To the smooth beach, the silver sea
Comes rippling in a thousand smiles,
And back again runs murmuringly,
To break around yon distant isles.
The sunshine, through a floating veil
Of golden clouds, looks o'er the wave,
And gilds, far off, the outline pale,
Of many a rocky cape and cave,
The breath of spring comes balmily
Over the newly-blossom'd earth;
The smile of spring, on sea, and sky,
Is shedding light, and love, and mirth.
I would that thou wert by my side,
As underneath the rosy bloom
Of flowering orchard trees I ride,
And drink their fragrant fresh perfume;
I would that thou wert by my side,
To feel this soft air on thy brow,
And listen to the chiming tide
Along that smooth shore breaking now;
I would that thou wert here to bless,
As I do now, the love and care,
That, with such wealth of loveliness,
Have made life's journeying-land so fair.
* * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * *
I have taken several enormous rides round Boston, and am more and more
delighted with its environs, which are now in full flush of blossoming,
as sweet, and fresh, and lovely as any thing can be. On Saturday, rode
to the Blue Hills, a distance of upwards of twelve miles. The roads
round this place are almost as good as roads in England, and the country
altogether reminds me of that dear little land.[97] These Blue Hills
were, a few years ago, a wilderness of forest--the favourite resort of
rattlesnakes; but the trees have been partly cleared, and though 'tis
still a wild desolate region, clothed with firs, and uncheered by a
human habitation, its more savage tenants have disappeared with the
thick coverts in which they nestled, and we rode to the summit of the
highest hill without seeing any thing in the shape of Eve's enemy. At
the top, by the by, we did find some species of building in decay and
ruin. Whoever perched himself up there had no mind to be overlooked, and
must have been fond of fresh air. The view from the mountain is
magnificent, yet I do not believe the elevation to be very
extraordinary; although, as I looked down, it seemed to me as though the
world was stretched at my feet; and I thought of the temptation of our
Saviour. The various villages, with their blossoming orchards, looked
like patches of a snow-scene; the river wound, like a silver snake, all
round the fields; the little lakes lay diminished to drops of bright
blue light; and the lesser mountains rose below us like the waves of a
dark sea. The whole was strange and awful to me--the savage loneliness
of the place, its apparent remoteness from the earth, and its walkers,
filled me with a solemn sensation. Had I been there alone, I do not know
a place where I should sooner have expected to meet some of the
wandering spirits of mid-air,--shapes, and sights, and beings of another
order from those of the world, that lay like a map below me. The
mountain itself is formed of granite, of which large slabs appeared
through the turf and brushwood. I looked in vain for what I found in
such abundance on the Portland hill, the sweet wild thyme. I thought I
should find some of it among the stony rifts, where it loves to cling,
but I was disappointed. Indeed, I met with a much more severe
disappointment than that. The turf was thickly strewn with clumps of
violets, the very same in form and colour as our own sweet wood violet.
I stooped in an ecstasy to gather them, but found they were totally
senseless--mere pretences of violets. A violet without fragrance! a
wild one, too!--the thing's totally unnatural. I flung the little purple
cheat away in a rage. I have since found cowslips with the same entire
absence of fragrance. The heat and cold of this climate chill or wither
every thing; and almost all the flowers which are most common and sweet,
growing in the moist soil of England, seem reared with difficulty here,
and lose their great fragrance, their soul, as it were, under the
extreme influences of this sky.[98] There were many wild things growing
on this mountain, that for beauty, and delicacy of form and colour,
would have found honourable place in our conservatories; but they had
not the slightest perfume, and I took no delight in them. A scentless
flower is a monster; and though I acknowledge with due admiration the
pale beauty of that queen of flowers, the camelia, I never see it in its
cold pearl-like pride of bloom, that it does not strike me like a fine
lady--an artificial creature, fair indeed to behold, but without the
very property of a flower--sweetness. Oh, the lilies of the valley,--the
primroses,--the violets,--the sweet, sweet hawthorn,--the fresh fragrant
blush rose,--the purple lilac bloom,--the silver serynga,--the faint
breathing hyacinths,--the golden cowslips, of a morning, at the close of
May in England!--the fulness of sweetness that loads the temperate air,
as it breathes over the fresh lawns of that flower garden!
