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If it weren?t for laziness, I should have been a...
Posted on Feb. 4, 2010 at 11:25 AM - Link
If it weren?t for laziness, I should have been a perfect angel, myselfI?m inclined to think that laziness is what your old DrBotherem, up in Vermont, used to call the ?essence of moral evil It?s an awful consideration, certainly
?I think you slaveholders have an awful responsibility upon you,? said Miss Ophelia?I wouldn?t have it, for a thousand worldsYou ought to educate your slaves, and treat them like reasonable creatures,?like immortal creatures, that you?ve got to stand before the bar of God withThat?s my mind,? said the good lady, breaking suddenly out with a tide of zeal that had been gaining strength in her mind all the morning
?O! come, come,? said StClare, getting up quickly; ?what do you know about us?? And he sat down to the piano, and rattled a lively piece of musicClare had a decided genius for musicHis touch was brilliant and firm, and his fingers flew over the keys with a rapid and bird-like motion, airy, and yet decidedHe played piece after piece, like a man who is trying to play himself into a good humorAfter pushing the music aside, he rose up, and said, gayly, ?Well, now, cousin, you?ve given us a good talk and done your duty; on the whole, I think the better of you for itI make no manner of doubt that you threw a very diamond of truth at me, though you see it hit me so directly in the face that it wasn?t exactly appreciated, at first
?For my part, I don?t see any use in such sort of talk,? said Marie?I?m sure, if anybody does more for servants than we do, I?d like to know who; and it don?t do ?em a bit good,?not a particle,?they get worse and worseAs to talking to them, or anything like that, I?m sure I have talked till I was tired and hoarse, telling them their duty, and all that; and I?m sure they can go to church when they like, though they don?t understand a word of the sermon, more than so many pigs,?so it isn?t of any great use for them to go, as I see; but they do go, and so they have every chance; but, as I said before, they are a degraded race, and always will be, and there isn?t any help for them; you can?t make anything of them, if you tryYou see, Cousin Ophelia, I?ve tried, and you haven?t; I was born and bred among them, and I know
Miss Ophelia thought she had said enough, and therefore sat silentClare whistled a tuneClare, I wish you wouldn?t whistle,? said Marie; ?it makes my head worse?Is there anything else you wouldn?t wish me to do??
?I wish you would have some kind of sympathy for my trials; you never have any feeling for me
?My dear accusing angel!? said St
?It?s provoking to be talked to in that way
?Then, how will you be talked to? I?ll talk to order,?any way you?ll mention,?only to give satisfaction
A gay laugh from the court rang through the silken curtains of the verandahClare stepped out, and lifting up the curtain, laughed too
?What is it?? said Miss Ophelia, coming to the railing
There sat Tom, on a little mossy seat in the court, every one of his button-holes stuck full of cape jessamines, and Eva, gayly laughing, was hanging a wreath of roses round his neck; and then she sat down on his knee, like a chip-sparrow, still laughing
?O, Tom, you look so funny!?
Tom had a sober, benevolent smile, and seemed, in his quiet way, to be enjoying the fun quite as much as his little mistressHe lifted his eyes, when he saw his master, with a half-deprecating, apologetic air
?How can you let her?? said Miss Ophelia
?Why, I don?t know, it seems so dreadful!?
?You would think no harm in a child?s caressing a large dog, even if he was black; but a creature that can think, and reason, and feel, and is immortal, you shudder at; confess it, cousinI know the feeling among some of you northerners well enoughNot that there is a particle of virtue in our not having it; but custom with us does what Christianity ought to do,?obliterates the feeling of personal prejudiceI have often noticed, in my travels north, how much stronger this was with you than with usYou loathe them as you would a snake or a toad, yet you are indignant at their wrongsYou would not have them abused; but you don?t want to have anything to do with them yourselvesYou would send them to Africa, out of your sight and smell, and then send a missionary or two to do up all the self-denial of elevating them shop compendiously
Tom, with a cheery laugh"'E's got mindin' the...
