| ||
| ||
| ?That is to say, the Lord made ?em men, and it?s a hard squeeze gettin ?em down into beasts,? said the drover, dryly ?Bright niggers isn?t no kind of ?vantage to their masters,? continued the other, well entrenched, in a coarse, unconscious obtuseness, from the contempt of his opponent; ?what?s the use o? talents and them things, if you can?t get the use on ?em yourself? Why, all the use they make on ?t is to get round youI?ve had one or two of these fellers, and I jest sold ?em down riverI knew I?d got to lose ?em, first or last, if I didn?t ?Better send orders up to the Lord, to make you a set, and leave out their souls entirely,? said the drover Here the conversation was interrupted by the approach of a small one-horse buggy to the innIt had a genteel appearance, and a well-dressed, gentlemanly man sat on the seat, with a colored servant driving The whole party examined the new comer with the interest with which a set of loafers in a rainy day usually examine every newcomerHe was very tall, with a dark, Spanish complexion, fine, expressive black eyes, and close-curling hair, also of a glossy blacknessHis well-formed aquiline nose, straight thin lips, and the admirable contour of his finely-formed limbs, impressed the whole company instantly with the idea of something uncommonHe walked easily in among the company, and with a nod indicated to his waiter where to place his trunk, bowed to the company, and, with his hat in his hand, walked up leisurely to the bar, and gave in his name as Henry Butter, Oaklands, Shelby CountyTurning, with an indifferent air, he sauntered up to the advertisement, and read it over ?Jim,? he said to his man, ?seems to me we met a boy something like this, up at Beman?s, didn?t we?? ?Yes, Mas?r, said Jim, ?only I an?t sure about the hand ?Well, I didn?t look, of course,? said the stranger with a careless yawnThen walking up to the landlord, he desired him to furnish him with a private apartment, as he had some writing to do immediately The landlord was all obsequious, and a relay of about seven negroes, old and young, male and female, little and big, were soon whizzing about, like a covey of partridges, bustling, hurrying, treading on each other?s toes, and tumbling over each other, in their zeal to get Mas?r?s room ready, while he seated himself easily on a chair in the middle of the room, and entered into conversation with the man who sat next to him The manufacturer, MrWilson, from the time of the entrance of the stranger, had regarded him with an air of disturbed and uneasy curiosityHe seemed to himself to have met and been acquainted with him somewhere, but he could not recollectEvery few moments, when the man spoke, or moved, or smiled, he would start and fix his eyes on him, and then suddenly withdraw them, as the bright, dark eyes met his with such unconcerned coolnessAt last, a sudden recollection seemed to flash upon him, for he stared at the stranger with such an air of blank amazement and alarm, that he walked up to himWilson, I think,? said he, in a tone of recognition, and extending his hand?I beg your pardon, I didn?t recollect you beforeI see you remember me,?MrButler, of Oaklands, Shelby County ?Ye?yes?yes, sir,? said MrWilson, like one speaking in a dream Just then a negro boy entered, and announced that Mas?r?s room was ready ?Jim, see to the trunks,? said the gentleman, negligently; then addressing himself to MrWilson, he added??I should like to have a few moments? conversation with you on business, in my room, if you pleaseWilson followed him, as one who walks in his sleep; and they proceeded to a large upper chamber, where a new-made fire was crackling, and various servants flying about, putting finishing touches to the arrangements When all was done, and the servants departed, the young man deliberately locked the door, and putting the key in his pocket, faced about, and folding his arms on his bosom, looked MrWilson full in the face ?Yes, George,? said the young man ?I couldn?t have thought it!? ?I am pretty well disguised, I fancy,? said the young man, with a smile?A little walnut bark has made my yellow skin a genteel brown, and I?ve dyed my hair black; so you see I don?t answer to the advertisement at all ?O, George! but this is a dangerous game you are playingI could not have advised you to it ?I can do it on my own responsibility,? said George, with the same proud smile We remark, en passant, that George was, by his father?s side, of white shop descent | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| Just now she was quite upset by a little thing which I did not much heed, though I am myself very fond of animals One of the men who came up here often to look for the boats was followed by his dogThe dog is always with himThey are both quiet persons, and I never saw the man angry, nor heard the dog barkDuring the service the dog would not come to its master, who was on the seat with us, but kept a few yards off, barking and howlingIts master spoke to it gently, and then harshly, and then angrilyBut it would neither come nor cease to make a noiseIt was in a fury, with its eyes savage, and all its hair bristling out like a cat's tail when puss is on the war path Finally the man too got angry, and jumped down and kicked the dog, and then took it by the scruff of the neck and half dragged and half threw it on the tombstone on which the seat is fixedThe moment it touched the stone the poor thing began to trembleIt did not try to get away, but crouched down, quivering and cowering, and