could, and listening unmoved to his angry speeches; but there now
appeared such a remorseless cruelty in his countenance, that I gazed in
astonishment, almost doubting the possibility that the lamb I had known
could have become so wolfish. To have told him my real name, I plainly
perceived, would only incense him the more. If he hated me at that
moment (and I grieved to think he should regard me with such unsocial
feelings), with such a disposition as he possessed, he would detest me
a thousandfold more, when he knew how much I could injure him. I can
safely say I had no such inclination; and had I been so inclined, which
I gladly affirm was not the case, being so entirely in his power, I saw
that any intimation of such intentions would only have the effect of
hastening my destruction, or of adding to my discomfort; I therefore
still retained my secret. He had folded his arms across his breast, and
was looking sternly upon my face.
"'Then you will not acquaint me with the place of Eureka's concealment?'
he demanded.
"'I could not acquaint you with it if I would, for it is unknown to me,'
I replied; 'and this I have already told you.'
"'I will crush it out of you,' he savagely muttered. 'Think not of ever
being carried alive out of this place. Dream not of rescue. I have taken
care that the swinish mob you were so desirous of leading shall be cut
to pieces by the soldiery wherever they appear in arms. Horse and
foot are ready to act at a moment's notice, and the most destructive
artillery command all the principal streets, and defend every important
building. I defy the whole city; and the first attempt at disturbance
shall be so punished, that the poor deluded fools who are left alive
will be very glad to gain the shelter of their homes. Anticipate no
assistance from that quarter. The short time you have to live will be
passed here, where you can see no human being, and no human being can
see you; where your shrieks cannot be heard, were you to split your
heart in the attempt. Enjoy yourself as you can; prolong your existence
_if_ you can; but, if you are wise, you will strive to escape the death
prepared for you by dashing your traitorous scull against the wall.'
Then fixing on me a threatening scowl, he strode out of the cell.
"'Who could have supposed this possible?' thought I: how strange it
seemed that the child I had known so innocent, and so affectionate,
should have become so guilty and ferocious a man. _Man!_ it libelled
human nature to call him by the name. He was a mere animal, and the
worst of animals; for he gave himself up to the indulgence of his
passions, and pride and prejudice, and ignorance and cruelty, and all
the tribe of evil influences which arose from an engrossing selfishness,
became the principal ingredients of his nature. How I regretted this! I
never yet saw a human being pursuing a path which led to misery, but I
regretted the blindness that made him so obstinately bent on punishing
himself: for I am quite certain that he who wilfully produces suffering
in another must eventually be made to experience the pain he has
created. No one can erect his own happiness upon so wretched a
foundation, without finding the superstructure give way, till it leave
him grovelling in the very wretchedness upon which he ventured to build.
I therefore regret that he should possess such evil inclinations, as
must make him a scourge to himself and others.
