BERTHA'S
VISIT TO HER UNCLE
ENGLAND.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON :
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET
MDCCCXXX.
LONDON :
Printed by W. CLOWES,
Stamford-street.
JHl
ADVERTISEMENT.
ERRATA.
VoL Page Line
I. 22, (5, for Corcorada read Corcovada.
II. 33, IB, for it all read it at all.
II. 201, 21,/or Banksiae mzd Grevilliae.
II. 291, 12, for Moravina rairf Moravian.
to undertake a voyage to England. She was,
therefore, obliged to continue her residence at Rio ;
but her brother, who had always been tenderly
M 3463
ADVERTISEMENT.
THESE little volumes consist of extracts from the
Journal of a young person, who, having passed her
childhood at Rio Janeiro, was sent, at the close of
that period, on a visit to her English friends.
Her father, Colonel Montague, had been ordered
to Brazil upon confidential business ; and, foreseeing
that it would occupy him for an indefinite time, he
carried his family along with him. They had re-
mained in that country several years, when their
domestic happiness was suddenly destroyed by his
death ; and the effect of the shock on his unfor-
tunate widow was such, that she was wholly unable
to undertake a voyage to England. She was,
therefore, obliged to continue her residence at Rio ;
but her brother, who had always been tenderly
M 3463
IV ADVERTISEMENT.
attached to her, requested that she would permit
her daughter Bertha to visit him ; and, though a
most painful separation, she consented, knowing
-
how much it would be for her child's advantage.
Bertha promised to keep a constant Journal, and
to send it whenever an opportunity offered; and
such parts of that Journal have been selected by the
Editor, as it is hoped may be found useful or
interesting.
BERTHA'S VISIT.
H. M. S. Phaeton, June 1 7th.
MY DEAR MAMMA,
THOUGH I wrote to you yesterday by the
Blossom, which " we spoke," I am tempted by
the delightful smoothness of the sea to begin
another letter, in order to tell you a little of what
I have seen and thought ; but how different
from being with you every day from being your
companion as well as your child ! I will not,
however, say another word about my sorrow at
leaving you ; I will try to show that I remember
your last words : " affection is best preserved by
not yielding to violent feelings." Indeed, I be-
lieve I said too much in yesterday's letter of the
misery I felt. I now try to console myself with
the hope that as your health has been so much
better for the last two years, you will soon, per-
haps, be able to follow your poor little daughter
to England ; and I repeat to myself all the
good reasons that you were so kind as to give
VOL. I. B
for the propriety cf sending me to my native
cor. -.try'.
I am determined to follow your advice in keep-
ing my mind constantly occupied ; and as you
have often satd that there is no place in which
something interesting may not be observed, I
shall at once begin the journal you desired me
to keep. It shall be ready to fold up whenever
an opportunity may occur ; so that I shall have
the pleasure of making you and my sister, dear
Marianne, frequently share with me in all that I
see, and all that I enjoy.
20th. For a day or two after our last faint
view of the woody heights of Cabo Frio, I was
diverted by the number of pretty land-birds, and
even butterflies, that came about the ship, and
fluttered in the rigging ; and as they gradually
disappeared I amused myself, as long as I was
able, in gazing on the sea, and in watching the
little waves as they dashed against the ship's side.
That pleasure soon ceased, for they became so
rough that I suffered very much from sickness :
but this evening there has been scarcely any
wind ; the dark blue sea is almost as smooth as
a mirror, and I can walk, and read, and write,
as if I was on shore. The captain took me on
deck to see the sun setting behind the western
horizon ; it was indeed a beautiful sight, and
the broad red line of light reflected from the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. i5
water added greatly to the grandeur of the
scene.
22d. Mrs. P - is very kind, and tries to
rouse my mind, and to make me see whatever is
worth observing. Just like you, Mamma, she
thinks active occupation is the best remedy for
grief, and she has suggested several employ-
ments in which she will be my companion.
Among other things, we are to learn together
the names and uses of the principal parts of the
vessel.
. We were much delighted yesterday
evening with the luminous appearance of the sea,
and the captain has promised to show us some
of the insects from which the light proceeds.
Many of them are common in all seas, he says ;
but there are some which are seldom found out-
side the tropics.
Just as I had written so far, Captain M. in-
vited us to go on deck to look at some birds that
were hovering about the vessel. One of them
was a phaeton, or tropic-bird, of which there are
many varieties ; that which I have seen to-day
had a red bill, and very long white wings, tipped
with black ; the legs and feet bright red : the
tail consists of only two straight feathers, al-
most two feet long, which they drop every year.
These are worn in the caps of the Sandwich
B 2
4 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
islanders, and in the mourning dress of the
Otaheitans.
25th. Last night we had the good fortune to
procure one (ff the luminous creatures that make
the sea so brilliant. After many fruitless at-
tempts, a bucket of water brought up a fine spe-
cimen, about two inches long, and as thick as
my finger; somewhat cylindrical and transparent.
