a little attack of nerves possibly


he was beginning to feel a keen interest in the slender barefoot donkey girl who slipped in and out of the play singing like some one winding through a hilly field


one night when he and winifred were sitting together on the bridge he told her that things had happened while he was studying abroad that he was sorry for one thing in particular and he asked her whether she thought she ought to know about them


she considered a moment and then said no i think not though i am glad you ask me


after that it was easy to forget actually to forget


of course he reflected she always had that combination of something homely and sensible and something utterly wild and daft


she must care about the theatre a great deal more than she used to


i'm glad she's held her own since


after all we were awfully young


i shouldn't wonder if she could laugh about it with me now


he passed through henley saint albans and came so near to london as harrow on the hill


the scottish generals and commissioners affected great surprise on the appearance of the king and though they paid him all the exterior respect due to his dignity they instantly set a guard upon him under color of protection and made him in reality a prisoner


they informed the english parliament of this unexpected incident and assured them that they had entered into no private treaty with the king


or hath he given us any gift


and the men of israel answered the men of judah and said we have ten parts in the king and we have also more right in david than ye why then did ye despise us that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king


another preacher after reproaching him to his face with his misgovernment ordered this psalm to be sung


the king stood up and called for that psalm which begins with these words


have mercy lord on me i pray for men would me devour


the good natured audience in pity to fallen majesty showed for once greater deference to the king than to the minister and sung the psalm which the former had called for


the parliament and the scots laid their proposals before the king


before the settlement of terms the administration must be possessed entirely by the parliaments of both kingdoms and how incompatible that scheme with the liberty of the king is easily imagined


the english it is evident had they not been previously assured of receiving the king would never have parted with so considerable a sum and while they weakened themselves by the same measure have strengthened a people with whom they must afterwards have so material an interest to discuss


if any still retained rancor against him in his present condition they passed in silence while his well wishers more generous than prudent accompanied his march with tears with acclamations and with prayers for his safety


his death in this conjuncture was a public misfortune


though thrown into prison for this enterprise and detained some time he was not discouraged but still continued by his countenance and protection to infuse spirit into the distressed royalists


among other persons of distinction who united themselves to him was lord napier of merchiston son of the famous inventor of the logarithms the person to whom the title of a great man is more justly due than to any other whom his country ever produced


while the former foretold that the scottish covenanters were secretly forming a union with the english parliament and inculcated the necessity of preventing them by some vigorous undertaking the latter still insisted that every such attempt would precipitate them into measures to which otherwise they were not perhaps inclined


the king's ears were now open to montrose's counsels who proposed none but the boldest and most daring agreeably to the desperate state of the royal cause in scotland


five hundred men more who had been levied by the covenanters were persuaded to embrace the royal cause and with this combined force he hastened to attack lord elcho who lay at perth with an army of six thousand men assembled upon the first news of the irish invasion


dreading the superior power of argyle who having joined his vassals to a force levied by the public was approaching with a considerable army montrose hastened northwards in order to rouse again the marquis of huntley and the gordons who having before hastily taken arms had been instantly suppressed by the covenanters


this nobleman's character though celebrated for political courage and conduct was very low for military prowess and after some skirmishes in which he was worsted he here allowed montrose to escape him


by quick marches through these inaccessible mountains that general freed himself from the superior forces of the covenanters


with these and some reenforcements of the atholemen and macdonalds whom he had recalled montrose fell suddenly upon argyle's country and let loose upon it all the rage of war carrying off the cattle burning the houses and putting the inhabitants to the sword


this severity by which montrose sullied his victories was the result of private animosity against the chieftain as much as of zeal for the public cause argyle collecting three thousand men marched in quest of the enemy who had retired with their plunder and he lay at innerlochy supposing himself still at a considerable distance from them


by a quick and unexpected march montrose hastened to innerlochy and presented himself in order of battle before the surprised but not affrightened covenanters


his conduct and presence of mind in this emergence appeared conspicuous


montrose weak in cavalry here lined his troops of horse with infantry and after putting the enemy's horse to rout fell with united force upon their foot who were entirely cut in pieces though with the loss of the gallant lord gordon on the part of the royalists


from the same men new regiments and new companies were formed different officers appointed and the whole military force put into such hands as the independents could rely on


besides members of parliament who were excluded many officers unwilling to serve under the new generals threw up their commissions and unwarily facilitated the project of putting the army entirely into the hands of that faction


though the discipline of the former parliamentary army was not contemptible a more exact plan was introduced and rigorously executed by these new commanders


valor indeed was very generally diffused over the one party as well as the other during this period discipline also was attained by the forces of the parliament but the perfection of the military art in concerting the general plans of action and the operations of the field seems still on both sides to have been in a great measure wanting


historians at least perhaps from their own ignorance and inexperience have not remarked any thing but a headlong impetuous conduct each party hurrying to a battle where valor and fortune chiefly determined the success


here she would stay comforted and soothed among the lovely plants and rich exotics rejoicing the heart of old turner the gardener who since polly's first rapturous entrance had taken her into his good graces for all time


every chance she could steal after practice hours were over and after the clamorous demands of the boys upon her time were fully satisfied was seized to fly on the wings of the wind to the flowers


then dear said missus whitney you must be kinder to her than ever think what it would be for one of you to be away from home even among friends


somehow of all the days when the home feeling was the strongest this day it seemed as if she could bear it no longer


if she could only see phronsie for just one moment


oh she's always at the piano said van she must be there now somewhere and then somebody laughed


at this the bundle opened suddenly and out popped phronsie


but polly couldn't speak and if jasper hadn't caught her just in time she would have tumbled over backward from the stool phronsie and all


asked phronsie with her little face close to polly's own


now you'll stay cried van say polly won't you


oh you are the dearest and best mister king i ever saw but how did you make mammy let her come


isn't he splendid cried jasper in intense pride swelling up father knew how to do it


there there he said soothingly patting her brown fuzzy head


i know gasped polly controlling her sobs i won't only i can't thank you


asked phronsie in intense interest slipping down out of polly's arms and crowding up close to jasper's side


yes all alone by himself asserted jasper vehemently and winking furiously to the others to stop their laughing he did now truly phronsie


oh no jasper i must go by my very own self


there jap you've caught it laughed percy while the others screamed at the sight of jasper's face


don't mind it polly whispered jasper twasn't her fault


dear me ejaculated the old gentleman in the utmost amazement and such a time as i've had to get her here too


how did her mother ever let her go


she asked impulsively i didn't believe you could persuade her father


i didn't have any fears if i worked it rightly said the old gentleman complacently


he cried in high dudgeon just as if he owned the whole of the peppers and could dispose of them all to suit his fancy


and the old gentleman was so delighted with his success that he had to burst out into a series of short happy bits of laughter that occupied quite a space of time


at last he came out of them and wiped his face vigorously


it is sixteen years since john bergson died


his wife now lies beside him and the white shaft that marks their graves gleams across the wheat fields


from the norwegian graveyard one looks out over a vast checker board marked off in squares of wheat and corn light and dark dark and light


from the graveyard gate one can count a dozen gayly painted farmhouses the gilded weather vanes on the big red barns wink at each other across the green and brown and yellow fields


the air and the earth are curiously mated and intermingled as if the one were the breath of the other


he was a splendid figure of a boy tall and straight as a young pine tree with a handsome head and stormy gray eyes deeply set under a serious brow


that's not much of a job for an athlete here i've been to town and back


alexandra lets you sleep late


she gathered up her reins


please wait for me marie emil coaxed


i never see lou's scythe over here


how brown you've got since you came home i wish i had an athlete to mow my orchard


i get wet to my knees when i go down to pick cherries


indeed he had looked away with the purpose of not seeing it


they think you're proud because you've been away to school or something


there was something individual about the great farm a most unusual trimness and care for detail


on either side of the road for a mile before you reached the foot of the hill stood tall osage orange hedges their glossy green marking off the yellow fields


any one thereabouts would have told you that this was one of the richest farms on the divide and that the farmer was a woman alexandra bergson