Posted on Feb. 3, 2010 at 11:23 AM - Link
Tom, with a cheery laugh"'E's got mindin' the animiles so long that blest if he ain't like a old wolf 'isself! But there ain't no 'arm in 'im
"Well, Sir, it was about two hours after feedin' yesterday when I first hear my disturbanceI was makin' up a litter in the monkey house for a young puma which is illBut when I heard the yelpin' and 'owlin' I kem away straightThere was Bersicker a-tearin' like a mad thing at the bars as if he wanted to get outThere wasn't much people about that day, and close at hand was only one man, a tall, thin chap, with a 'ook nose and a pointed beard, with a few white hairs runnin' through itHe had a 'ard, cold look and red eyes, and I took a sort of mislike to him, for it seemed as if it was 'im as they was hirritated atHe 'ad white kid gloves on 'is 'ands, and he pointed out the animiles to me and says, 'Keeper, these wolves seem upset at something'
"'Maybe it's you,' says I, for I did not like the airs as he give 'isselfHe didn't get angry, as I 'oped he would, but he smiled a kind of insolent smile, with a mouth full of white, sharp teeth'Oh no, they wouldn't like me,' 'e says
"'Ow yes, they would,' says I, a-imitatin' of him'They always like a bone or two to clean their teeth on about tea time, which you 'as a bagful'
"Well, it was a odd thing, but when the animiles see us a-talkin' they lay down, and when I went over to Bersicker he let me stroke his ears same as everThat there man kem over, and blessed but if he didn't put in his hand and stroke the old wolf's ears too!
"'Tyke care,' says I'
"'Never mind,' he saysI'm used to 'em!'
"'Are you in the business yourself?' I says, tyking off my 'at, for a man what trades in wolves, anceterer, is a good friend to keepers
"'Nom,' says he, 'not exactly in the business, but I 'ave made pets of several' And with that he lifts his 'at as perlite as a lord, and walks awayOld Bersicker kep' a-lookin' arter 'im till 'e was out of sight, and then went and lay down in a corner and wouldn't come hout the 'ole heveningWell, larst night, so soon as the moon was hup, the wolves here all began a-'owlingThere warn't nothing for them to 'owl atThere warn't no one near, except some one that was evidently a-callin' a dog somewheres out back of the gardings in the Park roadOnce or twice I went out to see that all was right, and it was, and then the 'owling stoppedJust before twelve o'clock I just took a look round afore turnin' in, an', bust me, but when I kem opposite to old Bersicker's cage I see the rails broken and twisted about and the cage emptyAnd that's all I know for certing
"Did any one else see anything?"
"One of our gard'ners was a-comin' 'ome about that time from a 'armony, when he sees a big gray dog comin' out through the garding 'edgesAt least, so he says, but I don't give much for it myself, for if he did 'e never said a word about it to his missis when 'e got 'ome, and it was only after the escape of the wolf was made known, and we had been up all night a-huntin' of the Park for Bersicker, that he remembered seein' anythingMy own belief was that the 'armony 'ad got into his 'eadBilder, can you account in any way for the escape of the wolf?"
"Well, Sir," he said, with a suspicious sort of modesty, "I think I can, but I don't know as 'ow you'd be satisfied with the theory
"Certainly I shallIf a man like you, who knows the animals from experience, can't hazard a good guess at any rate, who is even to try?"
"Well then, Sir, I accounts for it this wayIt seems to me that 'ere wolf escaped--simply because he wanted to get out
From the hearty way that both Thomas and his wife laughed at the joke I could see that it had done service before, and that the whole explanation was simply an elaborate sellI couldn't cope in badinage with the worthy Thomas, but I thought I knew a surer way to his heart, so I said, "Now, MrBilder, we'll consider that first half-sovereign worked off, and this brother of his is waiting to be claimed when you've told me what you think will happen
"Right y'are, Sir," he said briskly"Ye'll excoose me, I know, for a-chaffin' of ye, but the old woman here winked at me, which was as much as telling me to go on
"Well, I never!" said the old shop lady
?Now, Mammy has a sort of goodness,? said Marie;...