* * * * *
* * * * *
I took another long ride to a quarry ten miles distant from Boston,
whence the granite, which is much used in Boston for building, is
drawn. I started at six in the morning, and rode about twenty miles
before breakfast, which I think was a piece of virtue bordering upon
heroism: to be sure, I had my reward, for any thing so sweet as the
whole world, at about half-past six, I never beheld. The dew was yet
fresh upon tree and flower,--the roads were shady and cool,--the dust
had not yet been disturbed; a mild, soft, full breeze blew over the
flowery earth, and the rosy apple blossoms stirred on the rocking boughs
against the serene and smiling sky. They have in this country neither
nightingales, thrushes, linnets, nor blackbirds, at least, none with the
same notes as ours; but every now and then, from the snowy cherry trees,
there came a wild snatch of trilling melody, like the clear ringing song
of a canary bird. My companion did not know the minstrel by his note;
but I never heard a more brilliant and joyful strain, or one more fitted
to the bright hour of opening day,--always excepting the lark's, that
triumphant embodied spirit of song.[99] The blackbird's song is to me
the sweetest in the world,--sad and soft, and rich as the sunsets
through which it is heard. The quarry which we visited is an extensive
vein of fine dark-coloured granite. We dismounted, and walked among the
workmen to see them at their various processes. This quarry, and one at
a short distance, merely supply the blocks of granite, which, being
detached from the main stone, are piled upon cars, and sent down an
inclined plane to the rail-road, by means of a powerful chain, which
acts at once as a support and check, suffering the load to proceed
slowly down the declivity, and at the same time sending up from the
bottom, upon another track, the empty car from which the granite has
been unloaded below, as the buckets of a well are drawn up and down. A
very serious accident occurred here, by the by, to a party of gentlemen,
among whom Mr. ---- was one. They had placed themselves in the empty car
at the bottom of the inclined plane, and were being slowly drawn up, as
the car loaded with granite descended on the other track. Just as they
were approaching the summit, the chain by which the car was drawn up
gave way, and it rolled backwards down the plane with fearful velocity,
and, starting off the track of the rail-road, pitched down into a ravine
full of rocks and blocks of granite, over which the road passes like a
bridge at the foot of the quarry. I believe one of them was killed, and
the others most terribly injured. The rough blocks of granite are
conveyed by horses, in the same rail-road cars, to smaller quarries
below, where they are wrought and shaped for their appointed uses. After
looking down from the summit of the granite rock upon the country which
lay smiling for many a sunny mile of flowery earth and sparkling sea
below, and wandering about the works, which are interesting and curious,
we remounted, and rode home over turfy wood-paths, through tangled
thickets of pine, fir, and cedar, whose warm fragrance was beginning to
be drawn forth by the morning sun. We disturbed in our path a poor
woodcock, who was sitting with her young: it was a pity to see the poor
thing flutter about her treasure, and go trailing a little way into the
brush-wood, to entice us away from them. Poor mother! what a tempest of
fear and agony was in your downy breast. I was very sorry we had
frightened her, poor creature. The country we rode through was extremely
pretty,--so, indeed, I think all the country round Boston is; the only
deficiency is water,--running water, I mean; for there are several
beautiful pools in this vicinity,--and, turn which way you will, the
silver shield of the sea shining against the horizon is a lovely feature
of the landscape. But there are no rivulets, no brooks, no sparkling
singing water-courses to refresh one's senses, as one rides across the
fields and through the woodlands. ---- called on us on Sunday last. He
is very enchanting: I wish it had been my good fortune to see him
oftener. One of the _great men_ of this country, he would have been a
first-rate man all the world over; and, like all first-rate people,
there is a simplicity and a total want of pretension about him that is
very delightful. He gave us a description of Niagara, which did what he
complained no description of it ever does,--conveyed to us an exact idea
of the natural position and circumstances which render these falls so
wonderful; whereas, most describers launch forth into vague and
untangible rhapsodies, which, after all, convey no express idea of any
