the height of my illness as i well recollect i went so far as to pronounce it is an whispered i once to she is a sister of the veiled lady that flower in her hair is a if you were to snatch it away she would vanish or be transformed into something else what does he say asked nothing that has an of sense in it answered he is a little beside himself i believe and talks about your being a witch and of some property in the flower that you wear in your hair it is an idea worthy of a feverish poet said she laughing rather and taking out the flower i scorn to owe anything to magic here mr you may keep the spell while it has any in it but i cannot promise you not to appear with ths romance a new one to morrow it is the one of my more brilliant my happier days the most curious part of the matter was that long after my slight delirium had passed away as long indeed as i continued to know this remarkable woman her daily flower affected my imagination though more slightly yet in very much the same way the reason must have been that whether on her part or not this favorite ornament was actually a expression of s character one subject about which very moreover i perplexed myself with a great	35
many conjectures was whether had ever been married the idea it must be understood was by any circumstance or suggestion that had made its way to my ears so young as i beheld her and the and woman of a thousand there was certainly no need of to her a destiny already accomplished the probability was far greater that her coming years had all life s richest gifts to bring if the great event of a woman s existence had been the world knew nothing of it although the world seemed to know well it was a ridiculous piece of romance undoubtedly to imagine that this beautiful personage wealthy as she was and holding a position that might fairly enough be called distinguished could have given herself away so privately but that some whisper and suspicion and by degrees a full understanding of the fact would eventually be blown abroad but then as i failed not to consider her original home was at a distance of many hundred miles might the social atmosphere or might once have filled it there s sick which would travel but slowly against the wind towards our north eastern metropolis and perhaps melt into thin air before reaching it there was not and i distinctly repeat it the slightest foundation in my knowledge for any of the kind but there is a species of either a spiritual lie or the subtle recognition of a fact which comes to us in a reduced state of the system the soul gets the better of the body after wasting illness or when a vegetable diet may have mingled too much in the blood then rise up to the brain and take shapes that often image falsehood but sometimes truth the of our companions have at such periods a vastly greater influence upon our own than when robust health gives us a and energy s sphere i imagine impressed itself powerfully on mine and transformed me during this period of my weakness into something like a then also as anybody could observe the freedom of her though to some tastes it might commend itself as the perfection of manner in a youthful widow or a blooming matron was not exactly maiden like what girl had ever laughed as did what girl had ever spoken in her mellow tones her and inevitable i said often to myself was that of a woman to whom had thrown wide the gates of mystery yet sometimes i strove to be ashamed of these conjectures i acknowledged it as a masculine a sin of wicked interpretation of which man is often guilty towards the other sex thus to mistake the sweet liberal but th womanly frankness of a noble and generous disposition still it was of no avail to reason with myself nor to myself the thought is a wife has lived and loved there is no folded no latent dew drop in this perfectly developed rose irresistibly that thought drove out all other conclusions as often as my mind to the subject was conscious of my observation though not i presume of the point to which it led me mr said she one day as she saw me watching her while she arranged my on the table i have been exposed to a great deal of eye shot in the few years of my mixing in the world but never i think to precisely such glances as you are in the habit of me with i seem to interest you very much and yet or else a woman s instinct is for once deceived i cannot reckon you as an admirer what are you seeking to discover in me the mystery of your life answered i surprised into the truth by the of her attack and you will never tell me she bent her head me and let me look into her eyes as if me to drop a line down into the depths of her consciousness i see nothing now said i closing my own eyes unless it be the face of a laughing at me from the bottom of a deep well a bachelor always feels himself when he knows or that any woman of his acquaintance has given herself away otherwise the matter could have been no concern of mine it was purely for i should not under any circumstances have s sick chamber in love with the riddle made me so however in my sensitive condition of mind and body that i most began to wish that she would let me alone then too her was very wretched stuff with almost invariably the smell of pine smoke upon it like the evil taste that is said to mix itself up with a witch s best why could not she have allowed one of the other women to take the in charge whatever else might be her gifts nature certainly never intended for a cook or if so she should have only with the richest and dishes and such as are to be tasted at between draughts of wine vii the as soon as my allowed me to think of past i failed not to inquire what had of the odd little guest whom had been the medium of introducing among us it now appeared that poor had not so literally fallen out of the clouds as we were at first inclined to suppose a letter which should have introduced her had since been received from one of the city containing a of character and an allusion to circumstances which in the writer s judgment made it especially desirable that she should find shelter in our community there was a hint not very intelligible either that had recently escaped from some particular peril or of position or else that she was still liable to this danger or difficulty whatever it might be we should ill have deserved the reputation of	35
a benevolent had we hesitated to entertain a in such need and so strongly recommended to our kindness not to mention moreover that the strange maiden had set herself diligently to work and was doing good service with her needle but a slight mist of uncertainty still floated about and kept her as yet from taking a very decided place among creatures of flesh and blood the mysterious attraction which from her first the entrance on our scene she evinced for had lost nothing of its force i often heard her footsteps soft and low accompanying the light but decided tread of the latter up the staircase stealing along the passage way by her new friend s side and pausing while entered my chamber occasionally would be a little annoyed by s too close attendance in an and not very kindly tone she would advise her to breathe the pleasant air in a walk or to go with her work into the bam holding out half a promise to come and sit on the hay with her when at leisure evidently found but scanty for her love was likewise a great favorite with her for several minutes together sometimes while my nerves retained the of delicate health i used to hear a low pleasant murmur ascending from the room below and at last ascertained it to be s voice like a little brook to she talked more largely and freely with him than with towards whom indeed her feelings seemed not so much to be confidence as involuntary affection i should have thought all the better of my own qualities had marked me out for the third place in her regards but though she appeared to like me tolerably well i could never flatter myself with being distinguished by her as and were one during my there came a gentle tap at my chamber door i immediately said come in with an acute sense of the s identity nor was i deceived it was really a pale large eyed little woman for she the romance had gone far enough into her to he at least on the outer limit of hut much less wan than at my previous view of her and far better both as to health and spirits as i first saw her she had reminded me of plants that one sometimes doing their best to among the bricks of an enclosed court where there is scanty soil and never any sunshine at present though with no approach to bloom there were indications that the girl had human blood in her veins came softly to my bed side and held out an article of snow white linen very carefully and smoothly she did not seem nor an my weakly condition i suppose supplied a medium in which she could approach me do not you need this asked she i have made it for you it was a night cap my dear said i smiling i never had on a night cap in my life but perhaps it will be better for me to wear one now that i am a miserable invalid how admirably you have done it no no i never can think of wearing such an exquisitely wrought night cap as this unless it be in the day time when i sit up to receive company it is for use not beauty answered i could have embroidered it and made it much prettier if i pleased while holding up the night cap and admiring the fine needle work i perceived that had a sealed letter which she was waiting for me to take it had arrived from the village post that morning as i the did not immediately offer to receive the letter she drew it back and held it against her bosom with both hands clasped over it in a way that had probably grown habitual to her now on turning my eyes from the night to it forcibly struck me that her air though not her figure and the expression of her face but not its features had a resemblance to what i had often seen in a friend of mine one of the most gifted women of the age i cannot describe it the points easiest to convey to the reader were a certain curve of the shoulders and a partial closing of the eyes which seemed to look more into my own eyes the than if they had been open at full width it was a singular of with perfect will you give me the letter said i she started put the letter into my hand and quite lost the look that had drawn my notice i inquired did you ever see miss fuller no she answered because said i you reminded me of her just now and it happens strangely enough that this very letter is from her for whatever reason looked very much i wish people would not fancy such odd things in me she said rather how could i possibly make myself resemble this lady merely by holding her letter in my hand certainly it would puzzle me to explain tt i replied nor do i suppose that the letter had any the romance thing to do with it it was just a coincidence nothing more she hastened out of the room and this was the last that i saw of until i ceased to he an invalid being much alone during my recovery i read in mr s essays the dial s works george sand s lent me by and other books which one or another of the or had brought with them agreeing in little else most of these were like the cry of some solitary whose station was on the of the advance guard of human or sometimes the voice came sadly from among the shattered ruins of the past but yet had a hopeful echo in the future they were well adapted better at	35
that no doubt the entire reason and justice of the universe appeared to be concentrated it is my private opinion that at this period of his life was fast going mad and as other crazy people among whom i include of every degree it required all the constancy of friendship to restrain his associates from him an intolerable bore such prolonged upon one string such of one idea his specific object of which he made the public more than aware through the medium of lectures and was to obtain funds for the construction of an edifice with a sort of on this foundation he to devote himself and a few to the reform and mental culture of our criminal brethren his visionary edifice was s one castle in the air it was the material type in which his dream strove to itself and he made the scheme more definite and caught hold of it the more strongly and kept his clutch the more by rendering it visible to the bodily eye i have seen him a hundred times with a pencil and sheet of paper the the or the rear of the structure or planning the inter the arrangements as lovingly as another man might plan those of the projected home where he meant to be happy with his wife and children i have him to begin a model of the building with little stones gathered at the brook side whither we had gone to cool ourselves in the noon of time unlike all other ghosts his spirit haunted an edifice which instead of being time worn and full of love and joy and sorrow had never yet come into existence dear friend said i once to before leaving my sick chamber i heartily wish that i could make your schemes my schemes because it would be so great a happiness to find myself treading the same path with you but i am afraid there is not stuff in me stern enough for a or not in this peculiar direction or at all events not solely in this can you bear with me if such should prove to be the case i will at least wait a while answered gazing at me sternly and gloomily but how can you be my life long friend except you strive with me towards the great object of my life heaven forgive me a horrible suspicion crept into my heart and stung the very core of it as with the of an i wondered whether it were possible that could have watched by my bed side with all that devoted care only for the purpose of making me a to his views viii a modern may day f forget whether by s sole decree or by the unanimous vote of our community had been declared a festival it was deferred until the sun should have had a reasonable time to clear away the snow along the lee of the stone walls and bring out a few of the wild flowers on the of the day after admitting some of the air into my chamber i decided that it was nonsense to keep myself a prisoner any longer so i descended to the sitting room and finding nobody there proceeded to the barn whence i had already heard s voice and along with it a girlish laugh which was not so certainly arriving at the spot it a little surprised me to discover that these merry came from the two had been a together they had found in abundance by the handful some a few long stalked and a quantity of white everlasting flowers and had filled up their basket with the delicate spray of shrubs and trees none were prettier than the twigs the leaf of which looks like a scarlet bud in may and like a plate of vegetable gold in october who showed no conscience in such matters had also a cherry tree of one of its boughs and with all this variety a of ornament had been out being done with a good deal of taste it made her look more charming than i should have thought possible with my recollection of the wan frost girl as heretofore described nevertheless among those fragrant blossoms and too had been stuck a weed of evil and ugly aspect which as soon as i detected it destroyed the effect of all the rest there was a gleam of latent mischief not to call it in s eye which seemed to indicate a slightly malicious purpose in the arrangement as for herself she scorned the rural and and wore nothing but her invariable flower of the what do you think of now mr asked she surveying her as a child does its doll is not she worth a verse or two there is only one thing amiss answered i laughed and flung the malignant weed away yes she deserves some verses now said i and from a better poet than myself she is the very picture of the new england spring subdued in tint and rather cool but with a capacity of sunshine and bringing us a few blossoms as earnest of something richer though hardly more beautiful hereafter the best type of her is one of those what i find most singular in as her health observed is her such a quiet little body as she seemed one would not have expected that why as we strolled the woods together i could hardly keep her from up the trees like a she has before known what it is the romance to live in the free air and so it her as if she were wine and she thinks it such a paradise here and all of us particularly mr and myself such angels it is quite ridiculous and one s malice almost to see a creature so happy especially a feminine creature they are always	35
