so must I too,” said little Grace; “I will give her a share of my
garden, and I will teach her how to shell the seeds, and then to sow
them.”
When my uncle and aunt came in from riding, my cousins went in a body to
tell him how they intended to manage. For that is one of the happy
things in this family, dear Mamma, as I heard some one remark lately;
they feel a mutual interest in each other’s pursuits, and my uncle and
aunt are always ready to assist them in accomplishing their little
plans, whether serious or playful. There is no jealousy or mystery--all
is open; and, though ready to assist each other, they never officiously
interfere in one another’s occupations, because each has abundance of
their own.
But I must continue my history. When they had told my uncle of their
intended donations, he said, in his playful manner, “Most puissant
friends, if I were allowed a voice in this affair, I would say that
Bertha ought to have an independent portion, which she could cultivate
or spoil, to her own satisfaction. If your aunt has no objection, I will
give her a certain spot near Caroline’s garden, which requires a good
deal to be done to put it into order. A little steady employment will be
of great use in breaking her into the noble science of horticulture; and
she can lay out her domain to her own taste. May I hope this suggestion
meets with your approbation?”
“Oh yes,” said Wentworth; “we all approve of your amendment, Papa,
though we are sorry not to have the pleasure of making a general
contribution in her behalf. However, I know she will require help; and I
engage to be her labourer, and do all her hard work.”
“And I,” said Frederick, “will be her little garden boy--her slave, if
she likes; for I know she comes from a country where slaves are
employed.”
“Well then, Bertha,” said my uncle, “I will shew you this piece of
ground; and, if you like it, you shall have it on three conditions. The
first is, that you never work long enough to fatigue yourself. These
creatures have been little labourers and tillers of the earth ever since
their infancy, but you are not accustomed to it, and I like moderation
in every thing--in work as well as in play. Condition the second--that
you really learn to garden, and do not blindly go through a certain
routine of operations, because others do. Mere imitation is a bad rule
of conduct, whether in gardening or any other action of life. You must
learn the why and the wherefore of what you do. Condition the
third--that all your implements be regularly put in their proper places
every day, when you have done; and that you have a basket to carry
seeds, and knife, and all other small affairs.”
I promised to adhere to his conditions; and as soon as luncheon was
over, we went to the place. It extends from Caroline’s garden, towards a
little stream which skirts the shrubbery, and comes very near my aunt’s
flower-garden. Frederick has undertaken to connect them by a bridge, and
I have already formed a multitude of plans for laying out this little
spot.
_17th._--Caroline has allowed me to make the following extract, from a
letter that she received this morning from Hertford:--
“There are some marine animals here which I cannot find mentioned in
any of the books we have with us; and one species, my companion says,
has very rarely been observed in the British seas. These animals belong
to a gregarious family, and often adhere together, but in a manner that
is peculiar to each species. In this new species they are linked
together endways, so that the whole forms a chain. They move forwards by
swallowing, and suddenly emitting the water; and it is amusing to
observe the whole chain of many feet in length, swimming with an
undulating motion, resembling that of a serpent. They are quite
transparent, and the adhesion is so slight, that the least force
separates them. We put some in a bucket of water, but they did not like
the confinement, and died in half an hour.
“That interesting phenomenon--luminous sea-water, is seen here in autumn
in great brilliancy. It certainly does not proceed from any ingredient
of the water itself, but from the phosphorescent property of living
animals; and from what I can learn, there are a great many other tribes
that possess this power of giving light, besides those described in Dr.
Macartney’s ingenious paper, which you and I read together. I am
informed, that Sir Charles Giesecke discovered several new species on
the coast of Greenland, which were not only luminous when alive, but
retained this property even when broken to pieces by the violence of
the sea. They have been well called the glow-worms of the deep, by a
writer, whose account of these islands has been a great assistance to me
in my tour.
“I have much more to tell you on this subject when we meet; but now the
wind is fair for my voyage to St. Kilda, and all hands are waiting for
me.”
