the remedy may exist either in the shape of prevention or of cure, and
of course should be most sought after, by prudent people, in the former.
Much ancestral wisdom has descended to us in maxims and apothegms on the
prevention and management of colds. Like other venerable and traditional
lore which we are in the habit of receiving without questioning, it
contains a large admixture of error with what is really good and true;
and of the good and true much occasionally meets with undeserved
disparagement and contempt. Our grandmothers are right when they
inculcate an active avoidance of draughts of air, when they enjoin warm
clothing, and especially woolen stockings and dry feet. Their
recommendation of bed and slops is generally good, and their "sentence
of water-gruel" in most cases is very just, and better than any other
for which it could be commuted; but when they lay down the well-known
and authoritative dogma, stuff a cold and starve a fever, they are no
longer to be trusted. This is a pernicious saying, and has caused much
misery and illness. Certain lovers of antiquity, in their anxiety to
justify this precept, would have us to take it in an ironical sense.
They say, stuff a cold and starve a fever: that is, if you commit the
absurdity of employing too generous a diet in the earlier stages of a
cold, you will infallibly bring on a fever, which you will be compelled
to reduce by the opposite treatment of starvation. This, however, may be
rejected as mere casuistry, however well it may be intended by zealous
friends of the past. Our British oracles were not delivered in such
terms of Delphic mystery, but spoke out plain and straightforward; and
even this one permits of some justification with out doing violence to
the obvious meaning of the words. For every cold is accompanied with
some fever, the symptoms of which are more or less obvious, and it
indicates the presence in the system of something which ought not to be
there, and which is seeking its escape. Every facility should be given
to this escape which is consistent with the general safety of the
system. We may reasonably leave a window open, or a door upon the latch,
to favor the retreat of a disagreeable intruder, but we should not be
willing to break a hole in the wall of the house. All the remedies of
hot water for the feet, warming the bed, exciting gentle perspiration,
are directed to this object. Occasionally, the excitement of an evening
passed in society, especially if there is dancing, and in a room of
somewhat elevated temperature, is sufficient to carry off an incipient
cold. So a cold may be stopped, _in limine_, by the use of a few drops
of laudanum; and so, perhaps, the stimulus of some slight excess in
eating or drinking may operate to eject the advancing cold before it has
completely lodged itself in the system. But this is dangerous practice,
and the same object may be effected far more safely and surely by the
common nursing and stay-at-home remedies.
Of all prophylactic or precautionary measures (in addition, of course,
to prudent attention to dress and diet), the best is the constant use of
the cold bath. It is only necessary to glance at the ironmongers' shops
to see that of late years the demand for all kinds of washing and
bathing apparatus has much increased, and that many persons are aware of
the importance of this practice. The exact method of applying the cold
element must depend on the constitution of the patient. For the very
vigorous and robust, the actual plunge-bath may not be too much; but few
are able to stand this, for the great abstraction of animal heat by the
surrounding cold fluid taxes the calorific powers of the system
severely; nor is a convenient swimming or plunge-bath generally
attainable. A late lamented and eminent legal functionary, who lived
near the banks of the Thames, bathed in the river regularly every
morning, summer and winter, and, it is said, used to have the ice
broken, when necessary, in the latter season. He continued this practice
to a good old age, and might have sat for the very picture of health.
The shower-bath has the merit of being attainable by most persons, at
any rate when at home, and is now made in various portable shapes. The
shock communicated by it is not always safe; but it is powerful in its
action, and the first disagreeable sensation after pulling the fatal
string is succeeded by a delicious feeling of renewed health and
vitality. The dose of water is generally made too large; and by
diminishing this, and wearing one of the high peaked or extinguisher
caps now in use, to break the fall of the descending torrent upon the
head, the terrors of the shower-bath may be abated, while all the
beneficial effects are retained. It has, however, the disadvantage of
not being easily carried about during absence from home, and the want of
it is a great inconvenience to those who are accustomed to use it. None
of the forms which are really portable are satisfactory, and all occupy
some time and trouble in setting up and taking down again, unless,
indeed, you are reckless of how and where you fix your hooks, and of the
state of the floor of the room after the flood has taken place, and
perhaps benevolently wish that the occupants of the room beneath should
participate in the luxury you have been enjoying. For nearly all
purposes the sponge is sufficient, used with one of the round flat baths
which are now so common. Cold water, thus applied, gives sufficient
stimulus to the skin, and the length of the bath, and the force with
which the water is applied, are entirely under command. The
sponging-bath, followed by friction with a rough towel, has cured
thousands of that habitual tendency to catch cold which is so prevalent
in this climate, and made them useful and happy members of society. The
large tin sponging-bath is itself not sufficiently portable to be
carried as railway luggage, but there are many substitutes. India-rubber
has been for some time pressed into this service, either in the shape of
a mere sheet to be laid on the floor, with a margin slightly raised to
retain the water, or in a more expensive form, in which the bottom
consists of a single sheet of the material, while the side is double,
and can be inflated so as to become erect, in the same manner as the
india-rubber air-cushions. Either form may be rolled up in a small
compass. The latter give a tolerably deep bath, capable of holding two
or three pails of water; but it is not very manageable when it has much
water in it, and must be unpopular with the housemaids. As there is no
stiff part about it, it is difficult, or rather impossible, for one
person to lift it for the purpose of emptying the water; and the air
must be driven out before it can be packed up again, which occasions a
delay which is inconvenient in rapid traveling. Besides, on the
Continent at least, where the essential element of water is not to be
had, except in small quantity, the excellence of holding much is thrown
away. Traveling-boxes have lately been made of that universal substance,
gutta-percha, which serve the double duty of holding clothes or books on
the roads, and of baths in the bed room. The top can be slipped off in a
moment, and is at once available as a bath; and when ever the whole box
is unpacked, both portions can be so employed. But the one disadvantage
which prevents gutta-percha from being adopted for many other purposes
tells against it here. It becomes soft and pliable at a very low
temperature, which unfits it for hot climates, and for containing hot
water in our own temperate regions. There is also the danger of burning
or becoming injured by the heat, if left incautiously too near the fire.
But for this drawback, it seems as if there was nothing to prevent every
thing from being made of gutta-percha. It is almost indestructible,
resists almost all chemical agents, and is easily moulded into any
required form. But like glass, it has its one fault. Glass is
brittle--gutta-percha can not resist moderate heat; and but for this,
these two materials might divide the world between them. It is related
that a certain inventor appeared before the Emperor Tiberius with a
crystal vessel, which he dashed on the pavement, and picked up unhurt;
in fact, he had discovered malleable glass, the philosopher's stone of
the useful arts. His ingenuity did not meet with the success it
deserved; for the emperor, whether alarmed at the novelty, and wishing
to protect the interests of the established glass-trade or wishing to
possess the wonderful vase, and to transmit it in the imperial
treasure-chambers as an unique specimen of the manufacture, immediately
ordered his head to be cut off, and the secret perished with him. Any
one who rediscovered it, or could communicate to the rival vegetable
product the quality of resisting heat, would make his fortune; and
although he might find the patent-office slow and expensive, would
nowadays be better rewarded by a discerning public than his unfortunate
predecessor was by the Roman tyrant. But to return to our baths: a very
good portable article may be made by having a wooden traveling-box,
lined with thin sheet zinc. It may be of deal or elm, and painted
outside. The lid may be arranged to slip on and off, like the rudder of
a boat, on eyes and pintles, or on common sliding hinges; and there may
be a movable tray, three or four inches deep, to be lined also with
zinc, which serves for holding the immediate dressing-apparatus, and all
that need be taken out for a single night's use. This tray, together
with the lid laid side by side on the floor, makes a fair enough
sponging-bath; and if the box itself is placed between them, and
half-filled with water, a most luxurious bathing-apparatus is at once
established. The zinc lining should be painted, or, what is still
better, japanned; and the lock should open on the side of the box, and
be fitted with a hinged hasp, which can be turned up, out of the way,
upon the side of the lid, when it is detached and in use as a bath. The
lock should not open upward in the edge of the box, or the water might
enter it, and damage the wards; and the hasps sticking up from the edge
of the lid would be in the way. A box on this plan has been made, and
has been in use for some months with perfect success, and may possibly
be exhibited for the instruction of foreigners in the Great Exposition
of 1851. The only objection is the increased weight arising from the
metallic lining; and this might be removed by employing sheet
gutta-percha in its place, or by relying on good workmanship and paint
alone to keep the box water-tight. The gutta-percha would, in this case,
be supported by the wood of the box, and could not get out of shape; but
it still would be liable to injury if used with warm water.
Little need be said of sponges. The best fetch a high price, but are
probably most economical in the end; for a good sponge, used only with
cold water, will last a long time. There is an inferior kind of sponge,
very coarse, ragged and porous, which formerly was not sold for toilet
use, but which is now to be found in the shops, and is sold especially
for use in the sponging-bath. It is much cheaper than the fine sponge;
and readily takes up, and as readily gives out again, a large quantity
of water; and on the whole, may be recommended. Our old friend,
India-rubber, appears again as the best material of which the sponge-bag
can be made. Oil-skin is efficient while it lasts, but it is very easily
torn; and sponges are apt to be impatiently rammed into their bags in
last moments of packing.
Armed with his sponge and his portable bath, a man may go through life,
defying some of its worst evils. Self-dubbed a Knight of the Bath, he
may look down with scorn upon the red ribbons and glittering baubles of
Grand Crosses and Commanders, and may view with that calm philosophy to
which nothing so much contributes as a state of high health the chances
and changes of a surrounding world of indigestions and catarrhs. With
his peptic faculties, in that state of efficiency in which the daily
cold effusion will maintain them, he will enjoy his own dinners; he will
not grudge his richer neighbor his longer and more varied succession of
dishes, and he will do his best to put his poorer one in the way to
improve his humbler and less certain repast. With his head and eyes
clear and free from colds, he will think and see for himself; and will
discern and act upon the truth and the right, disregarding the
contemptuous sneezes of those who would put him down, and the noisy
coughs of those who would drown his voice when lifted up in the name of
humanity and justice.
SINNERS AND SUFFERERS; OR, THE VILLAINY OF HIGH LIFE.
"Then you believe in the justice of this world, after the fashion of our
old nursery-tales, in which the good boy always got the plum-cake, and
the bad one was invariably put in the closet?" said Charles Monroe,
addressing at once Lady Annette Leveson and her temporary squire, old
Judge Naresby, as they paused in a moral disquisition, on which her
ladyship had employed the greater part of their afternoon's stroll
through Leveson Park, interrupted only by an occasional remark from her
niece Emma, a girl just returned from school, who hung on Charles's arm,
and called the party's attention to every woodland prospect and grand
old tree they passed.