there is even a white row of beehives in the orchard under the walnut trees


frank read english slowly and the more he read about this divorce case the angrier he grew


marie sighed


a brisk wind had come up and was driving puffy white clouds across the sky


the orchard was sparkling and rippling in the sun


that invitation decided her


oh but i'm glad to get this place mowed


just smell the wild roses they are always so spicy after a rain


we never had so many of them in here before


i suppose it's the wet season will you have to cut them too


i suppose that's the wet season too then


it's exciting to see everything growing so fast and to get the grass cut


aren't you splashed look at the spider webs all over the grass


in a few moments he heard the cherries dropping smartly into the pail and he began to swing his scythe with that long even stroke that few american boys ever learn


marie picked cherries and sang softly to herself stripping one glittering branch after another shivering when she caught a shower of raindrops on her neck and hair


and emil mowed his way slowly down toward the cherry trees


that summer the rains had been so many and opportune that it was almost more than shabata and his man could do to keep up with the corn the orchard was a neglected wilderness


i don't know all of them but i know lindens are


if i feel that way i feel that way


he reached up among the branches and began to pick the sweet insipid fruit long ivory colored berries tipped with faint pink like white coral that fall to the ground unheeded all summer through


he dropped a handful into her lap


yes don't you


oh ever so much only he seems kind of staid and school teachery


when she used to tell me about him i always wondered whether she wasn't a little in love with him


it would serve you all right if she walked off with carl


i like to talk to carl about new york and what a fellow can do there


oh emil


surely you are not thinking of going off there


marie's face fell under his brooding gaze


i'm sure alexandra hopes you will stay on here she murmured


i don't want to stand around and look on


i want to be doing something on my own account


sometimes i don't want to do anything at all and sometimes i want to pull the four corners of the divide together he threw out his arm and brought it back with a jerk so like a table cloth


i get tired of seeing men and horses going up and down up and down


i wish you weren't so restless and didn't get so worked up over things she said sadly


thank you he returned shortly


and you never used to be cross to me


i can't play with you like a little boy any more he said slowly that's what you miss marie


but emil if i understand then all our good times are over we can never do nice things together any more


and anyhow there's nothing to understand


that won't last it will go away and things will be just as they used to


i pray for you but that's not the same as if you prayed yourself


i can't pray to have the things i want he said slowly and i won't pray not to have them not if i'm damned for it


then all our good times are over


on the sixth of april eighteen thirty the church of jesus christ of latter day saints was formally organized and thus took on a legal existence


its origin was small a germ an insignificant seed hardly to be thought of as likely to arouse opposition


instead of but six regularly affiliated members and at most two score of adherents the organization numbers today many hundred thousand souls


in place of a single hamlet in the smallest corner of which the members could have congregated there now are about seventy stakes of zion and about seven hundred organized wards each ward and stake with its full complement of officers and priesthood organizations


the practise of gathering its proselytes into one place prevents the building up and strengthening of foreign branches and inasmuch as extensive and strong organizations are seldom met with abroad very erroneous ideas exist concerning the strength of the church


nevertheless the mustard seed among the smallest of all seeds has attained the proportions of a tree and the birds of the air are nesting in its branches the acorn is now an oak offering protection and the sweets of satisfaction to every earnest pilgrim journeying its way for truth


their eyes were from the first turned in anticipation toward the evening sun not merely that the work of proselyting should be carried on in the west but that the headquarters of the church should be there established


the book of mormon had taught the people the true origin and destiny of the american indians and toward this dark skinned remnant of a once mighty people the missionaries of mormonism early turned their eyes and with their eyes went their hearts and their hopes


it is notable that the indian tribes have generally regarded the religion of the latter day saints with favor seeing in the book of mormon striking agreement with their own traditions


the first well established seat of the church was in the pretty little town of kirtland ohio almost within sight of lake erie and here soon rose the first temple of modern times


to the fervent latter day saint a temple is not simply a church building a house for religious assembly


soon thousands of converts had rented or purchased homes in missouri independence jackson county being their center but from the first they were unpopular among the missourians


the lieutenant governor lilburn w boggs afterward governor was a pronounced mormon hater and throughout the period of the troubles he manifested sympathy with the persecutors


their sufferings have never yet been fitly chronicled by human scribe


making their way across the river most of the refugees found shelter among the more hospitable people of clay county and afterward established themselves in caldwell county therein founding the city of far west


a small settlement had been founded by mormon families on shoal creek and here on the thirtieth of october eighteen thirty eight a company of two hundred and forty fell upon the hapless settlers and butchered a score


be it said to the honor of some of the officers entrusted with the terrible commission that when they learned its true significance they resigned their authority rather than have anything to do with what they designated a cold blooded butchery


oh what a record to read what a picture to gaze upon how awful the fact


american school boys read with emotions of horror of the albigenses driven beaten and killed with a papal legate directing the butchery and of the vaudois hunted and hounded like beasts as the effect of a royal decree and they yet shall read in the history of their own country of scenes as terrible as these in the exhibition of injustice and inhuman hate


who began the quarrel was it the mormons


as a sample of the press comments against the brutality of the missourians i quote a paragraph from the quincy argus march sixteenth eighteen thirty nine


it will be observed that an organized mob aided by many of the civil and military officers of missouri with governor boggs at their head have been the prominent actors in this business incited too it appears against the mormons by political hatred and by the additional motives of plunder and revenge


the army found the people in poverty and left them in comparative wealth


but a word further concerning the expedition in general


it was through floyd's advice that buchanan ordered the military expedition to utah ostensibly to install certain federal officials and to repress an alleged infantile rebellion which in fact had never come into existence but in reality to further the interests of the secessionists


moreover had the people been inclined to rebellion what greater opportunity could they have wished


already a north and a south were talked of why not set up also a west


they knew no north no south no east no west they stood positively by the constitution and would have nothing to do in the bloody strife between brothers unless indeed they were summoned by the authority to which they had already once loyally responded to furnish men and arms for their country's need


what the latter day saints call celestial marriage is characteristic of the church and is in very general practise but of celestial marriage plurality of wives was an incident never an essential


we believe in a literal resurrection and an actual hereafter in which future state shall be recognized every sanctified and authorized relationship existing here on earth of parent and child brother and sister husband and wife


it has been my privilege to tread the soil of many lands to observe the customs and study the habits of more nations than one and i have yet to find the place and meet the people where and with whom the purity of man and woman is held more precious than among the maligned mormons in the mountain valleys of the west


at the inception of plural marriage among the latter day saints there was no law national or state against its practise


in eighteen sixty two a law was enacted with the purpose of suppressing plural marriage and as had been predicted in the national senate prior to its passage it lay for many years a dead letter


federal judges and united states attorneys in utah who were not mormons nor lovers of mormonism refused to entertain complaints or prosecute cases under the law because of its manifest injustice and inadequacy


this meant that for an alleged misdemeanor for which congress prescribed a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and a fine of three hundred dollars a man might be imprisoned for life aye for many terms of a man's natural life did the court's power to enforce its sentences extend so far and might be fined millions of dollars


before this travesty on the administration of law could be brought before the court of last resort and there meet with the reversal and rebuke it deserved men were imprisoned under sentences of many years duration


the people contested these measures one by one in the courts presenting in case after case the different phases of the subject and urging the unconstitutionality of the measure


then the church was disincorporated and its property both real and personal confiscated and escheated to the government of the united states and although the personal property was soon restored real estate of great value long lay in the hands of the court's receiver and the mormon church had to pay the national government high rental on its own property


and so the story of mormonism runs on its finale has not yet been written the current press presents continuously new stages of its progress new developments of its plan


her sea going qualities were excellent and would have amply sufficed for a circumnavigation of the globe


after an apprenticeship on a merchant ship he had entered the imperial navy and had already reached the rank of lieutenant when the count appointed him to the charge of his own private yacht in which he was accustomed to spend by far the greater part of his time throughout the winter generally cruising in the mediterranean whilst in the summer he visited more northern waters


the late astounding events however had rendered procope manifestly uneasy and not the less so from his consciousness that the count secretly partook of his own anxiety