_18th._ _Sunday._--There was some little argument going on at breakfast,
this morning, between Frederick and Wentworth, on the question of
resisting injury and injustice, or of passively submitting, according to
the injunction of the Gospel; and my uncle took advantage of it to say a
few words on the subject, lest we should mistake between the real
meaning and the figurative expression.
“It has been charged against the Gospel,” he said, “that it teaches men
to feel towards their enemies in a manner which is compatible only with
an abject, slavish temper, and that it directs what it is impossible to
practise; not only forbidding retaliation, but inculcating patience
under the grossest ill-usage; as in these passages: ‘Love your enemies,
bless them which curse you. Resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite
thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.’ But such
objections can only be urged against the mere _words_; they do not
apply to the _spirit_ of the precept. It is a forbearing disposition--a
slowness to resent--a readiness to make allowance for the passions of
others, which is meant; for, in many instances, it would be totally
unreasonable to take them in their literal meaning. These texts, and
others of the same nature, were intended to counteract the
misinterpretation of the Jewish doctors; who, because the Mosaic code
enjoined exact retaliation in the punishment of crimes by the regular
sentence of the judge, perverted that into a permission to indulge in
private revenge; and who were notorious, also, for want of charity in
their feelings and conduct to all persons not of their own nation or
sect. It was in consequence of these corrupt prejudices, that our Lord
inculcated, with peculiar emphasis, the contrary principles of
forbearance, forgiveness, and kindness, to those who had offended; and
he illustrated these precepts by striking and familiar instances.
“It appears, from various other passages, also, that it was not the
literal rule which Christ meant strictly to enforce in every instance,
but the spirit of it--that is, the temper of humility, the control of
all violent and selfish impulses, and the patience and submission which
are the effects of self-control;--above all, the pausing to put
ourselves in the place of the offender, before we give way even to just
resentment; so that, by supposing the fault our own, we may consider in
what light it would then appear to us, and, consequently, lead us to act
towards others as we should wish to be acted by. Our Saviour meant that
we should have a willingness to forgive, and that we should habituate
our hearts to that amiable benevolence which disposes us, under real
provocation, to pardon, and even to promote the good of those who have
injured us. It is astonishing how soon we can acquire the habit of not
gratifying resentment.
“One strong proof that it was never intended that we should understand
these rules too literally is, that we find, by the instructions of our
Lord to his apostles, as well as by their own subsequent conduct, that
they did not recommend or practise either perfect insensibility under
injuries, or indifference to their character. They occasionally resorted
to such legal and innocent means of guarding their safety and good name,
as were compatible with their situation and their peculiar mission.
When, therefore, we see undoubted malignity in the conduct of others
towards us, we are justified in guarding against its repetition; but
Christianity binds us, at the same time, to moderation, and to omit no
opportunity of benefiting and reforming our enemy, whose heart may be
softened by the control we exercise over our feelings, and who may
often be changed, and rendered more Christian, merely by our
forbearance.”
My uncle said he dwelt the longer upon this important subject, because
every other virtue, he thinks, rests on self-control.
_19th._--Well, dear Mamma, I have taken possession of my garden; and now
I hope I shall not grow tired of it, or disgrace myself by having it ill
kept. One part of it had been a little nursery for rose trees,
rhododendrons, and other flowering shrubs. That, and the large bed near
it, which is rather moist, have become very weedy; but the front beds,
and the slope down to the brook, are in very good order; and when the
annuals, which are now in seed there, are removed, I shall begin to dig.