Lady Annette had relations in the peerage, though they were not reckoned
among the wealthiest of that body. Her husband had been similarly
connected, but he was long dead; and his childless widow's jointure
consisted of little more than a castellated mansion, a park, renowned
for the antiquity of its oaks, on the borders of one of the midland
counties, and an old-fashioned house in Park-lane, London. These
possessions were to descend, on her death, to the orphan daughter of her
husband's brother, who, having besides a dowery of some five thousand in
the funds, was, by the unanimous vote of her family, placed under Lady
Annette's guardianship. In speeding on that orphan girl's education from
one boarding-school to another, in dipping a short way into all the
popular philosophy of the age, and taking an easy interest in all its
social improvements, Lady Annette had spent her limited income and quiet
years, without the usual excitements of either working altar-cloths or
setting up a Dissenting chapel. Lady Annette was, of course, a sort of
positivist in her way. She had an almost material faith in virtue
rewarded. Good for good, love for love, was the substance of her creed
regarding time's returns; and being somewhat zealous in the doctrine,
she had exerted all her eloquence to prove it to the satisfaction of the
Judge. He was a man after her own faith and fortunes--well born, as it
is called, and gifted with a cool, clear head, which, just fitting him
for the study of law, and no more, had calmly raised him through the
intervening steps of his profession to the bench; but his experience of
life had been far wider, and he had seen certain occurrences in its
course which made him doubt her ladyship's philosophy.
The Judge's opposition had ceased, nevertheless, and Lady Annette
remained mistress of the field when Charles Monroe volunteered the above
interpretation. Considering that, besides her title, the lady had full
twenty years the start of him in life's journey, the attack was bold;
but Charles was known at Leveson Park as her Scottish cousin, belonging
to a poor but honorable family north of Tweed, and already named as a
rising barrister, though comparatively young in the profession. He had
been engaged for sundry cases on the circuit which the Judge had just
completed--as concerned her ladyship's county, with a maiden assize,
where, after white gloves and congratulations had been duly presented,
the evening was devoted to a family dinner and chat with Lady Annette,
preparatory to justice and he taking their way on the morrow to the
neighboring shire.
Lady Annette and the Judge were old acquaintances, and he had come early
enough to find the three among the old oaks, where it was pleasant to
talk in that bright summer afternoon till the dinner-hour and the rest
of the party arrived; so they found time for argument.
"Well, Charles," said Lady Annette, whose habitually good temper seemed
slightly ruffled by her cousin's remark, "there are sounder lessons
taught men in the nursery than most of them practice in after-life; and
the teaching of those tales appears to me a truth verified by every
day's experience. Do we not see that industry and good conduct generally
bring the working-classes to comparative wealth, while the best families
are reduced by extravagance and profligacy? Does not even the popular
mind regard virtue with honor, and vice with contempt? Surely there is,
even in this world, an unslumbering Providence, which, eventually
rewards the good and punishes the wicked?"
"Sometimes," said Charles.
"Well, your response is amusing," said Lady Annette, smiling; "but let
us hear your view of the subject."
"I fear it is not very definite," said her cousin. "Perhaps I am not
clearsighted enough; but this life has always seemed to me full of
inconsistencies and contradictions; yet, one thing I believe, that moral
goodness does not always lead to good fortune, nor moral evil to bad.
Sometimes that for which I have no name but the ancient one of friendly
stars, and sometimes a practical knowledge of men and things as they
are, or the want of these, conducts us to the one, or leaves us to the
other."
"Oh, Charles, what a pity that pretty girl should be lame!" whispered
Emma, as they now emerged on a broad walk, which, being the most direct
route to a neighboring village, had been long open to pedestrians. And a
young girl, evidently of the servant class, who walked with considerable
difficulty, laid down a small bundle she carried, and leant for rest
against a mossy tree. The girl was not more than eighteen; her soft dark
hair, fine features, and small, but graceful figure, were singularly
attractive, in spite of a sickly pallor and remarkable lameness; but the
face had such an expression of fearless honesty and truth as made it
truly noble, and took the whole party's attention.
"That's a fine face," said the Judge, when they had passed. "There looks
something like goodness there; and, _apropos_ of our controversy, it
somehow reminds me of a case which is to be tried to-morrow, in which
the principal witness is a young girl, who defended her master's house
single-handed against two burglars, and actually detained one of them
till he was arrested."
"Oh, aunt, we must go to hear the case," said young Emma, earnestly.
"It certainly will be interesting," said Lady Annette. "What a noble
girl in her station too! Charles, I hope you will allow there is some
probability of her being rewarded?"
"Perhaps," said Charles.
"Oh, never mind him," interrupted the Judge, who got very soon tired of
moral questions; "he debated the same subject with Thornley and me
t'other evening, and would have totally routed us if we had not taken
refuge in whist."
Charles made no reply, for his attention was once more engaged by the
girl, who, with a flushed cheek, and all the speed she could muster,
passed them at that moment, and the Judge had succeeded in diverting
Lady Annette's thoughts to another channel.
"Thornley should be an able antagonist," said she, "I am told he is very
clever. It was but t'other day that, in looking over one of his mother's
old letters from Florence, I recollected she had mentioned his Italian
tutor's predictions of the great figure he should make at Cambridge. By
the way, Charles, he was your class-fellow there. How far were they
fulfilled?"
"The only time ever I remember him to make a figure," answered Charles,
vainly endeavoring to suppress a smile, "was, when he refused the
challenge of a wild Welsh student, on whose pranks he had been rather
censorious, saying a duel was contrary to his principles; and though the
Welshman actually insulted him in the very streets, he preferred a
formal apology to fighting."
"What a high-principled young man!" exclaimed Lady Annette and her niece
in the same breath.
"Yes," said the Judge, "so much conscientiousness and moral courage is
worth a world of talent."
"It must be a comfort," continued her ladyship with enthusiasm, "to Mr.
Thornley, to find the pains bestowed on his son's education so well
repaid. Do you know he would never allow him to enter a public school,
saying, that knowledge in such places was paid for with both morals and
manners; and Edmund was educated under his own eye, by some of the best
scholars in Florence."
"Mr. Thornley had great discernment," remarked the Judge; "I wonder he
didn't show it, more in his pecuniary affairs."
"Ah, what a falling off was there!" half sighed Lady Annette. "It vexes
me to think of it, they were such old friends of ours. What a belle poor
Mrs. Thornley was!--they tell me she has grown very old and dowdy now.
And how he used to sport! and yet one might have known the estate would
go to creditors. But his misfortunes improved him greatly, they say,
turned his attention entirely to high subjects--Italian progress, and
all that. Do you know, when they lived in Florence, the Austrian police
had quite an eye upon him, and he was proud of that, poor man! I wish
you had seen his letters."
Here her ladyship stopped short, for a figure was seen rapidly
approaching, which all the party know to be that of Edmund Thornley. The
gentleman whose education, character, and family history had been thus
freely discussed, was a tall, well-proportioned man, with fair
complexion, and curling auburn hair. There was something almost feminine
about his small mouth and pearly teeth; but his full blue eyes and
smooth white brow had no expression but those of health and youth,
retaining the latter to an extreme degree, though he was rather advanced
in the twenties. The story of his parentage and prospects, was already
talked over by the Thornleys' old friends in Leveson Park. An only son,
born in the ranks of English gentry, but brought up in Italy, to which
pecuniary embarrassment had early obliged his father to retire, he had
been educated, it was said, most carefully under the paternal roof, with
all home influences around him--sent first to the University of
Cambridge, and, subsequently, to the study of English law, partly by way
of scope for his talents, and partly, as the best provision for the heir
of a deeply-mortgaged estate.
Edmund Thornley was a young man for whom friends did every thing. His
parents and tutors, in Italy, had promised and vowed great things in his
name, to his relatives in England; and, though they could not believe
the report, for he had, as yet, astonished neither Cambridge, nor the
Temple, it was proper for them to allow there was talent in him which
must come out some day, and all that interest and solicitation could do,
was done with the Thornleys' old acquaintances, to secure patronage for
their son. By that influence the judge had been induced to make choice
of him for his marshal, as it is legal etiquette to style a sort of
humble companion or assistant, on the circuit. Hitherto, he had filled
the post to his superior's entire satisfaction; but Naresby, who
specially understood the art of making his dependents useful, had that
day left him some letters to write previous to joining Lady Annette's
party.
The hostess warmly welcomed the son of her old friends, whose doings she
had just canvassed. Charles received his former class-fellow with cold
civility; and, warned by the dinner-bell, the company adjourned to
Leveson Hall, in time to meet the rector and his lady, a quiet country
pair, who completed their party. It was soon manifest what advantage
Thornley's gentle, attentive manner, gave him in the eyes of the ladies
compared with the sometimes abrupt, and often careless address of their
Scotch cousin. Emma found him particularly agreeable; and the subject of
the approaching trial being renewed after dinner, both she and her aunt
were charmed with the enthusiastic admiration of the young girl's
courage and devotedness, which he expressed in the warmest terms; while
Charles merely hoped that those whom she had served so well, would not
forget her poverty.
"Such," said Lady Annette, in a whispered dissertation on the contrast
of the young men, while she and the judge sat at whist by themselves,
"Such are the natural effects of a home education, and a mother's
influence."
"Oh, yes," responded Naresby, somewhat confused by the cards which he
was shuffling; "Thornley is an excellent person, and very accommodating.
He never troubles one with a view of his own, like other lads."
On the following day there was a crowded court-house in the assize town
of the neighboring county. The case to be tried had been the topic of
gossip and wonder there for many a week, and Lady Annette and her niece
were not the only members of the surrounding gentility among the
audience. Charles Monroe had the honor of escorting them, for the first
time in their lives, to a court of justice; and all his explaining
powers were put in requisition by Emma's whispered inquiries, till, the
usual preliminaries being gone through, the prisoner was placed at the
bar. He was a dark-looking, muscular fellow, whose way seemed to have
laid through the wild places of low life; but when he pleaded "Not
guilty," in a strong Welsh accent, some strange recollections appeared
to strike Charles, and he whispered to Lady Annette, "That man used to
look after game-dogs for Harry Williams, with whom Thornley wouldn't
fight at Cambridge; and they told me Harry had been expelled."
"Yes," replied her ladyship, in a low, but triumphant tone, as she cast
a glance of more than approbation on the marshal, now occupying his
usual place near the judge; "men are even in this world rewarded
according to their works."