Posted on Feb. 2, 2010 at 11:26 AM - Link
?Now, Mammy has a sort of goodness,? said Marie; ?she?s smooth and respectful, but she?s selfish at heartNow, she never will be done fidgeting and worrying about that husband of hersYou see, when I was married and came to live here, of course, I had to bring her with me, and her husband my father couldn?t spareHe was a blacksmith, and, of course, very necessary; and I thought and said, at the time, that Mammy and he had better give each other up, as it wasn?t likely to be convenient for them ever to live together againI wish, now, I?d insisted on it, and married Mammy to somebody else; but I was foolish and indulgent, and didn?t want to insistI told Mammy, at the time, that she mustn?t ever expect to see him more than once or twice in her life again, for the air of father?s place doesn?t agree with my health, and I can?t go there; and I advised her to take up with somebody else; but no?she wouldn?tMammy has a kind of obstinacy about her, in spots, that everybody don?t see as I do
?Has she children?? said Miss Ophelia
?I suppose she feels the separation from them??
?Well, of course, I couldn?t bring themThey were little dirty things?I couldn?t have them about; and, besides, they took up too much of her time; but I believe that Mammy has always kept up a sort of sulkiness about thisShe won?t marry anybody else; and I do believe, now, though she knows how necessary she is to me, and how feeble my health is, she would go back to her husband tomorrow, if she only couldI do, indeed,? said Marie; ?they are just so selfish, now, the best of them
?It?s distressing to reflect upon,? said St
Miss Ophelia looked keenly at him, and saw the flush of mortification and repressed vexation, and the sarcastic curl of the lip, as he spoke
?Now, Mammy has always been a pet with me,? said Marie?I wish some of your northern servants could look at her closets of dresses,?silks and muslins, and one real linen cambric, she has hanging thereI?ve worked sometimes whole afternoons, trimming her caps, and getting her ready to go to a partyAs to abuse, she don?t know what it isShe never was whipped more than once or twice in her whole lifeShe has her strong coffee or her tea every day, with white sugar in itIt?s abominable, to be sure; but StClare will have high life below-stairs, and they every one of them live just as they pleaseThe fact is, our servants are over-indulgedI suppose it is partly our fault that they are selfish, and act like spoiled children; but I?ve talked to StClare till I am tired
?And I, too,? said StClare, taking up the morning paper
Eva, the beautiful Eva, had stood listening to her mother, with that expression of deep and mystic earnestness which was peculiar to herShe walked softly round to her mother?s chair, and put her arms round her neck
?Well, Eva, what now?? said Marie
?Mamma, couldn?t I take care of you one night?just one? I know I shouldn?t make you nervous, and I shouldn?t sleepI often lie awake nights, thinking??
?O, nonsense, child?nonsense!? said Marie; ?you are such a strange child!?
?But may I, mamma? I think,? she said, timidly, ?that Mammy isn?t wellShe told me her head ached all the time, lately
?O, that?s just one of Mammy?s fidgets! Mammy is just like all the rest of them?makes such a fuss about every little headache or finger-ache; it?ll never do to encourage it?never! I?m principled about this matter,? said she, turning to Miss Ophelia; ?you?ll find the necessity of itIf you encourage servants in giving way to every little disagreeable feeling, and complaining of every little ailment, you?ll have your hands fullI never complain myself?nobody knows what I endureI feel it a duty to bear it quietly, and I do
Miss Ophelia?s round eyes expressed an undisguised amazement at this peroration, which struck StClare as so supremely ludicrous, that he burst into a loud laughClare always laughs when I make the least allusion to my ill health,? said Marie, with the voice of a suffering shop martyr
The appearance of the half-volumes at intervals...