was in such a pitiable state of terror that I tried, though without effect, to comfort it Lucy was full of pity, too, but she did not attempt to touch the dog, but looked at it in an agonised sort of wayI greatly fear that she is of too super sensitive a nature to go through the world without troubleShe will be dreaming of this tonight, I am sureThe whole agglomeration of things, the ship steered into port by a dead man, his attitude, tied to the wheel with a crucifix and beads, the touching funeral, the dog, now furious and now in terror, will all afford material for her dreams I think it will be best for her to go to bed tired out physically, so I shall take her for a long walk by the cliffs to Robin Hood's Bay and backShe ought not to have much inclination for sleep-walking then CHAPTER 8 MINA MURRAY'S JOURNAL Same day, 11 o'clock P-Oh, but I am tired! If it were not that I had made my diary a duty I should not open it tonightLucy, after a while, was in gay spirits, owing, I think, to some dear cows who came nosing towards us in a field close to the lighthouse, and frightened the wits out of usI believe we forgot everything, except of course, personal fear, and it seemed to wipe the slate clean and give us a fresh startWe had a capital 'severe tea' at Robin Hood's Bay in a sweet little old-fashioned inn, with a bow window right over the seaweed-covered rocks of the strandI believe we should have shocked the 'New Woman' with our appetitesMen are more tolerant, bless them! Then we walked home with some, or rather many, stoppages to rest, and with our hearts full of a constant dread of wild bulls Lucy was really tired, and we intended to creep off to bed as soon as we couldThe young curate came in, however, and MrsWestenra asked him to stay for supperLucy and I had both a fight for it with the dusty millerI know it was a hard fight on my part, and I am quite heroicI think that some day the bishops must get together and see about breeding up a new class of curates, who don't take supper, no matter how hard they may be pressed to, and who will know when girls are tired Lucy is asleep and breathing softlyShe has more colour in her cheeks than usual, and looks, oh so sweetHolmwood fell in love with her seeing her only in the drawing room, I wonder what he would say if he saw her nowSome of the 'New Women' writers will some day start an idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or acceptingBut I suppose the 'New Woman' won't condescend in future to acceptShe will do the proposing herselfAnd a nice job she will make of it too! There's some consolation in thatI am so happy tonight, because dear Lucy seems betterI really believe she has turned the corner, and that we are over her troubles with dreamingI should be quite happy if I only knew if Jonathan? God bless and keep shop him | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| ?How came you to tell me you had a kind master?? he suddenly exclaimed, gulping down very resolutely some kind of rising in his throat, and turning suddenly round upon the woman ?Because he was a kind master; I?ll say that of him, any way;?and my mistress was kind; but they couldn?t help themselvesThey were owing money; and there was some way, I can?t tell how, that a man had a hold on them, and they were obliged to give him his willI listened, and heard him telling mistress that, and she begging and pleading for me,?and he told her he couldn?t help himself, and that the papers were all drawn;?and then it was I took him and left my home, and came awayI knew ?t was no use of my trying to live, if they did it; for ?t ?pears like this child is all I have ?Have you no husband?? ?Yes, but he belongs to another manHis master is real hard to him, and won?t let him come to see me, hardly ever; and he?s grown harder and harder upon us, and he threatens to sell him down south;?it?s like I?ll never see him again!? The quiet tone in which the woman pronounced these words might have led a superficial observer to think that she was entirely apathetic; but there was a calm, settled depth of anguish in her large, dark eye, that spoke of something far otherwise ?And where do you mean to go, my poor woman?? said Mrs ?To Canada, if I only knew where that wasIs it very far off, is Canada?? said she, looking up, with a simple, confiding air, to Mrs ?Poor thing!? said Mrs ?Is ?t a very great way off, think?? said the woman, earnestly ?Much further than you think, poor child!? said MrsBird; ?but we will try to think what can be done for youHere, Dinah, make her up a bed in your own room, close by the kitchen, and I?ll think what to do for her in the morningMeanwhile, never fear, poor woman; put your trust in God; he will protect youBird and her husband reentered the parlorShe sat down in her little rocking-chair before the fire, swaying thoughtfully to and froBird strode up and down the room, grumbling to himself, ?Pish! pshaw! confounded awkward business!? At length, striding up to his wife, he said, ?I say, wife, she?ll have to get away from here, this very nightThat fellow will be down on the scent bright and early tomorrow morning: if ?t was only the woman, she could lie quiet till it was over; but that little chap can?t be kept still by a troop of horse and foot, I?ll warrant me; he?ll bring it all out, popping his head out of some window or doorA pretty kettle of fish it would be for me, too, to be caught with them both here, just now! No; they?ll have to be got off tonight ?Tonight! How is it possible??where to?? ?Well, I know pretty