Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

pression." Ah, that Sir Archibald would but people." "No words can convey an idea of cultivate the gift he thus makes characteristic of the Grand Monarque!

[ocr errors]

the extent to which the system of pillage" extends in Russia. When Ferdinand VII. declared in favor of freedom in 1814, "no words can describe the universal transport with which this decree was received."

66

Speaking of Napoleon, again, "It is easy to see, from his expressions and style of expression, that if he had not equalled Alexander in the lustre of his conquests, he was qualified to A masterstroke of Alisonian criticism seems have rivalled Homer in the brilliancy of his to be a certain formula, of which the following conceptions." The "sufferings and priva- are slightly varied expressions:-" Inferior tions caused by Strikes, "often come to to Napoleon in genius, and greatly so in vig equal anything recorded in the darkest days or and condensation of expression, General of history, the siege of Jerusalem, or the Jomini is much his superior in impartiality and blockade of Haarlem." So ruthless was revo- solidity of judgment." Unequal to Jomini lutionary fury in Eastern Spain, in 1821, that in military science or political thought, Gen"the annals of the Roman proscriptions, of eral Mathieu Dumas is greatly his superior in Athenian cruelty, of French atrocity, may be picturesque power and graphic effect." Mr. searched in vain for a similar instance of gen- Huskisson "had neither the persevering eneral, deliberate, and deeply-devised popular ergy of Mr. Pitt nor the ardent soul of Mr. vengeance." The "Russian army exhibits a Fox, nor the playful eloquence of Mr. Cancombination of physical strength and intel-ning; but in thorough mastery of one great lectual power... which no other country in branch of government he was superior to them modern times can exhibit; and to find a par- all." M. Guizot, though "less terse in his allel to which, we must go back to the Roman style than Montesquieu, less discursive than legions in the days of Trajan or Severus." Robertson, is more just and philosophic than Had the Russian insurgents in 1826 gained either." Joanna Baillie-"less stately and their purpose, 66 even the Reign of Terror in pompous than Corneille, less vehement and France would have been but a shadow of impassioned than Schiller, her dramas bear a what must have ensued; the proscriptions of certain affinity to both." Dr. Thomas Brown Marius and Sylla, the slaughter of Nero, the" had all the acuteness and analytical turn of centralized, unmitigated despotism of the Hume or Hutchinson, and all the ardor and Lower Empire, could alone have been looked tenderness of Goethe and Schiller; " "inferior for." The" alarming crisis of 1797," threat- in learning to Stewart, Brown was more ening a national bankruptcy," was surmounted original," etc. Francis Horner-" less elowith ease, by the simple device of declaring quent and discursive than Brougham, less the Bank of England notes, like the treasury aërial and elegant than Jeffrey, he was a much bonds in the second Punic war, a legal ten-deeper thinker than either." "Less distinder," which Roman policy "more even than guished in public life" than Warren Hastings, the slaughter on the Metaurus, the triumph of his antagonist, Sir Phillip Francis, has left a Zama, determined the fate of the ancient reputation hardly less enduring." Canning world." "The journey of Ferdinand (VII.)" less philosophical than Burke, less instructive from Valencia to Madrid (1814) was the exact than Pitt, less impassioned than Fox, was counterpart of that of Charles II. from Dover more attractive than any of them." If M. de to London, 153 years before:" and so with Queen Caroline's reception from Dover to London," nothing like it had been witnessed since the restoration of Charles II."

