_Tales and Sketches. By Miss Sedgwick, Author of "The Linwoods," "Hope
Leslie," &c. &c. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and Blanchard._
This volume includes--A Reminiscence of Federalism--The Catholic
Iroquois--The Country Cousin--Old Maids--The Chivalric Sailor--Mary
Dyre--Cacoëthes Scribendi--The Eldest Sister--St. Catharine's
Eve--Romance in Real Life--and the Canary Family.
All of these pieces, we believe, have been published before. Of most
of them we can speak with certainty--for having, in earlier days, been
enamored of their pervading spirit of mingled chivalry and pathos, we
cannot now forget them even in their new habiliments. Old Maids--The
Country Cousin--and one or two others, we have read before--and should
be willing to read again. These, our ancient friends, are worthy of
the pen which wrote "Hope Leslie" and "The Linwoods." "Old Maids," in
spite of the equivocal nature of its title, is full of noble and
tender feeling--a specimen of fine writing, involving in its
melancholy details what we must consider the beau-ideal of feminine
disinterestedness--the _ne plus ultra_ of sisterly devotion. The
"Country Cousin" possesses all the peculiar features of the tale just
spoken of, with something more of serious and even solemn thought. The
"Chivalric Sailor" is full of a very different, and of a more
exciting, although less painful interest. We remember its original
appearance under the title of "Modern Chivalry." The "Romance of Real
Life" we now read for the first time--it is a tale of striking
vicissitudes, but not the best thing we have seen from the pen of Miss
Sedgwick--that a story is "founded on fact," is very seldom a
recommendation. "The Catholic Iroquois" is also new to us--a stirring
history of Christian faith and martyrdom. The "Reminiscence of
Federalism" relates to a period of thirty years ago in New England--is
a mingled web of merriment and gloom--and replete with engrossing
interest. "Mary Dyre" is a veracious sketch of certain horrible and
bloody facts which are a portion of the History of Fanaticism. Mary is
slightly mentioned by Sewal, the annalist of "the people called
Quakers," to which sect the maiden belonged. She died in vindicating
the rights of conscience. This piece originally appeared in one of our
Souvenirs. "St. Catherine's Eve" is "_une histoire touchante qui
montre à quel point l'enseignement religieux pouvoit étre perverti, et
combien le Clergé étoit loin d'etre le gardien des mœurs
publiques_"--the tale appertains to the thirteenth century. "Cacoëthes
Scribendi" is told with equal grace and vivacity. "The Canary Family"
is a tale for the young--brief, pointed and quaint. But the best of
the series, in every respect, is the sweet and simple history of "The
Eldest Sister."
While we rejoice that Miss Sedgwick has thought proper to condense
into their present form these evidences of her genius which have been
so long floating at random before the eye of the world--still we think
her rash in having risked the publication so immediately after "The
Linwoods." None of these "Sketches" have the merit of an equal number
of pages in that very fine novel--and the descent from good to
inferior (although the inferior be very far from bad) is most
generally detrimental to literary fame. _Facilis descensus Averni_.
{125} REMINISCENCES OF NIEBUHR.
_Reminiscences of an Intercourse with Mr. Niebuhr, the Historian,
during a Residence with him in Rome, in the years 1822 and 1823. By
Francis Lieber, Professor of History and Political Economy in South
Carolina College. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and Blanchard._
Mr. Niebuhr has exercised a very powerful influence on the spirit of
his age. One of the most important branches of human science has
received, not only additional light, but an entirely novel interest
and character from his exertions. Those historiographers of Rome who
wrote before him, were either men of insufficient talents, or,
possessing talents, were not practical statesmen. Niebuhr is the only
writer of Roman history who unites intellect of a high order with the
indispensable knowledge of what may be termed the art, in
contradistinction to the science, of government. While, then, we read
with avidity even common-place memorials of common-place men, (a fact
strikingly characteristic of a period not inaptly denominated by the
Germans "the age of wigs,") it cannot be supposed that a book like the
one now before us, will fail to make a deep impression upon the mind
of the public.