steam up and canvas spread the schooner started eastwards


although only a moderate breeze was blowing the sea was rough a circumstance to be accounted for only by the diminution in the force of the earth's attraction rendering the liquid particles so buoyant that by the mere effect of oscillation they were carried to a height that was quite unprecedented


for a few miles she followed the line hitherto presumably occupied by the coast of algeria but no land appeared to the south


the log and the compass therefore were able to be called upon to do the work of the sextant which had become utterly useless


there is no fear of that sir


the earth has undoubtedly entered upon a new orbit but she is not incurring any probable risk of being precipitated onto the sun


and what demonstration do you offer asked servadac eagerly that it will not happen


ocean reigned supreme


all the images of his past life floated upon his memory his thoughts sped away to his native france only to return again to wonder whether the depths of ocean would reveal any traces of the algerian metropolis


is it not impossible he murmured aloud that any city should disappear so completely


would not the loftiest eminences of the city at least be visible


another circumstance was most remarkable


to the surprise of all and especially of lieutenant procope the line indicated a bottom at a nearly uniform depth of from four to five fathoms and although the sounding was persevered with continuously for more than two hours over a considerable area the differences of level were insignificant not corresponding in any degree to what would be expected over the site of a city that had been terraced like the seats of an amphitheater


you must see lieutenant i should think that we are not so near the coast of algeria as you imagined


after pondering awhile he said if we were farther away i should expect to find a depth of two or three hundred fathoms instead of five fathoms five fathoms


its depth remained invariable still four or at most five fathoms and although its bottom was assiduously dredged it was only to prove it barren of marine production of any type


nothing was to be done but to put about and return in disappointment towards the north


fast as his legs could carry him servadac had made his way to the top of the cliff


it was quite true that a vessel was in sight hardly more than six miles from the shore but owing to the increase in the earth's convexity and the consequent limitation of the range of vision the rigging of the topmasts alone was visible above the water


exclaimed servadac keeping his eye unmoved at his telescope


she is under sail but she is count timascheff's yacht he was right


if the count were on board a strange fatality was bringing him to the presence of his rival


he reckoned therefore not only upon ascertaining the extent of the late catastrophe but upon learning its cause


the wind being adverse the dobryna did not make very rapid progress but as the weather in spite of a few clouds remained calm and the sea was quite smooth she was enabled to hold a steady course


servadac took it for granted that the dobryna was endeavoring to put in


a narrow channel formed a passage through the ridge of rocks that protected it from the open sea and which even in the roughest weather would ensure the calmness of its waters


slightly changing her course she first struck her mainsail and in order to facilitate the movements of her helmsman soon carried nothing but her two topsails brigantine and jib


captain servadac hastened towards him


i left you on a continent and here i have the honor of finding you on an island


never mind now interposed the captain we will talk of that by and by


nothing more than you know yourself


are you certain that this is the mediterranean


for some moments he seemed perfectly stupefied then recovering himself he began to overwhelm the count with a torrent of questions


to all these inquiries the count responded in the affirmative


some mysterious force seemed to have brought about a convulsion of the elements


you will take me on board count will you not


my yacht is at your service sir even should you require to make a tour round the world


the count shook his head


before starting it was indispensable that the engine of the dobryna should be repaired to sail under canvas only would in contrary winds and rough seas be both tedious and difficult


it was on the last day of january that the repairs of the schooner were completed


a slight diminution in the excessively high temperature which had prevailed for the last few weeks was the only apparent change in the general order of things but whether this was to be attributed to any alteration in the earth's orbit was a question which would still require several days to decide


doubts now arose and some discussion followed whether or not it was desirable for ben zoof to accompany his master


length of service fourteen years three months and five days


he seemed born to please without being conscious of the power he possessed


it must be owned and no one was more ready to confess it than himself that his literary attainments were by no means of a high order


we don't spin tops is a favorite saying amongst artillery officers indicating that they do not shirk their duty by frivolous pursuits but it must be confessed that servadac being naturally idle was very much given to spinning tops


once in action he was leading a detachment of infantry through an intrenchment


sometimes he would wander on foot upon the sandy shore and sometimes he would enjoy a ride along the summit of the cliff altogether being in no hurry at all to bring his task to an end


no cathedral not even burgos itself could vie with the church at montmartre


ben zoof's most ambitious desire was to induce the captain to go with him and end his days in his much loved home and so incessantly were servadac's ears besieged with descriptions of the unparalleled beauties and advantages of this eighteenth arrondissement of paris that he could scarcely hear the name of montmartre without a conscious thrill of aversion


when a private in the eighth cavalry he had been on the point of quitting the army at twenty eight years of age but unexpectedly he had been appointed orderly to captain servadac


the bond of union thus effected could never be severed and although ben zoof's achievements had fairly earned him the right of retirement he firmly declined all honors or any pension that might part him from his superior officer


unlike his master he made no pretension to any gift of poetic power but his inexhaustible memory made him a living encyclopaedia and for his stock of anecdotes and trooper's tales he was matchless


the bogus legislature numbered thirty six members


this was at the march election eighteen fifty five


that summer's emigration however being mainly from the free states greatly changed the relative strength of the two parties


for general service therefore requiring no special effort the numerical strength of the factions was about equal while on extraordinary occasions the two thousand border ruffian reserve lying a little farther back from the state line could at any time easily turn the scale


the free state men had only their convictions their intelligence their courage and the moral support of the north the conspiracy had its secret combination the territorial officials the legislature the bogus laws the courts the militia officers the president and the army


this was a formidable array of advantages slavery was playing with loaded dice


coming by way of the missouri river towns he fell first among border ruffian companionship and influences and perhaps having his inclinations already molded by his washington instructions his early impressions were decidedly adverse to the free state cause


his reception speech at westport in which he maintained the legality of the legislature and his determination to enforce their laws delighted his pro slavery auditors


all the territorial dignitaries were present governor shannon presided john calhoun the surveyor general made the principal speech a denunciation of the abolitionists supporting the topeka movement chief justice lecompte dignified the occasion with approving remarks


all dissent all non compliance all hesitation all mere silence even were in their stronghold towns like leavenworth branded as abolitionism declared to be hostility to the public welfare and punished with proscription personal violence expulsion and frequently death


of the lynchings the mobs and the murders it would be impossible except in a very extended work to note the frequent and atrocious details


the present chapters can only touch upon the more salient movements of the civil war in kansas which happily were not sanguinary if however the individual and more isolated cases of bloodshed could be described they would show a startling aggregate of barbarity and loss of life for opinion's sake


several hundred free state men promptly responded to the summons


it was in fact the best weapon of its day


the leaders of the conspiracy became distrustful of their power to crush the town


one of his militia generals suggested that the governor should require the outlaws at lawrence and elsewhere to surrender the sharps rifles another wrote asking him to call out the government troops at fort leavenworth


the governor on his part becoming doubtful of the legality of employing missouri militia to enforce kansas laws was also eager to secure the help of federal troops


sheriff jones had his pockets always full of writs issued in the spirit of persecution but was often baffled by the sharp wits and ready resources of the free state people and sometimes defied outright


little by little however the latter became hemmed and bound in the meshes of the various devices and proceedings which the territorial officials evolved from the bogus laws


to embarrass this damaging exposure judge lecompte issued a writ against the ex governor on a frivolous charge of contempt


the incident was not violent nor even dramatic no posse was summoned no further effort made and reeder fearing personal violence soon fled in disguise


but the affair was magnified as a crowning proof that the free state men were insurrectionists and outlaws


from these again sprang barricaded and fortified dwellings camps and scouting parties finally culminating in roving guerrilla bands half partisan half predatory


their distinctive characters however display one broad and unfailing difference


the free state men clung to their prairie towns and prairie ravines with all the obstinacy and courage of true defenders of their homes and firesides


their assumed character changed with their changing opportunities or necessities


in the shooting of sheriff jones in lawrence and in the refusal of ex governor beeder to allow the deputy marshal to arrest him they discovered grave offenses against the territorial and united states laws