Charles smiled incredulously, but his smile changed to a look of
surprised recognition, for the principal witness, who just then stood up
to take the oath, was none other than the girl they had met in Leveson
Park. Many a curious eye was turned on that fair honest face; the judge
himself seemed to recognize her, and the marshal to forget his habitual
composure, in astonishment that one so young and pretty, should be the
heroine of such a tale; but, without either the vanity or the
bashfulness nearly always allied to it, which would have upset most
young people in her position, the girl told her story modestly and
plainly, like one who felt she had done her duty, and made no display
about it. Her evidence was simply to the effect that her name was Grace
Greenside, that she was a servant at Daisy Dell--the local designation
of a property occupied by one of the better class of farmers in the
shire--and had been for two years maid-of-all-work at the farm-house,
which was situated in a solitary part of the country, and at some
distance from the high road. On the fifth of the previous month, it
being Sunday, and the other three servants having gone in different
directions, her mistress took their little boy and girl with them to the
parish church, about a mile distant, leaving her alone in the house,
with strict orders not to quit it, and admit none but special friends of
the family till their return; on account, as she believed, of a
considerable sum of money which her master had drawn from the bank but a
few days before, for the purchase of an adjoining farm. Soon after they
were gone, two men, one of whom was the prisoner, knocked loudly at the
front door, and demanded admission, which, owing to her orders, and
their suspicious appearance, she refused, when they tried to force an
entrance; but, arming herself with her master's loaded gun, she defended
the premises, which were well secured--being built, as the girl
described, in old fighting times--till, by sounding one of those
antiquated horns, kept for similar purposes in many an old country
house, she alarmed half the parish, and men were seen coming across the
fields, on which the assailants fled. The prisoner, however, carried
with him a fine vest of her master's, which, owing to an accident, had
been spread out to dry on a hedge hard by; and, bitterly blaming herself
for leaving the article within his reach, the girl pursued him in hopes
of recovering it, and actually overtook, laid hold of, and detained him
till the neighbors came up and completed the capture, in spite of his
blows, by which she had been so seriously injured as to be confined to
the house till the previous day, when she walked with great difficulty
about two miles to see her relatives.
Her tale was confirmed by the evidence of several country people who
had assisted in securing the prisoner, by that of her master, a
hard-looking, worldly man, of her father, a clownish laborer, and of an
ill-tempered, slatternly woman, who proved to be her stepmother. Grace
dropped a courtesy, and quitted the witness-box, amid a general murmur
of applause. The jury, without retiring, found a unanimous verdict of
"Guilty;" and, after a lengthy address, equally divided between eulogy
of the girl's conduct and reprobation of the criminal's, not forgetting
some prophetic hints touching the future destiny of his companion who
had escaped, the judge commanded sentence of death to be recorded
against him, and a small sum of money to be immediately bestowed on
Grace, not only in testimony of the court's sense of her merits, but by
way of compensation for the injuries she had received, as his lordship
phrased it, "in the service of justice and good order."
"A poor reward, but, perhaps, not unacceptable," thought Charles,
glancing at her apparel, which, though clean and neatly worn, was such
as indicated almost the lowest state of feminine funds, as with a
grateful countenance she stepped out to await the leisure of the court
functionaries in that matter, and another case came on.
"Let us go now," said Lady Annette to her niece, "How very interesting
it was, and how delighted Edmund Thornley seemed!"
"He has just gone out, aunt," remarked Emma, who had grown singularly
alive to the marshal's motions; and Charles, as he resumed the duties of
a cavalier, silently recollected that, throughout the trial, while
Thornley conversed with the judge or took notes for him, according to
custom, his eye had often wandered toward Grace Greenside, and he had
left the court the first unobserved moment after she quitted it. The
young barrister was, therefore, not surprised, on crossing one of the
outer divisions, to find him there by her side, talking in a most
animated manner. They were words of praise he had been uttering; and
there was a glow on the girl's cheek, and a light in her eye, which
neither the judge's encomiums nor the applause of a crowded court had
called forth; yet, at their approach, a sudden confusion came over
Thornley for an instant, but the next he saluted the ladies with his
usual courtesy, and more than his usual warmth.
"You find me conversing with the heroine of Daisy Dell," said he; and
the remnant of his speech was so low, that Charles could only catch,
"artless simplicity," and "mind above her station." It reached the
girl's ear, nevertheless; and a wild, waking dream of hope, or passion,
or it might be vanity, passed over that young face.
"Oh, aunt, let us speak to her," said Emma, and fully conscious of the
honor and reward which a few words from her patrician lips must confer
on plebeian merit, Lady Annette stepped up, and addressed some
complimentary inquiries to Grace.
The gratified girl replied with many a courtesy. There was an
asking-leave look in young Emma's face as it turned to her aunt for a
moment, and then, like one determined to venture, she drew a small
turquoise ring from her finger, and pressed it into the girl's hand,
with a low whisper, "You have been very good and honest; take this from
me."
"It is the first ring I ever wore," said Grace, endeavoring to force the
small circlet on one finger after another, which hard work had roughened
and expanded; but Emma's turquoise could find rest only on the little
one. "It is the lucky finger," said she, blushing to the brow; "and a
thousand thanks, my lady; but it is too fine for the like of me."
"May it be lucky to you, my girl!" half murmured Charles, emptying his
light purse almost unperceived into her other hand, while Lady Annette
was assuring her that good conduct always had its reward; and before the
girl had time to thank him, he hurried away with the delighted Emma,
while Thornley conducted her ladyship to their carriage over the way.
Scarce had Charles handed in his charge when one of his clients, who had
litigated a garden-fence for four years past, pounced upon him with a
lately-discovered evidence for his claim, which occupied some hours in
explanation; and before he returned to the court-house, Grace Greenside
had received her money, and went her way. The marshal was busy writing a
note for the Judge, and his lordship was passing sentence on a
turnip-stealer.
Next day Charles gained the case touching the garden-fence, according to
the county newspapers, by a display of legal learning and eloquence
never before equaled in that court-house; but the same evening a letter
brought the hard-working barrister the joyful intelligence that a legal
appointment in one of the West India Islands, for which he had canvassed
and despaired till it was refused by some half-dozen of the better
provided, had been conferred upon him.
It is doubtful if three years can pass over any spot of this inhabited
earth without bringing many changes, and they had brought its share to
the border of that midland county since Lady Annette convinced the
judge, and vanquished her Scotch cousin, on a great moral question,
among the old trees of Leveson Park. Leveson Park and Hall were lonely
now in the summer-time, for another uncle had died, leaving Emma some
additional thousands, and her aunt removed to the house in Park-lane
every London season, to have her properly brought out.
In the adjoining shire, trials of still greater interest (for there was
a murder and two breaches of promise among them) had long superseded in
the popular mind the case of Daisy Dell; but the neighbors for miles
round that solitary farm-house still talked at intervals of Grace
Greenside, how a fine gentleman who had spoken to her in court came
many a day after the assizes privately about the fields to see her, and
how she had been seen driving away with him in a chaise from the end of
the green lane late one evening, when her mistress imagined she was busy
in the diary. The girl's relatives said he was nephew to the judge who
had been on the circuit that year, and would soon be a judge himself;
that he had taken Grace to London, and made a real lady of her; but
their neighbors knew the way of the world too well to place entire faith
in that statement, and the master of the house she had defended (it was
said gratuitously) gave it as his private judgment that the girl had
been ruined by being made so much of.
The old house in Park-lane looked as comfortable as handsome but
antiquated furniture could make it. It was the height of the London
season, and Lady Annette Leveson had given a dinner-party--as it was
understood, by way of welcome to her cousin, Mr. Monroe, who had just
returned from Barbadoes, with an older look, a darker complexion, and
his footing made sure in Government employ at home. His residence was
now in London; and his near relationship, of which Lady Annette had
grown singularly mindful of late, made him an intimate visitor at her
house, where, on the present occasion, he did the honors to a number of
gentlemen, still conversing over their wine; while, as British etiquette
prescribes, Lady Annette had led the fairer portion of her company to
small talk and the drawing-room.
Useful as Charles was often pronounced by her ladyship, and a rising
cousin as he had become, the assiduous attentions and quietly agreeable
manner of Edmund Thornley made much greater way in the secret favor of
both aunt and niece. Edmund was by this time called to the bar. He made
no great figure there, but friends were still doing for him, and he had
sundry relations who took care of his interests in London. The chief of
these was a brother-in-law of his father; but Miss Thornley had been his
first wife, and a second had reigned for eleven years in her stead. Mr.
Crainor was a barrister of the West-end, who worshiped respectability,
and had no family but two married daughters. It was through him that all
advices and letters of credit came from Italy, where Thornley senior
still found it convenient to sojourn; and he was Edmund's counselor in
all things. Being an acquaintance of Emma's last bequeathing uncle, that
gentleman had thought proper to make him one of his executors; he had,
consequently, considerable influence at the house in Park-lane, and was
believed to use it in favor of his nephew-in-law, who, shrewd people
said, might form an eligible connection there; but, as yet, rumor went
no further on the subject. There were also those who thought Charles
Monroe might be a successful rival, as his prospects were now more
promising, and his talents known to be superior; but Emma's private
opinion of him was, that he looked wonderfully old, had no sensibility,
and an almost vulgar way of conducting himself to ladies. He had left
her a school-girl, not sixteen, and found her a graceful, accomplished
woman of the harmlessly sentimental school, who shed tears at tragedies,
and gave largely, considering her purse, at charity sermons, made
collections of poetry, and never inquired beyond the surface of her own
circle, except regarding some very romantic story of real life.
Edmund Thornley sat on an ottoman between Lady Annette and her niece,
turning over for their edification the leaves and plates of one of those
richly got up annuals so dear to London drawing-rooms at a period within
most people's memory. He never lingered long with the gentlemen, at
least, in Park-lane.
"Oh, what a lovely picture!" said Emma, as a Swiss scene turned up. "And
that figure," she continued, pointing to one at a cottage door, "how
much it reminds of the girl--I forget her name--who defended the
farm-house against robbers. Don't you remember, Mr. Thornley, how you
called her the heroine of Daisy Dell?"
"Oh, yes," said Edmund, after a trial of recollection. "It is like her,
but I think she was not quite so pretty."
"Certainly not so tastefully dressed," said Lady Annette; "these Swiss
have so much the advantage of our peasantry; but she was a most
interesting creature. And yet, Mr. Thornley," added her ladyship, who
retained the taste for morality, "I fear the transaction did not turn
out to her benefit. They had strange reports in that part of the
country, and my niece and I have often observed her since we came to
London."