"Hours passed on; the evening approached; and, not having tasted food
since the morning, I naturally felt desirous of some refreshment. But
no one came near me. I began to listen for approaching footsteps; but I
heard nothing but a confused rumbling sound, which vibrated through
the prison. The desire for food increased during the night. I tried to
sleep; but the inconvenience of my chains, the coldness and filth of the
floor, and a sensation of gnawing at the stomach, made the enjoyment of
sleep impossible. I walked about; but the heavy irons hurt my legs, and
they soon fatigued me too much to be endured. I leaned against the wall
for support, as I began to feel faint and sick. 'Surely,' thought I,
'it is not intended that I should be left here to famish?' I could not
think so ill of any of my fellow creatures as to imagine that they
would designedly allow me to die the lingering and terrible death of
starvation. But no one approached my cell, and it was noon of the second
day. To the pangs of hunger were added the torments of thirst: my tongue
and throat became parched, and my skin dry as a cinder. Still I thought
that my jailors had forgotten me. Towards evening, the sufferings I
experienced were almost unendurable: I had pains in every limb; I felt
weak as a child, and my skin was burning hot. I endeavoured to think of
some plan by which I might draw my attention from the agony I endured;
and fancied that, if I could bring my mind to the contemplation of the
happiness I had been enabled to create, I should forget the worst part
of my sufferings. So I attempted to remember every instance in which I
had fortunately been the means of securing the enjoyments of some fellow
creature; and, going back as far as my memory could trace, I recalled
the recollection of a poor old blind man, whom, when a boy, I had met
sitting on a bank, weeping and moaning, with the dead body of his
faithful dog, the companion and guide of all his travels, in his lap. I
had with me a beautiful spaniel, of which I was particularly fond; and,
when I heard the poor man lamenting, in a tone that melted me to tears,
that the death of his dog had left him helpless and forlorn, I comforted
him as well as I could. I undid the string that was affixed to the dead
animal, and fastened it to the collar of my own little favourite; gave
him all the money I had about me, and promised to bury his old companion
very carefully in a corner of my garden. To say that he was grateful
would be to make use of too weak a term: his delight appeared to me
extraordinary. He wept more than ever; and the fervour of his blessing
is as fresh upon my ear, after the lapse of more than half a century, as
it was when first uttered. From this commencement I proceeded through
a long list of similar remembrances, each accompanied by a thousand
pleasurable associations, till I found myself regardless of the terrible
wants that had so long been preying on my vitals.
"I had noticed that the only sounds I had heard during my confinement
had seemed gradually to approach the building I inhabited. Louder and
louder they reverberated through the massive walls; and at last I was
enabled to distinguish the deep roar of artillery, that appeared to
shake the prison to its foundations. 'The struggle has commenced,'
thought I: 'blood is flowing like water; the relentless sword is
ploughing its way through the flesh of my fellow-citizens, and thousands
are being shattered and pierced by showers of murderous balls and
shells.' If the words of that fierce man were true, their chances of
success, I knew, could be but slight. 'They are being slaughtered like
sheep,' I cried; and every concussion produced by the report of the
thundering cannon made me shudder with fear. All night the conflict
proceeded. I had sunk exhausted upon the floor. I could remember
nothing; I could think of nothing. I was rapidly sinking into
insensibility, in the early part of the morning, when I became roused by
hearing the uproar of cannon and musketry, and the shouts of infuriated
men, so near, that I was convinced that the people had attacked the
prison. I felt the concussion of the artillery most distinctly, which
sounded as if the besiegers were battering down the walls; and the
continued burst of volleys of musketry was evidence of the spirit with
which the attack was carried on. About an hour passed without the
slightest cessation of the tumult,--and to me it was an age of agonising
suspense,--when the firing slackened; but whether the attacking party
had been beaten off, or had gained possession of the building, I knew
not. Some minutes, which seemed hours, passed; and I thought I could
distinguish voices approaching. In a moment, I heard them distinctly.
"'Where are you, my benefactor?' shouted one.
"'Speak to us, my preserver!' cried another.
"'Porphyry! Porphyry, our friend, we come to your rescue!' exclaimed
a dozen others; and I could hear them traversing the prison in every
direction in search of me. My heart was so full at the kindness of
these good men, that, had my strength been unimpaired, I could not have
uttered a word; and I allowed my deliverers to pass the door without
attempting to communicate to them the place of my concealment. A few
moments passed, and they again approached. My heart beat more rapidly.
I tried to husband all my remaining strength.
"'Porphyry! Porphyry!' shouted a hundred anxious voices.
"'Porphyry! Porphyry!' was echoed in every cell.
"'Here, my friends!' I exclaimed, as loudly as my feebleness would
allow.
"'That is him!' they all cried.
"'I know his voice among a thousand,' said one; 'and I am certain it
came from within this chamber.'
"'Down with the door!' shouted others.
"In a moment a thousand hammers seemed to be vigorously driven against
the door. The men cheered each other on in the labour: each exerted
all his force; and in a few seconds the heavy bolts were shivered to
splinters, and, with a piercing hurra! a crowd of eager friends burst
into the cell. As soon as they saw my condition, their hearts were
filled with commiseration.
