mI.iI.M/i II J ^^ €^ (leasure in promenading the deck alone, yielding to reflections usliered in by the transitions of the scenes of a day. Later, however, I stepped ashore, and cautiously tlireading my way through parts imperfectly known to 58 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. me, soon found myself bending over a Parisian journal in one of the principal Coffee-houses of the city. It being New-year's day, the city was better lighted than commonly, and the promenades and cafe's wei'e unusually thronged. As I passed along, the ani- mating movement of the crowd, the silvery tones of the females, the wild and merry laugh of the children, kindled within me emo- tions which were greatly heightened by the change from the monotony of a sea-passage, to the full and social amenities of a city. I was not permitted, the next morning, to remove my luggage from the brig, although the captain exerted his influence for me, as it would have involved some informalities in the custom-house regulations. These government restrictions, so different to an American, from what he ever meets with at home, and so con- trary to his idea of civil freedom, are annoying enough to him. But the better policy, as well as the better morality, is to submit to them with the utmost frankness and good humor. Much un- pleasant feeling, if not petty trouble, is thus prevented. The captain took me early to the office of his consignee, who gave me the address of Mr. Stanton, then our consul at Havre. The latter gentleman received me with all due kindness, and had the goodness to loan me late journals from the United States. He made me a certificate of American citizenship, to enable me to pro- cure from the French authorities a passport, — I having inadvert- ently neglected to procure one in New York, before taking leave. On learning that one principal object of my visiting Europe, was to inspect the schools and educational establishments, he had the politeness to give me a note of introduction to the Principal of the most distinguished private school in the city, of which his son was pupil. At the same time he observed, that the schools in Havre were inferior to the best in the United States. FRENCH MODE OF LIVING. 59 On leaving the house of the American consul, I met the cap- tain, who kindly offered liis services to aid me in finding comforta- ble rooms. We entered a house of respectable appearance, the landlady of which was an intimate acquaintance of my companion. She took us hastily through her unoccupied rooms, briefly expa- tiating upon their several peculiar excellences, — but the remain- der of the time she was engrossed in the most lively conversation with the captain. As she was naming the price of meals, he ven- tured to observe that her charge was too much. Ah, mon Dieu, non, Monsieur (she replied, with inimitable French exclamation), " the EngHshman eats so much beef-steak for dinner," " But," re- plied the captain, " you are not so dull as to take my friend for an Englishman. lie is, you must know, on the contrary, a true-blooded American, — a Yankee from the United States of America." Eh, bien, retorted the woman, "it is all the same. Englishman or American, they both like much meat for dinner, and that is very expensive." We left, — I promising to return within a mentioned time, if I decided to take rooms at her house. The agreeableness of one's stay in a foreign city, as well as his personal comfort in the time, will greatly depend upon the eligible- ness of his quarters, and the particular amenities of his hotel. As I could not remove ray luggage from the brig till evening, I felt that the interim might not be spent in a more pleasing and instruc- tive way to me, than in choosing my quarters in the city, with the utmost deliberation, — examining things leisurely, with the double view of making a favorable selection in a room, and of casting a scrutinizing glance into this dcpai'tment of French life ; and my researches were crowned with curious interest. It will be well here to state, that the French mode of living, in cities, as practised by a large part of the inhabitants, differs widely from that with us, and forms a marked feature in French life. Instead of throng- 60 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. ing in boarding-houses, and eating in great haste, at a specified hour, it is a common practice to hire a furnished room, with the services of a domestic to keep it in order, and to brush your clotlies and pohsh your boots, at a moderate price, and to take your meals at the restaurants, cafes, or even to have them brought to your room in quantity and of a quality to suit your palate or pecuniary disposition. Not only does the bachelor of small means and retired habits, live in this way ; but it is followed even by professional men, by respectable merchants, often by weal- thy citizens, and not unfrequently by ladies of character and repu- tation. This peculiar way of living, compared with our mode, practised by the same class of society, has a forbidding feature, it is true ; but it also has its charms. If it lacks the glow and en- dearment of the fireside circle, it can claim the complacent grati- fication of luxurious ease and perfect independence. To the traveller, it is certainly most convenient and agreeable. He can thus rise and retire when he pleases, take his meals when his ap- petite prompts, and where he chances at the time to be, — with the privilege of selecting his dishes, and paying for such only a3 he orders. After leaving the brilliant Ey£ de Paris, which extends to the north, quite through the city, I soon perceived the object of which I was in quest. Furnished rooms were seen advertised all around. A louer (to let ); chamh-es a loiter (rooms to let) ; une petite cham- bre gamie a louer (a small furnished room to let), were so fre- quent as to remind you of the sign-boards of the most business- thronged part of the city. The rooms were of every variety of size and furnish, adapted to the varying wants of different appli- cants. I examined each, as I passed along, making the most minute inquiries, and asking all pertinent questions that I could possibly think of. The apartments bore a faithful, but often an FRENCH LODGINGS. 61 humble imitation of furnished lodgings in Paris, to which, in mat- ters of taste, not only the provincial towns, but even the seaports, still look up with obsequious deference. The two prevailing pe- culiarities in the rooms here, as elsewhere in France, were ample- ness of space, and the number and variety of useful and ornamen- tal articles with which they were fastidiously furnished. Tlie size of the rooms varied of course with the price of rent ; but even the cheapest possessed a degree of si>aciousness that plainly told that, in a practical knowledge of the laws of hygiene, the French are, in this respect, greatly our superiors. They were not only furnished, as often with us, with an empty secretary, a clothes- press, ample means for ablution, etc., but with many other articles either of convenience or mere ornament, such as a mantel-clock, sofa, shower-bath, writing-desk and apparatus, libraiy-case, and mere adornments of mantel-vases, pieces of statuary, pictures, and the more trivial and purely ornamental articles. The floors, either ])aved with wide, smooth bricks, or blocks of hard wood, set in mo- saic, and of highly polished surface, were rarely covered with carpeting, or more than a mere hearth-rug or two. The beds themselves were luxuries. They usually stood in a recess of the room, being of the easy and voluptuous form of a couch, and hav- ing curtains not unfrequently of damask or silk, gracefully cano- pied over them. The mattress, which in France is always of wool, is neater, and, speaking from experience, infinitely more com- fortable than either feathers or hair. The hed-linen is never of cotton material, and the covering of the pillow is sometimes silk. A French bed-oliamber thus possesses an air of grace, luxuiy, and even oriental sj)lendor, that is quite captivating to the senses. But it must be acknowledged, that a severely simple taste is sometimes shocked at the incongruous medley in the articles of furniture, and the profusion of trinkets used as ornaments. There is some- 6 62 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. times a most ludicrous contrast between the rich, second-hand fur- niture, magnificent mirrors, and the coarse and homely appearance of the walls and wainscoting, that reminds you of pride in rags. The way to these miniature elysiums, too, is often through a wet and squalid court, up, for several stories, a crooked, narrow, dismal, rough-stone stairway, so dark, as often to require the presence of a light to thread your way along it, even in the day time. Unless you select one of the very few, comparatively speaking, of the rooms that look out upon the street, — as you glance through your window, your eye meets smoky, tiled roofs, roughly cut, and un- graceful angles of buildings, or recesses and narrow alleys, un- seemly with accumulated filth ; while, if you move from the im- mediate splendor that surrounds you, your spirits are chilled with the damp, lugubrious, and prison-dreariness that pervades all around. Thus situated, you are quite alone, although there may be scores of human beings half-imprisoned in the same house, se- parated only by walls. You will see none of the inmates of the same general dwelling, except you accidentally meet in passing to and from your apartment, some one of the indwellers who have to pass through the same general inlet. If a getleman, he politely makes a passing recognition ; or if, perchance, the garrulous maid, with tidy cap and coarse petticoat, or the good-natured male do- mestic in blouse, both clubbing in wooden shoes over the stone steps, cracking their jokes in merry simplicity, they will step aside with deference to let you pass, or with alacrity comply with your demands. I finally secured a pleasant room, at a reasonable price, of a very agreeable woman ; and it may be observed, by the way, that females transact all such business in France. Her only child, a simple-hearted girl, of perhaps fifteen or sixteen years of age, had lately been married to a young man, a little her senior in age, and VISIT TO A SCHOOL. 63 greatly her superior in intelligence and style of manners. He gave me with apparent pleasure such information as I desired, and from him I learned that although he honored the family with his company at breakfast, in their narrow tea-parlor, yet he invaria- bly took his dinners at a restaurant, either alone or with some friends. He followed no particular business, but managed to pass as a kind of second-rate gentleman. The good woman, his bride's mother, seemed proud of her son-in-law, and perfectly doated on her daughter. She lived in the most frugal manner imaginable, — thus husbanding her earnings, which were destined, doubtless, to maintain the newly-acquired dignity of her fond and loving daugh- ter. The ancient idea of marriage in France, by which wedlock was entered upon out of motives of ambition, or of personal ag- grandizement, or as a mere arrangement of convenience, is not yet quite freed from society. Having become fairly domiciled, I took an early opportunity, as might be supposed, to visit the school of Monsieur P , to whom I had a letter of introduction from Mr. Stanton. Accord- ingly, the next day, at an eai-ly hour in the forenoon, I reached the school-building, but by some mistake, strayed into the cusine of the establishment, instead of the drawing-room of the princi- pal. JNIy unexpected appearance among some dozen female cooks and laundress-women (for it was a boarding establishment), pro- duced some confusion as well as mcn-iment. On learning my errand, however, one of them, clad in a cap of snowy-whiteness, coarse but tidy petticoat, and wooden shoes, bid me follow her ; and, leading the way out of the spacious, plain, but exceedingly neat kitchen, up a broad and clean stairway, usliered me into tlic reception-room of the establishment. The bell rang, and presently the door opened a little way, and a portly face, beaming with ex- pression, and redolent with health, clad in a small velvet cap, 64 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. peeped into the room, and excused himself till four o'clock, saying that he was then engaged with some classes. It was precisely what I wished to see, — the principal teacher instructing his classes, — but before I could find time to reply, he had disappeared. As the day was bright, (something quite rare at this season in Havre,) I decided to make a visit to the Cote d' Ingouville, which is a suburb directly north of the city. It is situated on the steep de- clivity of a ridge which overlooks the town, and is adorned with beautiful mansions, embowered in shrubbery and surrounded with gardens, which rise in terraces one above the other. At the gate of Ingouville, you have a partial view of the fortifications of the city. They were begun by Louis XII, continued by many suc- ceeding sovereigns, but only completed by Napoleon. They are about three and a half miles in circuit, and consist of bastioned ramparts surrounded by trenches. The prospect from the heights of Ingouville, if it be a clear day, well repays the somewhat toilsome ascent, by the parallel streets of the village, which run horizontally along the side of the declivity, and communicate by narrow cross-streets. From the elevation upon which you stand, there stretches far away to the north and east, quite beyond siglit, an uninterrupted verdant, grassy plain, in appearance, not altogether unlike some humble prairie of the West, in the early mantling of spring. As you tarn towards the west and south, your eye falls upon the broad estuary of the Seine, embraced in arms of bold shores, moving its breast towards the stormy North Sea. Below you is the life- throbbing city, with its grand basins, forests of masts, glitter- ing spires, and dingy edifices, surrounded by bastioned walls. A little farther, just across the stream, peers the little village of Honfleur, nestled in harmonious surroundings, while for away to the south-east, sweeps in graceful curves the noble Seine, with ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN HAVRE. 65 perhaps a steamer swiftly gliding upon its gentle bosom. The view is no less extensive than picturesque and lovely. In descending, I overtook an aged gentleman whom I had the good fortune to enlist at once in conversation. A little way on was his daughter, accompanied by a merry group of children, to whom she was the admired governess. They were improving the lovely afternoon in a stroll, and right heartily did they appear to enjoy the healthful pleasure. They bounded along in a wild excitement of joy, innocently vieing with each other in their at- tempts to heighten the enjoyment of their devoted teacher. The father, in his wandering loquacity, touched upon the many excel- lent qualities of his beloved daughter with all a parent's partiality, and recommended her superiority as a teacher, in a manner only pardonable in age. They were French childi-en, and she was their instructor in English. According to my informant, they had enjoyed scarcely no other advantages of learning to speak Enghsh, except in their intercourse with their teacher and with each other; and yet in the very short space of time which she had been their governess, they had learned to speak astonishingly well. To convince me of the truth of his assertions, he called to him a httle boy of the number, who replied to my questions with such natural expressions, and with a pronunciation and accent so accurate as quite to surprise me, although I was fully aware that very young children will readily learn to speak with idiomatic ease as many languages as they are accustomed to hear spoken around them. You hear English very commonly spoken in Havre. The large number of Americans and English always in the city, and the im- mense trade carried on with those people, make some practical knowledge of the language indispensable to the mercantile portion of the French residents, and to such others as have business with G* 66 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. those who speak the Enghsh. But, besides this, the Enghsh language is cultivated by all classes, as a useful and fashionable accomplishment. The remark is applicable, with slight modifica- tion, to other cities and large towns in France. These children whom I met, illustrate the mode pursued gene- rally in France, by the wealthier classes, to give their children a thorough and efficient knowledge of a foreign tongue ; and it is based on correct principles of action. Instead of leaving their children to grow to an age when their minds are capable of more severe studies, and then giving them a dictionary and grammar, to learn practical language, they adopt a plan sim- pler, and more in accordance with nature's teaching, — that of placing their youth at an early age in a situation to hear the lan- guage spoken, which they then acquire with the utmost ease, and almost intuitively ; and at an advanced age, they are set upon the grammar and philosophy of the language, and attracted to explore the riches of its literature. In this way, the student gets such an apprehension of the language he is studying, as to be of positive utility to him in the practical pursuits of life ; — and further, of immense advantage in the harmonious development of his powers, — and so intimate and thorough, as to be a real source of re- fined pleasure. By the other way, he rarely gains more than a smattering ; his knowledge being so cumbersome, as to prove of little use or advantage, ever subjecting its possessor to vexation and chagrin. The period of childhood and early youth, too, is altogether the most favorable for acquiring a certain part of a language, which can never be learned half so well at a more advanced age, if, in- deed, it can then be learned at all. It is at this period that the ear is peculiarly delicate in discriminating sounds, and the vocal organs flexible to execute their form. At this time in life, the BEST MODE OF TEACHING CHILDREN. 67 faculty of imitation is in active play, and the memory is quick and seizable. Pronunciation of words, accent, idiom, -which most stubbornly resist all laws of analogy in language, are mastered so easily and rapidly by the child in habitual intercourse with a cor- rect model, that he is almost unconscious of his acquisition. It has been more a sportive exercise, than a task. Kow, it is just this part of a language which the adult finds it most difficult to learn ; which, in fact, he never does leai'n, except in rare instances, with any high degree of success. And what is more, all this is done by the young pupil, when he could not be accomplishing much else in learning, — thus converting comparatively valueless time into golden moments, laden with the rich treasure of future years. The practice abroad, of employing, at great expense, a gov- erness, as teacher of young children, might with us be very pleas- antly improved upon, at least in this branch of education. In the respectably-educated families of New England, certainly, the time of the mother is not, in general, so completely engrossed with the forms of empty etiquette, as to leave absolutely no time for fa- miliar intercourse with her young children. Let but such a mo- ther possess the power of speaking fluently, and with correctness, one or more of the prevaihng languages of Europe, which she might as easily have learned from her own parent, and her tender offspring, only from hearing it used in daily intercourse, will glide into its acquisition as naturally, and with as much ease, as it learns its own tongue, or reflects the tone and manners of those by whom it is surrounded. And is not this a consummation to be desired ? How much of the learning sagely prescribed in school requisitions, is not really much less practical and useful, in the average lot of life, than a speaking acquaintance with one of the most extensively-used languages of Europe. The gigantic improvements in the facilities of travel, which are 68 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. fast bringing the nations of the earth in actual contact, and the spirit of the age kindling a desire for an enlarged intercourse of man with man, together with the rapidly increasing and intimate business relations of the mercantile world, seem to make a knowl- edge of some of the modern languages quite indispensable to such as venture beyond the narrow circle of village life ; and this need is every day fast increasing. My new acquaintance, to whom I was indebted for several items of information, admitted most fully, that the view from the heights was grand and lovely ; but it was not quite equal to that from the Downs in En* 174 CRESTS FROJI THE (JCEAN-WORLD. modern, and many from English history. Among the latter, are the Death Scene of Queen Elizabeth, — a forcible illustration of vanity and royalty struggling with old age and death ; the terrible and touching scene of the Murder of the Princes in the Tower ; Charles I. insulted by the Guai-ds ; Strafford on his way to the scaffold ; and the truly pathetic scene of Lady Jane Grey upon the scaffold. But of all his works, the one the most admired, is his Saint Cecilia playing on an organ held before her by an angel. This was made after his return from Italy, where he had been sent by the government of Paris to execute some paintings for the Madeline, — and the painting partakes much of the character of the Florentine school. The calm and heavenly beauty of the saint, with the simplicity and grace of her drapery, throws around the work exceeding beauty. It shows, too, that the French are capable of expressing high delicacy of sentiment. Eugene Delacroix is a painter of great originality and powerful imagination ; his coloring is vigorous and effective. An admirable specimen of his talent may be seen in the gallery of the Luxem- bourg. It is his " Dante and Virgil, conducted by Flegias, crossing the lake which surrounds the infernal city of Dite." Another is Cleopatra, the fair Egyptian queen. But his most important work is at the Chamber of Peers, where he painted the Cupola of the Library. You come next to the Dutch and Flemish school, which is dis- tinguished by a character of a different description. The well known object of this school was to present an exact and faithful imitation of Nature. They did not pretend to aim at the exhibi- tion of passion, or powerful emotion; nor was it their object to re- present deep scenes of sorrow or suffering which accord with profound feelings. They selected as subjects the ordinary scenes and occurrences of life : and the power of the painter was seen DISTINGUISHED PAINTERS. 175 in the exactness of the imitation, and the minuteness of finishing. Of this class of painters, in particular, were Teniers, Ostade, and Gerard Dow. There is a very great collection here preserved of the justly celebrated Rembrandt- There are forty pieces of the Wouvermans here, all in a fine state of preservation. The works of this artist are generally crowded with figures; his subjects are commonly battle-pieces, or spectacles of mihtary pomp, or the animated scenes of the chase ; and he seems to have exhausted all the efforts of his genius in the variety of incident and richness of execution which these subjects are fitted to afford. These paintings are certainly beauti- ful ; and it is almost impossible, without having seen them, to get an idea of the variety of design, the accuracy of drawing, or deUcacy of finishing which distmguish his works from those of any other painter whatever. There is a large number of the paintings of Vandyke and Reubens. There are sixty pictures of the latter of these masters, in the Louvre ; and, combined with the celebrated gallery in the Luxembourg, they form the finest assemblage of tliem to be met with in the world. The character of his works differs essentially from that of both the French and Dutch school. He was era- ployed, for the most part, in designing great altar pieces for splen- did churches, or commemorating the glory of sovereigns in imperial galleries. The greatness of his genius rendered him fit to attempt the representation of the most complicated and difficult subjects. But in aiming to tell a whole story in the expression of a single picture, he attempts what it is impossible for painting to accom- plish. The endless power of creation which this splendid genius possessed, is seen in the multiplicity of figures which crowd the canvas. It is in the Italian school, however, that the collection of the 176 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Louvre stands most unrivalled. The general object of this school appears to be the expression of passion. Their pieces are mostly of a religious character, in which are touchingly portrayed the suflferings and death of our Saviour, — the varied misfortunes to which his disciples were exposed, or the multiplied persecutions which the early fathers had to sustain. They aim to awaken pity or sympathy in the spectator. There are a great many of the works of Domhiichino, and of the Caraccis, in the collection. They bear a dark and gloomy character, and are designed to express deep and profound sorrow. Guido Reni, Carlo Maritti, and Murillo, have a genei-al charac- ter, but somewhat different from Dominichino and the Caraccis. They have limited themselves, in general, to the delineation of a single figure, or a small group, in which, by a subdued tone of coloring, are expressed emotions of a softer and more permanent kind. The distinctive feature in the small number of the paintmgs by Salvator Rosa, is a wild and original expression. In some of his pieces there is a sullen magnificence combined with splen- did ideality, which mark the profound poetical genius. But the softer expression of Correggio is quite different. Ten- derness and delicacy are his prevailing qualities, and there is a softness in his shading of the human form, which is entirely un- rivalled. He has represented nature in its most pleasing aspect, and enrobed individual figures with all the charms of ideal beauty. The single picture by Carlo Dolci, in the Louvre, is in itself a gem, and alone is sufficient to mark the genius of its author. It represents the Holy Family, with the Saviour asleep. The deli- cacy and softness of shading exceeds even Correggio himself, while there is a deep, spiritual beauty pervading the whole, beyond the power of language to describe. The sleep of the infant is per- FREE ACCESS TO THE LOUVRE. 177 fection itself; it is the deep and tranquil sleep of youth and inno- cence, subdued by a holy and angehc calm, unspeakably beautiful. The works of Raphael aim at the expression of a sublime feel- ing, and they possess a high tone of spirituality rarely reached by the efforts of other artists. In his larger pieces, as in the Trans- figuration, the effect is often injured by the confused expression of varied figures ; but in his smaller jiictures, the genuine charac- ter of his transcendent genius fully appears. The Louvre is free to the public on Sundays, from ten A. M. till four p. M. It is likewise open to artists on week-days, between the same hours, and to strangers, on the presentation of their pass- ports. On Sundays, the halls never fail of being thronged with visit- ors. All classes may then be seen promiscuously sauntering through the splendid rooms. You will be jostled on one side by a fine lady, and on the other by a dusty workman in his dingy blouse and wooden shoes. The remark applies equally to other like places. Here, the humblest may have free access to the pub- lic gardens, palaces, buildings, repositories of art and science, — and the humblest make use of the munificent privilege. This having the grand and beautiful continually before them, has the sensible effect to elevate and refine their taste and manners, and to spiritualize their whole nature. Its influence upon their char- acter may be seen in the elegance of the dress of the Parisian, and in his polished and graceful manners. Its deeper influence lays the foundation for that ardent attachment to the institutions and gloiy of France, which is the vital part of a Frenchman's character. On week-days, as I have already intimated, there were in the gallery of paintings, artists, either making complete copies of some of the pictures upon the walls before them, or sketching off rough 178 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN- WORLD. drafts, to be filled up at a future time, thousands of miles, perhaps, away. It was interesting to watch the expressive countenances of these young aspirants, in the difficult path of their art. On their faces varied emotions were, by turns, legible, accordino- as, by a happy touch of their pencil, they had embodied a beautiful conception, or when the stubborn material refused to give forth the thought. The halls of sculpture are on the ground-tloor. You experience a sudden elevation of feeling, as you contemplate these gems of heathen eloquence. Here remain in a fixed and eternal repose, the sublimest expression of human character. Petrified beauty perpetually beams from those divine forms, to animate and delight. You cannot but reverence the geniuses that could breathe so much life and grace into the inanimate marble ; that could give such expression to inert material, that nothing but breath seems want- ing. The fleshy roundness of those limbs, the ease and flow of that dress, with its delicate weaving, partly clinging to the body, partly fluttering in the wind ; that delicate balance which alarms with the expectation of movement ; those inimitable features strip- ped of everything gross and earthly, and beaming with the most ce- lestial beauty, entrance the soul in a feeling of wonder and delight. In gazing upon these symbols of purified thought, we are re- minded of the Spartan prayer, " Give us what is good and what is beautiful." Indeed, beauty ever excites religious emotions. A marked difference between painting and sculpture is, that the latter, with the exception of a few pieces — such as the Dying Gladiator and the Laocoon, exclude all passion and even emotion, and represent the human mind in a state of tranquillity and re- pose. The figures seem to be more than mortals, and to indicate a state in which the unruffled repose of mind has moulded the features into the perfect expression of the mental character. PAINTING AND SCULPTURE. 179 They seemed possessed of that permanent inward joy and love- liness which cast an everlasting sunshine and beauty around, — that radiance of immortal life which breathes an eternal happiness. Another difference between painting and sculpture, consists in the universahty of the latter. It is completely divested of the pecuharity of the schools. The statues of antiquity were ad- dressed to the multitude of the people, and were intended to awaken devotion in all classes. They possess, in consequence, a general character, and speak directly to the common heart. Hence the admiration for this kind of art, which has survived the lapse of time. To communicate thought and emotion, the art of printing has long since taken the place, in a great measure, of painting and sculpture ; still, so long as a love of the beautiful exists in the human breast, these divine arts will continue to be cherished. They serve to embody thoughts which language has not power to utter ; they convey lessons of wisdom and virtue to the ignorant ; and without their aid, many a noble deed or heroic act would hardly have reached posterity. I was much interested in the collection in the Musee de la Ma- rine. You there see drawings of ships, sails, masts, and every- thing connected with naval affairs. Besides, there are exquisite models of all forms of vessels, French and foreign, from the full- rigged ship do^vn to the smallest craft, exhibiting the different kinds of naval architecture in every stage of the process of con- structing the vessel. The different improvemcnt,s or changes that have been made from time to time, were here all curiously exhib- ited to view. Here, too, are models of the principal towns con- taining maritime arsenals ; and one can see L'Orient, llochefort, and Brest, without tlie trouble of going there. There is in this museum, a fine series of busts of French mwal commanders. 180 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. The Louvre is the grand central point of art in France, and is, indeed, rich beyond conception. It stands out in relief from the numerous other collections in Paris and other parts of France, and, indeed, Continental Europe, like a sun, diffusing light and radiance. The numerous grand historical facts, the many touch- ing incidents, and the abundance of thoughts and ideas which are here displayed, and which may be daily read, constitute the Louvre a grand and splendid book, unexpressively rich in whatever ele- vates and refines the soul ; and its freedom of access to the masses of the people, cannot but render it an ever-acting and powerful means in forming the taste and giving complexion to the thought of the Parisian. On Wednesday, Feb. 2d, I visited some of the Primary Schools of the city. The Frere who conducted the first at which I called, received me with the kind and polite manner invariable with that remarkable religious community ; but as it was the day for reli- gious instruction, he pointed out to me another school near, of a similar grade, and sent one of his pupils to accompany me thither. There I remained the half day, unusually interested. The read- ing here was much better than in most of the other schools of this class, but still, enough defective. They went through a spelling exercise somewhat novel to me. The lesson consisted of printed sentences, which were dictated by the teacher, then written by the pupil, and afterwards spelled orally by the latter. In each lesson, some one principle of grammar was exemplified, and the word in which it occurred, was printed in italics. The pupil was required to state the reason for his choice of writing the word as he spelled it. The exercise struck me favorably, as being well calculated to lead the pupil gradually into the grammar and phi- losophy of the language, while he was gaining a practical knowl- edge of the form of words. The order in neither school was re- INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND, 181 markably good. The former consisted of two hundred pupils, ■with two teachers ; and the same in the latter. They were not conducted on the mutual-principle system. In the afternoon, I visited for the second time the Royal Insti- tution for the Blind. I was immediately admitted into the recep- tion-room, in which were several strangers in waiting, — and among them, an intelligent German traveller. The director of the establishment soon made his appearance, and immediately took us over the entire institution, explaining only when called upon, and then in a manner so quiet and taciturn, as to show that the exercise to him was a duty rather than a pleasure. He was not, however, permitted the indulgence of his disjjosition to silence, — for our German companion, who seemed to be particularly in quest of infonnation, and pertinaciously bent on learning every- thing to be known about the school, with pencil and note-book in hand, phed the director 50 rapidly and constantly with questions, as to leave the latter barely time to take a long breath. All well- educated Germans speak the French language fluently, — and I was forcibly struck with the greater ease with which I understood the German tlian the Frenchman, owing, doubtless, to the more distinct utterance of the former, and to his native accent corres- ponding more nearly to the English than tliat of the French. Institutions had long existed for the employment of the blind; but no effort seems to have been made for their instruction, until Hauy, of Paris attempted it, in 1781. The effort was crowned with complete success, and this unfortunate class of people are now taught reading, writing, and ciphering ; the mathematics, va- rious languages, geography, and music. In the last branch, they are particularly successful. The present edifice was recently put up, and is a noble and beautiful one, comprising the improvements in school-house arclii- IG 182 CiiESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WUKLD. tecture and appointments. It contains two hundred pupils, of both sexes, who are permitted to remain eight years. Besides the branches, they are taught various mechanical employments, as a means of pecuniary support. We were interested in examining the different articles of handicraft, in the exhibition-room, made by the pupils, — and particularly, to witness them at work in the fabrication of articles, both useful and ornamental, in which they showed a degree of cleverness and skill really surprising to any one not aware how one sense may be made to take upon itself the natural use of another. Many of the more curious and elaborate of the finished pieces, that we examined, bore the most scrutinizing test that we could apply, and were, in every way, so far as we could judge, as neatly and perfectly finished as if made by the most accomplished artisans. We each, of course, purchased some little article to take away, as a memento of the noble and interest- ing school. We were shown the neat and beautiful chapel in which they are wont to assemble to express their feeble adoration and grati- tude to the Author of so many and tender mercies. We passed, also, into the Salle a manger or dining-room. It was ample and displayed the most perfect neatness. The tables were of marble, and everything else was in the same costly, and substantial style. Many, if not most of the teachers are graduates of the institution, thus proving that, in the opinion of the intelligent faculty which has the care of this eminent institution, the more gifted of the blind, when well instructed, are equally competent and successful teachers as the seeing. In the workshops, several laborers occupied the same room, and were permitted, in a moderate degree, the interchange of thought and sentiment ; but such as were practising their lessons in music were confined, each in a separate apartment; an ai'rangement EMPLOYMENT OF THE BLIND. 183 favorable to acquiring that concentration of mental power, and delicacy of perception so indispensable to reaching great excellence in the sublime art of music. "We were permitted to peep into these narrow and imperfectly lighted practising rooms through a little glass window in the upper part of the door ; and we could not but be struck with the energy and apparent devotion with which they were practising upon the parts which had been assigned them as lessons. Apparently they could not have been more earnest if stimulated with the hope of winning, one day, the applause of the great world. Did such an idea enkindle their ardor ? or was it the more natural and immediate influence of that glorious princi- ple of the human mind, which loves to overcome difficulties, — heightened by the inspiring tones of the breathing instruments ? As we passed along by the rooms arranged consecutively on either side, the sounds from the different instruments, such as pianos, violins, flutes, etc., came rolling down the long and narrow aisle, in mingled and confused movement, it is true, — but they fell upon my own ear most gratefully, both as awakening pleasing recol- lections of delightful friends at home, of the same unfortunate class as the inmates of this school ; and as giving rise in my breast to thoughts of noble and generous pride at the splendid triumphs of human art, and the exhibition of God-like benevo- lence of which this institution is so grand and beautiful an illustra- tion. Those tones, drawn from humble instruments of mere mechanical contrivance, seemed to issue directly from the deep and living recesses of an inward world, — from a world of tliought, of sentiment, of emotion, where gladsome spirits, cut off from the distracting beauties of external nature, were revelling in the am- brosial fields of a purely spiritual existence. And who shall con- fidently assert that the touching de{)rivation of the inmates of this school will, after all, prove to them a state of comparative greater 184 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. unhappiness ? Their case, viewed in connection with the grand principle of compensation which evidently runs through nature, — equalizing the real condition of mankind, — assumes an aspect more favorable to them. They are, indeed, separated from very many delightful sources of enjoyment from the world without, but may they not be compensated for this loss, at least in a great measure, by keener inner susceptibilities. They are certainly spared many scenes, which, while they rend with anguish the spirit, blunt the finer susceptibilities, as well as removed from much of low and obscene, to tarnish the purity of the soul ; and when with a duly cultivated moral and intellectual nature, they possess that source of light and beauty within, — that 'everlasting sunshine which can be thrown on everything around, till it reflects on them what has beamed from their own serene heart, and with- out which the gorgeous beauties of glorious nature are a meaning- less picture, and life, a plattitudc of insipidities, — their condition may certainly be favorably compared with the generality of the human race. It is a point of opinion that hardly admits of doubt, that many a clear-sighted man would have his mental vision im- proved by spending some portion of his time in a retirement, in which the soul is driven back to observe its own operations, and seek improvement and enjoyment from its own resources. It would serve, like Crusoe's desolate island, to develop powers and elicit feelings of which he was not before conscious. The pupils whom we saw, were clean in person and neat in dress, and appeared cheeiful and happy, showing that that agreea- ble state of the mind which philosophers call happiness, does not depend upon circumstances of life. I passed down into the basement-story under the edifice, in com- pany with the German companion, conducted by the fireman of the gloomy precincts, to see how the grand establishment was SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. 185 heated, and supplied with warm water. Seven large furnaces were in constant and active operation, and the entire apparatus, which was minutely explained to us, seemed admirably adapted to the end for which it was arranged. Indeed, there seemed to have been spared no expense to impart to the entire establishment all the advantages which science, art, and benevolence could be- stow; and I felt on leaving, an involuntary admiration for the en- larged benevolence of a people who could have first put in successful operation, and have ever since sustained so completely, so eminently a wise and humane institution. Feb. 3d. I made a visit to the school of Medicine, at the Sar- bonne. The lecture was on chemistry. I found the room, — which was circular, with seats gradually rising in an amphitheatri- cal form, — filled with students, a little impatient for the com- mencement of the lecture. There might have been an audience of six hundred. The professor, a middle-aged man, presently entered, with a brisk gait, and immediately commenced speaking. On his appearance, there was a momentary suppressed applause, when all was perfect stillness, which continued during the entire lecture, excepting when the professor indulged in a sailie d'/iumeur, when there would be a shght relaxation for a moment only, as all seemed disposed not to lose a word. The students remained cov- ered, and with their port-folios upon their knees, before them, ■were busily taking notes. A long counter before the lecturer was filled with glasses and various pieces of chemical appa- ratus, and elements for combination, while behind him stood a large frame in which slid up and down in grooves, and by means of pullies, black-boards arranged behind each other, upon which the eminent professor wrote his theory by means of symbols. IIo spoke without notes, in a fluent, easy, and graceful manner, and was evidently perfectly master of his subject. A shght stepping 10* 186 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. to and fro, with moderate gesticulation, gave a pleasing animation to his manner. He was attended with several assistants, who, disposed on either side of him, performed all the experiments. It was remarkable with what adroitness these manipulators per- formed their parts, managing to have the experiment come off in- variably, just in the nick of time. The professor would talk rapidly on, apparently without the slightest thought of the experi- menter, and at the time he would say " There, gentlemen, you perceive," and on the last word, the phenomenon would burst to view, just as if connected with it by the law of affinity. There was not a mistake ; no repeating, no blundering, and never a moment's hesitation. If it all had been guided by the most sys- tematic mechanism, it could not have been more exact and sure. Several gentlemen accompanied the professor, and remained seated by the side of him uncovered, — friends or acquaintances present, doubtless by invitation. The lecture I listened to, was one of a course of public lectures which come off here every winter, and which are entirely free to everybody. It is a single department of the school of Medicine, a branch of the University of Paris, the great central establishment of education in France. The number of regularly-entered students in medicine is upwards of two thousand, besides such as do not choose to be put upon the list. Examinations are publicly held four times a year, under four professors appointed by the Academic Council. The examination of each candidate must last at least one and a half hours, but may be protracted at the pleasure of the professors. All the higher degrees are granted only after severe trials, and numerous candi- dates are annually rejected. TOMBS AND STATUES. 187 GARDEN OF PLANTS. I left for the last time this noble enclosure. One at all gifted with an appreciation of Nature, and imbued in the least with the spirit of revelling amid its endless varieties and matchless perfec- tions, would wish to linger here forever. It is not only an exten- sive volume of animated nature, but it is a world of nature in miniature. It embraces a condensed view of the three kingdoms, Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral ; and so extensive is the collec- tion, that there is scarcely an individual species known in the three grand compartments of creation but that may not here be found ; and all so exactly classified and beautifully arranged, as to present almost at a single glance the wonderful and endless riches of the entire domain of fruitful Nature. It would be tedious to recount the history of this grand institu- tion, from its foundation by Louis XIII, in 1626, up to the present summit of perfection. The history of the men whose labors have enriched it, and whose names and statues adorn it, is the history of the natural sciences for the last two hundred years. Little did the monarch imagine when he doled out a few acres of useless land for a museum with only three professors, that he was prepar- ing a magnificent temple for the wonders of nature, — a temple destined to become not only one of the principal ornaments of the capital, but an honor to France and even the entire world. The garden, consisting of thirty-three hectares of ground, lies on the south side of the river, near the bridge of Austerlitz. As you enter by the northeastern gate, the splendid enclosure pre- sents you the view of a large grove divided into four parts by three avenues running its whole length. The space contains a Menagerie, a Botanical Garden, with hot-houses, a Museum and Library of Natural History, a Museum of Comparative Anatomy, 188 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. a Museum of Mineralogy and Geology, and an Amphitheatre with laboratories and apparatus of every possible description for public lectures. The lectures are delivered by an attached corps of thirteen professors, comprising the most distinguished men in the kingdom, and are perfectly open and gratuitous. The whole establishment is maintained at the expense of the government, at an annual cost of about sixty thousand dollars ; and it gives em- ployment to one hundred and sixty persons. The Menagerie is avowedly the largest in Europe, and the most complete m its arrangements. It alone requires the space of about twenty-four acres ; and the surface, which is perfectly level by the side of the amphitheatre, varied pleasingly in the middle by inequalities, and terminating upon the quay in an embank- ment, communicates with the garden by three fine entrances. The tame animals are kept in fourteen parts, — six at the east of the building, called the Rotunda, and eight at the east towards the Seine. Each of these is again subdivided into as many smal- ler compartments as the establishment contains different species. To each park is annexed a building conformable to the instinct and mode of life of the animal, into which it may retire at pleas- ure. Nothing can be more picturesque than this site ; a move- ment of surface ever varying, heightened by the unique and fanciful cottage homes which adorn and variegate the entire enclos- ure. It would be impossible to enumerate all the species of tame animals and reptiles ; but suffice it to say, that you can scarcely realize that you have directly before you all the various animals, and more, about which you have read, or seen in pictures, which you may now scan, and whose very habits you may now observe at leisure. Here you see an alpaca, remarkable for the length and fineness of his wool ; and a httle further, an African sheep, with a long tail ; again, you meet with the goat of Tartary, India, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 189 and Upper Egypt, besides different species of Europe. Near them is a Mexican lama. Besides these already enumerated, are giraffes, elephants, camels, zebras, deer, antelopes, ostriches, cas- sowaries, etc. Towards the Seine, is a Menagerie for wild beasts, composed of twenty-one enclosures. There may be seen several species of bears, a jaguar, lions, hyenas ; but the most curious is the black panther. The palace of the lions forms a range of strong cabins, divided longitudinally into two sets of apartments, — the inner being ap- propriated for the feeding and rest of the beasts ; and the outer being strong cages, defended by iron bars in front, where the animals sun themselves. The large family of monkeys are appropriately provided for in a stone edifice, which has in front a circular cage of some fifty feet in diameter, where these mischie- vous and tricky animals can remain during night or day, in cold or rainy weather. It is warmed in the winter, and being provided with galleries, ropes, and ladders, affords opportunity for these singular creatures to exhibit themselves much to the amusement of the crowd. In the palace of the Birds of Prey are specimens of every variety of eagles, hawks, and vultures, with some others. In other enclosures may be seen the gallinaceous birds, the aqua- tic birds, and a great variety of other families. There are enclosures for the various species of reptiles. You almost tremble to see several species of serpents, coiling around each other in loving embrace, with their fiery forked tongues in quick and me- nacing movement, or, peradventure, the great anaconda or boa- constrictor, with a slow and majestic movement, basking his huge body in the sun. The Museum of Natural History is contained in a long range of buildings three stories high. A detailed account of this vast 190 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. collection, in which almost every class of living beings has its representative preserved, would till volumes. The interior of the building is divided into six halls in the first stage, five in the second. In the first are the reptiles and fish ; in the second, the quadrupeds, insects, and shell-fish. The collection of fish comprises about five thousand individuals, and about half that number of species. They are preserved with an art so exquisite, as to leave in perfection their exterior form, thus revealing how well the Creating Hand knew to vary his gifts. In the midst of this world of wonders, is the statue of Buffon, the great French naturalist. It is draped in an ordinary loose dress, standing, in the act of writing on a tablet resting upon a terrestrial globe. His head is turned away from the tablet, and he seems intently examining the objects around. Under and about his feet are the head of a lion, a dog asleep, a serpent, some marine productions, and a large group of rock crystals. The observer is at once favorably struck with the happy conception of the artist, in combining with the individual traits of the eminent naturalist, the noble thought of representing the minister and in- terpreter of nature ; and he reads upon the pedestal the fitting memorial of BufFon : llajestatt Naturce. par Ingenium. Pajon, the sculptor, is considered as eminently fortunate in delineating the features and portraying the expression of the great man, to be transmitted to future generetions ; but Buffon was as great a writer as naturalist, and he who felt that the style is the man, will survive in his immortal writings, the mouldering atoms of tablet or marble. He lives there, and will live, so long as shall exist the French language, and the works of nature which lent inspi- ration to his thoughts. His works themselves are a much fitter eulogy than the inscription upon the pedestal of his effigy. The most brilliant part of the Museum is in the second story. MUSEUM OF MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 191 Five thousand mammalia, forming as many species, appear under their natural colors ; in their distinctive features are revealed their natural instincts ; upon their vained mien are imprinted their qualities or powers ; their forms, even, are admirably adapted to the circumstances of the country which produced them, and to their dispositions, whether mild or malevolent. The soul involun- tarily bows in humble adoration to the energy and creative power of such wonders. It experiences the same sentiment, in a more lively degree perhaps, in viewing a variety not less astonishing, both in configuration and color, of six thousand individuals and two thousand three hundred species of birds. What exquisite richness of plumage have they ! Every color, — the purest gold, silver, azure, rouge, and green, is reflected from their glossy feathers with a brilliancy and lustre inimitable. The museum of mineralogy and geology is beyond all question the richest in the world. In the middle of the gallery extends throughout its entire length a series of glass cases, in which are admirably arranged all the minerals which form the crust of the earth, classed according to their age and formation. These cases form, thus to speak, so many archives, in which are inscribed the series of all the revolutions of the terrestrial globe. Here was a crystal of quartz three feet in diameter ; beryls, ten inches ; am- monites, eighteen to twenty inches ; and many beautiful specimens of fossil fish, from one to three feet long, in some of which, not only the size and shape, but also the color of the scales, was dis- tinctly discernible. In the intervals may be seen magnificent marble tables in mo- saic, comprising specimens of the various kinds of marble any where found. Upon one of them is a huge stone which fell at some time, from the upper regions ; also an enormous mass of iron-ore of the same origin. 192 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WOllLD. In the middle of the hall is a noble statue of the illustrious Cuvier. It will be remembered that at an early age, the eminent man was called to Paris to fill the professorship of Comparative Anatomy, and soon attained the highest distinction as a naturalist. The Cabinet of Comparative Anatomy formed wholly by him, and his various other works on natural history, form an imperish- able monument of his genius. Cuvier was a protestant and Chris- tian, and it was delightful to see in the labors which constituted the basis of his fame, none of those elements of fragility which mark the conclusion of science when opposed to the works of God. The statue stands on a base about five feet high, in his or- dinary dress as lecturer, his left hand resting on a globe, the fore- finger pointing into the interior, as if directing attention to some internal phenomenon, while the right hand is raised up nearly in a line with the face, as if in the act of explaining it. On one side of the pedestal is his name ; and on another in a unique inscription, a list of his different publications. It is highly appropriate. His works do indeed praise him. The Museum of Comparative Anatomy is in a building to the west of the enclosure. It was commenced in 1775, by Dauben- ton, guided by the profound genius of Cuvier, who knew equally well to discover truth, or perceive her intimate relations, or give embodiment to her hidden mysteries in the noble form of speech. The specimens are grouped so as to present the common resem- blances on which the divisions into genera are founded, and the particular differences of species at one view, affording great fa- cilities for study and comparison. The specimens are preserved with infinite art by the injection of fluid into their minutest art- eries; and not only is the human organization compared with that of diverse animals, but the different races are comjiared with each other ; such as the European, Tartar, Chinese, New Holland, MUSEUM OF COJIPARATIVE ANATOMY. 