our labors on the whole it was a society such as has seldom met together nor perhaps could it reasonably be expected to hold together long persons of marked individuality crooked sticks as some of us might be called are not exactly the easiest to bind up into a but so the romance long as our union should a man of intellect and feeling with a free nature in him might have sought far and near without finding so many points of attraction as would him e were of au and opinions and generally of all on every imaginable subject our bond it seems to me was not affirmative but negative we had found one thing or another to quarrel with in our past life and were pretty well agreed as to the of along with the old system any further as to what should be there was much less we did not greatly care at least i never did for the written constitution under which our had commenced my hope was that between theory and practice a true and available mode of life might be struck out and that even should we ultimately fail the months or years spent in the trial would not have been wasted either as regarded passing enjoyment or the experience which makes men wise though we were our costume bore no resemblance to the be silk breeches and stockings and slippers fastened with artificial roses that distinguish the pastoral people of poetry and the stage in outward show i humbly conceive we looked rather like a gang of beggars or than either a company of honest laboring men or a of philosophers whatever might be our points of difference we all of us seemed to have come to with the one and idea of wearing out our old clothes such garments as had an whenever we strode a field coats with high and with no broad skirted or swallow and with the waist at a modern every point between the hip and of a dozen successive and greatly at the knees by the of the before his in short we were a living of and the very of men who had seen better days it was in often retaining a or air you might have taken us for the of street intent on getting a comfortable by agricultural labor or s projected in full experiment or and his associates at work in their garden or anything else that was miserably out at elbows and most patched in the rear we might have been sworn comrades to s ragged little skill as we boasted in other points of every mother s son of us would have served admirably to stick up for a and the worst of the matter was that the first energetic movement essential to one downright stroke of real labor was sure to put a finish to these poor so we flung them all aside and took to honest and as on the whole to the plan recommended i think by which as foster remarked when i translated the would be apt to astonish the women folks after a reasonable training the life well with us our faces took the kindly our gained in compass and our shoulders in breadth and our great brown fists looked as if they had never been capable of kid gloves the plough the the and the hay fork grew familiar to our b the grasp the oxen responded to our voices we could do almost as fair a day s work as foster himself sleep after it and awake at daybreak with only a little of the joints which was usually quite gone by breakfast time to be sure our next neighbors pretended to be incredulous as to our real in the business which had taken in hand they told about our inability to yoke our own oxen or to drive them a field when or to release the poor brutes from their bond at night fall they had the face to say too that the cows laughed at our awkwardness at and invariably kicked over the partly in consequence of our putting the stool on the wrong side and partly because taking offence at the of their tails we in the habit of holding these natural with one hand and with the other they further that we up whole acres of indian corn and other crops and drew the earth carefully about the weeds and that we raised five hundred of them for and that by dint of planting few of our seeds ever came up at all or if they did come up it was stem foremost and that we spent the better part of the month of june in a field of beans which had thrust themselves out of the ground in this way they quoted it as nothing more than an ordinary occurrence for one or other of us to crop off two or three fingers of a morning by our clumsy use of the hay finally and as an ultimate catastrophe these a report that we were to the last man by o v t a with the sweep of our own and that the world had lost nothing by this little accident but this was pure envy and malice on the part of the neighboring farmers the peril of our new of life was not lest we should fail in becoming practical but that we should probably cease to be anything else while our enterprise lay all in theory we had pleased ourselves with visions of the of labor it was to be our form of prayer and of worship each stroke of the was to some root of wisdom heretofore hidden from the sun pausing in ihe field to let the wind the moisture from our we were to look upward and catch glimpses into the far off of truth in	35
this point of view matters did not turn out quite so well as we anticipated it is very true that sometimes gazing around me out of the midst of my toil i used to discern a richer in ihe visible scene of earth and sky there was at such moments a novelty an unwonted aspect on the face of nature as if she had been taken by surprise and seen at with no opportunity to put off her real look and assume the mask with which she mysteriously hides herself from mortals but this was all the of earth which we so constantly and turned over and over were never into thought our thoughts on the contrary were fast becoming our labor nothing and left us mentally in the dusk of the evening intellectual activity is with any large amount of bodily exercise the and the scholar the and the man of finest moral culture though not the man of the romance sense and integrity are two distinct and can never be melted or into one substance soon saw this truth and me about it one evening as and i lay on the after a hard day s work i am afraid you did not make a song to day while the hay cart said she as did when he was burns never made a song in time i answered very positively he was no poet while a and no farmer while a poet and on the whole which of the two characters do you like best asked for i have an idea that you cannot combine them any better than did ah i see in my mind s eye what sort of an individual you are to be two or three years hence grim foster is your with his palm of sole leather and his joints of rusty iron which all through summer keep the of what he calls bis winter s and his brain of i don t know what his brain is made of unless it be a but yours may be as a rather more delicate variety your physical man will be into salt beef and pork at the rate i should imagine of a pound and a half a day that being about the average which we find necessary in the kitchen you will make your toilet for the day still like this delightful foster by your fingers and the front part of your face in a little tin pan of water at the door step and your hair with a wooden pocket comb before a seven by nine inch looking glass a your only will be to smoke some very vile tobacco in the black stump of a pipe pray spare me cried i but the pipe is not s only mode of himself with the weed your literature continued apparently with her description will be the farmer s for i observe our friend foster never gets so as the newspaper when you happen to sit down it odd moments you will fall asleep and make of the fact as he does and invariably you be out of a nap after supper by the future and persuaded to go regularly to bed on sundays when you put on a blue coat with buttons you will think of nothing else to do but to o and over the stone walls and rail fences and at the com growing and you will look with a eye at oxen and will have a tendency to jf er into pig and feel of the and give a guess much they will weigh after you shall have stuck ind dressed them already i have noticed you begin to speak through your nose and with a pray if you really did make any poetry to day let us hear it in that kind of utterance has given up making verses now said worth who never had the slightest appreciation of my poetry just think of him a with a fist like that there is at least this good in a life toil that it takes the nonsense and fancy work out of a man and leaves nothing but what truly belongs to wm if a can make poetry at the plough tail it must be because his nature on it and if that be e case let him make it in heaven s name the romance and how is it with you asked in a different voice for she never laughed at as she often did at me you i think cannot have ceased to live a life of thought and feeling i have always been in earnest answered i have thought out of iron after the iron in my heart it matters little what my outward toil may be were i a slave at the bottom of a mine i should keep the same purpose the same faith in its ultimate accomplishment that i do now miles is not in earnest either as a poet or a you give me hard measure said i a little hurt i have kept pace with you in the field and my bones feel as if i had been in earnest whatever may be the case with my brain i cannot conceive observed with great emphasis and no doubt she spoke fairly the feeling of the moment i cannot conceive of being so continually as mr is within the sphere of a strong and noble nature without being strengthened and by its influence this amiable remark of the fair confirmed me in what i had already begun to suspect that like many other illustrious and was likely to make at least two among the women to one among the men and these i believe unless my unworthy self might be reckoned for a third were the only of his mission and i spent a great deal of time in trying to conjecture what meant to do with	35
them and they with him ix it is not i apprehend a healthy kind of mental occupation to devote ourselves too exclusively to the study of individual men and women if the person under examination be one s self the result is pretty certain to be action of the heart almost before we can snatch a second glance or if we take the freedom to put a friend under our we thereby him from many of his true relations his peculiarities inevitably tear him into parts and of course patch him very together again what wonder then should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster which after all though we can point to every feature of his in the real personage may be said to have been created mainly by ourselves thus as my conscience has often whispered me i did a great wrong by into his character and am perhaps doing him as great a one at this moment by putting faith in the discoveries which i to make but i could not help it had i loved him less i might have used him better he and and both for their own and as connected with him were separated from the rest of e community to my imagination and stood forth as ae of a problem which it was my business to the romance solve other associates had a portion of my time other matters amused me passing carried me along with them while they lasted but here was the of my meditations around which they and they too continually tended in the midst of cheerful society i had often a feeling of loneliness for it was impossible not to be sensible that while these three characters figured so largely on my private theatre i though probably reckoned as a friend by all was at best but a secondary or personage with either of them i loved as has already been enough expressed but it impressed me more and more that there was a stern and dreadful peculiarity in this man such as could not prove otherwise than to the happiness of those who should be drawn into too intimate a connection with him he was not altogether human there was something else in besides flesh and blood and sympathies and and celestial spirit this is always true of those men who have surrendered themselves to an purpose it does not so much them from without nor even operate as a motive power within but grows with all that they think and feel and finally them into little else save that one principle when such begins to be the it is not cowardice but wisdom to avoid these victims they have no heart no sympathy no reason no conscience they will keep no friend unless he make himself the mirror of their purpose they will and you and your dead corpse under foot all the more readily if you h take the first step with them and cannot take the second and the third and every other step of their terribly straight path they have an idol to which they themselves high priest and deem it holy work to offer sacrifices of whatever is most precious and never once seem to suspect so cunning has the devil been with them that this false deity in whose iron features to all the rest of mankind they see only and love is but a of the very priest himself projected upon the surrounding darkness and the higher and purer the original object and the more it may have been taken up the is the probability that they can be led to recognize the process by which benevolence has been into all devouring of course i am perfectly aware that the above statement is exaggerated in the attempt to make it adequate professed have gone far but no originally good man i presume ever went quite so far as this let the reader whatever he fit the paragraph may remain however both for its truth and its exaggeration as strongly expressive of the tendencies which were really in and as the kind of error into which my mode of observation was calculated to lead me the issue was that in solitude i often shuddered at my friend in my recollection of his dark and impressive countenance the features grew more sternly prominent than the reality in their depth and shadow and more lurid in their light the frown that had merely flitted across his brow seemed to have it with an on meeting him again i was often filled with the remorse when his deep eyes beamed kindly upon me as with the glow of a household fire that was burning in a cave he is a man after all thought i his maker s own truest image a man not that steel engine of the devil s contrivance a but in my wood walks and in my silent chamber the dark face frowned at me again when a young girl comes within the sphere of such a man she is as situated as the maiden whom in the old classical the people used to expose to a if i had any duty whatever in reference to it was to endeavor to save from that kind of personal worship which her sex is generally prone to lavish upon saints and heroes it often requires but one smile out of the hero s eyes into the girl s or woman s heart to this devotion from a sentiment of the highest approval and confidence into passionate love now smiled much upon more than upon any other person if she thought him beautiful it was no wonder i often thought him so with the expression of tender human care and sympathy which she alone seemed to have power to call out upon his features i suspect would have given	35