"'It isn't a place to turn a dog in,' said one, indignantly.
"'The miscreants!' muttered another.
"'Look at these terrible chains!' cried a third.
"'The tyrants!' exclaimed several.
"'Let us carry him from this miserable hole; he is too weak to move,'
said a man whom I had befriended.
"'I will bear a hand: he rescued me from a prison!' exclaimed one.
"'And I: he saved me from ruin,' shouted another. And by these grateful
creatures I was carefully carried into the open air, with my chains
still about me, and in the wretched plight in which I had been found;
where, on being shown to the multitudes of armed citizens that thronged
the streets, I was received with shouts of triumph mingled with
imprecations on my oppressors; and, accompanied by an escort of a
hundred thousand men, I was conveyed in safety to my own house; my
chains were taken off; and the most skilful physicians being immediately
in attendance, I rapidly recovered to my usual state of health.
"I ascertained that, as soon as my seizure became known, the church
bells were rung to arms, the stones in the streets were torn up, and
barricades, which served to block up the thoroughfare from the advance
of horse, and as intrenchments from which a galling fire could be poured
upon the approaching troops, were formed across the streets. The first
day, although there was great slaughter on both sides, no important
advantage was gained by either party; and at night the soldiery remained
under arms, and the people were busily employed in preparing to renew
the conflict. Leaders were appointed of tens, of hundreds, and of
thousands; and the grand point of attack was the arsenal and the
ammunition magazines; while, at the same time, the military were kept
sufficiently employed at all the posts they occupied. After a most
obstinate resistance, the arsenal was carried; and the arms there found
soon obtained owners willing to use them. Ammunition was acquired in
a similar manner; and the result of these attacks gave to the popular
cause a vast accession of strength. The barracks of the military, and
the prison in which political offenders were incarcerated, were next
sought out. The object of the attack on the former was to harass the
soldiery as much as possible; and the aim of the latter was to find
out my concealment, for the purpose of effecting my liberation. It was
impossible to exceed the enthusiasm of the people when approaching the
places where they imagined I was confined. They shouted my name, and
rushed through the thickest fire with a valour that nothing could
resist. Many of the prisons were pulled down after a fruitless search
for the object they sought; and then they proceeded from these to
others, till the day was spent. It was found impossible to approach the
palace, as a chain of posts was established all round it, supported by
an immense strength of artillery and powerful bodies of horse and foot,
from which the citizens had been several times repulsed during the day;
but at night, when the tired soldiery were endeavouring to snatch
that repose which two days' constant fighting rendered necessary, a
simultaneous attack was made at every available point by a countless
myriad of armed citizens; and, although they obtained possession of many
pieces of cannon, after fighting desperately till daybreak, they found
themselves compelled to retreat, with very considerable loss. After
this, it was resolved to draw a line of strong intrenchments round this
chain of posts, so as to prevent any communication or supplies reaching
them from other parts of the city, or from the surrounding country, and
then to crush in detail the resistance that might be offered at other
positions; and this plan was being put in practice when my concealment
was discovered, and I was set at liberty.
"The knowledge of the treatment I had received, while it inflamed the
hearts of my countrymen, created for me even a more powerful sympathy
than I had previously excited. As soon as I was able to attend to what
was going forward, the leading men of the movement waited upon me, and
communicated all that had transpired since my imprisonment; and, after
assuring me that the enemy must surrender in a few days, or, if they
moved from their position, be cut to pieces, they stated that they
were commissioned by the people to offer me the chief authority of the
nation, under whatever name or character I should judge most beneficial
to the state. I need scarcely add that I refused the flattering gift.
I did more; I told them the many attempts the late Emperor had made to
force on me his distinctions, and their result. I told them that my
object had been to live as a private individual, endeavouring to effect
among my fellow men as much good as I had the power to create; that
I had lived happily as one of themselves, and, as one of themselves,
I wished happily to die. I told them that, as far as my advice and
assistance could tend to their advantage, they might always command
them. I endeavoured to prove to them the danger of changing the form
of government, without being prepared with a better; and strived to
convince them that it was much more to the interest of humanity, and to
the advantage of the citizens, not to drive to desperation the powerful
army still remaining, to which they were opposed; but, with the
superiority they possessed, to attempt to bring about an adjustment of
the quarrel between the government and the people, on such terms as
should leave the latter nothing to desire, and the former no power to
tyrannise.