Posted on Feb. 1, 2010 at 11:35 AM - Link
The appearance of the half-volumes at intervals of
six months, insures for any communication almost immediate
publicity; whilst the shortness of the time between its reception
and publication, is a guarantee to the public that the whole of
the paper was really communicated at the time it bears date To
this may also be added, the rarity of any alterations made
previously to the printing, a circumstance which ought to be
imitated, as well as admired, by other societies There may,
indeed, be some, perhaps the Geological, in which the task is
more difficult, from the nature of the subjectThe sooner,
however, all societies can reduce themselves to this rule, of
rarely allowing any thing but a few verbal corrections to papers
that are placed in their hands, the better it will be for their
own reputation, and for the interests of science
It has been, and continues to be, a subject of deep regret, that
the first scientific academy in Europe, the Institute of France,
should be thus negligent in the regularity of its publications;
and it is the more to be regretted, that it should be years in
arrear, from the circumstance, that the memoirs admitted into
their collection are usually of the highest merit I know some
of their most active members have wished it were otherwise; I
would urge them to put a stop to a practice, which, whilst it has
no advantages to recommend it, is unjust to those who contribute,
and is only calculated to produce conflicting claims, equally
injurious to science, and to the reputation of that body, whose
negligence may have given rise to themHerschel, speaking
of a paper of Fresnel's, observes--"This memoir was read to the
Institute, 7th of October, 1816; a supplement was received, 19th
of January, 1818; MArago's report on it was read, 4th of June,
1821: and while every optical philosopher in Europe has been
impatiently expecting its appearance for seven years, it lies as
yet unpublished, and is only known to us by meagre notices in a
periodical journalMR HERSCHEL'S TREATISE ON LIGHT, p
--ENCYCLOPAEDIA METROPOLITANA
One of the inconveniences arising from having no historical
portion in the volumes of the Royal Society is, that not only the
public, but our own members are almost entirely ignorant of all
its affairs With a means of giving considerable publicity (by
the circulation of above 800 copies of the Transactions) to
whatever we wish to have made known to our members or to the
world, will it be credited, that no notice was taken in our
volume for 1826, of the foundation of two Royal medals, nor of
the conditions under which they were to be distributed [That
the Council refrained from having their first award of those
medals thus communicated, is rather creditable to them, and
proves that they had a becoming feeling respecting their former
errors That in 1828, when a new fund, called the donation fund,
was established, and through the liberality of DrDavies Gilbert, it was endowed by them with the respective
sums of 2,000L 3 per cents; no notice of such fact
appears in our Transactions for 1829 Other gentlemen have
contributed; and if it is desirable to possess such a fund, it is
surely of importance to inform the non-attending, which is by far
the largest part of the Society, that it exists; and that we are
grateful to those by whom it has been founded and augmented
Neither did the Philosophical Transactions inform our absent
members, that they could purchase the President's Discourses at
the trade-price
The list of the Officers, Council, and Members of the Royal
Society is printed annually; yet, who ever saw it bound up with
the Philosophical Transactions, to which it is intended to be
attached? I never met with a single copy of that work so
completed, not even the one in our own library It is extremely
desirable that the Society should know the names of their
Council; and whilst it would in some measure contribute to
prevent the President from placing incompetent persons upon it,
it would also afford some check, although perhaps but a slight
one, on the distribution of the medals When I have urged the
expediency of the practice, I have been answered by excuses, that
the list could not be made up in time for the volume If this is
true of the first part, they might appear with the second; and
even if this were impracticable, the plan of prefixing them to
the volume of the succeeding year, would be preferable to that of
omitting them altogether The true reason, however, appeared at
last It was objected to the plan, that by the present
arrangement, the porter of the Royal Society took round the list
to those members resident in London, and got from some of them a
remuneration, in the shape of a Christmas-box; and this would be
lost, if the time of printing were changed[During the printing
of this chapter, a friend, on whom I had called, complained that
the porter of the Royal Society had demanded half-a-crown for
leaving the list Such are the paltry interests to which those
of the Royal Society are made to bow
Another point on which information ought to be given in each
volume, is the conditions on which the distribution of the
Society's medals are made It is true that these are, or ought
to be, printed with the Statutes of the Society; but that volume
is only in the hands of members, and it is for the credit of the
medals themselves, that the laws which regulate their award
should be widely known, in order that persons, not members of the
Society, might enter into competition for them
Information relative to the admissions and deaths amongst the
Society would also be interesting; a list of the names of those