footnote sumner to shannon may twelfth eighteen fifty six


private persons who had leased the free state hotel vainly besought the various authorities to prevent the destruction of their property


ten days were consumed in these negotiations but the spirit of vengeance refused to yield


he summoned half a dozen citizens to join his posse who followed obeyed and assisted him


he continued his pretended search and to give color to his errand made two arrests


the free state hotel a stone building in dimensions fifty by seventy feet three stories high and handsomely furnished previously occupied only for lodging rooms on that day for the first time opened its table accommodations to the public and provided a free dinner in honor of the occasion


as he had promised to protect the hotel the reassured citizens began to laugh at their own fears


to their sorrow they were soon undeceived


the military force partly rabble partly organized had meanwhile moved into the town


he planted a company before the hotel and demanded a surrender of the arms belonging to the free state military companies


half an hour later turning a deaf ear to all remonstrance he gave the proprietors until five o'clock to remove their families and personal property from the free state hotel


atchison who had been haranguing the mob planted his two guns before the building and trained them upon it


the inmates being removed at the appointed hour a few cannon balls were fired through the stone walls


in this incident contrasting the creative and the destructive spirit of the factions the emigrant aid society of massachusetts finds its most honorable and triumphant vindication


the whole proceeding was so childish the miserable plot so transparent the outrage so gross as to bring disgust to the better class of border ruffians who were witnesses and accessories


relocated footnote governor robinson being on his way east the steamboat on which he was traveling stopped at lexington missouri


in a few days an officer came with a requisition from governor shannon and took the prisoner by land to westport and afterwards from there to kansas city and leavenworth


here he was placed in the custody of captain martin of the kickapoo rangers who proved a kind jailer and materially assisted in protecting him from the dangerous intentions of the mob which at that time held leavenworth under a reign of terror


captain martin said i shall give you a pistol to help protect yourself if worse comes to worst


in the early morning of the next day may twenty ninth a company of dragoons with one empty saddle came down from the fort and while the pro slavery men still slept the prisoner and his escort were on their way across the prairies to lecompton in the charge of officers of the united states army


it is a very fine old place of red brick softened by a pale powdery lichen which has dispersed itself with happy irregularity so as to bring the red brick into terms of friendly companionship with the limestone ornaments surrounding the three gables the windows and the door place


but the windows are patched with wooden panes and the door i think is like the gate it is never opened


for it is a solid heavy handsome door and must once have been in the habit of shutting with a sonorous bang behind a liveried lackey who had just seen his master and mistress off the grounds in a carriage and pair


a large open fireplace with rusty dogs in it and a bare boarded floor at the far end fleeces of wool stacked up in the middle of the floor some empty corn bags


and what through the left hand window


several clothes horses a pillion a spinning wheel and an old box wide open and stuffed full of coloured rags


at the edge of this box there lies a great wooden doll which so far as mutilation is concerned bears a strong resemblance to the finest greek sculpture and especially in the total loss of its nose


the history of the house is plain now


but there is always a stronger sense of life when the sun is brilliant after rain and now he is pouring down his beams and making sparkles among the wet straw and lighting up every patch of vivid green moss on the red tiles of the cow shed and turning even the muddy water that is hurrying along the channel to the drain into a mirror for the yellow billed ducks who are seizing the opportunity of getting a drink with as much body in it as possible


for the great barn doors are thrown wide open and men are busy there mending the harness under the superintendence of mister goby the whittaw otherwise saddler who entertains them with the latest treddleston gossip


hetty sorrel often took the opportunity when her aunt's back was turned of looking at the pleasing reflection of herself in those polished surfaces for the oak table was usually turned up like a screen and was more for ornament than for use and she could see herself sometimes in the great round pewter dishes that were ranged on the shelves above the long deal dinner table or in the hobs of the grate which always shone like jasper


do not suppose however that missus poyser was elderly or shrewish in her appearance she was a good looking woman not more than eight and thirty of fair complexion and sandy hair well shapen light footed


the family likeness between her and her niece dinah morris with the contrast between her keenness and dinah's seraphic gentleness of expression might have served a painter as an excellent suggestion for a martha and mary


her tongue was not less keen than her eye and whenever a damsel came within earshot seemed to take up an unfinished lecture as a barrel organ takes up a tune precisely at the point where it had left off


the fact that it was churning day was another reason why it was inconvenient to have the whittaws and why consequently missus poyser should scold molly the housemaid with unusual severity


to all appearance molly had got through her after dinner work in an exemplary manner had cleaned herself with great dispatch and now came to ask submissively if she should sit down to her spinning till milking time


spinning indeed


i never knew your equals for gallowsness


who taught you to scrub a floor i should like to know


comb the wool for the whittaws indeed


that's what you'd like to be doing is it


that's the way with you that's the road you'd all like to go headlongs to ruin


mister ottley's indeed


you're a rare un for sitting down to your work a little while after it's time to put by


munny my iron's twite told pease put it down to warm


cold is it my darling bless your sweet face


she's going to put the ironing things away


munny i tould ike to do into de barn to tommy to see de whittawd


no no no totty ud get her feet wet said missus poyser carrying away her iron


did ever anybody see the like screamed missus poyser running towards the table when her eye had fallen on the blue stream


totty however had descended from her chair with great swiftness and was already in retreat towards the dairy with a sort of waddling run and an amount of fat on the nape of her neck which made her look like the metamorphosis of a white suckling pig


and she was very fond of you too aunt rachel


i often heard her talk of you in the same sort of way


when she had that bad illness and i was only eleven years old she used to say you'll have a friend on earth in your aunt rachel if i'm taken from you for she has a kind heart and i'm sure i've found it so


and there's linen in the house as i could well spare you for i've got lots o sheeting and table clothing and towelling as isn't made up


but not more than what's in the bible aunt said dinah


nay dear aunt you never heard me say that all people are called to forsake their work and their families


we can all be servants of god wherever our lot is cast but he gives us different sorts of work according as he fits us for it and calls us to it


i can no more help spending my life in trying to do what i can for the souls of others than you could help running if you heard little totty crying at the other end of the house the voice would go to your heart you would think the dear child was in trouble or in danger and you couldn't rest without running to help her and comfort her


i've strong assurance that no evil will happen to you and my uncle and the children from anything i've done


i didn't preach without direction


direction


i hanna common patience with you


by this time the two gentlemen had reached the palings and had got down from their horses it was plain they meant to come in


said mister irwine with his stately cordiality


oh sir don't mention it said missus poyser


i delight in your kitchen


poyser is not at home is he


said captain donnithorne seating himself where he could see along the short passage to the open dairy door


no sir he isn't he's gone to rosseter to see mister west the factor about the wool


but there's father the barn sir if he'd be of any use


no thank you i'll just look at the whelps and leave a message about them with your shepherd


i must come another day and see your husband i want to have a consultation with him about horses


for if he's anywhere on the farm we can send for him in a minute


oh sir said missus poyser rather alarmed you wouldn't like it at all


but you know more about that than i do sir


i think i should be doing you a service to turn you out of such a place


i know his farm is in better order than any other within ten miles of us and as for the kitchen he added smiling i don't believe there's one in the kingdom to beat it


by the by i've never seen your dairy i must see your dairy missus poyser


this missus poyser said blushing and believing that the captain was really interested in her milk pans and would adjust his opinion of her to the appearance of her dairy


oh i've no doubt it's in capital order


all about him was a tumult of bright and broken color scattered in broad splashes


the merganser had a crested head of iridescent green black a broad collar of lustrous white black back black and white wings white belly sides finely pencilled in black and white and a breast of rich chestnut red streaked with black


his feet were red his long narrow beak with its saw toothed edges and sharp hooked tip was bright red


but here he was at a terrible disadvantage as compared with the owls hawks and eagles he had no rending claws


but suddenly straight and swift as a diving cormorant he shot down into the torrent and disappeared beneath the surface