193 Negro, Hottentot, several savage tribes of America, and ancient Egyptian mummies. You are struck with the resemblances and diversities. There is also a large collection of monsters and lusus naturce. The wax preparations are numerous. There is a room expressly devoted to craniology, in which plaster models of skulls are arranged with such taste and skill as would delight a phi'enolo- gist. You proceed from surprise to surprise through the fifteen halls of which the cabinet is composed, which contains more than fifteen thousand anatomical specimens, and the collection is rapidly mcreasmg. The collection in the vegetable kingdom is immense, and the classification and arrangement into orders, genera and species are astonishing and beautiful. Near the library building is a large square filled with trees, that burst their foliage in the spring, sep- arated from others merely ornamental in the summer. A second walk, bordered by maple trees, separates a rich group of autumnal fruit-trees, and these, in turn, are separated from a grove of ever- greens. Further on, is a space appropriated for the culture of culinary vegetables ; then comes the school for plants of domestic economy, such as are used for the subsistence of man, animals, or employed in l^ie arts. In the first parterre, situated in the inter- val of the broad walks, extending opposite the galleries, are first, flowers, and perennial plants ; then, in an enclosure accessible by means of iron gates, exotic trees, and especially such as are resin- ous, which are undergoing a process of acclimation. In the mid- dle of this is a beehive, and then a school for the cultivation of flowers. Several square plots, in the vicinity, are used for the cultivation of medicinal flowers. The entire interval extending to the right of the broad walk, bordered with lindens to the Swiss valley, is devoted to the study of six thousand species or varieties of fruit-trees growing on the French soil. A little further on is 17 194 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the Botanic school, or seven thousand jjlants arranged according to the natural method of Jussieu. Each is labelled according to its name, family, and class. Besides these are extensive hot -houses, in which are beautifully arranged every species of exotic plant that requires a warmer climate than that of Paris. The array here presented is actually overpowering, and the mind is staggered under such a wilderness of vegetable wonder and beauty. All the ground not actually appropriated for a specific scientific purpose, is delightfully embeUished with trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, or broad and well gravelled walks, to charm and delight you at every step. The natural inequalities of the ground are preserved, in order to present the greatest possible variety, and it is so adorned as to exhibit the wildness and luxuriance of nature, heightened by the gilding hand of art. You pass on to the upper garden, through enclosures of fruit- trees and hot-beds, towards the rising gi'ounds, on which are erected the magnificent conservatories. Between these, is a path leading to a httle elevation, called the Labyrinth, on the ascent of which is a noble Cedar of Lebanon, four feet in diameter at the base, which was planted here more than a century ago by the cel- ebrated Bernard de Jussieu, who brought it from England. It is a beautiful tree, and appears not unworthy to be the emblem of the majesty of Israel. Not far from the cedar is the tomb of Daubenton, who devoted more than fifty years of his calm and laborious life to the study of nature in this museum. You reach the summit of the hill by a spiral path bordered with ever- green. Upon the summit is a kiosk, or iron tui'ret, from which a good view of the city may be had. Such is a brief and necessarily imperfect sketch of this minia- ture world of nature. No description, however elaborate or col- EVENING SCHOOL. I95 ored, can convey a faithful picture of the original. To get an adequate idea of its wonderful extent, riches and beauty, one must actually visit it, and linger amid its munificence. One evening I was called on by a gentleman, whose acquaint- ance 1 had previously formed, and who very kindly offered to ac- company me on a visit to some of the adult and juvenile evening schools. It was Monsieur the Director of the School of Freres. On descending from my room, I found him in the private saloon with Madame David, engaged in lively conversation, chatting and occasionally joking as familiarly as if they had been old acquaint- ances, although this was their first meeting. We were soon joined by two or three others of the Freres, when our little party set off in lively mood, in one of the omnibuses which may be found at all times in any part of the city. Monsieur le Directeur was in excellent spirits, and actually poured forth his capacious and gen- erous soul for my peculiar edification and amusement. lie was beyond middle age, above the medium stature, and rather corpu- lent. His massive face, beaming eyes, and open and radiant ex- pression, betokened the voluminous and versatile nature of his spirit. He permitted not a moment of the time in our passage or return, to pass unfilled. He was at times instructive, caustic, hu- morous, sentimental, but always kind, gracious, and animating. In spite of his religious garb, it was easily seen, that the world and its cares sat lightly upon him. He had a smile for its follies, a tear for its miseries, but a willing heart and a ready hand to atl- vance the good and noble wherever found. Of an observing cast of mind, possessed of a well-digested fund of thouglit and in- formation, with an easy and appropriate fiow of language, he was eminently entertaining. He was one of those men rarely to be met with, in whose society you feel a continual glow of agreeable excitement. 196 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. These schools were recently established by the city, for the ben- efit of the laboring poor. Only a portion of this class avail them- selves of their liberal provisions ; yet the institution attests the humane and munificent spirit of the government, and refutes the charge sometimes made, that monarchical governments ai-e neg- lectful of the improvement and welfare of the people. The school that we were visiting, was one of the largest and most suc- cessfully conducted of this class, in the city ; and I was necessarily deeply interested in inspecting the mode of its operation, and learning of its character and success. My friend the conducteur, who seemed perfectly known to every one we met, took me through all the rooms, introducing me to the teachers, and some- times to the scholars, and explaining explicitly everything wor- thy of note. His very presence diffused around a genial and gladsome feeling wherever he went. The scholars seemed to re- gard him with a paternal and reverential sentiment akin to ado- ration. I was struck with the spirit of willingness, and the habits of strict assiduity which prevailed entire among the learners, and the kindly and earnest disposition expressed in the affectionate tones of voice, and the benignant regard of the teachers. The one party seemed imbued with profound gratitude for so grand and munificent a privilege, and appeared determined to improve the moments as if each came laden with golden opportunities ; the other showed that they felt the humane nature of their mission, and would ameliorate by hearty kindness the task i-endered doubly difficult by early omissions. The spirit which prevailed w^as de- lightful — charming ; it bordered on enthusiasm ; and, carried away by its sympathetic influence, and the crowd of animating as- sociations which the scene and occasion gave forth, I was filled with deep emotion. It was certainly unique and profoundly interesting to see men bowed with age, struggling with a manly heart but EVENING SCHOOLS. DRA^^NG. 197 ■with a child's perception, to master the mere elements of their vernacular tongue. Here were persons forty and even fifty years of ao'e, who had come up to the place fatigued with the day's la- bor, cheerfully yielding the small fragments of time left them amid the incessant and depressing toil for the nai-rowest physi- cal subsistence, in order to gain the keys of knowledge, which were to unlock the portal, revealing to their eager gaze the world of thought and sentiment. The muscular working of their manly countenances betrayed their intensity of soul, — and as they brushed from their brow the sweat and dust, which in their earnest desire for mental acquisition, they had not removed before leaving their toil, I could not but feel abashed and hu- miliated in view of my own delinquencies, — at the thought of hours misspent, and opportunities misimproved. It is impossi- ble for us who have learned some of the elements of knowledge in our youth, to estimate their value, or appreciate the want of them felt by those who were so unfortunate as to be deprived of the glorious blessing. These early privileges were brightened into our youthful mind imperceptibly, hkc the gradual opening of the noon of day ; while their possession and noble results flowing in upon our being in broad and intermitting streams, are hke the gladsome and genial sunshine and dew, whose very universality, life-breathing fragrance, and perennial beauty, render us indiffer- ent to their value and loveliness. A feature of this school, not unworthy of mention, was the prominence given to Drawing. I had observed the large share of attention devoted to this branch, in the other schools I visited, and I thought to comprehend the reasons for the course pursued ; but here, where the learners, from the nature of the case, could not be expected to be talvcn farther than the )nere elements of reading, writing, and spelling, it seemed an 17* 198 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. injudicious appropriation of time, to spend any of" it in the ac- quisition of any branch of learning, but such as constitute, in common opinion, with us, the simplest ground-studies of an educa- tion. A moment's reflection, however, rectified this view. The truth is, that the notions of the French, and those generally pre- vailing, in this country, in regard to the comparative value of certain branches of education, and particularly that of drawing, are different. We are accustomed to look upon drawing, in a course of study, as ornamental only, — calculated, at the most, but to cultivate the taste and elevate and refine the sentiments; but the French, in addition to this influence of the beautiful art, connect it directly with the common pursuits of life, and make it an indispensable acquisition in every artisan who would expect to excel in his trade. And it cannot for a moment be questioned, that the superiority of the French in the grace and beauty of their fabrications, can be traced directly to the great at- tention given by them to the art of drawing. In this school a considerable proportion of the scanty time was devoted to this ex- ercise by all; the walls of the room were covered with patterns, illustrating every stage in the progress of the learner, from the first rough lines, to the most perfect and beautiful picture ; and the readiness and evident pleasure with which the teacher showed you the more successful efforts of the learners, commenting, at the same time, upon his enviable talents, — while other branches were omitted,— clearly evinced the value attached to the attainment by the French, merely in its ordinary relations to practical life. And the exercise was engaged in here, by the scholars, not as it is too frequently among us, merely to while away the time, or as a re- lief from more irksome studies, but with a spirit of deep and earnest enthusiasm, — and the improvement made Avas correspond- ingly good. Indeed, I was shown some specimens, executed on the ATTENTION GIVEN TO DRAWING. 199 spot, which for perfection and grace of outline, delicacy and charm of shading, and life-glowing and spiritual beauty breathed into them, would have done credit to any artist, — but when considered as the productions of beginners, mere tyros, in the art, they were really wonderful. Our first astonishment, however, at such superior ac- quisition, will be diminished when we consider that the French- man seems endowed by nature with a peculiar talent for the appreciation of the nice and beautiful in form ; and were it not so, the influences of his external life could not but form such a quality of his being. The great attention given to art throughout the country, the vast gardens in which every form of nature is ad- miringly displayed, the numerous public monuments adorned with the riches of ancient sculpture, the vast piles of architecture every- where offering to view their grandeur and magnificence, the im- mense collections of paintings glowing with beauty, with which Paris and all the important towns of France are filled, and all entirely free and accessible to everybody, are so many educational influences, silently but unceasingly, forming in the soul of the native the very spiritual essence of art. The Parisian is sur- rounded by such influences from infancy to age. The first play- thing of his nursery is, it may be, an exquisite copy of the Venus de Medici or the Apollo de Belvidere ; the fountain in which he sports his tiny bauble, is filled with Naiads and Tritons ; the gar- den whither his nurse or governess takes him for an airing is decorated with statues and antiques ; indeed, he cannot cast his eyes up, or around, without meeting with some object of art. He breathes, as it were, an atmosphere of art, — and so saturated be- comes his soul with the forms of beauty, that he has only to acquire the rules of outward form, and the spirit flows in, as ])y natural accord. We were led from the ordinary study-rooms into a small studio 200 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. for moulding heads and busts. A student was hard at work, all covered with dust. He was mentioned to me as possessing very superior talent, — and having passed rapidly through the several grades of drawing, crayoning, etc., was now finishing off in this department previously to his departure for Philadelphia, where he intended to pursue his vocation. He was eager and minute in his inquiries touching the United States ; and when he learned that I was from Boston, he invited me to step in some day, and make hun a call, when he should be installed in liis new Western home, — never for a moment imagining that many people, residing in Bos- ton and vicinity, never go to Philadelphia even for once in their life. The school session is between seven and ten in the evening, and is held every day of the week except one. The teachers receive about one hundred and twenty dollars per annum. We passed into the basement story, and were soon standing be- fore a large class of juvenile, indigent, evenmg-scholars. They were poorly clad, covered with the dust of their labor, and had the appearance of having come direct from their toil to the school. Their countenances bore a depressed and saddened expression, but their eyes sparkled with youthful hope and vivacity. They were deeply interested, I was told, and were making rapid pro- gress. Who knows, mused I, that here is not developing genius, one day to illumine the world ? It was certainly a touching spectacle to contemplate this Spartan band of youth, who, con- temning the captivating recreations of children, had nobly decided — even against the immense odds — to conquer or die in the strug- gle for improvement. The genius of learning ever lends a listen- ing ear to such suitors, and never fails to dispense her favors generously when thus wooed. The example of these youth, giving the few moments of their time in the intervals of their severe toil, EVENING SCHOOLS. 201 to intellectual culture, should put to shame many of our sons and daughters, who find study irksome even when enlivened by the pleasing and delightful circumstances of books, teachers, appai-a- tus, and all the appointments which human ingenuity can invent, or a noble benevolence apply, to lessen the toil of the student in the declivitous path up the hill of science. CHAPTER XVI. PALACE OF THE LUXEMBOURG — RICH PAINTINGS — INSTITUTION FOR DEAF-MUTES — HALE AND CHEERFUL APPEARANCE OP IN- MATES — MODE OF TEACHING — TEACHERS OF FRENCH — PAL- ACE OF THE FINE ARTS — A NICE PARTY OP COUNTRY BEAUX AND LASSES — CHURCH OF THE MADELINE — ITS MAGNIFI- CENCE — RICH TREAT AT THE PROTESTANT CHURCH — NUNS AT THE CHURCH OF ST. GERMAIN l' AUXERROIS — RURAL-RESTAU- RANT — MADAME DAVID — REUNION OF OUVRIERS — BISHOP OF PARIS — DEEPLY INTERESTING CHARACTER OF EXERCISES. On Friday I made a visit to the Palace of the Luxembourg. It is boldly situated at the head of the rue de Tournon, and has connected with it, on the south, an extensive garden, beautifully laid out with walks stretching through trees, shrubbery and flow- ers ; and the whole enlivened by sheets of water, upon which I frequently saw, in my rambles in that direction, skaters in brisk and jocular exercise. The present edifice was commenced in 1616, under the direction of Marie de Medicis. In 1798, it was greatly improved and decorated. Its principal entrance presents at its extremities two large pavilions, united by a double terrace, pierced by four arcades. In the middle of the edifice, upon a quadrangular basis, I'ises a neat and elegant cupola. It develops three orders of architecture : first, the rez-de-chausse, — or ground- flooi', — exhibits the Tuscan ; then, in the first stage, comes the Doric, and the Ionic displays itself in the second stage. The PALACE OF THE LUXEMBOURG. 203 whole appearance is masculine, and singular. There are many- paintings, and some of great value, in this palace. Among them are gems, from the pencils of Reubens, Raphael, and Benjamin West. How indefatigable must have been the industry', as well as profound the genius of these sublime spirits, especially the two former, whose works may be found in nearly every gallery of con- sequence in Europe ! How is it, that great genius is so often found united to great industry and perseverance ? May it not be, that the latter serves to give birth to the former? Some of these paintings are more than two hundred years old, and yet they retain, in a good degree, their spirit and freshness. The art is indeed noble, that can arrest the varying expression, — the faithful index of the fugitive emotions of the soul, — and trans- mit it thus, through successive generations. The library is two hundred and twelve feet in length, by twenty- three in width. It is decorated with many choice pieces of paintings and sculpture. The central cupola of the gallery, painted by Eugene Delacroix, represents the Elysium of great men, as described by Dante. The chapel, which is on the ground-floor, is beautiful, and near it is a magnificent hall, painted by Reubens, called the sleeping chamber of Marie de Medicis. There are many other things here of deep interest, but space would fail me to enumerate them. The paintings struck me asbeing larger, more highly colored, and to represent action and violent emotion in a higher degree than those in general in the Ijouvre. Perhaps it was because more of them were of the French school. My guide, whom I did not fancy, took me hastily through the building, reciting his story in a monotonous manner, to which I gave little attention. Here, in the gallery of j)aintings, as in that of the Louvre, were artists as- siduously engaged in making copies of some of the smaller works. 204 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. After spending much less time than I could have wished in this interesting palace, a few moments' walk brought me to that nobly humane asylum, the Royal Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, situated in the Rue de St. Jacques. The building is by no means imposing in appearance ; but an inspection of its interior shows it to be sufficiently ample and conveniently disposed. The superin- tendent showed me over the edifice with a delicacy of politeness which in Paris extends even to the government, and which here seemed tempered with a suavity and kindness inspired by the be- nevolent influences of the spot. The males whom I saw, were scattered in the different rooms, intently occupied in various me- chanical employments. They were garbed in blouse ; and bore a hale and cheerfnl aspect, which seemed to show that no care pressed upon them, and that no thought shaded by the irrevocable misfortune of their condition, was wont to cross their minds. How fortunate the nature of man, that can thus be formed to the con- tingencies of any lot ! The articles of fabrication shown me, were even superior to those made by the blind. If not more delicately elaborate, they exhibited more solidity and a smoother finish. Indeed, I half fancied that I discovered traces of superior care and devotion in the nicer parts, not found in the fabrications of hear- ing persons, distracted as they are by appeals to the external sense, and hurried by an impatience to participate in the gladsome notes of social and musical life. The sublime and humane idea of restoring to society men whom nature would separate, is due to the Abbe de I'Epee. With a fortune greatly disproportionate to the largeness of his soul, he devoted his narrow means for the furtherance of his noble mission, compensating by talent, energy, and devotion, and by a rigid sim- plicity of life, for the want of greater pecuniary means. He at first assembled in his own house forty deaf and dumb persons. INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB. 205 boarded them at his own expense, and after reserving the merest pittance for his own sustenance, expended the entire of the re- mainder of his estate in educating them, and in founding one of the noblest institutions that has ever blessed humanity. In the Salle des Exercises, is a fine picture of this founder of the school, embracing the young deaf and dumb Count de Toulouse, whom he had educated. There is, moreover, a bust of the Abbe de I'Epee, as also one of the Abbe de Sicard, who, on the death of the Abbe de I'Epee, in 1796, undertook the management of the es- tablishment. It has since been transferred from a convent of Celestines, to the buildings of the Seminaire de St. Magloire, where it now exists. The school comprises two hundred boys and sixty girls, who are admitted between the ages of ten and fourteen years, and are re- tained in general six years. The best two among the male pupils belonging to each class of the sixth year, are selected to receive the advantages of a superior course of education for the additional term of three years, — and from what is called the class of in- struction complimontaire. They are supported by a fund left by the late physician of the institution, the benevolent Dr. Itard. Most of the puj)ils are supported here, at the expense of the government, but a few are kept at the school by their relatives. The expense of the government is about ninety dollars per annum, and private schol- ars are charged one hundred and seventy dollars. The number of instructors is, eight for the males, four of whom are deaf and dumb ; and four for the females, besides four or five young per- sons who are preparing for situations as teachers, by attending the exercises of the school-rooms, and rf-ndering assistance from time to time as they find the opportunity. These are called aspirants, and become subsequently teachers, if their talents and success seem to warrant the merit. 18 206 CKESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. The salaries of the teachers are not large ; but after thirty years' service, they receive on retiring, a pension from the government of half-pay for life. I was not permitted to see the female part of the school. The sexes are kept entirely distinct ; and to my request to be shown through the department, I was told that no man was allowed there but the priest. The reason for the separation of the sexes, is founded on the belief that, deprived of articulate speech, the ordi- nary advantages of social intercourse would not accrue to these pupils. In this decision, it is forgotten that the communication of thought, of sentiment, of emotion, does not depend wholly upon speech. The beauty and poetry of the soul often finds a happier and more forcible medium of expression in the manner, the coun- tenance, the eye, than could be given to it by the meagre and in- adequate power of language. And imperfectly developed must ever be that character, which comes to age without the vivifying intluence of intercourse with the opposite sex. In this admirably arranged charity, the pupils of both sexes are instructed by means of three different languages, namely, by al- phabet, by mimic-signs, and by dumb-articulation. The last men- tioned mode, although successfully pursued in several distinguished institutions in Germany, has not yet gained much favor with the French. It has been repeatedly attempted in this school, but the system has not gained particular favor. The professors have declared, that in their opinion, the advantages to be gained by this mode, were by no means equal to the comparative time and effort necessary to reach the result. Here, as elsewhere in the schools, all are carefully taught draw- ing, for the double purpose of cultivating taste, and of enabling them with facility to delineate the signs and the alphabet, by whicli they can mutually communicate their ideas to each other. MY FRENCH TEACHEU. 207 In taking leave of this interesting establishment, I could not but pause for a moment in the entrance-square, to contemplate an object of great curiosity. It was an enormous elm, two hundred and forty-six years of age, and ninety feet in height, which had been planted by Sully, minister of Henry IV. It shows no sign of age, and is considered the finest tree in the neighborhood of Paris. Its gigantic stature, and wide-spreading branches, are not unemblematic of the support and protection which the govern- ment of France affords to its unfortunate children. One of the lecture-rooms at the School of Medicine, Avhich I looked into on my way home, detained me but a few moments. The professor, a venerable-looking gentleman, apparently fifty or sixty years of age, seated in an armed-chair, was reading a lecture from a manuscript, in a dull and lifeless manner. Specimens of anatomy were promiscuously lying on the table before him, at some distance, which he sometimes referred to by leaving off his reading, taking up the part to be explained, and deliberately ex- emplifying the point that he had presented. His lack of ani- mation was accompanied by its usual result, a thin attendance; for the room was no more than half filled. I was called on, in the evening, by a young gentleman who had been sent to me by my friend Monsieur the Director, and recom- mended by him as a suitable person to improve me in the graces of French pronunciation. He was a very young man, perhaps no more than twenty years of age, yet full of spirit, vivacity, and grace, and possessed of a smooth and fluent utterance. As he could not speak English, he offered his services to me for four francs a lesson, — five being the usual price. I struck a bargain with him for a lesson a day, of an hour's length ; and I had no reason afterwards to regret the choice I made in him, for he proved a faithful and excellent instructor, and he aided me in 208 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. otlier respects. I had previously called, for purposes of mere in- quiry, however, on several of these conveniences to strangers in Paris. They are quite a numerous tribe in this well ar- ranged city ; and their cards, ostensibly posted, frequently meet the eye in certain quarters. These gentlemen-teachers are entirely complaisant, enter readily into conversation with you, — and by the perfect coincidence of opinion and congeniality of feeling be- tween you, they will be very likely to touch your sympathies at once. It may, perchance, appear a little singular at first, that they happen always to have just time to teach one more pupil, and that although they have before them several applications for this hour, you would most assuredly receive the preference. After learning that I was from Massachusetts, they would enumerate the distinguished men from my own State, whom they had had the honor to instruct ; and I really began to feel a kind of social elevation, in being so near such eminent society. Feb. bth. I attended in the morning, two lectures at the Sar- bonne. The rooms were not filled. The professors spoke with notes before them. In one room each student had with him a book, to which I noticed he was frequently cited by the speaker. In the afternoon, I passed through the Palace of Fine Arts. In company, was a small number of persons belonging to the rural pop- ulation. My attention was as much engrossed with the interesting company, as with the remarkable objects to be seen in the museum. Tliey were evidently in Paris for the first time, and as they would probably never see it again, they could not but be highly impressed with the value of time. Every traveller feels that a day in Paris is equal to weeks or months elsewhere ; then how concentrated must be the feelings of the inhabitant of the country or smaller town, who has been accustomed to look up to Paris as the sum of artificial creation, and the end of travelling life, — as a world of MUSEUJI OF FRENCH MONUMENTS, 209 beauty in miniature, and the grand centre of opinion and style for the world, and to which he must make one visit in his life, as would a jMohammedan to the city of Mecca. So strong is this feeling among the rural class in France, that sometimes the surplus earnings of many years, if not an entu-e life, are freely consecrated to this one long-nurtured purpose. '• Who has not seen Paris, has seen nothing," is a common saying in the country towns in France. The party in question was composed of youthful persons of either sex, and by the evident agreeable state of their feelings, they were nearer to each other in sentiment, than to warrant the opinion of being merely second-cousins. They passed through the different rooms, following our guide in the most docile manner, apparently thinking more of themselves and of each other, than of the interior of the edifice. Whenever their atten- tion was a little diverted to the objects we met with, it created only a mixture of surprise and distraction, similar to that which the boy experiences when he enters tor the first time a store filled with the captivating objects of his admiration. The buildings occupying the spot whence now rises the vast and interesting structui-e, called the Palace of the Fine Arts, was used, after the Revolution, as a general depot for the tombs, statues, bass-reliefs, and other decorations wrested from foreign churches and private establishments by the conquering and grasp- ing power of the French arms. These profaned relics of victory were gathei'cd in the various halls, cloister, and garden of the es- tablishment, classified and arranged according to their century. This collection, which must have been uniijue and deeply interest- ing, received the name of the Museum of French Monuments. At the Restoration, however, most of the monuments were returned to the churches whence they were taken ; and the present edifice is used for a museum and school. 18* 210 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. An ample stairway, overlaid and ceiled with marble, formed un- der a grand vestibule, and sustained by marble pillars, leads to the first stage of the building, which comprises several spacious com- partments decorated with paintings. In one of these rooms con- structed in an amphitheatrical form, is the celebrated fresco, from the pencil of Paul-de-la-Koche, representing the eight principal schools of painting : namely, the Roman, the Venetian, the Floren- tine, the German, the Spanish, the Holland, the Flemish, and French school. I was particularly struck with the portrait of Ra- phael, in the piece, bearing a more than mortal expression of beauty. Two other rooms constitute a museum of chef d'oeuvres of antiquities. In the chapel of Medicis is a copy of the master- piece of Michael Angelo ; and in the ancient church of the Petites-Angustines is the splendid copy, by Singlon, of his " Last Judgment." This picture is very large, and the canvas is crowded with figures displaying, with boldness, an infinity of attitudes. The picture illustrates the powerful creative genius of the great Italian painter ; but the impression which it makes upon the mind is rather confused. In the rooms in tlie first stage take place the annual exposi- tions of works of ai't, sent by pupils from Rome. The second stage contains the works which have obtained the prize at the Institute. After leaving this royal museum, I made a visit, for the twen- tieth time, perhaps, to the justly celebrated church of the Made- line. I could have wished to visit it twenty times more ; and when I did leave it for the last time, it was with a feeling; of resret which one experiences on the separation from a scene enshrined in the mind with delicious emotions. Its noble and symmetrical proportions, its pure but splendid architecture, its gorgeously rich interior and decorations, the fine paintings with which its walls CHUKCH OF THE MADELINE. 211 and ceilings are adorned, combine to render it by far the most beautiful work of art I ever beheld. The magnificent structure is in the boulevard of the same name, opposite the liue Royale ; and is after the Parthenon at Athens, but larger, being three hundred and twenty-eiglit feet in lengtli, and one Imndred and tliirty-eiglit feet in width, while its archetype is only two hundred and twenty-eight by one hundred feet. It stands upon a platform twelve feet high, surrounded by a magnificent peristyle of fifty-two Corinthian columns, each sixty feet high and six feet in diameter. Nothing can be finer than the view presented by the facade, ornamented as it is with all which sculpture has produced that is rich and elegant. But in gazing upon this splendid triumph of genius, the eye first falls upon the noble fronton, upon which, in a vast composition with alto-relievo, is represented the Last Judgment. The figures have a proportion of about fifteen feet. In the middle, rises the person of Christ ; and at his feet is the Madeline in a suppliant attitude ; she ap- pears to solicit pardon of the fishermen near her, while an angel, armed with a sword, repulses them. Passing from the majestic corridor of the double range of col- umns, at the southern front, tbrough the massive bronze doors, you enter the body of the edifice. What a scene bursts upon your enraptured view ! The floor entirely of marble, divided into com- partments of various figures and colors ; the numerous chandeliers of burnished gold, gilding the vast space of the interior ; the pic- tures of consummate execution speaking to you from the walls ; the beautiful statues, adorning all the niches, representing the sublimest form of thought ; the magnificent group of sculpture over the high altar of the virgin herself, of the purest white mar- ble, guarded by two angels of extreme grace and beauty ; all con- spire to render it a scene of indescribable beauty. 212 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. The interior of the edifice is totally different from most great Catholic churches. It is not divided into nave and aisles, but forms a vast hall without windows, receiving its light from open- ings at the centres of three fine domes that form the interior roof. The history of the church is curious. A religious edifice was ordered to be built here, by Louis XV, and the first stone was laid in 1763. The Revolution of 1789 suspended the work. In 1808, Napoleon changed entirely the plan and destination of the structure of twenty years, which had cost nearly two millions of francs, and caused to be erected on the site a Temple of Glory in honor of the Grand Army. But this, as well as many of Napo- leon's gigantic plans, was arrested in 1813, at the restoration of the Bourbons. Louis XVIII. recommenced the building in 1816, with the design of finishing the church to receive the monuments of his family, and to be dedicated to the Magdalen. Louis Phil- lippe, with his unbounded liberaUty to the fine arts, had the unfinished work completed. However rich and beautiful the interior of this church, its high- est charm consists in its fine exterior. The profusion and variety of beauty within, overpowers and distracts the mind ; but in con- templating its noble and elegant proportions from without, the soul is gradually elevated, the thought concentrated ; while the emo- tions, purified, become entranced in a spiritual elysium. The contemplation of this edifice, and that of the Pantheon, produces a similar effect upon the mind. The lover of the beautiful will ever feel that he cannot look upon them too often, or gaze upon them too long, — while in after years, their image will ever and anon float in his memory, awaking dehghtful recollections of the past. Sunday, Feb. Qth. First, went to the post-office, but received only, as compensation for my trouble, a renewed practical illustra- ST. GERMAIN L'AUXERROIS. 213 tion of the pronunciation of the French negation — ne rien, a sound, by the way, with which my ear was already but too familiar. Afterwards, I attended service at the great Protestant church of the city. On arriving, I found the church, which is ca- pable of holding two thousand persons, nearly full, and numbers, besides, rushing forward in quest of seats. From this impatience of movement all around, and the glowing expectation which was depicted upon the countenances of the audience, it was easy to infer that some bright particular star, of powerful attraction, was to be the spiritual guide of the forenoon's service. Nor was I at all deceived in so natural a conclusion. The address, which was of unusual length, and very diversified in style, was remarkably well sustained in interest, and had the power to keep the vast au- dience enchained in almost breathless attention, throughout its entire delivery. The speaker was slightly below the medium stature, and rather inclined to corpulency. His movements, how- ever, which were nervous, joined to his beaming countenance and eyes radiant with glow and fervency, added force to his brilliant style. He spoke without written notes, although it was evident enough from the perfection of the plan and details of the discourse, that it had at least been well engraved on the tablet of the mind. French speakers rarely or never read their addresses. Neither the genius of the language, nor the impetuosity of the French character, would admit of such a form. It is said that their speeches are often memorized, which is undoubtedly true, but they appear as spontaneous as if gushing directly from the fountain of the soul, with impressive force. Hence, their eloquence has the in- tensity of burning flame, melting with whatever it comes in contact. On returning to my lodging, I spent a brief hour or two in the church of St. Germain VAuxerrois. This edifice possesses inter- 214 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WOKLD. est on account of its antiquity, it having been erected at first, sometime in the seventh century. Standing for a long time witiiout the walls of the city, it more than once experienced the devastatmg influence of civil and foreign wars. It presents now very many points of interest to the lover of art, and of the cu- rious, but space fails to enumerate them here. It happened to be a time of service with them, and I had the enviable pleasure of listening to some excellent music, and of witnessing some cu- rious ceremonies. The nave of the church was nearly half filled, mostly with a class resembling the common people, a large num- ber being children, accompanied by their teachers. There were, besides, a goodly number of that humane class of females entitled Sisters of Charity, who were easily distinguished by their simple and unique garb. In this latter respect, they more nearly resem- ble the Quakers, or Friends, than any class that I can hken them to. I should not omit to mention another class present, which would be likely to attract the attention of a stranger. They were a band of young women, bearing a common resemblance in dress, age, and manner, and whom I took for nuns. Arranged on a long seat, they remained in a fixed attitude, presenting a demure and docile aspect. Their countenances, however, bore a bloom and redolence, reminding you of the first blush of spring. They were handsomely attired in long, flowing, silk robes, a white veil reaching below the breast, and white kid gloves of immaculate purity. Each bore in her hand a book of worship, beautifully gilded. The unique grace and elegance of their costume, and their subdued sedateness of expression, joined to the recollection of their secluded life, invested the spectacle they formed with a poetical charm which appealed with lively force to the imagina- tion. They were in consequence, the object of a covert scrutiny by the strangers present ; and one of the maidens, more lovely in RUBAL BESTAURANTS. 215 appearance than the others, ever and anon sweetly nestled in her place, with a kind of pardonable vanity apparent from her fre- quently rearranging some portion of her dress, and making occa- sional side-glances at some of the spectators present. In contem- plating these interesting specimens of the fairer creation, one felt to question the heart-wisdom at least of an institution that would thus pluck from social life such lovely flowers, to " waste their iia- gi-ance on the desert air." After tea, I compounded with my conscience so far as to adopt the resolution to visit one of the many rural restaurants situated in the verge of the city, where the common people are wont to assemble on a Sunday evening, to forget for a brief moment, amid singing and dancing and convivial enjoyment, the weariness of their labors, and the pain of their hard lot. I found the place at last, with some difficulty, and after much particular inquiry ; but on arriving, I found that I should lose the gratification of my cu- riosity in the object of my visit thither, as it was not the season for the indulgence of such amusements. I was permitted, never- theless, to inspect the place fully, and had all my questions abun- dantly answered. There was a cozy and rustic cottage in the midst of a pleasing garden shaded with trees, and interspersed with delightful arbors, with seats and tables for the lovers of the sparkling cup. In the middle of the garden was a small, open square, where rustic swain and buxom lassie had often, amid tumultuous music and hilarity, gracefully circled in the seducing and merry dance. On my return home, I spent a brief hour in agreeable conver- sation with Madame my graceful and kind-hearted landlady. Being the only foreigner out of the sixty young students who had rooms in her hotel, she had the politeness to grant me alone the l)rivilege of spending with her and her maid, occasional fragments 216 CKESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WOKLD. of time, for resolving my doubts on perplexing points in the day's investigation, as well as receiving suggestions as to the course to be pursued to see and learn the most at the least expense of time. vShe was remarkably intelligent, spirited, and witty. Her little private parlor was graced with a small library, containing a choice collection of standard works in French literature. Her knowl- edf^e of the passing world was obtained from the journals, the loan of which she purchased at second hand, for a sous a reading. It would be rare, even in our own school-boasting country, to find a lady of similar eai'ly advantages, and the same occupation in life, to be so well versed in literature and a knowledge of the world, as was Madame David. She had been a long time engaged in the same occupation that she was now following, and which her mother pursued before her. Taking her word for it, she did not get rich — so much competition was there in the trade — al- though she lived very frugally. She furnished the lodgers with meals when they ordered them, but her own were obtained by her maid from the restaurants, — and it was really curious to see, as I sometimes accidentally did, how very minute quantities of the different dishes they indulged in, sufficed her simple appetite. Before the evening was far spent, I set out for the Reunion des Ouvriers, held in the capacious basement of the Church of St. Sulpice, to which I had already received a printed invitation by my friend the Directeur. On arriving, I found the room crowded, and the exercises already begun. A seat had been reserved for me near the desk, to which I was immediately conducted amid marks of respect. A young man was reading an essay ; but be- fore I could well gather up the thread of his discourse, he came to an end. Having been previously informed that the bishop of Paris would honor the meeting with his presence, I was just imagining the sort of personage I should see in him, when (a REUNION DES OUVRIERS. 217 slight movement announcing his entrance) the entire assembly rose simultaneously to their feet, and remained standing in a deferen- tial attitude,' till the distinguished functionary had glided along through the aisle, rapidly but noiselessly, to his seat behind the desk. While the president of the meeting — after announcing to the audi- ence that it was the especial request of their honored visitor, that there should be shown him no applause — was offering some re- marks of his own, I had a moment's leisure to survey the high cler- ical dignitary. My imagination had pictured a lordly personage, garbed in pontifical robes, and moving with measured dignity. But far different was the reality. lie was of the medium French stature, corpulent, but showing none of the unwieldiness which usually attends obesity. He was simply attired with a small French toque upon his capacious head. A massive gold ring, en- casing a brilliant, the badge of his office, was upon one of the gloved fingers of his hand, and constituted the only ornament he wore. On his expansive forehead was enthroned the grandeur of a lofty intellect. From his genial countenance beamed intelli- gence and benignity, while his eyes floated in a sea of sympathy, and were radiant with the fire of genius. His manner had the simplicity of a child. He followed the president, in an extempo- raneous address of considerable length ; and if my astonishment was great before, it was redoubled on hearing him speak. From the commencement to the close of his remarks, every mind was riveted to the speaker, with intense interest. His vast soul seemed pouring forth in a torrent of eloquence, while the deep sea of em- bodied symi)alhy wliich filled the spacious room, was profoundly agitated like a tumultuous lashed ocean. Now lively or humorous, now fervid or impassioned, then flashing in sallies of wit, and again abounding in melting pathos, the entire audience hung entranced upon his moving accents. At one moment the house I'.t 218' CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. was convulsed with laughter ; at another, tears trickled down upon manly cheeks. He painted with masterly touches the numerous haunts of folly and vice in the new Babylon, as he termed it, and forcibly showed how superior to them were such soul-elevating places as that institution. Besides, added the speaker with pecu- liar significance, " You have the example of Christ, of the Apos- tles, and of the great and good of all ages." In common with the audience, I Avas deeply affected, and felt refreshed and elevated by his noble strains. He was followed by a very young man, in appearance no more than sixteen years of age, — but what a falling off was there ! His style bore the faults of youth and inexperience, without the marks of genius. Then came the report of the critic, — the reading of which produced some merriment. This, as I understood, closed the reg- ular exercises. Then followed volunteer speeches from gentle- men invited, or accidentally present. One of the most notable speakers, was the governor of the Hotel of the Invalids. He spoke fluently, and with animation, and his remarks, happily pointed off with apt illustration and sparkling anecdote, were well received by the company. Then followed a young gentleman, whom I took for a lawyer. After some vain display of person, and an obsequious apology for lack of preparation, he commenced. He was certainly fluent, and pleasing in his style ; but rambhng through fields of science, art, poetry, and literature, he had scarcely come to the point, before his time expired. Then fol- lowed the report of the treasury, dry and uninteresting, as such papers usually are. We were afterwards favored with a prosaic speech from one of the Professors of History at the Sarbonne. Volumes of books were then distributed, accordmg to a preAaous arrangement, whether by lottery or otherwise, I could not under- REUNION DES OUVRIERS. 219 stand. The exercises were closed with singing and prayer. There was singing, also, after every exercise. Twice, a single powerful and cultivated voice, accompanied by an instrument, filled the room with its deep and rich melody. At other times, the singing was performed by the audience, — every person present, ex- cept myself, I believe, taking part. It was accompanied by a fine-toned organ, and the effect was grand and inspiring. It pro- duced upon my feelings an elevation and impressiveness, impos- sible to express. I could have listened to it forever. Just imagine, for a moment, the effect of perhaps a thousand or fifteen hundred cultivated voices (for all are thoroughly taught to sing in youth), in perfect harmony, and inspired by elevating exercises, pouring forth their deep melody, exquisitely blended with the ar- tistic tones of the organ. The singing and happy hits of the speakers gave more than freshness and piquancy to the exercises, and breathed into the whole a fraternal spirit. The character of this institution is professedly moral, religious, literary, and scientific, and is designed to furnish healthful relax- ation, elevating amusement, and practical improvement, to the laboring classes; and from this meeting, and several others which I attended, I should think it admirably adapted to promote so laud- able an end. The Parisians are represented by some, as gay and frivolous, and entirely given to vain amusement ; but here is a society in the heart of the city, comprising moi"e than a thousand per- sons — and there are several others such in the city — the mem- bers of which, for sobriety of demeanor, earnestness of feeling, and thirst for solid improvement, will compare with any people in the world. This institution resembles considerably our Lyceums or Insti- tutes. Tliey are organized, however, on a broader basis, and 220 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. their exercises are of a more diversified character. All but Jesuits, who are at the bottom of this, as well as most other like moral and religious enterprises in the city, pay something for admittance. CHAPTER XVII. TO VERSAILLES — CHATEAU — VASTNESS — SPLENDID GnOTJNDS SUMPTUOUS INTERIOK — HOTEL DE BKISSAC — CONDITION OP DOMESTICS — NORMAL SCHOOL — HEALTHFUL APPEARANCE OP STUDENTS. Feb. 1th. I started by railroad for Versailles. A train leaves every hour, from both sides of the Seine, during the day and eve- ning. The distance is about twelve miles, and the rates of fare are forty, thirty, and twenty-five cents, according to places. I observed well-dressed and respectable-looking people in the second grade, and even the third. Indeed, it is said that " only women and fools go in the first place ;" or, with more propriety of expres- sion, such as would purchase exclusion. The time occupied thir- ty-five minutes. An-iving, I called on M. le Directeur of the Norman School, to whom I had letters of recommendation from the Vice-Rector at the Sarbonne. The Director received mc graciously, assuring me that I was most welcome to inspect the entire establishment at pleasure. As the Palace of Versailles would not open on tlie next day, I decided to make immediately my visit to this justly celebrated establishment. CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES. I cannot, of course, attempt anything like a full description of this celebrated Palace, which would, indeed, require a volume ; but I am bound to say sometliing about it, as well as its history. 19* 222 CEKSTS FRO.M THE OCEAN-WOKLD. About the middle of the seventeenth century, that magnificent monarch, Louis XIV, surnamed the gi'eat, becoming tired of St. Germain, determined to build a palace, and create a court that should attract the admiration of Europe, and become the centre of the politics, art, literature, and refinement of the civilized world. He chose for this purpose the gently elevated and un- dulating grounds in the hunting forests, about twelve miles south- west of the capital, where his ancestors used to pursue the chase. Le Notre was employed to lay out the gardens and grounds, and Lebrun to paint the apartments. In order to obtain ample room, the surrounding domains were purchased, until the whole, gardens, parks, and forests, expanded to a circumference of some sixty miles, with villages and agricultural grounds interspersed. A little to the east of the elevated plateau, upon which the palace was to stand, a town was laid out ; and some idea may be formed of the extent and prodigality of this court, when it is remembered that a town of one hundred thousand inhabitants sprang up, as if by magic, adorned with public squares, fine private hotels, and a number of public institutions, among which was a royal college. But the vast expenditure which was necessary, first to create, and tlien to keep up such a palace and court, impoverished the nation, and contributed materially to the subsequent revolution in 1789. It is said that the actual expenditure on the buildings and grounds, was nearly two hundred millions of dollars. The town at present contains but about thirty thousand inhabi- tants ; but is considered one of the handsomest in France, although it now wears a dull and deserted appearance, being no longer re- sorted to by the beau monde. It consists principally of three wide streets, lined with trees, diverging from the Place d'Armes, an open space in front of the palace. The central and widest of these streets, is called the Avenue de Paris ; and those on the PAINTING AND SCULPTURE. 223 north and south, the avenues of St. Cloud and Sceaux. The other streets, though of less width, are equally regular, cross each other at right angles, and are lined with handsome residences. From the Place d'Armes, eight hundred feet wide, you pass into the grand court, which is three hundred and eighty feet wide. As seen from the grand court, on the side next the town, the pal- ace seems an intricate and interminable aggregation of buildings, at one point advancing, at another, receding, yet magnificent amid this apparent confusion. But it is only when viewed from the garden, that the vastness of the huge and interminable pile is fully realized. You are now perfectly overwhelmed with the extent of the mass. The centre of the far-ade alone is three hundred feet front, and two hundred and sixty deep ; while on each side of it, a wing stretches off at right angles, to something like six hundred feet, presenting an entire facade of nearly two thousand feet, or- namented with Ionic pilasters, and with eighty statues sixteen feet in height, allegorically representing the months, seasons, arts, and sciences, and crowned by a ballustrade. This immense fagade is pierced by more than three hundred windows and doors ; and the impression of the vastness of the whole is heightened by remembering, that many of these windows admit light into single halls more than two hundred feet in length, thirty-five in breadth, and forty in height. Neither is the visitor less astonished, if he turns his attention to the grounds. Not only is he struck with their extent, but his mind is enraptured with admiration, in view of their inconceivable beauty, and the profusion of their decorations. From fountains worked on a gigantic scale, leap forth silvery waters, painting to the eye, at times, every hue of the rainbow. One of these foun- tains, the Neptune, cost three hundred thousand dollars ; and the expense of i)laying it, on the Sunday fetes, for the amusement of 224 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the people, is from eight thousand to ten thousand francs, or from fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars. Within the grounds are large lakes, embowered in refreshing groves, on which glided for- merly boats and even ships, for the amusement of royalty. There are, also, two minor palaces, mere summer houses compared with the Chateau itself; but the larger is nearly of the size of the President's house at Washington. These are called the Grand and the Petit Trianon, and were erected for the use of favorite mistresses. Disgusted with the unmeaning pomp of royalty, here the beautiful but unfortunate Marie Antoinette used to hie away from the palace, and regale in happier moments her buoyant and graceful life. To the south, is the orangery, where a whole grove of these trees bloom in winter, and are removed in summer to border the avenues and walks, and load the air with their rich fragrance. The avenues, arbors, the margins of the lakes, and the fountains which meet the visitor at every turn, are appropriately adorned with countless groups of beautiful statuary, imparting a classic air to the whole magnificent scene. I entered the palace by the way of the town. In the court, I was immediately besieged by persons offering themselves for guides, or exposing for sale hand-books containing a succinct ac- count of the palace and its gardens. Upon the frieze of the im- posing front of the main range of buildings, you may read in large golden letters, " A toutes les gloires de la France" which indicate the new destination of the palace and grounds, under the reign of Louis Phillippe. As you enter, a liveried huissier or door-keeper politely indicates to you the direction you are to take ; and at the entrances of all the apartments, these persons are stationed for the same purpose. But for this arrangement, strangers would find it impossible to make their way successfully through the laby- rinths of rooms of the interminable Chateau. In regard to the MUSEUM OF VERSAILLES. 