her eyes bright as they were for such a look it was the least that our poor could do to give her heart for a great many of them there was the more danger of this inasmuch as the footing on which we all associated at was widely different from that of conventional society while us to the soft affections of the golden age it seemed to any individual of either sex to fall in love with any other regardless of what would elsewhere be judged suitable and prudent accordingly the tender passion was very among us in various degrees of or but mostly passing away with the state of things that had given it origin this was all well enough but for a girl like and a woman like to one another in their lore of a man like was likely to be no child s play had i been as cold hearted as i sometimes thought myself nothing would have interested me more than to witness the play of passions that must thus have been but in honest truth i would really have gone far to save at least from the catastrophe in which such a drama would be apt to had now grown to be a very pretty girl and still kept and and daily putting on some new charm which you no sooner became sensible of than you thought it worth all that she had previously possessed so vague and without substance as she had come to us it seemed as if we could see nature out a woman before our very eyes and yet had only a more sense of the mystery of a woman s soul and frame yesterday her cheek was pale to day it had a bloom s smile like a baby s first one a wondrous novelty her and short affected me with a kind of playful pathos which was as absolutely a sensation as ever i experienced after she had been a month or two at her animal spirits high and kept her pretty constantly in a state of and her to far more bodily activity than she had yet strength to endure she was very fond of play the ing with the other girls out of doors there is hardly another sight in the world so pretty as that of a company of young girls almost women grown at play and so giving themselves up to their airy impulse that their barely touch the ground girls are and more than boys more and regardless of rule and limit with an ever shifting variety breaking continually into new modes of fun yet with a harmonious propriety through all their steps their voices appear free as the wind but keep with a strain of music to us young men and boys on the other hand play according to recognized law old games permitting no of fancy but with scope enough for the outbreak of savage instincts for young or old in play or in earnest man is prone to be a brute especially is it delightful to see a vigorous young girl run a race with her head thrown back her limbs moving more than they need and an air between that of a bird and a young but s peculiar charm in a foot race was the weakness and with which she ran growing up without exercise except to her poor little fingers she had never yet acquired the perfect use of her legs setting forth therefore as if no rival less swift than could with her she ran and often tumbled on the grass such an incident though it seems too slight to think of was a thing to laugh at but which brought the water into one s eyes and lingered in the memory after far greater joys and sorrows were swept out of it as s life as i beheld it was full of trifles that me in just this way when she had come to he quite at home among us i used to fancy that played more and more mischief than any other girl in the community for example i once heard foster in a very voice threatening to three round s neck and chain her to a post because she with some other young people had upon a load of hay and caused it to slide off the cart how she made her peace i never knew but very soon afterwards i saw old with his hands round s waist swinging her to and fro and finally her on one of the oxen to take her first lessons in riding she met with terrible in her efforts to milk a cow she let the poultry into the garden she spoilt whatever part of the dinner she took in charge she broke she our biggest into the well and except with her needle and those little wooden instruments for was as a member of society as any young lady in the land there was no other sort of about her yet everybody was kind to everybody loved her and laughed at her to her and did not laugh behind her back everybody would have given her half of his last crust or the bigger share of his cake these were pretty certain indications that we were all conscious of a pleasant weakness in the girl and considered her not quite able to look after her own interests or fight her battle with the world and perhaps because he had been the means of introducing to her new thb abode appeared to recognize her as his own especial charge her simple careless childish flow of spirits often made me sad she seemed to me like a butterfly at play in a flickering bit of sunshine and it for a broad and eternal summer we sometimes hold mirth to a than sorrow it must show od cause or	35
the echo of its laughter comes back s moreover was of a nature that showed me how delicate an instrument she was and what fragile harp strings were her nerves as they made sweet music at the touch it would require but a stronger one to burst them all asunder absurd as it might be i tried to reason with her and persuade her not to be so joyous thinking that if she would draw less upon her fund of happiness it would last the longer i remember doing so one summer evening when we tired sat looking on like s old folks under the village thorn tree while the young people were at their sports what is the use or sense of being so very gay i said to while she was taking breath after a great i love to see a sufficient cause for everything and i can see none for this pray tell me now what kind of a world you imagine this to be which you are so merry in i never think about it at all answered laughing but this i am sure of that it is a world where everybody is kind to me and where i love everybody my heart keeps dancing within me and all the foolish things which you see me do are only the motions of my heart how can i be dismal if my heart will not let me have you nothing dismal to remember i suggested if not then indeed you are very fortunate ah said slowly and then came that unintelligible gesture when she seemed to be listening to a distant voice for my part i continued seeking to her with my own sombre humor my past has been a tiresome one enough yet i would rather look backward ten times than forward once for little as we know of our life to come we maybe very sure for one thing that the good we aim at will not be attained people never do get just the good they seek if it come at all it is something else which they never dreamed of and did not particularly want then again we may rest certain that our friends of to day will not be our friends of a few years hence but if we keep one of them it will be at the expense of the others and most probably we shall keep none to be sure there are more to be had but who cares about making a new set of friends even should they be better than those around us not i said i live and die with these well but let the future go resumed i as for the present moment if we could look into the hearts where we wish to be most valued what should you expect to see one s own likeness in the ah i don t know it may not be there at all it may be a dusty image thrust aside into a the comer and by and by to be flung out of doors any foot may upon it if not to day then tomorrow and so i do not see much wisdom in being so very merry in this kind of a world it had taken me nearly seven years of worldly life to hive up the bitter honey which i here to and she rejected it i don t believe one word of what you say she replied laughing anew you made me sad for a minute by talking about the past but the past never comes back again do we dream the same dream twice there is nothing else that i am afraid of so away she ran and fell down on the green grass as it was often her luck to do but got up again without any harm cried who was sitting on the door step you had better not run any more to night you will weary yourself too much and do not sit down out of doors for there is a heavy dew beginning to fall at his first word she went and sat down under the porch at s feet entirely contented and happy what charm was there in his rude that so attracted and soothed this shadow like girl it appeared to me who have always been curious in such matters that s vague and seemingly flow of feeling was that with which love inexperienced hearts before they begin to suspect what is going on within them it them to the seventh heaven and if you ask what brought them thither they neither can tell nor care to learn but d an faith that there they shall abide was in the door way not far from she gazed at in a very singular way indeed it was a sight worth gazing at and a beautiful sight too as the fair girl sat at the feet of that dark powerful her air while perfectly modest delicate and virgin like her as swayed by attracted to him and unconsciously seeking id rest upon his strength i could not turn away my own eyes but hoped that nobody save and myself were witnessing this picture it is before me now with the evening twilight a little deepened by the dusk of memory come hither said i have something to say to you she spoke in little more than a whisper but it is strange how expressive of moods a whisper may often be felt at once that something had gone wrong are you angry with me she asked rising slowly and standing before in a drooping attitude what have i done i hope you are not angry no no said worth smiling i will answer for it she is not you are the one little person in the world with whom nobody can be angry angry with you child what a silly idea exclaimed laughing no indeed but my you are	35
getting to be so very pretty that you absolutely need a and as i am older than and have had my own little experience of life and think myself exceedingly sage i intend to fill the place of a maiden aunt every day i shall give you a ture a quarter of an hour in length on the manners and of social life when our pastoral shall be quite played out my worldly wisdom may stand you in good stead i am afraid you are angry with me repeated sadly for while she seemed as as wax the girl often showed a in her own ideas as stubborn as it was gentle dear me what can i say to the child cried in a tone of humorous vexation well well since you insist on my being angry come to my room this moment and let me beat you bade good night very sweetly and nodded to me with a smile but just as she turned aside with into the of the porch i caught another glance at her countenance it would have made the fortune of a tragic could she have borrowed it for the moment when she in her bosom for the concealed dagger or the exceedingly sharp or the in her lover s bowl of wine or her rival s cup of tea not that i in the least anticipated any such catastrophe it being a remarkable truth that custom has in no one point a greater sway than over our modes of our wild passions and besides had we been in italy instead of new england it was hardly yet a crisis for the dagger or the bowl it often amazed me however that should show himself so tender towards and never once seem to think of the effect which it might have upon her heart but the man as i have h w to explain was thrown completely off his balance and quite bewildered as to his personal by his great of a i used to see or fancy indications that he was not altogether to s influence as a woman so doubt however he had a still more exquisite enjoyment of s silent sympathy with his purposes so with criticism and therefore more grateful than any intellectual approbation which always a possible of latent censure a man poet or whatever he may be readily himself of his right to all the worship that is voluntarily in of so rich benefits as he was to confer upon mankind it would have been hard to deny the simple solace of a young heart which he held in his hand and to like a but what if while pressing out its fragrance he crush the tender in his grasp as for i saw no occasion to give myself any with her native strength and her experience of the world she could not be supposed to need any help of mine nevertheless i was really generous enough to feel some little interest likewise for with all her faults which might have been a great many besides the abundance that i knew of she noble traits and a heart which must at least have been valuable while new and she seemed ready to fling it away as as herself i could not but suspect that if merely at play with she was sporting with a power which she did not fully estimate or if in earnest it might chance between s passionate force and his dark the self to turn out such earnest as would develop itself in some sufficiently tragic catastrophe though the dagger and the bowl should go for nothing in it meantime the gossip of the community set them down as a pair of lovers they took walks together and were not seldom encountered in the wood paths deeply in tones solemn and sternly pathetic with a rich glow on her cheeks and her eyes softened from their ordinary bright ness looked so beautiful that had her companion been ten times a it seemed impossible but that one glance should melt him back into a man oftener than anywhere else they went to a certain point on the slope of a pasture commanding nearly the whole of our own domain besides a view of the river and an airy prospect of many distant hills the bond of our community was such that the members had the privilege of building cottages for their own residence within our thus laying a hearth stone and in a home private and peculiar to all desirable extent while yet the inhabitants should continue to share the advantages of an associated life it was inferred that and intended to rear their dwelling on this favorite spot i mentioned these to in a playful way had you consulted me i went on to observe i should have recommended a site further to the left just a little withdrawn into the wood with two or three at the prospect among the trees you will be in the shady of years long before you can raise any better of shade around your cottage if you build it on this bare slope but i offer my edifice as a spectacle to the world said that it may take example and many another like it therefore i mean to set it on the open hill side twist these words how i might they offered no very satisfactory import it seemed hardly probable that should care about the public taste in the department of cottage architecture desirable as such improvement certainly was x a from town and i we had been potatoes that while the rest of the engaged in a distant quarter of the farm sat under a of eating our eleven o clock lunch i we saw a stranger approaching along the edge of the field he had admitted himself from the road side through a and seemed to hare a purpose	35