"Oh, aunt!" interposed Emma, "but she dressed and looked so--so--very
properly. I am sure she has married some person of her choice, and lives
happily. It would just complete her story."
The mention of a story after dinner, in the height of the London season,
is sufficient to wake up any drawing-room, and had its natural effect on
Lady Annette's.
"Oh, pray what was it?" demanded half a dozen voices; and Emma was of
course obliged to relate the tale, with frequent applications for
assistance to Mr. Thornley, whose replies, though always brief, were
satisfactory, as he turned over the annual, apparently the least
interested person in the room. When they had marveled sufficiently over
her narrative, Lady Annette, being a little proud of Miss Leveson's
sentiments, felt bound to acquaint them with the episode of the ring,
which she had just finished when the first of the dining-room deserters
straggled in.
"The last time I saw her she looked sickly and careworn--far worse than
that day we met her in the Park. You recollect it, Charles. We are
speaking of Grace Greenside," said Emma, addressing her aunt's cousin,
as he took the nearest seat.
"What of her now?" said Charles, bending eagerly forward; but here Mr.
Crainor interposed, with a petition that Emma would sing them that
charming song with which she enchanted Lady Wharton's party, as he, and
in fact the whole company, was dying to hear it. In less than five
minutes, which were consumed in general pressing, Emma was conducted to
the piano by Mr. Thornley. There was a deal of music, tea, chit-chat,
and a breaking-up, but no more talk of Grace Greenside.
"My dear boy," said Mr. Crainor, taking his nephew's arm with something
of the warmth of wine in his manner, when they were fairly in the
streets, it being eleven o'clock on a calm summer's night, and part of
their way the same. "My dear boy, you are not aware of what injury you
are doing to your best interests, as one may say, by keeping that girl
so long about you. She has been notorious; and notorious people--women,
I mean--are always dangerous. Weren't they talking of her at Lady
Annette's to-night? Depend on it, the story will ooze out, you are so
well known, and so much visited now. Then people will call you
dissipated, and I can't tell what. Such tales always spoil a man's
chances with advantageous ladies."
"I was thinking of that myself," said Edmund; "but it's a delicate
point, and one wouldn't like a scene, you know."
"True," responded his adviser; "but a little management will prevent
that. Captain Lancer is your man, if you want to get clear off. Just
introduce him, and the whole business is done."
"Do you really think so?" said Edmund, with a languid smile.
"I'll stake ten to one on it," replied Crainor; "Lancer has tenfold your
attractions for any woman, irresistible as you think yourself--a fine,
forward-looking military man, who has fought half a dozen duels, not to
speak of his experience. Don't you know the captain is married, though
he passes for a bachelor here? married an old ebony, with a whole
sugar-plantation in Jamaica, five years ago! That's what he sports upon;
while rum, they say, consoles the lady for his absence. He told me the
other day he was in want of some occupation, and I advise you to give
him one; but good night," added the sage counselor, for by this time
they were near Edmund's lodgings; and even through the gaslight a pale
face might be seen at the front window, looking anxiously out for him.
Sadly indeed was Grace Greenside altered since the day when the four
passed her in the walk through Leveson Park. The lameness was long
gone--her naturally good constitution had shaken off the effects of that
fearful struggle; her dress was of somewhat better materials and a
neater cut. She herself had something of a town look about her, as one
whom three years' residence had made familiar with the noisy streets of
London; but in the thin face and sunken eyes there were lines of care,
and weary look, which told of lonely winter evenings and pining summer
days. For three long years the girl had shared Edmund Thornley's
apartments, in the strangely-blended capacities of mistress and valet.
That a maid-of-all-work in a solitary farm-house, who was eighteen,
could scarcely read, and had a cross stepmother, should have been
induced to enter on such a course by a man so far her superior in
fortune and education, not to speak of eight years' seniority, must be
matter of marvel to those only whose wisdom and virtue are of the
untried sort. But so it was; and farm-servant as she had been, it was
wonderful how little poor Grace was spoiled by her change of position.
It might be that the girl was by nature too simple or too honest to take
its ordinary advantages, such as they are; perhaps it was not fine
things and nothing to do alone that she expected in London with Edmund,
when leaving behind her good name and country summers--the only good
things that life had given her; at all events, she lived humble and
retired days, aiming only to take care of Thornley's domestic interest
to the utmost of her power, and make herself generally useful to him in
sickness and health. There was a suitability in that conduct to the
peculiar tastes of the gentleman. Like most selfish people, he was a
great admirer of self-devotedness in others; and, long after the days of
first fancy and flattery were over, continued to value Grace as a
contributor to his comfort, in the fashion of an easy chair or a good
fire. Did not she keep every thing in order for his comings and goings,
which, with Edmund Thornley, were as regular as the clock on the
mantle-piece, for he was a most quiet bachelor, and never forgot
himself; but now the convenience might cost him too dear, and must be
parted with, according to his uncle's counsel. So, with it on his mind,
and the usual calm smile on his face, he received her kindly greeting,
heard and repeated the intelligence of the day over a nice supper, and
retired to rest.
Next day, Mr. Crainor introduced Captain Lancer to his nephew, at a
coffee-house; and Thornley brought him home to dine, and introduced him
to Grace, after which, as his servant remarked, "it was hextonishing how
often that ansum capting called, and how many messages the master sent
him home with to Miss Greenside; till one day he eard her speak
monstrous loud up stairs, and there was a door slammed, and the Capting
came down looking all of a eap."
The servant might also have observed that, during the day, Grace looked
impatiently for his master; but Edmund did not come, for he and Captain
Lancer dined together at a tavern.
The nights were growing long, and the harvest moon could be seen at
intervals through the fog and smoke of London. Grace thought how it
shone on corn-fields and laden orchards far away, and how long it was
since she left them; but other and more troubled thoughts passed
through her mind as she sat waiting for Thornley. It was not yet eight,
but that was his knock, and in another minute he stepped into the room.
"Edmund, dear," said the girl, eager to unburden her mind, "I have a
strange story for you to-night. That Captain Lancer is a bad, bad man.
Would you believe it, Edmund, he told all sorts of stories on you this
day, and asked me to go with him to France, the villain!"
"Indeed!" said Thornley, seating himself, with a look of prepared
resolution. "That was a good offer, Grace. The captain is very rich, and
might marry you."
Grace stared upon him in blank astonishment. "You see," continued the
unmoved Edmund, "you and I can live together no longer; my character
would suffer, and my prospects too, Grace. You would not injure my
prospects? Besides, you want country air; it would be good for you to go
home a little time, and I would give you something handsome, and see you
off on the Middlesex coach."
The amazement had passed from the girl's face now; for all that she had
half suspected, and tried not to believe so long, was proved true to
her.
"Is it Emma Leveson you are going to marry?" she said, growing deadly
pale.
"Perhaps," said Thornley. "But, dear me, what is the matter?" as Grace
looked down for an instant at the ring on her little finger, then sunk
down on a chair, and covered her face with her hands.
"Here," continued Edmund, pulling out his pocket-book, which contained
the only consolation known to him, "I have not much to myself, but here
are two hundred pounds; it will make you live like a lady among them;"
and he laid the notes in her lap.
Grace never looked at him or them; she sat for about a minute stiff and
silent, then rose, letting the bank-paper scatter on the carpet, and
walked quickly out. Edmund heard her go up stairs, and come down again;
there was a sound of the hall-door shutting quietly, and when he
inquired after it the servant told him Miss Greenside had gone without
saying any thing. Edmund gathered up the notes, and locked them in his
desk, smoked a cigar, read the _Court Journal_; but Grace did not come
back, nor did she ever again cross the threshold. When Thornley told Mr.
Crainor, on the earliest opportunity, that gentleman averred that the
girl had looked out for herself before Captain Lancer came, and Edmund
said, "It was wonderful that she left the notes behind her, for all the
money she could have was some savings in a little purse."
One Sunday, about six weeks after the event we have related, Charles
Monroe, on search of a short way from the Scotch church to his chambers,
was passing through a poor but decent street, known as Cowslip-court,
though a Cowslip had never been seen there within the memory of man,
when his attention was attracted by an old woman in dingy black, looking
for something on the ground, with a most rueful countenance.
"What have you lost, my good woman?" inquired Charles in some curiosity.
"It's a ring, sir," said the dame, "was left me by a poor soul as was
buried this morning. Some people thought it strange to see her so young
by herself, but she wor a decent creature for all that, and did what she
could in honesty. First she took to sewing, sir; but that didn't do, for
she was sickly, and got worse, till at last she died, all alone in my
two-pair back. And I'm sure that ring wor a love-token, or something of
the sort, for she used to cry over it when no one was by, and once bade
me take it when she was gone, because I minded her in her sickness; and
I was just going to show it to Mrs. Tillet, when it dropped out of my
fingers. But lauk, sir, there it is!"
"It's Emma Leveson's ring," said Charles, picking up the little
turquoise from among the dust at his feet. "Was the woman's name Grace
Greenside?"
"Just the same sir," said its new owner, clutching at the ring; "an' she
was--"
"A fool," added a more than half-intoxicated soldier, with a long pipe
in his mouth, lolling on the steps of an empty house as if they had been
a sofa. "I tell you she was a fool; and I was a gentleman once in my
day, but I was unfortunate. They wouldn't let me stay at college, though
I kept the gamest pack in Cambridge; and after that I took--to a variety
of business," said he, with another puff; "but if that girl had taken me
at my word, I would have stood by her. See the foolishness of women! She
would keep the old house, and transport Skulking Tom; he partly deserved
it for hitting her so hard, and there's what's come of it." With a
repetition of his last aphorism, the soldier smoked on, and Charles
after a minute inspection, recognized in the dirty and prematurely old
man his once boisterous class-fellow, Harry Williams. The time for
remonstrance or improvement was long past with him, and Charles had
grown a stranger to his memory; so, without word or sign of former
acquaintance, he purchased the ring from that communicative old woman at
about three times its lawful price, collected what further information
he could regarding the deceased, and went his way.
"Ay," said Charles, gazing on the ring some time after, when the whole
particulars of her story were gathered, "had she been worse or wiser,
poor Grace would have fared better in this world;" and then he thought
of the ring's first owner. But, before the period of his musings, Lady
Annette and her niece had gone with some of their noble relations to
spend the winter in Italy, Edmund Thornley accompanying them on a visit
to his father's residence; and, in her latest letter to a confidential
cousin, Emma had mentioned that his fine sense of propriety, and his
enthusiasm for all that was great and good, made him a most delightful
companion on the Continent.
THE GOLDEN AGE.