225 extent of the interior of the palace, I can only say, that it is judged that it would require two hours to walk through the entire estabhshment, without stopping a moment to examine the different objects. I was myself five hours in going through, hastily and ■with intense industry, tarrying only long enough to make a rapid inspection of some object particularly remarkable, or peculiarly interesting from its historical associations. The splendor of what I had before seen in the Louvre and in the Luxembourg, was lost in the magnificence of this palace. The painted ceilings, the pictured walls, the size and number of its mirroi-s, the highly finished floors, the tapestry, the gilding, the exquisitely wrought furniture, admit of no description which can convey an adequate idea of its sumptuousness. The Salon d'llercule, and the Salles des 3farecheaux, de Venus, Diane, Mercure, Mars, Apollon, I'Abon- dance, de la Guerre, etc., so named from the paintings on their ceilings, walls, or other appropriate devices, are all truly noble apartments. The Grande Galerie is two hundred and twenty- eight feet in length, by thirty-two feet in bi-eadth, and forty-two feet in height. The ceiling, painted by Le Brun, represents some of the most striking events in the early part of the reign of Louis XIV. The Museum of Versailles is the History of France in action. All the battles, all the most brilliant actions, are here represented, from the foundation of the monarchy up to the present day. Each period has its saloon or gallery. A part of the ground-floor is devoted to sculpture. The rest of the palace is filled with pictures. The victories of the Republic, and the glorious events of the reign of Napoleon, have a large space appropriated to them. Here may be seen the grand and celebrated compositions of the Coro- nation, the battles of Austerlitz, d'Eylau, and many other pictures, master-pieces of the modern school of painting. 226 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. The more recent events, of the Revolution of 1830, and the brilliant campaigns in Algiers, have also a place appropriated to them. The historical portraits are numerous. First, may be seen a collection of the portraits of all the kings of France ; afterwards, the constables, great admirals, and marshals. In an immense sa- loon are arranged, besides, the portraits of personages of all na- tions, and times, who have been illustrious either upon the throne, or in war, politics, literature, or in the arts and sciences. One entire room is devoted to the views of the historical cha- teaux of France. lu another, is a collection of paintings in water- colors, tracing the campaigns of Italy. The busts and statues form an extensive and interesting col- lection of the most celebrated persons of all countries and times. There are, besides, the tombs of the kings, queens, and princes- ses of France. Many of the works are from the most celebrated artists. Among them may be recognized pictures, from the pencil of Horace Vernet, Paul Delaroche, Deveria, and a host of other celebrites. Nothing can be more imposing than the perspective of these immense galleries, and range of rooms, losing themselves in the distance. Those called after the luxurious monarch, Louis XIV, I thought magnificent, beyond even the power of imagination to conceive. They looked directly out upon the garden, and were as beautiful and gorgeous as the finest gilt, marble, and glass could be formed by the genius of man. As I stood at the entrance, memory rolled back to by-gone years, and fancy pictured many a gay and brilliant scene of the past, wlien the monarch, surrounded by groups of the gayest and most chivalrous gentlemen, and beau- tiful and elegant ladies of the realm, were gliding in the voluptuous HOTEL DU BRISSAC. £27 dance. Such a living picture as could be imagined would surpass a fairy scene. The expense of keeping up such an establishment has deterred all the sovereigns from residing there since the Revolution. At that time, it suffered greatly by the irruption of the populace into the chateau. Its decorations were then much mutilated. Louis Phillippe, with his grand munificence, restored, at his private expense, its ancient splendor, and gave a new destination to tlie whole. I took lodging for the night at the Hotel du Brissac, the identi- cal house once occupied by the duke of that name, a circumstance upon which my accommodating landlord frequently dwelt, as if it had invested his house with some strange charm. After supper, which was excellent, I sauntered out in quest of a Cabinet de Lecture, or reading-room, but finding there were none, I realized fully the deprivation of what constitutes, in Paris, to a reading man, so agreeable a resort. I managed, however, to spend the evening pleasantly enough, talking familiarly with the landlord, his wife, and such gentlemen as happened to come in. One of these latter told me, with all due gravity, that the Americans' and English are more polite than the French, although he admitted tliat the French are the more gallant of the two. He insisted, further, that the Enghsh, great numbers of whom reside in Ver- sailles, speak French more correctly than the French residents themselves. I took this as coming from one of those ambiguous personages who may be frequently met with in Europe, hanging about hotels, and eking out a scanty subsistence from travellers, by fiattery, or by means even less justifia})le. While sitting in the dining-hall, the family came in, and made their supper, consisting of soup, a scanty supply of meat, with cider instead of wine. They were ibllowed by the domestics, 228 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. who appeared in the merriest mood imaginable. They seemed not to suppose that I had ears of my own ; for they chatted with mibounded freedom upon any subject that happened to come uppermost, making all manner of remarks about my humble self. It being the season of Carnival, bright anticipations floated in their merry minds, and lent a gay volubility to their irregular conversation. Domestics at the hotels, restaurants, cafes, and other hke places, rarely receive compensation for their services, of the land- lord ; but rely upon what they can obtain from travellers, for favors done, such as cleansing and polishing boots, removing bag- gage, etc. Indeed, in some establishments, the situation is so enviable as to induce the domestic to purchase his place. This being the case, it is not so surjjrising tliat domestics in these coun- tries are somewhat importunate to travellers. It was the rule at this establishment for the domestics to retire, ordinarily, from ten to eleven o'clock ; but on Sunday evenings, they were allowed to go to masquerade balls, and be out, if they chose, all night. Accommodations and fare here, were excellent, and much cheaper than at Paris. Feb. 8th. Proceeded early to the Normal school, where, after a slight delay, I was admitted, — conducted through the different apartments of the building, and over the grounds, by one of the sub-teachers assigned by the director, who happened himself to be engaged. The young gentleman who accompanied me, was affable in his manner, particular in his attentions to make me see all, and enthusiastic to have me duly appreciate the various excellent points of the establishment. I was also admitted to the sessions of the several classes. This school, as its name implies, is designed to educate and fit young gentlemen for teachers of schools in the smaller towns and NORMAL SCHOOLS. 229 rural districts ; although, such as graduate, may become teachers in any school, or even engage in other pursuits, if it should turn out that their peculiar talent and tastes make the departure desir- able. The number of students between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, was one hundred and fifteen. They remain but two years, and do not study the languages. There is a juvenile depart- ment connected with the establishment, comprising several schools, of children of different ages, in which students of the principal department teach by turns, as a preparatory practice. Students are admitted after a satisfactory examination. Among other things, they are required to be able to pronounce Latin, without, however, understanding it. The average compensation of the Normal graduate, in a good situation, is from one hundred and seventy -five to two hundred dollars per annum, — the latter being considered excellent pay. None are admitted without boarding at the establishment. No corporal punishment is permitted, order being maintained by moral means, system of demerits, and in other such ways. Emulation is encouraged, and medals awarded to the most successful and worthy students. The school is con- ducted by a principal and ten professors, one for each department of instruction, namely. Ancient and Modern History and Geog- raphy, the Art of Teaching, Religion, Mathematics, Natural His- tory, Book-keeping, Music, Designing or Drawing, Gymnastics, etc. I was shown the cabinet and library. They are doubtless ample, but by no means extensive. The students were muscular and hale, and looked as if they came from the rural districts. In- deed, many of them wore wooden shoes, and were dressed in blouse. The building is not imposing, nor the rooms superior. A small garden is assigned the students, each being allotted a sepa- rate plot ; and after the first year, they are regularly instructed in the theory and practice of agriculture. In the i)lay-ground con- 20 230 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. nected with the establishment there is a meagre gymnasium for physical exercise. I must confess that I was somewhat disap- pointed in the school, which though evidently of an elevated char- acter, and conducted with ability, yet appeared hardly a model school for the nation. Connected with the Principal department, there are, as I have already observed, three primary schools, over which the Director has a supervision. Two are for very small children ; the other is entitled, Primary School Superior, where lads remain four years, and are prepared for the practical avoca- tions of life. I noticed a difference between the pronunciation in Versailles and Paris. CHAPTER XVIII. KEVOLUTION OF FEBRUARY — CAUSE, REUNIONS — ITALIAN IN- DEPENDENCE — JUST MILIEU OF MR. GUIZOT — MORE REMOTE CAUSES — LOUIS PHILLIPPE — STORMY SESSION OF THE CHAM- BER OF DEPUTIES — EVENING SCHOOL FOR JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES — PALAIS DE LA BOURSE — A STROLL IN THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS — FORTIFICATIONS OF PARIS — PLACE DE LA CONCORDE — PARISIAN CAFES — DAME DU COMPTOIR GARCON — DANCING — MODEL OFFICE — THEATRE FRANCAI3 — ORCHESTRA EXQUISITE PLAYING — LECTURES AT THE SARBONNE — MONSIEUR FRANK. Paris, Feb. dtk. I spent the evening in the Reading Room, near my lodging, which had become for me a frequent resort, to frugalizc spare moments of time in glancing at the current of events and oi)Inions. The journals were filled with the discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, which had become ominously ani- mated, if not exceedingly violent. The debate was u})on the last paragraph of the address of the Government to the Chamber, at the opening of its session, and particularly upon a single clause therein contained, by which such as had participated in the late Reunions, were characterized as politically blind, and decidedly in- imical to the government. These Reunions were simply political gatherings, composed mainly of opposition members and their constituents, held at various times in different parts of the king- dom, and partook somewhat of the nature of social, convivial 232 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. meetings for free interchange of opinion and sentiment upon tlie policy of the government, and the condition and prospects of the country. I speak now of the ostensible character of these assem- blings. Undoubtedly, the real purpose among the few contrivers of the scheme, was a general plan of agitation, with no well de- fined aim, — but which proved a powerful lever for a change of power. At some of these Reunions held of late, gentlemen had indulf-ed in sentiments well calculated to irritate or alarm the government. At one, a Polish refugee declaimed wildly against the Russian and Austrian governments, and complained bitterly of the course, pursued by the French minister. On com- plaint being made to Louis Phillippe, by the ministers of the for- mer governments, the noble exile was summarily punished for his temerity, by being immediately banished the kingdom. At an- other banquet, the customary sentiment of drinking the healtii of the king, was omitted. These, and othei" plain indications of a rapidly growing spirit of democratical audacity, joined, doubtless, with a lively conviction of its danger, unless opportunely checked, had determined the government upon measures to stay its prog- ress. Hence the introduction of the topic in the Address, as just mentioned. Aside from the energy of w-ill and power for unfaltering perse- verance which arbitrary opposition is always sure to impart, the agi- tators and the popular party had their enthusiasm aroused and sym- pathies ardently excited, by the struggle for freedom then going on in Italy — that land of noble and animating recollections — against the crushing and blighting tyranny of Austria. The cold- hearted and unnatural attitude of the French government toward the unequal combatants, and particularly the equivocal policy of M. Guizot, its Prime Minister, as expressed by him in the noto- rious phrase, Le Juste 3Iilieu, or Masterly Inactivity, as American OPPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT. 233 politicians would have it, only deepened the feeling of resentment toward the government, and fanned the flame of feeling for popu- lar rights. E^ngland had openly expressed her sympathy for bleeding Italy ; and that France, the rival of England, herself the most powerful and enlightened nation in Western Europe, — a nation, too, that had already sacrificed so freely in blood and treasure, for human freedom, should now inhumanly fold her arms in a sort of stoical indifference not only to abstract justice, but to the fate of human liberty on the Continent, was not only a derelic- tion from the plainest principles of humanity, but would ever con- stitute an unpardonable national reproach. This sentiment wid- ened and deepened, seizing the thought and sympathy even of the more conservative part of the nation. Italian propagandism spread rapidly, as on the wing of thought, to every part of the kingdom. It diffused itself and penetrated among the mass of the population with electric celerity, awaking in the national heart stirring reminiscences of past glory, modified, indeed, by a feeling of shame and indignation against the government. The French- man of republican tendencies recognized in every Italian patriot a suffering brother, and saw in Austrian tyranny the prelude of his own bondage. These were some of the immediate circum- stances that had sprung up to widen the breach between the Gov- ernment and the Opposition ; and to hasten the grand crisis which was sooner or later to fall upon the nation like an avalanche. There were other causes, fundamental, of long but powerful action, gradually but surely alienating the mind of the nation from the Government, and preparing it for a grand revolt. To understand the exact posture of affairs at this time, it will be necessary to glance at these, even at the risk of becoming tedious. The luxurious expensiveness of the reign of Louis XIV, the licentious extravagance of Louis XV, together with tlie popular 2(1* 234 CRESTS FllOiM THlv OCEAN-WORLD. writers of those reigns upon the grandeur and beauty of freedom of thought and political equality, had prepared the way for the Revo- lution of 1789. The vacillating conduct of Louis XVI, the deranged state of the finances when he was called to the throne, and the success of the American Revolution, were circumstances that precipitated that mighty event. The insane fury of the revolution itself, the all- grasping ambition of Napoleon, and the success of the allied armies, restored the monarchy, but they did not quench the spirit of political freedom and human improvement in the national breast. The reap- pearance of Napoleon upon the soil of France revived the national sentiment for its old prestige of liberty, and at the approach of the new luminary, Louis XVIIL fled from his throne, like a shadow chased by the sun. The second defeat of the " Man of Destiny" placed the yoke of monarchy again upon the unwilling neck of the nation. As soon as the democratic spirit of the nation had had time to rally and combine its forces, Charles X. was repulsed from the throne of his ancestors. Lafayette, then the oracle of the free party, believing France not yet ripe for an unlimited republic, declared in favor of a con- stitutional monarchy, and Louis Phillippe, son of the atrocious egalite, was elected the " Citizen King," amid a profusion of prom- ises to obey the spirit of the nation. The country further imagined, that from the impulse imbibed from his jacobin father, in his own political predilections as shown in his public career, in his wis- dom gained in the school of experience, and in his knowledge of the fate of his predecessors, they had a sure guarantee of his de- votion to liberal principles. But in this they were to be doomed to utter disappointment. Louis Phillippe has strong claims for respect and admiration upon the French nation, and upon the world ; but he did not fulfil the mission for which he was chosen. He possessed vast experience, a luminous intellect, and a liberal LOUIS PHILLIPPE. 235 and humane spirit. His family was a model of mental industry, moral purity, and domestic affection. He improved the system of public instruction, placing it upon a liberal basis, and gen- erously fostered all kinds of literary and humane institutions. He was a liberal patron of the arts, spending large sums of his private fortune for their promotion. He more than once pre- served the peace of Europe, when events threatened a general conflagration of war. He was magnanimous toward the fallen family of Napoleon. And the general spirit of his policy was humane, liberal, and peaceful, calculated to promote the great branches of industry and the moral and intellectual improvement of the nation. Still, he neglected the great principle which placed him upon the throne ; and for this unpardonable dereliction, he was dreadfully punished. Several distinct acts of his reign may be cited to confirm this position. He usurped the elective fran- chise, by greatly narrowing the basis of popular representation. The Chamber of Peers became little more than a creation of the king, without independence of action, or true dignity. The Cham- ber of Deputies, the popular branch of the legislature, upon which the hopes of the nation relied to carry on the popular reform, lost its efficiency by the bestowment upon many of its leading members of a part of the enormous government-patronage in the hands of the king, to purchase their influence to the royal cause. He con- tracted a marriage between one of his sons and the sister of the Queen of Spain, in violation of a solemn treaty, thus endangering the peace of Europe. He surrounded Paris with stupendous for- tifications, at an enormous cost to the nation, with the ostensible purpose of protecting the capital from foreign invasion ; but doubt- less with the real design to give firmness to his own power. These are some of the acts which give an idea of his policy. For some time after his accession to the throne, he flattered the hopes of 236 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the liberal party. He was wont to mingle freely with the popu- lace, and occasionally to join in the chorus of the 3Iarsellaise. He educated his sons in the public schools, to identify them with the sympathies of the people. He sympathized with the Italian and Spanish patriots ; but Austria and Russia became alarmed at the dano-er of France becoming the centre of republican institutions in Europe, and the propagandist of liberal principles on the con- tinent. Envoys were immediately despatched from those powers to Paris. From this moment, the " Citizen King" seems to have taken his part. He gradually turned his back upon Lafayette, and Lafitte, to whom he owed his crown. He repudiated the pro- gramme of hberal principles, acknowledged by him at the Hotel de Ville, and fell back upon the Chatre as the limitation of con- stitutional power. He denied the professions of political faith which he had made in conversation with Lafayette ; — and he ap- plied, continually, the untiring energies of his powerful mind, the resources of France, and his own enormous private fortune, to the consolidation of his power and the perpetuation of his dynasty. The leading powers of Europe recognized his legitimacy, and en- tered with him into an alliance ; and with them as allies, and the vast army of four hundred thousand men in France, he hoped to secure the permanency of his throne. But it proved that the spirit of human liberty is more powerful than armies. The disaifection in the nation had become general. The legi- timists regarded him as a usurper ; the liberal party looked upon him as a traitor ; the press, — the more powerful in France as it is often conducted by the most eminent writers, — spread the gi*ounds of discontent before the masses of the nation, and with that verve of eloquence peculiar to the French language in the hands of a skilful writer, excited all minds to revolt. Such was the posture of affairs in February, 1848, when the National Assembly were in CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 237 session to deliberate upon the affairs of the nation. It is true, all was peaceful and harmonious witiiout ; but penetrating minds well foresaw the certainty of an approaching crisis. Louis Phillippe had, indeed, the body of the nation in his hands ; but its spu-it had eluded his grasp. The sessions of the Chamber of Deputies had become stormy, and the debate intensely fierce. The pending question of the right to hold the banquets, had drawn forth the leading talent of the Chamber, and this question was made a pretext for discussing the foreign policy of the nation. M. Guizot, the Pi-ime Minister, and a consummate parliamentary orator, maintained the position of the government with a coolness and ability that commanded universal admiration. The opposition orators, on their part, were by turns sarcastic and impassioned. M. Thiers charged the gov- ernment with yielding up Switzedand and Italy to the rapacious grasp of Austria, — thus lending the mighty power of the nation to retard the glorious march of enlightened freedom upon the Continent. " What ! " exclaimed Lamartine, in one of his noble bursts of eloquence, " shall France, the foremost country in pro- gress and freedom in the old world, side with despotic Austria, her old rival and foe, to crush the struggling spirit of freedom which France has crossed a sea of blood to protect, and leave to England the honor of advancing the liberties of the world ? " These speeches were spread rapidly over the country, and fell like firebrands among the already excited populace. Had some comi)romise l)cen made at this critical juncture, the downfall of the monarchy might have been arrested ; but the government seemed fated to its destruction. Feb. Wth. One of the Freres kindly accompanied me to one of the evening schools for journeymen and apprentices. Here I was cordially accosted by two teachers whom I liad before 238 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. met. One spoke a leetle English, as he termed it, and seemed proud of his enviable attainment. The school is composed prin- cipally of adults, although it has a juvenile class. The appren- tices number not more than one-fiftieth of this class in the city ; yet the journeymen are as large a proportion as one-fifteenth. Most of the students whom I saw, were engaged in drawing, — and some of their specimens shown me, were fine. I inspected a mo- del steam engine, made entirely by a boy, after his daily task. It was ingenious and beautiful, but cost two years' effort. Several other equally curious specimens of work I had the gratification to inspect. They usually make the drawing in the class at school, and then model from it at home, at their leisure. The school is sup- ported by the government, and is entirely free. It cannot but prove a useful institution, and will doubtless be better patronized, when its merits are more fully appreciated. It had already been instrumental in calHng forth native talent, which might other- wise have slumbered in the breast of its possessor. It moreover attests the paternal care of the government. Feb. 13th. In my ramblings to-day, I accidentally stumbled upon the Palais de la Bourse, or Merchants' Exchange. It is a magnificent edifice, standing in the middle of a handsome square, surrounded by shade-trees. It is of recent construction, having been commenced only in 1808. The plan of the building pre- sents a parallelogram two hundred and twenty-five feet in length, by one hundred and thirty-four in width, surrounded by a fine pe- ristyle of sixty-six Corinthian columns, raised upon an elevated basement. A gallery, ornamented with bass-reliefs, emblematical of the operations of commerce, extends quite around the building. The interior has a single grand hall, for the free intercourse of the sons of Mammon. There is, however, a small space of a circular form, and surrounded by a railing, in the south part of the room, PALAIS DE LA BOURSE. 239 allotted to the salesman of stocks, to separate him from the crowd. Sales were going on at the time. A number of persons pressed closely around the enclosure just alluded to, while a man within was conducting the sale with half-frantic gestures, and with most intense and impetuous earnestness. The competition among the buyers was apparently so eager and furious, that the bids appeared simultaneous. The vaulted arch of the edifice, by some principle of acoustics, increased and reverberated the sound, which rolled along the spacious room, through the gallery into the decorated tri- bunes, in a commingled and deafening roar. The scene appeared to me incomprehensible and ludicrous. I could not for the life of me perceive how the salesman could distinguish between the bids, 60 great was the confusion and the interminable roar of sound ; but the ear can become betrained to wonders. Feb. ISth. The day was fine, and the atmosphere soft. It being the first really spring-like day since my arrival, the effect upon my feelings was such as to tempt me out for a stroll amid some of the charming environs of Paris. In passing through the garden of the Tuileries and the Champs Elysees, it became evi- dent that my feelings were shared by many others. Those en- chanting resorts were thronged with persons of different sexes and ages, eager to drink in the first incense of the early dawn of the approaching spring. In the garden of the Tuileries, my heart was gladdened by the sight of covies of rosy children prettily and tastefully dressed. They were gambolling about on the smooth walks, as happy in their fresh and sunny existence, as the most joyful nature could desire. Tiiey were attended, of course, by their nurses, tidily dressed, who with a sedate aspect appeared to have one eye upon their knitting, or some other light work, while the other, glistening with moisture, was peering after the dear little loving creatures, their tiny wards and adopted idols. In 240 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. some family groups were infants borne by servants, — the former of whom aiipearetl not unapt emblems of the approaching spring, just budding into a hopeful existence. In the Champs Elysees, thousands of elegantly dressed people, with countenances beaming with agreeable sensations, were gaily promenading the wide ave- nues, or indolently sauntering under the majestic elms that line the Avalks, or gazing with delight upon the groups of statuary with which this paradise is graced, — or, perhaps voluptuously reclining upon the seats, watching the varied throng, and yielding to the de- licious sensations which the scene and circumstances induced. From the Triumphal Arch, that fit emblem of the Great Cap- tain, I took my course by chance off to the northwest, and was almost immediately in an extended and charming grove. The ground here for any extent is as level as an artificial lawn. The trees of oak, locusts, and other varieties, and of less size than half-grown forests, had been carefully trimmed to present a neat and uniform appearance. No undergrowth was permitted to ob- struct the view of the passer, or to entangle the feet of the loiterer. This prim and smiling area of wood is handsomely intersected in various directions by wide avenues bordered by stately locusts, and presenting to the eye pleasing vistas narrowing ofi" in the distance to the merest point. These avenues were everywhere thronged with neatly or elegantly attired promenaders, with countenances glowing with grateful emotions and the exhilarating effects of the genial atmosphere and the brisk exercise, — while there would oc- casionally roll past some pleasure-vehicle or family carriage, bear- ing steadily on, perhaps, some world-exclusive individual, or per- chance a pleasure-dreaming couple, or more likely, a dignified family circle. Not unfrequently the scene was animated by a single equestrian or troop in gi'aceful and chivalrous costume, sweeping proudly on. Here and there upon the road, or in the KEW FORTIFICATIONS OF PARIS. 241 woods, might be seen or heard groups of country beaux and las- ses in their rustic but picturesque dress, chatting in lively mood, and occasionally making the silent woods ring with their peals of laughter, so clear and silvery, as well nigh to startle the wood- nj-mphs from their cozy retreats. As I proceeded on, there fre- quently gleamed through the slim trunks of the trees, a silvery sheet of water, or burst rapturously forth a fine chateau, beautified with the treasures of nature and art. I never experienced any- thing more delightful in the way of rural scenery ; and if I had been suddenly translated to the veritable Elysium, I could not have felt happier for the moment. Doubtless the change from the city, and other circumstances, had much to do in heightening the effect of the agreeable in the scene. On emerging from the Bois de Boulogne, on my return I spent a brief hour in observing a portion of the magnificent new fortifi- cations of Paris. The plan of the work consists of two distinct features, — a continuous enclosure, bastioned and terraced, around the whole city, with a hne of wet ditches in front, and a system of detached fortresses, fourteen in number, outside. The detached forts are furnished with mortars that can reach the limit of a cir- cle more than six thousand feet in diameter ; and they are so situ- ated as to command every street, place, and house in the capital, except a space containing the palace of the Tuilerics, the gardens, and a passage leading from the palace towards St. Germain, af- fording the royal family or government a way of escape, in case the fortifications should fall into the hands of an enemy. It is believed by military men, that they would not prove an impreg- / nable barrier against an invading army, although most efficient in demolishing the city, or reducing it, by cutting off" supplies. In 1841, one hundred and forty millions of francs, or about twenty-eight millions of dollars, were reluctantly appropriated by 21 242 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the Chamber of Deputies, for this grand war-measure ; and how much more has since been absorbed in the ambitious project, I am not able to say. From the commencement, the works were prosecuted amid strong opposition, with an energy unparalleled in the history of human exertion. The late king took a personal interest in their speedy completion, choosing to meet the expense of contracts from his private purse, rather than suflfer any delay in their execution. It seems that the several rulers of France have sought to leave some grand monument of art, to illustrate their reign, — each vieing to surpass those who had preceded him, in grandeur and magnificence ; but these efforts here, as elsewhere, have often served to surround their memory with associations dif- ferent from what was intended by their authors. The enormous cost of St. Peter's church at Rome, ushered in the Reformation in Germany. The countless treasures expended on the Versailles Palace, was among the principal causes of the Revolution of 1789 ; while the fortifications of Paris, the grandest of the works of Louis Phillippe, proved but a treacherous power to expel him from his throne, to die in a foreign land. It was evening before I reached the Champs Elysees. A vast throng were silently sweeping along with me through the Avenue de Neuilly, as if eager to regain the fascinations of the voluptu- ous capital. The scene now on my return, though different, was hardly less striking than before. The gray folds of evening had invested the various prominent objects along the route, with a new aspect of admiration. The double row of lights along the ave- nue, gradually descending and narrowing in the distance, appeared like continuous ranges of glittering golden balls, suspended from the soft branches of the majestic elms above, through which the vesperian zephyrs were sighing with mellifluous cadence. Reaching the Place de la Concorde, I could not but pause and enjoy awhile CHAMPS ELYSEES. 243 the surrounding beauty. This magnificent spot combines a varied and powerful interest, arising from the unrivalled beauty of the place itself, its touching historical associations, and the splendid views of which it is the radiant focus. In the centre, upon the identical spot where was beheaded the good Louis XVI, as well as his lovely and lamented queen, rises the beautiful Egyptian obelisk, eighty feet high, a memorial of ages merged in the ob- livious past, upon which mortals, separated from us by the abyss of time, had gazed and thought. This justly admired shaft, con- sisting of a single block of rose-colored granite, was cut and erected by Ramases I. and II., and the shaft is covered with hiero- glyphics extolhng the actions of that king or Sesostris. On either side were two magnificent fountains, thought to be the finest in the world, throwing up their pearly jets into the air from the mouths of sporting dolphins, swans and fish, held by swimming Nereids and Tritons. Interspersed around were groups of statuary allegorical of the different towns of France, — from which the lights gleamed, heightening their effect. Through the trees com- posing the forests of the Champs Elysees were glimmering and flashing brilliant gas-lights of palaces and theatres, and of hun- dreds of moving carriages. To the east was the garden of the Tuileries, faintly illumined by the streaming light from the palace- windows. At other times you may see, now the superb colonnade of the Garde-Meuble, again the fajade of the Madeline, or the magnificent portico of the Chamber of Deputies. Turning off from the Garden of the Tuileries, by a gate on the north, I was soon in the open square of the Palais Royal. A flood of light streamed from the windows of the numerous cafes and restaurants of this delectable spot. Entering one of the latter of humbler pretensions, I readily had my sharpened appetite ap- peased, by a frugal meal, but of delicious (juality, and served in 244 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the most elegant style imaginable. It consisted, first of a plate of soup, second of fricaseed cliicken, third of veal, and fourth, of fish ; bread at discretion ; for desert, was a plate of cakes served in cream, and all accompanied with a half-bottle of wine. The charge for the whole was but thirty-two cents. The dishes were brought in separately, and appeared to have been prepared ex- pi-essly for the meal, the moment before. To be sure, the quan- tity served on each plate was nicely small ; still, when I had eaten of all, I was quite satisfied. I do not think the same meal could have been procured in Boston or New York for double the sum, notwithstanding the price of provision averages a third more at least in Paris, than in the United States. The estaminets, the restaurants, and the cafes, of Paris, are marked features in the capital. The traveller may search Eu- rope throughout, and he will find nothing to correspond with them ; and as for the United States, whatever may be found there, are but sorry imitations. The general distinctions between them are these : An estaminet is a place where tobacco is smoked, various sorts of beverage are drunk, and generally cards and billiards played. A restaurant is one, where breakfasts and dinners are eaten. A cafe is another, where breakfasts are taken, dominos played, and where coffee, ices, and all refreshing drinks may at any hour be enjoyed. There are some four or five hundred cafes in Paris alone. Their different grades answer to the different ranks of society, from the cabinet-minister to the nameless sans culottes. In the quarter of the Sarbonne are cafes, frequented principally by the class of stu- dents ; others by professors ; others still, by cabinet-ministers. Every theatre has in its vicinity a cafe. At these cafes, and likewise those of the Boulevard du Temple," principally congregate the actors, the actresses, and the dramatic authors of the time. CAFES OF PARIS. 245 It is thus that the cafes answer in a measure the purpose of clubs ; and some, where the literati congregate, are still associated with the name of Voltaire, -Rousseau, and others, who with their pro- fessional friends, used there to assemble, and uncork their spirits and humor. These establishments are frequented by ladies, as well as gen- tlemen. In the best of them may frequently be seen elegantly dressed and well-behaved ladies, either alone, or in company witli friends, husbands and children. This mode of living is convenient, agreeable, economical, and gratifies their taste by enabling them to see the beau monde. The families of many of the respectable classes of merchants and professional men, and others, live in this way. They doubtless share a larger amount of social enjoy- ment in this way, than they could in any other. But the evil of the system is, that the Parisian has no home, — and even has no word in his language to express the endearing place; — although social beyond all other men, he is yet not at all do- mestic. The Palais Royal is a quarter of the magnificent cafes. Some of these vie with the most gorgeous saloons of royalty, in taste and splendor. Let me attempt to introduce my reader to one of these. If it be the first time, you are at once dazzled with the view which presents itself. The room is spacious. The decorations in vari- ous parts are in such gorgeous profusion, that it recalls v/hatever you may have read of Persian magnificence. The ceiluig and walls are elaborately wrought here and there into the most lovely frescos of birds and flowers, — fawns, nymphs, graces, and images in all fantastic forms. Four immense and gilded chandeliers hang from the ceiling. A tall candelabra rises in the centre of the room, and two beautiful lamps stand on the comptoir. These lights, illuminating these colors and this gilding, make the scene 21* 246 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. brilliant beyond description. And then the mirrors, so located as to double and redouble, yes, twenty times to reflect what has been described. It is not one cafe that you have seen to dazzle and enchant, but a score of them. As you enter, you politely raise your hat. The token of courtesy is recognized by the dame-de-comptoir by a gentle inclination so graceful, easy, and complaisant as not to be surpassed. This fair personage occupies, in another part of the room, a seat covered with velvet fine enough for a throne, behind an elevated desk with a marble top. She is the queen, the divinity, the presidmg genius of the fairy place, and attends to its affaii's, receiving strangers, directing servants, and arranging accounts, with a grace and promptness that no human being but a French woman could at- tain. This lady sits stately behind her comptoir. Two large silver vases stand in front of her, filled with spoons. At her right hand are several elegant decanters, and at her left a score of silver cups, lumped with sugar. There is, moreover, a little bell within her reach, to summon the gargon, and wide-open before her are the treasury-boxes of the cafe. Her influence, by her graceful pres- ence, tends to refine the whole scene. The lady in question is dressed in exquisite taste, a mellow serenity beams from her coun- tenance, and there is an unconscious dignity and inimitable finesse in her whole bearing, that places her beyond corporeal life. Many a one of these cafe divinities is young and handsome, too, attract- ing thousands who flock thither, first to look at her ; secondly, to talk with her; and thirdly, to enjoy the delight of sipping Mocha in her presence. You select a large or small table, according as you are alone or with company. It is of white marble, and your seat of rich plush. In a moment the gar^on is at your elbow ; he inclines to your ear, and catches the word demi-tasse. He instantly reappears, and places CAFES OF PARIS. 247 before you a snowy-white cup and saucer, and a little dish contain- ing three or four lumps of sugar. Another garjon now appears. In his right-hand is a huge silver pot, covered, and in his left, another of the same material, uncovered. The former contains coffee, the latter, cream. The balmy hquid is clear, strong, and highly con- centrated, and when tempered with the sugar and heated cream, it becomes the finest beverage in the whole world. It agreeably af- fects several of the senses. Its hquid charms the gustatory nerves ; its savor rejoices the olfactory ; while even the eye is delighted with its sparkling hues. Yielding a moment to the pleasures of anticipation, you have time to survey the tout-ensemble of the gar- 9on. In his sphere he seems to you a beaic ideal. His face has a balmy expression that enchants you. His hair is polished into ebon. His cravat is of purest white, and his shirt-bosom is equally elegant. His round-about is the pattern of neatness. Upon his left arm hangs a clean napkin, and his lower extremities are quite wrapped about in a snowy apron. His stockings are white, and he glides about in noiseless pumps. He is a physiognomist of the keenest perceptions, for at your slightest intimation he is at your elbow. To prolong the delight of your cup, you emjiloy the intervals between the sips, in perusing the journals. All the most notable are there ; and by mentioning the name of your preference, it is speedily brought you. Having finished your coffee and journals, you spend a moment or two in sui-\'eying the company present. There may be fifty in the room, dressed Avith elegance and in the highest taste. They converse in a subdued tone, and you may hear all the languages in Europe. Tapping your cup with a piece of coin, the garron approaches, and taking the money, advances with it towards the dame-du- 248 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. comptoir, saying at the same time, " huit-cent" The dame-du- comptoir abstracts eight sous. The gar^on returning your change, invariably looks forward to a small pour-hoire for himself. If you leave one sou, he merely inclines his head ; if you leave two, he adds to the inclination a mercie ; finally, if you generously abandon three, he not only bows profoundly, whispering mercie, but respect- fully ojiens the door to your departing. On going out, you will always look at the lady, and raise your hat. The quiet self- possession with which she responds to your civility informs you that she has bowed to half the coffee-di'inkers in Europe. On returning to my lodgings, I passed the door of one of the more common dancing-saloons of the city. Parties were thronging in, some in masquerade, others not ; and I could not resist the temptation to look in upon the sight for a moment. It was the height of the carnival season of Paris ; and, as a consequence, the dancing-rage of this dancing people. They had evidently be- come worked up to the spirit of their favorite exercise ; and a traveller will select the most favorable period for his observations. The admittance was ten cents. The company were entirely young, and of the inferior sort of society. The spacious room was par- tially divided into several compartments, but wide central spaces were left for free communication. The dancing, which was already going on, was energetically brisk. All spaces were quite filled, partly with sets in motion, or lookers-on, standing. The orches- tra, in which violins greatly preponderated, were working their in- struments as if hfe depended on impetuous movement. They changed their tune often, running through perhaps twenty favorite airs in a single dance. The dancing was even more unique than the music. There were no systematic figures, — but a promiscu- ous assembling and changing, each moving as fancy led. The twirling, spinnmg, leaping, twisting, gliding across and around each THEATRE FRANCAIS. 24." other in babel-confusion, but without coming in contact, was fan tastic enough, but not altogether unamusing. Each young man held his female partner firmly in a waltz-Uke embrace, leading her rapturously uito the spirit of the exercise, moving whither whim listed, and changing his step or movement at the caprice of impulse Indeed, it seemed often to be the part of the beau to surprise tht other in some sudden turn of the body, exposing the lady unex- pectedly to some immodest attitude. I more than once detected a crimsoning on the already flushed cheek of some of the fair ones from this cause. There were, however, two or three buxom wenches among the crowd, who vanquished their partners in all their arts, — sometimes turning the joke. The whole scene struck me as inelegant, distasteful and debasing; though, of course, it can- not be mentioned as a specimen of how the divine art is generally practised in the graceful city. Feb. 15th. I spent the day in the " Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers," Rue St. Martin 208. It corresponds, in a measure, to the Patent Office at Washington, presenting an interesting collec- tion of specimens of machines, instruments and tools employed in the various kinds of manufactures and fabrications. It was de- voted in 1798 to the industrial arts, and has since contributed most singularly to their advancement. I observed there, among many other curious and interesting things, a simple, but beautiful mode of representing geometrical solids, by means of thread- wires. By the slight movement of a spring, the form was easily changed. It struck me as an improvement, and deserv- ing of being introduced as a valuable apparatus of the scliool- room. In the evening, I set off to witness the drama on the great na- tional stage of France, the Theatre Francais. Arriving early, I whiled away the spare moments in making a tour in the square of 250 CEESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the Palais Royal. The delightful place was filled with groups, promenading, lounging, or reading the journals, hired of the little boutiques, so accommodatingly scattered near all the public prom- enades of the city. Children of the lower class were venting their joyous nature in juvenile sports. Miniature men, they showed the same spirit of rivalry and passion as persons of greater stature. Determined on a choice seat, I was still early in the queue, within the barricade leading to the entrance of the theatre. In the tail were some women, well dressed, but the most respectful de- meanor prevailed. When the door opened we passed in comforta- bly, and I took a richly plushed seat in the parquet, separated only by the distance of a foot, or so, from the narrow space in front appropriated to the nobility. The first play was entitled " The Mother-in-law and the-Son-in- law." It was a pretty piece, and neatly played ; but observing nothing striking in its character or performance, I very happily reserved my admiration for the following play, and with one eye surveyed leisurely the beautiful room and select company. The room, of elliptical form, is surrounded by three rows of Doric columns, grouped in the first row, isolated in the two others. From the centre rises the statue of Voltaire. Beautiful and ap- propriate carvings, gildings, and frescos, lend a classical elegance and charm to the entire room. The company appeared intellectual and of easy manners, but not extremely dressed. Indeed, their manner and costume bore an elegant negligence, characteristic of the more independent classes. But they practised one custom not easily reconciled with their otherwise evident propriety of de- meanor — that of staring at each other in the intervals of the scenes. For this purpose, each was provided, not with a small, neat, golden-rimmed eye, or quizzing glass, such as may sometimes THEATRE FKANCAIS. 251 be seen in the delicate hand of some acknowledged belle, at public assemblies in the U. States, but huge, double-barreled spy-glasses, from two to four inches deep, strongly connected, called lunettes. With this, the double-eyed starer would often stand upon his feet, direct his artificial eyes at diiferent persons in the galleries, sur- veying the company with all the coolness and deliberation of a naval quarter-master. It was a httle peculiar to notice luxuriant- looking mammas with their blooming daughters in the galleries, thus broadly gazing at the opposite sex below and around them. A stranger to the practice might have been led to ask himself, if the same action without the lunette would have been considered by these genteel people within the pale of good breeding ? — 01 no, indeed ! — but then, it is the fashion, and there is no disputmg the empire of so supreme a ruler. The orchestra was small, but apparently extremely select. The performers were all very young, — mere boys, seemingly, — and violins prevailed. The music was consequently soft. They seemed chary of their efforts, favoring the company with but few pieces during the evening, but when they did play, ample amends were made for their silence. I have no words that, — -however dexterously placed upon this unsounding sheet, — can more than faintly symbohze its exquisite character — its ecstatic effect upon the heart ! As they struck up, my every nerve was thrilled. The silken, leaping strains came stealing into every pore of my soul. So graceful, so touching, so tremblingly inspiring were the ca- dences, that the music often seemed but the silver echoes of some far off melody. I had never heard anything so fine. TIk! second piece was entitled " Tiie Puff, or Mensonge," an inimitable satire ujwn the amiable and conventional deception per- vading all classes in Paris. It was one of Eugene Scribe's hap- piest efforts, and the pubhc had acknowledged the successful liit 252 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. by giving it a run. I had previously purchased the play, and conned it by heart, with the view the better to mark nice points of pronunciation. I thought I was famihar with its beauties ; but I soon found, that reading a good French play, and hearing it ad- mirably performed, are quite different things. Soon after the performance began, my pencil dropped to the floor, and the printed pamphlet soon followed ; the absorbing interest of the perform- ance holding me quite entranced throughout. I do not know how successful the French are in tragedy, but I am sure that in the higher comedy they are inimitable, and beyond praise. The fe- licities of thought are so intermingled with felicities of language, as not to be peaceably divorced. There is, moreover, in the style of the performance a piquancy, a raciness that is quite enchant- ing. In this play, each of the artistes seemed a star, and went through his part with a propriety, ease and self-possession, truly M'onderfuL I have seen nothing, at all to be compared to it, in a similar performance in any other nation. The whole scene was to me a beau ideal of genteel discourse and elegant manners, en- livened with the most pleasingly pointed wit. The costume of the players was the perfection of simple ele- gance. There was not throughout the entire performance a single posture or gesture, that would not have graced the most fash- ionable and elegant saloon ; and, with a single exception, not a word or phrase that would have offended the most fastidiously modest ear. The whole scene Avas thoroughly divested of the i-ant, the strut, the affectation of manner and language, the leers of double-meaning, the coarse wit and artificial tone which charac- terize our American boards, and render, with us, the theatre intol- erable even to the passionate lover of the drama. I left strongly impressed with the beautiful picture of French character embodied in French forms, French voices, and French gestures ; but I re- LECTURES AT THE SAEBONNE. 253 membered that this was the Royal Theatre, and that the purity and excellence of its performance might be traced to the refined and elevated taste of the family of Louis Phillippe. Feb. 11th. I spent most of the time of the preceding two days in attendance upon the lectures at the Sarbonne. These lectures are in the same style of perfection in which everything is done in Paris. The lecturers, who are professors, are chosen from among the most eminent men in their several walks of learning. They are furnished every facility for perfecting their knowledge, and allowed every means for illustrating their subjects. The courses cannot, therefore, but prove highly instructive, powerfully interesting, and deeply valuable. They are, also, entirely free. Hence, the rooms are thronged with eager students from all parts of the world. One of the most interesting of these lectures was upon the life and character of Christopher Columbus. I had read any number of accounts of the world-renowned Genoese before, but it is need- less to add, that I received a clearer perception of his life, and a higher appreciation of liis character from the hands of the French historian. The noble discoverer received, without doubt, a well- merited tribute to his transcendent genius, unparalleled daring, unconquerable perseverance, humane spirit, and generous and lovely qualities of heart ; but it was the way in which the subject was treated which gave the discourse its peculiar power and beauty. The plan was so perfect and so scrupulously adhered to, the principles of action were so philosophically developed, the va- rious adventures and incidents were so artistically grouped, the propitious circumstances so consummately arranged, and the whole enlivened with such matchless felicities of thought and expression, as to form a bright, living picture, — distinct, vivid, glowing ; de- lighting the taste and tancy, and filling the heart with good and noble aspirations. 22 254 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Another, more striking still, was by M. Frank. His course was upon the modern social systems, and the one I heard, upon that of the celebrated Fourier. When I entered, the room was crowded. Lively expectation was depicted on every countenance. In a moment, the lecturer darted in, and instantly was in his seat, speaking. A burst of fervent but subdued applause greeted his entrance. He was comparatively a young man, — his talents and industry having evidently outstripped his age, and brought him in favor with the government. His attenuated limbs revealing a form bringing to mind shapen bundles of nerves, — the long, skinny fingers of the hand, the sharp, nervous features of the face, an eye beaming with the very soul of genius, and the whole person gently agitated with a nervous tremor, as if invested with a halo of thought, gave to his appearance a vivid impressiveness that en- chained the attention, and heightened the effect of his eloquence. As the first word dropped from his lips, there was a hush of still- ness that no eager interest and expectation could have surpassed : and, to the end, all was keen and breathless attention, save when a gleam of attic wit arrowed forth from the address; and then, the momentary excitation it produced was so brief, so suddenly re- pressed, as to show that each felt fearful of allowing a single word to escape, which would be like the loss of an irreplaceable pearl in a priceless coronet. His enunciation was most distinct, though his cadences were uniform and almost unvaried. He never hesi- tated for a moment, nor repeated himself, but marched right on with a steady, equable movement, resembling that of a tram of cars at a distance, passmg over a gently undulating surface. But the peculiar fascination and power of his style lay in the wonderful concentration and concatenation of thought, and the matchless vivacity with which the ideas glowed and sparkled in the mind's eye of the listener. In this respect, his discourse was a FREE LECTURES. 