Villèle "did not carry away his audience by noble sentiments and eloquent language, like Chateaubriand; nor charm them by felicitous imagery and brilliant ideas, like Canning; he When a parallel does not occur to the his- succeeded in the end in not less forcibly comtorian's mind, he has recourse to some such manding their attention, and often more duratrite formula as "It is impossible to describe," bly directed their determinations." Mr. Grat"words would fail to depict," etc. Thus: "No tan " was not so luminous in his exposition of words can convey an idea of the impression facts as Pitt, nor so vehement in his declamawhich the death of the Duke de Berri pro- tion as Fox; but in burning thoughts, generduced in France." "No words can convey ous feelings, and glowing language, he was an idea of the transports into which the Roy-sometimes superior to either." The Grand alists were thrown by the auspicious event" Duke Constantine "rivalled Richard Cœur-de of the birth of the Duke of Bordeaux. "No Lion in his valor in the field, but he surpassed words can convey an adequate idea of the him also in the vehemence with which he general transports which prevailed through ruled the cabinet, and in acts of tyranny," etc. the British Islands at the withdrawal of the The Czar Nicholas, "is neither led away by bill" of Pains and Penalties against Queen the thirst for sudden mechanical improvement, Caroline (1820). "No words can adequately like Peter, nor the praises of philosophers, describe the universal enthusiasm which her like Catherine, nor the visions of inexperiarrival excited among the great bulk of the enced philanthropy, like Alexander. . . Like

Wellington, Cæsar, and many other of the of Laomedon's horses; the second by Agagreatest men recorded in history, his expres- memnon, by means of the wooden horse; the sion has become more intellectual as he ad- third by Charidemus, a horse happening to vanced in years... He is an Alexander the stand in the way, and hindering the Trojans Great in resolution, but not in magnanimity." from shutting the gates so quickly as they Observe, again, Sir Archibald's eagle eye should have done." Let it be accounted vefor "extraordinary coincidences." If any man nial in Alison cum Plutarcho errare; for so to can get up a case of the kind, it is he. Care- err is human, though so to forgive may not fully he records the fact, that, "by a singular be divine. coincidence," the last action in the continen- Once more. Every one must admire the tal war of 1814, took place on "the Hill of historian's careful insertion of such restrictive Mars, where, fifteen hundred years before, St. clauses as the following, in his judgment of Dennis suffered martyrdom, who first intro- celebrated men. "Yet, with all these great duced Christianity into Northern Gaul." On and lofty qualities, Chateaubriand was far from the 31st of December, 406, says Gibbon, the being a perfect character." The Emperor Vandal army crossed the probably frozen Nicholas is "exemplary in all the relations of Rhine, and the barriers between the savage private life, a faithful husband, an affectionate and civilized nations of the earth were lev-father. Yet he is not a perfect characelled to the ground :-" On that day, fourteen ter." Nor is it easy to do justice to the dighundred and seven years," says Alison, by an nified gravity with which he enunciates some "extraordinary coincidence," the allied armies such profound proposition as, that "the march "at the same place crossed the same river." of revolution is not always on flowers," and "It is a very curious coincidence that the that "the Vox Populi is not always, at the battle of Waterloo was fought just four hund- moment, the Vox Dei."

light to bark and bite, for 'tis their nature to,"

red years after that of Azincour; the former And so we might go on for some time to took place on the 18th of June, 1815; the come; but then, que voulezvous? Sir Ar latter on October 25th, 1415." It is a very chibald can show cause for smiling disdainextraordinary ditto, that Wellington's Eng-fully at snappish strictures once in a way, lish soldiers, at Vittoria, fought on the same when he can point to the number of his ediground as their fathers had done five hundred tions, which approach the teens, and to the years before, to establish Peter the Cruel on hosts of his readers, whose tale who can tell? the throne of Spain. Were the coincidences He can afford to be indulgent, or indifferent, and parallels thus suggested, duly brought to here-and-there a yelping cur; "let dogs detogether, they would form a notable pendant to Plutarch's craze in the same line-for the (as saith, in not quite divine diction, the fine old Baotian dearly loved to collect coin- divine song of Dr. Watts); and naturally he cidences and parallels. and dwell, e. g., on the will impute to an ill-conditioned incompetency great fact that there were two eminent per- any disposition to overhaul his weak points, sons of the name of Attis, the one a Syrian, and will set down the culprit as some straggler the other an Arcadian, who both were killed in the rear-guard of those criticasters, mere by a boar; and "two Acteons, both torn to dyspeptic detractors, who pieces, one by his lovers, the other by his dogs; and two Scipios, of whom the one con- Veulent voir des défauts à tout ce qu'on écrit, quered Carthage, the other destroyed it;" Et pensent que louer n'est pas d'un bel esprit and three captures of Troy, in all of which horse flesh was more or less concerned-the

If our peroration be too pert, be our proem

first capture being by Hercules, " on account accepted in mitigation of damages.