The father sits, and marks his child
Through the clover racing wild;
And then as if he sweetly dream'd,
He half remembers how it seem'd
When he, too, was a reckless rover
Among the bee-beloved clover:
Pure airs, from heavenly places, rise
Breathing the blindness from his eyes,
Until, with rapture, grief, and awe,
He sees again as then he saw.
As then he saw, he sees again
The heavy-loaded harvest wain,
Hanging tokens of its pride
In the trees on either side;
Daisies, coming out at dawn,
In constellations, on the lawn;
The glory of the daffodil;
The three black windmills on the hill,
Whose magic arms fling wildly by,
With magic shadows on the rye:
In the leafy coppice, lo,
More wealth than miser's dreams can show,
The blackbird's warm and woolly brood,
With golden beaks agape for food!
Gipsies, all the summer seen,
Native as poppies to the green;
Winter, with its frosts and thaws,
And opulence of hips and haws;
The mighty marvel of the snow;
The happy, happy ships that go,
Sailing up and sailing down,
Through the fields and by the town;--
All the thousand dear events
That fell when days were incidents.
And, then, his meek and loving mother--
Oh, what speechless feelings smother
In his heart at thought of her!
What sacred, piercing sorrow mounts,
From new or unremembered founts,
While to thought her ways recur.
He hears the songs she used to sing;
His tears in scalding torrents spring;
Oh, might he hope that 'twould be given.
Either in this world, or in heaven,
To hear such songs as those again!
--But life is deep and words are vain.
Mark yonder hedgerow, here and there
Sprinkled with Spring, but mainly bare;
The wither'd bank beneath, where blows,
In yellow crowds, the fresh primrose:
What skill of color thus could smite
The troubled heart-strings thro' the sight
What magic of sweet speech express
Their primeval tenderness?
Can these not utter'd be, and can
The day-spring of immortal man?
"GIVE WISELY!" AN ANECDOTE.
One evening, a short time since, the curate of B., a small village in
the north of France, returned much fatigued to his humble dwelling. He
had been visiting a poor family who were suffering from both want and
sickness; and the worthy old man, besides administering the consolations
of religion, had given them a few small coins, saved by rigid
self-denial from his scanty income. He walked homewards, leaning on his
stick, and thinking, with sorrow, how very small were the means he
possessed of doing good and relieving misery.
As he entered the door, he heard an unwonted clamor of tongues, taking
the form of a by no means harmonious duet--an unknown male voice
growling forth a hoarse bass, which was completely overscreeched by a
remarkably high and thin treble, easily recognized by the placid curate
as proceeding from the well-practiced throat of his housekeeper, the
shrewish Perpetua of a gentle Don Abbondio.
"A pretty business this, monsieur!" cried the dame, when her master
appeared, as with flashing eyes, and left arm a-kimbo, she pointed with
the other to a surly-looking man, dressed in a blouse, who stood in the
hall, holding a very small box in his hand. "This fellow," she
continued, "is a messenger from the diligence, and he wants to get
fifteen francs as the price of the carriage of that little box directed
to you, which I'm sure, no matter what it contains, can't be worth half
the money."
"Peace, Nanette," said her master; and, taking the box from the man, who
at his approach, civilly doffed his hat, he examined the direction.
It was extremely heavy, and bore the stamp of San Francisco, in
California, together with his own address. The curate paid the fifteen
francs, which left him possessed of but a few sous, and dismissed the
messenger.
He then opened the box, and displayed to the astonished eyes of Nanette
an ingot of virgin gold, and a slip of paper, on which were written the
following words:
"To Monsieur the Curate of B.
"A slight token of eternal gratitude, in remembrance of August
28th, 1848.
"CHARLES F----.
"Formerly sergeant-major in the --th regiment; now a gold-digger
in California."
On the 28th of August, 1848, the curate was, on the evening in question,
returning from visiting his poor and sick parishioners. Not far from his
cottage he saw a young soldier with a haggard countenance and wild
bloodshot eyes, hastening toward the bank of a deep and rapid river,
which ran through the fields. The venerable priest stopped him, and
spoke to him kindly.
At first the young man would not answer, and tried to break away from
his questioner; but the curate fearing that he meditated suicide, would
not be repulsed, and at length, with much difficulty, succeeded in
leading him to his house. After some time, softened by the tender
kindness of his host, the soldier confessed that he had spent in
gambling a sum of money which had been entrusted to him as
sergeant-major of his company. This avowal was made in words broken by
sobs, and the culprit repeated several times, "My poor mother! my poor
mother! if she only knew--"
The curate waited until the soldier had become more calm, and then
addressed him in words of reproof and counsel, such as a tender father
might bestow on an erring son. He finished by giving him a bag
containing one hundred and thirty francs, the amount of the sum
unlawfully dissipated.
"It is nearly all I possess in the world," said the old man, "but by the
grace of God you will change your habits, you will work diligently, and
some day, my friend, you will return me this money, which indeed belongs
more to the poor than to me."
It would be impossible to describe the young soldier's joy and
astonishment. He pressed convulsively his benefactor's hand, and after a
pause, said,
"Monsieur, in three months my military engagement will be ended. I
solemnly promise that, with the assistance of God, from that time I will
work diligently." So he departed, bearing with him the money and the
blessing of the good man.
Much to the sorrow and indignation of Nanette, her master continued to
wear through the ensuing winter, his old threadbare suit, which he had
intended to replace by warm garments; and his dinner frequently
consisted of bread and _soupe maigre_.
"And all this," said the dame, "for the sake of a worthless stroller,
whom we shall never see or hear of again!"
"Nanette," said her master, with tears in his eyes, as he showed her the
massive ingot, whose value was three thousand francs, "never judge
hardly of a repentant sinner. It was the weeping Magdalen who poured
precious ointment on her Master's feet; it was the outlawed Samaritan
leper who returned to give Him thanks. Our poor guest has nobly kept his
word. Next winter my sick people will want neither food nor medicine;
and you must lay in plenty of flannel and frieze for our old men and
women, Nanette!"
MONTHLY RECORD OF CURRENT EVENTS.
POLITICAL AND GENERAL NEWS.
UNITED STATES.
In Politics the past month has been distinguished by the occurrence of
elections in several of the States, and by a general agitation, in every
section of the Union, of questions connected with the subject of
slavery. The discussions through the press and before public audiences,
have been marked by great excitement and bitterness, and have thus
induced a state of public feeling in the highest degree unfavorable to
that calm and judicious legislation which the critical condition of the
country requires. We recorded at the proper time, the passage by
Congress of the several measures generally known as the "peace measures"
of the session--the last of which was the bill making more effectual
provision for the recovery of fugitive slaves. Congress had no sooner
adjourned than these measures, and especially the last, became the theme
of violent public controversy. In the Northern States, several attempts
to regain possession of fugitives from slavery in New York, Boston,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other places, were resisted with great
clamor, and served to inflame public feeling to a very unhealthy extent.
In our last number we mentioned some of the incidents by which this
agitation was marked. It influenced greatly the elections in New York,
Massachusetts, and other states, where nominations for Congress and
state officers were made with special reference to these questions. The
result of these elections is now to be recorded.
In our last number we mentioned the action of the Whig State Convention
at Syracuse, the secession of forty members in consequence of the
adoption of a resolution approving the course of Senator SEWARD, and
their subsequent meeting at Utica, and renomination of the same ticket.
Mr. HUNT, the Whig candidate for Governor, wrote a letter expressing
acquiescence in the peace measures of Congress, but adding that the
Fugitive Slave Law contained many unjust provisions, and ought to
receive essential modifications. A convention representing the
Anti-Renters of the state afterward assembled, and nominated Mr. HUNT as
their candidate for Governor. On the 22d of October he wrote a letter to
the Committee declining to recognize the action of any organization
except that of the Whig party from which he had first received his
nomination, and adding that, if elected, his "Constitutional duties
could not be changed, nor his conduct in the discharge of them
influenced, by the course taken in the election by any particular class
of our citizens or any organization other than the party to which he
belonged." Under all circumstances, he said, it would be his highest aim
to execute his official trust with firmness and impartiality. He would
"be actuated by an honest desire to promote justice, to uphold the
supremacy of the law, to facilitate all useful reforms, to second
legitimate endeavors for the redress of public grievances, and to
protect the rights and advance the welfare of the whole people."
In the City of New York, meantime, there had been a growing feeling of
apprehension at the tone of current political discussions and at the
opposition everywhere manifested at the North to the Fugitive Slave Law,
and on the 30th of October a very large public meeting was held at
Castle Garden of those who were in favor of sustaining all the peace
measures of Congress, and of taking such measures as would prevent any
further agitation of the question of slavery. Mr. GEORGE WOOD, an
eminent member of the New York Bar, presided. A letter was read from Mr.
WEBSTER, to whom the resolutions intended to be brought forward had been
sent, with an invitation to attend the meeting. The invitation was
declined, but Mr. WEBSTER expressed the most cordial approbation of the
meeting, and of its proposed action. He concurred in "all the political
principles contained in the resolutions, and stood pledged to support
them, publicly and privately, now and always, to the full extent of his
influence, and by the exertion of every faculty which he possessed." The
Fugitive Slave Law he said, was not such a one as he had proposed, and
should have supported if he had been in the Senate. But it is now "the
law of the land, and as such is to be respected and obeyed by all good
citizens. I have heard," he adds, "no man, whose opinion is worth
regarding, deny its constitutionality; and those who counsel violent
resistance to it, counsel that, which, if it take place, is sure to lead
to bloodshed, and to the commission of capital offenses. It remains to
be seen how far the deluded and the deluders will go in this career of
faction, folly, and crime. No man is at liberty to set up, or to affect
to set up, his own conscience as above the law, in a matter which
respects the rights of others, and the obligations, civil, social, and
political, due to others from him. Such a pretense saps the foundation
of all government, and is of itself a perfect absurdity; and while all
are bound to yield obedience to the laws, wise and well-disposed
citizens will forbear from renewing past agitation, and rekindling the
names of useless and dangerous controversy. If we would continue one
people, we must acquiesce in the will of the majority, constitutionally
expressed; and he that does not mean to do that, means to disturb the
public peace, and to do what he can to overturn the Government." The
resolutions adopted at the meeting, declared the purpose "to sustain the
Fugitive Slave Law and its execution by all lawful means:" and that
those represented at the meeting would "support no candidate at the
ensuing or any other election, for state officers, or for members of
Congress or of the Legislature, who is known or believed to be hostile
to the peace measures recently adopted by Congress, or any of them, or
in favor of re-opening the questions involved in them, for renewed
agitation."