"My suggestions were not received with the cordiality which they
deserved. The deputation talked of the merciless slaughter of the
citizens--the cruelty that had been exercised upon me--and the necessity
of making an example of the offenders. I answered, that it would only
be treading in the steps of our oppressors by desiring vengeance for
injuries--that those who had been wronged could receive no benefit by
the death of those who had injured them--that the evils the government
had committed could not be remedied by their destruction--and that
it was the most unwise policy a community could follow, to punish
an offence that had been committed by taking a life, for it made it
impossible that the offender should ever make amends to society for the
mischief done. 'Prevent as effectively as possible,' said I, 'the evil
doer from repeating a wrong, and let him, by the exercise of virtuous
inclinations among the community, outweigh the evil he has effected,
and you will do more good than has been done by punishment since the
creation of the world.'
"I regretted to observe a disinclination to follow my advice. The hearts
of my companions seemed filled with resentment, and their minds with
prejudice. Again they pressed on me the offers of the people, and again
I refused; and then they took their leave of me, expressing their
intention of acquainting the citizens with my resolution. I was most
anxiously desirous that the warfare should terminate; and, knowing that
the time was opportune for exacting the most favourable conditions
for the nation from the government, I was eager to bring about an
accommodation. The mass of my countrymen I found too much heated by
the conflict to listen with a proper feeling to the peaceful measures
it was my aim to accomplish. Arms were still in their hands, and the
blood of their friends still stained the public streets. I published my
sentiments among them in the most convincing form of which I was master;
and, in addition to the opinions I have already stated, I offered, if
they would intrust me with the office, to act as mediator, having
powers to effect an arrangement between the contending parties on such
conditions as would secure the liberties of the people on the most firm
and enlarged basis, and reduce the influence of the crown to an extent
which would not be dangerous to the community.
"Five days had elapsed since the contest commenced; and the troops were
hemmed in around the palace, deprived of sufficient provisions, and
harassed in every way that the valour and ingenuity of the citizens
could devise. The ministers had now become as humble as they had before
been intolerant. They attempted to bring about a reconciliation. They
offered largely, and promised more. There they were, in the midst of
sixty thousand picked men, trembling for the consequences of their own
misgovernment; for they saw that the whole country was in the hands of
the citizens, and that it would be impossible much longer to continue a
resistance. Hitherto all their efforts at accommodation had been treated
with studied indifference; but, having succeeded in procuring from the
people the office I desired, I immediately set about communicating with
the government the only terms upon which peace could be restored; and
these were, that the ministers by whom the Emperor had been advised in
his late measures should be banished from the court--never again to
exert any authority over the people--and that half their estates should
be confiscated to the relations of those who had perished in the
conflict--that the Emperor should grant a charter to the people, by
which all the privileges of freemen--right of opinion--liberty of
conscience--a perfect representation of the popular will--unshackled
trade--a liberal patronage of genius and industry--and the abolition of
oppressive taxes and undeserved pensions should be preserved to them
and their posterity for ever--that a standing army, beyond what was
necessary to maintain security from foreign invasion, should no longer
exist--and that no attempt should be made by the Crown either to punish
any citizen who had assisted in the late struggle, or to repossess
itself of the power which had been found so dangerous to the welfare of
the people.