ot speaking with us and by the by we were favored with many visits at especially from people who with our theories and perhaps held themselves ready to unite in our actual experiment as soon as there should appear a promise of its success it was rather ludicrous indeed to me at least whose enthusiasm had been together with the perspiration of many a hard day s toil it was absolutely funny therefore to observe what a glory was shed about our life and labors in the imagination of these longing in their view we were as poetical as besides being as practical as the in we did not it is true spend much time in to our sheep or our innocent loves to the but they gave us credit for the ordinary rustic with a kind of religious poetry that our a from town cow yards and pig were as delightfully fragrant as a flower garden nothing used to please me more than to see one of these lay snatch up a as they were very prone to do and set to work with a perhaps carried him through a dozen ill directed strokes men are wonderfully soon satisfied in this day of shameful bodily when from one end of life to the other such multitudes never taste the sweet weariness that follows accustomed toil i seldom saw the new enthusiasm that did not grow as aiid as the s shirt collar with a quarter of an hour s active labor under a july sun but the person now at hand had not at all the air of one of these amiable he was an elderly man dressed rather yet decently enough in a gray frock coat faded towards a brown hue and wore a white hat of the fashion of several years gone by his hair was perfect silver without a dark thread in the whole of it his nose though it had a scarlet tip by no means indicated the of which a red nose is the generally admitted symbol he was a subdued old man who would doubtless drink a glass of liquor now and then and probably more than was good for him not however with a purpose of undue but in the hope of bringing his spirits up to the ordinary level of the world s cheerfulness drawing nearer there was a shy look about him as if he were ashamed of his poverty or at any rate for some reason or other would rather have us glance at him than take a full front view he had a queer appearance of hiding himself behind the patch on his left eye the romance i know this old gentleman said i to as we sat observing him that is i have met him a hundred times in town and have often amused my fancy with wondering what he was before he came to be what he is he haunts and such places and has an odd way of lurking in corners or getting behind a door whenever practicable and holding out his with some little article in it which he wishes you to buy the eye of the world seems to trouble him although he necessarily lives so much in it i never expected to see him in an open field have you learned anything of his history asked not a circumstance i answered but there must be something curious in it i take him to be a harmless sort of a person and a tolerably honest one but his manners being so remind me of those of a rat a rat without the mischief the fierce eye the teeth to bite with or the desire to bite see now he means to along that fringe of bushes and approach us on the other side of our of we soon heard the old man s velvet tread on the grass indicating that he had arrived within a few feet of where we sat good morning mr said addressing the stranger as an acquaintance you must have had a hot and tiresome walk from the city sit down and take a morsel of our bread and cheese the made a grateful little murmur of acquiescence and sat down in a spot somewhat removed so that glancing round i could see his gray and dusty shoes while his upper part was mostly hidden be a from town the nor did he come forth from this retirement during the whole of the interview that followed we handed him such food as we had together with a of and water would that it had been brandy or something better for the sake of his chill old heart like priests offering dainty sacrifice to an and invisible idol i have no idea that he lacked but it was quite touching nevertheless to hear him away at our mr said i do you remember selling me one of those very pretty little silk of which you seem to have a in the market i keep it to this day i can assure you ah thank you said our guest yes mr i used to sell a good many of those little he spoke languidly and only those few words like a watch with an spring that just i moment or two and stops again he seemed a very forlorn old man in the of youth strength and comfortable condition making my prey of people s as my custom was i tried to identify my mind with the old fellow s and take his view of the world as if looking through a smoke blackened glass at the sun it robbed the landscape of all its life those pleasantly swelling slopes of our farm descending towards the wide meadows through which the tide of the charles bathing the long on its hither and further shores the broad sunny gleam over the winding water that peculiar of	35
the scene where and put themselves boldly forth upon the perfect level of the meadow as into a green lake with between the thb romance the shadowy with twinkling showers of t falling into its depths the heat which rose everywhere like incense and in which my soul delighted as indicating so rich a in the passionate day and in the earth that was burning with its love i beheld all these things as through old s eyes when my eyes are than they have yet come to be will go thither again and see if i did not catch the tone of his mind aright and if the cold and lifeless tint of his be not then repeated in my own yet it was unaccountable to myself the interest that i felt in him have you any objection said to telling me who made those little gentlemen have often asked me that said slowly but i shake my head and say little or nothing and out of the way as well as i can i am a man of few words and if gentlemen were to be told one thing they would be very apt i suppose to ask me another but it happens just now mr that you can tell me more about the maker of those little than i can tell you why do you trouble him with needless questions interrupted you must have known long ago that it was and so my good friend you have come to see her well i am glad of it you will find her altered very much for the better since that winter evening when you put her into my charge why has a bloom in her cheeks now has my pale little girl a bloom repeated with a kind of slow wonder with a town cheeks ah i am afraid i shall not know my le girl and is she happy just as happy as a bird answered then gentlemen said our guest don t think it well for me to go any further i crept only to ask about and now that have told me such good news perhaps i can do no better than to creep back again if she were to see this old face of mine the child would remember some very sad which we have spent together some very nd times indeed she has forgotten them i know them and me else she could not be so happy nor hare a bloom in her cheeks yes yes yes continued he still with the same utterance with thanks to you mr i will creep back to town again tou shall do no such thing mr said often speaks of you and if there anything to make her cheeks bloom like two roses i venture to say it is just the sight of your e come we will go and find her mr i said the old man in his way well answered has there been any call for asked and though his face was hidden from us his gave a sure indication of the mysterious nod and wink with which he put the question you know i think sir what i mean i have not the remotest suspicion what you mean mr replied nobody to my knowledge has called for except yourself but the romance come we are losing time and i have several things to say to you by the way and mr repeated well again cried my friend rather impatiently what now there is a lady here said the old man and his voice lost some of its wearisome hesitation you will account it a very strange matter for me to talk about but i chanced to know this lady when she was but a little child if i am rightly informed she has grown to be a very fine woman and makes a brilliant figure in the world with her beauty and her talents and her noble way of spending her riches i should recognize this lady so people tell me by a magnificent flower in her hair what a rich tinge it gives to his ideas when he speaks of i whispered to but how can there possibly be any interest or connecting link between him and her the old man for years past whispered has been a little out of his right mind as you probably see what i would inquire resumed is whether this beautiful lady is kind to my poor very kind said does she love her asked it should seem so answered my friend they are always together like a and her maid servant i fancy the old man there was something so singular in his way of saying this that i could not resist the impulse to turn quite a from town so as to catch a glimpse of his face almost that i should see another person than old but there he sat with the patched side of his ce towards me like an elder and younger sister rather replied worth ah said more complacently for his latter tones had and in them it would my old heart to witness that if one thing would make me happier than another mr it would be to see that beautiful lady holding my little girl by the hand come along said and perhaps you may after a little more delay on the part of our they set forth together old keeping a step or two behind so that the latter could not very conveniently look him in the face i remained under the of doing my utmost to draw an from the scene that had just passed in spite of s off hand explanation it did not strike me that our strange guest was really beside himself but only that his mind needed up like an instrument long out of tune the strings of which have	35
ceased to and sharply me thought it would be profitable for us of a happy life to welcome this old gray shadow and cherish him as one of us and let him creep about our domain in order that he might be a little for our and we sometimes a little for his human look ominous without some perceptible of the or the gray and then too should any of our the romance grow feverish with an over sense of prosperity it would be a sort of to off into the woods and spend an hour or a day or a many days as might be requisite to the cure in communion with this deplorable old going homeward to dinner i had a glimpse of him behind the trunk of a tree gazing earnestly towards a particular window of the farm house and by and by appeared at this window drawing along who looked as bright as the very day that was blazing down upon us only not by many degrees so well advanced towards her noon i was convinced that this pretty sight must have been purposely arranged by for the old man to see but either the girl held her too long or her fondness was resented as too great a freedom for suddenly put decidedly away and gave her a haughty look as from a mistress to a old shook his head and again and again saw him shake it as he withdrew along the road and at the last point whence the farm house was visible he turned and shook his uplifted staff xi the wood path not long after the preceding incident in order to get the ache of too constant out of my and to relieve my spirit of the of a settled routine i took a holiday it was my purpose to spend it all alone from breakfast time till twilight in the deepest wood seclusion that lay anywhere around us though fond of society i was so constituted as to need these occasional even in a life like that of which was itself by a from the world unless renewed by a yet further towards the inner circle of self communion i lost the better part of my individuality my thoughts became of little worth and my grew as arid as a of moss a thing whose life is in the shade the or the dew crumbling in the sunshine after long of a shower so with my heart full of a drowsy pleasure and cautious not to my mood by previous intercourse with any one i hurried away and was soon pacing a wood path arched over head with boughs and dusky brown beneath my feet at first i walked very swiftly as if the heavy of social life were roaring at my heels and would and me without all the better diligence in my escape but the more distant of the track i my pace and looked the about me for some side aisle that should admit me into the of this green cathedral just as in human a casual opening sometimes lets us all of a sudden into the long sought intimacy of a mysterious heart so much was i absorbed in my reflections or rather in my mood the substance of which was as yet too to be called thought that footsteps on the leaves and a figure passed me by almost without either the sound or sight upon my consciousness a moment afterwards i heard a voice at a little distance behind me speaking so sharply and that it made a complete discord with my spiritual state and caused the latter to vanish as abruptly as when you thrust a finger into a soap friend cried this most voice stop a moment i say i must have a word with you i turned about in a humor in the first place the interruption at any rate was a grievous injury then the tone displeased me and finally unless there be real affection in his heart a man cannot such is the bad state to which the world has brought itself cannot more effectually show his contempt for a brother mortal nor more assume a position of superiority than by addressing him as friend especially does the of this phrase bring out that hostility which is sure to peculiar and those who with however generous a purpose have themselves from the crowd a feeling it is true which may be hidden in some dog of the heart grumbling there in the darkness but is never the wood path quite extinct until the party have gained power and scope enough to treat the world generously for my part i should have taken it as far less an insult to be fellow or to either of these my rustic garb it was a linen with checked shirt and striped a hat on my head and a rough stick in my hand very fairly entitled me as the case stood my temper darted at once to the opposite pole not friend but enemy what do you want with me said i facing about come a little nearer friend said the stranger no answered i if i can do anything for you without too much trouble to myself say so but recollect if you please that you are not speaking to an acquaintance much less a friend upon my word i believe not retorted he looking at me with some curiosity and lifting his hat he made me a salute which had enough of sarcasm to be offensive and just enough of doubtful courtesy to render any resentment of it absurd but i ask your pardon i recognize a little mistake if i may take the liberty to suppose it you sir are probably one of the or shall i rather say who have planted themselves this is your forest of and you are either the	35