The moist bed is to be trenched; and as this is the best time for
transplanting deciduous shrubs, as well as almost all plants, I shall
have plenty of work on my hands. I may have as many shrubs as I please,
and I am to have advice from all these gardeners, particularly Mary, who
does every thing at the right season. She has some nice cards, on which
are written hints of what is to be done in each month; and, as they hang
in her room, I can easily see there what I am to do: besides which, I
intend to read a little in their gardening books, that I may understand
what I am about. I look forward, with great pleasure, to this new
employment, though I know I shall always feel disappointed at not
having my garden full of the bright and glowing flowers that I have been
accustomed to see. It must look, I fear, as sombre as the forest and the
valley do, when I compare them with those of my former country. But they
tell me that I must not judge now of the look either of the garden or of
the country, as spring will give them a very different appearance; and,
indeed, I must confess that, gloomy as the season is becoming, the
well-sheltered fields, with the cattle quietly browsing, or tamely going
home, at regular hours, to be milked, do look exceedingly cheerful.
I have frequently visited my aunt’s dairy; and the operations there are
so new to one just fresh from a country where cows and dairy are but
little attended to, that I take constant interest in them. “And the
milkmaid singeth blithe” is now a familiar image to me; formerly it was
only from your description I understood it. How is it that such a
precious gift as milk can be overlooked in any part of the world,
particularly in one that abounds with cattle as Brazil does; while, in
some of the rocky parts of South America, the _palo de vaca_, or cow
tree, is considered such a treasure? But it is curious that I never
heard of that tree till I came here. Humboldt says that it has dry,
stiff leaves, and its large woody roots seem as if they could scarcely
penetrate into the crevices of the barren rocks on which it grows. For
several months in the year, the foliage is not softened by a single
shower, and its branches appear dead or dried; though, when the trunk is
pierced, a sweet and nourishing milk flows from it. This milk is most
abundant at the time of sunrise, and the natives are then seen hastening
from all quarters, with large bowls, to receive it. He says it is rather
thick, but sweet and well tasted.
I am making myself acquainted with all the dairy operations here, so
that I shall be able, if ever I return to you, to teach them to our
neighbours--from the milking of the cows to the making of the butter. To
shew that I know some of them already, I must tell you that each cow is
milked twice over, both in the morning and evening. What she first
yields is called the fore-milk, and is not nearly equal to the second in
richness, which is always strained separately, and set in separate pans.
From this comes all the nice cream we have at breakfast and tea.
Both are skimmed a second time; and the produce is all collected in
pans. When there is a sufficient quantity (that is, about every second
day), this cream, which has been thus collecting, has become
sufficiently acid, and is churned. My aunt tells me that the oily
particles are, by the motion of the churn dash, separated from the
whey, which, together, formed the cream, and thus become butter.
This is the method here; but she says that in some parts of England it
is managed differently; for the second milk is there put along with the
cream collected for churning; and by this means, instead of a poor sort
of whey, which is given to the pigs, there remains a great deal of nice
butter milk, that is very nourishing and agreeable, and forms a great
part of the food of the poor. My aunt says she has even seen good cheese
made of buttermilk; and the Scotch, after tying it up in bags and
suffering it to drain, make a favourite dish, which they eat with sugar
and lemon.
_20th._--Extracts from another letter of cousin Hertford’s--it is dated
August 22, though it only arrived yesterday--being delayed in the
islands by contrary winds.
* * * * “There is a greater number and variety of ancient remains to be
found in Islay, than in any of the neighbouring islands. I saw several
monumental stones, which are as usual attributed to the Danes; but you
know these rude monuments were common to all the descendants of the
great Celtic nation. There are also some of those little round hills of
earth called _barrows_, some of which have been excavated and found to
contain urns and ashes; the burning of the dead having been at times
practised among the Celts.
“Some of those ancient weapons called _celts_, made of stone as well as
of brass, have been found in this island: and also the _elf-shot_ or
flint arrow heads, the universal weapon of ancient times; what amazing
patience it must have required to shape this weapon into the accurate
form which it usually possesses!
“Among other antique remains discovered in Islay, are eighteen large
gold rings, which were buried in one spot. They are bent into a circular
form but not closed; and having been at first used by the person who
found them as handles for his drawers, they are still employed in the
same way, though their value has long been known. It is supposed that
they were the collars of Roman officers, and probably the spoils of war.