255 strongly hammered chain, of which, each link was intensely welded, and the whole polished into the brightness of silver. It seized at once your mind, rivetted it by the force of association, and bore it through the argument with the involuntary power of 7iatiiral law, and with the delectable grace of matchless harmony. Every word was so fitly chosen that its sound, even, echoed forth its sense and lent additional force to the beauty of the thought, — forming a mental picture vivid and dehghtful. There was something, moreover, in the very dignity and grace of the movement, — the power and fehcitation of the mien, — a kind of radiant lustre, drawing in, and charming your faculties, keeping the soul in an unceasing titillation of delight. The system of Fourier was dissected with a consummation that made you tremble. You felt that it were terrible to I'all under the knife of such an anatomist. The flesh was parted, the bones dis- jointed, the marrow penetrated, — even the invisible soul scanned with an eye of fire, and a hand of deathless energy. Although the entire discourse was characterized by the very spirit of truthful- ness and impartiality, yet there was such an inimitable skill dis- played in tracing the juxtapositions and inductions of the author, and in detecting the invisible discrepancies of his subtle philoso- phy, that the great socialist was often seen in a light that irresisti- bly moved you to pity or laughter. The hour's entertainment was more than an intellectual feast, — it was a spiritualized banquet ; and on leaving, I began to un- derstand the meaning of the glowingly expectant look of tho audience when I entered. CHAPTER XIX. GEN. SCOTT UNDER ARREST — PUBLIC OPINION OMNIPOTENT IN THE UNITED STATES — AN AMBIGUOUS CHARACTER — PARISIAN MORALS — LOVELESS MARRIAGES — LEFT-HAND MARRIAGES — LEGALIZED VICE — OPEN PROSTITUTION — HOSPICE D'AC- COUCHEMENT — HOSPICES DES ENFAN3 TROUVERS — CAUSES, ETC. — MANUFACTORY FOR THE CROWN TAPESTRY — PALAIS ROYALE — SUMPTUOUS INTERIOR — SPLENDID GARDEN CHAPEL OF ST. FERDINAND. The French Journals mentioned, to-day, the trial of Gen- eral Scott in Mexico, — the scientific, the gallant commander-in- chief of our armies, whose consummate military skill, crowned with splendid victories, had extorted wai'm eulogies from many eminent military men of Europe, under arrest, and being tried by a court composed of his inferior officers! The bare idea was enough to arouse the indignation of an American abroad! What strange vagary of Fame and Fortune was this ! The Americans were severely condemned, of course, by the Eng- lish and European press, for the Mexican war ; and what was really unjust, a sentiment of unscrupulous aggression attributed to the whole nation, — which, if it existed at all, was shared only by a part, and perhaps a minority, of the nation. But when our armies, under their skilful leaders, began to shed glory even upon the Anglo-Saxon race, and writers abroad were lavish of their praise of Yankee capability, one began to have a self-gratulatory GENERAL SCOTT. 257 feeling, that tardy justice was being done to the genius of our re- public. But here was being enacted a drama so farcical in idea, as to make one doubt if the whole account given of those proudly- martial deeds enacted in gorgeous Mexico, were not some splendid illusion created by that enchantment to which distance is said to give rise. It was not enough that the glorious old Taylor, after un- furling and carrjang steadily forward against odds, the banner of his countrymen, and in an urgent crisis, shorn of the flower of his force, should be left unintentionally to deepen the dye of his immor- tality in a battle which brings to mind that of Thermopylas of old ; but here was Scott himself, who had marched through the renowned strongholds of Mexico, with a Napoleon-like rapidity of execution, and planted his standard in the very square surrounded by the halls of the Montezumas, all at once shorn of his lofty plumes, snatched defyingly away from the magnificent halo by which he was a moment beibre surrounded, and treated like any humble mortal. Well, it may have the effect to show to Europeans, what it seems quite difficult for them to understand, namely, that in the United States public opinion is omnipotent, — and that talents never so great, genius never so resplendent, or services never so glorious, cannot screen a man from the closest scrutiny of the pub- lic eye, or prevent his being called to the bar of popular judgment. In going to my lodgings to-night, I was equivocally accosted in a delicately coaxing tone and manner, by a young woman, who appeared as if just issuing from an obscure court. Without be- stowing upon her further attention tlian a furtive glance, just to scan trutlifuUy her features and person, she did not, however, re- peat her intimations. She was neatly but rather gaily attired. Her countenance, which was mild, and not altogether unpleasing, was marked with no obvious trace of a feeling of shame or guilt. This comparatively unimportant incident would hardly be worth 22* 258 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. recording, but as being suggestive of a topic, which, if obnoxious to an MW-senile modesty, has yet so fundamental a bearing upon the socially moral condition of a nation, as to claim the attention of the traveller who would impart valuable information touching the people about whom he undertakes to write. If we were to credit the statements of some English tourists of name, we should be left to form a sad picture of the social morals of Paris. But it should be borne in mind, that travellers who are capable of giving to the public distorted views of society in the United States, would hardly be less reckless or prejudiced in their portraitures of a people against whom deep enmity has be- come firmly rooted by ages of war, rivalry, and the more irrecon- cilable influence still, of diverse natures. Yet, however overshaded these pictures may have been, through the prejudice and enmity of a certain class of travellers, still the truth would make them dark enough to be greatly de- plored. It must be admitted, in the first place, that the holy institution of marriage is neither regarded nor observed in France with that feeling of pure, single devotion, which its sacredly important na- ture claims. Not that there are no exceptions to this remark. Indeed, I was informed by reliable gentlemen, foreigners, who had resided a long time in Paris and in the country, that in their de- liberate opinion, in no other country could be found so beautiful instances of conjugal fidelity, or strong domestic affections ; and that in this respect, the best French society is a delightful picture of what is most charming in domestic life. Still, it is most noto- rious that the violation of marriage and chastity are tolerated with a facility in Fi'ance not done in England nor in the United States. It might be no easy task to trace all the causes that have contrib- uted to form this ungracious feature in the national character ; but MARRIAGES OF C0N\T:NIENCE. 259 among them may be enumerated the ardor of temperament and the facihty of the French character, modified by climate, scenery, and a class of associations adapted to fire the imagination ; the sensitive nature of the French taste, which repels the object of its adoration with the same vehemence that once attracted it ; the ir- resistible influence of licentious courts and dissolute nobilities ; the corrupting agency of a vitiated literature, by which genius, wedded to a classical power by the most fascinating approaches, has poisoned the well-springs of innocent thought ; the removal, for a time, from the conscience, the sacred weight of Divine obli- gation, by the abrogation of a national religion. But a more pal- pable cause may doubtless be found in those ever-to-be-accursed unions called mariage de convenance, or as appropriately, loveless marriages, so common among the middling and higher classes of society. These are usually contracted by the parents, or even by the parties themselves, in view of the eligibility of the match, and with little or no regard to the affections of the parties, or even consulting their tastes and dispositions. Where there is but one true marriage, and that the union of sentiment, the reciprocal bap- tism of the affections, the magic welding of heart and heart, all such sordid arrangements as manages de convenance, whether in France or elsewhere, could not be expected to yield else than bit- ter fruits. Indeed, fidelity could not be expected, if it should be desired, amid the damps of such prison mildew. It were almost cruel thus to bind the tender, the susceptible heart, yearning for a spiritual congeniality in which to lave its sickened hfe. Hence, marriage in France is but too often an endorsed apology for free- dom according to fancy. Indeed, a married lady is almost ex- pected to have her private lover ; and this barely clandestine com- merge has become so completely established in the mind of society as to have begot certain rules of observance — a kind of principle 260 CEESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of honor — which would seem not unUke that noble quality said to exist among thieves. Somewhat akin to tliis mode of wedded life, and infinitely more reasonable, as well as fruitful of conjugal felicity, are those tem- porary liasons or manages de St. Jacques, better known to the English reader as left-handed marriages. In a country where fortunes are for the most part small, and where the precariousness of remunerative employment does not permit the masses of the poor easily to encounter the obligations of family, marriages must have their limits. A vast variety of single ladies, therefore, without fortunes, still remain, many of whom are naturally led to be guilty of the indiscretion of a lover, though they have no husband to deceive. They are wont to take upon themselves an afiection, to which they remain faithful so long as the intimacy lasts. Many respectable young men, merchants, lawyers, etc., of moderate in- comes, live until they are rich enough to marry, in some connection of this description. Sanctioned by custom, these unions of expe- diency are to be found with a certain respectability belonging to them, in all walks of life. The working classes, in particular, have their somewhat famous mariages de St. Jacques, which, among themselves, at least, are highly respectable. The laborer and washerwoman, for instance, find it cheaper and more comfortable to take a room together. They rent a chamber, put in their joint furniture (one bed answers for both), a common menage and purse are established, and the couple's affection endures at least as lonw as their lease. Another institution still lower in the scale of moral delinquen- cies, is the system of legalized public prostitution existing in Paris. This is not pecuhar to Paris, but exists in common in the cities of Europe ; and the Parisian will urge that it was not intended to sanction vice, but only to regulate what must necessarily exist ; HOSPICES DES ACCOUCHEMENTS. 261 still it can justly be objected, that the very fact of its being brought under the wing of the police, and regulated as are respectable in- stitutions, gives the sanction of the government to the vice. The authority of law steps in to break down that acute' and profound sense of morality which with us banishes from society, without the possibihty of restoration, the female who has committed decidedly one false step. The public sense of morality is necessarily brought down by pubhcly trafficking with vice. Whatever conveniences the system may have, its effect upon the pubhc mind cannot but be evil. Then there is the abandoned class of females who seek a clan- destine commerce. Although they are much less seen by the cursory observer, than even in the large cities of England and America, stiU their number doubtless is quite large. As a finishing-stroke to the above-named customs, and without which they could not flourish luxuriantly and with grace, come in the estabhshments termed Hospices des Accoiichements and Hospices des Enfans trouves. The former, or lying-in hospitals, may be seen with emblazoned signs in various parts of the city. They furnish secret and comfortable resorts, where women enciente may find, for a moderate price, the best of care and treatment, until they are suf- ficiently restored from the ills and danger of child-bed, — the lat- ter, or foundling-hospital, where infants whose parents are willing or necessitated to abandon them, are placed, to be taken care of at the public charge. Here, these little govcrnment-adoptives are nursed, nurtured, and afterwards distributed about the country to learn useful branches of industry. Many of them do well. This establishment, as well as many others of the hospitals of Paris, is under the care of the Sisters of Charity, whose self-sacrificing benevolence is justly a theme of praise. The founder of the lat- ter establishment was St. Vincent de Paul. Ho commenced by 262 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. seeking out the abandoned children of the city. These institutions divide the opinion of travellers. A stern moralist, regarding their little inmates as the fruits of illicit love, would be apt to look upon the system with horror. A practical man, viewing society as it is, might come to a different conclusion. He would, at least, see in the institution, the means of saving a vast amount of life, and of ameliorating much human suffering. That they prevent a great amount of infanticide, cannot be questioned ; but that they facili- tate the crime they are designed to amehorate, admits neither of doubt. In estimating the state of morality in the nation, Paris must not be taken as a faithful index of the entire country ; for, however true the remark, that Paris is France in politics, the capital can by no means be given as a measure of the nation's morals. There are several causes that have powerfully operated to render Paris pecuKar in its moral and social tone. The rehgious sentiment which was extinguished from view in Paris, has ever preserved at least a glimmering in the Provinces. Paris, like ancient Rome, is the receptacle of much of the inflammable elements of Euro- pean society. The rich of the nations of the world thi-ong there for pleasure, and seek much of that pleasure in vice. The cen- tralization of the government of France, concentrates its principal functionaries in the capital, many of whom become in time mere pensioned voluptuaries. The principal youth of the country, belonging to the rich, as well as many from abroad, resort to Paris for their education ; while thousands flock thither for employment in shops, warehouses, and offices. Some seventy or eighty thousand troops are always present in the city and vicinity. The desperate in fortune, or ruined in reputation, eagerly resort to the capital, the former like vampires to prey upon society, and the latter to retreat from the MORALS OF PARIS. 263 circle in wlaich they had been known, and to sink lower in the depths of degradation. Yet, notwithstanding these hot-bed influences of moral disease in France, and more especially in Paris, illegitimacy there is, ac- cording to an intelligent traveller, Professor Laing, more rare than even in Prussia. The easy footing upon which society stands and moves in Paris, arrests with agreeable surprise the attention of the traveller. The stranger there enjoys unusual freedom to go whither he pleases, and do as he will, by preserving the grace of politeness. Tlie modest manners of the French women are proverbial. They are a fragrant theme of general praise. The delightful vir- tue is seen both in their bearing and dress. "Whatever immorality may exist in private, scarcely a vestige of it is exposed to public gaze. External decency, at least, prevails to a degree not else- where to be found. A stranger would never see in the streets of Paris an instance of the unblushing shamelessness, the utter deg- radation, that shocks the stranger in the streets of London, at al- most every step, after nine o'clock at night. This exquisite deco- rum of mien which pervades all classes, from the volu2)tuous queen of the ambiguous saloon, to the washerwoman of the Seine, gild- ing society with a rosy tint of lustre, may be traced, in part at least, to the peculiar sentiment of virtue which exists. Not being considered a crime as much as elsewhere, incontinence does not bring down the mind to the level of crime. It is looked upon more as a matter of taste ; and the fair one guilty of indiscretion, not being rejected from society, does not lose her self-respect, but evinces in all her intercourse, the usual amenities of polite and dignified life. in this respect it must be confessed that the French are cer- tainly more consistent than arc we. We tolerate in men a vice 264 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. whicli we unmitigatingly punish in woman, by banishing her en- tirely from the pale of decent society. The French, more just, extend the same privilege to both sexes. I visited on February 19th, the celebrated manufactory for the Crown Tapestry. It is the most magnificent establishment of the kind in France, if not in Europe. Carpets are made here, which, in elegance, in correctness of design, choice and variety, rival those produced even in Persia in her palmiest days. Some of these costly floor-coverings, of no more than medium size, were valued as high as three thousand dollars. It is evident that only kings, princes, and millionaires can possess so expensive luxuries to grace the tread of the feet. Numerous artisans were closely engaged in their indefatigable labors. The warp of the carpet was stretched in a perpendicular frame, and the filling was woven in with the fingers and a bodkin. The process is thus necessarily slow, tedious, and even painfuh Hence the enormous cost of the fabrication. The gorgeousness of the fabric was beautifully heightened by the brilliant lustre of the colors imparting to it an almost dazzling splendor. But the most interesting and wonderful application of the art consists ^n transferring pictures, painted upon canvas, to tapestry, and jjreserving, with exact faithfulness, the lineaments and shading of the original. Indeed, the transfer is so exact, that you would distinguish no difference between them, except that the copy bears the lifelike freshness of an improved edition. The process with the artisan, it is evident, is almost entirely mechanical ; but it implies a nice discrimination in colors, and an exquisite skill of execu- tion, acquired only by long practice. The art is valuable as a means of wresting, from the hands of time, fading gems of the old masters. I noticed several portraits, thus transferred, of members of the late royal family ; and I should never have known, without ti" PALACE ROYAL. 265 a close inspection, but that they were vivid paintings upon canvas. A very paternal measure passed to-day in the Chamber of Peers, after a discussion, animated to a degree not usual in that body, — regulating the labor of the working classes. According to the provisions of the bill, children cannot be permitted to labor in manufacturing establishments, under eight years of age ; and be- tween that period and twelve, they must not be employed more than eight hours in a day ; and adults cannot be employed more than twelve hours. It is wise, as well as benevolent in the gov- ernment thus to protect short-sighted indigence from the reckless rapacity of mammon. Sunday, 20th. After services at the Oratoire, I made a visit to the Palace Royal. Sunday is the day, par excellence, for visiting the palaces and other public monuments of Paris ; and I found the interior thronged with visitors of every class of society. The largest part of the company, however, were well-dressed and in- telligent looking ladies and gentlemen of the traveller type ; and I heard some half a dozen different languages. It is called the Palace Royal because Louis XIV. lived here in his youth. Its construction was commenced by the Cardinal Richelieu, who improved and adorned it by degrees as his fortune improved, until he judged it not unworthy to be presented to the splendid monarch, Louis XIV, which lie did in a testament at his death. The king bequeathed it, in his turn, to his brotlier, the Duke of Orleans, from whom it descended to the late Louis Phil- lippe, and was occupied by the latter as a private residence, but furnished in a style of royal magnificence. A beautiful stairway leads to the first stage, which is divided into three apartments, namely, those of the centre, occupied by the late king and queen before 1830 ; the apartments of the left, 23 266 CKESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. appropriated to Madame Adelaide, the sister of the king ; those of the right, destined for the prince royal. The left-wing compri- ses a vast dining-room, several grand saloons, and beautiful cabi- nets. The centre includes the saloon for the aids-de-camp, that of reception, the cabinet of the king, the apartment of the queen, and the hall of the throne. A magnificent gallery leading to the apartment of the late Duke of Orleans, occupies a part of the left- wing. The library, situated on the same side, is placed partly in the niterstole and partly in the first stage. We were conducted through the palace by neatly liveried hus- siers, who seemed impressed with the dignity of their office. The rooms were nearly destitute of carpets and furniture ; but enough furnishing remained to show the former sumptuousness. The hall of the throne, in particular, was very rich. The floor, of hard- wood, was so smoothly polished as to make it necessary to walk with care. The ceilings were richly painted and gilded. The walls of the several apartments were adorned with paint- ings ; some of them possessmg rare merit. Among the historical pieces, were Julius Cesar going to the Senate, The Victory of Marathon, "William Tell jumping out of the boat Avith Gesler, and several more modern scenes, in which Maria Theresa, of Austria, figures conspicuously. She is represented in attitudes expressive of strong emotion and intense energy. There are, besides, several portraits of distinguished personages ; among them, those of Na- poleon, Charles V, Madame de Stael, J. J. Rousseau, and the sev- eral members of the family of Louis Phillippe. But what attracts more attention at the present time is the gar- den, with the exterior gallery of the palace. The beautiful en- closure formerly occupied a larger area than at present; as it comprehended, besides the present garden, the streets of Valois, de Montspensier, and de Beaujolais, as well as that space .now oc- CHAPEL OF ST. FERDINAND. 267 cupied by the sides of the Palais, which have been more recently built. It was adorned with an alley of mulberry trees, which alone cost the Cardinal Richelieu sixty thousand dollars ; but the old revo- lution destroyed them. The place was once infamous for its pambling-houses, and the throngs of doubtful characters that swarmed in it of an evening ; but the late government banished these, and the galleries are now occupied with brilliant cafes, and small, but magnificent bazaars. These are the fashionable shops of the city ; and they are rich and beautiful beyond description. All that can tempt the luxurious, or please the vain ; whatever can inspire admiration for the industry of man, for his exquisite taste ; his creating genius ; his skill in producing the elegant, the beautiful, the magnificent ; in fine, whatever can delight the eye, captivate the senses, or add charms to beauty, are here displayed. One of these small shops rents for three or four thousand francs a year. The chairs, alone, placed in tlie garden for the con- venience of loungers, are said to give a revenue of eighty thou- sand francs. To see this enchanting spot in all its brilliancy you should go at night, when countless lamps pour floods of light through its delicious gardens and long arcades ; when its walks are alive with gay promenaders, and its multitude of shops, cafes, and offices are in the full tide of business. It is then, indeed, a scene resplendent with gaiety, bustle and animation. After finishing the tour of the Palais Iloyale, I made a visit to the Chapel of St. Ferdinand. This beautiful edifice was erected some eight years ago, to mark the spot and event of the death of the Duke d'Orleans, the eldest son of Louis Pliillippe, and heir apparent to the throne of France. In returning home from an afternoon drive, his horses became restive and unmanageable, and leaping from his carriage he fell and fractured his skull, — sensi- bility was destroyed, and after two or three hours, death ensued. 268 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. The event was the more affecting, as the disposition and high and noble qualities of the prince made him not only greatly beloved of his family, but rendered him a favorite with the entire nation. The estate was purchased by the king, and on the very spot where he died, this chapel was erected. It is a gem of architec- ture — the exterior tasteful, and the interior simple. A narrow space, beautifully laid out, and adorned with a triple row of Ar- borvitae trees, leads to the entrance. On the right-hand side of the chapel, at entering, on a pedestal, is a full length statue of the dying prince, with his head lying at the feet of the figure of an angel stretching out her hands in the posture of devotion. Two clocks are in one of the rooms, — one of which marks the hour when the accident happened ; the other, when the duke expired. Over the altar is a beautiful statue of the Virgin and Child. De- scending a few steps, you come to a room which marks the exact spot where the prince expu-ed. Here is a large and striking painting of the whole group brought together by that event. The livid features and unearthly expression of the dying man, are represented with fearful truthfulness. The queen is kneeling, Avith her head inclined upon his side ; the king, too, is kneeling at his feet, with an expression of mute, but profound grief; two of the brothers and two of the sisters are standing near ; the priest is administering unction to the dying man, and some of the king's ministers and attendants are in the back-ground. As a work of art the painting did not strike me as of peculiar merit ; but its appropriateness for recalling the sad event is extremely effective. CHAPTER XX. THE GRAND BANQUET AT PARIS — OPINIONS OF THE APPROACH- ING CRISIS — THE GLOOMY EVE OF THE FATED MORROW SUDDEN TACKING OF THE SHIP OF STATE — MENTAL SCENES IN THE BOSOM OF THE GOVERNMENT — MADAME THE DUCHESS OF ORLEANS — MONSIEUR GUIZOT — PARIS IN A POSTURE OF DEFENCE — THRILLING SCENES OF THE 22d THE RIOTERS CHARGED IN THE CHAMPS ELYSEE8. To-day, that is, Sunday, 20th, was at first appointed for the holding of tlie Banquet in Paris ; but the leaders changed the time to Tuesday, 22d, because that on Sunday and Monday the la- boring classes being at liberty, would be present in greater numbers, and thus increase the probability of a disturbance. The place of holding it, too, was changed from one of the most frequented parts of Paris, to the grounds of a wealthy gentleman in the Champs Ehjse.es. At this time, the Parisian public seemed not to bo particularly engrossed with the serious nature of the approaching event, or much anxious about the consequences to which it might give birth. The press, it is true, had pretty freely discussed the matter, — but the public mind had become quite used to inflammatory addresses. Besides, the tone of the press had lowered its pitch within a few days, and assumed something of a temperate and sincere style. This, to a sagacious and penetrating mind, was ominous of a con- viction on the part of the leaders of the press, of the fearful nature 23* 270 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of the pending controversy; but to the unreflecting masses, it served to dissipate the impression of danger. It was reported that Enghsh travellers tarrying in Paris, had taken occasion to leave ; and that great numbers of English families residing in Paris, had precipitately removed away ; but the trepidation which the Eng- lish are wont to show on the slightest rumor of a political disturb- ance in Paris, sufficiently explained that act. These were mere eddies in the stream of Parisian opinion. The general current of trade and pleasure rolled on with its wonted volume and velocity. I had endeavored to ascertain the state of private opinion, as to the result of the coming Banquet, by questioning freely persons of diiferent classes of society. My teacher himself, a member of the National Guard, confidently looked forward to a collision with the populace, and a consequent revolution, in which he would ar- dently engage against the government. To my expression of doubt of the merest probability of his party's success, against the powerful army of the government, with an air of assurance he quickly replied, "-M>ms verrons" " We shall see" The shop- keepers seemed too much engrossed in their trade to have given the subject much attention, and would not venture on an opinion. The teachers were of deliberate opinion, that there prevailed an extensive and deep opposition among the mass of the population, but that the government was too strongly entrenched behind its ram- part of cannon and bayonet, to admit of the possibility of a serious disturbance. The broker and his lady who weekly exchanged a gold-piece for me, looked up in my face with a half-abstracted, half- inquiring air, as if they had given no subject attention, except the table of weights and measures. My graceful landlady was certain there would be no alarming trouble. The speeches and talk that had been made, were mere gasconade, and would all end in smoke, — but then she was the mistress of a hotel with rooms GRAND BANQUET AT PARIS. 271 to let. There was residing just across the way, nearly opposite to my hotel, a young man, the keeper of a little, meagre shop, for second-hand boots and shoes. He was a frank, generous, buoyant spirit, full of poetry and a love of adventure, and possessed withal deeply of that true nonchalance which sets so gracefully upon cer- tain styles of character. I sought frequent conversations with him, not only for the amusement they afforded me, but because he was a representative of a large class of Parisians who are only satisfied with their present condition, because they cannot do bet- ter ; who, in a revolution, have nothing to lose, and everything to gain ; who ever thirst for a scene, and will fight for the gratifi- cation which the excitement produces. These are ever eager for a change of scenery, and rush deliriously forward to whatever promises stirring and brilliant achievements. They may be found among the foremost at the barricades, fighting desperately, but without as much aim as the school-boy who defends to the last a ruthless attack upon a snow-fort. In a recent interview with him, something like the following conversation ensued : " Well," said I, " you are going to have a great time in Paris, next Tuesday." " Yes, I hear of such talk." " Shall you be at the Banquet ? " " Without doubt. I am always among the crowd." " In case of a collision, would you fight ? " " That would depend how I should feel, sir." On the Monday evening his humble shop was closed, nor did I see it open again. Whether he stayed among the crowd that found a common grave, or not, it would not be easy for me to say. A few doors from me was a variety store, kept by an aged lady and her two only children, a boy about seventeen, and a girl perhaps sixteen. The woman was one of those remarkable per- 272 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. sonages occasionally to be met with in all countries, who are liv- ing encyclopedias of general and particular information. Her chapter on the life and pedigree of distinguished persons, was as full and interesting as that of any other subject ; and she narrated to me with great minuteness whatever it was desirable to know of the entire family of Louis Phillippe. She lived in Paris durmg the old Eevolution, was imprisoned, had been an eye-witness of some of the most thrilling and awful scenes that occurred then, and had taken place since ; and she had, as might be expected, whole volumes to unfold, of the unparalleled events of those times. Her earnest manner and pathos of tone, gave a curdlmg vividness to the scenes she depicted. She felt certain that the approaching banquet would be the means of a bloody revolution. She knew the French character too well, and had watched the current of events too closely to doubt of that. She earnestly ad- vised me, nay implored me, if I valued my life, or regarded the feelings of my family or friends, to lose no time in quitting the city ; for, said she, although the Americans would not knowingly be harmed if they should not engage in the combat, still in such frightful times no one is safe. Her children, however, did not share her fears. They were light-hearted and sportive spirits, and would caper round the store, and hang upon their mother in frohcsome glee, like playful kittens. The young man positively threatened to leave for the thickest of the fight, on the first notice of an out- break, — and with wooden sword and cockade cap, and serio-comic air, strutted the Napoleon ; while his sister would second his far- cical acts by playing the part of Maria Theresa of Austria, in some of the dramatic scenes of that heroine. Feb. 2\st. The morrow of this day was appointed for the great banquet. Anxiety was visible during the day in the countenances of all. The feeling was less profound, however, as it was gene- THE BANQUET FORBIDDEN. 273 rally understood that there existed a tacit agreement between the Government and the Opposition, that the former would place no obstacle to the holding of the banquet, but would content itself by merely contesting the legality of the act in the highest judicial court of the nation. In that case, there could be no serious cause of alarm. Any distui'bance would be the merely casual one growing out of the igniting force of numbers, and easily subdued by the police or national guards. But late in the afternoon, the government suddenly tacked the ship of state, by resolving to forbid the assembling of the banquet, except the members of the Chamber of Deputies, and to employ the iron force of the Stale to secure the obedience to its decrees. This d(!cision was announ- ced in the Chamber of Deputies by M. Guizot, the prime minister, and head and front of the offending government. In an incredible short space of time afterwards, this decree was posted up all over the city ; and government officers on horseback were sweeping through the streets in every direction, evidently in the fulfilment of weighty missions. The tone of the decree was severe and deci- ded. It permitted the members of the Chamber of Deputies to Assemble, but they must hold themselves in readiness to retire on the first summons of the government. All other citizens were forbidden to be present, on severe penalties ; and it wound up with this firm language : " And the government shall know how to execute its requirements." As might be expected, this sudden political turn struck the Op- position perfectly aghast, and threw them into the greatest embar- rassment. It was as unexpected as irritating. Lamartine, in- spired with a prescience, arose, and in one of those sublime bursts of eloquence for which he is so distinguished, broke forth in the following noble exclamation : " By this arbitrary act the government has placed its hand upon the mouth of the naiion ; 274 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. be the consequences of its guilt upon its own head^ But what course should they adopt ? To deliberate upon the policy best to be pursued, and concert a plan of action, a number of the Opposition members immediately held a private meeting. The situation in which they were thus un- expectedly thrown, was indeed embarrassing. Either of the two alternatives presented them was sufficiently desperate or humilia- ting. To persist in holding the banquet, would be to provoke a bloody conflict, and accept the appalling horrors of a revolution, by force of arms. To retreat before the menace of the govern- ment, would be to betray the confidence of the republican party, and annihilate its name. About two hundred members of every shade were present. The discussion was long and ardent, and the opinions diverse. As bitter as it was for all, moderate counsels, however, prevailed ; and in a note which appeared in one of the evening journals, signed by some of the leading Deputies, the Op- position made known its resolution to its constituents : " Although," said they, " we are protected in our capacity of Deputies, yet wo cannot take the responsibility of the evils that would fall upon those who might be induced to join us, nor the results that would follow to the country. We shall, therefore, stay at home ; and we advise all good citizens to do the same." When late in the afternoon, the news first spread through the city, that the government had determined to put down the banquet by force of arms, every heart was filled with anxiety and dread. All countenances bore a sad and boding expression. About dusk, at the corners of streets or in by-lanes, might be seen men dressed in blouses, gathei-ed in knots, with sinister faces, in a low tone ominously discussing the postui-e of affairs, or tearing down the government decrees, while muttering execrations against M. Guizot and his government. But when later in the evening, the THE GATHERING STORM. ' 275 decision of the Opposition to retire was made known, the public anxiety was a good deal relieved. Still, there was an instinctive feeling, that affairs had already proceeded too far now to be quietly adjusted. The government, by its vacillation and perfidy, had, in the minds of the masses, added contempt to hatred. The Oppo- sition, by its humane and self-sacrificing spirit to spare the blood of the citizens, had enkindled an enthusiasm of admiration and sympathy. The extensive preparations for the banquet were all completed. Delegates and gentlemen from the provinces and cities of France, had already arrived by thousands, to participate in the festival. The unbounded love of the Parisians for magnifi- cent spectacles had become excited. All these causes added to that principle of human nature which ill brooks a severe disap- pointment, and that impulse of desire and determination which arbitrary opposition lends, would, it was justly feared, give a per- sistence and recklessness to the passions of the populace, that nothing short of bloodshed would stifle. The reason offered by the government for its sudden change of determination at so late an hour was, that the Opposition, by in- viting large numbers of the National Guards to be present, al- though without arms, had given to the occasion an unusual, if not a suspicious feature, which required to be checked. All felt, how- ever, that this was a mere pretext, and that the true reason arose from the alarm which the unusual enthusiasm for the banquet had excited in the Parisian populace, as well as in the country gen- erally. This was the posture of affairs, when night enshrouded the city with a darkness increased by the momentous impending crisis. What were the mental scenes that the night gave birth to, at the palace, and in the bosom of the government ! Subsequent events have thrown some light upon these. The king affected to despise 276 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the elements of hostility which were arraying themselves against his power. He would fain trust in his star, in the devotion of the army commanded by the princes, his sons, — in his majority in the chambers, in the skill of his adroit ministers, in the vast manufac- turing and commercial interests which always fear a revolution ; — still, in reality, it was evident that he was not without a mental trepidation ; a vertigo of mind seemed to have come over him. The address with which for so long a time he had ruled France, and in some measure Europe, had at last forsaken him. This was evident from the uncalled-for language of the crown address, and his shifting course in respect to the banquets. In truth, the king had become old, and, though not wanting in bravery, had lost in a measure that persistence of will which sustains more youthful men in trying scenes. He had ever before his eyes the fate of Charles X, as well as that of the predecessors of that monarch. The terrible scenes of the revolution of ' 89 continually haunted his imagination. He well knew the combustible character of a portion of the Parisian population. Should an outbreak arrive, his humane heart would revolt at reacting the horrid part of the youthful Napoleon, and flooding the streets of Paris with the blood of its citizens. But after all, would his army certainly stand by him ? Might they not in the trying hour hesitate to shed the blood of fathers, brothers, or lovers in a war against their own, and human rights ? Of the possible disaffection of the army, unfortu- nately for the peace of the king, he had received already some intimation from one of his trusty-hearted generals. At this stage of the imminent crisis undoubtedly the king would have willingly yielded to the desire of the nation for a new ministry. But that step it was now too late to take with safety. It might have been done with great good fortune, to the royal cause, at an earlier stage, when it would have seemed to be a gift of clemency, and DUCHESS OF ORLEANS 277 respect to the national will ; but given out now, the king could not fail to perceive that it would be regarded as a right wrested from arbitrary power, paving the way for greater and more humiliating concessions. The queen shared the mental agitation of the king. Passion- ately devoted to her husband, as wife and mother, and arrived at that advanced age of life when repose and tranquillity are so grateful to the human soul, when the grandeur of human ambition has lost its charm, she naturally thought more of the king's safety and the repose of his government, than of any advantage that might be gained in attempting to check the inroads of democratical influence. She, therefore, supplicated the king to grant to the Opposition their demands for the right to hold banqaets, and to form a new ministry whose views should be more in accordance with the national will. There was still another personage in the royal mansion, no in- different spectator to the thickening scene of events. It was Madame, the Duchess of Orleans. She had been a widow about six years ; her universally beloved husband was killed from a frac- ture, occasioned by an accidental foil, in jumping out of his carriage. The oldest of her two sons, the Count of Paris, now eight years of age, was the direct heir to the throne. Witii all the depth of a mother's affection, and the lofty ambition of a princess of the blood, the powers of her maternal soul were concentrated upon her dear boy, wliom it had been the solace of her deep affliction to render worthy of the most splendid crown of Europe. Tlie king and queen were soon to go the way of all the earth, wliere crowns lose their lustre ; but here were beings just ascending the arch-way of the future. Life, in its fascinating power, was broad before them. With the mental quickness of a woman, and the keen sagacity of a prmceas, she perceived at a glance her danger, 24 278 CKESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. and as promptly took her part. She infinitely preferred the regu- lar and peaceful transfer of the crown, however limited by con- stitutional rights, to the risk of contesting it with the French populace. In the Tuileries, the day was not distant, when her heart would swell with maternal pride to see the crown deck the brow of her noble boy. But once filched from the palace, and in the hands of the fickle multitude, and the greatest uncertainty would envelop its fate. The crowd pretend to little knowledge of the rights of the court. They have never been instructed m its etiquette. Once in possession of the ghttering bauble, with a sacrilegious hand they would be as likely to place it upon the head of some country swain to enliven the festivities of some gala-day, as to return it to its rightful owner. The duchess, therefore, add- ed her entreaties to those of the queen, and implored the king even on bended knees, as he valued his safety, the permanency of his power, the rights of his children, to make a slight concession, and save the crown. There was still another in the imperial picture. It was the prime minister, M. Guizot. It was more against him than against the king and the royal family, that the ire of the Opposition popu- lace was directed. He was regarded, either as the base instru- ment of a reactionary policy, or a principal agent in a misapplied power, inhumanly bartering the sacred rights of human freedom for the pride of a cold and ascetic philosophy. Guizot was es- teemed politically a host in himself. The French populace looked upon him as the Nestor of European diplomacy and the Ulysses of French politics. He had been at the head of the French govern- ment so long, that he seemed the main pillar in the political edi- fice. Against him had been directed from time to time the keen arrows of the Opposition ; but these shafts, fully steeped in the gall of political virulence, and impelled with the redoubled force M. GUIZOT. 279 of united action, flanked with the omnipotent power of Freedom and Human Progress, had hitherto struck against him in harm- less impotence. Indeed, he was wont to take upon his impervious shield the envenomed missiles with the adroit skill of an uncon- quered hero, smiling with ineffable disdain as they di'opped pow- erless at his feet, — or seizing them in turn, with a giant force to hurl them back upon his foes, often with destructive effect, Gui- zot is a man of immense talents and powerful genius. His re- markable powers of mind are only equalled by the extent and finish of their culture. So precocious was his intellect, that at the age of fifteen, it is reported, he could read in their native langua- ges, Demosthenes, Tacitus, Dante, Goethe, and Shakspeare. He ranked among the foremost as a professor at the Sarbonne. As a publicist of the English school, his reputation was unequalled in France. As a parliamentary orator, though rarely eloquent, yet he was ever masterly. He was mailed all over, and had not a flaw in his armor through which the shaft of objection might pene- trate and wound. But as a historian, M. Guizot stands out most conspicuously. Although not the father of philosophical history, he is empliatically the great discourser of the profound science of the present age. In this character he will continue to shine as a fixed star in the upper heaven of the world's career. His well- earned fame had become widely spread among the masses who always bear a chivalrous enthusiasm for great genius and talent, and created for him a prestige of influence. But nearly the entire force of the French press, able, earnest, eloquent, had changed the current of his popularity to enmity. The greater tho strength of the prime minister, the more implacable became the Opposition, just as a barrier gathers the waters of a rapid stream. Public feeling, which has no conscience, and consequently knows no remorse, had become intensified against the Government's 280 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. strongest supporter. Powerful influences had now set it in move- ment. It had often before in storms of agitation, laved even the pedestal of the government, and more than once dashed the sides of the political pillar. But now appearances foreboded a deeper surging from the tempest than had before been seen. The tem- porary stillness that reigned, was only the fatal hush that preceded the shock. It cannot be doubted that M. Guizot felt a conscious- ness of his approaching fate. His keen mental vision must have divined the end to which the government was hastening. But his policy could not then be changed with dignity or safety. Like a true hero, he would rather die a martyr to his policy, — to his cause. The misfortune of Guizot was in his principles ; and the misfor- tune of his principles was, that they came into the world a century too late. His policy was eminently conservative. The Opposition demanded reform and progress. The two diverging principles borne upon on either side by the increasing pressure of arbitrary power and national will, were destined to a tremendous collapse. This, the prime minister foreseeing, wrapped himself in his man- tle, and calmly awaited his fate. Nevertheless, the Government neglected no means to stay its tottering power. A force of upwards of fifty thousand men had been concentrated in and around Paris. The artillery of Vin- cennes was to be transported, at the first alarm, to the Faubourg of St. Antoine. Dispositions long and well studied, had placed, since 1830, in case of an insurrection, strategic posts to different corps in different quarters. Any emute intercepted by these posts, was to be broken into fragments, and thus prevented to concen- trate. The fort of Mount Valerin was to be occupied with a nu- merous garrison, and horse-troops stationed upon the road thence to Paris and St. Cloud. Thirty-seven battahons of infantry, a battaUon of Orleans Chasseurs, three companies of engineers, assp:mbltng of the populace. 281 twenty squadrons, four thousand men of the municipal guard and veterans, five batteries of artillery, formed the garrison of the capital. Feb. 22c?. The morning of the eventful day had now arx-ived. I took an early stroll to observe the hue of appearances. Nothing, at first, seemed to bode a sinister day. The citizens bore no arms, neither openly, nor secreted under their garments ; nor was there a lowering expression painted upon their visages. All was as usual, except a deeper stillness than ordinary. A little later in the morning, however, crowds of inoffensive and curious people began to assemble upon the boulevards and quays. Mutually at- tracted by curiosity, they seemed drawn together to observe, rather than to meditate for action. The students of the several schools, — the advance guard of all the revolutions — united by groups in their quarters, and then as- sembled upon the Place de la Madeline. Thence they sent a deputation from their number to the leaders of the Opposition, asking of the latter what they were to do, and signifying an entire readiness to execute their commands. Subsequently they swept in immense numbers through the streets, linked arm in arm, ex- tending in tiers quite across the street and singing most animatingly the celebrated Marsellaise. The impression which their stirring melody made upon my mind, as standing in the door of a fre- quented reading-room they poured thus past me, will hardly ever be effaced. This movement, with the singing, electrified the pop- ulace through which they passed. Their column continually in- creased. Traversing the Place de la Concorde, they crossed the Port Royal, forced open the gates of the palace of the Chamber of Deputies, and then spread, aimlessly, in the garden and upon the quays. A regiment of dragoons soon dispersed them. Then the infantry airived and took possession of the street of Bour- goyne, and established a military defence of the bridge. 24* 282 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. At ten o'clock, the hour that had been appointed, according to the arrangement of the banquet, for the convives to form a pro- cession upon the Place of the Madeline, and thence proceed to the banquet, in the Champs Elysees, groups of boys and blouses as- sembled upon the square around the church, and finding there nothing to feed their ardor, moved on, and dispersed promiscuouslj, in small knots, in the Champs Elysees and in the Place de la Con- corde. Their expression and movement attracted crowds of the curious in the same direction, and the military were posted around them to watch their progress, and guard against an outbreak. Early in the afternoon, I set out for the office of the Secretary of Legation, Rue Martineau, in order to get my passport viseed, preparatory to leaving Paris. My route lay through the quarters where the crowd had become most dense. Passing down Rue de Seine, I found the quays on the left bank of the river unusually free of people. But the other side was covered with the an- imated and moving throng, increasing to the Pont de la Concorde. As this human stream was moving my own way, I was swiftly swept along, hastened by the common pulsation of curiosity. The garden of the Tuileries, Avhich I crossed, was as solitary as a desert, except about the gate which leads from the garden into the Place de la Concorde, where the throng was dense, and the gate shut and guarded against passers. Here, climbing to the top of a post, I succeeded to a gratifying view of the scene farther on. The fine square of the Place de la Concorde was nearly filled. On one side was a handsome troop of cavalry posted in close column, with stately plumes, bi-illiant uniform, and armor gleaming in the rays of the declining sun. They sat upon their horses as motionless as beings from whom the spirit of life had departed. Their down- cast eyes were turned steadfastly toward the point of danger ; but their countenances expressed more of sorrow than of anger. DENSELY CROWDED STREETS. 2S3 Two other sides of the square were filled with a packed mass of spectators, idly, but eagerly looking on, and curiously awaiting some brilliant explosion. Between these were insignificant look- ing blouses and boys, who appeared to be regarded as the embryo heroes of approaching events. They would occasionally unite in small detached groups, send up in the air a faint a has Guizot ! — then disperse and disappear in the skirts of the crowd. They ap- peared reckless, but perfectly good-natured. It was evident that they were not yet worked up to the fervor of action. On the side of the square flanked by rue Rivoli, was a vast and promiscuous throng of men, women, and children, — all eager, curious and anxious. This extended wave of life would at one time ebb off, leaving the space in that direction almost open, and then surge up in a dense mass, threatening to block up every nook of the entire square. As it was impossible to pursue my route farther from this point, I descended the garden to a gate opening into rue Rivoli, through which I passed, and with difficulty forced my way through the compact and vibrating crowd to the side of the Place de la Concorde, where several streets radiate. Here, contrary currents of people meeting, were suffocatingly forced upon each other, and engulfed in a whirlpool, from which there appeared no way of extraction. It was a maelstrom of lesser size. After being swept around for some time in the merciless, boiling tide, till I felt the life to be nearly squeezed out of me, a chance eddy pre- cipitated me into a niche of the buildings of the street, where I gratefully took a long breath. Here, watching a favorable turn, I darted out with a view to thread the corner, and reach the space of the Cliamps Elysces, — but I had no sooner reached a point where I fancied myself out of danger, when a fitful surge came rolling full upon me, and swept me back quite down rue de Rivoli into Rue Royal, as impotently as some tiny bauble borne upon the 284 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. boiling bosom of a swollen freshet. I now changed my route, and thought I might reach my destination by the Rue St. Honore, which was parallel with rue de Rivoli and the Champs Elysees ; but I found this street, too, so choked with people, that moving through it seemed quite impossible. But all these obstacles only served to inflame my ardor, and strengthen my purpose to succeed in getting the necessary changes made in my passport to enable me to leave the city at the moment I might wish. Indeed, I be- came almost desperate iu my efforts, and tugged away with an energy and perseverance worthy of a more important cause. Reaching the wall of the street, and pressing hard against it with my back, when the jambed throng surged with resistless force in the contrary direction, and pressing and elbowing my way, a little, when the opposition slightly relaxed, I finally, with much ado, reached the office, minus buttons, and hat fit for the block of the hatter. I found Mr. S , Secretary of Legation, tranquilly enjoying a cigar with an acquaintance-caller. Neither of them had been out for the day to see the demonstrations, and they ques- tioned, with a slightly anxious tone, to know how affairs were moving in the streets. Speaking rather jocosely and incredulously of the puny efforts of the emuteurs against the strongly fortified powers of the Government, Mr. S ,with a gusto of sympathy re- counted the heroic wish of a lady of his acquaintance residing in the Champs Elysees, that the emute might not be so soon quelled as to deprive her of the excitement and gratification of witnessing the sport, — and affording a rich reminiscence to reproduce among her friends in the United States. It cannot be doubted that her curiosity was amply satisfied. Returning homeward, I could not well resist the curiosity of obtaining a view of what might be worthy of remembrance, by taking the route of the Champs Elysees ; but I was near being A PAINFUL SCENE. 