banished duke in person or one of the chief in his train the melancholy perhaps be it so in that case you can probably do me a favor i never in my life felt less inclined to confer a favor on any man the i am busy said i so unexpectedly had the stranger made me sensible of his presence that he had almost the effect of an and certainly a less appropriate one taking into view the dim solitude about us than if the man of antiquity and with a leafy had started out of a thicket he was still young seemingly a little under thirty of a tall and well developed figure and as handsome a man as ever i beheld the style of his beauty however though a masculine st le did not at all commend itself to my taste his countenance i hardly know how to describe the peculiarity had an in it a kind of a hard coarse forth putting freedom of expression which no degree of external polish could have one single not that it was vulgar but he had no of nature there was in his eyes although they might have enough of another sort the naked exposure of something that ought not to be left prominent with these vague allusions to what i have seen in other faces as well as his i leave the quality to be comprehended best because with an by those who possess least of it his hair as well as his beard and was coal black his eyes too were black and sparkling and his teeth remarkably brilliant he was rather carelessly but well and dressed in a summer morning costume there was a gold chain exquisitely wrought across his i never saw a or than that upon his shirt bosom which had a pin in it set with a that in the leafy shadow where he stood like a living tip of fire he the wood ill a stick with a wooden head carved in vivid im tion of that of a serpent i hated him partly i do from a comparison of my own homely garb with well ordered well sir said i a little ashamed of my first tion but still with no waste of civility be pleased to speak at once as i have my own business in hand i regret that my mode of addressing you was a little unfortunate said the stranger smiling for he seemed a very acute sort of person and saw in some degree how i stood towards him i intended no and shall certainly myself with due ceremony hereafter i merely wish to make a few inquiries respecting a lady formerly of my acquaintance who is now resident in your community and i believe largely concerned in your social enterprise you call her i that is her name in literature observed i a name too which possibly she may permit her private friends to know and address her by but not one which they feel at liberty to recognize when used of her personally by a stranger or casual acquaintance indeed answered this disagreeable person and he turned aside his face for an instant with a brief laugh which struck me as a note worthy expression of his character perhaps i might put forward a claim on your own grounds to call the lady by a name so appropriate to her splendid qualities but i am willing to know her by any that you may suggest heartily wishing that he would be either a little more or a good deal less so or break off our intercourse altogether i mentioned s real name the romance true said he and in general society i ha never heard her called otherwise and after all discussion of the point has been my is only to inquire when where and how this lady may most conveniently be seen at her present residence of course i replied you have but to go thither and ask for her this very path will lead you within sight of the house so i wish you good morning one moment if you please said the stranger the course you indicate would certainly be the proper one in an ordinary morning call but my business is private personal and somewhat peculiar now in a community like this i should judge that any little occurrence is likely to be discussed rather more than would quite suit my views i refer solely to myself you understand and without that it would be other than a matter of entire indifference to the lady in short i especially desire to see her in private if her habits are such as i have known them she is probably often to be met with in the woods or by the river side and i think you could do me the favor to point out some favorite walk where about this hour i might be fortunate enough to gain an interview i reflected that it would be quite a piece of in me to undertake the of who for my pains would only make me the butt of endless ridicule should the fact ever come to her knowledge i therefore described a spot which as often as any other was s resort at this period of the day nor was it so remote from the farm house as to the wood path leave her in much peril whatever might be the stranger s character a single word more said he and his black eyes sparkled at me whether with fun or malice i knew not certainly as if the devil were peeping out of them among your i understand there is a certain holy and benevolent blacksmith a man of iron in more than one a rough cross well meaning rather in his manners as might be expected and by no means of the highest intellectual cultivation he is	35
a with two or three and a scheme of his own the preliminary step in which a large purchase of land and the of a spacious edifice at an expense beyond his means inasmuch as these are to be reckoned in copper or old iron much more conveniently than in gold or silver he away upon his one topic as as ever he did upon a horse shoe do you know such a person i shook my head and was turning away our friend he continued is described to me as a shaggy grim and ill favored personage not particularly well calculated one would say to himself with the softer sex yet so far has this honest fellow succeeded with one lady whom we of that he from her abundant resources the necessary funds for his plan in brick and mortar here the stranger seemed to be so much amused with his sketch of worth s character and purposes that he burst into a fit of merriment of the same nature as the brief laugh already alluded to bat immensely prolonged and enlarged in the excess the romance of his delight he opened his mouth wide and a gold hand around the upper part of his teeth making it apparent that every one of his brilliant ers and was a sham this discovery me very oddly i felt as if the whole man were a moral and physical his wonderful beauty of face for aught i knew might be like a mask tall and comely as his figure looked he was perhaps bat a little gray and with nothing about him save the wicked expression of his grin i the of his character so wrought me together with the of his on my sympathies that i soon began to laugh as loudly as himself by and by he paused all at once so suddenly indeed that my own lasted a moment longer ah excuse me said he our interview seems to proceed more merrily than it began it ends here answered i and i take shame to myself that my folly has lost me the right of your ridicule of a friend pray allow me said the stranger approaching a step nearer and laying his hand on my sleeve one other favor i must ask of you you have a young person here at of whom i have heard whom perhaps i have known and in whom at all events i take a peculiar interest she is one of those delicate nervous young creatures not uncommon in new england and whom i suppose to have become what we find them by the gradual away of the physical system among your women some philosophers choose to g w od path this habit of body by it spiritual but in my it is rather the effect of food bad lack of out door exercise and neglect of bathing on the part of these and their female in a kind of hereditary with her uncomfortable of vitality is far the better model of womanhood but to again to this young person she goes among you by the name of you possibly afford me the means of speaking with her you have made so many inquiries of me i observed that i may at least trouble you with one what is your name he offered me a card with professor engraved on it at the same time as if to his claim to the dignity so often assumed on very questionable grounds he put on a pair of spectacles which so altered the character of his face that i hardly him again but i liked the present aspect no better than the former one i must decline any further connection with your said i drawing back i have told you where to find as for she has closer friends than myself through whom if they see fit you can gain access to her in that case returned the professor his hat good morning to you he took his departure and was soon out of sight among the of the wood path but a little reflection i could not help that i had so broken off the interview while the stranger seen d inclined to continue it his evident knowledge the of matters affecting my three friends might have led to or that would perhaps have been serviceable i was particularly struck with the fact that ever since the appearance of it had been the tendency of events to suggest and establish a connection between and her she had come in the first instance as if with the sole purpose of claiming s protection old s visit it appeared was chiefly to ascertain whether this object had been accomplished and here to day was the questionable professor one with the other in his inquiries and seeking communication with both meanwhile my inclination for a having been i lingered in the vicinity of the farm with perhaps a vague idea that some new event would grow out of s proposed interview with my own part in these transactions was singularly subordinate it resembled that of the chorus in a classic play which seems to be set aloof from the possibility of personal and the whole measure of its hope or fear its exultation or sorrow on the fortunes of others between whom and itself this sympathy is the only bond destiny it may be the most skilful of stage seldom chooses to arrange its scenes and carry forward its drama without securing the presence of at least one calm observer it is his office to give applause when due and sometimes an inevitable tear to detect the final fitness of incident to character and in his long brooding thought the whole morality of the performance not to be out of the way in case there were need of me in my and at the same time to avoid the wood	35
i could take in with the bodily eye looked so ridiculous that it was impossible not to laugh aloud but the joke is a little too heavy thought i if i were wise i should get out of the scrape with all diligence and then laugh at my companions for remaining bit while thus musing i heard with perfect distinctness somewhere in the wood beneath the peculiar laugh which i have described as one of the disagreeable characteristics of professor it brought my thoughts back to our recent interview i recognized as chiefly due to this man s influence the and thb which just now had filled my in regard to all life s purposes and i was through his eyes more than my own that i looking at with his glorious if dream and at the of i character and even at whose grace lay so singularly between disease and beauty the essential charm of each had vanished there are some the contact with which inevitably degraded the high the pure the beautiful it must be a mind of uncommon strength and little that can permit itself the habit of such intercourse and not be permanently and yet the professor s tone represented that of worldly society at large where a cold what it can of our spiritual aspirations and makes the rest ridiculous i detested this kind of man and all the more because a part of my own nature showed itself to him voices were now approaching through the region of the wood which lay in the vicinity of my tree soon i caught glimpses of two figures a woman and a man and the stranger earnestly talking together as they advanced had a rich though varying color it was most of the while a flame and anon a sudden her eyes glowed so that their light sometimes flashed upward to me as when the sun throws a from some bright object on the ground her gestures were free and strikingly impressive the whole woman was alive with a passionate intensity which i now perceived to be the phase in which her beauty any s passion would have become her well and passionate love perhaps the best of all this was not love but largely with scorn yet the idea strangely forced itself upon me that there was a sort of between these two companions necessarily the result of an intimate love on s part at least in days gone by but which had prolonged itself into as intimate a hatred for all as they passed among the trees reckless as her movement was the took good heed that even the hem of her garment should not brush against the stranger s person i wondered whether there had always been a chasm guarded to these two as for he was not a whit more warmed by s passion than a by the heat of its native furnace he would have been absolutely save for a look of slight perplexity strongly with derision it was a crisis in which his intellectual could not altogether help him out he failed to comprehend and cared but little for why should put herself into such a but satisfied his mind that it was all folly and only another shape of a woman s manifold absurdity which men can never understand how many a woman s evil fate has her with a man like this nature some of us into the world miserably on the side with hardly any except what to us as animals no passion save of the senses no holy tenderness nor the delicacy that results from this they bear a close resemblance to other men and have perhaps all lave the finest grace but when a woman her the romance self on such a being she ultimately finds that the real womanhood within her has no corresponding part in him her deepest voice a response the deeper her cr the more dead his silence the fault may be none of his he cannot give her what never lived within his soul but the wretchedness on her side and the moral attendant on a false and shallow life without strength enough to keep itself sweet are among the most pitiable wrongs that mortals suffer now as i looked down from my upper region at this man and woman outwardly so fair a sight and wandering like two lovers in the wood i imagined that at an earlier period of youth might have fallen into the misfortune above indicated and when her passionate womanhood as was inevitable had discovered its mistake there had ensued the character of and defiance which distinguished the more public portion of her life seeing how matters had chanced thus far i began to think it the design of fate to let me into all s secrets and that therefore the couple would sit down beneath my tree and carry on a conversation which would leave me nothing to inquire no doubt however had it so happened i should have deemed myself bound to warn them of a listener s presence by flinging down a handful of grapes or by sending an groan out of my hiding place as if this were one of the trees of s ghostly forest but real life never itself exactly like a romance in the first place they did not sit down at all secondly even while they passed beneath the tree s utterance was so hasty and broken and s so cool s and low that i hardly could make out an intelligible sentence on either side what i seem to remember yet suspect may have been patched together by my in brooding over the matter afterwards why not fling the girl oflf said and let her go she clung to me from the first replied i neither know nor care what it is in me that so her but she loves	35
me and i will not fail her she will plague you then said he in more ways one the poor child exclaimed she can do me neither good nor harm how should she i know not what reply whispered nor did s subsequent exclamation give me any clue except that it evidently inspired her with horror and disgust with what kind of a being am i linked cried she if my creator cares aught for my soul let him release me from this miserable bond i did not think it weighed so heavily said her companion nevertheless answered it will me at last and then i heard her utter a helpless sort of moan a sound which struggling out of the heart of a person of her pride and strength affected me more than if she had made the wood with a thousand and other mysterious words besides what are above written they spoke together but i understood no more the romance and even question whether i fairly understood so much as this by long brooding over our recollections we them into something akin to imaginary and hardly capable of being distinguished from it in a few moments they were completely beyond ear shot a breeze stirred after them and awoke the leafy tongues of the surrounding trees which forthwith began to as if innumerable had all at once got wind of s secret but as the breeze grew stronger its voice among the branches was as if it hush hush and i resolved that to no mortal would i disclose what i had heard and though there might be room for such i conceive is the most rule in all similar xiii s legend the society of though it toiled downright earnest for the good of mankind yet not illuminated its laborious life with an or evening of under the trees were considerably in and within doors bits of theatrical performance such as single acts of tragedy or comedy or dramatic and besides was fond of giving us from and often with a depth of tragic power or breadth of comic that made one feel it an intolerable wrong to the world that she did not at once go upon the stage were another of our occasional modes of amusement in which scarlet old silken robes and all kinds of miscellaneous converted our familiar companions into the people of a world we had been thus engaged on the evening after the incident in the last chapter several splendid works of art either arranged after from the old or original illustrations of scenes in history or had been presented and we were earnestly for more she stood with a meditative air holding a large piece of or some such ethereal stuff as if considering w picture should next occupy the frame while the romance at her feet lay a heap of many colored garments which her quick fancy and magic skill could so easily convert into gorgeous for heroes and i am getting weary of this said she after a moment s thought our own features and our own figures and airs show a little too through all the characters we assume we have so much familiarity with one another s realities that we cannot remove ourselves at pleasure into an imaginary sphere let us have no more pictures to night but to make you what poor amends i can how would you like to have me up a wild legend on the spur of the moment had the gift of telling a fanciful little story off hand in a way that made it greatly more than it was usually found to be when she afterwards the same production with her pen her proposal therefore was greeted with a story a story by all means cried the young girls no matter how marvellous we will believe it every word and let it be a ghost story if you please no not exactly a ghost story answered but something so nearly like it that you shall hardly tell the difference and stand you before me where i may look at you and get my inspiration out of your eyes they are very deep and dreamy to night i know not whether the following version of her story will retain any portion of its character but as told it wildly and rapidly hesitating at no extravagance and dashing at which i am too to repeat giving it the varied emphasis of her voice and the illustration of s legend her face while through it all we caught the of the thoughts as they came out of her mind thus and thus heard the legend seemed quite a remarkable i scarcely knew at the time whether she intended us to laugh or be more seriously impressed from beginning to end it was nonsense but not necessarily the worse for that the silvery veil you have heard my dear friends of the veiled lady who grew suddenly so very famous a few months ago and have you never thought how remarkable it was that this marvellous creature should vanish all at once while her renown was on the increase before the public had grown weary of her and when the of her character instead of being solved presented itself more at every exhibition her last appearance as you know was before a crowded audience the next evening although the bills had announced her at the comer of every street in red letters of a gigantic size there was no veiled lady to be seen now listen to my simple little tale and you shall hear the very latest incident in the known life if life it may be called which seemed to have no more reality than the candle light image of one s self which at us outside of a dark window pane the life of this shadowy phenomenon a party of young gentlemen	35