Officers who have arrived from Constantinople" Ah !" said he, "now I see there are people in speak in the highest terms of Miss Nightingale England who care for us poor soldiers."-Daily and her nurses. The day before they sailed from News. Scutari, about six hundred of the British troops, who had been wounded at Inkermann, arrived at the hospital. Their wounds and bodies were washed by these ladies, clean linen supplied to them, and everything which the most tender care could suggest was at hand in abundance. One stalwart Guardsman, who had received three severe wounds, appeared deeply affected when he found himself the object of so much solicitude.

Prince Albert has ordered a number of sealskin coats, lined throughout with fur, to be made, one of which he intends to present to each of the officers and privates of his own regiment of Grenadier Guards, doing duty in the Crimea.

[ocr errors]

Part of an article from Fraser's Magazine.

KEES AND KLAAS.

I should have desired a little more method in the old man's tale.

"He lives in the Asylum," resumed Kees, after a short pause; and runs about the streets like a REIGNS supreme among crazy person. He makes a deal of money by his Dutch humorists, the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Beets, hump. When the children come from school, - of Utrecht. Dr. Beets possesses the rare union they club their coppers, and let little Klaas dance. of the talents of the poet with those of the Then he jumps round his stick like a monkey, prose writer, besides the gifts of the eloquent and makes his hump look as big again as it really expounder of the Gospel. His earlier lyric is. I've not got a hump, sir," added he, with a poems, among which there are beautiful translations from Byron, had scarcely obtained their popularity when the Dutch public was electrified by a volume in prose, The Camera Obscura, by Hildebrand, who was soon discovered to be the favorite poet of the day.

sigh.

It was clear that Kees was rather jealous of the coppers than of the hump itself.

much too hard for cloth that had cost fifteen "I do wish," he went on, brushing the coat shillings a yard; "I do wish I was humpbacked! I should have nothing to do; I should get plenty of money, and people would laugh at me,..but I wouldn't drink," continued he in a different tone, taking the coat very quietly from the horse, and folding it up very neatly; "I wouldn't drink."

"Kees," said I, "when you came into the garseemed afflicted, and I would rather see you so den, and I spoke to you, it was because you than out of temper as you now appear to be." The tears came into his old eyes again, and he thrust out his shrivelled hands towards me. I took them as he was about to draw them back, ashamed of his boldness, and gave them an encouraging squeeze before I released them.

The Camera Obscura is a collection of sketches and tales, all from daily life, so full of deep feeling, wit, and vivid descriptions, so pleasingly conceived, so charmingly written, that it is impossible to take up the volume without being delighted with every page one reads. Four successive editions prove the popularity it has attained. We venture to assert that of all the prose writers there is none adapted to give so favorable an idea of Dutch popular literature as Dr. Beets; whilst his last volume of poems, Corn-flowers, is, we believe, unsurpassed in elegance and feeling "Oh, sir," said he, "I hardly know how to exby anything in the whole range of Dutch lite- press it, but I was really rather sad than angry. rature. We should be delighted to give some Little Klaas is Little Klaas has ill-treated me. extracts from them: one touching little piece, said he, stooping for the blacking brush, "that a wicked fellow. People sometimes fancy," Remembrance, on the Grave of a Child, would he is crazy; but he is not; he is only vicious." be enough in itself to insure the author's repu"Come, Kees," said I, putting up the flap of tation; but we should fear spoiling it by trans- an iron garden-table; "sit down here, and just lation, and are thus confined to one extract tell me plainly what little Klaas has done to from his Camera Obscura, and feel certain our you." readers will find it rather too short than too long.