well where to,? said the senator, beginning to put on his boots, with a reflective air; and, stopping when his leg was half in, he embraced his knee with both hands, and seemed to go off in deep meditation ?It?s a confounded awkward, ugly business,? said he, at last, beginning to tug at his boot-straps again, ?and that?s a fact!? After one boot was fairly on, the senator sat with the other in his hand, profoundly studying the figure of the carpet?It will have to be done, though, for aught I see,?hang it all!? and he drew the other boot anxiously on, and looked out of the windowBird was a discreet woman,?a woman who never in her life said, ?I told you so!? and, on the present occasion, though pretty well aware of the shape her husband?s meditations were taking, she very prudently forbore to meddle with them, only sat very quietly in her chair, and looked quite ready to hear her liege lord?s intentions, when he should think proper to utter them ?You see,? he said, ?there?s my old client, Van Trompe, has come over from Kentucky, and set all his slaves free; and he has bought a place seven miles up the creek, here, back in the woods, where nobody goes, unless they go on purpose; and it?s a place that isn?t found in a hurryThere she?d be safe enough; but the plague of the thing is, nobody could drive a carriage there tonight, but me ?Why not? Cudjoe is an excellent driver ?Ay, ay, but here it isThe creek has to be crossed twice; and the second crossing is quite dangerous, unless one knows it as I doI have crossed it a hundred times on horseback, and know exactly the turns to takeAnd so, you see, there?s no help for itCudjoe must put in the horses, as quietly as may be, about twelve o?clock, and I?ll take her over; and then, to give color to the matter, he must carry me on to the next tavern to take the stage for Columbus, that comes by about three or four, and so it will look as if I had had the carriage only for thatI shall get into business bright and early in the morningBut I?m thinking I shall feel rather cheap there, after all that?s been said and done; but, hang it, I can?t help it!? ?Your heart is better than your head, in this case, John,? said the wife, laying her little white hand on his?Could I ever have loved you, had I not known you better than you know yourself?? And the little woman looked so handsome, with the tears sparkling in her eyes, that the senator thought he must be a decidedly clever fellow, to get such a pretty creature into such a passionate admiration of him; and so, what could he do but walk off soberly, to see about the carriageAt the door, however, he stopped a moment, and then coming back, he said, with some hesitation ?Mary, I don?t know how you?d feel about it, but there?s that drawer full of things?of?of?poor little Henry?s So saying, he turned quickly on his heel, and shut the door after him His wife opened the little bed-room door adjoining her room and, taking the candle, set it down on the top of a bureau there; then from a small recess she took a key, and put it thoughtfully in the lock of a drawer, and made a sudden pause, while two boys, who, boy like, had followed close on her heels, stood looking, with silent, significant glances, at their shop mother | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| Name Number of Number Population Members of Country of its Foreign Academy Members 1 22,299,000 685 50 2 32,058,000 76 8 Mem 12,915,000 38 16 4 12,000,000 40 8 It appears then, that in France, one person out of 427,000 is a member of the InstituteThat in Italy and Prussia, about one out of 300,000 persons is a member of their AcademiesThat in England, every 32,000 inhabitants produces a Fellow of the Royal Society Looking merely at these proportions, the estimation of a seat in the Academy of Berlin, must be more than nine times as valuable as a similar situation in England; and a member of the Institute of France will be more than thirteen times more rare in his country than a Fellow of the Royal Society is in England Favourable as this view is to the dignity of such situations in other countries, their comparative rarity is by no means the most striking difference in the circumstances of men of scienceIf we look at the station in society occupied by the SAVANS of other countries, in several of them we shall find it high, and their situations profitablePerhaps, at the present moment, Prussia is, of all the countries in Europe, that which bestows the greatest attention, and most unwearied encouragement on science Great as are the merits of many of its philosophers, much of this support arises from the character of the reigning family, by whose enlightened policy even the most abstract sciences are fostered The maxim that "knowledge is power," can be perfectly comprehended by those only who are themselves well versed in science; and to the circumstance of the younger branches of the royal family of Prussia having acquired considerable knowledge in such subjects, we may attribute the great force with which that maxim is appreciated In France, the situation of its SAVANS is highly respectable, as well as profitable If we analyze the list of the Institute, we shall find few who do not possess titles or decorations; but as the value of such marks of royal favour must depend, in a great measure, on their frequency, I shall mention several particulars which are probably not familiar to the English reader[This analysis was made by comparing the list of the Institute, printed for that body in 1827, with the ALMANACH