Beyond his _Roman History_, our acquaintance extends to only one or
two of Mr. Niebuhr's publications. We remember the _Life of his
Father_, of which an English translation was printed some time ago, in
one of the tracts of the Library of Useful Knowledge, issued under the
direction of the Society for the diffusion of Useful Knowledge--and,
we have seen _The Description of the City of Rome_ (one volume of it)
which appeared in 1829 or '30, professedly by Bunsen and Platner, but
in the getting up of which there can be no doubt of Mr. Niebuhr's
having had the greater share. _The Representation of the Internal
Government of Great Britain, by Baron Von Vincke, Berlin_, 1815, was
also written, most probably, by Mr. N. who, however, announced himself
as editor alone. "I published," says he, in the Reminiscences we are
now reviewing, "I published the work on Great Britain after that
unfortunate time when a foreign people ruled over us (Germans) with a
cruel sword, and a heartless bureaucracy, in order to show what
liberty is. Those who oppressed us called themselves all the time the
harbingers of liberty, at the very moment they sucked the heart blood
of our people; and we wanted to show what liberty in reality is." A
translation of an _Essay on the Allegory in the first canto of Dante_,
written by our historian during his perusal of the poet, and intended
to be read, or perhaps actually read, in one of the learned societies
of Rome, is appended to the present volume. Mr. L. copied it, by
permission of the author, from the original in Italian, which was
found in a copy of Dante belonging to Mr. Niebuhr. This Essay, we
think, will prove of deeper interest to readers of Italian than even
Mr. Lieber has anticipated. Its opinions differ singularly from those
of all the commentators on Dante--the most of whom maintain that the
wood (_la selva_) in this famous Allegory, should be understood as the
condition of the human soul, shrouded in vice; the hill (_il colle_)
encircled by light, but difficult of access, as virtue; and the
furious beasts (_il fere_) which attack the poet in his attempt at
ascending, as carnal sins--an interpretation, always putting us in
mind of the monk in the _Gesta Romanorum_, who, speaking of the
characters in the Iliad, says--"My beloved, Ulysses is Christ, and
Achilles the Holy Ghost: Helen represents the Human Soul--Troy is
Hell--and Paris the Devil."
Dr. Francis Lieber himself is well known to the American public as the
editor of the Encyclopædia Americana, in which compilation he was
assisted by Edward Wigglesworth, and T. G. Bradford, Esqrs. The first
original work of our author, we believe, was called _Journal of my
Residence in Greece_, and was issued at Leipzig in 1823. This book was
written at the instigation of Mr. Niebuhr, who personally
superintended the whole; Mr. L. reading to the historian and his wife,
every morning at breakfast, what had been completed in the preceding
afternoon. Since that period we have seen, from the same pen, only
_The Stranger in America_, in two volumes, full of interest and
extensively circulated--and the book whose title forms the heading of
this article.
Not the least striking portion of this latter work, is its Preface,
embracing forty-five pages. Niebuhr's noble nature is, herein,
rendered hardly more apparent than the mingled simplicity and
enthusiasm of his biographer. The account given by Mr. L. of his first
introduction to the Prussian minister--of the perplexing circumstances
which led to that introduction--of his invitation to dinner, and
consequent embarrassment on account of his scanty nether
habiliments--of his final domestication in the house of his patron,
and of the great advantages accruing to himself therefrom--are all
related without the slightest attempt at prevarication, and in a style
of irresistibly captivating _bonhommie_ and _naïveté_.
Mr. Lieber went, in 1821, to Greece--led, as he himself relates, "by
youthful ardor, to assist the oppressed and struggling descendants of
that people, whom all civilized nations love and admire." With a
thousand others, he was disappointed in the hope of rendering any
assistance to the objects of his sympathy. He found it impossible
either to fight, or to get a dinner--either to live or to die. In
1822, therefore he resolved, with many other Philhellenes, to return.
Money, however, was scarce, and the adventurer had sold nearly every
thing he possessed--but to remain longer was to starve. He accordingly
"bargained with a Greek," and took passage at Missolonghi
(Messalunghi) in a small vessel bound for Ancona. After a rough
passage, during which the "tartan" was forced to seek shelter in the
bay of Gorzola, the wished-for port was finally reached. Here, being
altogether without money, Mr. Lieber wrote to a friend in Rome,
enclosing the letter to an eminent artist. "My friend," says Mr. L.