285 dearly paid for my temerity. After reaching a post where the crowd was somewhat dense among the venerable elms of the splendid park, a group of emuteurs who had been vociferating cries of a bus Guizot, were charged and dispersed by a small body of light-horse. When these latter were returning from the charge, the rioters rallied, and for a moment the air was darkened with every description of missiles at hand. One of these striking a horseman upon the head, felled him senseless to the earth. Upon this, the exasperated troop turned their horses, and with drawn swords, rushed furiously upon the rioters, dealing severe cuts in every direction. Without changing my pace, they thundered past me, offering mc no harm. But at the cruel scene around me, my heart sickened, and my eyes grew dim. In a moment I was wedged among the ci'owd of spectators, who, partaking of the gen- eral panic, received an impetus of movement which by turns com- pletely took me from the ground, and I was swept along far from the immediate scene of action. The above act was the only one that I could hear of, in which blood was shed during the day. Among the entire population there was evinced ho feeling of strong passion. The evening journals had modified their tone. The Opposition journals limited themselves to little more than detailing the known transactions of the day. The Government journals, on the contrary, were loud in support of the government, urging it to vigorous measures. The Journal des Debats made use of the following pointed language : " Advance upon the phan- tom, and it will vanish ; fly from it, and it will increase to the sky." After gleaning whatever possible of information in regard to the true posture of affairs, witli mingled emotions of expecta- tion respecting the fate of the morrow, I retired. CHAPTER XXI. REVOLUTION CONTINUED — SUAVITY AND KINDNESS OF MU. RUSH — CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES — M. GUIZOT IN THE TRIBUNE — GENIAL EFFECT UPON THE PUBLIC MIND OF THE RUMORED RESIGNATION OF M. GUIZOT — READING ROOMS — ALARM IN THE NIGHT — CAUSE — DEPARTURE — APPEARANCE OF THE STREETS — THE ENGLISHMAN DEPARTURE FROM PARIS EXCITEMENT OF THE INHABITANTS ON THE ROUTE — AMIENS APPEARANCE OF BELGIUM. Wednesday, Feb. 23c?. The night passed without material dis- order. The troops bivouacked upon the public squares, and in the streets. A few chairs and benches in the Champs Elysees, set fire to by some boys, gave a slight illumination of disorder. Yet the government were everywhere master of the pavement, except in a few narrow streets around the cloister of St. Mery, in the centre of Paris, which forms a kind of natural citadel. There some four or five hundred desperate republicans were thronged in dog- ged defiance. But their chiefs even disapproved their obstinacy and temerity. Another detachment of republicans, without lead- ers, disarmed during the night the National Guards of the Batig- nolles, burned the post of the barrier, and fortified themselves in a carpenter's yard, to await future events. No attempt was made to dislodge them. Early in the morning I made a stroll, and found the city calm and awaiting. The several routes leading to the gates of the city were covered at the earliest dawn with col- . PROGEESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 287 umns of cavalry, infantry, artillery, called by the orders of the government. These troops showed a promptitude of obedience, but were sad and silent. The possibility of a civil strife darkened their sun-burnt visages. They severally took positions at the grand junctions of the quarters which divide the city. During the day, armory stores were broken open, arms seized, and de- tached and scattering firing made upon the troops. It was nearly, however, without effect. Barricades were raised, commencing near the church of Saint Mery, and extending almost to the feet of the soldiers. But they were no sooner raised, than abandoned ; for the soldiers, having only stones to fight, would not waste their ammunition. The National Guard, composed of the well-to-do citizens of the city, being called upon, promptly responded ; but they re- mained neutral, limiting themselves to interfering between the people and the troops, with a spirit of pacification. Many a gen- erous act might be recorded of some young man, fired with senti- ments of heroic humanity, breasting danger with his life, to stop the effusion of blood. Early in the forenoon, I called on Mr. Rush, the American min- ister, who, in a note which he had left in person, the evening be- fore, at my hotel, had promised to put me in a way to visit the Chamber of Deputies, and if possible, the House of Peers. I had been trying for this, since my arrival in Paris, but without success, — and as a last resort, had api)li(!d to Mr. Rush for assis- tance, lie promptly lent me all aid in liis power. I found him arisen, but he had not been out. He inquired about the appearance in the streets with a feeling of anxiety, but expressed the opinion that the government could not possibly be moved from its strong position. He cordially lent me his own ticket for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, stating that fortu- 288 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. nately for me, it happened to be the first day it had been in for several weeks, so great had been the desire to gain access to the intensely eloquent, as well as stormy, sessions of that body, — that there were then numerous applicants for the favor, but he felt bound to give me the preference, from the importance of my mis- sion. As to the Chamber of Peers, it was not in his power to do anything for me. Mr. Rush was justly popular at Paris. He has a frankness of manner which places you at once at your ease, and so enters into your feelings that you are comfortable and delighted in his presence. He converses admirably, and evinces a tone of charac- ter and polish of style allied to great simplicity, that bespeak the true gentleman. After a turn or two about the city, I appeared at the door of the Chamber of Deputies, and showing the ticket of Mr. Rush, was promptly and politely conducted to a box in the north side of the first gallery. It was half-past twelve, noon, when I arrived, but the hall was quite vacant. At one o'clock, the president of the assembly entered, accompanied by the officers of the Cham- ber and some members. He immediately pronounced the session open, and the proceedings of the last day were read by the clerk, but no one gave the slightest attention to the exercise. At half- past one the president rang his large bell, and requested gentle- men to be seated ; but all present were too absorbed in conversing upon aflfjiirs without, to give the slightest heed to the summons ; and it was three o'clock before tolerable order could be obtained. Members were continually entering the room, or passing out, for private conferences in the lobbies ; or assembled in groups, in dif- ferent parts of the hall, and conversing with an earnest and anxious look. It was deeply interesting to watch the ebb and flow of emotion on their countenances, as a letter would ever and \1SIT TO THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 289 anon arrive, bringing intelligence of the progress of the revolution without. By this time, the boxes in the first gallery, which I could see, were packed with spectators, mostly ladies, whom I presumed to be the wives, daughters, or friends, of the members. Another gentleman was in my box, who had come in soon after me. He bore the costume, and had the air of a cosmopolitan ; and, after making a careful survey of the scene, had laid down on a plushed seat, and closed his eyes in silence. He was soon followed by another young gentleman, who could not be mistaken as a Yankee, although attired fastidiously in Parisian style. All around appeared new to him, and he continually evinced a pigeon-like trepidation of spirit. As soon as the session became a little turbulent he left, precipitately, evincing no relish for the scenes that might follow. Members were ever passing around to each other, in familiar intercourse ; but the principal interest seemed to centre around the seats of the ministers of the government, Avho were busy in receiving the chiefs of the legislative parties. The officer of the Chamber made several fruitless attempts to secure order and at- tention, for such as wished to address the house. He would sound his bell, and cry out, " Messieurs, aux bancs," — gentlemen to their seats, — which was heeded as little as would have been the most insignificant appeal. The president joined his oflficial au- thority to his personal influence, and reminded gentlemen of their duty, and what was due to their dignity : but it all fell pow- erless amid the mortal disquietude which consumed every other sentiment. Two or three times, indeed, partial order was effected, to enable some speaker to ascend the tribune for an address, — but after the delivery of a few sentences, confusion again would break in, drown the voice of the orator, and force him to quit the tribune. 25 290 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Towards four o'clock in the afternoon, a small delegation of mili- tary officers entered the hall, and one of them in a respectful manner, handed a paper to the president. While the latter was reading the communication, the members seated themselves, and there was instantly profound silence, as if in anticipation of some important announcement. The president then stated that the palace was surrounded with troops of the National Guard who had despatched a deputation from their number to request or demand a resignation of the ministry, as a measure indispensable to appease the populace, and stop further effiision of blood. This announcement was received by the house with the silence of sur- prise or contempt. Immediately a slender figure, a little above the medium French stature, darted from the ministers' seats and ascended the tribune, in front of the Speaker's desk. There was a slight awkwardness in his gait. As he turned to the audience to speak, his features bespoke the immobility of an unconquerable purpose ; and his eye, the slumbering of a volcano within. It was M. Guizot, the prime minister. He had uttered but a few sentences, when suddenly, — from the most breathless attention and the deepest stillness, — the entire assembly broke forth in one astounding, thrilUng, prolonged accla- mation or remonstrance. Loud cries of "Aye, aye ! " " No, no ! " accompanied by intense expression, and frantic gestures, filled the room, and came rolling up the gallery in startling effect. The very edifice seemed to quake under the impulse. The vast assem- bly was an immensely multiplied electrical battery, and each Frenchman an active Leyden jar. Had the heavens suddenly poured their accumulated thunders upon my ear, or played their condensed fire through my veins, I could harldly have been more thrillingly shocked. As to the gentleman, my only companion in the box I occupied, who had never changed from the horizontal pos- RESIGNATION OF THE GUIZOT MINISTRY. 291 ture he first assumed on entering, — he now started suddenly up, looked wildly round, protruded bis head out upon the scene, and then, smiting his forehead with his fists as if in a fit of abject despera- tion, leaped out by the door like a maniac, and disappeared from me entirely. During this exciting scene, the speaker remained in the same posture, as motionless as a statue. Not a muscle relaxed, and no emotion was visible in the steady features and unwavering eye. Even the arm remained in the same posture of the half- finished gesture. He was saying, when the explosion took place, " that the demand of the National Guard was unnecessary, as the king at that moment was forming a new ministry." When the whirlwind of passion had subsided, he turned to the president, and remarked that the demonstration which had just taken place would not influence him to add to or subtract from what he was going to say; and then in a few words closed, and resumed Iiis seat among his colleagues, when a repetition of the late tumult transpired. The whole scene was rich, and long to be remembered. I could never have conceived of two so strong opposites in the same character — such a tornado of intense power, vivid energy, intoxicating thrill, and lightning impetuosity enveloped in the gay, polite, amiable, and facile Frenchman. On my way homeward, I found that the rumored resignation of the Guizot ministry had, with the winged flight of good intelli- gence, spread among all classes. The evidence of it beamed from the countenances of all. The sad, anxious face was changed to one of hope and joy. Men and women accosted each other with wonted freedom of spirit, A mental load seemed to be re- moved suddenly from the heart of the city. Undoubtedly there were desperate spirits that regretted any pacification, but the im- mense majority of respectable citizens shuddered at the bare idea of an insurrection. To such the intelligence came with healing 292 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. in its wings. The utmost demanded by the Opposition was now accorded them. In the evening I was in one of the pubHc reading-rooms. These are found in all parts of the city. All are fux-nished with the journals, the popular works of French, English, German and Ital- ian authors ; and some with the standard works in the various de- partments of science and literature. For a single admission you pay about three cents, which entitles you to read as long as you choose. The delightful convenience of such an institution in a city like Paris, always filled with intelligent strangers, is too ob- vious to need comment. This room, in the quarter of the schools, was always thronged. It consisted of three large saloons, with wide, open door-ways leading into each other, and filled with long tables, upon which were French, English, and German journals; while the walls were covered with volumes, arranged upon shelves. It was bril- liantly lighted. As you enter, you raise your chapeaii to the gen- tlemen, and then seat yourself at will. Waiters are ever at your elbow awaiting your demands. On leaving, you call at the desk, make payment, and retouch your chapeau. The utmost quietness ever reigns, and a good degree of pohteness prevails among the devouring readers. I found the reading-room, as usual, filled with hungry seekers for the daily news. The stillness of night reigned, and no ordi- nary incident could have disturbed the order ; but an evening jour- nal having ari'ived, the excitement of curiosity to swallow its con- tents, at once became so intense as to break through all restraint and decorum. Each wishing to read it first, a scene of confusion took place. It was instantly decided that one should read aloud for all ; whereupon, a gentleman mounting upon the centre of a table, read the account of the resignation of the Guizot ministry, ALARM IN THE NIGHT. 293 the formation of a new ministry by the king, with Count Mole at it5 head, — with the comments of the editor. The reading was spiced with a due quantity of gestures, grimmaces, shrugs and ironic explanations by the reader, while the audience heightened the amusement of the scene by their contributions oi jeu d'esprits. It was now the general feeling that the contention was at an end ; and as I had set the 24th for my departure, I proceeded to make arrangements for an eai'ly leave. The depot of the railroad for the North, was at the northern limit of the city, while I was residing on the south side of the Seine. The several coachmen to whom I applied for a carriage, would not take me for any price, fearing that their vehicles would be arrested and converted into barricades. My valises packed, hotel bill settled, a cordial leave of Madame D., and a douceur for her maid, I threw myself upon my delightful wool mattress for the needed refreshment for the morrow's journey. I was awakened in the night from sound slumber, by a great noise and confusion in our hotel. A general panic seemed to have seized its usually quiet inmates ; and the different pai-ts of the house were resounding with hurried footsteps, slamming of doors, and incoherent voices. A moment's attentive listening, however, persuaded me that the occasion of this turbulent excitation was without our residence. The bells of the city were breaking the stillness of night with successive, hurried peals. Quickly moving lights gleamed across my window. The pavement in the street below reverberated the heavy and confused tread of passing crowds; while the wild clashing of multitudinous voices near, drowning, at times, some distant shout, faintly falling upon the ear, lent a strange and fearful animation to this contemplated scene. It was evident that some unlooked-for occurrence had aroused the city. But as there was neither safety, nor prospect 25* 294 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of gratification in venturing out, it was better quietly to await re- sults. The symptoms of alarm, however, soon subsided, and I fell again into slumber. I subsequently learned the occasion of the wide-spread tumult. The intelligence that the ministry had resigned, had carried joy nearly to all hearts. The sudden removal of deep, pressing dread, had given an elastic bound to gladness. The city was par- tially illuminated. The suspended fetes and amusements shone forth in renewed splendor. A large column of reckless spirits of the lower order of the populace, carried away with the gene- ral enthusiasm, and perhaps partially intoxicated with success against the government, traversed the streets and boulevards in a spirit of triumphal exultation. Immense crowds floated along with this haggard force, in which was enveloped the spark of destiny. A red flag floated in the smoke of their torches, and a sinister tone was apparent in their animated expression. Arriv- ing in front of the hotel of Foreign Affairs, they found the boulevard blocked by a battalion of the line, ranged in battle ar- ray, with arms charged, and the commander at their head. The column suddenly halted before that forest of bristling bayonets. The sight of the red flag, and the glare of the torches, frightened the horse of the commander so that he reared, and rushed toward the battalion, which opened to envelop its chief. In the confusion of the movement, a shot was heard. "Whether it escaped from a concealed and deadly hand, or was the mere result of accident, is not known ; but the soldiers, believing themselves attacked, levelled their muskets, and drew upon the column. A stream of momentary flame ran along the line. The reverberation from the houses and street shook the whole boulevard. The column from the faubourgs fell, decimated by the balls. Death shrieks, and groans from the wounded, were mingled with screams of fi-ight DEPARTURE FROM PARIS. 295 from the spectators, and from women and children, who fled in every direction. The commander of the troops, deploring the involuntary massacre, essayed an explanation with the populace. The latter, gathering in carts the dead, made with them a funeral procession by torch light, breathing revenge on the Government as the authors of the crime. They were drawn up before the office of the National, and other Opposition journals, displayed in gory revenge, and exciting harangues made to the assembled crowds. This unlucky incident gave new impulse to the revolution. DEPARTURE. The fixed intention of leaving, awoke me early in the morning. With valises packed to their utmost density, I was quietly let out into the tranquil morning air, by the attentive maid, who in passing, nodded Monsieur an amiable adieu. The air was bland, and the street unoccupied, and perfectly still. It was the repent- ant, pensive face of nature, immediately after the destructive rage of a tempest. Passing down Rue de Seine, and around the comer of the venerable Institute, lines of soldiers came to view on the quays of the north bank of the Seine, presenting drowsy, haggard, and sorrowful countenances. They had evi- dently bivouacked on the pavement. In Rue St. Dennis the pop- ulace began to be a-stir ; as I proceeded, the concourse increased. They were of the working classes, men and women. There was nothing of deep spite or deadly hate visible upon their faces, but a kind of mortal impatience, an indefinite movement, as when one would act without finding the means or seeing clearly the end. I asked a woman who was walking by my side, the occasion of the incipient demonstration. She replied, that the new Count Mole ministry gave but little better satisfaction than the one it displaced ; and the sad event of the night had enkindled and emboldened 296 CKESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. anew the passions of the populace. I trudged along, perspiring freely, faint from want of breakfast, but sustained by the anima- tion imparted by the enkindling scenes around. A little on, a tall, athletic, determined-looking man, issued from a lane, and with an iron bar began prying up the paving stones for a barricade. He was immediately joined by others ; and, before I had left them out of sight, the pile had gained quite formidable proportions. A little further on, a large, strong, fierce-looking man, passed in cus- tody of a soldier of the National Guard. He walked with a lofty and defying gait, and his countenance spoke a torrent of power dammed up within. Some half a dozen men stepped to his side, and offered to liberate him, — but for some reason he de- clined their good offices. The wide and beautiful boulevard of St. Martin and St. Dennis presented a desolate spectacle. The beautiful elms that lined the splendid avenue, had bee'n cut down for barricades, and lay promiscuously strowed with omnibuses, coaches, carts, and other vehicles, in very babel-like confusion. Here, a double Mne of soldiers, stretching off on both sides of me in the distance, were standing in mute sadness. As I approached, they opened, leaving me a passage just wide enough to squeeze through, edge-wise. At another cross-street a barricade was vig- orously being formed. They usually left a space for passers ; but this extended quite across the street. A woman preceded me. With respectful kindness they suspended the work, and helped her to scramble over it. They extended the same favor to me. Get- ting over was a task not a little formidable to me, exhausted as I was, and encumbered with luggage. Another barricade of huge dimensions, formed the day before, forced me to reach the depot by a circuitous route, in which I was aided by the kind politeness of a gentleman who persisted in accompanying me to point out the way. Several times before, gentlemen had volunteered and AN ENGLISHMAN. 297 urged their services for the same purpose ; and all along I was shown courteous and respectful kindness particularly grateful to the feelings. On the whole route, there was nothing sinister in the expression of the populace, but rather a fervent elasticity of feeling. When I had been in the depot-building but a few mo- ments, a stout-built gentleman enveloped in cloaks and furs, ap- proached hurriedly, and rather bluntly accosted me in French : — " When does the first train for the North leave, sir ? " " At half-past nine o'clock," I replied. " Do you not mistake ? " " Not unlikely, but I am just from the ticket-office." " How long have you been in Paris ? " " Eight weeks." " Where are you from ? " « The United States." " Then you speak English ? " « Undoubtedly." " I am an Englishman," he resumed, changing to his native language, " reside in Havre, — arrived in Paris but a quarter of an hour since, and am now making the most of the time to get out as fast as possible of the city and territory. I confess the hori- zon of Paris looks a little too lowering to suit my fancy just now." It is needless to say that we were travelling companions at once. I stepped into a neighboring cafe for a cup of refreshing beverage and a roll, but my friend would not venture with me. The windows of the saloon were closed with strong shuttere, and all the doors ban-ed except a private entrance from behind. A few gentlemen were within, quaffing their coffee in hot haste, while the waiters were running to and fro in distracted excitement. A traveller entered, laden with baggage, in profuse perspiration and extreme trepidation. 298 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. " When will the omnibus line pass here for ?" he hurriedly demanded. <' It does not run, now." " Can I obtain a carriage ? " " No, sir, not at any price." " What shall I do ? " " Don't know, sir." The unfortunate gentleman threw himself into a chair with a look of unutterable despair. On returning, I found the huge iron door leading into the enclosure of the depot shut and bolted ; and it was only after much explanation, seconded by my friend within, that I was permitted to repass. They had closed it as a precau- tion of safety. My companion suggested that we should take the half-past eight train, wliich stopped at Amiens, and there await the Brussels train ; " for," he added, " while you were out, I ob- served some trivial movements, which make me more willing to get away. For instance, a bloody-looking chap climbed the stone wall before my eyes, and after deliberately laying beside him a long, gleaming knife, and pistol, pounded off the wires of the tel- egraph, and then descended. He looked ripe for any dreadful purpose." I was myself the more of his opinion in respect to mak- ing haste, as I recollected being told on the way in the morn- ing, that I should not get out of Paris by railroad, as the rails had been taken up by the rioters, to prevent the ingress of sol- diers to the city, — a report which convinced me that at least that was the intention, and that we had no time to lose. In a few moments, accordingly, we were breathing the morning air in the country, and leaving the glittermg spires of the magnificent city, far behind. There was in the same carriage with us, a small party of French gentlemen and ladies leaving the city for safety. They were in a JOURNEY TO BRUSSELS. 299 flood of emotion in view of the uncertain fate of their friends be- hind, and of their own fortunate situation. It were no slight task to paint the phrenzied, yet graceful grimtoacing, shrugging, ges- ticulating of these amiable fugitives, as each, in turn, portrayed the scenes of his own experience for the last few days, — heightening the picture by the inimitable French tone and accent. One of the ladies, herself melted to tears from the tenderness of her na- ture, described with such exquisite pathos as really to draw deeply upon our sympathies. Excepting the slightly sombre tint of feeling imparted by our companions, we were in the most delightful frame of mind imagi- nable. The balmy glow of the morning air, the exhilarating movement on our easy and voluptuous seat, the beautiful and di- versified landscape continually greeting our eyes with some new charm, rolling by like a pleasing panorama, added to a grateful re- lief from anxiety and a comfortable feeling of security, combined to render the morning ride all that could be wished. We sped along, touching, among other smaller places, at St. Dennis, Enghien, Ermont, Franconville, Herblay, and Pontoise. Wherever we stopped, the citizens of all classes, borne away •with a fever of excitement, swanned around the cars, and liter- ally overwhelmed us with interrogatories touching the movements in Paris. At Franconville, an aged and maimed gentlemen hob- bled towards me, and, observing that I spoke English, begged that I would favor him with the news from Paris, — remarking that Lis French was so much at fault, that he never spoke that lan- guage if he could avoid it. lie cordially shook my hand on leaving, and with true English hospitality entreated tliat I would make him a visit, should I ever come again that way. He had resided thirty years in France, yet his heart still clung to the scenes of early youth, and when he spoke of Ould England, the 300 CHESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. tears actually stood in his eyes. The Americans, he said, were next to the English — " God bless them ! " He lingered on the platform till we were fast receding from sight, when he waived us an affectionate adieu. On we galloped, screaming, snorting, puffing, by hill and plateau variegated with verdure, through dale and glen, and woodland, — passing through Auvers, Isle- Adam, Beaumont, Pi-ecy, Saint-Leu, to Creil; then on through Campeigne, Cleremont, Breteuil, to Amiens, — seventy-two miles from Paris, where we arrived at half-past twelve, noon. The next train would pass in an hour ; barely leaving us time to swallow a dinner at a restaurant, and, afterwards, make a glimpse-stroll through the city. The meal, which was despatched with a zest known only to hunger, was served after the true Parisian mode. We could not but regret the want of time to ex- amine leisurely the notable objects of the place. It possesses more than one attraction for the traveller. Situated on the river of the same name, by which it may be approached by ilat-bottomed ves- sels of forty or fifty tons, it is the centre of considerable trade, as well in its own productions, as in those of the surrounding country. It is well built ; streets for the most part straight and clean ; and it has some fine squares and promenades. It has a citadel, con- structed by Henry IV. ; an academy of sciences and belle-lettres ; a free-school of design ; a botanical garden ; a library of forty thousand volumes, and very considerable manufactures. The old Gothic cathedral, in excellent preservation, is one of the finest in Europe. Amiens is very ancient, being supposed to have existed anterior to the invasion of Belgium by the Romans. It is known in diplomatic history, from the circumstance of a definitive treaty of peace between England and the French Republic having been signed in it, on the twenty-fifth of March, 1802. It is, likewise, INTEBIOE OF BELGIUM. 301 the birth-place of the famous Peter the Hermit, the apostle of the first Crusade. "We were at the depot in due season ; but the usual hour brought no train from Paris. We continued to tarry impatiently till the hands on the public clock had indicated two, three, even half-past three o'clock, but no arrival. The truth now dawned upon our minds. The rails had been removed from the track, near Paris, a few moments after our de- parture. My English companion, in a kind of childish ecstasy, now congratulated us on his lucky thought to take the half-past eight instead of the half-past nine o'clock train from Paris. We were thus saved a kind of imprisonment in the capital, the more troublesome from the uncertainty of its duration, and the ominous thickening of thriUing events. Our slight vexation at this un- expected delay was soon quieted, however, by the polite liber- ality of the prompt officials of the railway line, who readily brought out for our accommodation an extra train, in which they sent us on our way rejoicing. Here I was left to miss the pres- ence for the rest of the way, of my English acquaintance, who, on the starting of the cars, rather unceremoniously slipped me, and joined, in another carriage, a small, lively party of dashing young beaux and belles, all fragrant witli the perfume of the toilette, and perfectly radiant with inward gaiety and joyousness. Less confident than he, I withstood the temptation to follow, and resumed my seat amid my former Paris acquaintances, who com- pensated me, in part at least, for the deprivation, by their perfect kindness and free communication. As we approached the interior of Belgium, the surface of the country became lower, and of a more uniform level. Indeed, ex- cept a ramification of the chain of the Ardennes, extending in a north-east direction, through Luxembourg, Namur, and Liege, and 26 302 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. another ofF-shoot of the Ardennes running parallel with this, on the north banks of the jj^ambre and Meuse, between Mons and Maestricht, and a few hilly districts in the south and east, the ■whole territory presents a series of nearly level plains, traversed by numerous streams, delightfully diversified by woods, arable lands, and meadows of brilliant verdure, enclosed by hedge-rows, and thickly studded throughout with towns and villages. It is well known that much of the fertile and cultivated soil of Belgium has been redeemed from the ocean, or from the stagnant waters of the rivers by which it is intersected. History states that, in the ages immediately preceding and subsequent to, the Christian era, much of the great plain which now comprises the provinces of W. and E. Flanders and Antwerp, was partially overflowed by the ocean. The soil was so marshy that an inun- dation or a tempest threw down whole forests, such as are still dis- covered below the surface. The sea and rivers had no Umits, and the earth no solidity. Many of the inhabitants of this low country lived in huts placed upon the mounds of sand, or elevated above the reach of the tides, upon stakes. " Your kingdom," said Napoleon, to his brother Louis, " may be defined the deposit of the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt, the great arteries of my empire." As we bounded gaily along, we were struck with the picturesque costume of the husbandmen already in the fields with their clumsy and unique implements, preparing for the summer's crop. The si"-ht of women performing the agricultural drudgery of beasts of burden, brought a thrill of gratitude in view of the superior con- dition of my own countrywomen. The farms were for the most part exceedingly small, from five to twenty acres in extent, but cultivated with the greatest neatness and taste. Nearly a fifth of the whole surface of the kingdom is covered with forests and TEEES AND FORESTS. 303 woods ; and a general woody appearance is given even to the most cultivated parts of Belgium, by the custom of planting trees in the hedge enclosures of the fields. The principal roads are also lined by double rows of majestic lindens, and the canals are usually shaded by rows of poplars, beeches, and willows. All the common trees of Europe abound. The forest of Soignies is asso- ciated with the memorable battle of Waterloo. A thousand acres of this was owned by the late Duke of Wellington, in connection with his title of Prince of Waterloo. The romantic forest of St. Hubert is Shakspeare's " Forest of Arden." Most of the houses in the smaller villages through which we passed, were built of red brick, with thatched or tiled roofs, pro- ducing a combination of the gay and rural, singularly unique and striking. One of our company, pointing to the fortifications of a small town, observed to me that it was an interesting feature of the smaller towns of the North of Europe. There are twenty-one of these in Belgium. They served to protect in a measure their citizens from the ravages of the numerous wars of which the country has been the doomed theatre. Indeed this beautiful coun- try has been from time immemorial the battle field of Europe. CHAPTER XXII. ARRIVAL AT BRUSSELS — OFFICIALS — INTENSE EXCITEMENT OP THE CROWD — A WORCESTER GENTLEMAN — APPEARANCE OP THE CITY — LADY OF THE AMERICAN MINISTER — PALAIS DU CONGRESS — CHAMBERS OF PARLIAMENT — BELGIUM — THEA- TRES — YOUTHFUL PERFORMERS — RESIGNATION OF LOUIS PHILLIPPE, AND FLIGHT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY BOULE- VARDS AND CAFES — SCHOOLS — HOTEL DU VILLE — PALACK OF FINE ARTS — CELEBRATED PAINTERS. On account of our detention at Amiens, it was late in the eve- ning when we reached Brussels. The news of the revolution of Paris had preceded us, and we were, in consequence, surrounded by people on landing, eager to learn the latest intelligence. The officer declining to inspect my baggage, I hastened to the nearest hotel, a few steps from the depot. Being the only passenger who stopped at this hotel, I was closely surrounded, on entering, and pressed for information. Two officials from the Palace of Laer- kin, coming in, the crowd, from a deference shown officers in mon- archical governments, readily yielded a small space around me. These dignitaries, with an excited manner, questioned me minute- ly respecting the thrilling and astounding events that were trans- piring in Paris ; and after thanking me for my complaisance, took a dignified and pohte leave. They had no sooner closed the door, when the crowd, denser than before, actually pressed full upou AN AMERICAN GENTLEMAN. 305 me, and with intense eagerness, but good naturedly expressed, clamored for news from Paris. Questions were put to me so rap- idly, and of so varied import, amid such confusion, that I was at last overwhelmed, exhausted, and could say nothing more. In this dilemma, I observed at the outer edge of the crowd a gentle- man something like hah" a head taller than those around him, vig- orously elbowing his way toward me. His erect form and bold movement showed resoluteness, while his countenance, rendered French-like by an elegant moustache, beamed with animation. As soon as he approached within hailing distance, his voice drowning all others, reached my ear, assured me a little, and thus set me on the track of answering his questions. Presently, however, per- ceiving my embarrassment in expressing myself readily, he stopped suddenly short, begged to know how long I was in Paris, and what country I was from. On seizing from my hps the name Boston, he burst forth in a tone of mingled delight and astonish- ment, but in an exclamation a little irreverent, " , just where I am from." It was Mr. G , of Worcester, who had been in Europe a year or more, — and who, singular to say, lodged while in Paris, in the very next hotel to mine, which he left but a few days before the memorable 2 2d of February, without our having seen each other. As he was the more fluent in French, he yielded to my solicitation to become my interpreter to the news-devouring throng. Yet, later in the evening, when the crowd had fully withdrawn, Mr. G. and myself had a most glo- rious tete-a-tete. It is needless to say that it was long past midnight before we parted to retire. None, I will venture to say, but those who have experienced it, can conceive the perfect de- light felt on the meeting of countrymen in a foreign land. It centres with a rush upon the heart all the dearest associations of home and country, enkindling it to a glow of fraternal enthusiasm 2G* 306 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. experienced, indeed, but never described. Ceremony, the cold, dampening cloud which envelops character, is at once dissipated by the sunshine of the beaming soul, and the best feelings of our nature appear in unreserve. We had much to talk over of what we had seen, and the impressions we had gathered therefrom, be- sides a mutual exchange of a chapter of our personal history, as well as making sittings of persons whom we happened mutually to know m the U. States ; and all this was done with the frank- ness and freedom of long acquaintance, though we had not known each other before that evening. Feb. 'ibth. Arose early, and after a frugal breakfast, made alone my morning's promenade for first impressions of a city which I had for a long time yearned to visit. I found it not very unlike the idea I had formed from the many descriptions I had read. A large portion of the city being built on the acclivity of a hill, it presents, when viewed on the west, a picturesque amphi- theatre of houses ; and the gi-eat inequality of the elevation of its site has often induced a comparison with Naples and Genoa. The figure described by the outline of it resembles that of a pear, the smaller part pointing S. S. W. A century ago the city was sur- rounded with ramparts. The site of these fortifications has been converted into spacious boulevards, planted with rows of stately linden trees that encircle two-thirds of the city. These boulevards command extensive views of the country, and afford an agreeable promenade. The scenery of the adjacent country is beautifully diversified by sloping heights, and green valleys refreshed by the waters of the Seune. Many of the streets are wide and regular, and are paved generally with large flint-stones. The ancient part of Brussels is ornamented by many fine specimens of the florid style of architecture ; and the modern part exhibits many excel- lent buildings erected about fifty years ago, — but there is an uni- LADY OF THE AMERICAN MINISTER. 307 formity in the appearance of the dwelling-houses not pleasing to the eye. After a breakfast a la Frangais, I passed, in company with Mr. G., to pay my respects to the American Minister. He being ab- sent, we were received by his lady in a manner natural only to ladies of Southern nativity, who have enjoyed large intercourse with elevated society. JNIi'. G. had already been honored with her acquaintance, and the conversation between them immediately turned upon the fine arts and the social amenities of the city. Madame the Minister read a note in French, which had been in- trusted to her for Mr. G., with pure Parisian accent. The conversation then turned upon the all-absorbing topic of the day — the insurrection in Paris ; and learning that I was just from the capital, her interest in the subject acquired a most lively animation. Her voluble tongue seemed as conversant with Euro- pean politics, as with the intimate affairs of court circles. In al- lusion to the communication being intercepted, by the removal of the rails on the railway near Paris, and the breaking of the tel- egraph-wires, by the insurgents, she thought that railroads and telegraph-wires were in every way excellent in countries where the people pulled with the government, but that these modern glorious improvements often proved exceedingly embarrassing to reigning powers in revolutions. She observed, further, that many liberal minded and right hearted people in Europe would gladly favor a general revolution for free institutions, but that so rotten did they consider the present political edifice, as not to dare lay- ing violent hands on it, for fear of hopelessly burj'ing society be- neath its tottering ruins. She was perfectly simple in her man- ner, conversed with force, point, and luminous case, and expressed herself in French with precision, and an almost native fluency and grace. She was a little below the medium stature of Araer- 308 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. ican ladies, of rather dark complexion, but of an agreeable coun- tenance, and an eye, when animated in conversation, to remind you at once of the great Southern statesman, John C. Calhoun, of whom she is a daughter, and, I doubt not, no unworthy represen- tative. There was standing a half finished portrait in an adjoining room, in regard to which she incidentally observed, that her hus- band was wont to spend some of his leisure hours in gratifying his extreme predilection for painting. Indeed, the duties of an American ambassador at Brussels are not particularly engrossing ; and it is said, with good reason, that there is no foreign embassy more eligible, either in regard to its freedom from expense, the leisure it affords, or the agreeableness of society, than that at Brussels. We went successively to the Museum and to the office of the Minister of the Interior, who is, also, the Minister of Public In- struction, but found them closed. At the Palais du Congres we were more successful. Here we gained ready admittance, and found the two branches in session. They appeared decorous bodies, and deUberated with a gravity hardly natural to the Bel- gian manners. The edifice, which is magnificent, is ornamented with fluted Doric columns and appropriate sculptures. Marble stairs on each side of a spacious hall ascend to the two Chambers of Parliament, which are elegantly fitted up for the reception of Members. The public are admitted into both chambers during the debates, females as well as males ; and for this accommoda- tion, the Chamber of Deputies contains a capacious gallery. Belgium proclaimed its independence in 1880. It is goverfled by a constitutional monarchy ; and the whole system of govern- ment is based upon the broadest principles of rational freedom and liberality. At dinner we were jomed by a thu-d gentleman, whose acquaint- AN INTERESTING CHARACTER. 309 ance my companion had accidentally formed, since being in Brus- sels ; and finding him much to his purpose, was not unwilling to continue his society, which he did by an occasional invitation to dine with him. The person alluded to, though evidently pecu- niarily destitute, had the manners of a gentleman, and an intelli- gence very remarkable. His knowledge of men and things was really wonderful. Hardly a place, event, or person of distinc- tion, in Europe, could be mentioned, but that he could describe readily all worth knowing about it. He was a living book of Brussels. Had he been bom with the city itself, and had free- dom and leisure ever since to observe its growth and changes, his information could scarcely have been more full or minute. It was rumored that he had once been very wealthy, was highly educated, and was an amateur in the various departments of learning and art, — but having lost or squandered his fortune, was now eking out a living in the only way consistent with his taste and his ideas of honor. But be that as it may, his deportment towards us was always scrupulously polite, deferential and obliging, without the slightest tint of servility. I could not but observe in him a grave and thoughtful air, from which no excess of humor on our part could draw him. Similar personages are frequently to be met with in Europe. They linger about thoroughfares, and are at the service of travellers, on terms quite easy. Some such I had met with before, but never one altogether of so elevated respectability as this. After dinner, at five o'clock in the afternoon, the gentleman above named, handed Mr. G a pack of complimentary tickets to one of the theatres. They required, however, a trifling sum to be paid on them, to make them current. We were not disposed to slight 60 marked an invitation, and accordingly set out in lively mood. We found the building not at all imposing in appearance, and the 310 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. interioi' quite humble, but neat and tasteful, however. The first act had already commenced. It was a kind of ballet that they were performing. Presently, our eyes were delightfully greeted with a perfect shower of dancing girls, which half-filled the stage. They might have been fi-om eight to fifteen years of age. They were tastefully robed in white, with a garland of flowers for head- dress, and appeared charmingly pretty. They went through a series of dances in groups, with surprising grace, and precision. The wonder to us was, whence issued such a multitude of young girls. Mr. G. ventured, at their expense, a witticism upon their ambiguous origin, but the scene imparted to my own mind some- thing of a melancholy tinge. The second play, entitled the Lesson of Love, possessed really several good points, and was admirably performed. The acting here, as in Paris, struck me as vastly superior in quality to any- thing of the kind that I had witnessed in the United States. Here the genius of the stage appeared to be the child of Nature ; while with us she seems rather the offspring of art. The scene was followed by dancing by two girls, perhaps twelve years of age. They came bounding gracefully in upon the stage, captivating our senses by their tasteful dress, exquisite form, and fairy move- ments, while their delicately modest demeanor Avon deeply upon our esteem. Their intricate evolutions and ditficult steps often thrilled me with admiration ; and they more than once carried surprise to the entire audience, bringing down the whole house with a perfect rapture of applause. They seemed gently to vie with each other in winning the admiration of the audience, and so equally balanced was their excellence, that Mr. G. and myself could not decide upon which to award our preference. Just as we had decided upon one, the other, by some surpassing feat of grace, would wrest the palm from her fair rival. These girls were ABDICATION OF LOUIS PHILLIPPE. 3H doubtless inferior to Taglioni, and kindred stars, their limbs not having attained the firmness for long sustained effort; but we could not but pronounce them very promising candidates for the ■world's applause. To me, the simple innocence of their youth in- vested them with a charm not found with other dancers. Feb. 2Qth. Long before daylight I was suddenly aroused from a sweet slumber, by loud raps at my door from Mr. G., who in a deep fervor of excitement communicated the astounding intelli- gence from Paris, of the resignation of Louis PhiUippe, the flight of the royal family, the proclamation of the Provisional Govern- ment, with Lamartine at the head, the sacking of tlie Tuilerics by the mob, and other thrilling events. The news ran through the city like wild-fire, producing in all minds an electric shock of emotion. Those who remember the startling effect the intelli- gence first produced upon the American public, separated from the grand scene by three thousand miles of ocean, can faintly ima- gine the impression made in Brussels, the capital of a border- ing state, closely allied to France by an identity of interest and feeling. The queen, then residing in the city, was the daughter of Louis Pliillippe. The language of all the better classes is French. All the best French works, in every department of science and literature, are reprinted in Brussels with equal neat- ness and accuracy, nearly as soon as they appear in Paris. Paris and the Parisians are the models which the people of Brussels are amljitious to imitate. There is an anxious observance of Fz-ench manners and fashions among the wealthy classes. Tlie grand features of Paris, namely, its circumambient boulevards, its splen- did cafes, its palace garden, its grand theatre for the operatic drama, and the smaller one for Vaudervilles, and many other sim- ilar points, find faithful copies in Brussels, and have gained it the bignificant a])pellalion of " Paris in miniature." It is not surpris- 312 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. ing, then, that the intelligence from Paris should have produced a fermentation in all minds ; for with some reason it was feared that a revolution in Paris might be a revolution in Brussels, if not a continental insurrection. I called, after breakfast, upon M. Boeuf, the Minister of the In- terior, for information in respect to the schools. He received me cordially, and complied with my wish with the utmost readiness, — appearing gratified at the opportunity of making me acquainted with their system of instruction, and evincing an emotion of pride in view of the Belgian schools as standing among the first, if not them- selves the very first in point of excellence, in Europe. He under- took to draw up for me on the spot a list of the schools and literary institutions that I should inspect, in order to understand fully the scope and character of their system. In doing this, he evinced so great trepidation, frequently leaving off and pacing the room in uncontrollable mental excitement, that I ventured to ask the cause of his agitation. He frankly owned that the news from Paris had completely unstrung his nervous system.. His office was in the quaint old Hotel de Ville, in the grand place, or central market place. It is one of the largest and most remarkable of those civic palaces, in the florid Gothic style, that are to be seen in perfection only in the Netherlands. It was erected in 1400. The architecture is Lombardo- Gothic, with a great profusion of quaint sculptures, pointed turrets, and other fanciful and intricate ornaments. In the front are forty windows, and in the lofty sloping roof, eighty more. At a point remarkably distant from the centre of the front, an elaborately ornamented pyramidal tower, open throughout to the summit, rises to the height of three hundred and sixty-four feet, and commands a fine view of the surrounding country, including the battle field of Waterloo. It is surmounted by a colossal copper gilt statue, PALACE OF FIXE AETS. 313 seventeen feet high, of St. Michael crushing a dragon, which turns about to serve for a weather-cock. The interior of the building is entered by a spacious flight of steps, and the lofty haUs and saloons exhibit many curious old paintings, gilded carvings, and specimens of fine tapestry. During the day, Mr. G. and myself made a visit in company to the Palace of Fine Arts. We first looked in at the gallery of paintings. The collection comprises about five hundred, by the great Flemish masters from Van Eyck to Reubens and his nume- rous pupils. It was indeed a rich treat, — those sublime mortal productions. I stole there ever afterwards, whenever an hour of leisure afforded me an opportunity, and lingered spell-bound with, delight. Mr. G., who evinced a peevish fastidiousness upon French and Belgian matters in general, was glowing in his admi- ration of many of the paintings. We were both struck with a head by Rembrandt. It is an old painting, but the features were as soft and fresh as life itself. The light frizzled hair stood so mellowingly out from the canvas, that you were tempted to run your fingers through it. I gazed often and long upon a Descent from the Cross, by Vandyke. The agonized features of the dead Saviour, and the painted anguish of Mary at his feet, were rendered with a deep truthfulness. There were several large paintings by Reubens, which strikingly illustrate the grandeur of his genius. The canvas is crowded with figures thrown into all possible attitudes, but so natural, that the most careful study of each reveals no fault. There is, also, a boldness and ease in the drawing, a strength and firmness in delineation, and brilliancy and contrast in coloring, which impart life and majesty to the picture. The paintings bore, too, the apparent negligence of great genius. They appeared as if executed in extreme haste, some of them look- ing as if scarcely finished. A heel, for instance, which at a distance 27 314 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. became symmetrical with the body, when examined near, looked as if made with the single daub of the brush. It required, how- evex', little attention to perceive that the surpassing excellences of Reubens are accompanied with striking faults ; one of which is that of women without beauty or grace. The female faces all resemble each other, and bear almost a vicious expression. Belgium has had the rare honor of producing two different schools of painting. The first arose under Hubert and John Van Eyck, or John of Bruges, about the year 1440. The ruling spirits of the second school, were Reubens and his pupil Vandyke, who flourished about 1600. At the present time, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Antwerp is the principal school of painting, and it produces every year several artists of the highest distinction. It is supported by the public, and is usually attended by at least a thousand students. Brussels possesses a Royal establishment for lithography, and an excellent school for engraving, where designing is taught, and the different kinds of engraving on copper and wood. From the Gallery of Paintings, we passed into the Museum of Natural History, surpassing in extent every other in the kingdom. The departments of Zoology, Ornithology, Entomology, and Min- eralogy are especially replete with rare and admirable specimens, including animals from the Dutch East Indian Colonies, Russian minerals, and all the volcanic products of Mount Vesuvius. We next walked through the great public library in another part of the edifice. It contains nearly 140,000 volumes, and 15,000 manuscripts. The latter were collected at a very early period, by the dukes of Burgundy, and are esteemed of great value ; many being richly adorned with miniature paintings of exquisite beauty, by the early Flemish artists ; and the greater PUBLIC LIBRARY. 315 part are splendidly bound in crimson morocco. Above two thou- sand volumes of the books were printed in the fifteenth century. This spacious building serves, also, for public lectures, which are delivered gratuitously every day by the most eminent profes- sors, on the various branches of learning. On my return, I found at ray lodgings a spacious envelope, with the broad seal of the State, displaying the Belgique Lion, — en- closing two handsome letters of introduction to the Principals of the Norman Schools at Liege and Nevelles. CHAPTER XXIII. SYMPTOMS OF REVOLUTION IN BELGIUM — COMMUNAL SCHOOLS — CATHEDRAL OF GUDULE — RELIGIOUS SECTS — LAMARTINE — MARRIAGE, IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES — ACADEMIES — BOTANIC GARDEN — INFLUENCE OF LAMARTINE — CARNIVAL HERO-WORSHIP — SHOPPING — CARPET AND LACE FACTORIES. Feb. 28th. 1 was slightly disturbed the last night by a turmoil in the square under my window. I was afterwards told that it was an unsuccessful attempt to get up an emute after the style in Paris. The whole affair, however, was promptly quashed by the government-police, who had, from the first, exercised the utmost vigilance. Ordinances were posted at every corner, forbidding, among other things, the assembling of more than five persons at the same place. The police last evening closed the doors of one of the principal theatres, on the pretext that the play contained some passages of a seditious nature. The excitement was very great in the city ; still, the most enlightened minds did not think there could be a revolution in Belgium. There was but little to reform in the minds of the people. The masses of the nation •were contented and happy. The government was strong, and the king enthroned in the hearts of his subjects generally. By one of those happy movements which frequently give a favorable turn to the current of fortune, he forestalled any discontents of the populace. Calling around him his ministers, he formally announced to them, that he would not have a drop of blood spilled for him, PRIMARY SCHOOLS. 