once fairly a wing however he wheeled and made back hurriedly for his perch


it might have seemed that a trout of this size was a fairly substantial meal


but such was his keenness that even while the wide flukes of his engorged victim were still sticking out at the corners of his beak his fierce red eyes were once more peering downward into the torrent in search of fresh prey


in despair he hurled himself downward too soon


the great hawk followed hurriedly to retrieve his prey from the ground


the cat growled softly picked up the prize in her jaws and trotted into the bushes to devour it


in fact he had just finished it the last of the trout's tail had just vanished with a spasm down his strained gullet when the baffled hawk caught sight of him and swooped


the hawk alighted on the dead branch and sat upright motionless as if surprised


like his unfortunate little cousin the teal he too had felt the fear of death smitten into his heart and was heading desperately for the refuge of some dark overhanging bank deep fringed with weeds where the dreadful eye of the hawk should not discern him


the hawk sat upon the branch and watched his quarry swimming beneath the surface


almost instantly he was forced to the top


straightway the hawk glided from his perch and darted after him


but at this point in the rapids it was impossible for him to stay down


but this frequenter of the heights of air for all his savage valor was troubled at the leaping waves and the tossing foam of these mad rapids he did not understand them


as he flew his down reaching clutching talons were not half a yard above the fugitive's head


where the waves for an instant sank they came closer but not quite within grasping reach


but as before the leaping waves of the rapids were too much for his pursuer and he was able to flap his way onward in a cloud of foam while doom hung low above his head yet hesitated to strike


the hawk embittered by the loss of his first quarry had become as dogged in pursuit as a weasel not to be shaken off or evaded or deceived


he had a lot of line out and the place was none too free for a long cast but he was impatient to drop his flies again on the spot where the big fish was feeding


the last drop fly as luck would have it caught just in the corner of the hawk's angrily open beak hooking itself firmly


at the sudden sharp sting of it the great bird turned his head and noticed for the first time the fisherman standing on the bank


the drag upon his beak and the light check upon his wings were inexplicable to him and appalling


then the leader parted from the line


he is a welcome figure at the garden parties of the elect who are always ready to encourage him by accepting free seats for his play actor managers nod to him editors allow him to contribute without charge to a symposium on the price of golf balls


in short he becomes a prominent figure in london society and if he is not careful somebody will say so


but even the unsuccessful dramatist has his moments


your play must be not merely a good play but a successful one


frankly i cannot always say


but suppose you said i'm fond of writing my people always say my letters home are good enough for punch


i've got a little idea for a play about a man and a woman and another woman and but perhaps i'd better keep the plot a secret for the moment


anyhow it's jolly exciting and i can do the dialogue all right


lend me your ear for ten minutes and you shall learn just what stagecraft is


and i should begin with a short homily on soliloquy


ham to be or not to be


now the object of this soliloquy is plain


indeed irresolution being the keynote of hamlet's soliloquy a clever player could to some extent indicate the whole thirty lines by a silent working of the jaw but at the same time it would be idle to deny that he would miss the finer shades of the dramatist's meaning


we moderns however see the absurdity of it


if it be granted first that the thoughts of a certain character should be known to the audience and secondly that soliloquy or the habit of thinking aloud is in opposition to modern stage technique how shall a soliloquy be avoided without damage to the play


and so on till you get to the end when ophelia might say ah yes or something non committal of that sort


this would be an easy way of doing it but it would not be the best way for the reason that it is too easy to call attention to itself


in the old badly made play it was frequently necessary for one of the characters to take the audience into his confidence


in the modern well constructed play he simply rings up an imaginary confederate and tells him what he is going to do could anything be more natural


i want double nine hal lo


double nine two three elsinore double nine yes hallo is that you horatio hamlet speaking


i say i've been wondering about this business


to be or not to be that is the question whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows what no hamlet speaking


you gave me double five i want double nine hallo is that you horatio hamlet speaking


to be or not to be that is the question whether tis nobler


it is to let hamlet if that happen to be the name of your character enter with a small dog pet falcon mongoose tame bear or whatever animal is most in keeping with the part and confide in this animal such sorrows hopes or secret history as the audience has got to know


enter hamlet with his favourite boar hound


lady larkspur starts suddenly and turns towards him


larkspur bit me again this morning for the third time


i want to get away from it all swoons


enter lord arthur fluffinose


and there you are you will of course appreciate that the unfinished sentences not only save time but also make the manoeuvring very much more natural


how you may be wondering are you to begin your masterpiece


relapses into silence for the rest of the evening


the duchess of southbridge to lord reggie oh reggie what did you say


then lord tuppeny well what about auction


the crowd drifts off leaving the hero and heroine alone in the middle of the stage and then you can begin


then is the time to introduce a meal on the stage


a stage meal is popular because it proves to the audience that the actors even when called charles hawtrey or owen nares are real people just like you and me


tea please matthews butler impassively


hostess replaces lump and inclines empty teapot over tray for a moment then hands him a cup painted brown inside thus deceiving the gentleman with the telescope in the upper circle


re enter butler and three footmen who remove the tea things hostess to guest


in novels the hero has often pushed his meals away untasted but no stage hero would do anything so unnatural as this


two bites are made and the bread is crumbled with an air of great eagerness indeed one feels that in real life the guest would clutch hold of the footman and say half a mo old chap i haven't nearly finished but the actor is better schooled than this


but it is the cigarette which chiefly has brought the modern drama to its present state of perfection


lord john taking out gold cigarette case from his left hand upper waistcoat pocket


how strange it seemed to the sad woman as she watched the growth and the beauty that became every day more brilliant and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child


god as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished had given her a lovely child whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom to connect her parent for ever with the race and descent of mortals and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven


yet these thoughts affected hester prynne less with hope than apprehension


the child had a native grace which does not invariably co exist with faultless beauty its attire however simple always impressed the beholder as if it were the very garb that precisely became it best


this outward mutability indicated and did not more than fairly express the various properties of her inner life


hester could only account for the child's character and even then most vaguely and imperfectly by recalling what she herself had been during that momentous period while pearl was imbibing her soul from the spiritual world and her bodily frame from its material of earth


they were now illuminated by the morning radiance of a young child's disposition but later in the day of earthly existence might be prolific of the storm and whirlwind


hester prynne nevertheless the loving mother of this one child ran little risk of erring on the side of undue severity


mindful however of her own errors and misfortunes she early sought to impose a tender but strict control over the infant immortality that was committed to her charge


as to any other kind of discipline whether addressed to her mind or heart little pearl might or might not be within its reach in accordance with the caprice that ruled the moment


it was a look so intelligent yet inexplicable perverse sometimes so malicious but generally accompanied by a wild flow of spirits that hester could not help questioning at such moments whether pearl was a human child


beholding it hester was constrained to rush towards the child to pursue the little elf in the flight which she invariably began to snatch her to her bosom with a close pressure and earnest kisses not so much from overflowing love as to assure herself that pearl was flesh and blood and not utterly delusive


brooding over all these matters the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit but by some irregularity in the process of conjuration has failed to win the master word that should control this new and incomprehensible intelligence


pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world


pearl saw and gazed intently but never sought to make acquaintance


if spoken to she would not speak again


hester prynne went one day to the mansion of governor bellingham with a pair of gloves which she had fringed and embroidered to his order and which were to be worn on some great occasion of state for though the chances of a popular election had caused this former ruler to descend a step or two from the highest rank he still held an honourable and influential place among the colonial magistracy


another and far more important reason than the delivery of a pair of embroidered gloves impelled hester at this time to seek an interview with a personage of so much power and activity in the affairs of the settlement


at that epoch of pristine simplicity however matters of even slighter public interest and of far less intrinsic weight than the welfare of hester and her child were strangely mixed up with the deliberations of legislators and acts of state


the period was hardly if at all earlier than that of our story when a dispute concerning the right of property in a pig not only caused a fierce and bitter contest in the legislative body of the colony but resulted in an important modification of the framework itself of the legislature


we have spoken of pearl's rich and luxuriant beauty a beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints a bright complexion eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow and hair already of a deep glossy brown and which in after years would be nearly akin to black