thing but water in the abstract, he gave me, by his few simple words, a
more _real_ impression of the stupendous cataract than all that was ever
writ or spoken of waterfalls before, not excepting Byron's Terni. Last
Saturday, I dined at ----'s; where, for my greater happiness, I sat
between ---- and ----. I remember especially two bright things uttered;
the one by the one, the other by the other of these worthies. Mr. ----,
speaking of Knowles's Hunchback, said, "Well, after all, it's no great
matter. The author evidently understands stage effect and dramatic
situations, and so on; but as for the writing, it's by no means as good
as Shakspeare." I looked at the man in amazement, and suggested to him
that Shakspeare did not grow upon every bush. Presently, Mr. ---- began
a sentence by assuring me that he was a worshipper of Shakspeare; and
ended it by saying that Othello was disgusting, King Lear ludicrous, and
Romeo and Juliet childish nonsense: whereat I swallowed half a pint of
water, and nearly my tumbler too, and remained silent; for what could I
say? However, in spite of this, I owe ---- some gratitude, for he
brought ---- to see me the other day, whose face is more like that of a
good and intellectual man than almost any face I ever saw. The climate
of this place is dreadful! The night before last, the weather was so
warm, that, with my window open, I was obliged to take half the clothes
off my bed: last night was so cold, that, with window shut, and
additional covering, I could scarce get to sleep for the cold. This is
terrible, and forms a serious drawback upon the various attractions of
Boston; and to me it has many. The houses are like English houses: the
Common is like Constitution Hill; Beacon Street is like a bit of Park
Lane; and Summer Street, now that the chestnut trees are in bloom, is
perfectly beautiful. But for the climate, I should like to live in
Boston very much: my stay here has been delightful. It is in itself a
lovely place, and the country round it is charming. The people are
intellectual, and have been most abundantly good-natured and kind to me.
* * * * *
* * * * *
I have finished ----'s sermons, which are most excellent. I think he is
one of the purest English prose-writers now living. I revere him
greatly; yet I do not think his denial of the Trinity is consistent with
the argument by which he maintains the truth of the miracles. I have
begun the Diary of an Ennuyée again: that book is most enchanting to
me,--merely to read the names of the places in which one's imagination
goes sunning itself for ever, is delightful.
_New York._
I have seen ----, who in his outward man bears but little token of his
inward greatness. Miss ---- had prepared me for an exterior over which
debility and sickness had triumphed now for some years; but, thought I,
there must be eyes and a brow; and there the spirit will surely be seen
upon its throne. But the eyes were small grey eyes, with an expression
which struck me at first as more akin to shrewdness of judgment, than
genius and the loftier qualities of the mind; and though the brow and
forehead were those of an intellectual person, they had neither the
expanse nor conformation I had imagined. The subject of our
conversation, though sufficiently natural for him to choose, addressing
one of my craft, did not appear to me to be a happy one for his own
powers,--perhaps I thought so because I differed from him. He talked
about the stage and acting in as unreal, and, in my opinion, mistaken, a
manner as possible. Had he expressed himself unknowingly about acting,
that would not have surprised me; for he can have no means of judging of
it, not having frequented the theatre for some years past: and those who
have the best means of forming critical judgments upon dramatic subjects
for the most part talk arrant nonsense about them. Lawrence was the only
man I ever heard speak about the stage who did so with understanding and
accuracy. I have heard the very cleverest men in England talk the
greatest stuff imaginable about actors and acting. But to return to
----: he said he had not thought much upon the subject, but that it
appeared to him feasible and highly desirable to take detached passages
and scenes from the finest dramatic writers, and have them well
declaimed in comparatively private assemblies,--this as a wholesome
substitute for the stage, of which he said he did not approve; and he
thought this the best method of obtaining the intellectual pleasure and
profit to be derived from fine dramatic works, without the illusion and
excitement belonging to theatrical exhibitions. My horror was so
unutterable at this proposition, and my amazement so extreme that he
should make it, that I believe my replies to it were all but incoherent.