317 — if the nation desired his abdication, he was ready to tender them his crown ; but if they should choose to adhere to his reign, he would lead their armies in person wherever it should be neces- sary, — ready at any time to lay down his life for his country. Both branches of the legislature promptly replied to this generous resolution of the king, assuring him of their wami and unanimous adhesion ; and when it was spread on the wings of the press through the country, the heart of the nation responded by petitions nume- rously signed from all parts of the country, begging him to accept their devotion and sympathy. I visited, to-day, one of the city primary schools. The director at first stated that it would be necessary to obtain a written per- mit from the minister. On presenting my letter, he cordially in- vited me in, giving me politely and readily all the intelligence I desired. The school was composed of eight hundred day schol- ars, and three hundred evening scholars. They are separated into divisions of one hundred, each of which occupies a separate apartment. To each division there is a master and an assistant. The boys, who are kept separate from the girls, are taught by males, and the girls by females. The superintendent, who had enjoyed large experience as a practical educator, who had travel- led in the German States, and had read much and written upon the subject of education, was decidedly of opinion, that schools taught by men are superior to such as are instructed by women. He stated, on his personal knowledge, that the experiment had been made on a large scale, under fair circumstances, — and the result proved, that while women of high intellectual character and strong energy may do for girls and small boys, only male teachers can be employed to the greatest advantage for lads and young men. So far as I could learn, a similar opinion prevails among educationists in Germany, England, and France. The rooms here 27* 318 CEESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WOELD. were commodious and well ventillated by means of the windows. The forms, or benches, were long enough for several pupils, and provided with inkstands. Some of them had slates set into the tops of the forms. Every room was supplied with outline maps, and a table of weights and measures. The black-boards were ar- ranged to slide up and down in a case, very conveniently. The alphabet was taught from little blocks with the letters painted upon them, ingeniously arranged in a case, before which the class stood at recitation. A novel apparatus was pointed out to me, for teaching pupils to count. I witnessed a most gratifying exercise of a class of pupils about seven years of age, who wrote readily, and generally with correctness, sentences on the black-board, as they were dictated to them by the teacher, who assured me that they all commenced learning the alphabet but three months be- fore. It should be observed, however, that the orthography of the French is more regular than that of the English. AU the pupils were carefully instructed both in French and Flemish. The boys are taught di-awing, the girls, needlework and embroid- ery. The materials and text-books are furnished by the city ; and the articles of fabrication are distributed among the more deserv- ing scholars. The order of the school was good. All corporal punishment was forbidden by law. A register of deportment, scholarship, and absence, was kept with exactitude, and exposed to public examination. The doors of the school-room were closed precisely at the time of the commencement of the school, and no pupil admitted after that hour. The best teachers received about four hundred dollars per annum. In addition to the salary, they usually have a room at the school-building furnished with lights and fuel. Provision is also made for the sickness or old age of teachers, and for their families after their decease. The director, who had been a long time connected with the schools of the city, HIGH POSTAGE. 319 informed me that I was the first American, to his knowledge, who had actually inspected their schools. March \st. For franking a single letter as far as England, they charged me to-day at the post-office, thirty-nine cents ! At that rate, all travellers would be sincere in wishing a revision of the postal laws of Belgium. Took a final leave, to-day, of Mr. G., who was to set off imme- diately for Paris, to witness the scenes of the thrilling drama bemg enacted there. His curiosity and adventurous spirit had become wrought up to the highest pitch, and he was often mur- muring at his ill-luck for having missed seeing the entire affair. To leave Europe without having had a personal view of the rev- olution, and having tasted the stirring emotions of the rapid events of the great capital, would be indeed a misfortune. He therefore left in a great excitement of interest, intending to go on the rail- road to the break, and then trust to his energy and fortune to reach and enter the capital. This spirit of heroic enterprise shone in marked contrast with the effeminate temerity of a young Paris- ian gentleman who chanced to be sitting near us at table at dinner the day before. The conversation naturally turning upon the present revolution in Paris, he stated that his wife and two chil- dren were in Paris, for whose safety he expressed deep solicitude, but did not hesitate to declare that the danger was too great to think of going there after them. Going homeward, I stepped into an estaminet for a lunch. Tlie garcon not comprehending exactly my demand, his hesitancy was relieved by a young gentleman near me, partaking of a frugal col- lation. He was enveloped in a rather pedantic-looking cloak, but possessed an intelligent and agreeable countenance. This incident led to an intimate acquaintance between us of decided mutual ad- vantage. He proved to be a Belgian by birth, but had resided 320 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. sufficiently long in Germany and France to speak the languages of those countries with purity and ease. He was now ardently employing his leisure moments in the acquisition of the English, which he already read quite well, and could even speak with re- markable accuracy and correctness of pronunciation. He was employed as clerk in an extensive silk store, and spent a part of his evenings in instructing a small class of young ladies in the German language, — one of them the daughter of his em- ployer. To my inquiries for learning the secret of his great suc- cess in acquiring languages, he observed that he owed much to two principles to which he rigidly adhered. One was, to master if possible every point as he came to it, and the other, to retain fully whatever he learned. He was in the practice of making a note of all difficult idioms and new words, as he met with them in reading, putting the list in his pocket, and recurring to it sufficient- ly often to indelibly impress the whole upon his mind. We struck up immediately an arrangement by which he met with me daily in my room. We there spent an hour in conversation, and then made a stroll through the city, he expressing himself always in English, and I in French. So great was his desire to visit the U. States, that he assured me of his intention of making the tour as soon as he could honorably disengage himself from his em- ployer. But since he has not, to my knowledge, fulfilled this de- sign, I am more than half led to suspect the influence of some gentle treachery among the members of his very beautiful class. March 2c?. Weather moist and fitful, as usual at this season. At one moment, the sun smiling gladsomely through the bursting clouds ; at the next, the streets being drenched with rain. It were not safe to leave your hotel without an umbrella, however serene might be the sky. In the afternoon I visited another of the Communal schools. COMMUNAL SCHOOLS. 321 As before, the director gravely asked me for my permit. On pre- senting it, his scruples readily gave way, and he most kindly showed me over the school. It did not differ materially from the one pre- viously visited, except that the order was quite indifferent. This teacher was of the same opinion as the director of the school before-mentioned, in respect to the comparative merits of male and female teachers. Music was generally taught in the school ; and I witnessed an exercise with very young pupils which I thought highly creditable to their musical powers and to the skill of the teachers. My conductor himself did not fail to commend w-armly the excellence of parts of the school, and showed very significantly that he expected that I should do the same; — no un- common way of challenging admiration ! I observed here and elsewhere, in Belgium, the pronunciation of the French e mute, to be more open than the sound given the same letter in Paris. The power of the letter prevailing in Brussels differs not widely from the way it is represented in Bolmar's Levizac's Grammar, which, by the way, is not the true Paris pronun- ciation. I afterwards looked into a girl's school. It, like most of the schools of the same class, was conducted by the Sisters of Charity — a fraternity resembling in dress, manners, and meekness of spirit, the Friends. Their benevolence and devotion are proverbial. They either receive no compensation for their arduous services, or the merest pittance, just to suffice their simple needs. If any class on earth seem imbued thoroughly with a Christian and humane spirit, it is the Sisters of Charity. Tiieir life-deeds best bespeak their eulogy, — but their humane expression, also, gives clear evi- dence of a consecrated heart. The pupils are taught the common branches, in which they gave evidence of having been well instructed. A division of the school were taught embroidery, and 322 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. various kinds of more common handicraft, and the specimens of their work shown me were neat and beautiful. This branch of female industry is more commonly practised in the European schools, than with us. The under-directress of the estabhshment received me with an air of unaffected politeness ; and without re- quiring a letter of introduction, as did the former teachers, took me leisurely and kindly over the establishment. The rooms and interior arrangement were neat and comfortable, but plain and useful, — nothing expended for mere ornament. All the girls were taught sewing, both the fine and the coarser styles ; and some specimens were shown me that I thought would have done credit to the skill of a practised seamstress. March 3d. Sauntered out with the view to continue my re- searches in the public schools ; but it being Thursday afternoon, — in conformity with the usage, a conge, or afternoon-holiday, had emptied the rooms of their contents of youthful life. At the Palace of Arts and Industry I learned that there is no machine in Belgium, — and I had previously learned that there is none in France, — for knitting seines, or nets. The immense quantity con- tinually needed must still be all knit in the old way, by hand. My young friend, in Massachusetts, who has labored for years, so per- severingly in inventing a machine for knitting seines, may be cheered with the assurance that, if he succeeds in his undertaking, he will thereby not only confer a lasting benefit to human industry, but gain a name among the distinguished, and a comfortable fortune. I afterwards looked into the cathedral of St. Gudule, the largest and finest in Brussels. It was founded 1010 ; and here the first chapter of the chivalric order of the Golden Fleece was held by Phillip le Bon, in 1435. There is an aspect of imposing gran- deur in its spacious front, that impresses profoundly tlie mind of CATHEDRAL OF GUDULE. 323 the beholder. The church is surmounted by two large, square towers, from the top of which Antwerp is distinctly visible at a distance of twenty-seven miles. One of these contains a bell that weighs 1435 pounds. In the interior, against the pillars which di- vide the lateral aisles from the nave, and support the lofty roof, are placed jSnely sculptured statues of the twelve apostles, ten feet in height, at an elevation of twenty-five feet from the floor. The pulpit is certainly curious and striking. It is formed of wonderfully carved groups of figures the size of life, representing the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. The glass of the principal window displays a magnificent representation of the last judgment, by the celebrated Flemish painter, Francis Flors ; and several other antique-painted windows of this noble cathedral are exceedingly brilliant and beautiful. Its altars and sumptuous mausoleums of sculptured marble, and numerous fine paintings, are objects worthy of especial note. The organ, too, is remark- able for the depth and power of its intonations and perfect unison ; but that which most attracts a curious spectator is one of the side chapels — a large and splendidly ornamented oratory — called St. Sacrament des Miracles, from its being the sanctuary in which are preserved three miraculous consecrated wafers, said to have been stolen by Jews in the fourteenth century, and miraculously recovered. These wafers are still annually paraded with great pomp through the principal streets. Brussels contains several other grand and venerable cathedral churches, erected in the middle ages. Four only of sixteen are considered primary, and belong each to one of the four arrondisse- ments into which the city is divided ; the others, although little inferior in appearance, are secondary in rank. At the summit of the lofty spire wliich surmounts Notre Dame de la CliapeUe, is stationed a watchman, who sounds a trumpet 324 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. every quarter of an hour during the night, in proof of his wake- ful vigilance ; and on seeing a fire, he blows a shrill and incessant blast to hasten the attendance of the engines. The inhabitants of Brussels are Catholics, but all religious ten- ets are tolerated. The Church of England service is performed in several Protestant chapels, for the accommodation of the nume- rous English residents. And their Lutheran king, Leopold, at- tends Protestant service in his private chapel. And, besides, the Jews, of whom there are ten thousand in the whole kingdom, have their general consistory in Brussels, and a handsome synagogue. I found the evening journals in my frequented cafe, filled with incidents of the revolution, and with speculations upon its results. Some of the royal family, after many cruel vicissitudes, had reached England, that generous refuge of exiled royalty. There were numerous conjectures as to the fate of the king. As I mused upon his checkered life, I felt sad at the fickleness of fortune, that had sported so wantonly and unfeelingly with its favorite. Lamar- tine was now the bright particular star, beaming with resplendent effulgence upon the chaotic darkness of a troubled sea. He was powerfully concentrating all the energies of his noble heart and grand and richly cultivated genius, to combine the elements of order, and give stability and harmonious movement to civil affairs. His efforts were really incredible, and his success was proportion- ably commensurate. The dread of the conservative mind of the nation, that some excess would deluge society in blood, had has- tened many to yield their adhesion to the new government. Mr. Rush, our American minister, in the just spirit of an enlightened forecast, was the first of the foreign ambassadors. Among the journals, the Journal des Debats, the Government paper, had. quite turned round to the support of the new regime. It must be con- fessed, that the somerset it had to make, was most gracefully and LANDLADY OF THE HOTEL. 325 adroitly done. To the praise of the new government, one of its first acts was the reforming of the school law. To the credit of the French character, let it be said, that in the momentous crisis of February, 1848, the heart and intelligence of the nation seemed to comprehend the necessity of mutual forbeai'ance, union, harmony. Spent the remainder of the evening in a most gratifying tete-a- tete with Madame, my amiable landlady, and a particular friend of her late husband. The favor was granted me in consideration of my being a foreigner, and especially an American. She had been a widow but a few months, but was fast regaining her wonted vivacity of mind. The morning of a brighter day was just gleam- ing forth from the night of her late widowhood. The soft twi- light of radiance invested her with a subdued but rather fascinating charm. Her elegant figure gracefully robed in black, her raven curls, long, dark eye-lashes, and smile tempered with slightly som- bre hue, imparted a chastened and sweet expression to her spirited and forcible character. She was, perhaps, thirty years of age. She spoke freely of her late husband, whose memory she res- pected ; but their union had been unfortunate. Slight bodily ills had rendered him unfit for active pursuit, but had not taken from him the relish for society and love of pleasure. He was accord- ingly wont to spend the most of his time from home, in the cafes and other places of public resort, lounging and whiling the hours in vapid amusements. Their joint patrimony being soon squan- dered, his loving and devoted wife sprang the resources of her fer- tile character, to relieve the embarrassment. She opened a hotel for letting rooms to travellers, at the same time keeping herself a variety-store in one part of the same building. Slie thus not only supported comfortably a family of small cliildren, Avith servants, but was enabled to hand over something to indulge the habits of 28 326 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. her husband. I could not but regard her as a fine illustration of the capability of woman to rise superior to fortune. She seemed completely master of her circumstances. With a nursing child in her arms, she might be seen at one time superintending the af- fairs of the house, ordering the servants, or receiving company ; at another, in her store, in her peculiarly engaging manner, win- ning largely from the purse of her customers ; and at all times equable, gracious, animating. She honored matrimony, and yearned to confide in the generous and noble heart of another, but she had found man weak and ungrateful, and the world hard and unsym- Iiathizing ; she would not, therefore, marry again, — ah, frail reso- lution of woman ! The gentleman just mentioned, was wont to visit her evenings, and remain till a late hour. He was as con- stant, too, as the vesper-star in the heaven of Hope. He claimed the favor of her society, to condole her bereavement, out of the intimate regard he bore her late husband ; but a careful eye might detect a motive of another kind. He was no unworthy son of Apollo. He might have been thirty-five ; but his clear and ruddy complexion had only softened into the mellowness of the peach. His tapering and voluptuous fingers betokened no rougher part- nership than a gentle union with a delicate kid glove. He was attired with superlative elegance, but not fastidiously fine. With- out possessing marked personal beauty, there was yet about him an air of lofty simplicity, and a nonchalance of refined ease that was absolutely winning. He seemed familiar upon all topics of conversation, and spoke the best Parisian French with extreme precision and ease, and with an accent silvery and liquid. How could Madame resist so many insinuating amenities ? She was evidently losing, by degrees, that entire self-possession which ordi- narily mai-ked her queenly bearing. Not that she was struck with the noble mien of her visitor, or admired the traits of his MARRIED LIFE. 327 manner, or was charmed with his glow of character ; but alas for her woman's heart, her tenderness of nature, and, above all, that sympathy which, wrested late from an accustomed object, flowed out too readily upon the first new devotee that sought its homage. This gentleman was the representative of a class in Europe by no means small in number, who are willing to offset their personal accomplishments against the money or business capital of a wife, to secure their life from the pinchings of pecuniary embarrass- ment, — that most uncomfortable of feehngs, especially to such gentlemen. Thus fairly seated in the matrimonial car, they pass over the road of life most delectably to themselves. Leaving at the stopping places of the way, their better-half — better, true enough — to the graver duty of looking after the luggage of the journey, they are wont to spend the protracted intervals in regal- ing the sense with other views and scenting the fragrance of other fields. Woman, thus wedded, has the husk of matrimonial en- dearments, and the dregs of the wine of life, as penitential fruit lor the seductions of heart over the guidance of reason. Yet it is a lesson hard to learn, — that of prudence against habit and in- clination. How strange that the burnt child does not dread the fire, — that the sailor will turn again to the jierils escaped by a hair-breadth, — that the soldier will reenlist for death-devouring fields of carnage, — and that woman will plunge again into the corroding waters of a same wedlock from which she has but just safely emerged, still dripping with the waters of bitter experience. Thus, Madame, who would often mournfully recount the unequal burden of her late married life, and would freely declare her de- termination as the result of her judgment, not to wed again, was yet evidently being lured into the very net that so appalled her judgment. Marriage is, in many respects, quite a different thing in Europe 328 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. and the United States. In the former, among the middling clas- ses, there is one feature particularly noticeable. When a couple come together in wedlock, each of the parties retains, often to a ruinous extent, his individual habits and tastes. If the bridegroom is a sort of idle gentleman, wont to sport his time on the boule- vards and in the cafes, and the bride an industrious body inured to the profession of gain, a similar course will continue after mar- riao-e. He will spend his evenings and days abroad, pursuing the phantom of his own amusement, — while she is attending assidu- ously to the domestic affairs, or devotedly pursuing some calling of gain. How different is it with us ! A young man, for mstance, of independent means, marries a girl who may have been a very respectable domestic. At once a notable transformation takes place. She immediately assumes the dignity and imitates the aira of a married lady in the highest circles ; while the husband, some- thino- of an idler before, now finding his small income insufficient to meet the growing expense of his new state, engages industrious- ly in some branch of business Avhich he pursues with the perti- nacity of a martyr. March Uh. In the afternoon, visited one of the communal schools, which will not require a particular description, as in or- ganization and appearance, it did not differ materially from those already described. The salary of the teacher was about one hun- di-ed and twenty dollars per annum, — a remuneration slight enough, I thought, for the apparently severe duties of his place. For the mstruction of youth of both sexes in all departments of scholastic knowledge, and every elegant accomplishment, there are in Brussels many excellent academical institutions, both public and private. One of the teachers very kindly offered to conduct me to one of these latter. It was under the direction of J. Pietersz, and kept in a part of the buildings of the University. COMMUNAL SCHOOLS. 329 As we passed through a basement room of this edifice, I noticed several students seated around a table, upon which was a human corpse undergoing dissection. A sight which caused within me an involuntary sensation of horror, was completely an indifferent object to the jolly-faced disciples who were working away as if carving a turkey, cracking their jokes in the most easy good humor imaginable. Around another table were pupils engaged in sketching from patterns before them. Adjoining this room were several small apartments occupied as cabinets, filled with many curious and interesting objects. In one was an entire family char- red by fire, and in a complete state of preservation. They were among the victims of a fire that took place in the city several hun- dred years ago. In another apartment were pointed out to me several heads of criminals executed by the guillotine but a few days since. The sensation produced by viewing them was such as I cannot describe. That instrument of death whose bare name calls up such dreadful and affecting associations of the old French Revolution, was still in use in Belgium for capital punishment. Indeed, a gentleman minutely narrated to me the circumstances of an execution inflicted by its irrevocable stroke — of which he was a personal witness — and the sensations it caused him. The vic- tim is placed in an angular position in a perpendicular frame. At a signal, not seen, the massive, gleaming steel descends noiselessly in a grooved frame, separating the head from the trunk with as much facihty as a keen knife would the small end of a smooth beet. Mr. P. received me graciously, and conducted me through all the apartments of the school, allowing me time to examine person- ally, and ask questions. He wore sli[)pers, and generally spoke to me in a whisper, especially in the school-rooms, appearing scru- pulous about disturbing the teachers. The school comprises some 28* 330 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. four or five hundred pupils, and twenty teachers. There was con- siderable difference in the degree of stillness in the several rooms, ■ — but the pupils throughout appeared studious and interested; while the mode of reciting showed the school to be of superior character. I was particularly struck with the extreme degree of stillness in one room containing perhaps eighty or a hundred pu- pils. The slight ticking of the time-piece was distinctly audible all over the room, while the teacher, moving noiselessly around in the softest slippers, spoke in a note little above a whisper. Still this part of the school did not strike me as superior to that in other rooms. Indeed I was bold enough to imagine it inferior. There seemed to be an unnatural restraint which stiffened the mental ardor of the pupils. The beaming eye and flushed ex- pression of enthusiasm appeared wanting. Mr. P. spoke of the school, as if it was regarded as one of the very best in the city ; and there was in reality a tone of enterprise and spirit pervading it that, to the eye of a practical teacher, bespoke unusual excellence. Mr. P., the director, receives about six hundred dollars per an- num, with room, lights, and fuel. His duties are those only of a superintendent, not being required to teach himself. He has thus left considerable spare time, which he has wisely appropriated in preparing text-books for the primary schools of the city. He had the goodness to present me with his series of readers, in which the lessons are graduated in a most admirable manner. Some of the other teachers are paid about four hundred dollars per annum. Their teacher in English, I was told, was from Boston, but I did not get the favor of an interview. March 5th. Took a turn to view the Botanic Garden, near the Observatory, on the outer side of the city wall. It contains an extensive and beautiful collection of indigenous and exotic plants, and is allowed to be one of the finest public gardens m Europe. LAMARTDtE'S EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 331 The public journals were discussing the probabilities of a coali- tion by the powers of Europe, to put down republicanism in France. It was evident enough that no such thing could take place. Public opinion had made a long stride since the time of Napoleon the Great. Liberal sentiments had pretty thoroughly impregnated the masses. The treachery of the governments, in not fulfilling their engagements to the people, after getting their aid to crush Napoleon, was stiU fresh in the public ear. Then each government evidently had enough to do to manage the affairs of its own kingdom, and prevent the wave of freedom just issued from Paris, from rolling its demolishing waters over entire Europe. If work they must against the dangerous propagandism, it would be secretly, by diplomacy, and after the first wave had receded. Lamartine, with almost superhuman energy, was endeavoring by the fiat of thought, to elevate and harmonize the French mind to the true idea of freedom ; while, at the same time, he was in- structing foreign governments as to the course France would pur- sue. To the latter, with tlie power of eloquence, he held out in one hand the sword, and in the other, the olive-branch of peace. His bulletins, messages, and ordinances, were issued with a pro- lificness almost incredible, and were spread immediately on the wings of intelligence all over Europe ; while, at the same time, he was at brief intervals haranguing the French populace, until nature being exhausted, he was obliged to be held upon his feet, to give utterance to his peace-inspiring thoughts. Let the grati- tude of the world be awarded Lamartine for his noble and power- ful efforts for peace at this tremendous crisis. March \2th. To-day was the last of six days of Carnival which was being celebrated in the city. These religious holidays passed off peaceably enough, although the authorities, in the rev- olutionary panic, had taken the utmost precaution to prevent dis- 332 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. turbance. The term is derived from the Latin carni vale, farewell to meat. It occurs during the week before the commencement of Lent, and introduces the great fast of the church. It is celebrated in all Catholic countries, but more particularly at Rome and Ven- ice. It is looked forward to with happy anticipations, and is ac- companied with much merriment and revelry. On these occasions business is considerably suspended, theatres are in full glow, mas- querade balls reign in profusion, and a withdrawal by common consent of the lines that divide society, takes place. Young men and girls in the most ludicrous costume, parade the streets and perpetrate jokes, and take innocent liberties with each other and with the bystanders, which would never be tolerated at other times. But custom is the law of society. On the last day they had a course, or as we should say, procession, in which the authori- ties and more dignified citizens joined. It was escorted by a band of musicians dressed supremely droll, and throwing off the most fantastic airs imaginable. The side-walks were lined with people ; and parents everywhere took out their children, neatly di'essed, to witness the amusing spectacle. In the forenoon I looked into several churches. They were celebrating mass, and the ceremony was imposing and novel. The meetings were unusually thronged, generally of the middling classes. The personal beauty of the females did not strike me with admiration. I could not be mistaken in thinking them infe- rior in that respect to the same class in the United States. Al- most every woman bore the appearance of physical distortion, arising, no doubt, from the undue bodily toil imposed upon the masses of females in Europe. It is very clear that a certain amount of physical exercise is favorable not only to health but to personal beauty ; and it is quite as unequivocal that severe pro- tracted labor dwarfs the body and mind, which is perpetuated in HERO-WORSHIP. S33 the offspring. Hence, one looks in vain among the lower classes in France, Germany, and Belgium, for that classic symmetry of features, and rounded, graceful form, so common among us. It is not pretended that there are not striking exceptions to the pre- vailing rule. I sought in vain at the bookstores, for a copy of Lamartine's History of the Girondists. The work, sufficiently popular before, had actually entranced the public mind, since the elevation of the noble poet to the head of the French government. The furor for this, his latest writings, was so great, that the teeming presses in Paris and Brussels could in no way supply the eager appetite of the public. We in America are accused of extravagant hero- worship, but our enthusiasm in that particular, pales by the side of the intensity of European homage, when the public imagination there makes to itself an idoL Some are disposed to ridicule this trait as a weakness. They would eradicate it from society. They will succeed, doubtless, when all that is noble and beautiful dies out from the human heart. The truth is, we are all benificently constituted to worship goodness and loveliness. Each hsis his heau-ddecd, which he instinctively adores. When a pubhc charac- ter appears, invested with the traits of our ideal image, our heart flows out toward him by a law of our nature. It often happens, indeed, that our souls are cheated. The bright jewel of our heart's affections is but a base coin, falsely made to glitter before our soul's eye, by some master-lapidary. But who would venture, after all, to alter the arrangement, on the score of human happi- ness and human good ? We surely get the blissful emotions of loving the beautiful, if but in imagination ; and the strengthening of our affections, by exercise, for the disajjpointment of the decep- tion. Who shall say that in this sordid age, when the artificial powers of society tend to debase the soul, and strangle all the 334 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-M^ORLD. purer and nobler affections, whether our Barnums are highway poachers, or benefactors to society. Shopping is an agreeable business in Brussels, as in Paris. You are waited on by young ladies of personal beauty, easy and engaging manners, and dressed with elegant neatness. You find none of the coarse bantering so common with us, which renders shopping an irksome affair, making you feel that you cannot pass through it without losing something of your personal dignity and manliness. Our republican manners often appear very strange to them. I one day made a purchase of a small article ; and as I was going from the shop directly to my hotel, I proposed taking it along with me, — when the young lady of whom I made the pur- chase, insisted that I should not. As I gently persisted in my de- termination, she referred the matter to her mother, in an apart- ment below, — whereupon Madame came tumbling up stairs into the shop, in considerable excitement, and warmly entered her pro- testations against so mean an act. To forestall the necessity of my doing so, she called a servant, and sent him to my side. Wish- ing to see how far a prejudice would carry an honest and kind- hearted woman, I firmly stated that my mind was made up, and made a movement to go. The good woman first throwing up her eyes and hands towards the ceiling, then dropping them on her dress in a pathos of despair and mortification, ejaculated, " Mon Dieu, Monsieur, a gentleman take his goods with him through the streets ! " The Belgians are hardly behind any people in the variety and excellence of their manufactures. The carpet manufactory of Messrs. Schumacher & Co. at Tournay, is said to be the most ex- tensive and important in Europe. It produces all kinds of what are called Brussels carpets, from those which adorn the sumptuous palaces of kings, to such as are used for the floor of the cottage. MANUFACTURE OF LACE. 335 Constant employment is given to sixteen hundred workmen, who occupy from eighty to one hundred looms, and produce annually about one hundred and twenty thousand metres of carpeting, — seven-eighths of which is exported. Manufactures in other de- partments are highly prosperous, but the most noted is that of lace. The manufacture of this article, though not so prosperous as formerly, has yet nothing to fear from foreign competition. *' Brussels lace," the thread of which is made of the finest flax of the country, is superior to every other description made in Bel- gium or in foreign countries, — and the demand for it is kept up in all parts of the world. Its peculiar qualities are, delicate fine- ness and a great elegance and variety of design. The patterns are all worked separate, and stitched on. The flax employed grows near Hal, and the best at Rebecque. The finest descrip- tion costs from three to four thousand francs a pound, and is worth its weight in gold. The spinning is pei'formed in darkened rooms, with a beam of light admitted only upon the work, through a small aperture. This expensive luxury may be seen ornamenting the dress of all classes of females. It is made a sine qua non of wardrobe ; and those who cannot alFord the genuine article, wear an imitation more or less perfect. I found no gloves even in Paris, equal to those in Brussels, for softness and elegance. Belgium was inhabited before the Christian era, by numerous tribes of the German race, who lived by hunting, and by rudely cul- tivating the earth. They consisted of two classes, chiefs and slaves ; and Druidism from Britain was universally predominant. In stature and bulk they surpassed the Romans, Avhom they fiercely encountered, and nearly destroyed Cesar's army of the best dis- ciplined troops in the world. They subsequently amalgamated ■with the Romans, — and many of Cesar's victories, especially that of Pharsalia, were decided by the cavalry and light infantry 336 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of Belgium. In the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, the charac- ter of the Belgians was greatly changed by successive invasions of Salian Franks from the Nortli. In the time of Charlemagne, A. D. 800, the physical state of the country had become much im- proved. At the end of the ninth century, the Normans commen- ced a series of piratical irruptions into Belgium, and continued to plunder and devastate the whole country during one hundred and fifty years. At the end of the eleventh century, the fanatical phrenzy of the crusades induced many of the nobles to part with lands, and to grant privileges and political powers, in order to ob- tain the means of equipping armies to fight the Saracens. The people, conscious of power, gradually extorted from the nobles, their rulers, so many concessions, that the provinces formed in reality, a democracy, and were only nominally subject to France and its nobles. When the rest of Europe was subject to despot- ism, and involved in comparative ignorance and barbarism, the court of the counts of Flanders was the chosen residence of liberty, civilization, and useful knowledge ; and when the ships of other nations scarcely ventured beyond the sight of land, those of the Flemish merchants traversed the ocean ; and Bruges and Antwerp possessed all the commerce and wealth of the north of Europe. Under the Burgundian dynasty, the commercial and manufacturing towns of the low countries enjoyed remarkable prosperity. The famous Order of the Golden Fleece was institu- ted in 1430. Bruges and Antwerp were the great marts of the commercial world, and contained each about two hundred thousand inhabitants. In the Flemish court of the Duke of Burgundy, named Phillip the Good, about 1455, luxurious living was carried to a foolish and vicious excess. The wealthy were clad in gorge- ous velvets, satins, and jewelry, and their banquets were given with almost incredible splendor. Many instances of the immense FORMER PROSPERITY OF BELGIUM. 337 wealth of its merchants are recorded ; among others, it is said that when Charles V. once dined with one of the Chief Magis- trates of Belgium, his host immediately after dinner threw into the fire a bond for two millions of ducats, which he had received as security for a loan to that monarch, saying that he was more than repaid by the honor of being permitted to entertain his sove- reign. This luxury produced depravity and crime to such an extent, that in one year fourteen hundred murders were commit- ted in Ghent, in the gambling houses and other resorts of de- bauchery. The arts were cultivated with great success. Most of the magnificent cathedrals and town-halls in the country were built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. History, poetry, and learning, were much cultivated ; and the University of Lo- vain was the most celebrated in Europe. In 1477, Belgium passed under the dynasty of the empire of Austria. In the reign of Charles V, the influence of the Burghers attained its highest point. The Scheldt at Antwerp often contained twenty-five hun- dred vessels, waiting their turn to come to the wharves ; her gates were daily entered by five hundred loaded wagons ; and her ex- change was attended, twice a day, by five thousand merchants, who expended one hundred and thirty thousand golden crowns in a single banquet given to Phillip, the son of Charles V. The value of wool annually imported from England and Spain, ex- ceeded four million pieces of gold. This amazing prosperity ex- perienced a rapid and fatal decline under the malignant tyranny and bigotry of Phillip II, son of Charles V. He established in its most diabolical extravagance the inquisition, and persecuted the Protestants to the death. He is known to have boasted, that in less than six years he had put to death eighteen thousand men and women by the sword, the gibbet, the rack, and the flames. Commerce and trade in Belgium now dwindled away, many of 29 338 CRESTS FKOM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the rich merchants were reduced to beg for bread, the great cities were half deserted, and forest- wolves often devoured the scattered inhabitants of desolated villages. In 1706 it changed from the Spanish dominion to the Austrian ; and having been several times conquered by, and reconquered from, the French, it was incorpo- rated in 1795, with the French republic, and divided into depart- ments. In the centre of Belgium was fought the great battle of "Waterloo, in 1815. In fact, so often has it been the scene on which the surrounding nations have settled their quarrels, that it has long been styled the cock-pit of Europe. By the Congress of Vienna, the provinces of Belgium were annexed to those of Holland, to fonn the kingdom of the Netherlands, which existed until the revolution in 1830, when Belgium became an indepen- dent nation. The Belgians have been successively subjected to the influence of so many different governments — French, Austrian, Spanish, Dutch — that they consequently possess no distinctive and pecu- liar national character. The apathy and persevering industry of the Dutch is blended with the vivacity and self-assurance of the French. The most obvious pecuharity by which the Belgians are distinguished, is their devout observance of religious rites and ce- remonies. In the rural districts, the clergy are regarded with fa- natical veneration, and everywhere exercise, and endeavor to maintain, a powerful dominion over the great mass of the work- men and peasants. The churches are all open at five or six o'- clock every morning, when every good Catholic attends to repeat his prayers before entering upon the business or pleasure of the day ; and the afternoon and evening of every Sunday are enliv- ened by the entertainments of tavern-gardens, grounds for shoot- ing with the cross-bow, ball-rooms, theatres, and other public places of amusement. AMUSEMENTS. 339 Music and dancing are very favorite amusements, especially with the middle and lower classes. On every fine summer eve- ning, balls are given at the tavern-gardens, which are numerous in the outskirts of every large town. The price of admission varies from three or four sous to a franc. Music festivals are celebrated every year at Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp, by ama- teur pei-formers, who are emulated by enthusiastic ambition to win numerous prizes, which are awarded to the best performers. The musical skill exhibited on these occasions, is truly astonishing. Music, in fact, is so commonly and carefully learned, even by the laboring classes, that the harmony of the airs which are sung by groups of peasants while at work, is often delightful to the most cultivated musical ear. CHAPTER XXIV. DEPARTURE FROM BRUSSELS — CANAL BOATS — BEAUTIFUL AP- PEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY — BRUGES — CATHEDRAL OP NOTRE DAME — DIETETICS — GROUPS OF MUSICIANS — ARRI- VAL OF A STEAMER — EMBARK FOR DOVER — DOVER HEIGHTS — CUSTOM HOUSE — SMUGGLING — DOVER CASTLE — LEAVE FOR LONDON. March 13th. I was up early, preparing for my departure. The bill of Madame was moderate, and her kindness in various ways had won upon me. My regret, therefore, at bidding her farewell, was heightened by friendship's power. I could not but feel a sadness, too, at leaving a city so filled with ennobling objects of contemplation. If travelling is a sad pleasure, thus separating one's self, and perhaps forever, from a place endeared to the heart by glowing associations, is not the least sombre feature in the mov- ing panorama. The raw air without, and the overcast sky, more- over, lent additional gloom. They seemed in sympathy with the rising emotions. I had denied myself the interest of visiting the memorable bat- tle ground of Waterloo, having seen the tragic spot in a tour through Belgium, several years before. Yet it was not so easy for me to forego visiting Antwerp, as I had ^^Ifinned to do, on leav- ing Paris, although I had already tarried tliere several weeks. The venerable city is too full of art, and too rich in historical as- sociations, for one visit to satisfy. Still, inchnation had to yield CANALS IN BELGIUM. 341 to circumstances, and I was soon speeding my way on the route to England, by the way of Ostend. On leaving the city, a fine view was soon presented of the magnificent Palace of Laekin, the country residence of his majesty, Leopold ; while behind us stood out in clear relief, against a back-ground of impervious sky, the numerous spires and turrets of the miniature-Paris. The city thus appears huddled upon a rounded plateau of earth, shghtly elevated, and presents an agreeable contrast to the verdure of the level country surrounding it. All the cars of our train were well filled, — the result of low fares, doubtless. The motion was easy and equable, and we ex- perienced few annoying delays. The railway lines in Belgium being under the direction of the government, greater precision is thus secured to them. The third-class cars of our train were open at the sides, and provided with long, plain benches, for seats. These were com- pletely thronged with coarsely-dressed, but orderly and healthful- looking people, some of them bearing along with them even im- plements of husbandry, or mechanical tools. The flatness of the country in Belgium is favorable, of course, to the construction of canals ; hence the country is considerably intersected by them, forming in the aggregate a distance equal to about two hundred miles. Such as we passed appeared wider and less crooked than I had been accustomed to see, and were, of course, nearly destitute of locks. As we passed along, I was struck with several peculiarities of the canal-boats. They were larger than ours, and were rigged to sail, when the wind would allow of it. For this purpose they were supplied, like a sloop, with a single mast, which, by means of a hinge, could be lowered back upon the deck, to enable the boat to pass under bridges. Whenever they came to a reach, that would not allow of sailing, 29* 342 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. theboatmen jumped out upon the bank, and with a tow-line tugged their ponderous craft along, till a turn in the canal enabled them to make use again of their sail. Yet I am not certain that this is the mode of canalling throughout Belgium. In proportion as we left Brussels in the distance, we lost hearing the pure French spoken, — ■ the language in the villages through which we passed becoming either Flemish, a sort of mongrel dialect, or the flat, broad Dutch. Occasionally, however, the ear was fuddled with a mixture com- pounded of Dutch, Flemish, and a little German and French. The dress, too, of the common people, partook of the melange, while the more graceful manners of the French character en- grafted upon the sturdy basis of the Dutch, was a subject of curi- ous interest. The flatness of the country, extending like a con- tinued prairie, enables the cities and villages to be seen at a great distance. They are picturesquely grouped upon some site slightly elevated, and appear to the eye of imagination, life-teeming oases amid a desert of habitations. Each village, however humble, has its church, upon the interior of which is lavished the riches of tlTe district, and whose spire shoots up to a dizzy height. The inter- minable flatness of the surface, its lawn-hke verdure, the unique form and variegated color of the edifices, the lofty needle spires of the churches, the somewhat bulky character of the people, with their fanciful costume, and irregular language, all render the pic- ture such as is nowhere else to be met with, and one of refreshing interest to the cursory traveller. Belgium is full of historical associations of vivid interest. There is not a village, however humble, but has hallowed recollections enough to fill a chapter by itself. It were, indeed, interesting to pause a moment and call up, from the dim shades of the past, heroic acts of a chivalrous age, — but this is a time of railroads and steam-boats, and we must hasten on our journey. Let my BRUGES. 343 reader, however, tarry with me a little in Bruges, and take a brief glance at a few of the noted features of what was once one of the most considerable cities of Belgium. Its name is derived from the Flemish word Brugge, — which means bridges, — from the cir- cumstance of its having fifty-four bridges across the numerous canals by which the streets are intersected. The city has a cir- cumference of nearly four and a half miles, and is entered by six gates. Bruges has six large squares; and many large, and noble ancient mansions and spacious public edifices present their pointed gables to the streets, and afford interesting specimens of the ornamental Gothic architecture of the middle ages. The spectacle of these edifices induces the contemplative mind to revert to the grandeur and opulence of the city in the days of chivalry, when its gorge- ous halls and courts were scenes of regal pomp and pageantry, — ■ and impress him with a feeling of sadness in contrasting its ancient prosperity with its present comparative desolation. Among the most remarkable edifices is the cathedral of Notre Dame, tlie tower of which is so lofty that, when the atmosphere is particu- larly clear, it is visible from the mouth of the Thames. The interior contains among other interesting objects, a marble statue of the Virgin and Child, attributed to Michael Angelo, and for which Horace Walpole, it is said, offered thirty thousand florins. In the great square is a lofty Gothic tower, or belfry, the most beautiful in Europe, and its chimes, or carillons, are esteemed the most complete and harmonious in the Netherlands. They are played upon every quarter of an hour. On particular days a paid professor of music performs. Watchmen are constantly posted at the top of this tower, to make alarm signals of fire by ringing a loud bell, and exhibiting in the day a flag, and in the night a lan- tern towards the point wliither the engines are required to hasten, 344 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. which is further indicated by a speaking-trumpet. The Jerusalem Church is -a facsimile of the Holy Temple. Bruges, in common with all towns of West Flanders, is destitute of spring-water, so that the inhabitants are obliged, as were their ancestors in the time of Pliny, to have recourse for supplies from the clouds. For this purpose, every house is provided with a cis- tern for collecting rain from its roof; and that which gathers in the ditches of the ramparts is conveyed, by means of hydraulic machinery, to public fountains, or tanks, whence it is disti'ibuted in pipes throughout the city. Speaking of its former grandeur, — the records of luxurious banquets and apparel at that period are almost incredible. Not only the dresses of men and women, but the housings of their horses were of velvet, satm and gold, px'ofusely sjjangled with briUiant jewels, — an extravagance which Charles V, in the fol- lowing century, was obliged to suppress by enacting sumptuary laws. It is said when the queen of Philhp the Bel, of France, visited this city in 1300, she exclaimed with astonishment, " I see hundreds who have more the appearance of queens than myself." A little incident on reaching Ostend, illustrates the efficiency of the Belgian police ; and the same trait would hold, I am per- suaded, in nearly aU European countries. My hotel being within a few rods of the depot, I did not take a carriage, but was walk- ing leisurely forward with valise in hand, when a man approached and clamorously solicited to bear my baggage. I mildly thanked him for his offers, but observed that his services were not desired. Mistaking my easy manner for amiable weakness, doubtless, he laid hold of my valise, at the same time walking along with me, and all the while insisting that I should let go. A police officer observing him, stepped up, collared my new acquaintance, and, in spite of his remonstrances and petitions, hurried him off to the BEER DRINKING. 345 watcli-house. The traveller in Europe is struck with a comfort- able feeling of security in noticing all around the external eviden- ces of order and quietness, and the deference and respect shown strangers, even by the officers of government ; and did he not take a mental glance behind the curtain, and see the immense cost by which this security is kept up, and reflect upon the influence of arbitrary government upon the national mind, he would be half in danger of becoming enamored of Royal Institutions. And when a foreigner, long accustomed to this strictly-ruled state of things, comes to our shores, and is exposed to the recklessness of abused freedom, it is no wonder that he cries out at first against free institutions, and declares a Republican Government a weak thing, and insufficient to protect the dear interests of society. I spent the evening agreeably in a very respectable estaminet, observing the manners of the citizens. It was liberally patron- ized, and the guests, who had the appearance of regular custom- ers, remained in general till a late hour. In dress and manners they were of the well-to-do class, advanced in years, and pursy. They hastened off the time in quiet conversation, smoking pipes, and drinking ale or strong beer ; and the quantity of this beve- rage each disposed of, perfectly amazed me, — so great, that I dare not say, for fear of not being credited. I could not have believed, without the evidence of my own eyes, that even their bulky trunks could have taken up, and held in solution — allowing them thoroughly of the nature of sponge — such vast quantities of the turpid liquid. But the landlady informed mc the next morning, when I wonderingly recounted to her the number of glasses I had observed a single person to drink, that she could re- late to me even larger stories of the same kind. AVell, in the face of such facts, what, thought I, becomes of dietetic theories ! The Frenchman, for instance, lives in a great measure upon highly 346 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. I concentrated coffee : the Hollander daily soaks his bulky person in ale ; the Englishman gorges his capacious stomach with roast beef; while other races live principally upon vegetables and fruit; and yet all these varieties of people span about the same length of life. Habits so different seem to effect little more than differ- ences of personal appearance and temperament ; but they show, at least, the Avonderful power of adaptation belonging to the human system ! We were regaled several times during the evening, with the musical efforts of humble troops of artists, who, after having executed a few popular airs, sent around the reception-board among the guests for sous. At one time it was a little brother and sister who constituted the band ; at another, a family group, includ- ing the father and mother ; then again, it was a more imposing array of talent, in the form of a chosen number of artists. But they were always civil, modest, and respectful. Further, their soft and stilly manners, as they glided noiselessly into the room, unostentatiously struck up their sweet airs, just at the time to cause no interruption to any one, and then quietly retired, betok- ened the influence of their musical strams upon their own charac- ter. - It was the intuitive politeness which music ever forms in the human soul. Their humble pei-formances formed for me an agreeable variety to the evening's occupation ; and had I not been on the latter end of my route, should doubtless have given them quite liberally. To be frank, I must confess to a more than com- mon sympathy with these strolling empirics. So grovelHng are made the pursuits of life, that I have ever felt thankful at heart to whomsoever was drawing up even but drops from the ocean fountain of concealed delight, to gladden the weary spirit. If idlers we must have, let them be of no worse occupation. It must be something of a poetic soul to find congeniality in the calling. And I must say that I have listened to strains from some of these FORTIFICATIONS OF OSTEND. 