it was the scarlet letter in another form the scarlet letter endowed with life


the mother herself as if the red ignominy were so deeply scorched into her brain that all her conceptions assumed its form had carefully wrought out the similitude lavishing many hours of morbid ingenuity to create an analogy between the object of her affection and the emblem of her guilt and torture


but in truth pearl was the one as well as the other and only in consequence of that identity had hester contrived so perfectly to represent the scarlet letter in her appearance


come therefore and let us fling mud at them


but pearl who was a dauntless child after frowning stamping her foot and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies and put them all to flight


she screamed and shouted too with a terrific volume of sound which doubtless caused the hearts of the fugitives to quake within them


it was further decorated with strange and seemingly cabalistic figures and diagrams suitable to the quaint taste of the age which had been drawn in the stucco when newly laid on and had now grown hard and durable for the admiration of after times


they approached the door which was of an arched form and flanked on each side by a narrow tower or projection of the edifice in both of which were lattice windows the wooden shutters to close over them at need


lifting the iron hammer that hung at the portal hester prynne gave a summons which was answered by one of the governor's bond servant a free born englishman but now a seven years slave


yea his honourable worship is within but he hath a godly minister or two with him and likewise a leech


ye may not see his worship now


with many variations suggested by the nature of his building materials diversity of climate and a different mode of social life governor bellingham had planned his new habitation after the residences of gentlemen of fair estate in his native land


on the table in token that the sentiment of old english hospitality had not been left behind stood a large pewter tankard at the bottom of which had hester or pearl peeped into it they might have seen the frothy remnant of a recent draught of ale


little pearl who was as greatly pleased with the gleaming armour as she had been with the glittering frontispiece of the house spent some time looking into the polished mirror of the breastplate


mother cried she i see you here look look


in truth she seemed absolutely hidden behind it


pearl accordingly ran to the bow window at the further end of the hall and looked along the vista of a garden walk carpeted with closely shaven grass and bordered with some rude and immature attempt at shrubbery


but the proprietor appeared already to have relinquished as hopeless the effort to perpetuate on this side of the atlantic in a hard soil and amid the close struggle for subsistence the native english taste for ornamental gardening


there were a few rose bushes however and a number of apple trees probably the descendants of those planted by the reverend mister blackstone the first settler of the peninsula that half mythological personage who rides through our early annals seated on the back of a bull


pearl seeing the rose bushes began to cry for a red rose and would not be pacified


we want you to help us publish some leading work of luther's for the general american market will you do it


the condition is that i will be permitted to make luther talk american streamline him so to speak because you will never get people whether in or outside the lutheran church actually to read luther unless we make him talk as he would talk today to americans


let us begin with that his commentary on galatians


the undertaking which seemed so attractive when viewed as a literary task proved a most difficult one and at times became oppressive


it was written in latin


the work had to be condensed


a word should now be said about the origin of luther's commentary on galatians


much later when a friend of his was preparing an edition of all his latin works he remarked to his home circle if i had my way about it they would republish only those of my books which have doctrine my galatians for instance


in other words these three men took down the lectures which luther addressed to his students in the course of galatians and roerer prepared the manuscript for the printer


it presents like no other of luther's writings the central thought of christianity the justification of the sinner for the sake of christ's merits alone


but the essence of luther's lectures is there


the lord who has given us power to teach and to hear let him also give us the power to serve and to do luke two


the word of our god shall stand forever


in every way they sought to undermine the authority of saint paul


they said to the galatians you have no right to think highly of paul


he was the last to turn to christ


paul came later and is beneath us


indeed he persecuted the church of christ for a long time


do you suppose that god for the sake of a few lutheran heretics would disown his entire church


against these boasting false apostles paul boldly defends his apostolic authority and ministry


as the ambassador of a government is honored for his office and not for his private person so the minister of christ should exalt his office in order to gain authority among men


paul takes pride in his ministry not to his own praise but to the praise of god


paul an apostle not of men et cetera


either he calls ministers through the agency of men or he calls them directly as he called the prophets and apostles


paul declares that the false apostles were called or sent neither by men nor by man


the most they could claim is that they were sent by others


he mentions the apostles first because they were appointed directly by god


the call is not to be taken lightly


for a person to possess knowledge is not enough


it spoils one's best work


when i was a young man i thought paul was making too much of his call


i did not then realize the importance of the ministry


i knew nothing of the doctrine of faith because we were taught sophistry instead of certainty and nobody understood spiritual boasting


this is no sinful pride it is holy pride


and god the father who raised him from the dead


the clause seems superfluous on first sight


these perverters of the righteousness of christ resist the father and the son and the works of them both


in this whole epistle paul treats of the resurrection of christ


by his resurrection christ won the victory over law sin flesh world devil death hell and every evil


verse two


and all the brethren which are with me


this should go far in shutting the mouths of the false apostles


although the brethren with me are not apostles like myself yet they are all of one mind with me think write and teach as i do


they do not go where the enemies of the gospel predominate they go where the christians are


why do they not invade the catholic provinces and preach their doctrine to godless princes bishops and doctors as we have done by the help of god


we look for that reward which eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath entered into the heart of man


not all the galatians had become perverted


these means cannot be contaminated


they remain divine regardless of men's opinion


wherever the means of grace are found there is the holy church even though antichrist reigns there


so much for the title of the epistle now follows the greeting of the apostle verse three


grace be to you and peace from god the father and from our lord jesus christ


the terms of grace and peace are common terms with paul and are now pretty well understood


the greeting of the apostle is refreshing


grace involves the remission of sins peace and a happy conscience


the world brands this a pernicious doctrine


experience proves this


however the grace and peace of god will


men should not speculate about the nature of god


was it not enough to say from god the father


to do so is to lose god altogether because god becomes intolerable when we seek to measure and to comprehend his infinite majesty


he came down to earth lived among men suffered was crucified and then he died standing clearly before us so that our hearts and eyes may fasten upon him


embrace him and forget about the nature of god


did not christ himself say i am the way and the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me


when you argue about the nature of god apart from the question of justification you may be as profound as you like


we are to hear christ who has been appointed by the father as our divine teacher


at the same time paul confirms our creed that christ is very god


that christ is very god is apparent in that paul ascribes to him divine powers equally with the father as for instance the power to dispense grace and peace


to bestow peace and grace lies in the province of god who alone can create these blessings the angels cannot


otherwise paul should have written grace from god the father and peace from our lord jesus christ


the arians took christ for a noble and perfect creature superior even to the angels because by him god created heaven and earth


mohammed also speaks highly of christ


paul sticks to his theme


he never loses sight of the purpose of his epistle


not gold or silver or paschal lambs or an angel but himself what for


not for a crown or a kingdom or our goodness but for our sins


underscore these words for they are full of comfort for sore consciences


how may we obtain remission of our sins


paul answers the man who is named jesus christ and the son of god gave himself for our sins


since christ was given for our sins it stands to reason that they cannot be put away by our own efforts


this sentence also defines our sins as great so great in fact that the whole world could not make amends for a single sin


the greatness of the ransom christ the son of god indicates this


the vicious character of sin is brought out by the words who gave himself for our sins


but we are careless we make light of sin


we think that by some little work or merit we can dismiss sin


this passage then bears out the fact that all men are sold under sin


this attitude springs from a false conception of sin the conception that sin is a small matter easily taken care of by good works that we must present ourselves unto god with a good conscience that we must feel no sin before we may feel that christ was given for our sins


this attitude is universal and particularly developed in those who consider themselves better than others


but the real significance and comfort of the words for our sins is lost upon them


on the other hand we are not to regard them as so terrible that we must despair


to celebrate the arrival of her son silvia gave a splendid supper to which she had invited all her relatives and it was a good opportunity for me to make their acquaintance


without saying it positively she made me understand that being herself an illustrious member of the republic of letters she was well aware that she was speaking to an insect


in order to please her i spoke to her of the abbe conti and i had occasion to quote two lines of that profound writer


madam corrected me with a patronizing air for my pronunciation of the word scevra which means divided saying that it ought to be pronounced sceura and she added that i ought to be very glad to have learned so much on the first day of my arrival in paris telling me that it would be an important day in my life