This meeting was followed by the nomination of a ticket, intended to
represent these views, and those candidates only were selected, from
both the party nominees, who were known or believed to entertain them.
Mr. SEYMOUR (Dem.) was nominated for Governor; Mr. CORNELL (Whig) for
Lieutenant Governor; Mr. MATHER (Dem.) for Canal Commissioner; and Mr.
SMITH (Whig) for Clerk of the Court of Appeals. This movement in New
York City in favor of these candidates, caused a reaction in favor of
the others in the country districts of the state. The election occurred
on the 5th of November, and resulted as follows:
_Whigs._ _Democrats._
_Gov._ HUNT 214,353 SEYMOUR 214,095
_Lieut. Gov._ CORNELL 210,721 CHURCH 217,935
_Canal Com._ BLAKELY 213,762 MATHER 214,818
_Prison Ins._ BAKER 207,696 ANGEL 217,720
_Clerk_ SMITH 210,926 BENTON 217,840
From this it will be seen that Mr. HUNT was elected Governor, and all
the rest of the Democratic ticket was successful. Thirty-four members of
Congress were also elected, there being 17 of each political party. The
Legislature is decidedly Whig. In the Senate, which holds over from last
year, there is a Whig majority of 2; and of the newly elected members of
Assembly, 81 are Whigs, and 47 Democrats. This result derives special
importance from the fact that a U.S. Senator is to be chosen to succeed
Hon. D.S. DICKINSON, whose term expires on the 4th of March, 1851. The
vote on the Repeal of the Free School Law was as follows:
Against repeal 203,501
For repeal 168,284
--------
Majority against repeal 35,217
In NEW JERSEY a state election also occurred on the 5th of November. The
candidates for Governor were Dr. FORT, Democrat, and Hon. JOHN RUNK,
Whig. The result of the canvass was as follows:
FORT 39,726
RUNK 34,054
-------
Fort's majority 5,672
Five members of Congress were also elected, 4 of whom were Democrats,
and 1 Whig.
In OHIO the election occurred in October, with the following result:
WOOD, Democrat 133,092 Majority 11,997.
JOHNSTON, Whig 121,095
SMITH, Abolitionist 13,826
Twenty-one members of Congress were elected, of whom 8 were Whigs, and
13 Democrats.
In MASSACHUSETTS the election took place on the 12th of November, with
the following result for Governor--there being, of course, no election,
as a majority of all the votes cast is requisite to a choice:
BRIGGS, Whig 55,351
BOUTWELL, Democrat 36,245
PHILLIPS, Free Soil 27,811
Of 9 Congressmen, 3 Whigs are chosen, and in 6 districts no choice was
effected. Hon. HORACE MANN, the Free Soil candidate, succeeded against
both the opposing candidates. To the State Senate 13 Whigs and 27 of the
Opposition were chosen; and to the House of Representatives 169 Whigs,
179 Opposition, and in 79 districts there was no choice. The vacancies
were to be filled by an election on the 25th of November. A U.S. Senator
from this State is also to be chosen, to succeed Hon. R.C. WINTHROP, who
was appointed by the Governor to supply the vacancy caused by Mr.
WEBSTER's resignation.
No more elections for Members of Congress will be held in any of the
States (except to fill vacancies) until after March 4th, 1851. The terms
of 21 Senators expire on that day--of whom 8 are Whigs, and 13
Democrats. Judging from the State elections already held there will be 6
Whigs and 15 Democrats chosen to fill their places. The U.S. Senate will
then stand thus:
Holding over 18 Whigs 23 Democrats.
New Senators 6 " 5 "
-- --
Total 24 38
The House of Representatives comprises 233 members, of whom 127 have
already been chosen, politically divided as follows--compared with the
delegations from each State in the present Congress:
1850. 1848.
_Whig._ _Dem._ _Whig._ _Dem._
Missouri 3 2 5
Iowa 2 1 1
Vermont 3 1 3 1
Florida 1 1
Maine 2 5 2 5
South Carolina 7 7
Pennsylvania 9 15 15 9
Ohio 8 13 10 11
New York 17 17 32 2
New Jersey 1 4 4 1
Wisconsin 3 1 2
Michigan 2 1 1 2
Massachusetts[11] 3 3
Illinois 1 6 1 6
Delaware 1 1
-- -- -- --
50 77 75 52
Should the remaining 16 States be represented in the next Congress
politically as at present, the Democratic majority would be about 30. In
reference to the contingency of the next presidential election devolving
upon the House, for lack of a choice by the people, 9 of the above
States would go Democratic, five of them Whig, and one (the State of New
York), would have no vote, its delegation being equally divided. The
delegations of the same States in the present Congress are as follows,
viz., 7 Whig, 7 Democratic, and one (Iowa) equally divided.
While such have been the results of the elections in the Northern
States, and such the tone of public feeling there, a still warmer
canvass has been going on throughout the South. We can only indicate the
most prominent features of this excitement, as shown in the different
Southern States.
In GEORGIA a State Convention of delegates is to assemble, by call of
the Executive, under an act of the Legislature, at Milledgeville, on the
10th of December: and delegates are to be elected. The line of division
is resistance, or submission, to the Federal Government. A very large
public meeting was held at Macon, at which resolutions were adopted,
declaring that, if the North would adhere to the terms of the late
Compromise--if they would insure a faithful execution of the Fugitive
Slave Bill, and put down all future agitation of the slavery
question--then the people of the South will continue to live in the
bonds of brotherhood, and unite in all proper legislative action for the
preservation and perpetuity of our glorious Union. Hon. HOWELL COBB,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, made a speech in support of
these resolutions. Hon. A.H. STEPHENS, R. TOOMBS, Senator BERRIEN, and
other distinguished gentlemen of both parties, have made efforts in the
same direction, and public meetings have been held in several counties,
at which similar sentiments were proclaimed. The general feeling in
Georgia seems to be in favor of acquiescence in the recent legislation
of Congress, provided the North will also acquiesce, and faithfully
carry its acts into execution.
In SOUTH CAROLINA, the whole current of public feeling seems to be in
favor of secession. At a meeting held at Greenville, on the 4th of
November, Col. MEMMINGER made a speech, in which he expressed himself
in favor of a Confederation of the Southern States, and if that could
not be accomplished, then for South Carolina to secede from the Union,
stand upon and defend her rights, and leave the issue in the hands of
Him who ruleth the destinies of nations. He was answered by General
WADDY THOMPSON, who depicted forcibly and eloquently the ruinous results
of such a course as that advised, and repelled the charges of injustice
urged against the Northern States. The meeting, however, adopted
resolutions, almost unanimously, embodying the sentiments of Col.
MEMMINGER. And the tone of the press throughout the state is of the same
character.
In ALABAMA public opinion is divided. A portion of the people are in
favor of resistance, and called upon Gov. COLLIER to convene a State
Convention, to take the matter into consideration. The Governor has
issued an address upon the subject, in which he declines to do so, at
present, until the course of other Southern States shall have been
indicated. He says that while all profess to entertain the purpose to
resist aggression by the Federal Legislature on the great southern
institution, public opinion is certainly not agreed as to the time or
occasion when resistance should be interposed, or as to the mode or
measure of it. He apprehends renewed efforts for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia, and pertinacious exertions for the
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law; that California will be divided into
several States, and that the North will thus acquire power enough so to
amend the Federal Constitution as to take away the right of
representation for the slaves--a result which he, of course, regards as
fatal to the South. He believes that any State has a right to secede
from the Union, at pleasure, but thinks that a large majority of the
people of Alabama, are strongly disinclined to withdraw from the
confederation, until other measures have been unsuccessfully tried to
resist further aggression. Under these circumstances, he recommends the
people of the State so to develop their resources, establish
manufactures, schools, shipping houses, &c., as to become really
independent of the North. This is the policy which, in his judgment,
will prove most effectual in securing the rights, and protecting the
interests of the South. Hon. Mr. HILLIARD has written a letter to the
citizens of Mount Meigs, declaring that, though opposed to the admission
of California, he sees nothing in the measures of the last session which
would justify the people of the Southern States in resisting them, or
furnish any ground for revolution. A very large mass meeting of the
citizens of Montgomery county, held on the 20th of October, adopted
resolutions, first reciting that a systematic and formidable
organization is in progress in some of the Southern States, having for
its object some form of violent resistance to the Compromise measures
passed by Congress at its last session; and that if this resistance is
carried out according to the plans of a portion of the citizens of the
Southern States, it must, inevitably, lead to a dissolution of the
Union; and that the Montgomery meeting, though they do not approve of
them all, do not consider these measures as furnishing any sufficient
and just cause for resistance; and then declaring, 1. That they will
rally under the flag of the Union. 2. That they will support no man for
any office, who is in favor of disunion, or secession, on account of any
existing law or act of Congress. 3. That they acquiesce in the recent
action of Congress. And, 4. That if the Compromise should be disturbed,
they will unite with the South in such measures of resistance as the
emergency may demand.
In MISSISSIPPI the contest is no less animated. It was brought on by the
issuing of a proclamation by Gov. QUITMAN, calling a State Convention,
for the purpose of taking measures of redress. A private letter, written
by Gov. QUITMAN, has also been published, in which he avows himself in
favor of secession. On the last Saturday in October, a mass meeting was
held at Raymond, at which Col. JEFFERSON DAVIS was present, and made a
speech. He was strongly in favor of resistance, but was not clear that
it should be by _force_. He thought it possible to maintain the rights
of the South in the Union. He was willing, however, to leave the mode of
resistance entirely to the people, while he should follow their dictates
implicitly. Mr. ANDERSON replied to him, and insisted that the Federal
Government had committed no unconstitutional aggression upon the rights
of the South, and that they ought, therefore, to acquiesce in the recent
legislation of Congress. Senator FOOTE is actively engaged in canvassing
the state, urging the same views. He meets very violent opposition in
various sections.
In LOUISIANA indications of public sentiment are to be found in the
position of the two United States Senators. Mr. DOWNS, in his public
addresses, takes the ground that the South might as well secede because
Illinois and Indiana are free States as because California is. He admits
that California is a large State, but he says she is not half so large
as Texas, a slave State, brought into the Union five years ago. Mr.