347 unpretending performers, which to my untutored ear, were touch- ing and delicious. This, too, is the medium through which some of the brightest genius has found its way to the soul of the world, and gained the enviable fortune of thrilling it with emotions of intense pleasure. March \^th. I had time in the morning for a stroll about the town. It has a quaint and dilapidated air. Few travellers speak of it in terms of praise, still it is regularly and neatly built, and presents a lively appearance, the houses being painted of different colors. An interesting feature is the strong fortifications, consist- ing of redoubtable ramparts, a broad ditch, and a citadel. Indeed these time-grizzly champions possess an historical interest. Dur- ing the ever-memorable straggle of the Dutch to emancipate themselves from the blind and brutal despotism of Old Spain, this little town sustained one of the most celebrated sieges of which history has preserved any account. It continued from the fourth of July, IGOl, to the twenty-eighth of September, 1G04, when the garrison capitulated on honorable terms, to tlie ablest of the Span- ish leaders, the famous Marquis of Spinola. This siege is sup- posed to have cost the contending parties the lives of nearly one hundred thousand men. Situated directly upon the North Sea, it is a favorite watering-place of the Belgians, and is sometimes re- sorted to by the royal family. This, with the passengers daily passing through here on the new line, gives to the place an ani- mating air. At 10 A.M., I was standing upon the breakwater, watching the approach from the offmg of a steamer from Dover. She presently glided in between the piers, a thing of life indeed. The English passengers on board, encumbered as usual with luggjige, made strong requisitions upon tlie conveyance-resources of the place. Beasts of burden, vehicles of every description, even shoulders of 348 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. men and women, piled high, presented a moving chattel-house. The ladies of the company struck me pleasingly. Their elegant figure, rich and flowing dress, and dignified manner, placed them in happy contrast with the Belgian women. Then my native language in their mouth, so long almost a stranger to my ear ! It came like sweetest music to my soul. The very tones awoke emo- tions impossible to describe. At 1 1 A. M., I was standing upon the deck of another of these graceful little steamers, darting out from the capacious harbor, upon the angry bosom of the stormy North Sea. The glorious Old Continent, big with the riches of human culture and experi- ence, was receding in the mellowing distance. The last page had been turned, and the book closed, of another volume of life. But how precious its gleaming ! What a treasure of delight will it not furnish of future reminiscences. On we sped at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles an hour. Our steamer, a fair sample of those on the line, was small, but of elegant model. The passages across the bleak Strait are often necessarily stormy, but not a single accident had yet happened to the line, — owing, in part, to the extreme precaution of the con- ductors of the boats. These are well manned, and ofiicered by a naval gentleman ; and in all the arrangements, nothing is left to chance. There were some fifteen of us in number on board, a mere handful compared with the thronging crowds pluming the decks of the gay floating palaces on our Westex'n waters. About two-thirds of this number occupied the stei*n cabin, — a neat, cozy apartment, snugly under deck ; while the remainder waived the honor of being in the best style, from the claims of economy, and made their quarters in the forecastle. Presently a brisk breeze sprang up from the south-west, raising up a short sea, and cresting their breezy ridges. The sky remained clear, but blue, and the CROSSING THE CHANNEL. 349 air raw and piercing. These features of the scene, — the severe aspect of the heavens, the chilly touch of the air, and the shiver- ing look of the wet expanse, were enough to make me remember the old North Sea with icy feelings. Our modest little boat, how- ever, held on steadily her way, nodding over the yeasty seas with duck-like security. Several of our passengers in due time com- menced casting their reckoning with old Neptune, who seemed in- exorable in his exactions. Such of us as had better sea-legs, well wrapped in clothing, paced as best we could the deck, and, per- chance, strove to draw each other out in conversation. Several of the passengers were English, but they were able to converse in French with fluency ; and one of them informed me that the edu- cated classes in England all learn that language as a common and useful branch of education. We had on board one of the Dover pilots, on his return from having taken a foreign ship through the Straits to Hamburg. This business employs a considerable class. American ships, also, in passing through the treacherous sea, not uiifrequently take pilots. The navigation of the sea is justly re- garded as dangerous, there being numerous undisclosed sand-bai's, not indicated by beacons. Of these merciless strands, justly enough dreaded by mariners, the Goodwin Sands are the most noted. Our pilot passenger was a genial, entertaining old fellow. He possessed a ready fund of general information, and was by no means unwilling to give us a peep into his amply garnered store- house. He was indeed none of your oyster-class of travellers. In his ambulations, the government of his own countiy, her insti- tutions and society, came in for a place in his discursive survey. He acknowledged, truthfully enough, that the British Executive was an adroit power. It managed the vast empire with consum- mate success, ever keeping its unwearied eye intent on the main chance. National greatness was its triumphant goal, and univer- 30 350 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. sal dominion the potent spell of its genius. It had little deep, genuine sympathy with the toiling, panting masses ; but its thor- ough feehng of self-respect, its national pride, its glowing desire of progress, forced it to a decent regard for the urgent rights of the laboring poor. As for the vigilant claims of the middling classes, this lynx-eyed government had full employment for its astute powers ; but it managed, nevertheless, to keep the advanc- ing, exacting element Avithin control : now yielding, and again pushing forward, ever seizing an opportunity, just like some skil- ful champion in complete contest with a powerful antagonist. Our talkative companion let out upon the sins of the English Govern- ment with a freedom of speech that would hardly have been par- donable in the citizen of a Republic. Still, the sincere-souled old tar carried below a loyal heart, — what Englishman does not ? According to him, England was, of course, infinitely the greatest country in the world ; her institutions the most perfect, and her people the guiding stars in the heavens of intellectual and moral splendor. The low, flat, French coast had scarcely merged from view be- low the horizon, when the bold cliffs of Dover greeted our vision. The distance across from Ostend to Dover is sixty miles, but from Dover to the nearest point on the French coast, it is no more than twenty-one miles. Truly but a narrow space separates these two powerful, enlightened nations ; yet in feeling, manner, and taste, they inhabit different shores of an impassible gulf. At first view, it would seem easy for a well-appointed French expedition to seize a favorable opportunity, cross the narrow strait, make a sud- den and unexpected descent upon the island, and make a con- quest of it. We know that the Normans did this in an earlier age. We are told that a similar project occupied, for a long time, the gigantic intellect of Napoleon. That the English, even to DOVER. 351 this day, have apprehensions on that score, there can be no doubt. As a fact in evidence of this, let me adduce, that in the Fall of 1847, a letter written by the late Duke of Wellington to a friend, in which he candidly expresses the opinion, that the uncommon activity which happened then to be going on in the French naval yards, had, for spring of movement, a contemplated invasion of England. This letter somehow found its way into the public prints, and its contents created a sensation in England, such as had not been witnessed for many a year. To have seen the stir it made, one might have supposed that every Englishman fancied a French rapier about to be thrust into his coporeal man. One dignified London editor declared, that " no doubt there was not a Frenchman in the kingdom that would not hail, with a yell of savage delight, the opportunity to gloat his incarnate enmity in the effusion of English blood." As we neared the English coast, the wind moderated, the sea became smooth, and a thin smoky haze hung over the verge of the land, just to place it in fine relief. The soil on this part of the coast is of chalky formation; the land is high, and the coast abrupt, giving a bold and picturesque view to the whole. A little to the north of the town, on the most elevated part, frowns the renowned castle of Dover. The entire scene was fine on enteruag the harbor. Tlie placid and lovely bosom of the sea, the quiet and arrowy movement of our boat cutting the blue surface, the unique and imposing view of the land before us, the old castle up above us at the right, the thronging of citizens on the quay to greet our arrival, the thrilling liistorical associations of the place, all greatly heightened in my own bosom by the spell-bound tie of home, with wliich the soil of England is linked, gave elevation and lustre to the emotions of the moment. The harbor, which is within the town, is quite unworthy the ancient reputation of the 352 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. port. It is small, and the entrance to it being narrow, between two piers, great caution is required in entering in rough weather. It is only a tide harbor, and a few years ago the bar at its en- trance had accumulated so much, that it was feared that it would be entirely choked up ; but great improvements have since been effected. I was not favorably impressed with the dexterity of our captain in getting our boat into the harbor. He made clumsy work of it, though the boat was small, entirely manageable, the water smooth, and all other apparent circumstances favorable. The awkward delay was the more noticeable, as in the grave and explicit announcements of the company the captain was set forth as a first-class naval officer, of high nautical education and expe- rience. I thought any of our green yankee captains would have done infinitely better. On arrival, the luggage of all the pas- sengers was immediately taken charge of by commissioners ap- pointed by the government, and conveyed by them to the custom house depot, there to undergo a search. The inspection over, the luggage is conveyed by the same authorities to any place in port you may designate. For this interfering care you are required to pay quite freely. For three small pieces I was taxed thirty-seven and a half cents.' If anything contraband is discovered, it is forth- with confiscated, part to the government, and part to the officers who make the discovery, and the owner thereof is heavily fined or imprisoned. One of our party was so unlucky as to fall into the limhoes of these hawk-eyed limbs of the law. He was a Ger- man, from Frankfort. His dress, manner, and intelligence be- spoke him a gentleman. No ordinary observer could have thought him capable of so mean a thing, as an attempt at smuggling ; but the trained vision of the officers of the government knows where to look for the rogues. While the rest of us were allowed to pass freely ashore, our German companion was at once singled out as SMUGGLING. 353 a suspicious person. He was superbly dressed, wearing over sev- eral other garments a rich cloak, deeply trimmed with velvet and fir. As he stepped on the quay, an officer walked up to him, and found under either arm, hidden by his cloak, several thousand of the nicest cigars. On opening his trunks at the custom-house, they found more of the same precious article. The unfortunate man could say nothing for himself, and looked chop-fallen to the last degree. We called him a foolish fellow, and were disposed to show him pity. But the officers took a different view of the case. They explained his bold, and apparently unconscious manner, as a shrewd trick of the experienced smuggler. His penalty was a heavy one ; but the officers, with a praiseworthy good-will, suc- ceeded in making it comparatively ligfit. Let me say, in justice to these gentlemen, that they appeared to take no pleasure in dis- covering contraband articles, nor to enforce the law in its rigor, when in their power to do so. They certainly appeared different from the character often ascribed to the class of custom-house of- ficers. In alluding jocosely to the possibility of finding something among my own baggage of a contraband nature, one of them by my side promptly answered, " We do not expect to. We never detect the American traveller in such low tricks. They are en- tirely too honorable and noble minded for that." I felt grateful for the compliment ; especially, as I had no doubt of his sincerity. He told me that such attempts at smuggling were by no means rare, and the actual amount of confiscated goods in the course of the year was not inconsiderable, — and this, too, in the face of the law in all its rigor. Persons were often de- tected of whom better things would be expected ; and more strange still, as the advantage in prospect bore no proportion to the risk. They were disposed to be accommodating to such as had with lliem only purchascd-articles of wardrobe in reasonable quantities 30* 354 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. for themselves, and even for friends, — such as gloves, silk dresses, velvet mantillas, etc. Dover is a likely place to meet with petty smuggling, by travellers, being one of the principal places of first- landing from the Continent. Brussels lace is the more frequent article that seeks to secrete its way, and this, because of its expen- siveness and the ease with which it can be hidden from view. A stranger is required to call at the Alien Office, and take a certificate of arrival, for which the charge is nothing. In the delay of removing my luggage, I stepped into a small hotel for a lunch. Here I felt again, most delightfully, the idea of home, to which I had been a stranger for several months. The room I ate in was a kind of a carpeted parlor, with a glowing coal-fire in the hearth, and every thing about the apartment gleaming with neatness, not excepting the youthful landlady, the brightest of all — neat, rosy, and gladsome, — a most enviable looking wife, as well as dame. And here let me say, I was struck with the superior good looks of the ladies whom I accidentally passed in the streets of Dover. On account of our proti-acted passage across the strait, we were too late for the express-train, which traverses the distance of eighty- six miles in two hours. This I sorely regretted, but it afforded me time to look around upon the famous Dover Castle. It is on an eminence bounding the south-east side of the valley, and com- prises an immense collection of ancient and modern works, occupy- ing an area of about thirty acres. It is approached by a bold ascent, but is itself commanded by the higher ground on the west and south-west. There are remains of ramparts, and of a temple, bath, and Pharos, supposed to be of Roman construction. Pre- viously to the last French war, the works were much dilapidated, but they were then repaired and greatly augmented. There are upper and lower courts, surrounded (except towards the sea), by curtains and large, dry ditches. In the centre of the former is a FROM DOVER TO LONDON. 355 spacious keep, built by Henry III, and now forming a bomb-proof magazine. The curtain of the lower court is flanked, at irregular intervals, by ten towers of various construction ; the oldest, built by Earl Goodwin ; the others, built at different times during the Norman dynasty ; with these, subterraneous passages communicate from the ditch. There are, also, four or five ancient wells, ex- cavated to the depth of three hundred and seventy feet. The modern works consist of batteries, with heavy artillery casements, covered ways, a large vault, etc., — excavated in the chalk, — bar- racks, etc., capable of lodging two thousand troops. The late Duke of Wellington was Constable of the Castle. Dover comprises what is termed the " old," and " new town." The latter is built chiefly for the reception of strangers, large numbers of whom throng the place during the bathing season. It has a neat and interesting appearance. The old part of the town, on the contrary, is irregular, and the streets narrow and ill-kept ; but the whole is obviously improving, and building-lots are said to be in great request. You are besieged here as elsewhere, all over the world, by porters and idlers, for the favor of relieving you of luggage. The town is made the residence of several wealthy gentlemen. At a quarter past six in the afternoon, we left for London in the slow train, which takes four hours to make the passage. In a mo- ment after leaving, we entered the long tunnel which leads under the bold bluff upon the verge of the coast, termed Shakspeare's Cliff. We then glided, for some time, along upon the very brink of the precipitous coast. The quiet North Channel was away down below us, and vessels on its tranquil bosom appeared as the tiny crafts which the boy is wont to sport with in the narrow streams of his home. Our company was of very respectable ap- pearance, but sedate in their manners, — very unhke a French 356 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. assembly. I was nearly deprived of the pleasing views of English rural scenery, from the lateness of our passage ; but we passed, before being quite enveloped in the gray folds of eve- ning, several charming villas, delightfully embowered in trees and shrubbery. We were at length set down in London, at half-past ten in the evening, near the south-end of London Bridge. I was directed to a kind of restaurant, where, besides meals at all hours, they furnished transient j^eople lodgings. Here I was conducted to a neat and comfortable parlor, in the second-story, in which I met an elderly lady, well-dressed, and of highly intelligent bear- ing. Immediately, and without reserve, she entered into free and intelligent conversation with me ; and when she learned that I was in Paris in the first of the revolution, and was personally a witness of some of its most thrilling scenes, her curiosity and mterest were almost without bounds. The most trivial detail of the grand event was seized upon by her ardent nature as if it were of real impor- tance. We conversed till a late hour upon various subjects; yet, I could not learn, without subjecting myself to the imputation of rudeness, anything of her personal history, — not even of what country she was ; — but by this trait alone, I should have guessed her to be English. CHAPTER XXV. LONDOX — BEGGARS — TOWER OF LONDON — DUNGEON — CROWN- JEWELS — ST. Paul's — sir Christopher wren — the Thames TUNNEL — RIVER STEAMERS — TRAFALGAR SQUARE — NELSON MONUMENT — BRITISH MUSEUM — WEST-END — BUCKINGHAM PALACE — WESTMINSTER ABBEY — PARKS. March loth. Really in London — the big, beating heart of the British empire, and the emporium of the civilized world ! I took an early morning stroll for first impressions. The first idea with which I was forcibly struck, was the solid, massive character which pervaded every thing. Tlie huge bridges across the Thames, the lofty public and private edifices, — even the vehicles which traverse the streets, have an air of strength and durability entirely national. Almost the first person I met in London was a beggar. I had but just taken the last step in crossing London Bridge, when I was almost struck aghast at the appearance before me of a human form, emaciated to the last degree, and his whole frame trembling as if unable to stand erect. He seemed the dire vestige of life ! He held up with his hand a thin piece of board upon which was written, in chalk letters, "/am starving for want of bread!" A gentleman before me handed him, in passing, a penny, which the starvinfj man slipped into his pocket with an adroitness, that struck me as not natural. I handed him another, which was dis- 358 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. posed of in a similar manner. I now began to comprehend that he must be one of the numerous professional beggars with which the city is sorely infested. And he was certainly a most consum- mate counterfeit. Beggary is a marked feature in London scenery. Its sickening sight is everywhere before the eye of the stranger, and some of its details are so revolting, as to curdle the life-blood of one's nature. Mere skeletons of human beings may be seen, with barely enough clothing to hide their shrivelled forms, and that so tattered and filthy as to outrage common decency ; some maimed, others deformed, or disfigured, sitting upon the cold pavement, reclining upon the steps of doors, and even crawling upon the pavement, uttering moans, and beseeching you to give something for their famishing nature ; — women without shoes, or covering for the head, and with rags, for the rest of the body, barely enough for decency, — with half- naked children in their arms, out in the muddy streets, or lying in some corner with the rain pattering upon their emaciated faces. Such is a meagre outline of a picture that is ever before the stranger, at every turn, and at all times of the day and night, in the opulent and benevolent city of London ! The features of the picture receive a more appalling hue, when contrasted with the comfortable luxuriousness and splendor pervading the "West End of the city, — the residence of the aristocracy. In view of the contrast, the mind is staggered in contemplating the marvellous inequalities of human condition, and one is almost led to murmur at the Divine economy which permits, that while one mortal can roll in luxury, with an utter inability to spend his princely income, another human being of the same great family of man, must live and suffer, dragging slowly out a miserable existence, deprived of the small means necessary even to protect his body from the pinching of hunger and the piercing of cold. BEGGARS IN LONDON. 359 The most obdurate heart is at first melted with pity, in witnes- sing such scenes. The sympathies of his whole nature are aroused ; and he gives for the first few days freely. He soon, however, comes to bethink himself, and will reason something in this wise : " Suppose I continue to give even in the smallest sums, and only to such as appear the most urgent cases, I should soon empty my own purse, — and had I the wealth of CrcESUS, it would hardly sutiBce. And then, should I be certain of giving with pru- dence ? Are not those appearing the more needy cases, often mere counterfeits, while the real cases of distress are hidden from view ?" After appeasing the clamorings of his conscience by such reason- ings, he resolves to give no more, — and ever afterwards holds tight his purse-strings, unless indeed some dreadful case thrills every fibre of his sympathetic being, and renders it quite impos- sible to hold back. It cannot be denied that beggary is a broad, festering sore on the great London body, unsightly to the eye, and poisonous to its vitality. Of the actual amount of beggary, I am not in possession of accurate statistics, but it must be very great. It is distinguished into pauperism and mendicity ; the former comprising the truly needy, and the latter, such as pursue it as a regular trade, or pro- fessional beggars. These latter comprise by far the more numerous class, and English authorities give it as nine to one, — that is, out of every ten beggars, nine are mendicants, or professional beggars, that pursue the calling as a regular branch of business. I am inclined to think, however, that the statement is exaggerated, un- less it be meant to include only the street beggars ; for many of the real cases of indigence are hidden from view. The mendi- cants pursue their way of life with notorious audacity. They have a saying among them, that " it is a hard street that will not yield one penny, and he is a lazy beggar who will not traverse 360 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. sixty streets a day." This would make some one hundred and fif- teen cents per day. The Mendicant Society have labored usefully in exposing the impositions of mendicants ; but neither their agents nor the new police have been able to suppress them. This class are gross im- postors, and convicted vagrants ; and of these, the very worst are the blind and cripples. Their profligacy, and the inveteracy of their idle and dishonest habits, almost constitute them so many criminals. The metropolitan police, in 1837, apprehended four thousand three hundred mendicants. The private lodgings of this class are crowded, unwholesome, and literally sinks of iniquity. Still, admitting that much of the beggary seen in London is mendicity, there is yet enough of real suffering. Cases come to light now and then, appalling enough to make the very heart bleed with commiseration. A lady informed me, that a woman of ker acquaintance, who had lost her husband some time before, found herself without means of support, and reduced to the ex- tremity of sewing, to support herself and family. Her health, never strong, was now every day becoming more fragile in conse- quence of undue application. She had been forced to part with every article of furniture, and had even disposed of her bible and wedding ring, and was then wasting toward an untimely grave. The Poor House was indeed before her, and so was the grave ; and she preferred the latter to the former. Reared as the daughter of a wealthy gentleman, her pride rebelled at such humbling, and her whole nature shrunk at the idea of the degradations of the Poor House. Another dreadful case, sickening even to the contemplation, is before my mind. The two only children of a cobler died in his house. Too poor himself to incur the expense of their decent sepulture, he applied to the proper authorities for aid from the CASES OF EXTREME MISERY. 361 city. This was denied him on the ground of his *possessing arti- cles of personal property of more value than to entitle him to relief from the government. The few articles of last necessity actu- ally in his possession, being of a nature not transferable for cash, he applied for permission to bury the decomposing bodies in the narrow garden adjoining his shop. But this, of course, was denied him. The offensive corpses remained in this condition in his room, until some gentleman accidentally passing, was so struck by the disagreeable stench, as to be led to enter, to learn %vhcnce it pro- ceeded. His astonishment may be imagined, on finding two bodies in the most loathsome condition, and the little room filled with virulent miasma. To his demand why they had not been inter- red, the half-deranged father replied, " My good sir, I would have rejoiced to bury them in a hole like dogs, had I been permitted to do so." It is needless to add, that the case was then promptly cared for. I learned this from persons who were eye-witnesses of the scene. It was also published in one of the London jour- nals, the Times, I think. This is doubtless an extreme case ; but it will not be denied, there are enough others coming to light every day, which, if not so strange as this, are yet dreadful to think of. Indeed, I was assured by English gentlemen themselves, of high respectability, that no human tongue could adequately describe the heart-appalling miseries of the poor of London. Much of this misery may doubtless be attributed more to de- moralization than mere misfortune. Still, there must ever be much of the latter. Where condition of life is so strictly ruled, and struggle for pecuniary means so intense as in London, there is left the merest chance to regain a lost foothold upon the ladder of panting existence. Where society is so pressed into time-worn ruts, the vicissitudes of life fall with fatal eflfect. Nor is there a^y relief from dire extremity by flying into the country. There, 31 362 CEESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. every foot of land is appropriated, with no opportunity for a sec- ond occupant. No alternative is left, then, to the unfortunate, but to pine away in dejection, or to emigrate to the New World; but the greater part have not even the means for this. It is easier to depict the mammoth evil, than to devise a remedy for its relief. To this end, wise heads and benevolent hearts have already made fruitless efforts. Individual benevolence has copi- ously shed its sweet pearl-drops to assuage the misery. Combined benevolence, in the form of societies, has poured in its refresh- ing showers to abate the evil, but all these have been swallowed up in the monstrous vortex, like the merest heaven-drops by the choking earth, leaving hardly a momentary impress. The power- ful and skilful arm of the government, too, has deployed its ener- gies, but without success, — and the evil continues to go on with appalhng strides. In the afternoon, made a visit to the famous London Tower, strongly associated in my mind with many a sad memento in the dark annals of English history. "We awaited a half hour in the oflSce where we purchased our tickets for thirty-seven and a half cents. When our number had sufficiently increased to make it an object for the attendant to show us the place, we were led on by him, and conducted through the different parts of the grim edifice, in a precise and hurried manner. He made explanations of the different objects in our way, but so rapidly as to prove nearly un- intelligible. Thus to run through a place filled with so many and deep historical recollections, is the most unsatisfactory possible. The mind loves to linger around the storied spot, to contemplate leisurely the existing memorials of tragical events, and yield to the gentle melancholy which the scene awakens. The rooms of historical armory were an interesting feature. Here were ranged in convenient order, the armors worn by warrioi'S of different TOWER OF LONDON. 363 grades, from the earliest period, up to the time when the use of gunpowder rendered these unwieldly coverings a useless appen- dage. The mails of the most renowned military characters were pointed out ; and some of these were huge and heavy beyond be- lief. Their weight alone must have required great physical power to have borne them up ; and we were told, that often these armor-clad chieftains, when thrown from their horses, were either crushed by the weight of their mail, or unable to rise under its enormous weight. We were shown, too, the weapons corresijond- ing to the mails, from the huge battle-axe, the iron-toothed club, for merciless blows upon the head, the blunt-pointed spear for un- horsing, to the more modern broad-sword. Terrible must have been the concussion of two bold and athletic chieftains thus clad and armed, upon strong and impetuous war-horses ! We passed into a room used formerly for the prison. Here several royal personages, highest nobles, and most distinguished commoners of England awaited in terrible silence their fate, either by the hands of the executioner, or by the dagger and bowl of the assassin. We were shown here the identical block upon which Lady Jane Gray was beheaded, and the axe tliat separated fi-om the body her youthful head, and sent her sweet and noble spirit direct to heaven. Neither the axe nor block is curious enough for a dissertation. The former is in the shape of a carpenter's broad-axe, only smaller ; the latter, little more than a billet of wood, on end, perhaps two feet in height, of narrow form, and op- posite edges scolloped to receive the shoulders of the victim. We were shown the cell adjoining this room, where was immersed for thirteen years the illustrious Sir Walter Iljileigh. Here the heroic prisoner devoted himself to literary pursuits, and composed several works, among them his famous History of the World. The walls 364 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of the dungeon, we were told, are sixteen feet thick, of well-joined and cemented pieces of stone. In the Jewel Office we had a glimpse of the Crown-Jewels. They are nicely enclosed in an immense glass case, and comprise the crown of Her Majesty Victoria, that of the Prince of Wales, one or two other ci'owns, the baptismal vessels of the royal family, and three swords, one of Truth, of Justice, of Mercy. The point of the latter was blunt, emblematic of " the quality of mercy which is not strained." The crown of Her Majesty had been re- cently remodeled, and received additional jewels taken from the other crowns. It was certainly a most " glittering bauble," and expensive enough, one would think, for the vanity of any lady. The baptismal vessels were of gold, elaborate and rich, of course. The value of the whole is estimated to be about fifteen millions of dollars. On turning away, I ventured to remark in a soliloquizing mood, How much good might not that sum do in relieving the miseries of poor, starving Ireland ; whereupon, my stalv/ort guide bridled up to me, and in a tone swelling with wounded pride, ejacu- lated, " Yes, and we have spent double that sum on the miserable people within a few years." . This rude fortress is situated on the river-bank, in the east part of the city, about a quarter of a mile below London Bridge. It was begun by William the Conqueror, in 1098, and additions were made by Henry III, by Edward IV, and by Charles X. The tower was a royal palace during more than five centuries. It was long ago, and still is in fact, a state-prison. It anciently contained several detached masses of buildings, most of which have now disappeai-ed. It is surrounded by a moat, filled with water from the Thames, and the outer bank has recently been turned into pleasui'e grounds. March 16th. To-day made a visit to St. Paul's — the cathedral- ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. 365 church of London, and not only the great architectural glory of the metropolis, but of the empire. The noble structure stands in an elevated situation at the top of Ludgate Hill, and towers above the other buildings, by which it is surrounded, like some giant-oak amid a grove of sapplings. In regard to the general effect of its exterior, I have little to say. It is undoubtedly fine, because good judges say so ; but I must confess that I was not impressed in a high degree with its beauty. After contemplating the Louvre, the Pantheon, and the Madeline, I had little admiration left for the exterior of St. Paul's. But the interior is chaste and imposing. Still, owing to a want of ornament, it has a naked and austere ap- pearance. Lately it has been attempted to obviate this defect by placing within the cathedral monuments, erected at the public ex- pense, to eminent individuals, — among whom may be specified Lord Nelson, Abercrombie, Dr. Johnson, Sir William Jones, How- ard the philanthropist, etc. I was forcibly struck with the ex- pressive character beaming from the bust of the latter. But these, it must be said, do but little credit to the builder. They appear like " pigmies in vales." But there is one feature of St. Paul's that cannot but ever fill the beholder with wonder and deUght. I refer to its noble dome. As you gaze from the pavement of the church up into its immense concavity, you are struck with admira- tion. The enormous vault seems actually poised in the air, and you are taken up in imagination beyond the confines of earth to a region of ethereal grandeur and beauty. While walking about on the floor of the church, I encountered a couple of very youthful looking gentlemen. By their light featm-es and restless air, I at once recognized them as Americans. Accosting them, I learned that they were true-blooded Connecticut Yankees, wlio were driving briskly their queer trade in the line of Baby Jumpers, — then a new invention in its way. Yankee like, 31* 366 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. they had succeeded in the short space of time they had been in London in bringing their hobby before the pubhc. They were selling, they informed me, quite rapidly, had got a handsome notice of it in a learned work just issued, from the pen of one of the eminent physicians under the royal patronage, and had even been to put one up at Buckingham Palace. They were sanguine of realizing a handsome sum in a short time. "We proposed immediately making the ascent to the summit in company ; and reached the whispering-gallery by an inside stair- way. Here, by some principle of acoustics, a whisper, made with the lips upon the wall, is heard the entire diameter of the cupola, by placing the ear against the opposite wall. We then went into the Ubrary, where, among other interesting objects, were shown us a book in manuscript, more than a thousand years old. It was attached to a chain, which in olden times was necessary to protect px-operty so rare and valuable. By a more difficult ascent we reached the golden gallery, which crowns the apex of the dome, at the base of the lantern. Before reaching this point we were stopped by a portly keeper, who demanded sixpence as a condition of passing him. " But we have already paid," said one of my companions, " for seeing the entire edifice." " Not for this," was the reply. " We were told so." " Can 't help it." " Wont you let us pass ? " " No ! " " Well," said my acquaintance, " I really believe that old daddy Bidl would dig up and exhibit the very bones of his grandfather for a shilling ! " This, as might be supposed, inflamed the ire of our guard not a little, and he retorted " But you have to pay for everything you see in Paris." " You can 't make us believe that," was the reply, " for we have just come from there, and know better." We were highly favored by the unrivalled view from the gal- lery. Owing to the usual density of the smoke, this splendid view ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. SQ7 is rarely seen in perfection ; but by great good fortune, the steady storm which had been raging, suddenly cleared away and revealed to our delighted gaze one of the most comprehensive and pic- turesque views that I remember ever to have seen. The entire metropolis, vast as it is, appeared to spread out at our feet. The broad and silvery line of the river, crossed by numerous bridges, and bearing on its bosom numbers of graceful steamers, and ves- sels of every kind, gave infinite variety and grandeur to the scene. At this height the carriages, horses and men, in the streets below, appear so diminutive as, not inaptly, to suggest the idea of a swarm of emmets. The edifice is built in the form of a Latin cross, and is five hundred and ten feet in length, and one hundred and ten feet in breadth. The immense dome is surmounted by a lantern, ball, and cross, — the latter being elevated three hundred and sixty- two feet above the level of the floor, and three hundred and sev- enty-six feet above the pavement of the church yard. The two turrets, or belfries, in the west front, are each two hundi-ed and twenty-two feet in height. The walls are decorated by two stories of coupled pilasters, arranged at regular distances, — those below being of Corinthian order, and those above of the Composite. The whole building is of I'ortland stone ; and its massiveness and solidity warrant the inference that it will be as lasting as magnifi- cent. It is said that St. Paul's is a close imitation of St. Peter's at Rome ; but it has been truly answered, that it is an imitation that bears the impress of transcendent genius, and may be said to be to St. Peter's what the -^neid is to the Iliad and Odyssey. There are striking points of difference ; and in vastness of dimen- sions, St. Peter's as far exceeds St. Paul's, as the latter does the. common English churches. St. Paul's was completed in thirty- five years after laying the first stone, by one architect, under one 368 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. bishop of London, costing only about three millions seven hundred thousand dollars, which was raised by a small impost on coal brought to London ; while St. Peter's, the work of twelve archi- tects, took one hundred and forty-five years to build, during the pontificate of nineteen popes. This noble edifice is the work of Sir Christopher "Wren, whose name is associated with all that is great in English architecture. The future eminence of this distmguished man, like that of his great contemporary, Pascal, was early foreseen. Even at the age of thirteen, he made an important astronomical discovery, which was the preluding scintillation of his magnificent genius. From this time up to the period when he commenced the lasting monu- ment of his transcendent powers, his whole soul was actively ab- sorbed to reach a high point of culture. He was now favored with the society of the brightest geniuses of his day ; and was an active member of the various scientific societies. Nor was this part of his life barren of immediate fruits. He made, on the con- trary, several useful inventions and important discoveries, and was, in fact, recognized as one of the first scientific geniuses of his time. But the great work of his life, of course, that which will last for ages as a proud monument of his genius, is the noble ca- thedral of St. Paul's. Yet, so great was his talent, so untiring his perseverance, that the immense labors connected with this did not absorb his entire time, but left a portion for fruitful investi- gations in other departments of science. The greatness of such spirits continues to elevate and dehght mankind for ages untold. March nth. Effected, this morning, an agreement for a pas- sage to Boston, in the brig Waltron of Falmouth, N. S., Capt. Davidson. The Captain, a plain, but sympathetic and kindly-na- tured man, seemed gratified at the idea of having me on board along with him, entered at once into familiar conversation, and THAMES TUNNEL. 369 proposed in a pleasurable spirit to accompany me in a visit to the Thames Tunnel. This remarkable excavation effects a connection between the banks of the river, about two miles below London Bridge ; and its entire length is thirteen hundred feet. You de- scend to the arch-way by an easy flight of steps. Your sensations are rather odd, on realizir ; that a broad and deep river is flowing above you, bearing on its bosom huge, heavily laden ships. The body of the tunnel is of brick-work in Roman cement. It consists of a double and capacious archway, one side being appropriated to carriages passing in one direction, and the other to those pas- sing in the contrary, with paths for foot-passengei's by the side of the carriage-road. The middle road between the tAvo archways was first built solid for greater strength ; but openings were after- wards cut at short distances, so that each has a ready communi- cation with the other. In the course of the work, two irruptions of the river took place ; the first on the eighteenth of May, 1827, after the excavation had been advanced to the distance of four hundred feet ; and the second in January, 1828. I was told that one of them was caused l)y an American ship's casting anchor directly over the tunnel. These accidents were, however, repaired by filling the chasms in the river with bags of clay ; and on clearing the tunnel of water, the structure was found, on both occasions, to be in a perfectly sound state, and to have sustained little injury. This work is cer- tainly one of the most extraordinary that it ever entered into the mind of man to attempt. Its cost was more than two millions and a half of dollars. In contemplating it, we know not which most to admire, in its originator, the grandeur and boldness of its conception, or the genius and energy with which it was carried to a successful completion. During its progress, it was visited by multitudes of persons from all parts of the world ; and now the 370 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. sum received from the visitors who daily view it, is its principal remunerative benefit. It would doubtless prove interesting to de- tail the works and process of operation in its construction, but room fails. Made, likewise, a visit to the British Museum. It is principal- ly deposited in Montague-house, Great Russell Street, Blooms- bury ; and this being a considerable distance westward from the Tunnel, I made very pleasantly the greater part of the distance in one of those little steamers which ply on the Thames, through the city, for the transit of passengers. These constitute an original feature m the city. Only think of being conveyed in a steamer, when you make a morning's call, or just step out to see a neighbor. They afford a common and convenient mode of traversing the city in an eastern or western direction, — and they are always thronged with passengers. There were three lines, and the prices for a passage were respectively four pence, two pence, and one penny. The latter was called the Cit- izens' Line, and the boats were equal to the others. They start every ten minutes, from different stations, and traverse only that part of the Thames which borders on the business part of the city. They are small, of beautiful model, and may be seen cut- ting around each other, and darting under the spacious arches of the massive bridges, like graceful Tritons. A morning's prome- nade by one of them is inspiring. Stepping out of the boat, a turn took me into Trafalgar Square. The beauty of this place is heightened by the noble front of the National Gallery on the north of the Square, and the Nelson Mon- ument rising majestically from the centre. The latter is sur- mounted with a fine statue representing England's greatest naval hero. There he stands in a commanding attitude, looking serenely down upon the thronging masses who, as they pass, are thrilled with BRITISH MUSEUM. 371 emotions of pride at the mere sight of this beautiful shaft, remind- ing them of the national power and glory. The monument is named, of course, for the last of those brilliant naval engagements of the great commander, in which, off the Cape of Trafalgar, he purchased a splendid victory with the loss of his life. Nelson arose, by the force of his character, from an humble position in the English navy, to the highest pinnacle of its fame ; and died, covered with titles of honor, and loaded with wealth. As a pro- fessional character, he possessed a mighty genius, an ardent spirit, and a resolute mind ; cool, prompt, and discerning, in the midst of danger he raised all his powerful energies into action, and the strong faculties of his soul were vigilantly exerted in the midst of the fury of battle, to make every accident contribute to the tri- umph of his crew, and to the glory of his country. So highly established was his reputation, that his presence was said to be a talisman to the courage of his sailors, who fought under him as sure of victory, and regarded his approbation as the best solace for their fatigues and their sufferings. The Museum equalled the high expectations I had formed of it. It is truly a national institution, and was established in 1753. It is a grand repository for books, MSS., statues, coins, and other antiquities, specimens of animals and minerals, etc., and is consid- ered in most respects, one of the richest in Europe. The depart- ment of antiquities is certainly valuable. It comprises the collec- tion of Egyptian monuments, including the famous Rosetta stone, acquired at the capitulation of Alexandria in 1801 ; the Townly marbles, purchased at a cost of one hundred and forty thousand dollars ; the Phigalian and the Elgin marbles, the cost of which was one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The latter includes the statues of Theseus and Ilissus, and the sculptures in ako-releivo from the friezes of the Parthenon. The collection here 372 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. was not completely arranged, so immense are the labors required to keep up an exact system. The library is an interesting feature. It comprises a collection formed in part by various presents from time to time ; but the most valuable addition of late years, is the library of George III, collected at an expense of one million of dollars, and presented to the Museum by his successor. Mod- ern English publications are added free of expense ; and about one million five hundred thousand dollars a year are expended in the purchase of old and foreign works. There are about 330,000 printed books, and 27,000 MSS., exclusive of chartei-s. The ave- rage number of readers is two hundred and twenty a day. The department of zoology is rich in birds and insects, but poor in other respects, especially in mammalia. I was wonderfully interested, of course, in viewing the skeleton of the huge masti- don, the picture of which I had marvelled over so much in my school-going days. The collection of medals, which has been accumulating since the foundation of the museum, consists of about twenty thousand coins. The collection of minerals is large. Both for size and classifi- cation, it will bear to be compared with any mineralogical collec- tion in Europe. Fac-similes in glass of the various large diamonds in the world, were particularly shown us. This Museum, with two or three other places, were the only ones I found free to the public. Although the weather was inclement, still there were quite a throng of persons examining the collections. Among the number was a small party of gentlemen from Ohio. They seemed deeply engrossed. One of the youngest of their number in particular, could hardly suppress his enthusiasm, but flew from one case of minerals to another in childish ecstasy. WESTMINSTER, OR WEST END. 373 The present building of the Museum was designed by Sir R. Smike, and was only recently completed. It is quadrangular, with a noble and splendid facade ornamented with Ionic columns. March l%th. Weather fine, for the first day since being in Lon- don. Westward ho ! to revel in the varied beauties of West End. London-proper is but a small place, comprising an area only of about six hundred acres, while what is now covered with buildings has an area of about fifteen square miles, or ten thousand acres. The old city is the heart of the body, whence issue the pulsations of business. Westminster, or West-End, is the head, or seat of government, — and the east part of the town, with the. docks, the feet. It is not difficult to trace other features of resemblance to the human body. For instance, the Thames running through the city in an easterly direction, dividing the city into two parts, may be styled the vertebral column ; the long streets running parallel with the river, and lined with stores, may take the name of the arms and fingers of the body, while the magnificent parks have been most appropriately designated the lungs of London. lu the old part of the city the buildings are huddled, and have a dingy air, — the streets are absolutely thronged with all manner of vehicles and foot-passengers, elbowing their way in every direc- tion ; but the West-End, the residence of the royal family, the nobility, the foreign ambassadors, and public functionaries, presents a neat, open, and beautiful appearance. I first took a boat from London Bridge to Trafalgar Square, and in my route thence to St. James's Park, passed the Equestrian Statue of George IV ; the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, the portico of which is much admired; the building of the National Gallery ; the Royal College of Physicians ; the fine Equestrian Statue, in bronze, of George III ; the Nelson Column ; the Northumberland House ; the Admiralty Office ; the chief military 32 374 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. establishment of the Horse Guards ; the Banqueting House ; the Treasury ; Westminster Bridge, and the New Parliament House. The change of feeling on entering St. James's Park is delightful. It is the elasticity of emotion on the sudden transition from the turmoil and dust of a dense city, to the joyous and smiling fra- grance of the country. There is a marked difference between the English and French parks. The latter are artificially beautiful ; the former naturally delightful. The former may be more pleas- ing to the traveller, but the latter must be more lovely and refresh- ing to the citizen. St. James's is one of the smallest parks in London, being only one-fifth as large as Hyde Park ; but it is hardly inferior to any in point of beauty and attractiveness. Its site being low, it was formerly damp and marshy. Within these few years, however, the central part has been tastefully laid out, and what was a dirty, straight canal, running through a marsh, has become a handsome, varied sheet of water, dotted with islands, forming the abode of numerous aquatic birds and surrounded by lawns, shrubbery and lofty trees. The park is open to all pedes- trians, and on any fair day, it may be seen thronged with well- dressed people of both sexes, and all ages, promenading, loitering, reclining, — and all evincing a happier existence imparted by the animated and charming scenery around them. Royalty herself has no more delightful spot in which to recreate than this ; and here the humblest citizen, escaped from his toil and lost to the misery of his lot, can bathe as freshly in the fragrant waters of nature, as the queen herself descending from her purple throne. I here fell into conversation with an elderly man, leading a lad, perhaps his grandson. On learning that I was from the United States, he appeared seized with a kind of gladsome surprise, and began plying me with questions about my country with a youthful curiosity. The tone which pervaded his style of speaking, when THE LONDON PARKS. 