“I observed a curious circumstance in this island which I may as well
mention here. At its western extremity the cattle visit the beach every
day at low water, and quit their pastures to feed on sea-weed. The
accuracy with which they attend to the diurnal changes of the ebb tide
is very remarkable; as they are seldom mistaken even when they have some
miles to walk to the beach. They are very fond of fish also, preferring
it to the best grass. In Shetland, I am told, that both dogs and horses
eat fish from choice, and that this is a practice very common also in
Canada.”
When this part of Hertford’s letter was read, my uncle said that a
friend of his who had been for some time at Stockton upon Tees, observed
that the cattle, who always came to drink at the river when the tide was
out, and the salt-water retired, calculated the proper time with
unfailing precision.
_21st._--I have been looking, in a description of foreign birds, and I
find that besides my little favourites with pendant nests, there is
another very pretty species in North America, called the red-winged
starling; it is found everywhere from Nova Scotia to Mexico--but not in
the West Indies. In autumn they migrate to Louisiana in such multitudes
that, flying close together, they absolutely darken the air, and three
hundred of them have been caught at one drag of a net. The males are
distinguished by a bright red patch on the wing or shoulder, and
formerly when these were worn by ladies as ornamental trimmings for
their gowns, a person collected forty thousand of them in one winter.
They build among aquatic plants, in places that are inaccessible;
suspending their nests between two reeds, the leaves of which they
interlace and form into a sort of shed or covering. To the nest they
give solidity by grass bound with mud; and they line it with the
softest and most delicate herbage. This little cradle is always raised
above the highest reach of the water over which it hangs; and when they
do not find reeds suited to their purpose, they build between the
branches of a bush or shrub, but always in a swampy situation. They
commit great depredations on the maize when it is just sown, and the
farmers therefore steep the seeds in a decoction of hellebore, which
stupefies them; but nothing can save the corn when ripe from the myriads
of these birds that attack it then.
Another species is called the _Baltimore bird_, not because it frequents
Baltimore, but from the similarity of its colours to those in the arms
of the ancient Baltimore family. Its nest, which is formed of tough
fibres, is open at top, but with a hole at the side for more
conveniently feeding the young; and it is attached by vegetable threads
or fibres to the extreme forks of the tulip-tree and the hiccory. The
country-people call them _fire birds_, because, in darting from branch
to branch, they look like little flashes of fire.
_22d._--I have just learned from my uncle, what gum lac is. I have often
wished to know, but I never had sense enough to ask him till this
evening. It is a resinous substance produced by an insect called the
_coccus lacca_, and is deposited on the small branches of a tree, for
the preservation of its eggs, as well as for the nourishment of the
young maggot afterwards. As the gum is laid on, it is formed into small
cells, which have as much regularity as those of a honey-comb; and in
each cell there is found a little red oval egg, about the size of an
ant’s. When the eggs are hatched, the young grubs pierce through the
gummy coat that surrounds them, and go off, one by one, leaving their
exuviæ behind, which are, in fact, the white membranous substances found
constantly in stick lac.
The lac insect is cultivated in many parts of the Mysore in the East
Indies; but is found only on trees of some particular species. These
trees put out their leaves from the middle of March to the middle of
April; during which time, a small twig, having some of these insects on
it, is tied on each of them, and by the latter part of October, all the
branches are thickly covered with the insect, and almost all the leaves
are devoured. The branches are then cut off, spread on mats and dried in
the shade. They are afterwards sold to the merchant under the name of
stick lac, and are a staple article of commerce in the Mysore, as well
as in Assam, a country bordering on Thibet. The only trouble in
procuring it, is that of breaking down the branches and taking them to
market.
The best gum lac is deep red; it comes to England in five different
states:--
1. Stick lac, as in its natural state.
2. Seed lac, which is the former broken into small pieces, and appearing
in a granulated form.