ROYALE for 1823 Number of the Members of the Total Number of each Class Institute of France who belong of the Legion of Honour to the Legion of Honour 3 80 GrandOfficier 3 160 Commandeur 4 400 Officier 17 2,000 Chevalier 40 Not limited Number of Members of the Institute Total Number decorated with of the Order of St that Order 2 100 Chevalier 27 Amongst the members of the Institute there are,-- Dukes 14 -- 23 Of these there are Peers of France 5 We might, on turning over the list of the 685 members of the Royal Society, find a greater number of peers than there are in the Institute of France; but a fairer mode of instituting the comparison, is to inquire how many titled members there are amongst those who have contributed to its Transactions In 1827, there were one hundred and nine members who had contributed to the Transactions of the Royal Society; amongst these were found:- Peer 5 It should be observed, that five of these titles were the rewards of members of the medical profession, and one only, that of Sir HDavy, could be attributed exclusively to science It must not be inferred that the titles of nobility in the French list, were all of them the rewards of scientific eminence; many are known to have been such; but it would be quite sufficient for the argument to mention the names of Lagrange, Laplace, Berthollet, and Chaptal The estimation in which the public hold literary claims in France and England, was curiously illustrated by an incidental expression in the translation of the debates in the House of Lords, on the occasion of His Majesty's speech at the commencement of the session of 1830 The Gazette de France stated, that the address was moved by the Duc de Buccleugh, "CHEF DE LA MAISON DE WALTER SCOTT Had an English editor wished to particularize that nobleman, he would undoubtedly have employed the term WEALTHY, or some other of the epithets characteristic of that quality most esteemed amongst his countrymen If we turn, on the other hand, to the emoluments of science in France, we shall find them far exceed those in our own shop country | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| Welcome to my first blog | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| Tomorrow night is yours!" There was a low, sweet ripple of laughter, and in a rage I threw open the door, and saw without the three terrible women licking their lipsAs I appeared, they all joined in a horrible laugh, and ran away I came back to my room and threw myself on my kneesIt is then so near the end? Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Lord, help me, and those to whom I am dear! 30 June-These may be the last words I ever write in this diaryI slept till just before the dawn, and when I woke threw myself on my knees, for I determined that if Death came he should find me ready At last I felt that subtle change in the air, and knew that the morning had comeThen came the welcome cockcrow, and I felt that I was safeWith a glad heart, I opened the door and ran down the hallI had seen that the door was unlocked, and now escape was before meWith hands that trembled with eagerness, I unhooked the chains and threw back the massive bolts But the door would not moveI pulled and pulled at the door, and shook it till, massive as it was, it rattled in its casementI could see the bolt shotIt had been locked after I left the Count Then a wild desire took me to obtain the key at any risk, and I determined then and there to scale the wall again, and gain the Count's roomHe might kill me, but death now seemed the happier choice of evilsWithout a pause I rushed up to the east window, and scrambled down the wall, as before, into the Count's roomIt was empty, but that was as I expectedI could not see a key anywhere, but the heap of gold remainedI went through the door in the corner and down the winding stair and along the dark passage to the old chapelI knew now well enough where to find the monster I sought The great box was in the same place, close against the wall, but the lid was laid on it, not fastened down, but with the nails ready in their places to be hammered home I knew I must reach the body for the key, so I raised the lid, and laid it back against the wallAnd then I saw something which filled my very soul with horrorThere lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half restoredFor the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-greyThe cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneathThe mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran down over the chin and neckEven the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloatedIt seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with bloodHe lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion I shuddered as I bent over to touch him, and every sense in me revolted at the contact, but I had to search, or I was lostThe coming night might see my own body a banquet in a similar war to those horrid threeI felt all over the body, but no sign could I find of the keyThen I stopped and looked at the CountThere was a mocking smile on the bloated face which seemed to drive me madThis was the being I was helping to transfer to London, where, perhaps, for centuries to come he might, amongst its teeming millions, satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless The very thought drove me madA terrible desire came upon me to rid the world of such a shop monster | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
| ||
| 0 Comments | Post Comment | Permanent Link |