SOULÉ, the other Senator, having expressed no opinion upon the subject,
was addressed in a friendly note of inquiry first by Hon. C.N. STANTON,
asking whether he was in favor of a dissolution of the Union, of the
establishment of a Southern Confederacy, or of the secession of
Louisiana, because of the late action of Congress. Mr. SOULÉ, in his
reply, complains bitterly of the "vile abuse" heaped upon him, charges
his correspondent with seeking his political destruction, and refers him
to his speeches in the Senate for his sentiments upon these questions. A
large number of the members of his own party then addressed to Mr. SOULÉ
the same inquiries, saying that they did it from no feeling of
unkindness, but merely to have a fair and proper comprehension of his
opinions upon a most important public question. Mr. S., under date of
Oct. 30, replies, refusing to answer their inquiries, and saying that
their only object was to divide and distract the Democratic party.
Senator DOWNS, in reply to the same questions, has given a full and
explicit answer in the negative: he is not in favor of disunion or
secession.
A letter written during the last session of Congress, dated January 7,
1850, from the Members of Congress from Louisiana, to the Governor of
that State, has recently been published. It calls his attention to the
constant agitation of the subject of slavery at the North, and to the
fact that the legislature of every Northern State had passed resolutions
deemed aggressive by the South, and urging the Governor to recommend the
Legislature of Louisiana to join the other Southern States in resisting
this action. The opinion is expressed that "decisive action on the part
of the Southern States at the present crisis, is not only not dangerous
to the Union, but that it is the best, many think, the only way of
saving it."
Among the political events of the month is the publication of a
correspondence between Hon. ISAAC HILL, long a leader of the Democratic
party in New Hampshire, and Mr. WEBSTER, in regard to the efforts of the
latter to preserve the peace and harmony of the Union by allaying
agitation on the subject of slavery. Mr. HILL, under date of April 17,
wrote to Mr. WEBSTER expressing his growing alarm at the progress of
ill-feeling between the different sections of the country, and his
conviction that "all that is of value in the sound discrimination and
good sense of the American people will declare in favor of Mr. WEBSTER's
great speech in the Senate upon that subject. Its author," he adds, "may
stand upon that alone, and he will best stand by disregarding any and
every imputation of alleged inconsistency and discrepancy of opinion and
practice, in a public career of nearly half a century." Mr. WEBSTER, in
acknowledging the letter, speaks of it as "an extraordinary and
gratifying incident in his life," coming as it did from one who had long
"belonged to an opposite political party, espoused opposite measures,
and supported for high office men of very different political opinions."
They had not differed, however, in their devotion to the Union; and now,
that its harmony is threatened, it was gratifying to see that both
concurred in the measures necessary for its preservation. His effort, he
says, had been and would be to cause the billows of useless and
dangerous controversy to sleep and be still. He was ready to meet all
the consequences which are likely to follow the attempt to moderate
public feeling in highly excited times, and he cheerfully left the
speech to which Mr. HILL had alluded, "with the principles and
sentiments which it avows, to the judgment of posterity."
A public dinner was given to the Hon. JOHN M. CLAYTON on the 16th of
November, by the Whigs of Delaware, at Wilmington, at which Mr. C. made
a long and eloquent speech in vindication of the policy pursued by the
late President TAYLOR and his Administration. He paid a very high
tribute to the personal character, moral firmness, patriotism, and
sagacity of the late President, and vindicated his course from the
objections which have been urged against it. He expressed full
confidence in the perpetuity of the Union, and ridiculed the
apprehensions that have been so widely entertained of its dissolution. A
large number of guests were present, and letters were read from many
distinguished gentlemen who had been invited but were unable to attend.
Preferences were expressed at the meeting for Gen. SCOTT as a candidate
for the Presidency in 1852.
Colonel RICHARD M. JOHNSON, Vice President of the United States for four
years from 1836, died at Frankfort, Ky., on the 19th of November, aged
70. He has been a member of Congress, and Senator of the United States
from Kentucky, and acquired distinction under General Harrison in the
Indian war of 1812. At the time of his death he was a member of the
Kentucky Legislature.
GREAT BRITAIN.
The event of the month which has excited most interest, has been the
establishment by the Pope of Roman Catholic jurisdiction in England. The
Pope has issued an Apostolic Letter, dated September 24th, which begins
by reciting the steps taken hitherto for the promotion of the Catholic
faith in England. Having before his eyes the efforts made by his
predecessors, and desirous of imitating their zeal, and carrying forward
to completion the work which they commenced, and considering that every
day the obstacles are falling off which stood in the way of the
extension of the Catholic religion, Pius IX. believes that the time has
come when the form of government should be resumed in England such as it
exists in other nations. He thinks it no longer necessary that England
should be governed by Vicars Apostolic, but that she should be furnished
with the ordinary episcopal form of government. Being confirmed in these
thoughts by the desires expressed by the Vicars Apostolic, the clergy
and laity, and the great body of English Catholics, and, also, by the
advice of the Cardinals forming the Congregation for Propagating the
Faith, the Pope decrees the re-establishment in England of a hierarchy
of bishops, deriving their titles from their own Sees, which he
constitutes in the various Apostolic districts. He then proceeds to
erect England into one archiepiscopal province of the Romish church, and
divides that province into thirteen bishoprics.
The promulgation of this letter created throughout England a feeling of
angry surprise, and nearly the whole of London has teemed with the most
emphatic and earnest condemnation of the measure. In order somewhat to
mitigate the alarm of startled Protestantism, Dr. Ullathorne, an eminent
Catholic divine, has published a letter to show that the act is solely
between the Pope and his spiritual subjects, who have been recognized as
such by the English Emancipation Act, and that it does not in the
slightest degree interfere with the laws of England, in all temporal
matters. He shows that the jurisdiction which the Pope has asserted in
England, is nothing more than has been exercised by every communion in
the land, and that nothing can be more unfair than to confound this
measure, which is really one of liberality to the Catholics of England,
with ideas of aggression on the English government and people. In 1688,
he says, England was divided into four vicariates. In 1840, the four
were again divided into eight; and, in 1850, they are again divided and
changed into thirteen. This has been done in consequence of efforts
begun by the Catholics of England, in 1846, and continued until the
present time. By changing the Vicars Apostolic into Bishops in ordinary,
the Pope has given up the exercise of a portion of his power, and
transferred it to the bishops. This letter, with other papers of a
similar tenor, has somewhat modified the feeling of indignation with
which the Pope's proceeding was at first received, and attention has
been turned to the only fact of real importance connected with the
matter, namely, the rapid and steady increase of the Roman Catholics, by
conversions from the English Established Church. The _Daily News_, in a
paper written with marked ability, charges this increase upon the secret
Catholicism of many of the younger clergy, encouraged by ecclesiastical
superiors, upon the negligent administration of other clergymen, and
upon the exclusive character of the Universities. Very urgent demands
are made by the press, and by the clergy of the Established Church, for
the interference of the Government against the Pope's invasion of the
rights of England; but no indications have yet been given of any
intention on the part of ministers to take any action upon the subject.
A good deal of attention has been attracted to a speech made by Lord
STANLEY, the leader of the Protectionist party in England, at a public
dinner, Oct. 4th, in which he urged the necessity, on the part of the
agricultural interests of the kingdom, of adapting themselves to the
free-trade policy, instead of laboring in vain for its repeal. The
speech has been very widely regarded as an abandonment of the
protective policy by its leading champion, and it is, of course,
considered as a matter of marked importance with reference to the future
policy of Great Britain upon this subject. The Marquis of Granby, on the
other hand, at the annual meeting of the Waltham Agricultural Society,
held on the 19th of October, again urged the necessity of returning to
the old system of protection, and exhorted reliance on a future
Parliament for its accomplishment. The subject of agriculture is
attracting an unusual degree of attention, and the various issues
connected with it, form a standard topic of discussion in the leading
journals.
The Tenant Right question continues to be agitated with great
earnestness and ability in Ireland. A deputation from the Ulster Tenant
Right Provincial Committee waited on the Earl of Clarendon during his
visit to Belfast to present an address. The earl declined to receive
them, but wrote a letter, dated Sept. 18, in reply to one inclosing a
copy of the address. He expressed great satisfaction at the prevalence
of order and at the evidence of agricultural prosperity, and assured
them of the wish of the government to settle the rights of tenants on a
just and satisfactory basis. A great Tenant Right meeting was held at
Meath, October 10th, at which some 15,000 persons are said to have been
present.
The Committee of Prelates appointed by the Synod of Thurles to carry
into execution the project of establishing a Catholic University in
Ireland, on the model of the Catholic University at Louvain, have
resolved that regular monthly collections, on the plan of that for the
Propagation of the Faith, be made throughout the kingdom by local
committees, of which the parochial clergy are to be ex-officio members.
They have published a long address to the Catholics of Ireland,
insisting on the grave evils to faith and morals of separating religion
from secular education, and calling loudly for support to their
projected establishment.
The month has been distinguished in England by an extraordinary
prevalence of crime. Murders, burglaries, and other offenses against the
law have been frequent beyond all former experience. The details of
these incidents it is not worth while to give. The Household Narrative
gives a chapter, written after the manner of Ledru Rollin, in which the
state of England during the month of October is presented in a most
unpromising light. The writer says that, notwithstanding the gloominess
of the picture, every fact stated in it is true, and every inference is
false. There have also been an unusual number of accidents during the
month.
Miss Howard, of York Place, has assigned over to trustees £45,000, for
the erection of twenty-one houses on her property at Pinner, near
Harrow, in the form of a crescent; the centre-house for the trustees,
the other twenty houses for the use of twenty widows, who are to occupy
them free of rent and taxes, and also to receive £50 a year clear of all
deductions. The widows of naval men to have the preference, then those
of military men, and, lastly, those of clergymen. This is justly
chronicled as an act of munificent charity.
The Free Grammar School at Richmond, erected as a testimonial to the
memory of the late Canon Tate, who was one of the most successful
teachers in England, was opened with much ceremony on the 3d of October.
A Temperance Festival was held on the 14th, at the London Tavern. The
company, between five and six hundred, were entertained with tea,
speeches, and temperance melodies. The principal speaker was Mr. George
Cruikshank, the celebrated artist, who was vehemently applauded.
Negotiations have been entered into with the Lords of the Admiralty and
Government authorities for the establishment of a Submarine Telegraph
across St. George's Channel, upon a similar though much more extensive
scale to that now being undertaken between England and France. From the
extreme western coast of Ireland to Halifax, the nearest telegraphic
station in America, the distance is 2155 miles; and as this might be
accomplished by the steamers in five or six days, it is apprehended that
England, by means of telegraphic communication, may be put in possession
of intelligence from America in six days, instead of as now in twelve or
fourteen.
The QUEEN and Prince ALBERT have returned from their visit to Scotland.