What! take one of Shakspeare's plays bit by bit, break it piece-meal, in
order to make recitals of it!--destroy the marvellous unity of one of
his magnificent works, to make patches of declamation! If the stage is
evil, put it away, and put away with it those writings which properly
belong to it, and to nothing else; but do not take dramatic
compositions, things full of present action and emotion, to turn them
into recitations,--and mutilated ones too. Get other poems to declaim,
no matter how vivid or impassioned in their descriptions, so their form
be not dramatic. It is not to be supposed that the effect proper and
natural to a fine dramatic conception can be preserved when the language
is merely declaimed without the assistance of distance, dress, scenic
effects,--all the appertainings that the author has reckoned upon to
work out his idea. ---- mentioned the dagger soliloquy in Macbeth, as an
instance which would admit of being executed after his idea; saying,
that that, well read by any person in a drawing-room, would have all the
effect necessary or desirable. I remember hearing my aunt Siddons read
the scenes of the witches in Macbeth; and, while doing so, was obliged
to cover my eyes, that her velvet gown, modern cap, and spectacles might
not disturb the wild and sublime images that her magnificent voice and
recitation were conjuring up around me. If a man professes to tell you a
story, no matter what,--say the story of Romeo and Juliet,--and sits in
a modern drawing-room, in modern costume, it matters not,--_he_ is no
part of his story,--you do not connect him with his narrative,--his
appearance in no way clashes with your train of thought,--you are not
thinking of him, but of the people he is talking about. But if a man in
a modern drawing-room, and in modern costume, were to get up, and begin
reciting the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, I think the case would
be altered. However, never having heard such a proposal before, I had
not thought much about it, and only felt a little stunned at the idea of
Shakspeare's _histories_ being broken into fragments.[100]
_Thursday._
At a little after ten, ---- came to take us to see the savages. We drove
down, D----, my father, he, and I, to their hotel. We found, even at
that early hour, the portico, passage, and staircase, thronged with
gazers upon the same errand as ourselves. We made our way, at length,
into the presence-chamber; a little narrow dark room, with all the
windows shut, crowded with people, come to stare at their fellow wild
beasts. Upon a sofa sat Black Hawk, a diminutive shrivelled-looking old
man, with an appearance of much activity in his shrunk limbs, and a
calmness and dignified self-composure in his manner, which, in spite of
his want of size and comeliness, was very striking. Next to him sat a
young man, the adopted son of his brother the prophet, whose height and
breadth, and peculiar gravity of face and deportment, were those of a
man nearly forty, whereas he is little more than half that age. The
undisturbed seriousness of his countenance was explained to me by _their
keeper_, thus: he had, it seems, the day before, indulged rather too
freely in the delights of champagne, and was suffering just retribution
in the shape of a headach,--unjust retribution, I should say, for in his
savage experience no such sweet bright poison had ever before been
recorded, _I guess_, by the after pain it causes. Next to him sat Black
Hawk's son, a noble big young creature, like a fine Newfoundland puppy,
with a handsome scornful face, which yet exhibited more familiarity and
good-humoured amusement at what was going on than any of the rest. His
hair was powdered on the top, and round the ears, with a bright
vermilion-coloured powder, and knots of scarlet berries or beads, I
don't know which, hung like ear-rings on each side of his face. A string
of glass beads was tied round his naked throat; he was wrapped in a
large blanket, which completely concealed his form, except his legs and
feet, which were clothed in common leather shoes, and a species of
deerskin gaiter. He seemed much alive to what was going on, conversed
freely in his own language with his neighbour, and laughed once or twice
aloud, which rather surprised me, as I had heard so much of their
immovable gravity. The costume of the other young man was much the same,
except that his hair was not adorned. Black Hawk himself had on a blue
cloth surtout, scarlet leggings, a black silk neck-handkerchief, and
ear-rings. His appearance altogether was not unlike that of an old
French gentleman. Beside him, on a chair, sat one of his warriors,
wrapped in a blanket, with a cotton handkerchief whisped round his head.