"It is of no use," said Kees; "but I don't mind telling you, sir, if you'll keep it to yourself. Do you know the house?"

"What house?"
"The Asylum."

"I have seen it outside."

We must begin by stating that Hildebrand is a passing guest at his uncle's house, that he is taking a turn in the garden one morning after breakfast, when he meets an old man, an "Well. It is an ugly place, isn't it? An ugly inhabitant of the Asylum for the Destitute, place, with red doors and windows; and inside who turns an honest penny in his seventieth everything painted red and dark. Now you year by cleaning boots and shoes, running know, sir, that we are all poor people in that messages, carrying the newspaper, and the house; all as poor as-why, as poor as in the like. Hildebrand seeing that the old gentle-churchyard. Myself and a few others manage man is horribly put out by something or other, to earn a trifle; but it is of no use. We have to addresses him kindly, and—

The expression of his countenance denoted clearly, "I will make a confidant of you;" but his lips merely uttered the words, "Do you know little Klaas?"

I replied that I had not the honor of his acquaintance.

"Has old Peter never shown him to you?— the whole town knows little Klaas. He picks up cents enough, I'm sure," said Kees.

"I have never seen the man," was my reply. "He is not a man," said Kees, "nothing like it: he is a dwarf, sir, a real dwarf, as sure as I stand here You might show him at a fair. But he is a vicious little devil; I know him." LIVING AGE. VOL. VIII.

DLVI.

11

give up all we can get to the Father, and he gives us pocket-money every week. And that is all fair, sir-quite fair. When I grow old and am not able to earn a farthing, I shall have my pocket money all the same. This," said he, "and this," producing a colored pocket-handkerchief, and rapping the lid of his tobacco-box," was all bought with my pocket-money."

"It was rather touching to hear a man sixtynine years of age talking of the time "when I

grow old."

"Now, sir," said he, "as you can fancy, Klaas

*The appellation given to the manager or superintendent of all orphan and poor asylums in Holland.

into the common grave, and that's just what I don't want to do. When I'm dead, I don't want to wear the linen of the Asylum any more."

gets his pocket-money, too. But what does | dress us in the linen of the house, just as if we Klaas do? Klaas does nothing but now and were alive, and then we go to the churchyard— then weed the pavement. Klaas pretends to be crazy; Klaas dances about, and when he gets a few pence from the children or somebody else, Klaas just goes outside the town gate. Do you know the Greasy Napkin,' sir?"

"No, Kees."

"It is a public-house, sir, in the lane. Klaas goes there to take his drop, and sometimes he takes two-sometimes three drops."

"And when he gets home?"

"Oh dear! he is up to all sorts of tricks. He chews a quid of tobacco. He gets a bit of orange-peel from the druggist. But sometimes the Father finds him out. Then they tie a log of wood to his leg, for he is too old to be flogged; and besides, they wouldn't beat a hunchback. But what does he care for the log? Not a farthing: he calls the children and says, "Look here, my boys;" says he, "poor Klaas has been taking a drop of comfort, and the Father has been and taken away all poor Klaas's money! So, of course, he makes a good thing of it, sir." I understood that perfectly.

He paused for a few moments, and the tears came into his eyes again.

"I want to lie in my own coffin. I hardly know what to say, but I mean in the same way as I saw my father lying in his-in my own clothes; I have never had a shirt of my own; I should like to wear my own winding-sheet."

I was touched. Don't talk to me of prejndices. The rich in this world have thousands of them. This poor man could bear everythingmeagre fare, a hard couch, and, for his years, heavy toil. He had no home; he was to have no grave of his own; all he wanted was the certainty that his last garment should belong to himself.