"happened to be at Rome, and to have money, and with the promptness of
a German student, sent me all he possessed at the time." This
assistance came very seasonably. It enabled the Philhellenist to
defray the expenses of his quarantine at Ancona. Had he failed in
paying them, the Captain would have been bound for the sum, and Mr. L.
would have been obliged finally to discharge the debt, by serving as a
sailor on board the Greek vessel.
Having, at length, obtained his _pratica_, he determined upon visiting
Rome; and the anxiety with which he appears to have contemplated the
defeat of his hopes in this respect is strikingly characteristic of
the man. His {126} passport was in bad order, and provisional, and he
had to make his way with it through the police office at Ancona. He
was informed too, that orders had been received from Rome forbidding
the signature of passports in the possession of persons coming from
Greece, except for a direct journey home. "You are a Prussian," said
the officer, "and I must direct your passport home to Germany. I will
direct it to Florence: your minister there may direct it back to Rome.
Or I will direct it to any place in Tuscany which you may choose; for
through Tuscany you must travel in order to reach Germany." Mr. L.
assures us he never felt more wretched than on hearing this
announcement. He had made his way round Rome without seeing the
Eternal City. The examination of a map of Italy, however, gave him new
hope. It pointed out to him how near the south-western frontier line
of Tuscany approaches to Rome. The road from Ancona to Orbitello, he
thought, was nearly the same as that to the object of his desires, and
he therefore requested the officer to direct his passport to
Orbitello. "Italians generally," says Mr. Lieber, "are exceedingly
poor geographers." The gentleman whom he addressed, inquired of
another in the adjoining room, whether Orbitello was in Tuscany, or
belonged to the Papal territory. Mr. L. pointed out the place on the
map: it was situated just within the colors which distinguished
Tuscany from the other states of Italy. This satisfied the police, and
the passport was made out.
Having hired a vetturino our traveller proceeded towards Orbitello. A
few miles beyond Nepi, at the Colonneta, the road divides, and the
coachman was desired to pursue the path leading to Rome. A bribe
silenced all objections, and when near the city, Mr. L. jumped out of
the carriage, and entered the Porta del Populo.
But it was impossible to dwell in Rome without the sanction of the
police, and this sanction could not be obtained without a certificate
from the Prussian minister that our friend's passport was in order.
Mr. Lieber therefore "hoping that a scholar who had written the
history of Rome could not be so cruel as to drive away thence a
pilgrim without allowing him time to see and study it," resolved on
disclosing his situation frankly to Mr. Niebuhr.
The Prussian minister resided at the Palazzo Orsini--he was engaged
and could not be seen--but the secretary of the legation received the
visiter kindly, and having learned his story, retired to an inner
apartment. Soon afterwards he returned with a paper written in Mr.
Niebuhr's own hand. It was the necessary permission to reside in Rome.
A sum of money was at the same time presented to Mr. L. which the
secretary assured him was part of a sum Prince Henry (brother to the
reigning king,) had placed at the minister's disposal for the
assistance of gentlemen who might return from Greece. Mr. L. was
informed also that Niebuhr would see him on the following day. The
result of the interview we must give in the words of our author.
When I went the next morning at the appointed time, as I thought, Mr.
Niebuhr met me on the stairs, being on the point of going out. He
received me with kindness and affability, returned with me to his
room, made me relate my whole story, and appeared much pleased that I
could give him some information respecting Greece, which seemed to be
not void of interest to him. Our conversation lasted several hours,
when he broke off, asking me to return to dinner. I hesitated in
accepting the invitation, which he seemed unable to understand. He
probably thought that a person in my situation ought to be glad to
receive an invitation of this kind; and, in fact any one might feel
gratified in being asked to dine with him, especially in Rome. When I
saw that my motive for declining so flattering an invitation was not
understood, I said, throwing a glance at my dress, "Really, sir, I am
not in a state to dine with an excellency." He stamped with his foot,
and said with some animation, "Are diplomatists always believed to be
so cold-hearted! I am the same that I was in Berlin when I delivered
my lectures: your remark was wrong."[1] No argument could be urged
against such reasons.
[Footnote 1: _Das war Kleinlich_ were his words.]