"I suppose these conditions seemed hard; for some days elapsed, and
frequent attempts were made to have them rendered more agreeable. Not
only did I refuse to alter them in the slightest degree, but I at last
gave them four and twenty hours for consideration, at which time, if
they were not accepted, I stated that I should insist upon unconditional
surrender. Before the day was over, the conditions were agreed to--the
charter signed and sworn to by the Emperor, in the presence of an almost
countless multitude of citizens--the ministers, among whom, of course,
was that unpitying man, Philadelphia, were banished from the city;
half their estates were confiscated, and a new and more liberal
administration chosen in their place--and, as the intelligence extended
from one end of this mighty empire to the other, nothing was heard but
sounds of congratulation and gladness, of thankfulness for the past, and
hope for the future. All that I had desired was accomplished. The marks
of the recent strife were soon erased. The citizens, returning to their
social duties, ceased to think of the wounds they had received and
inflicted; and all the blessings of peace began to flow in their
accustomed channels. Had the struggle continued with the design of
overpowering all opposition, and changing the form of government, the
war would have been resumed in the provinces; might have been prolonged
from father to son in efforts to restore the fallen dynasty; and, as a
change, when attempted in a settled form of government, always produces
an unsettled state of the public mind, the country would have been
continually disturbed, and the happiness of the people rendered
exceedingly insecure.
"All Columbia are satisfied with my exertions: they acknowledge the
worth of what I have done. Even the Emperor seems desirous of paying me
attention; and, although I have not much faith in his sincerity, his
conduct serves to keep up the harmony which prevails. And, by my refusal
to accept power at the expense of the happiness of my fellow-citizens, I
have now the gratification of seeing the country prosperous, the people
enjoying a greater degree of liberty than they have known for centuries,
and the whole population vying with each other to show their estimation
of my services. There is one thing that gives me peculiar satisfaction;
and that is, your absence from the country at this eventful period. I
know that, had you been here, your impetuous spirit would have hurried
you into every wild and rash undertaking, and that you would have
effected more mischief in a day than I should ever have been enabled to
efface. Proceed with your voyage, Oriel, and when you return you will
have reason to rejoice at the change which has been produced during your
absence."
Oriel Porphyry had read the preceding communication with intense
interest; every moment stopping to regret that he should have been so
far away at a period so important.
"Oh, had I but been there!" he exclaimed at the conclusion. "Here is a
golden opportunity lost! The very moment for which I have so anxiously
looked has escaped me. The great battle has been fought, and I not in
the field. Surely, such a disappointment is enough to make one curse
one's destiny. My father's notions are too chimerical. He is good--ay,
the very best among the good; but his spirit is not young enough for the
age. He should have crushed the hydra when he had it at his feet. Had
I but been there! He will find, too late, that it is no use patching
things that are radically bad: they cannot be mended; they are worn
out, rotten, and useless. And that proud tyrant to have used him so
inhumanly! Had I but been there! What a field there was for exertion,
what splendid opportunities for daring valour! Perhaps a body of two
hundred thousand armed citizens, all eager, all desperate, wanting only
a leader to make them irresistible. Oh, this wretched fate, that kept me
here like an inactive slave, while glory is to be won by a mere effort!
And he was offered the supreme authority, and refused it? Noble, but
unwise. He could confer more good on the people in a year than this
thing, called an Emperor, can effect during the whole of his useless
existence. Now the time is gone. The renown after which I yearn, the
distinction and the power, would have been mine, had I been in the place
where it might have been acquired. Had I but been there! How long am
I to carry on this profitless existence? How long must I be forced to
stifle my own energies, and live, from day to day, in the same dull
round of inactivity? Must the wings of that spirit, that soars so far
above the unambitious herd, still continue to be pinioned, leaving me
to crawl upon the earth, following out the same ignoble purposes as
those around me? Oh, deplorable fate! The rock to which Prometheus was
chained, and the bird that pierced his vitals, are but types of the
barrenness of my prospects, and the disappointed hopes that prey upon my
peace. Oh, wretched destiny! The thirst with which Tantalus was devoured
was a blessing, compared with the curse with which I am tormented.
Eureka! Eureka! The greatness I have desired so earnestly, to make me
more worthy of your excellence, has been waiting for my eager grasp,
while I was far, far from its reach. Oh, had I but been there!"
CHAP. VI.
CHINA, ITS LAWS, CUSTOMS, AND PEOPLE.