her face was an enigma for it inspired everyone with the warmest sympathy and yet if you examined it attentively there was not one beautiful feature she could not be called handsome but no one could have thought her ugly


silvia was the adoration of france and her talent was the real support of all the comedies which the greatest authors wrote for her especially of the plays of marivaux for without her his comedies would never have gone to posterity


silvia did not think that her good conduct was a merit for she knew that she was virtuous only because her self love compelled her to be so and she never exhibited any pride or assumed any superiority towards her theatrical sisters although satisfied to shine by their talent or their beauty they cared little about rendering themselves conspicuous by their virtue


two years before her death i saw her perform the character of marianne in the comedy of marivaux and in spite of her age and declining health the illusion was complete


she was honourably buried in the church of saint sauveur without the slightest opposition from the venerable priest who far from sharing the anti christain intolerancy of the clergy in general said that her profession as an actress had not hindered her from being a good christian and that the earth was the common mother of all human beings as jesus christ had been the saviour of all mankind


you will forgive me dear reader if i have made you attend the funeral of silvia ten years before her death believe me i have no intention of performing a miracle you may console yourself with the idea that i shall spare you that unpleasant task when poor silvia dies


i never had any family


i had a name i believe in my young days but i have forgotten it since i have been in service


i shall call you esprit


you do me a great honour


here go and get me change for a louis i have it sir


at your service sir


madame quinson besides can answer your enquiries


i see a quantity of chairs for hire at the rate of one sou men reading the newspaper under the shade of the trees girls and men breakfasting either alone or in company waiters who were rapidly going up and down a narrow staircase hidden under the foliage


i sit down at a small table a waiter comes immediately to enquire my wishes


i tell him to give me some coffee if it is good


then turning towards me he says that i look like a foreigner and when i say that i am an italian he begins to speak to me of the court of the city of the theatres and at last he offers to accompany me everywhere


i thank him and take my leave


i address him in italian and he answers very wittily but his way of speaking makes me smile and i tell him why


my remark pleases him but i soon prove to him that it is not the right way to speak however perfect may have been the language of that ancient writer


i see a crowd in one corner of the garden everybody standing still and looking up


is there not a meridian everywhere


yes but the meridian of the palais royal is the most exact


that is true badauderie


all these honest persons are waiting their turn to get their snuff boxes filled


it is sold everywhere but for the last three weeks nobody will use any snuff but that sold at the civet cat


is it better than anywhere else


but how did she manage to render it so fashionable


simply by stopping her carriage two or three times before the shop to have her snuff box filled and by saying aloud to the young girl who handed back the box that her snuff was the very best in paris


you are now in the only country in the world where wit can make a fortune by selling either a genuine or a false article in the first case it receives the welcome of intelligent and talented people and in the second fools are always ready to reward it for silliness is truly a characteristic of the people here and however wonderful it may appear silliness is the daughter of wit


let a man run and everybody will run after him the crowd will not stop unless the man is proved to be mad but to prove it is indeed a difficult task because we have a crowd of men who mad from their birth are still considered wise


it seems to me i replied that such approval such ratification of the opinion expressed by the king the princes of the blood et cetera is rather a proof of the affection felt for them by the nation for the french carry that affection to such an extent that they believe them infallible


when the king comes to paris everybody calls out vive le roi


she introduced me to all her guests and gave me some particulars respecting every one of them


what sir i said to him am i fortunate enough to see you


he himself recited the same passage in french and politely pointed out the parts in which he thought that i had improved on the original


for the first day sir i think that what you have done gives great hopes of you and without any doubt you will make rapid progress


i believe it sir and that is what i fear therefore the principal object of my visit here is to devote myself entirely to the study of the french language


i am a very unpleasant pupil always asking questions curious troublesome insatiable and even supposing that i could meet with the teacher i require i am afraid i am not rich enough to pay him


i reside in the marais rue de douze portes


i will make you translate them into french and you need not be afraid of my finding you insatiable


he had a good appetite could tell a good story without laughing was celebrated for his witty repartees and his sociable manners but he spent his life at home seldom going out and seeing hardly anyone because he always had a pipe in his mouth and was surrounded by at least twenty cats with which he would amuse himself all day


his housekeeper had the management of everything she never allowed him to be in need of anything and she gave no account of his money which she kept altogether because he never asked her to render any accounts


brighter than early dawn's most brilliant dye are blown clear bands of color through the sky that swirl and sweep and meet to break and foam like rainbow veils upon a bubble's dome


guided by you how we might stroll towards death our only music one another's breath through gardens intimate with hollyhocks where silent poppies burn between the rocks by pools where birches bend to confidants above green waters scummed with lily plants


venice


in a sunset glowing of crimson and gold she lies the glory of the world a beached king's galley whose sails are furled who is hung with tapestries rich and old


the pity that we must come and go


while the old gold and the marble stays forever gleaming its soft strong blaze calm in the early evening glow


the pleasant graveyard of my soul with sentimental cypress trees and flowers is filled that i may stroll in meditation at my ease


it is my heart hung in the sky and no clouds ever float between the grave flowers and my heart on high


over the track lined city street the young men the grinning men pass


ho ye sails that seem to wander in dream filled meadows say is the shore where i stand the only field of struggle or are ye hit and battered out there by waves and wind gusts as ye tack over a clashing sea of watery echoes


old dances are simplified of their yearning bleached by time


he had got into her courtyard


through the black night rain he sang to her window bars


that was but rustling of dripping plants in the dark


she was alone that night


he had broken into her courtyard


then he rushed down stairs into the courtyard shouting loudly for his soldiers and threatening to patch everybody in his dominions if the sailorman was not recaptured


hold him fast my men and as soon as i've had my coffee and oatmeal i'll take him to the room of the great knife and patch him


i wouldn't mind a cup o coffee myself said cap'n bill i've had consid'ble exercise this mornin and i'm all ready for breakfas


but cap'n bill made no such attempt knowing it would be useless


as soon as they entered the room of the great knife the boolooroo gave a yell of disappointment


the room of the great knife was high and big and around it ran rows of benches for the spectators to sit upon


in one place at the head of the room was a raised platform for the royal family with elegant throne chairs for the king and queen and six smaller but richly upholstered chairs for the snubnosed princesses


therefore her majesty paid no attention to anyone and no one paid any attention to her


rich jewels of blue stones glittered upon their persons and the royal ladies were fully as gorgeous as they were haughty and overbearing


mornin girls hope ye feel as well as ye look


control yourselves my dears replied the boolooroo the worst punishment i know how to inflict on anyone this prisoner is about to suffer you'll see a very pretty patching my royal daughters


suppose it's a friend


the captain shook his head


why you said to fetch the first living creature we met and that was this billygoat replied the captain panting hard as he held fast to one of the goat's horns


the idea of patching cap'n bill to a goat was vastly amusing to him and the more he thought of it the more he roared with laughter


they look something alike you know suggested the captain of the guards looking from one to the other doubtfully and they're nearly the same size if you stand the goat on his hind legs they've both got the same style of whiskers and they're both of em obstinate and dangerous so they ought to make a good patch splendid


fine glorious


when this had been accomplished the boolooroo leaned over to try to discover why the frame rolled away seemingly of its own accord and he was the more puzzled because it had never done such a thing before


at once the goat gave a leap escaped from the soldiers and with bowed head rushed upon the boolooroo


before any could stop him he butted his majesty so furiously that the king soared far into the air and tumbled in a heap among the benches where he lay moaning and groaning


the goat's warlike spirit was roused by this successful attack


then they sped in great haste for the door and the goat gave a final butt that sent the row of royal ladies all diving into the corridor in another tangle whereupon they shrieked in a manner that terrified everyone within sound of their voices


i had a notion it was you mate as saved me from the knife


i couldn't shiver much bein bound so tight but when i'm loose i mean to have jus one good shiver to relieve my feelin's