"So you see, sir," continued he, with a little huskiness in his voice, " that was why I wanted to keep my twelve florins. It was a great deal too much. But I wanted more-I wanted to be buried genteelly. I don't know much about such "But that's his look out," continued Kees, tak-matters, but I had calculated four florins for linen, ing up one of my uncle's shoes as if he were and a couple of florins for the people to lay me going to clean it, but putting it down again di-out, and half a florin a piece for twelve men to rectly. "It's nothing to me, only why should he want to ruin me? You don't know why? I'll tell you, sir. I had some money-a great deal of money-I had twelve florins!"

"And where did you get them from, Kees?" "Honestly, sir. I had saved them, sir, at the apothecary's when I was errand-boy there. Sometimes when I had to carry a bottle of physic out of town to some of the country seats in the neighborhood, the gentleman or lady would say, 'Give the boy a penny or two, it's such bad weather. By degrees I scraped twelve florins together. It was against the rules of the house, but I hid them under my clothes; I wore them on my heart."

"And why? Did you really want the money, or was it only for your amusement ?"

"O dear, no, sir!" said the old man, shaking his head; "If I may make so bold as to say so, rich gentlemen can't understand it-nor the gentlemen of the board neither-it's something they need not provide for. Such people are taken good care of, in life or death. And we, too, are very well off in the Asylum; the gentlemen are kind to us; in Carnival time we get here rolls and butter; in November, the Asylum gets a whole ox, from some great man or other who died ever so long ago-and then we all get hot fritters-and the gentlemen dine together and eat the tongue-we are all very well off, indeed, sir; but a man can't help thinking of his death, sir." "Why, I see no reason to think you will not be provided for after your death, too, Kees," said I.

[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

carry me to the grave. Wouldn't that have been decent? The apothecary's apprentice had written it all down on paper for me; the money was carefully wrapped up and sewn in a leather bag, and I wore it these thirty years long on my heart, and now it's all gone!"

"Did Klaas steal it ?" said I.

"No, no," answered Kees, rousing himself from the painful reflections into which his last words had plunged him; "but he found out that I had the money. His crib stands next my crib. I dont know whether he found it out whilst I was undressing or when I was dressing, or perhaps I talked of it in my sleep when I was ill,-I'm sure I don't know. I almost fancy I must have spoken of it in my sleep, for I know I was always thinking of it. Last Tuesday it rained all day long-that you know, sir. Well, Klaas had not picked up one cent. The weather was too bad; the boys would not stop out in the streets. But his pocket-money was spent and he had made up his mind to go to the 'Greasy Napkin.' Kees,' says he to me, after dinner, 'lend me six cents.' 'Klaas,' says I, 'you won't_get_them from me to spend on liquor.' 'Have 'em I will,' says he. Not from me,' says I. 'I'll just tell you what then,' says he; if you won't give me the money, I'll tell the Father what you've got under your waistcoat.' I turned as pale as a sheet, and gave him the six cents. But,' says I to him, Klaas, you're a rascal!' Perhaps he owed me a spite for that, I'm sure I don't know, but yesterday he was drunk again, and while the men were chaining the block to his leg, he screamed like a madman, and sang, 'Kees has money! Kees has money! Next his skin! Plenty of money! The people told me of it as soon as I came home. I went about like a ghost. At last we got up stairs to the men's ward, and undressed. Klaas was in bed and snoring like a bull. When all the rest were asleep, I stole my hand under the

clothes in order to hide the money, if I could, among the straw of my bolster. But before I got the bag off the Father came into the ward with a lantern. I fell back on my pillow and stared like a lunatic at the light. I felt every step the Father took on my own heart. 'Kees,' said he, bending over me, you've got some money. You know it's against the rules to hide money here,'-and he snatched it out of my hand.