3. Lump lac, that is, the seed lac, liquefied by fire, and formed into
cakes.
4. Shell lac, or the latter substance thoroughly purified. For this
purpose it is put into canvass bags, and held over a charcoal fire, till
liquid enough to be squeezed through the canvass; it is then allowed to
drop on the smooth bark of the plantain tree, to which it will not
adhere, and it spreads itself there in thin transparent layers.
Gum lac is extremely useful, being a principal ingredient in varnishes,
in sealing-wax, and in cements; it is also used in large quantities in
dyeing silk; and, when mixed with tamarinds, it is said to make a
beautiful scarlet, which is not discharged by washing.
_24th._--Yesterday, you well know, dear Mamma, was my uncle’s
birth-day--it was not allowed to pass unnoticed, though, he says, the
habit of marking particular days may be the cause hereafter of much
pain. Be that as it may, we all were anxious to celebrate it. Little
Grace repeated to him, when he came to breakfast, some very touching
lines, written by Mary, as an address from all his children. Caroline
presented him with his two favourite flowers, a rose and a sprig of
lavender; and I followed her with a little drawing of one of the few
wild flowers still in blossom--the great white bindweed, which I had
often heard him admire. I felt very doubtful of venturing to offer it,
but he received it with an encouraging kindness peculiar to himself.
As the day was mild and bright, my uncle hired a boat, and took us all
up the river, beyond the village of Elmore; we had an excellent view of
Gloucester, and in the distance, we saw the pretty Malvern hills.
In returning, we went on shore at Elmore, where my aunt paid a visit to
a lady, with whose daughters she ran away for a few days; and lower down
the river, we stopped for half an hour at Newnham, to call on Mrs. Ando,
who had been an old servant of my aunt’s. She is now living
independently on her earnings, in a neat comfortable house; and she is
always so rejoiced to see any of the family, that a visit to her is
quite a festival. We found a pretty little child playing about the room,
prattling French, and looking very droll, in a large Swiss hat. Mrs.
Ando told us, that about a fortnight since, a gentleman and lady, with
this child, had crossed the Severn, and come to Newnham; but the illness
of the poor gentleman had detained them, and as the inn was small, and
unfit for invalids, and the innkeeper being unwilling to let a sick man
remain in the house, she had allowed them to lodge with her out of
compassion. She described them as very amiable people; they had expected
a friend to meet them, but had been disappointed; and she added, that
they seemed to be distressed for money.
When we returned, there was the most beautiful western sun-light on
every thing; cottages, trees, and the orchards full of rosy apples, were
all gilt by it; and the river appeared like a sheet of glassy silver.
Soon after dinner, the evening part of the birth-day rites began, by a
merry party at French blind-man’s buff. This was very amusing, for my
uncle and aunt joined in it, and he was so comical, that it gave the
game quite a new character. Tea succeeded, and after Grace had retired
to bed, the piano-forte was opened, and we three sang for my uncle his
favourite song of “Hark the Lark,” which we had learned purposely to
surprise him on this day. He appeared so much gratified by this little
attention, which had been a happy thought of Mary’s, that we were more
than repaid for all our exertion to perform it well. Several other
favourite songs were sung, in some of which the young ladies who had
come from Elmore assisted; and when we were tired of singing, we danced
reels and quadrilles, to finish the evening. Sometimes my uncle made up
our number, and my aunt was so good as to play for us.
The servants were allowed to have a tea-party for their friends on this
occasion, and I heard, this morning, that my aunt had distributed meat
or clothing to all her poor pensioners. The school-girls, too, had a
holyday; and books--work-bags--pin-cushions--or housewifes--were
distributed according to their merits. Caroline did all this part of the
business.
_25th._ _Sunday._--My uncle has been giving me some instruction in
reading the Psalms to-day.--He thinks they are not always rightly
understood, partly from the mistaken views of modern expositors, who
have ascribed the immediate subject of every psalm, either to the
history of the Jewish nation, or to the events of David’s life.