375 referring to the New World, showed, however, that he held it not in very high estimation ; and when he brought it into comparison with England, it actually dwindled into insignificance. According to him, England was the grandest, noblest, richest, and finest coun- try to be found in the whole world. There were, he admitted, some sadly dark features on her luminous disk, but she was, after all, a glorious country, — and the Queen — God bless her — the loveliest, the most perfect woman on earth. The cannon just at that moment were booming the national joy for the safe delivery of the queen, who had given birth to another son. I ventured to ask how the industrial part of the community could consistently rejoice at an event which added eighty thousand dollars per an- num to the national expense — to be wrung out of the toiUng masses ? He gently shook his head, and by his silence plamly gave me to understand that he felt the force of my objection. At the western extremity of the park, and commanding a fine view of its plantations, stands Buckingham Palace, the town- residence of her majesty. Queen Victoria. The English them- selves do not praise this edifice, and regard it as only remarkable for its extravagant cost, amounting to some five million dollars. The poorness of its eflfect may be attributed, however, in a meas- ure, to its depressed situation. Indeed, the ground in front of the palace not being paved, becomes in wet weather a most offensive puddle. It was, however, undergoing extensive repairs, which were destined, doubtless, to give the royal mansion an improved aspect. From St. James's Park I pursued my way leisurely through Green Park, — a triangular piece of ground about as large as St. James's, from which it gradually rises to Piccadilly. It can have but little pretensions to beauty, being little more than a dry meadow, traversed by walks. St. James's Palace, at the right, — 376 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. at the west end of Pall Mall, — is an irregular, mean-looking brick building, totally unworthy the name of a palace. It was erected by Henry VIII. It was the residence, if I remember rightly, of the queen-dowager, and is said to be, internally, hand- somely fitted up for court-levees and drawing-rooms, which are mostly held in it. Passing out of Green Park, I came to the road leading from Piccadilly and Oxford, and to the west of which is the famous Hyde Park, frequented daily by the royal family, nobility, and the aristocracy of the nation. It has eight entrances. At this point, you enter by a triumphal arch, surmounted by a huge equestrian statue of the late Duke of Wellington. As a work of art it did not strike me as possessing remarkable beauty, but it carries something of an imposing effect, and stands out to view a prominent object for a long distance in the park. A little to tho right, stands the Apsley House, the town-residence of the " Iron DukeP It is a quadrangular, plain, massive building. As I passed, a lady of large proportions, and richly dressed in satin and furs, drove up alone, at full speed, in a splendid carriage, drawn by a span of beautiful and spirited horses, and reining up the steeds, leaped out of the carriage with the agility of a circus-rider, and entered the house without ringing. A little within the park, at the entrance just named, is a colossal statue of Achilles, placed there by the ladies of London in honor of the Duke of Wellington and his brave associates in the Con- tinental war. It is cast from the cannon taken at different battles ; is twenty feet high, and weighs thirty tons. The park originally contained six hundred and twenty acres ; but now contains only four hundred. It has a large and deep artificial lake extending, I should judge, two-thirds its length, crossed by a handsome bridge of five arches. This is called the Serpentine river, and is used WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 377 for sailing, and swimming, and bathing. It is under the care of an officer of the crown, and there are distinct regulations to be ob- served by those who are admitted to the recreations. Beautiful boats may be seen along the shores, and houses on its banks fur- nished with apparatus for resuscitation. The whole of the park is an open field of much beauty, dotted with trees and traversed by carriage-ways, which, in fine weather during the season, are cov- ered with gay and fashionable equipages. It is here that Prince Albert takes his morning ride, on horseback, and where the Queen, the Princes, and Princesses take their daily airing in good weather. Between the hours of two and five o'clock, afternoon, I found to be the most fashionable part of the day for seeking thither an airing. Kensington gardens, lying west of the park, and sep- arated from it by a trench and wall, are open to the public, and constitute a fine, shady promenade, three miles in circumference. These gardens are certainly fine, combining the grandeur and beauty of rural scenery in a high degree. Returning, I lingered an hour or two to contemplate West- minster Abbey. And how shall I convey my impressions of this venerable pile ! The edifice itself, although less grand and im- posing than the great church of Rouen, that of Paris, or Brussels even, is yet a gem of architecture, and is justly esteemed the most perfect specimen of the pointed style, in England. But however beautiful and interesting its exterior, you do not tarry a moment to enjoy the fine -slew. Feelings of intense emotion and curiosity hurry you within the sacred walls of the vast mausoleum, to stand " Where England gamers up her great ! " And when you pass through the rude, unpainted oaken door, which leads into the " Poet's Corner," and find yourself actu- 32* 378 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. ally surrounded by the tombs of the mighty dead, — then it is that you become sensible of the power and majesty of the place. You stand for a moment spell-bound ! — You feel now in the presence of those glorious spirits with which your soul has deeply communed in ambrosial delight; noble spirits, to which you feel largely indebted for whatever of elevation you possess ; mighty spirits, that have made the world what it is ; immortal spirits on earth, destined to be reproduced in every age, till time shall be no more. As you gaze upon their marble effigies, surrounded by the gloom and damp that invests the place, a kind of supernatural awe seizes you ; you dread to step, for fear of disturbing the solemn, the sacred repose of the place. At least, such were in a measure my own emo- tions. At the eastern end of the abbey are the royal chapels, in which are the tombs of the kings and queens of England. Some of these are much despoiled, partly by time, but more by violence. Royal avarice plundered them of their sceptres and jewels ; and republi- can violence, out of wantonness, defaced them. Some, however, re- main well preserved. The stranger cannot but pause at the tombs of Alfred, of Edward the Confessor, of Henry VII, of Elizabeth, and Mary of Scotland. The last three he will find in the magnificent chapel of Henry VII, whose fretted ceiling, wholly wrought in stone, is an object of curious interest. In the western portion of the building, the long-drawn aisles are literally encrust- ed with monuments. But only here and there may be found one bearing a name which illumines the pages of history, or the pro- gress of science. The names of Pitt, Newton, and Wilberforce will arrest the attention, and bring up thoughts of these mighty departed. But he soon hurries back to the spot, where are etishrined the Poets, to revel in the glowing inspirations there afforded. There STATUES OF EMINENT MEN. 379 stands, in graceful majesty, Shakspeare, holding a scroll, on wHch is engraved these sublime lines of the poet : — " The cloud-capped towers, The gorgeous palaces, The solemn temple, The great globe itself, — Yea, all which in it lives Shall dissolve — And like the baseless fabric of a vision, Leave not a wreck behind." I thought he might have excepted the matchless creations of his immortal genius. Here, too, was Gay, with these odd lines engraved below his bust : — "Life is a jest, and all things show it ; I thought so once, and now I know it." There was, also, old Ben JoKnson, with a countenance expressive of profundity and wit ; and James Thompson, the poet of rural nature. The countenance of the latter bears a feminine and rich expression. His head was surrounded, I believe, with a garland of flowers. The following beautiful sentiment, from the Seasons, enhanced the pleasing view: — " The Muse, with a crown Tutored by sweet poetry, exalts Her voice to ages, and informs the page With music, sentiment, and thought never to die." There were, moreover, Dr. Watts, Milton, Dryden, Handel, Garrick, and many others of the brightest stars in the galaxy 380 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. of English literature, — but they cannot be even enumerated here. Spent the evening at the parlor of my hotel, in conversation ■with an intelligent country gentleman. This had been my habit- ual mode of passing the evenings, since arriving in London. The hotel in question, as I have said before, being near the railroad terminus, was frequented by passengers on their first arrival in the cars. Many of them were country merchants residing in different parts of the island. Their society afforded a means of information which I was careful not to neglect. There are several ways of ob- taining reliable information respecting a country. One is, to learn fi'om the candid and more intelligent of the rural population. You thus obtain something of a true picture of the national opinion and sentiment. I found these gentlemen, in manner and disposition, quite different from your English traveller in general. They were open and free in conversation, communicative, of a docile and teachable spirit. They seemed well versed in poKtics, and evinced considerable intelligence and discrimination respecting the in- stitutions and resources of their country ; but their knowledge did not extend much beyond the island. Of the United States, they evinced almost unpardonable ignorance, not only of its institutions, but even of its geography. They regarded their government as an expensive affair, and the taxes an oppres- sive burden, — still, they loved the Queen, and felt as loyal sub- jects. Sunday, l^th, attended Divine service. The denomination, I was told, was styled the Otji Church of England. There were but few present, and the exercises were conducted in a formal, lifeless manner. I was well tired before it was over. Thence took a stroll in Regent's Park. This was formed during the re- gency, in the last years of George III. It is situated to the north LONDON PARKS. 381 of Portland Place, on high ground, surrounded by splendid build- ino-s, and is tastefully laid out. Indeed, it is considered the hand- somest of the London parks, and is as large as that of Hyde. The gardens of the Zoological Society are situated on the north side of this park, while the central portion is laid out as a garden for the Botanic Society. On the east side of the park, near Park- Square, is the large building styled the Colosseum. It is a sixteen- sided polygonal structure, with a magnificent portico and cupola. It is principally occupied by an immense panoramic view of the metropolis, taken from the ball on the top of St. Paul's Ca- thedral. Besides these magnificent parks, exhibiting the varied loveli- ness of nature, heightened by the genius of art, there are a great number of fine squares in Loudon. In many, the houses are in the first style of architecture, and the central gardens beautifully laid out. Several of the best squares are decorated with statues. The immense parks and numerous squares form a marked feature in this grand emporium, and j-ender it an attraction of no small moment. Indeed, what would London be without its parks ? A vast bee-hive, rayless of the cheerful light of heaven. As it is, they gather the incense of homage from the hearts of all classes of citizens, and render London a very agreeable residence, largely uniting the splendor of a rich capital with the deliglitful fragrance of charming rural scenery. Here the poor man can cheer the monotony of toil by a glimpse of nature; and the rich can lead out his children to rejoice in the fair paradise of the omnipres- ent sky. On the northern side of the park is a natural elevation, afford- ing from its summit a partial view of the mammoth city. There were some fifteen or twenty ladies and gentlemen of us struggling for some time with moist and slippery clay under our feet, to gain 382 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. the moderate ascent. The city lay stretching off interminably be- fore our view, partially enveloped in a dingy atmosphere, while St. Paul's reared its noble dome as an object far off in the distance. None of us could scarcely realize that we were actually within the city, which seemed distinctly away from us, a distant mass of edifices. CHAPTER XXVI. HOSPITALITY OF THE ENGLISH — GALLERY OF PAINTINGS — POPU- LARITY OF QUEEN VICTORIA — DISAFFECTION — ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL — GUILDHALL — ROYAL EXCHANGE — BANK OF ENG- LAND — BRIDGES — HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT — ST. JAMES'S PARK — PRINCE ALBERT — NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOL — EAST INDIA DOCKS — ELIHU BURRITT — QUAKERS — NATIONAL SCHOOLS — • HOUSE OF LORDS SHOPKEEPERS HOMEWARD BOUND. March 20th. To-day called on and delivered my letters to Mr. E C , an extensive London merchant, with a view to trace out my Welsh friend, Captain B , whose acquaintance I had so agreeably formed in New York, just before leaving. Mr. C received me with an easy, unaffected cordiality, which is one mark of the true gentleman, — begged that I would make his house my home while in the city, and gently insisted that I would accept his carriage and company for an afternoon ride to see Captain B , some fifteen miles out of the city. From this and other experiences, I obtained a most favorable opinion of the hos- pitality and politeness of the English, especially with the better classes. It may be true that the national temperament begets a certain habit of reserve towards strangers, and a punctiliousness in the mode of introduction ; yet, when a stranger is presented according to their idea of propriety, and has become their guest, every attention is bestowed to render him comlbrtable and happy. 384 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Visited the National Gallery of Paintings. The building is situated on the north-west side of Trafalgar Square, unquestion- ably the finest situation in the metropolis. It has a front of five hundred feet, with a portico and dome in its centre, supported by Corinthian columns. The pictures, amounting to some one hun- dred and seventy, can only be looked upon as a nucleus to what may hereafter be worthy of the country. About half the pictures belong to the Italian school, and of these Ecce Homo and some others are most esteemed. The works of the two Caracci, N. Poussin, and Claude, may be here seen in their highest per- fection. There are also some fine specimens of the English school, by Reynolds, Hogarth, etc. ; also of the Flemish. Of the latter, I noticed gems from the pencils of Reubens, Vandyke, and Rembrandt. But one has little patience to tarry long amid so meagre a collection, after having revelled in the Elysiums of Art in Paris and Brussels. This collection must not be taken, how- ever, as the true index of taste for art in England. For there are numerous small collections containing choice pieces, in the pos- session of private gentlemen, and not open to the public. The late accouchement of the queen, though an event of no un- usual occurrence, had yet taken possession of the public mind to an extent that we Americans can hardly imagine ; and the most trivial intelligence relating to her convalescence, was sought with avidity, not only by the court-circles and aristocracy, but by the humblest citizen. On the morning after the propitious event, I fancied to perceive in the street-thronging populace a brighter countenance even, and a more elate movement. Ere proceeding far, my way was inten-upted by a dense crowd hanging around a corner, all eager to peruse a large hand-bill conspicuously posted upon the wall. From the lively interest among the throng, I thought it no less than some government revolutionary decree, of A PEOPITIOUS EVENT. 385 vital import ; and it was long before I could press near enough to read the paper. It was, indeed, a State paper, signed by the Queen's physicians, and several noble cabinet lords, in which they condescend to inform all her dutiful and loving subjects, and the London world in general, that her majesty, at such an hour and minute, was safely delivered of an infant, and that at half-past seven o'clock, A. m., both the mother and child were doing well. Tiie bold and stately manner of thus communicating a species of intelligence which I had been accustomed to see conveyed only by whispers and knowing smiles, struck me at first so oddly as to draw forth an involuntary ejaculation, little respectful, I imagine, to loyal ears, — which being heard by a sturdy, well-dressed gentleman at my side, he darted on me a look so full of virtuous indignation, that I almost trembled in momentary expectation of being summarily called to account for rudeness so unwittingly shown. Squeezing out of the crowd, I pursued my way, a little humbled in feeling, and pondering upon tlie strange vicissitudes of life, upon the inequalities of human condition, and the marvellous aspect of the national train of thought and sympathy. It did look strikingly wonderful, while thousands of females, endowed by nature with the graces of life, should be passed by uncared- for by the multitude, and left to starve amid a world of plenty, with no fraternal heart to cheer the bitterness of their lot, nor sympathizing hand to soothe the anguish of their sufferings, that a sinijle woman should be infolded from out of the world of humanities, lifted to an Elysian throne, and made the supreme ob- ject of earthly adoration ; that thus deified, she should be per- mitted not only to well up in monopoly the oceans and seas of de- lighted admiration immediately surrounding her, but to scoop dry the waters of love from the Uttle wells and rivulets in the remotest parts of the kingdom. Still, moralize as I would, I felt that I was 33 SM CEESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. quite wrong, and the Londoner fully right, that the life of the queen at that time of revolutionary panic, was of momentous in- terest to the nation, and the safety of the sweet infant as involving maternal anxiety of no trifling import. A fatal issue of this an- nual event of Buckingham Palace, would have rived the hearts of a large number of relatives, enshrouded in mournful gloom the court circles, and touched to weeping the hearts of loyal and lov- ing subjects. It would have severed a chord in the national pride, lessened the sentiment of public admiration, and withdrawn a liv- ing beau-ideal of the national glory. So appalling an event would, too, have involved a change in the course of government, and increased the apprehension of a civil war. But these were only circumstantial causes in swelling the national heart of sym- pathetic admiration and interest. The exercise of a natural sen- timent had begotten in the bosom of the Englishman a profound esteem for his queen. Invested in public estimation with the at- tributes that command the homage of the heart, she had become the enthroned idol of the national aifection. Now, the human soul is fashioned to admire, to love, to worship. It will have some object even beyond the family circle upon which to employ its panting energies. It craves a living ideal of power and beauty to elevate and refine its aspirations. This denied it, the soul wiU often chase the phantom of its imagination, or settle upon grovel- ling objects of thought and action. Thus yielding homage to su- perior characters does not degrade the nature, but elevates it, as the contemplation of the beautiful beautifies the mind. I will not complain of the Englishman, then, for loving and reverencing his queen. Would there were no more degrading objects of worship than rendering grateful homage to a noble and beautiful woman. Becoming a little tired of my quarters, I removed to rooms with Mrs. , in Tower Hill street. I say IMi-s., because, although POPULARITY OF VICTORIA. $87 the lady was living in marriage with her husband, he seemed so imbecile as hardly to merit being mentioned in the partnership. In- deed, I afterwards learned, that through his incapacity for business, their joint patrimony had become entirely sunk in trade, and they were living in the narrowest manner possible upon a very small income still belonging to the wife. This hardly sufficing, they were obliged to let the rooms of their house to travellers. The lady was naturally a noble, spirited, and energetic woman, and managed things at home to perfection. Her example, in the edu- cation of her family, may be mentioned as worthy the emulation of every mother. Though living with the utmost frugality her- self, their children were at the best schools in the realm, and on the Continent. Their oldest son had already just received a lu- crative appointment, and one of the daughters was spoken for to fill the place of governess in one of the best families in England. Doubtless, under the spirit of honorable ambition, inhei'ited from the mother, they would soon rise to stations of profit and honor, and before long have wherewith not only to support in comfortable circumstances their parents, but likewise to gladden the hearts of the latter by their superiority in life. Mi's. was a warm ad- mirer of queen Victoria, whom she invested with the beautiful hues of her own mind. According to her, Her Majesty was very popular throughout the entire realm, and had always been so. When only the young daughter of the Duchess of Kent, she was a public idol, and could not move out from her home without receiv- ing in showers the fragrant incense of popular homage. Her Maj- esty's choice of a husband fell u])on an English gentleman, an early rosebud of her heart's affection ; but the Duke of Wellington and the cabinet ministers, for reasons of state, would have her select from the princes of the blood. Indeed, another course would have been undignified, and contrary to the laws of the realm. Her 388 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Majesty, according to mj excellent landlady, is a sensible and amiable woman ; she is, moreover, highly educated and accom- plished, able to speak at least three of the modern languages of Europe, to execute finely upon the piano-forte, and to design with exquisite art. Indeed, a circumstance occurz'ed while I was in London, which goes fully to substantiate the fact in regard to the latter accomplishment. It seems, the queen had loaned some of her drawings to a female friend, who allowed an artist professing great admiration for them, to take the drawings home for inspec- tion. The latter had them engraved, — and soon the shop-win- dows of the capital were embellished with the beautiful designs of Her Majesty. An action was immediately entered against the un- lucky artist, and the circulation of the drawings stopped, but not until the good citizens of London had caught a glimpse of pic- tures actually executed by the delicate hand of their sovereign. The queen is also very polite to all, even to her servants, and in- culcates the same principle in the manners of her children, with whom she is so particular in their education, as not to permit their reading a book without first having perused it herself. Then she is benevolent, sympathizing, and humane, giving freely to good enterprises, commiserating with the aftlicted, and performing deeds of charity. With such a character, it is not surprising that she is esteemed and beloved by the entire nation. I observed by the papers, that a meeting of the Eevolutionists of the capital was to be held in the evening, to devise measures for a revolution somewhat after the style of the grand movement in Paris ; but this did not seem to disturb in the least the public mind. An unsuccessful effort had been made a week or two be- fore ; but it resulted in little more than demonstrating the power of the government, and the loyalty of the citizens in general. Indeed, only a glance at the character of the English, and the STKENGTH OF THE ENGLISH GOYERKMENT. 389 condition of the nation, will show the high improbability of any- thing like an eflfective revolution in England. In the first place, the government and institutions of the country stand upon a more liberal basis than those of any country in Europe, and are little less popular in character than those of our own country. Then, the government is conducted with acute and far-seeing sagacity, by sage politicians, chosen by the queen in a liberal spirit, as hold- ing a nice equipoise between popular will and patrician conserva- tism. The queen, cabinet, and nobility in general, would never, of course, favor a revolution. The respectable, middling classes, largely engaged in manufactures and commerce, whose interests suffer disastrously in a civil disturbance, would not forsake their golden god, Mammon, to chase the unsubstantial form of Liber- ty. Then, the vast army, and mighty navy, the two huge ele- ments of power for carrying on war, or maintaining peace, are disposed with great skill to identify their rank and file with the disposition of the government, and place them in willing obedience to the cabinet wires. Besides, there is a large, thoroughly organ- ized, and powerfully efficient police extending with a net-work ramificiition tliroughout the realm, slumbering indeed, yet with eagle-eyed vigilance, and a lion force, and ever as true to their queen as the magnet is to the polar star. All these powers are immensely increased by the large, genuine, ever-beating, loyal heart in the Englishman, which oxidizes his national blood, and makes him feel the fratricidal poignancy of civil strife. Against such mighty forces, what can the toiling, jianting, heel-trodden million do ? Tliey may, as they have, and will probably, again, when some liberty-shriek fans anew in their breasts the flame of mortal indignation, throw up their arms and voices in pleading, avenging clamor, — but it is but the pattering rain amid the tem- 33* g90 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. pest's roar, or the writhings and cries of the puny quadi'uped in the giant paws of the king of beasts. Looked into St. Paul's school, situated near St. Paul's church. It was established in 1518 by Dean Colet, and provides a free education for one hundred and fifty-three boys, the most advanced of whom are sent to Oxford and Cambridge. The present build- ing was erected in 1824, and the income of the school is about thirty thousand dollars per annum. I found it extremely difficult to gain admission to this school. Guild Hall, which I strolled through, stands at the north end of King street. The front, added in 1789, is in a heterogeneous style. The great hall, one hundred and fifty-three feet in length, by forty-eight in breadth, and fifly-three in height, built and paved in stone, is capable of accommodating six thousand jiersons ; at least that number was present at the grand entertainment given by the corporation to the allied sovereigns in 1814. At each end of the hall is a magnificent painted glass window, in the pointed style. In the hall are statues of Pitt, Chatham, and others ; and in the west end are the two wooden giants, called Gog and Magog, the subject of so many popular tales. There are several other rooms possessing considerable interest. The walls of the Council Chamber are hung with paintings. Among them was a full-sized portrait of her Majesty as she ap- peared at the Coronation. The figure was graceful, and the countenance bore a sensible and amiable expression. A country gentleman present informed me that the portrait was a good repre- sentation of the queen, except that now she was grown stouter and more matronly, as he expressed it. There were also portraits of queen Caroline, the princess Charlotte, and of David Rienzi, the favorite of the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. Before fin- ishing a survey of the several apartments of the quaint and in- ROYAL EXCHANGE. -BANK OF ENGLAND. 391 teresting edifice, a portly person, neatly dressed, accosted me in officious style, and begged in the blandest tones to point out to me something more than I had seen. After a tui'n or two, he left me ; but, as I was going, he suddenly made his appearance, and be- gan a series of complaisant looks and subdued gestures. Finding me slow to apprehend his meaning, he finally " popped the ques- tion " by asking that I would be good enough to hand him some- thing. " But," said I, " the building is free to strangers." " Ah, yes, but then gentlemen commonly pay." "How much will you have?" " "What you choose." I bestowed my best bow. He turned on his heel, as if he was not unused to such partings. It is a lesson the traveller latest learns, to know how to treat properly such gentry. I also looked around upon the Royal Exchange, of recent con- struction. It is a splendid building, and is one of the chief orna- ments of the city. It encloses an open square, in the centre of which stands upon an elevated pedestal, a full-sized statue of queen Victoria, erected in 1844. The artist has managed to im- part to the statue a full, luxurious, womanly deportment, which rivets the gaze of the beholder. At a rough estimate, two thou- sand merchants and brokers have their places of business within a half mile of the exchange, and meet there to carry on opera- tions by wliich the commercial affairs of the world are powei-fully influenced. Near, is the Bank of England, a monied monster indeed. The building covers eight acres, and is irregular and incongruous enough. The affiiirs of the bank are managed by a governor, deputy-governor, and twenty-four directors, elected annually. The business is conducted by about nine hundred clerks, whose salaries 392 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. amount to about a million. The capital of the bank has been as large as £50,000,000, lent to the government at three per cent. March 22c?. Took an early stroll through Cheapside and the Strand, the great thoroughfare of fashionable retail stores. It could bear no comparison with similar streets in Paris, and not surpassing, I thought, Broadway in New York, or Washuigton street in Boston. Made several agreeable calls on American gentlemen. Amer- icans in Europe are eminently fraternal. Distance, which lends enchantment to home, invests with a lively charm the living object which recalls to the tenderly yearning soul, the glowing associa- tions of country and friends. The Somerset House was pointed out to me as interesting from its historical associations. It is somewhat after the plan of the Louvre in Paris. Elizabeth and some of the other queens held levees here. Crossed the Thames by the " suspension bridge." This is certainly a great triumph of art. The Thames, averaging one thousand feet in width, is crossed by six bridges. These gigantic structures cost an aggregate of more than twenty five millions of dollars. Two of these, Vaux- hall and Southwark bridges, have iron arches, the centre arch of the latter being two hundred and forty feet in width. Waterloo bridge is really a fine structure. Canova said that it was itself worth a visit from the remotest corner of the world. It is of gran- ite, and has nine elliptical arches, each one hundred and twenty- seven feet wide. The new London bridge, whether regarded in reference to magnitude or the beauty and simplicity of its struc- ture, is one of the finest specimens of bridge-architecture in the world. It is built of granite, and the span of the centre arch is one hundred and thirty-two feet. From Westminster bridge, I had a fine view of the new houses of Parliament. They have a splendid river-front, nearly seven PRINCE ALBERT'S LEVEE. 393 hundred feet in length, with a terrace and stairs leading down to the water. The style of architecture is gothic, and beautiful. The edifice forms a striking feature in the metropolis, and is an orna- ment to the city. It is very elaborate in finish and profuse in or- nament, but lacks grandeur. It stands on a low site, and the edi- fice itself seems to want due proportionate height. I was delighted with the scene on passing into St. James's Park. The sky was open, and the air soft and balmy. Numbers of peo- ple, young and old, sedate and gay, variously costumed, were saun- tering in the serpentine walks. Children accompanied with their governesses were gamboling in happy merriment upon the ver- dant lawns. Birds of varied j^lumage from amidst the shrubbery, were enlivening the scene with their rich notes, while aquatic fowls were sailing gracefully over the mirrored surface of the impearl- ed lake, conscious of the beauty of the scene around. Thus issu- ing suddenly from the dense city to the gladsome country, is like entering a new world. At the corner of Hyde Park, I learned of Prince Albert's levee at St. James's Palace at two o' clock, p. >r. I was there, of course in time to witness the cortege. The crowd of spectators was not so great as I had expected. The carriages entered by three different ways. Those of the foreign ambassadors by one, the oiFicers of State by another, and the Royal, still by another. Some of the carriages were splendid, but others not finer than what may be seen every day in Baston and New York. All the carriages had footmen, who were gener- ally in livery. As the centre squares of the carriages were down, and the inmates uncovered, a fine opportunity was presented to scan the features and costume of this imposing array of the elite of the woi'ld. Some were accoutred in uniform, some garbed in gown and wig, and others in simple citizens' dress. They were, on the whole, 394 CRESTS FEo:^r the ocean-world. very sensible and intelligent looking. They continued rolling past, till a late hour, and the first arrivals were departing long be- fore the last had come. The cortege of the Prince consisted of three carriages, escorted by the "horse guards," beautifully moun- ted on black steeds, preceded by a spirited brass band. The prince's was the middle carriage, a heavy, but splendid affair, rich with gilding, and drawn by eight cream colored horses, with coachman, postilion, and four richly liveried footmen, behind. The centre piece was down, and from the top of the post, where I had been standing for some time, in impatient expectancy, I had a fair opportunity to look directly in upon the Prince. He was in uni- form, uncovered, and accompanied by two gentlemen, one seated by his side, and the other opposite. He was of medium stature and size, something less than the average of English bulk. He ap- peared good looking, but not handsome ; a mild, sensible, German face. He wore a neat moustache of sandy hue, but no whiskers. Not quite satisfied with this glance, I waited till his return, when I walked briskly by the side of the carriage, till it turned into the Palace Court, when I apologized for my boldness, by uncovering and saluting the royal personage, in form. It was acknowledged by the Prince, by a slight inclination. The next day, being in Hyde Park, three horsemen, in plain citizens' dress, at short dis- tances from each other, rode past at a round trot. The foremost one, when opposite me reigned up, and lifting his hat made a grace- ful inclination of the head. Turning to a workman near, I was told it was the Prince. His change of dress had rendered him not recognizable by me. His royal highness is said to be very courteous and polite to everybody, and especially to strangers. Indeed, he has little else to do, but to win popularity. He may truly be considered a lucky mortal, and his lot a happy one, so for as happuaess depends on fortunate condition ; for he enjoys the NORMAL AND MODEL SCHOOL. 395 honors, and pleasures of royalty, without its burthens and dan- gers. An incident took place near me, while awaiting the cortege at the Prince's levee, which shows the eagle-eyed efficiency of" the London police. Near me I saw a man suddenly seize another by the throat, and press him to the earth. A fierce struggle ensued. A crowd gathered, but there was no confusion. It seemed that information had been given that a certain person had passed coun- terfeit money. Whereupon, two of these lynx-eyed officers, dis- guised, with no other guide than a general description of the per- son, tracked him out, and came thus upon him unawares. The counterfeiter, when seized, attempted to swallow the money upon him, — but the gripe at liis throat made with reference to that contingency, proved a successful barrier. March 23d. I visited, to-day, the Normal and Model School in the Borough Road. There are upwards of three thousand pu- pils, who are taught by the Lancastrian system. The school is under the care of the National Society, which has its model school in the sanctuary at Westminster, and gives instruction to more than nine thousand pupils. The young gentleman whom I ad- dressed, with a cordial, enthusiastic air bid me welcome to visit them as often as I wished, and stay as long as I pleased. " He would be glad," he said, " to have the world know of it, and see it." He regarded me with wonder, on learning that I was a school-master from the U. States, and had actually visited the schools on the continent. He remarked, that he was then deeply interested in reading a work on Popular Education, written in the U. States. I first went into the model school, composed of about six hundred' pupils from the poorer classes, who pay two pence, or about four cents per week, as tuition. Tl^y are instructed by members of the superior department, styled normal pupils. The 896 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. session was principally in a large ball, or scliool-room, with long seats running quite across the room, except leaving a wide aisle entirely around the apartment. At recitation, all the pupils were grouped in circles of from ten to fifteen in number, with the teacher in the centre. As they recited simultaneously, some unusual noise prevailed. The exercise was arithmetic. The master gave out the problem, and all the pupils performed the same. When completed, the master questioned critically, in a cursory manner ; but there was little that could be called philosophy in the manner of teaching. But there was a promptness and vigor on the part of the teacher, and an earnestness and attention in the pupil, which indicated ef- ficiency and progress ; hence many of the pupils were advanced for their age. Corporal punishment is held here as a last resort. I visited several other rooms. In one, there was an exercise in natural history. The master, a very young man, appeared fa- miliar with his subject, and deeply interested in the exercise. But he was most unpardonably impatient, hurried, and morose, and tumbled his little pupils around as if they had no sense of kindness, or delicacy of feeling. They gave good attention, how- ever, and appeared progressing in the interesting science. At half-past three, p. Ji., I was present to attend a critical lec- ture by one of the normal pupils, before a class of the " model school." Otiier members of the normal department were present, as well as Dr. Cornwall, taking notes. The lecturer was some time getting his class to order, to listen to his address, — scolding, pinching, cuffing them by turns, while the other normalites would frequently come to the rescue, volunteering a little authority of their own. The scene in this respect was painfully ludicrous, and reminded me of the* confusion pi'oduced by a ship coming into dock under a press of canvas, to be taken in on the spur of the DOCKS OF LONDON. 397 moment. After the lecture, Dr. Cornwall informed me that his lecture, Avhicli was to come off at four, p. m., would be suspended, to give the scholars opportunity to visit the Museum, according to their practice once a quarter ; but if I would be pleased to call at any other time, I should be shown and told everything relating to the school, with great pleasure. I left with a lively feeling of the usefulness of the institution. I visited several other schools for the poorer classes, but I have no space here to record my impres- sions in detail. March 25(h. After breakfast, took a ride over the Blackwall Railway to the East India Docks, some three miles down the river, on the right bank of the Thames. They were commenced in 1803, and opened in 1806. As their name implies, they belong to the East India Company. There are two docks, covering eighteen acres of ground. My object in visiting these was, to see some of the East India ships, of which I had heard so much ; but I must say I was disappointed. In size, model, and style, they bore no comparison to the idea I had formed of them, by the re- presentations of my English friends. I must say that little risk is run in stating that we are in advance of the English in ship building. A little further up the river you come to the West India Docks. In one of these, six hundred vessels may be ac- commodated ; and the whole area covered by them and their warehouses, is about three hundred acres. The extent of the Commercial Docks, further along, is even greater than those last described. Then come the London Docks ; and last the St. Cath- arine Docks, situated just below the Tower. These are all vast receptacles, solidly and even beautifully constructed, and are one of the greatest wonders of London. In the East India House I saw a huge meteoric stone, weigliing twenty-five pounds, which was observed to fall, accompanied by a 34 QUAKER TRUTHFULNESS, 399 tiously, into conversation with me, on matters touching his society; but when he discovered that I had myself lived with the Friends, had heard a number of their eminent preachers, and was famihar with the controversy then going on between the Hicksites and Gurneyites, his face gradually brightened up, his step became quicker, and his tongue more free, showing that the force of moral ideas cannot always fully subdue the impulses of nature. I was advised of our approach to the meeting rather by my friend's re- lapsing into his former calmness of manner, than from any visible indications around. AVe soon, however, entered a narrow arch- way, leading into a court, where, in front of a partially concealed edifice of humble proportions, stood some half-dozen men of dif- ferent ages, awaiting the hour of meeting. Here, after a moment's tarry, the Friend approached, and in a low tone observed : " Some little atfairs to be attended to in the room call me in. When it pleases thee to do so, thou can follow after." The company now began to gather, passing along by me into the room, — tlie men with a sei-ious deportment, and the women, both young and old, with a steadfast, downward look, and with faces as destitute of the play of emotion as polished marble. Presently, the people hav- ing gone in, without receiving further invitation, I was led to adopt the suggestion of the Friend, to pass in unaccompanied ; but I must confess to a slight trepidation, as, on issuing into the room, the extended methodical array of black bonnets and broad- brimmed hats struck my view. A seat was immediately assigned me, combining in its selection respect for a stranger, and dignity to their order. The room, capacious enough for five hundred per- sons, was of the style of a fashionable lecture-room, possessing not a vestige of tliat homely finish, and those quaint internal arrange- ments which charactei'ize so peculiarly the quaker meeting-houses I have seen among us. The session of deathlike stillness and mo- 400 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WOKLD. tionless attitude lasted about one hour and a half, being interrupt- ed but once by any exercise whatever. Then, the deep-measured tones of the speaker, united with the energy and pathos of lan- guage in which he portrayed his ideal of paradise, was greatly hei"-htened by the profound stillness of the room and the spiritual sympathy among the company. The meeting was broken up, pre- ceded as usual by simultaneous shaking of hands among the male members. I at first set off on a route away from my hotel, — but after some five-minutes' walk returned upon my course. On ar- riving near the meeting-house, who should I meet at an angle of the street but the same afore-mentioned Friend, who had all the time been awaiting my coming, with a martyr's patience. He ac- companied me a few streets down, when, after explaining to me minutely the arrangements for their weekly meetings, he took a cor- dial leave, saying that he would have invited me with him to dinner, but for the illness of his wife. What a contrast does the manner of this man form, mused I, to that of the world in general ! What candor, what freedom from false-seeming ! The current of his so- cial nature has not been choked up by the shifting sands of a great city. I have often thought that the Quakers, despite their sedate, serious tone, their stiff, ungraceful manner, were really the most polite people in the world. If true politeness be kindness kindly expressed, then they most certainly possess largely of the cardinal virtue. At least, the genuine, substantial current of their inter- course is delightfully refreshing to such as are favored with their society. In the afternoon, I made a long and leisurely stroll in the en- virons of the capital. I will not attempt here what has baffled the skill of more able pens, namely, to embody a faithful descrip- tion of English rural scenery. March 2.1th. Spent the forenoon visiting the National Schools, LONDON SHOPKEEPERS, 401 at West-End. The organization and mode of teaching were after the Normal school, already mentioned. Corporeal punishment and emulation were both employed. The teaching seemed effi- cient, and the scholars advanced, for their age. Afterwards, looked into the New House of Lords. The room is superbly rich, yet it did not strike my taste favorably. It was of rectangular form, instead of being semi-circular, and the seats, arranged for noble membei's to face the sides of the room, instead of the speak- er's desk. The throne of the queen, situated over the speaker's desk, seemed too high for appropriateness. An incident befel me on my return homeward, so humorous that I can hardly forbear narrating it. While crossing a street, a jolly-faced mulatto approaclied me, bearing in his hand a finely rigged miniature vessel, and accosted me in French. By his bland tone and complaisant manner, it was evident he wished to flatter me into a purchase. At last said I to him. How happened it, my good fellow, that you knew I was a Frenchman ? " Knew it, knew it," he repeated, with imperturbable sang-froid, "anybody would know that by your figure." March 28th. Spent the day in making purchases previously to my departure on the morrow. I was highly pleased with the dignified ease, and honorable bearing of the London shopkeepers. I met with no such thing as bantering or falling upon prices ; and I was informed such a thing was unknown, especially in the more respectable stores. The shops are kept by men, instead of women as in Paris ; but there is a polished and quiet ease in the tone of the gentleman by whom you are waited on, that puts you in the happiest frame of mind. In one of the princely shawl stores that I had entered for a purchase, the j)rincipal sliopman,on learning that I was from the United States, was delighted to see me. It seemed that he himself had been a merchant in New York, Boston, and 34* 402 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. Albany, and had travelled extensively in the United States. He appreciated deeply the strong features in the character of the New World; and we were soon in the most glowing con- verse, expatiating upon the grandeur of American scenery. Some dozen of the clerks soon surrounded us, hanging with fixed attention upon our accents, when one of them broke out in this wise : "Well, uncle, I hope Heaven will spare my life to visit the United States of North America, for I really believe the whole world besides is nothing to be compared to it." March 29th. At six, in the morning, we were gliding over the unruffled surface of the Thames, under tow of a modest little steamer, Avith the great London world receding in the distance. Homeward bound ! What emotions of joy does not the reality brin"; to the heart of the traveller ! -•to I would gladly extend this narrative to include the more peculiar incidents of our homeward passage, but space fails; and I do not doubt the good-natured reader who has in imagination accompanied me thus far upon our route, will now be willing to part my com- pany for other society. Now, in separating, let me affectionately press thy hand, dear reader ; and express the hope, that we may never feel the less friendly for this journey, made together through so interesting a portion of this bright world of ours. Rather, may our acquaint- ance ripen into a friendship, which shall extend through the en- tire journey of life, and be consummated in our spiritual exis- tence. CHAPTER XXVII, EUROPEAN SCHOOLS. Feeling that a portion of our community, deeply interested in the glorious cause of education, would naturally expect something further said of European systems, than may be found in the nar- rative of this work, I had drawn up, in a chapter by itself, a few such conclusions upon the subject, as, after mature deliberation, I have arrived at with the clearest certainty. The manuscript of this, in being transmitted to the printer by mail, by some means miscarried ; and now, after having vainly waited for the due arri- val of the straying leaves, and the press being ready for finishing the work, I am consti-ained to supply, as well as I may in the very brief time permitted me, the accidental omission. Let me premise, in the outset, that so different are the social and political institutions of European countries and our own, that an intelligent development of their school-systems, and a just comparison of them with ours, would require the space of a vol- ume, instead of that of the few pages here allotted. Little more will therefore be now expected than the mere statement of my views ; and it should be remembered furtlier, that I refer, in my observations, particularly to France and Belgium. SCIIOOL-UOUSES. I am free to state that I saw no public-school edifices superior, on the whole, to the best of the same class found in Boston, and some of her sister cities of New England. The school-rooms were, however, generally better and more fully supplied with apparatus and various ingenious contrivances for aiding teacher and pupil. 404 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. PUBLIC SCUOOL-SYSTEM. In comprehensiveness of plan, in thorough organization, and in efficiency in execution, the European systems of public eckication must continue to remain, for some time at least, vastly superior to our own. The reason for this is obvious. The entire subject of public instruction is there in the hands of the government. This central power selects its agents from the most highly educated and philanthropic citizens of the state, who can be governed by no other motive, than to devise and carry out, in full consummation, the most complete system of instruction of which the human mind can conceive. And it is needless to say that this is faithfully done. Quite diffei'ent is it with us. Here, the matter of maintaining public schools is left very much to the people at large. It is evi- dent that the standard of instruction cannot, from the nature of the case, rise much above the common intelligence. By our system, then, the genius of education is constantly forced to appeal, so to speak, to ignorance for support. Now ignorance is incapable of appreciating the soul-cravings of education. Hence our school- system must continue to drag its slow length along, in snail-like imbecility. Still, there are gratifying features in our common- school system. For instance, we may feel encouraged in knowing that our public schools will continue to improve, in proportion as education is more widely diffused among the masses. The spirit of improvement will grow upon what it feeds. Again, we may feel assured that our progress is permanent. There can possibly be no reaction. In Europe, the system being immediately under the direction of the Government, may be modified or even swept away altogether, by a change of Government ; but here, springing directly from the bosom of the people, it is as lasting as the granite of our everlasting hills. INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS OF THE PUPIL. 405 INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS OF THE PUPIL. Notwithstanding the greater efficiency of their school-system, the pupils generally, in such of the common branches as are duly taught in our schools, did not appear more advanced, for their age, nor to have been better instructed, than scholars of a similar class with us. For this, there are several reasons ; two of which I can hardly forbear naming. One arises from the fact that there, the children of the better classes more generally attend the private schools, than with us. Their public schools are thus made up more fully of the children of the lower orders, and are conse- quently, to a greater extent, deprived of that efficient home- influence, for which nothing can make amends in a school. The other reason arises from that condition of European society which rendci's it next to impossible for a person to rise to a superior social position from the one in which he happens to be born. Thus the European pupil feels that, in a great measure, his social fate is sealed ; that however studious he may be, there is but little chance that any ordinary intellectual superiority he may acquire, will enable him to advance from the situation in which the acci- dents of birth have placed him. This conviction constantly hanging over him, like an incubus, freezes his mental ardor, and paralyzes a powerful incentive to study. On the contrary, the pupil in our re- publican school-room, is, in this respect, quite diffi^rently and more happily situated, lie is constantly made aware, by thousands of bright, living examples, that the path of honor and emolument, in his country, is open to the humblest ; and that however obscure and unpropitious may have been the circumstance of his own birth, he has only to put properly forth his inborn energies, and he may reach the highest station withing the gift of the people. This animating thought naturally awakens the latent forces of his 40G CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. being, supplying in a great measure the place of books and teacher. Hence, our common-school scholars will accomplish more, by less means, than the same class in European schools. PRIVATE SCHOOLS. It cannot for a moment be questioned that the private institu- tions of Europe afford by far moi-e ample means for a full and complete education, than do the educational establishments of our own country. This natui-ally arises from the higher standard of education among the educated classes, the fostering care of Gov- ernment, the munificence of individuals, and the ampler means at hand for illustrating educational subjects ; but it is owing (more than to anything else), to the principle of the extreme division of labor which is so fully carried out in every department of life in Europe. In a private school of any pretensions in Europe, there may usually be found a Professor for each branch or department of instruction. It is needless to say, that a school thus circum- stanced, affords advantages for careful instruction in the several branches, which cannot exist where, — as in many of the acade- mies in our own country, — the principal is obliged to teach sev- eral or all of the various branches of his programme. Still, even here, we enjoy a compensating advantage. For instance, the prin- cipal advantage of a school is its moral influence, — the moulding, transforming power of the teacher over the pupil. The Euro- pean professor, though more learned, is but partially developed. Many of his powers have been neglected in order to afford a fuller growth to others. He is thus an incomplete man, and however competent to give instruction in his favorite branch, possesses not that fulness and completeness of chai'acter, which constitute the highest form of man, and whose magic influence lies in his inde- finable manner, tone of voice, beaming of the eye and fervor of ORDER IN SCHOOLS. 407 expression. Now, the American school-master, from the neces- sity of being obliged to attend to many branches of learning, thereby gets a more general intellectual development, and from being forced into the practical relations of life, obtains a more efficient bearing of manner ; and this advantage may compensate for his inferiority in some one chosen department of learning. ORDER. As I have elsewhere said, corporal punishment in the public schools is prohibited by law. In the private establishments it is treated as an obsolete idea. In our own country, the majority of intelligent educators have come to the conclusion that it should be used only as a last resort. But the French and Belgian authori- ties seem to have imbibed the idea, that if allowed at all, the trouble is, that this last resort will come too soon ; and instead of being made the exception, it will gradually become a principal means of government. Hence, they have banished it entirely. Whether their school-masters would succeed equally well with our scholars, who are under less parental restraint, and so early be- come imbued with ideas of independence, I will not undertake to predict. DRAWING. Drawing is made an indispensable branch in all schools, public and private. It is pursued not only as a means of improving the taste, and cultivating a love for the beautiful, but as having an important relation to the practical business of life. An artizan would hardly expect to attain to superiority in his calling without a good knowledge of drawing. Undoubtedly, the superiority of the French, in the grace and beauty of their fabrications, may be attributed in a good degree to their thorough knowledge of this branch. 4:08 CRESTS FROM THE OCEAN-WORLD. SINGING. Singing is taught in all the schools. It is made essential, and is as common as reading. Children, from an early age, are thoroughly drilled in the elements, and the practice is made a concert exercise to enliven and gladden the air of the school- room. And further, it is deemed of vital importance in softening the manners, refining the feelings, and preparing the soul for the impression of noble and elevating sentiments. No singing exer- cises to which I have listened in the schools of this country, will favorably compare with such as I heard in European schools. SEPARATION OF THE SEXES. It is a marked feature in the European schools, that the sexes are not taught in the same school, as is often done with us. At least, no such schools came under my observation. Nor could I learn of any arrangement of the kind. Females are generally employed for teaching girls, and gentlemen, for boys. I believe the opinion is gaining ground among the more intelligent educa- tors in this country, that a mixed school, of boys and girls, of limited number, taught by males and females, unites the more fa- vorable conditions for healthy progress. At least, it seems more in accordance with nature ; and, if permitted to speak, I would add my own observation and exjierience in its favor. Such a school requires, it is true, a firmer character, and more skill in the principal. MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. This is recognized in the plans of instruction, and its importance clearly enforced upon the teachers. In most schools, the pupils are weekly, and sometimes oftener, accompanied by their teachers to the chui'ches, where they receive religious instruction from an ecclesiastic appointed for the purpose, while exercises of a re- ligious character, in many schools, ai'e a daily exercise. 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