you are to understand were enjoying themselves one afternoon as young the gentlemen are sometimes fond of doing over a bottle or two of champagne and among other ladies less the subject of the veiled lady as was very natural happened to come up before them for discussion she rose as it were with the sparkling of their wine and appeared in a more airy and fantastic light on account of the medium through which saw her they repeated to one another between jest and earnest all the wild stories that were in i presume did they hesitate to add any small circumstance that the whim of the moment might suggest to the of their theme but what an audacious report was that observed one which pretended to assert the identity of this strange creature with a young lady and here he mentioned her name the daughter of one of our most distinguished families ah there is more in that story than can well be accounted for remarked another i have it on good authority that the young lady in question is invariably out of sight and not to be traced even by her own family at the hours when the veiled lady is before the public nor can any satisfactory explanation be given of her disappearance and just look at the thing hei brother is a young fellow of spirit he cannot but be aware of these in reference to his sister why then does he not come forward to defend her character unless he is conscious that an investigation would make the matter worse it is essential to the purposes of my legend to one of these young gentlemen from his com so for the sake of a soft and pretty name s legend i as we of the literary invariably bestow our heroes i deem it fit to call him exclaimed her brother is no ch fool nobody unless his brain be as full of as this wine can seriously think of that why if my senses did not play me which never was the case yet i affirm that i saw that very lady last evening at the exhibition while this phenomenon was playing off her tricks what can you say to that o it was a illusion that you saw replied friends with a general laugh the veiled lady is quite up to such a thing however as the above mentioned fable could not hold its ground against s downright they went on to speak of other stories the wild of the town had set afloat some that the veil covered the most beautiful countenance in the world others and certainly with more reason considering the sex of the veiled lady that the face was ike most hideous and horrible and that this was her sole motive for hiding it it was the face of a corpse it was the head of a skeleton it was a monstrous with lock like s and one great red eye in the centre of the forehead again h was affirmed that there was no single and set of features beneath the veil but that should be bold enough to lift it would behold the features of that person in all the world who was destined to be his perhaps he would be greeted by the tender smile of the woman whom he loved or quite as probably the deadly of his bitterest enemy would throw a the romance over his life they quoted moreover this startling explanation of the whole affair that the who exhibited the veiled lady and who by the by was the man in the whole world had his own soul for seven years possession of a familiar and that the last year of the contract was wearing towards its close if it were worth our while i could keep you till an hour beyond midnight listening to a thousand such as these but finally our friend who himself upon his common sense found the matter getting quite beyond his patience i offer any you like cried he setting down his glass so forcibly as to break the stem of it that this very evening i find out the mystery of the veiled lady young i am told at nothing over their wine so after a little more talk a of considerable amount was actually laid the money and left to choose his own method of settling the dispute how he managed it i know not nor is it of any great importance to this legend the most natural way to be sure was by the door keeper or possibly he preferred in at the window but at any rate that very evening while the exhibition was going forward in the hall contrived to gain into the private whither the veiled lady was accustomed to retire at the close of her performances there he waited listening i suppose to the stifled hum of the great audience and no doubt he could distinguish the deep tones of the causing the wonders that he wrought s legend to appear more dark and intricate by his mystic pretence of an explanation perhaps too in the intervals of the wild music which accompanied the exhibition he might hear the low voice of the veiled lady conveying her firm as s nerves might be and much as he himself on his sturdy perception of realities i should not be surprised if his heart at a little more than its ordinary rate concealed himself behind a screen in due time the performance was brought to a close and whether the door was softly opened or whether her presence came through the wall is more than i can say but all at once without the young man s knowing how it happened a veiled figure stood in the centre of the room it was one thing to be in presence of	35
this mystery in the hall of exhibition where the warm dense life of hundreds of other mortals kept up the s courage and distributed her influence among so many it was another thing to be quite alone with her and that too with a hostile or at least an and purpose i rather imagine that now began to be sensible of something more serious in his enterprise than he had been quite aware of he sat with his boon companions over their sparkling wine very strange it must be confessed was the movement with which the figure floated to and fro over the carpet with the silvery veil covering her from head to foot so so ethereal so without substance as the texture seemed yet hiding her every outline in an like that of midnight surely she did not walk she floated and flitted and hovered about the the room no sound of a footstep no perceptible motion of a limb it was as if a wandering breeze her before it at its own wild and gentle pleasure but by and by a purpose began to be throughout the seeming of her she was in quest of something could it be that a had informed her of the yoimg man s presence and if so did the veiled lady seek or did she him the doubt in s mind was speedily resolved for after a moment or two of these she advanced more decidedly and stood motionless before the screen thou art here said a soft low voice come forth thus summoned by his name as a man of courage had no choice he emerged from his concealment and presented himself before the veiled lady with the wine flush it may be quite gone out of his cheeks what thou with me she inquired with the same gentle composure that was in her former utterance mysterious creature replied i would know who and what you are my lips are forbidden to betray the secret said the veiled lady at whatever risk i must discover it rejoined then said the mystery there is no way save to lift my veil and partly recovering his audacity forward on the instant to do as the veiled lady had s le suggested but she floated backward to the opposite side of the room as if the young man s breath had possessed power enough to her away pause one little instant said the soft low voice and learn the conditions of what thou art so bold to undertake thou go hence and think of me no more or at thy thou lift this mysterious veil beneath which i am a sad and lonely prisoner in a bondage which is worse to me than death but before raising it i entreat thee in all maiden modesty to bend forward and impress a kiss where my breath the veil and my virgin lips shall come forward to meet thy lips and from that instant thou shalt be mine and i thine with never more a veil between us and all the felicity of earth and of the future world shall be thine and mine together so much may a maiden bay behind the veil if thou from this there yet another way and what is that asked dost thou hesitate said the veiled lady to pledge to me by meeting these lips of mine while the veil yet hides my face has not thy heart recognized me dost thou come hither not in holy faith nor with a pure and generous purpose but in scornful and idle curiosity still thou lift the veil but from that instant i am doomed to be thy evil fate nor wilt thou taste another breath of happiness there was a shade of sadness in the utterance of these last words but whose tendency was towards felt himself almost injured and insulted by the veiled lady s pro the romance that he should pledge himself for life and eternity to so questionable a creature as herself or even that she should suggest an kiss taking into the probability that her face was none of the most a delightful idea truly that he should salute the lips of a dead girl or the jaws of a skeleton or the grinning of a monster s mouth even should she prove a comely maiden enough in other respects the odds were ten to one that her teeth were a terrible on the of a kiss excuse me fair lady said and i think he nearly burst into a laugh if i prefer to lift the veil first and for this affair of the kiss we may decide upon it afterwards thou hast made thy choice said the sweet sad voice behind the veil and there seemed a tender but sense of wrong done to womanhood by the young man s contemptuous interpretation of her offer i must not counsel thee to pause although thy fate is still in thine own hand grasping at the veil he flung it upward and caught a glimpse of a pale lovely face beneath just one momentary glimpse and then the apparition vanished and the silvery veil fluttered slowly down and lay upon the floor was alone our legend leaves him there his was to pine for ever and ever for another sight of that dim mournful face which might have been his life long household fireside joy to desire and waste life in a feverish quest and never meet it more but what in good had become of the veiled lady had all her existence been comprehended s legend in that mysterious veil and was she now or was she a spirit with a heavenly essence but which might have been tamed down to human bliss had been brave and true enough to claim her my sweet friends and dear and you shall learn the little more that can tell	35
you just at the moment so far as can be ascertained when the veiled lady vanished a maiden pale and shadowy rose up amid a knot of visionary people who were seeking for the better life she was so gentle and so sad a nameless melancholy gave her such hold upon their sympathies that they never thought of questioning whence she came she might have heretofore existed or her thin substance might have been out of air at the very instant when they first beheld her it was all one to them they took her to their hearts among them was a lady to whom more than to all the rest this pale mysterious girl attached herself but one morning the lady was wandering in the woods and there met her a figure in an oriental robe with a dark beard and holding in his hand a silvery veil he her to stay being a woman of some nerve she did not shriek nor run away nor faint as many ladies would have been apt to do but stood quietly and bade him speak the truth was she had seen his face before but had never feared it although she knew him to be a terrible lady said he with a warning gesture you are in peril peril she exclaimed and of what nature there is a certain maiden replied the the who come out of the realm of mystery and made herself your most intimate companion now the have so ordained it that whether by her own will or no this stranger is your enemy in in worldly in all your pursuit of happiness she is doomed to fling a over your prospects there is but one possibility of her disastrous influence then tell me that one method said the lady take this veil he answered holding forth the silvery texture it is a spell it is a powerful enchantment which i wrought for her sake and beneath which she was once my prisoner throw it at unawares over the head of this secret foe stamp your foot and cry arise here is the veiled lady and immediately i will rise up through the earth and seize her and from that moment you safe so the lady took the silvery veil which was like woven air or like some substance than and that would float upward and be lost among the clouds were she once to let it go returning homeward she found the shadowy girl amid the knot of visionary who were still seeking for the better life she was joyous now and had a in her cheeks and was one of the prettiest creatures and seemed one of the happiest that the world could show but the lady stole noiselessly behind her and threw the veil over her head as the slight ethereal texture sank inevitably down over her figure the poor girl strove to raise it and met her dear friend s eyes with one glance of mortal terror and deep deep reproach it could not change her purpose s legend arise she exclaimed stamping her foot upon the earth here is the veiled lady at the word the bearded man in the oriental robes the beautiful the dark who had away his soul he threw his arms around the veiled lady and she was his bond slave all this while had been holding the piece of and so managed it as greatly to increase the dramatic effect of the legend at those points where the magic veil was to be described arriving at the catastrophe and uttering the fatal words she flung the d er s head and for an instant her their breath half expecting i verily believe that he would start up through the floor and carry poor little friend before our eyes as for she stood in the midst of making no attempt to remove the veil how do you find yourself my love said a comer of the and peeping beneath it a mischievous smile ah the dear little soul she is really going to faint mr mr pray bring a glass of water her nerves being none of the strongest recovered her during the rest of the this to be sure was a great pity but we thought it a very bright idea of s to bring her legend to so effective a conclusion xiv s pulpit our sundays at were not ordinarily kept with such rigid as might have the descendants of the whose high enterprise as we sometimes flattered ourselves we had taken up carrying it onward and aloft to a point which they never dreamed of on that day it is true we rested from labors our oxen relieved from their week day yoke at large through the pasture each yoke fellow however keeping close beside his mate and continuing to acknowledge from the force of habit and sympathy the union which the had imposed for his own hard ends as for us human yoke fellows chosen companions of toil whose had together throughout the week we wandered off in various directions to enjoy our interval of repose some i believe went devoutly to the village church others it may be ascended a city or a country pulpit wearing the robe with so much dignity that you would scarcely have suspected the s frock to have been flung off only since time others took long among the rustic lanes and by paths pausing to look at black old farm houses with their sloping roofs and at the modem cottage so like a that it seemed as if real joy or sorrow could have no scope s within and at the more pretending villa with its range of wooden columns supporting the needless insolence of a great some themselves into the wide dusky bam and lay there for hours together on the hay while the and the shadows together these to make the bam	35