I recollect that dinner with delight. His conversation, abounding in
rich and various knowledge and striking observations; his great
kindness; the acquaintance I made with Mrs. Niebuhr; his lovely
children, who were so beautiful, that when, at a later period, I used
to walk with them, the women would exclaim, "_Ma guardate, guardate,
che angeli!_"--a good dinner (which I had not enjoyed for a long time)
in a high vaulted room, the ceiling of which was painted in the style
of Italian palaces; a picture by the mild Francia close by; the sound
of the murmuring fountain in the garden, and the refreshing beverages
in coolers, which I had seen, but the day before, represented in some
of the most masterly pictures of the Italian schools;--in short, my
consciousness of being at dinner with Niebuhr in his house in
Rome--and all this in so bold relief to my late and not unfrequently
disgusting sufferings, would have rendered the moment one of almost
perfect enjoyment and happiness, had it not been for an annoyance
which, I have no doubt, will appear here a mere trifle. However,
reality often widely differs from its description on paper. Objects of
great effect for the moment become light as air, and others, shadows
and vapors in reality, swell into matters of weighty consideration
when subjected to the recording pen;--a truth, by the way, which
applies to our daily life, as well as to transactions of powerful
effect;--and it is, therefore, the sifting tact which constitutes one
of the most necessary, yet difficult, requisites for a sound
historian.
My dress consisted as yet of nothing better than a pair of unblacked
shoes, such as are not unfrequently worn in the Levant; a pair of
socks of coarse Greek wool; the brownish pantaloons frequently worn by
sea-captains in the Mediterranean; and a blue frock-coat, through
which two balls had passed--a fate to which the blue cloth cap had
likewise been exposed. The socks were exceedingly short, hardly
covering my ankles, and so indeed were the pantaloons; so that, when I
was in a sitting position, they refused me the charity of meeting,
with an obstinacy which reminded me of the irreconcileable temper of
the two brothers in Schiller's Bride of Messina. There happened to
dine with Mr. Niebuhr another lady besides Mrs. Niebuhr; and my
embarrassment was not small when, towards the conclusion of the
dinner, the children rose and played about on the ground, and I saw my
poor extremities exposed to all the frank remarks of quick-sighted
childhood; fearing as I did, at the same time, the still more trying
moments after dinner, when I should be obliged to take coffee near the
ladies, unprotected by the kindly shelter of the table. Mr. Niebuhr
observed, perhaps, that something embarrassed me, and he redoubled, if
possible, his kindness.
After dinner he proposed a walk, and asked the ladies to accompany us.
I pitied them; but as a gentleman of their acquaintance had dropped in
by this time, who gladly accepted the offer to walk with us, they were
spared the mortification of taking my arm. Mr. Niebuhr, probably
remembering what I had said of my own appearance in the morning, put
his arm under mine, and thus walked with me for a long time. After
{127} our return, when I intended to take leave, he asked me whether I
wished for any thing. I said I should like to borrow his History. He
had but one copy, to which he had added notes, and which he did not
wish, therefore, to lend out of his house; but he said he would get a
copy for me. As to his other books, he gave me the key of his library
to take whatever I liked. He laughed when I returned laden with books,
and dismissed me in the kindest manner.
Mr. Lieber became the constant companion of Niebuhr in his daily walks
after dinner, during one of which the proposition was discussed to
which we have formerly referred--that of our author's writing an
account of his journey in Greece. In March 1823, the minister quitted
Rome, and took Mr. Lieber with him to Naples. By way of Florence,
Pisa, and Bologna, they afterwards went to the Tyrol--and in Inspruck
they parted. A correspondence of the most familiar and friendly nature
was, however, kept up, with little intermission, until the death of
the historian in 1831.
Mr. Lieber disclaims the design of any thing like a complete record of
all the interesting or important sentiments of Niebuhr during his own
residence with him. He does not profess to give even all the most
important facts or opinions. He observes, with great apparent justice,
that he lived in too constant a state of excitement to record
regularly all he saw or heard. His papers too were seized by the
police--and have undergone its criticism. Some have been lost by this
process, and others in a subsequent life of wandering. Still we can
assure our readers that those presented to us in the present volume,
are of the greatest interest. They enable us to form a more accurate
idea of the truly great man to whom they relate than we have hitherto
entertained, and have moreover, not unfrequently, an interest
altogether their own.