At one of the windows apart from their companions, with less courtesy in
their demeanour, and a great deal of sullen savageness in their serious
aspects, sat the great warrior, and the prophet of the tribe--the latter
is Black Hawk's brother. I cannot express the feeling of commiseration
and disgust which the whole scene gave me. That men such as ourselves,
creatures with like feelings, like perceptions, should be brought, as
strange animals at a show, to be gazed at the livelong day by succeeding
shoals of gaping folk, struck me as totally unfitting. The cold dignity
of the old chief, and the malignant scowl of the prophet, expressed the
indecency and the irksomeness of such a situation. Then, to look at
those two young savages, with their fine muscular proportions, and think
of them cooped up the whole horrible day long, in this hot prison-house
full of people, made my heart ach. How they must loathe the sight of
these narrow walls, and the sound of these strange voices; how they must
sicken for their unmeasured range of wilderness! The gentleman who
seemed to have the charge of them pressed me to go up and shake hands
with them, as every body else in the room did; but I refused to do so
from literal compassion, and unwillingness to add to the wearisome toil
they were made to undergo. As we were departing, however, they
reiterated their entreaties that we would go up and shake hands with
them,--so I did. Black Hawk and the young men received our courtesy with
great complaisance; but when we went to the great warrior and the
prophet, they seemed exceedingly loath to receive our hands, the latter
particularly, who had, moreover, one of the very worst expressions I
think I ever saw upon a human countenance. I instinctively withdrew my
hand; but when my father offered his, the savage's face relaxed into a
smile, and he met his greeting readily. I wonder what pleased him about
my father's appearance, whether it was his large size or not. I had a
silver vinaigrette in my pouch, which I gave Black Hawk's son, by way of
keepsake: it will make a charming present for his squaw.
_Sunday, June 30th._
Rose at four, but, after looking at my watch, resumed my slumbers until
six, when I started up, much dismayed to find it so late, and presently,
having dressed as fast as ever I could, we set off for the steam-boat.
The morning was the brightest possible, the glorious waters that meet
before New York were all like rivers of light blazing with the reflected
radiance of the morning sky. We had no sooner set foot on board the
steam-boat, than a crowd of well-known faces surrounded us: I was
introduced to Mr. ----, and Mr. ---- the brother of our host at Cold
Spring. Mr. ---- came and stood by me for a considerable time after we
started. It is agreeable to talk to him, because he has known and seen
so much; traversed the world in every direction, and been the friend of
Byron and Shelley; a common mind, that had enjoyed the same
opportunities (that's impossible, by the by, no common mind would have
sought or found them), must have acquired something from intercourse
with such men, and such wide knowledge of things; but he is an uncommon
man, and it is very interesting to hear him talk of what he has seen,
and those he has known.
* * * * *
When we reached West Point, Mr. ---- was waiting with his boat to convey
us over to Cold Spring; and accordingly, bidding our various
acquaintance and companions farewell, we rowed over out of the course of
the river, into a sunny bay it forms among the hills, to our kinsman's
abode.
Mr. ----'s place is a lovely little nook, situated on the summit of a
rise on the brink of the placid curve of water formed here by the river,
and which extends itself from the main current about a mile into the
mountains, ending in a wide marsh. The house, though upon a hill, is so
looked down upon, and locked in by the highlands around it, that it
seems to be at the bottom of a valley. From the verandah of his house,
through various frames which he has had cut, with exceeding good
judgment, among the plantations around the lawn, exquisite glimpses
appeared of the mountains, the little bay, the glorious Hudson itself,
with the graceful boats for ever walking its broad waters, their white
sails coming through the rocky passes where the river could not be
detected, as though they were sailing through the valleys of the earth.