she asks and add a great deal more which she will not be the party to demand but which men if they were generous and wise would grant of their own free motion for instance i should love dearly for the next thousand years at least to have all government into s pulpit the hands of women i hate to be ruled by my own sex it my jealousy nd wounds my pride it is the iron sway of bodily force which us in our compelled submission but how sweet the free generous courtesy with which i would before a woman ruler yes if she were young and beautiful said but how if she were sixty and a fright ah it is you that rate womanhood low said l but let me go on i have never found it possible to suffer a bearded priest so near my heart and conscience as to do me any spiritual good i blush at the very thought o in the better order of things heaven grant that the of souls may be left in charge of women the gates of the blessed city will be thronged with the multitude that enter in when that day comes the task belongs to woman god meant it for her he has endowed her with the religious sentiment in its utmost depth and purity refined from that gross intellectual with which every masculine save only one who merely veiled himself in mortal and masculine shape but was in truth divine has been prone to mingle it i have always envied the their faith in that sweet sacred virgin mother who stands between them and the deity somewhat of his awful splendor but permitting his love to stream upon the more to human comprehension through the medium of a woman s tenderness have i not said enough i cannot think that this is true ia the romance who had been gazing at me with great eyes and i am sure i do not wish it to be true poor child exclaimed rather contempt she is the type of womanhood such as man has spent centuries in making it he is never unless he can himself by stooping towards what he loves in denying us our rights he even more blindness to his own interests than disregard of ours is this true asked with simplicity turning to is it all true that mr and have been saying no answered his customary they have neither of them spoken one true word yet do you despise woman said that would be most ungrateful despise her no cried lifting his great shaggy head and shaking it at us while his eyes glowed almost fiercely she is the most admirable of god in her true place and character her place is at man s side her office that of the the the recognition withheld in every other manner but given in pity through woman s heart lest man should utterly lose faith in himself the echo of god s own voice it is well done all the separate action of woman is and ever has been and always shall be false foolish vain destructive of her own best and qualities void of every good effect and productive of intolerable man is a wretch without woman but woman is a monster and thank heaven s pulpit an almost impossible and hitherto imaginary monster man as her acknowledged principal as true as i had once a mother whom i loved w ere there any possible prospect of woman s taking the social stand which some of them poor miserable creatures who only dream of such things because they have missed woman s peculiar happiness or because nature made them really neither man nor woman if there were a chance of their the end which these have in view i would call upon my own sex to use its physical force that unmistakable evidence of to them back within their proper bounds but it will not be needful the heart of true womanhood knows where its own sphere is and never seeks to stray beyond it never was mortal blessed if blessing it were with a glance of such entire acquiescence and faith happy in its completeness as our little unconsciously bestowed on she seemed to take the sentiment from his lips into her heart and brood over it in perfect content the very woman whom he pictured the gentle the soft reflection of a more powerful existence sat there at his feet i looked at however fully expecting her to resent as i felt by the indignant of my own blood that she ought this outrageous of what struck me as the intensity of masculine it everything in itself and deprived woman of her very soul her and all to make it a mere incident in the great sum of man had boldly uttered what he aud ll of like him really felt m ri thb romance he had disclosed the well spring of all these troubled waters now if ever it surely to be the champion of her sex but to my surprise and indignation too she only looked some tears sparkled in her eyes but they were wholly of grief not anger well be it so was all she said i at least have deep cause to think you right let man be but manly and god like and woman is only too ready to become to him what you say i smiled somewhat bitterly it is true in contemplation of my own ill luck how little did these two women care for me who had freely all their claims and a great deal more out of the fulness of my heart while by some of his horrible injustice seemed to have brought them both to bis feet women almost invariably behave thus thought l what	35
does the fact mean is it their nature or is it at last the result of ages of compelled degradation and in either case will it be possible ever to redeem them an now appeared to possess all the party that for this time at least there v s no more to be said with one accord we arose from the ground and made our way through the tangled towards one of those pleasant wood paths that wound among the over trees some of the branches hung so low as partly to conceal the figures that went before from those who followed had leaped up more lightly than the rest of us and ran along in advance with as much airy activity oi s mt v s the motion of a bird which chanced to be flitting from tree to tree in the same direction as herself never did she seem so happy as that afternoon she and could not help it from very of heart and went next in close but not with arm in arm now just when they had passed the impending bough of a tree i plainly saw take the hand of in both her own press it to bosom and let it fall again the gesture was sudden and full of passion the impulse had evidently taken her by surprise it expressed all had knelt before him or flung herself upon his breast and gasped out i love you i could not have been more certain of what it meant they then walked onward as before but as the declining sun threw s shadow along the path i beheld it tremulous and the delicate stem of the flower which she wore in her hair was likewise to her agitation through the medium of her eyes at least could not possibly have been aware of the gesture above described yet at that instant i saw her the which just before had been so bird like was utterly departed the life seemed to pass out of her and even the substance of her figure to grow thin and gray i almost imagined her a shadow fading gradually into the of the wood her pace became slow that and passed by and i without hastening my footsteps overtook her come said i looking her intently in the which was very pale and sorrowful we must the make haste after our friends do you feel suddenly ill a moment ago you flitted along so lightly that i ni comparing you to a bird now on the contrary it is as if you had a heavy heart and very little strength to bear it with pray take my arm no said i do not think it would help me it is my heart as you say that makes me heavy and know not why just now i felt very happy no doubt it was a kind of in me to attempt to come within her mystery but as she appeared to be tossed aside by her other friends or carelessly let fall like a flower which they had done with i could not resist the impulse to take just one peep beneath her folded and yourself are dear friends of late i remarked at first that first evening when you came to us she did not receive you quite so warmly as might have been wished i remember it said no wonder she hesitated to love me who was then a stranger to her and a girl of no grace or beauty she being herself so beautiful but she loves you now of course suggested l and at this very instant you feel her to be your dearest friend why do you ask me that question exclaimed as if frightened at the scrutiny into her feelings which i compelled her to make it somehow puts strange thoughts into my mind but i do love dearly if she only loves me half as well i shall be happy how is it possible to doubt that i re s pulpit joined but observe how pleasantly and happily and are walking together i call it a delightful spectacle it truly me that has found so fit and affectionate a friend so many people in the world him so many and ridicule while hardly any do him justice or acknowledge him for the wonderful man he is that it is really a blessed thing for him to have won the sympathy of such a woman as any man might be proud of that any man even if he be as great as might love so magnificent a woman how very beautiful is and knows it too there may have been some petty malice in what i said generosity is a very fine thing at a proper time and within due limits but it is an bore to see one man every thought of all the women and leaving his friend to shiver in outer seclusion without even the alternative of himself with what the more fortunate individual has rejected yes it waa out of a foolish bitterness of heart that i had spoken go on before said abruptly and with true feminine which heretofore i had never seen her exercise it pleases me best to along by myself i do not walk so fast as you with her hand she made a little gesture of dismissal it provoked me yet on the whole was the most thing that had ever done i obeyed her and strolled homeward wondering as i had wondered a thousand times already how meant to dispose of these two hearts which plainly to my tion and as ii o the romance suppose to his he had engrossed into his own huge there was likewise another subject hardly less fruitful of speculation in what attitude did present herself to was it in that of a free woman with no on	35
her affections nor to her hand but fully at liberty to surrender both in exchange for the heart and hand which she apparently expected to receive but was it a vision that i had witnessed in the wood was a were those words of passion and agony which had uttered in my hearing a mere stage were they formed of a material lighter than common air or supposing them to bear sterling weight was it not a perilous and dreadful wrong which she was meditating towards herself and arriving nearly at the farm house i looked back over the long slope of pasture land and beheld them standing together in the light of sunset just on the spot where according to the gossip of the community they meant to build their cottage alone and forgotten was lingering in the shadow of the wood xv a crisis thus the summer was passing away a summer of toil of interest of something that was not pleasure but which went deep into my heart and there became a rich experience i found myself looking forward to years if not to a lifetime to be spent on the same system the community were now beginning to form their permanent plans one of our purposes was to erect a as i think we called it after but the of those days is not very fresh in my remembrance where the great and general family should have its abiding place individual members too who made it a point of religion to preserve the of an exclusive home were selecting for their cottages by the wood side or on the or in the sheltered of some little valley according as their taste might l ban towards or the picturesque altogether br projecting our minds outward we had imparted a show of novelty to existence and contemplated it as as if the soil beneath our feet had not been deep with the dust of generations on every one of which as on ourselves the world had imposed itself as a hitherto bride and myself had often discussed these prospects it was easy to perceive however that he spoke with little or no but either as questioning the romance the of our or at any rate with a quiet consciousness that it was no personal concern of his shortly after the scene at s pulpit while he and i were an old stone fence i amused myself with forward into the future time when we come to he old men i said they will call us or fathers father and uncle and we will look back cheerfully to these early days and make a romantic story for the young people and if a little more romantic than truth may warrant it will be no harm out of our severe trials and hardships in a century or two we shall every one of us be personages or exceedingly picturesque and poetical ones at all events they will have a great public hall in which your portrait and mine and twenty other faces that are living now shall be hung up and as for me i will be painted in my shirt sleeves and with the sleeves rolled up to show my muscular development what stories will be among them about our mighty strength continued i lifting a big stone and putting it into its place though our posterity will really be far stronger than ourselves after several generations of a simple natural and active life what legends of s beauty and s slender and shadowy grace and those mysterious qualities which make her seem with spiritual light in due course of ages we must all figure in an poem and we will ourselves at least i will bend unseen over the future poet and lend him inspiration while he writes it you seem said to be trying how much nonsense you can pour out in a breath a crisis i wish you would see fit to comprehend retorted i that the wisdom must be mingled with of nonsense else it is not worth the breath t it but i do long for the cottages to be built that the creeping plants may begin to run over them and the moss to gather on the walls and the trees which we will set out to cover them with a breadth of shadow this and span novelty does not quite suit my taste it is time too for children to be born us the first born child is still to come and shall never feel as if this were a real practical as well is poetical system of human life until somebody has it by death a occasion for truly said as good as any other i replied i wonder who of all these strong men and fair women md maidens is doomed the first to die would it not well even before we have absolute need of it to fix a spot for a let us choose the most spot for death s garden and death shall teach us to it grave y grave by our sweet calm way of dying and the elegance out of which we will shape our funeral rites and the cheerful which we will model into tomb stones the final scene shall lose its terrors so hereafter it may be happiness to live and bliss to die none of us must die young yet should providence it so the event shall not be sorrowful but us with a tender delicious only half melancholy and almost smiling pathos that is to say muttered you will the die like a heathen as you certainly live like one but listen to me your fantastic make me discern all the more forcibly what a wretched scheme is this on which we have wasted a precious summer of our lives do you seriously imagine that any such realities as you and many others	35