[ocr errors]

"It was only for my winding-sheet!" cried I, kneeling on my bed; but it was of no use. 'It shall be taken care of for you,' said the Father; and he opened the bag and counted the money very carefully. I had not seen it myself since it had been put in the bag-that was thirty years ago. It was my own precious money, all for my funeral. 'Iswear I only want it to pay for my own decent burial,' cried I again. 'We'll look to that,' said the Father, and away he went with the lantern and with the money. 'Klaas told you,' cried I, 'because But what could it have helped me to say, because he is a drunken brute, or because he goes every day to the alehouse? I should not have got my money back again by it. I couldn't close an eye all night. I shall never get over it."

"Why don't you apply to the board, Kees?" said I, encouragingly.

"No, no," said he, fumbling with his hand on his chest as if he were feeling for the bag; "they couldn't leave me the money; that is a law as old as the house, and the house is as old as the world."

"That's going a little too far, Kees," said I, "and" he did not let me conclude.

"Going too far! Not a bit, sir! Haven't there always been poor people like myself to be fed by the parish, and to be lodged by the parish, and to be buried by the parish? But I wanted to pay for my own funeral, and I wanted to be sure of being buried at my own expense; and that was my greatest consolation, and that's why I always carried it on my heart. Oh! if Klaas only knew that he was the death of me!"

66

Come, come, Kees, you must and shall have your money back, I promise you. I'll talk to my uncle about it; he knows the gentlemen of the board-we'll see if the rule cannot be set aside for once, for the sake of an honest old fellow like yourself. Make up your mind to it, Kees, you shall have your money again."

"Shall I really get it back? Really, sir?" cried the poor old man, encouraged by my positive tone; and wiping his eyes he gave me his hand with a happy face, adding in his desire to say something kind, "Please, sir, are your boots cleaned to your liking?"

[ocr errors]

Beautifully," said I.

"And is your coat always nicely brushed ?" continued he; "because if not, only say so, pray do, sir."

I promised I would, and returned to the house. Before I got in, Kees came running after me

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

"Oh yes, Kees."

"If you should see the gentlemen, sir, you need not say you know anything about the matter." "I won't Kees, I promise you."

My uncle was easily persuaded to address the board on the subject. The chairman sent for the Father, and the Father was sent round to the other members of the board, to call a meeting.

"On that solemn occasion, Kees was first called into the room and then sent out again, and then the Father was summoned and then he was sent away again. Thereupon weighty deliberations ensued, that lasted one hour, during which time the chairman chiefly said that he left the decision with the members, and the members in their turn gave the assurance that they left the decision entirely to the chairman.

As it was impossible, however, to leave the matter in this state, the chairman at length made a motion that, on the one hand, it was advisable to restore the sum in question to Kees on account of his exemplary conduct, and as he was sure to preserve the money as safely as their own indefatigable honorary treasurer (on which the honorary treasurer bowed); but that, on the other hand, their worthy treasurer was sure to take just as much care of it as Kees himself, and that it was thus by no means necessary to confirm Kees in the erroneons opinion that his money would be safer preserved, and more certainly devoted to the purpose for which it was designed, if he, Kees, were allowed to administer it himself in future, instead of its being placed with the funds already in the hands of their worthy friend and treasurer aforesaid; and this was his, the chairman's decided opinion.

But the secretary of the board begged to observe, and with some appearance of being in the right, that this motion was not decisive enough, and requested to propose that one or other of the two opinions expressed should be resolved upon. On which the treasurer was magnanimous enough to cede his right to the administration of the sum in question, and it was unanimously resolved to return Kees his twelve florins safely put up in the leather bag.

Kees carried his money for two years after this time "next his heart;" and when I visited the burying ground at D- - last year, it was pleasant to know that a man slumbered there, in the common grave of the poor, who had been respectfully laid to rest by twelve friends of his own selection, and that it was in some degree owing to my own exertions that he had breathed his last in the consolatory idea of being interred in his own shroud.

He may, perhaps, even in his last moments, have had a kind thought for Hildebrand.

« AnteriorContinuar »