The day was warm, but a fresh breeze stirred the boughs, and cooled the
air. My father and D---- seemed overcome with drowsiness, and lay in the
verandah with half-closed eyes, peeping at the dream-like scene around
them. I was not inclined to rest; and Mr. ---- having promised to show
me some falls at a short distance from the house, he, his brother, and I
set forth thither. We passed through the iron-works: 'twas Sunday, and
every thing, except a bright water-course, laughing and singing as it
ran, was still. They took me over the works; showed me the iron frames
of large mill-wheels, the machinery and process of boring the cannon,
the model of an iron forcing-pump, the casting-houses, and all the
wonders of their manufactory. All mechanical science is very interesting
to me, when I have an opportunity of seeing the detail of it, and
comprehending, by illustrations presented to my eyes, the technical
terms used by those conversing with me. We left these dark abodes, and
their smouldering fires, and strange powerful-looking instruments, and,
taking a path at the foot of the mountains, skirted the marsh for some
time, and then struck into the woods, ascending a tremendous stony path,
at the top of which we threw ourselves down to pant, and looked below,
through a narrow rent in the curtain of leaves around us, on the river,
and rocks, and mountains, bright with the noonday splendour of the
unclouded sky. After resting here a few moments, we arose, and climbed
again, through the woods, across a sweet clover-field, to the brow of
the hill where stands the highland school, a cheerful-looking cottage,
with the mountain tops all round, the blessed sky above, and the
downward sloping woods, and lake-like river below. Passing through the
ground surrounding it, we joined a road skirting a deep ravine, from
the bottom of which the waters called to me. I was wild to go down, but
my companions would not let me: it was in vain that I strained over the
brink, the trees were so thickly woven together, and the hollow so deep,
that I could see nothing but dark boughs, except every now and then, as
the wind stirred them, the white glimmer of the leaping foam, as it
sprang away with a shout that made my heart dance. We followed the path,
which began to decline; and presently a silver thread of gushing water
ran like a frightened child across our way, and flung itself down into
the glen. At length we reached the brown golden-looking stream. Mr. ----
was exhorting us to take an upper path, which, he said, would bring us
to the foot of the fall; but I was not to be seduced away from the side
of the rivulet, and insisted upon crossing it then and there, through
the water, over moss-capped stones, across fallen trees, which, struck
by the lightning, or undermined by the cold-kissing waters, had choked
up the brook with their leafy bridges. So striving on, as best we might,
after wading through the stream two or three times, we reached the end
and aim of our journey, the waterfall. We stood on the brink of a pool,
about forty feet across, and varying in depth from three to seven or
eight feet: it was perfectly circular, and except on the south, where
the waters take their path down the glen, closed round with a wall of
rock about thirty feet high, in whose crevices trees with their rifted
roots hung fearlessly, clothing the grey stone with a soft curtain of
vivid green. Immediately opposite the brook, and at the north of the
pool, the water came tumbling over this rocky wall in three distinct
streams, which, striking the projecting ledges of iron-looking stone, at
different angles, met within eight or ten feet of the pool, and fell in
a mingled sheet of foam. The water broke over the rocks like a shower of
splintered light; the spray sprang up in the sunlight, and fell again
all glittering into the dark basin below, that gleamed like a magic
jewel set in the mossy earth. On the edge of the rocks, beside the
waterfall, a tree stood out among its greenly-mantled fellows, bare,
broken, and scathed to the very roots with lightning. Its upper half had
fallen aslant one branch of the waterfall, and lay black and dripping
over the pure white torrent; half falling down its course, half stayed
by some rocky ledges on which it rested. As I gazed up in perfect
ecstasy, an uncontrollable desire seized me to clamber up the rocks by
the side of the fall, and so reach the top of it. My companions laughed
incredulously as I expressed my determination to do so; but followed
where I led, until they became well assured that I was in earnest.