here have dreamed of will ever be brought to pass certainly i do said i of course when the reality comes it will wear the every day commonplace dusty and rather homely garb that reality always does put on but setting aside the ideal charm i hold that our highest have a solid footing on common sense you only half believe what you say rejoined and as for me i neither have faith dream nor would care the value of this for its were that possible and what more do you want of it it has given you a theme for poetry let that content you but now i ask you to be at last a man of and earnestness and aid me in an enterprise which is worth all our strength and the strength of a thousand than we there can be no need of giving in detail the conversation that ensued it is enough to say that once more brought forward his rigid and idea a scheme for the of the wicked by methods moral intellectual and by the sympathy of pure humble and yet exalted minds and by opening to his pupils the possibility of a life than that which had become their fate it appeared he over estimated his own means that held it at his choice and he did so choose to a obtain possession of the very ground on which we had our community and which had not yet heen made ours by purchase it was just the foundation that he desired our might readily be adapted to his great end the arrangements already completed would work quietly into his system so plausible looked his theory and more than that so practical such an air of had he by patient thought thrown over it each of it was contrived to dove tail into all the rest with such a complicated and so ready was he with a response for every objection that really so far as logic and argument went he had the matter all his own way but said i whence can you having no means of your own derive the enormous capital which is essential to this experiment state street i imagine would not draw its purse strings very liberally in aid of such a speculation i have the funds as much at least as is needed for a commencement at command he answered they can be produced within a month if necessary my thoughts to it could only be her wealth which was so and on what conditions was it to be had did she fling it into the scheme with the generosity that a woman when it is her impulse to be generous at all and did she fling herself along with it but did not an explanation and have you no regrets i inquired in this fair system of our new life which has been planned so deeply and is now beginning to flourish so thb around us how beautiful it is and so we can yet see how practicable the ages have for us and here we are the very first that have to carry on our mortal existence in love and mutual help i would be loth to take the ruin of this enterprise upon my conscience then let it rest wholly upon mine he answered knitting his black brows i see through the system it is full of defects and ones from first to last there is nothing else i grasp it in my hand and find no substance whatever there is not human nature in it why are you so secret in your operations asked god forbid that i should accuse you of wrong but the sin of a ist it appears to me is apt to be a moral his sense of honor ceases to be the sense of other honorable men at some point of his course i know not exactly when or where he is tempted to with the right and can scarcely forbear persuading himself that the importance of his public ends renders it to throw aside his private conscience my dear friend beware this error if you the overthrow of this establishment call together our companions state design support it with all your eloquence but allow them an opportunity of defending themselves it does not suit me said nor is it my duty to do so i think it is replied i frowned not in passion but like i will not argue the point said he what i a crisis desire to know of you is and you can tell me in one word whether i am to look for your in this great scheme of good take it up with me be my brother in it it offers you what you have told me over and over again that you most need a purpose in life worthy of the self devotion worthy of should god so order it in this view i present it to you you can greatly benefit mankind your peculiar faculties as i shall direct them are capable of being so wrought into this enterprise that not one of them need lie idle strike hands with me and from this moment you shall never again feel the languor and vague wretchedness of an indolent or half occupied man there may be no more beauty in your life but in its stead there shall be strength courage will everything that a manly and generous nature should desire we shall succeed we shall have done our best for this miserable world and happiness which never comes but incidentally will come to us unawares it seemed his intention to say no more but after he had quite broken off his deep eyes filled with tears and he held out both his hands to me he murmured there is not the man in this wide world whom i	35
can love as i could you do not me as i look back upon this scene through the coldness and of so many years there is still a sensation as if had caught hold of my heart and were pulling it towards him with an almost irresistible force it is a mystery to me how i it but in truth i saw in his scheme of nothing but what was odious a s x the was to be forever in my daily work a great black of sin which he proposed to collect out of a thousand human hearts and that we should spend our lives in an experiment of it into virtue had i but touched his extended hand s would perhaps have penetrated me with his own conception of all these matters but i stood aloof i fortified myself with doubts whether his th of purpose had not been too gigantic for his integrity him to on considerations that should have been to every other is to take a part in your enterprise i asked she is said she the beautiful the gorgeous i and how have you prevailed with such a woman to work in this element through no base methods as you seem to suspect he answered but by addressing whatever is best and noblest in her was looking on the ground but as he often did so generally indeed in his habitual moods of thought i could not judge whether it was from any special now to meet my eyes what it was that dictated my next question i cannot precisely say nevertheless it rose so inevitably into my mouth and as it were asked itself so involuntarily that there must needs have been an in it what is to become of looked at me fiercely and with glowing eyes he could not have shown any other kind of a expression than that had he meant to strike me with a why do you bring in the names of these women said he after a moment of silence what have they to do with the proposal which i make you i must have your answer will you devote yourself and sacrifice all to this great end and be my friend of friends forever in heaven s name cried i getting angry and glad to be angry because so only was it possible to oppose his tremendous and will cannot you conceive that a man may wish well to the world and struggle for its good on some other plan than precisely that which you have laid down and will you cast off a friend for no but merely because he stands upon his right as an individual being and looks at matters through his own instead of yours be with me said or be against me i there is no third choice for you take this then as my decision i answered i doubt the wisdom of your scheme greatly fear that the methods by which you allow yourself to pursue it are such as cannot stand the scrutiny of an conscience and you will not join me no i never said the word and certainly can never have it to say hereafter that cost me a part so hard an effort as did that one syllable the heart pang was not merely but an absolute torture of the breast i was gazing at it the romance seemed to me that it struck him too like a bullet a ghastly always so terrific on a face his features there was a movement of his throat as if he were forcing down some words that struggled and fought for utterance whether words of anger or words of grief i cannot tell although many and many a time i have vainly tormented myself with which of the two they were one other appeal to my friendship such as once already had made taking me in the that followed a exercise of opposing will would completely have subdued me but he left the matter there well said he and that was all i should have been thankful for one word more even had it shot me through the heart as mine did him but he did not speak it and after a few moments with one accord we set to work again the stone fence i observed wrought like a and for my own part i lifted stones which at this day or in a calmer mood at that one i should no more have thought it possible to stir than to carry oflf the gates of on my back xvi a few days after the tragic passage at arms between and me appeared at the dinner table actually dressed in a coat instead of my customary with a satin too a white and several other things that made me seem strange and to myself as for my companions this unwonted spectacle caused a great stir upon the wooden benches that bordered either side of our homely board what s in the wind now miles asked one of them are you us yes for a week or two said i it strikes me that my health demands a little of labor and a short visit to the sea side during the dog days you look like it grumbled foster not greatly pleased with the idea of losing an efficient before the stress of the season was well over now here s a pretty fellow his shoulders have a matter of six inches since he came among us he can do his day s work if he likes with any man or ox on the farm and yet he talks about going to the sea shore for his health well well old woman added he to his wife let me have a of that pork and i begin to feel in a very weakly way when	35
the others have had their turn you and i will take a to or the well but mr foster said i you must allow me to take a little breath breath retorted the old your lungs have the play of a pair of blacksmith s already what on earth do you want more but go along i understand the business we shall never see your face here again here ends the of the world so far as miles has a hand in it by no means i replied i am resolute to die in the last ditch for the good of the cause die in a ditch muttered with genuine yankee of any of toil except on sunday the fourth of july the cattle show or the annual fast die in a ditch i believe in my conscience you would if there were no means than your own labor to keep you out of it the truth was that an intolerable discontent and had come over me was no longer what it had been everything was suddenly faded the sun burnt and arid aspect of our woods and pastures beneath the august sky did but imperfectly the lack of dew and moisture that since yesterday as it were had my fields of thought and penetrated to the and of my recesses the change will be recognized by many who after a period of happiness have endeavored to go on with the same kind of life in the same scene in spite of the alteration or of some principal circumstance they discover what heretofore perhaps they had not known that it was this which gave the bright color and vivid i ity o l leave i stood on other terms than before not only with but with and as regarded the two latter it was that dream like and miserable sort of change that you the privilege to complain because you can assert no positive injury nor lay your finger on anything it is a matter which you do not see but feel and which when you try to it seems to lose its very existence and resolve itself into a sickly humor of your own your understanding possibly may put faith in this denial but your heart will not so easily rest satisfied it incessantly though most of the time in a bass note which you do not separately distinguish but now and then with a sharp cry to be heard and resolute to claim belief things are not as they were it keeps saying you shall not impose on me i will never be quiet i will throb painfully i will be heavy and desolate and shiver with cold for i your deep heart know when to be miserable as once i knew when to be happy all is changed for us you are beloved no more and were my life to be spent over again i would invariably lend my ear to this of the inward depths however the music and the merriment of a more superficial region my outbreak with though never definitely known to our associates had really an upon the moral atmosphere of the community it was to the of relationship into which we had brought ourselves that an state of feeling could not occur between any two members without the whole society being more or less and made the uncomfortable thereby this species of nervous sympathy though a pretty characteristic enough considered and apparently an actual bond of love among us was yet found rather inconvenient in its practical operation mortal being so and as they are if one of us happened to give his neighbor a box on the ear the was immediately felt on the same side of everybody s head thus even on the supposition that we were far less than the rest of the world a great deal of time was necessarily wasted in rubbing our ears musing on all these matters i felt an longing for at least a temporary novelty i thought of going across the rocky mountains or to europe or up the of offering myself a on the exploring expedition of taking a of years no matter in what direction and coming back on the other side of the world then should the of have established their enterprise on a permanent basis i might fling aside my pilgrim staff and dusty and rest as peacefully here as elsewhere or in case should occupy the ground with his school of reform as he now i might plead earthly guilt enough by that time to give me what i was inclined to think the only hold on his affections meanwhile before deciding on any ultimate plan i determined to remove myself to a little distance and take an exterior view of what we had all been about in truth it was dizzy work amid such of opinions as was going on in the general brain of the community it was a kind of for the time being although out of the very thoughts that were f wildest and most destructive might grow a wisdom holy and pure and that should itself with the of a and happy life but as matters now were i felt myself and having a decided tendency towards the actual i never liked to getting quite out of my reckoning with regard to the existing state of the world i was beginning to lose the sense of what kind of a world it was among innumerable schemes of what it might or ought to be it was impossible situated as we were not to the idea that everything in nature and human existence was or becoming so that the crust of the earth in many places was broken and its whole surface that it was a day of crisis and that we ourselves were in the critical our great globe floated in the atmosphere of infinite space like an no sagacious man will long	35

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