whom the Society had lost, and of those members who had been
added to its ranks each year, would find a proper place in the
historical pages which ought to be given with each volume of our
Transactions
The want of a distinction between the working members of the
Society, and those who merely honour it with their patronage,
renders many arrangements, which would be advantageous to
science, in some cases, injudicious, and in other instances,
almost impossible
Collections of Observations which are from time to time given to
the Society, may be of such a nature, that but few of the members
are interested in them In such cases, the expense of printing
above 800 copies may reasonably induce the Council to decline
printing them altogether; whereas, if they had any means of
discrimination for distributing them, they might be quite willing
to incur the expense of printing 250 Other cases may occur, in
which great advantage would accrue, if the principle were once
admitted Government, the Universities, public bodies, and even
individuals might, in some cases, be disposed to present to the
Royal Society a limited number of copies of their works, if they
knew that they were likely to be placed in the hands of persons
who would use themFifty or a hundred additional copies might,
in some cases, not be objected to on the ground of expense, when
seven or eight hundred would be quite out of the question
Let us suppose twenty copies of a description of some new
chemical process to be placed at the disposal of the Royal
Society by any public body; it will not surely be contended that
they ought all to remain on the Society's shelvesYet, with our
present rules, that would be the case If, however, the list of
the Members of the Society were read over to the Council, and the
names of those gentlemen known to be conversant with chemical
science were written down; then, if nineteen copies of the work
were given to those nineteen persons on this list, who had
contributed most to the Transactions of the Society, they would
in all probability be placed in the fittest hands
Complete sets of the Philosophical Transactions have now become
extremely bulky; it might be well worth our consideration,
whether the knowledge of the many valuable papers they contain
would not be much spread, by publishing the abstracts of them
which have been read at the ordinary meetings of the Society
Perhaps two or three volumes octavo, would contain all that has
been done in this way during the last shop century
Hello, my account friends
Posted on Jan. 31, 2010 at 7:45 PM - Link
Welcome to my first blog
This was before they came to Fundu, so they could...
Posted on Jan. 31, 2010 at 7:45 PM - Link
This was before they came to Fundu, so they could not tell us whether the boat turned into the Bistritza or continued on up the SerethAt Fundu we could not hear of any such boat, so she must have passed there in the nightI am feeling very sleepyThe cold is perhaps beginning to tell upon me, and nature must have rest some timeGodalming insists that he shall keep the first watchGod bless him for all his goodness to poor dear Mina and me
2 November, morning-It is broad daylightThat good fellow would not wake meHe says it would have been a sin to, for I slept peacefully and was forgetting my troubleIt seems brutally selfish to me to have slept so long, and let him watch all night, but he was quite rightI am a new man this morningAnd, as I sit here and watch him sleeping, I can do all that is necessary both as to minding the engine, steering, and keeping watchI can feel that my strength and energy are coming back to meI wonder where Mina is now, and Van HelsingThey should have got to Veresti about noon on WednesdayIt would take them some time to get the carriage and horsesSo if they had started and travelled hard, they would be about now at the Borgo PassGod guide and help them! I am afraid to think what may happenIf we could only go fasterThe engines are throbbing and doing their utmostMorris are getting onThere seem to be endless streams running down the mountains into this river, but as none of them are very large, at present, at all events, though they are doubtless terrible in winter and when the snow melts, the horsemen may not have met much obstructionI hope that before we get to Strasba we may see themFor if by that time we have not overtaken the Count, it may be necessary to take counsel together what to do nextSEWARD'S DIARY
2 November-Three days on the roadNo news, and no time to write it if there had been, for every moment is preciousWe have had only the rest needful for the horsesBut we are both bearing it wonderfullyThose adventurous days of ours are turning up usefulWe shall never feel happy till we get the launch in sight again-We heard at Fundu that the launch had gone up the BistritzaI wish it wasn't so coldThere are signs of snow comingAnd if it falls heavy it will stop usIn such case we must get a sledge and go on, Russian fashion-Today we heard of the launch having been detained by an accident when trying to force a way up the rapidsThe Slovak boats get up all right, by aid of a rope and steering with knowledgeSome went up only a few hours shop before
Pregnant during pregnancy
Arkansas resident Julia Grovenburg knew she was pregnant, but when she got an ultrasound, the doctor announced that she was carrying two babies who were not twins. The male fetus was 2 weeks later than the female fetus.
The doctor's suspicions can be confirmed only after the postpartum. But if they're true, Grovenburg is experiencing an extremely rare condition in which a pregnant woman conceives again.
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