Remonstrance, and representation of impossibility, having been tried in
vain, Mr. ---- prepared to guide me, and Mr. ---- with my bag, parasol,
and bonnet in charge, returned to the edge of the pool to watch our
progress. Away we went over the ledges of the rocks, with nothing but
damp leaves, and slippery roots of trees, for footing. At one moment,
the slight covering of mould on which I had placed my foot crumbled from
beneath it, and I swung over the water by a young sapling which upheld
me well, and by which I recovered footing and balance. We had now
reached the immediate side of the waterfall, and my guide began
ascending the slippery slanting rocks down which it fell. I followed: in
an instant I was soaked through with the spray, my feet slipped, I had
no hold, he was up above me, the pool far below. With my head bowed
against the foam and water, I was feeling where next to tread, when a
bit of rock, that my companion had thought firm, broke beneath his foot,
and came falling down beside me into the stream. I paused, for I was
frightened: I looked up for a moment, but was blinded by the water, and
could not see where my guide was; I looked down the slanting ledge we
had climbed, over which the white water was churning angrily: "Shall I
come down again?" I cried to Mr. ----, who was anxiously looking up at
our perilous path. "Give me your hand," shouted his brother, above me. I
lifted my head, and turned towards him, and a dazzling curtain of spray
and foam fell over my face. "I cannot see you," I replied; "I cannot go
on; I do not know what to do." "Give me your hand!" he exclaimed again;
and I, planting one foot upon a ledge of rock so high as to lift me off
the other, held up my arm to him: but my limbs were so strained from his
height above me, that I had no power to spring or move, either up or
down. However, I felt my presence of mind going: I knew that to go down
was impossible, except headlong; the ascent must therefore be persevered
in. "Are you steady, quite, quite steady?" I enquired; he replied,
"Yes;" and holding out his hand, I locked mine in it, and bade him draw
me up. But he had not calculated upon my weight; my slight appearance
had deceived him; and as I bore upon his arm, we both of us slipped. I
turned as sick as death; but only cried out, "Recover yourself, recover
yourself, I am safe;" which I was, upon a rocky rim about three inches
wide, with my arm resting on the falling stump of the blasted tree. He
did recover his balance; and, again holding out his hand, drew me up
beside where he was sitting, on the edge of the rocks, in the water. We
pledged each other in the clear stream; and, standing on the top of our
hardly-gained eminence, in the midst of the rushing brook I wrang my
handkerchief triumphantly at Mr. ----; which was rather a comical
consideration, as I was literally dripping from head to foot. No Naïad
ever looked so thoroughly watery, or could have taken more delight in a
ducking. As soon as he saw us safe, he scrambled up through the woods to
the road; and we doing the same, we presently all met on the dusty
highway, where we congratulated each other on our perseverance and
success, and laughed very exceedingly at my soaked situation. We
determined not to pass through the highland school-ground, but kept the
main road for the advantage of sun and wind, the combined influences of
which presently dried my frock and handkerchief. When I reached home,
ran up stairs, and dressed myself for dinner, which we sat down to at
about four. After dinner, came up to my room and slept very profoundly,
until summoned to coffee, which we drank in the verandah. At about eight
o'clock, the sun had left the sky; but his warm mantle lay over the
western clouds, and hung upon the rocks and woody mountain sides. A
gentle breeze was stirring the trees round where we sat; and through the
thick branches of a chestnut tree, as they waved to and fro, the silver
disk of the full moon looked placidly down upon us. We set out strolling
through the woods: leisurely as foot could fall, we took our way through
the twilight paths; and when we reached the Roman Catholic chapel our
host is building by the river side, the silent thoughtful mountains were
wrapped in deep shadows, and the broad waters shone like a sheet of
silver in the moonlight. We sat down on the cannon lying on the pebbly
shore, and Mr. ---- ran off to order the boat, which presently came
stealing round over the shining waters. We got in, ---- rowing, and they
put me at the helm: but, owing to Mr. ----'s misdirections, who seemed
extremely amused at my awkwardness, and took delight in bothering poor
----, by making me steer all awry, we made but little progress, and that
rather crab-wise; backing, and sideling, and turning, as though the poor
boat had been a politician.