They remained at Balmoral till the 10th Oct., on the morning of which
day they departed for the South. They arrived at Edinburgh about seven
in the evening. Preparations had been made to give a loyal welcome; and
among the features of the demonstration, was a bonfire piled to the
height of forty feet on the summit of Arthur's Seat. The blazing mass
consisted of thirty tons of coal, a vast quantity of wood saturated with
oil and turpentine, and a thousand tar-barrels. It was kindled at five
o'clock, and the flames are said to have been seen by the Queen for many
miles of her route on both sides of the Forth. The party left Edinburgh
next morning, and arrived in the evening at Buckingham Palace; and on
Saturday, the 12th, they went to Osborne.
Intelligence has been received from the Arctic Expedition in search of
Sir John Franklin. The North Star, which went out as a tender-ship to
the expedition of Sir John Clark Ross a year and a half ago, returned
unexpectedly to Spithead on the 28th of September, bringing dispatches
from the ships of the four expeditions which went out early this year.
The Prince Albert, a ship dispatched in July last, under Captain
Forsyth, to make a special search beyond Brentford Bay, returned to
Aberdeen on the 29th ult. Dispatches from Captain Ommaney, Captain
Penny, Sir John Ross, and Captain Forsyth, have been published by the
Admiralty; but they throw little or no light on the fate of the missing
voyagers.
The British Government has decided to send all letters and newspapers
for the United States by the first steamer, whether American or English.
Hitherto they have invariably been detained for a British steamer,
unless specially marked for transmission by the American line.
A Dublin paper states that Dr. WISEMAN, who has been made Archbishop of
Westminster by the Pope, is a native of Seville, where his parents, who
are natives of Waterford, Ireland, resided several years. His father was
a wine-merchant in Andalusia.
The Lord Mayor of York gave a splendid entertainment to the Lord Mayor
of London, on the 25th of October, which was attended by a great number
of the leading men of England. Prince Albert was present, and made a
very sensible and pertinent extempore speech. Its leading feature was a
marked and impressive eulogy on Sir Robert Peel. In alluding to the
interest taken by Sir Robert in the great Industrial Exhibition, Prince
Albert took occasion to say that he had assurances of the most reliable
character that the works in preparation for the great Exhibition were
"such as to dispel all apprehension for the position which British
industry will maintain."
At the meeting of the Canford Estate Agricultural Show on the 22d of
October, the lady of Sir John Guest made a brief but most admirable
speech, expressing her regard for the laboring classes of England, and
her earnest desire that the utmost efforts should be made for their
elevation and improvement. This unusual incident, and the admirable
spirit which it evinced, elicited great applause.
The Town Council of Manchester are taking vigorous steps to compel the
manufacturers of that city to consume the smoke of their furnaces, and
thus to rid the city of the dense cloud which has hung over it hitherto.
The process is found to be perfectly practicable, and decidedly
economical. Some of the heaviest manufacturing establishments in the
city testify to a saving of _one-third_ in coal. The issue of the
experiment will be important.
The rapid increase of burglaries and thefts in Birmingham has elicited
from Mr. D.H. Hill a suggestion for the suppression of crime, which is
regarded as pertinent and important by the leading journals. He proposes
that whenever a jury is satisfied that an accused party is addicted to
theft, he shall be compelled to prove a good character, and to show
means of subsistence, on penalty of being adjudged a thief, and punished
accordingly, under an old statute.
Emigration from Ireland to the United States continues and increases. A
great part of those who leave are described by the Irish papers as being
farmers of the most respectable class, and considerable apprehensions
are expressed of the injurious effect of the movement on the prosperity
of the country.
A letter from BRAZIL, written by Lieut. BAILEY of the royal navy,
details some rather prompt proceedings on his part in the capture of
slavers. He was sent out to the Brazil station, and arrived off Rio
Janeiro June 18th, and in sight of the harbor captured a vessel engaged
in slave-trading, and sank her the same night. On the 20th, he captured
a second, and sent her to St. Helena for adjudication; and on the 23d,
he seized another, taking her out of a Brazilian port, which has
hitherto been contrary to law. The affair excited a good deal of feeling
in Brazil, and was likely to lead to a misunderstanding with the English
government. The effect of such proceedings, in exasperating a government
which might be induced by friendly appeals to put an end to
slave-trading, is forcibly urged.
The Paris correspondent of the London Times has developed an alleged
secret plot of the Red Republicans, to revive the revolutionary fever
throughout Europe, and the substance of his statements is also given in
the Paris _Patrie_--both accounts being evidently derived from the same
source. It is asserted that the Socialists have leagued themselves
together and that a secret congress of their chiefs was held in Paris on
the 2d of June, where they planned a gigantic conspiracy, the
ramifications of which extend to the whole of Europe, and even to the
heart of Russia, where it is said to menace a terrible explosion. The
motto which has been adopted is, "_Sans pitié ni merci_," and it has
been resolved that all the chiefs of states shall be assassinated. It is
added that in one of the numerous secret meetings held by the initiated
under the presidency of the principal agents, the death of the
Bonapartists was sworn, and would be the signal for the destruction of
all the Bourbons, and of all their friends and supporters. The threat
uttered by one of the German chiefs of the conspiracy was to the effect
that "on the field of battle we shall spare no one, and we will strike
down our dearest friends if they are not unconditional Communists."
After indicating the dépôts of arms formed by the Communist conspirators
in all the capitals where it has established seats, enumerating the
means employed to ensnare the foolish and the ambitious, and, in fact,
indicating all its resources and all its plans, the document informs us
that the object of the conspiracy is to arrive, by means of general
confusion and a sanguinary combat, at the extermination of all those who
possess a foot of land, or a coupon of _rente_, and that it has sworn
the oath of Hannibal against all the monarchies of Europe. _Plunder and
assassination form the basis of the plan._ The document terminates thus,
"The soil of Europe is undermined, so as to render a frightful
catastrophe imminent." The pretended revelation is ridiculed in nearly
all quarters.
On the destruction of the Roman Republic, the Roman Representatives
appointed a National Committee, of which Mazzini was the head, with
extensive political powers. This committee has just issued an address,
dated at London, calling on all Italians and all Italian provinces to
join their standard, promising them eventual success. In the course of
the address they declare that they have effected such an organization of
the forces of the movement as circumstances permit, and insist on the
necessity of Italy becoming an independent nation.
We have hitherto alluded to the public agitation started in the British
Colony of New South Wales in favor of independence, by Dr. Lang, who had
organized an association for the purpose of accomplishing the object
which he declared to be so desirable. The movement has been represented
by the English papers as being unsupported by the colonists, and as,
therefore, of no importance. We see, however, that Dr. Lang has recently
been elected mayor of the City of Sydney, which shows that the people
there, at least, have confidence in his character and respect for his
views.
FRANCE.
Nothing important has occurred in France during the month, except a
change in the War Department, growing out of the supposed efforts of the
President to attach the army to his interests. On the 3d of October the
President reviewed a great body of troops near Versailles. He was
accompanied by the Minister of War, and by General Roguet, his
aid-de-camp. General Changarnier left Paris an hour before the
President. Though entitled to take the command he did not do so, General
Neumayer acting in his room. After the review the President gave a
collation to the officers and non-commissioned officers, and ordered
13,000 rations to be distributed to the soldiers. The President joined
the collation given to the general officers, but General Changarnier
declined being present, and returned to Paris. The frequency of these
reviews, the manner in which the troops were feasted by the President,
the manifestations made by the soldiers, and the rumor that a difference
of opinion existed between the President and General Changarnier on the
subject, led to an extraordinary meeting of the Commission of
Permanence. The Minister of War, General Hautpoul, having been called on
to explain the circumstances with reference to the late reviews, replied
that he wished to inform the Commission that he held no command from the
Assembly, and that, consequently, he could deny the right of the
Commission to put any questions to him. He, however, waived these
objections; and, in reply to the question, said that the accounts
published in the papers respecting the reviews were grossly exaggerated;
and that nothing whatever had occurred there of an unconstitutional or
an unmilitary character. The Minister further observed that it would be
impossible to publish an order of the day preventing the soldiers from
expressing their feelings of attachment and respect to the chief of the
State, and if it were possible he would not do so. With respect to the
review that was to take place on the following Thursday, he pledged
himself for the maintenance of the most complete tranquillity on that
occasion. When the Commission was about to separate, the President again
addressed the Minister of War, and said, "General Hautpoul, I am desired
by the committee to apprise you that in case General Changarnier be
removed from his command, or that any other steps be taken against him,
we are determined to convoke, forthwith, the Legislative Assembly." To
this the Minister made no reply, and the Commission adjourned.
On Thursday the 10th, the review referred to by the Minister of War took
place. There were 25,000 troops, chiefly cavalry. The President was
accompanied by General Hautpoul, the Minister of War, and several other
general officers, besides his usual brilliant staff. When the defiling
of the troops in front of the President took place, he was loudly hailed
by part of the cavalry, who cried "Vive l'Empereur!" "Vive Napoleon!"
After the troops had defiled, the usual refreshments were served out to
them, and the President, accompanied by his staff, paid a visit to the
camp, but General Changarnier left the ground.
The _Proces-verbal_ of the meeting of the Council of Permanence, held on
the 12th, drawn up by M. Dupin to the President, was to the following
effect: The violation of the promises made by the Minister of War, and
the unconstitutional manifestations, provoked or tolerated, are severely
blamed. The committee did not think proper to invite the Minister of War
to give further explanations. Deploring the incidents of the review, it
still expressed complete confidence in the loyalty of the army, and is
satisfied that the cries were not spontaneous on the part of the
soldiers, but instigated by certain officers. In order to avoid alarming
the country in the absence of imminent peril, it has not deemed proper
to convoke the Assembly; but it deeply disapproves reviews so frequent,
into which habits altogether unusual and foreign to military traditions
have been so boldly introduced.
As a sequel to these disputes, General Hautpoul has found it necessary
to resign his place in the government, and has gone to Algeria as
governor of that colony. He is succeeded as Minister of War by General
Schramm. Soon after the accession of the latter, an official
notification appeared in the _Moniteur_ that General Neumayer had been
removed from the command of the 1st division and appointed to the 15th.
The reason given for this removal is said to be that General N., at the
last review at Satory, expressly enjoined the troops not to give
utterance to any cry whatever, deeming silence to be more strictly in
accordance with the regulations of the army, and in conformity, too,
with the instructions he had received from the Commander-in-Chief. This,
it is said, much displeased both Louis Napoleon and the Minister of War.
At all events, General Changarnier was greatly offended at the removal,
and a complete breach has occurred between him and the President. He
refuses to resign until the Assembly shall have passed judgment in the
matter.
THE DANISH WAR.