come and get the boolooroo she said going toward the benches


so they were quite willing to obey the orders of their girl queen and in a short time the blasts of trumpets and roll of drums and clashing of cymbals told trot and cap'n bill that the blue bands had assembled before the palace


then they all marched out a little way into the fields and found that the army of pinkies had already formed and was advancing steadily toward them


at the head of the pinkies were ghip ghisizzle and button bright who had the parrot on his shoulder and they were supported by captain coralie and captain tintint and rosalie the witch


when the blueskins saw ghip ghisizzle they raised another great shout for he was the favorite of the soldiers and very popular with all the people


since last thursday i ghip ghisizzle have been the lawful boolooroo of the blue country but now that you are conquered by queen trot i suppose i am conquered too and you have no boolooroo at all


when he finished she said cheerfully


don't worry sizzle dear it'll all come right pretty soon


now then let's enter the city an enjoy the grand feast that's being cooked i'm nearly starved myself for this conquerin kingdoms is hard work


then she gave rosalie back her magic ring thanking the kind witch for all she had done for them


you are mate replied the sailor


it will be such a satisfaction


the guards had a terrible struggle with the goat which was loose in the room and still wanted to fight but finally they subdued the animal and then they took the boolooroo out of the frame he was tied in and brought both him and the goat before queen trot who awaited them in the throne room of the palace


i'll gladly do that promised the new boolooroo and i'll feed the honorable goat all the shavings and leather and tin cans he can eat besides the grass


scuse me said trot i neglected to tell you that you're not the boolooroo any more


the former boolooroo groaned


i'll not be wicked any more sighed the old boolooroo i'll reform


as a private citizen i shall be a model of deportment because it would be dangerous to be otherwise


when first they entered the throne room they tried to be as haughty and scornful as ever but the blues who were assembled there all laughed at them and jeered them for there was not a single person in all the blue country who loved the princesses the least little bit


so ghip ghisizzle ordered the captain to take a file of soldiers and escort the raving beauties to their new home


that evening trot gave a grand ball in the palace to which the most important of the pinkies and the blueskins were invited


the combined bands of both the countries played the music and a fine supper was served


under the simple test of effectiveness for advertising we should expect to find leisure and the conspicuous consumption of goods dividing the field of pecuniary emulation pretty evenly between them at the outset


but the actual course of development has been somewhat different from this ideal scheme leisure held the first place at the start and came to hold a rank very much above wasteful consumption of goods both as a direct exponent of wealth and as an element in the standard of decency during the quasi peaceable culture


other circumstances permitting that instinct disposes men to look with favor upon productive efficiency and on whatever is of human use


a reconciliation between the two conflicting requirements is effected by a resort to make believe many and intricate polite observances and social duties of a ceremonial nature are developed many organizations are founded with some specious object of amelioration embodied in their official style and title there is much coming and going and a deal of talk to the end that the talkers may not have occasion to reflect on what is the effectual economic value of their traffic


the salient features of this development of domestic service have already been indicated


throughout the entire evolution of conspicuous expenditure whether of goods or of services or human life runs the obvious implication that in order to effectually mend the consumer's good fame it must be an expenditure of superfluities


as used in the speech of everyday life the word carries an undertone of deprecation


the use of the word waste as a technical term therefore implies no deprecation of the motives or of the ends sought by the consumer under this canon of conspicuous waste


but it is on other grounds worth noting that the term waste in the language of everyday life implies deprecation of what is characterized as wasteful


in strict accuracy nothing should be included under the head of conspicuous waste but such expenditure as is incurred on the ground of an invidious pecuniary comparison


an article may be useful and wasteful both and its utility to the consumer may be made up of use and waste in the most varying proportions


but already at a point in economic evolution far antedating the emergence of the lady specialised consumption of goods as an evidence of pecuniary strength had begun to work out in a more or less elaborate system


the utility of consumption as an evidence of wealth is to be classed as a derivative growth


such consumption as falls to the women is merely incidental to their work it is a means to their continued labour and not a consumption directed to their own comfort and fulness of life


with a further advance in culture this tabu may change into simple custom of a more or less rigorous character but whatever be the theoretical basis of the distinction which is maintained whether it be a tabu or a larger conventionality the features of the conventional scheme of consumption do not change easily


in the nature of things luxuries and the comforts of life belong to the leisure class


under the tabu certain victuals and more particularly certain beverages are strictly reserved for the use of the superior class


drunkenness and the other pathological consequences of the free use of stimulants therefore tend in their turn to become honorific as being a mark at the second remove of the superior status of those who are able to afford the indulgence


it has even happened that the name for certain diseased conditions of the body arising from such an origin has passed into everyday speech as a synonym for noble or gentle


the consumption of luxuries in the true sense is a consumption directed to the comfort of the consumer himself and is therefore a mark of the master


with many qualifications with more qualifications as the patriarchal tradition has gradually weakened the general rule is felt to be right and binding that women should consume only for the benefit of their masters


the objection of course presents itself that expenditure on women's dress and household paraphernalia is an obvious exception to this rule but it will appear in the sequel that this exception is much more obvious than substantial


the custom of festive gatherings probably originated in motives of conviviality and religion these motives are also present in the later development but they do not continue to be the sole motives


there is a more or less elaborate system of rank and grades


this differentiation is furthered by the inheritance of wealth and the consequent inheritance of gentility


many of these affiliated gentlemen of leisure are at the same time lesser men of substance in their own right so that some of them are scarcely at all others only partially to be rated as vicarious consumers


so many of them however as make up the retainer and hangers on of the patron may be classed as vicarious consumer without qualification


many of these again and also many of the other aristocracy of less degree have in turn attached to their persons a more or less comprehensive group of vicarious consumer in the persons of their wives and children their servants retainers et cetera


the wearing of uniforms or liveries implies a considerable degree of dependence and may even be said to be a mark of servitude real or ostensible


the wearers of uniforms and liveries may be roughly divided into two classes the free and the servile or the noble and the ignoble


but the general distinction is not on that account to be overlooked


so those offices which are by right the proper employment of the leisure class are noble such as government fighting hunting the care of arms and accoutrements and the like in short those which may be classed as ostensibly predatory employments


whenever as in these cases the menial service in question has to do directly with the primary leisure employments of fighting and hunting it easily acquires a reflected honorific character


the livery becomes obnoxious to nearly all who are required to wear it


in a general way though not wholly nor consistently these two groups coincide


the dependent who was first delegated for these duties was the wife or the chief wife and as would be expected in the later development of the institution when the number of persons by whom these duties are customarily performed gradually narrows the wife remains the last


but as we descend the social scale the point is presently reached where the duties of vicarious leisure and consumption devolve upon the wife alone


in the communities of the western culture this point is at present found among the lower middle class


if beauty or comfort is achieved and it is a more or less fortuitous circumstance if they are they must be achieved by means and methods that commend themselves to the great economic law of wasted effort


the man of the household also can do something in this direction and indeed he commonly does but with a still lower descent into the levels of indigence along the margin of the slums the man and presently also the children virtually cease to consume valuable goods for appearances and the woman remains virtually the sole exponent of the household's pecuniary decency


very much of squalor and discomfort will be endured before the last trinket or the last pretense of pecuniary decency is put away


there is no class and no country that has yielded so abjectly before the pressure of physical want as to deny themselves all gratification of this higher or spiritual need


the question is which of the two methods will most effectively reach the persons whose convictions it is desired to affect


each will therefore serve about equally well during the earlier stages of social growth


the modern organization of industry works in the same direction also by another line


it is evident therefore that the present trend of the development is in the direction of heightening the utility of conspicuous consumption as compared with leisure


it is also noticeable that the serviceability of consumption as a means of repute as well as the insistence on it as an element of decency is at its best in those portions of the community where the human contact of the individual is widest and the mobility of the population is greatest


consumption becomes a larger element in the standard of living in the city than in the country


among the country population its place is to some extent taken by savings and home comforts known through the medium of neighborhood gossip sufficiently to serve the like general purpose of pecuniary repute


the result is a great mobility of the labor employed in printing perhaps greater than in any other equally well defined and considerable body of workmen