* * * * *
Full of my own contemplations, I kept steering round and round, and so
we wandered, as purposeless as the night air over the smooth waters, and
beneath the shadows of the solemn hills, till near eleven o'clock, when
we made for shore, and slowly turned home. We sat for a length of time
under the verandah: the gentlemen were discussing the planetary system,
as accepted in the civilised world; and Mr. ---- maintained, with
sufficient plausibility, that we knew nothing at all about it, in spite
of Newton: for that, though his theories were borne out by all
observation, it did not follow, therefore, that another theory equally
probable might not exist; that because he had found out one way of
accounting for the construction and motion of the heavenly bodies, there
was no other possible way in which they were constructed and impelled;
because one means is sufficient, he argued, it does not thence follow,
that 'tis the only sufficient means. Mr. ---- maintained that there was,
at least, strong presumption in favour of Newton's systems; because they
are borne out by our observation of results, and also because hitherto
no other better method of accounting for what we perceive has been
discovered. And so they went on, the end of all being, to my mind, as
usual, utter unsatisfactoriness; and, as the mosquitoes were stinging
me, I left them to their discussions, and came to bed.
_Monday, July 1st._
Major ---- and Mr. ---- came over from West Point: they were going to
prove some cannon that had not yet been fired; and some time passed in
the various preparations for so doing. At length, we were summoned down
to the water-side, to see the success of the experiment. The cannon lay
obliquely one behind the other, at intervals of about six yards, along
the curve line of the little bay; their muzzles pointed to the high
gravelly bank into which they fired. The guns were double-loaded, with
very heavy charges; and as soon as we were safely placed, so as to see
and hear, they were fired. The sound was glorious: the first heavy peal,
and then echo after echo, as they _rimbombavano_ among the answering
hills, who growled aloud at the stern voice waking their still and
noonday's deep repose. I pushed out in the boat, from shore, to see the
thick curtain of smoke as it rolled its silver, and brassy, and black
volumes over the woody mountain-sides; parting in jagged rents as it
rose; through which the vivid green, and blessed sky, smiled in their
peaceful loneliness. They ended in discharging all the cannon at once;
which made a most glorious row, and kept the mountains grumbling with
its echoes for some minutes after the discharge. All the pieces were
sound; which was highly satisfactory, as upon each one that flaws in the
firing Mr. ---- loses the cost of the piece. Just as the smoke cleared
off from the river, we saw the boat making to shore; and, presently, Mr.
----, his wife and children, and a young Mr. ----, landed. After
introductions, and one or two questions, Mrs. ---- went up to her
cottage to put things in order there; Mr. ---- betook himself to
Froissart and the shade; Mr. ---- to his business; and D----, my father,
Mr. ---- and myself, set forth to the fountain in the glen. The weather
was intensely hot; the thermometer above ninety in the shade; it was
about half-past twelve; and we toiled and gasped on like so many Indians
up the steep path. The walk had been so laborious, that neither D----
nor my father were willing, at first, to admit that the object was a
sufficient one. We sat for some time by the dark shady pool; and they,
by degrees, recovered their breath and complacency, and began to
perceive how beautiful the place really was. My father said the
waterfall looked like a fine lace veil torn by the rocks; which pleased
me, because it did look like that. Mr. ---- proposed an admirable plan,
that of walking down the water's side, and taking a boat upon the
Hudson; and so avoiding the long hot walk home. We called at the
highland school; where the worthy man who keeps it received us with
infinite civility, put us into a delicious cool room, and gave us some
white hermitage and water to drink, which did us all manner of
good.[101] We then descended to the river: after some delay and
difficulty, got a boat and rowed home.
* * * * *
* * * * *