On its surface are numerous little tubercles ; and
as there seems to be a cavity all through the
body, it might at first be thought one individual,
but the captain showed me that it is an assem-
blage of animals united together. He examined
the specimen very minutely^ and then put it into
a phial of spirits of wine to preserve it. He seems
to be very fond of natural history, and told us that
the sparkling appearance of the sea, which may be
observed in all parts of the world, is produced by
animalculse, or little creatures that can only be
discerned by a microscope.
2Qth. We have seen more birds to-day.
Some of them were petrels ; they remained along
time skimming about the ship, and though they
greedily devoured any fat substance thrown into
the sea, all our endeavours to procure one failed.
One species was the stormy petrel, which they
say is seen all over the Atlantic Ocean. Some
chopped straw being thrown overboard, we saw
L'NCLE IN ENGLAND. 5
them stand on it with expanded wings; but these
birds never settle or swim in the water. They
skim along with incredible rapidity in the hollows
of the waves. It is to the stormy petrel that
these two lines allude
She swept the seas ; and as she skimm'd along,
Her flying feet unbathed on billows hung.
28th. The captain was so good as to explain
to us this morning the manner in which the rig-
ging supports the masts, and how the yards are
raised, and lowered, and braced in different po-
sitions, in order to adapt them to the force and
direction of the wind. He also walked round
the gun-deck with us, and showed us the cannon
and all their implements, which are kept in such
a constant state of readiness, that in five minutes,
night or day, the whole battery would be ready
for fighting. But nothing pleased me so much
as the lower-deck, where he took us while the
crew were all at dinner on nice pea-soup and
salt pork, and all sitting comfortably on their
chests placed round the tables ; of which there is
a complete row along the foremost half of the
deck. The other end of this deck contains the
officers' cabins, which, although not above six or
seven feet either in length, or breadth, or height,
are very nicely fitted up with a chest of drawers,
a little book-case, a chair, and even a sofa ; be-
3
sides a cot, or bed, which is only hung up at
night.
30th. We have seen the man-of-war bird
to-day. It has a membranaceous bag like that
of a pelican, bright red the plumage is brown.
It is always on the wing, very seldom having
been observed to settle on the masts of ships.
Other sea-birds, when tired of flying, generally rest
themselves on the surface of the water ; but the
very great length of the wing makes it impossible
for this bird to do so, as it could not easily rise
again .
When we were becalmed this morning, we had
an opportunity of seeing a number of birds of
various kinds, the albatross, among others ; and
one of the dark-coloured variety was caught
with a small fishing-line ; it measured seven feet
between the tips of the wings. Its face is very
remarkable, for its flat head and crooked bill
give it some resemblance to the owl, which is
increased by its large prominent eyes. As we
ad\ 7 ance to the north this species will become
scarce, Captain M. says, but we shall have the
great albatross, which is by far the largest of all
aquatic birds.
July 2d. I have been delighted with the fly-
ing fish, of which we have seen numbers for
some days. They ascend sparkling out of the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 7
waves, sometimes singly, sometimes in great
numbers, when pursued ; but in avoiding one
danger they are exposed to another, for it is said
that the man-of-war bird has been seen to
pounce upon them while in the air. Their flight
is generally in a direction contrary to the wind,
and seldom exceeds a hundred yards ; nor do
they rise high, though Captain M. says he has
seen them fall on his deck. He showed me
their enemies too, the bonito and the albacore y
which, he says, are both of the mackarel tribe.
They swim with great rapidity, and are so strong,
that they sometimes, in the midst of the most
rapid course, leap five or six feet perpendicularly
above the surface, and plunge again head fore-
most into the waves.
4:th. I have been looking at Mother Carey's
chickens, the least of all the petrels, I believe ;
and the fulmar, which is certainly the most
beautiful, for its plumage is of a snowy whiteness,
and, as Mrs. P observed, seems unsoiled by
the water, though constantly diving.
7th. It seems a very long time since we have
seen land, but I am not yet tired of a sea life.
Much as I love all the works of nature, I never
felt such admiration for any thing as I do for the
sea. Its extent, its depth, and the grand and
almost terrific sound of its waves it fills one's
8
mind with awe ; and it is wonderful to think that,
powerful and uncontrollable as it appears, man
should be able to pass over it to the most distant
regions, and to guide his ships through its stormy
and turbulent waves.
In speaking of the sea, Captain M. remarked
how admirably the consistence of water, or as he
calls it the viscidity, is adapted to its various
purposes, and to the support of floating bodies.
" How little," said he, " do we observe the ob-
jects which are always before our eyes : we see
without surprise masses of dust raised by the
wind, and carried to a great distance ; and we
see also that water, though much lighter than
dust, is not carried off by the winds in the same
manner. If it were, every strong breeze from
the ocean towards the land would bring an inun-
dation ; navigation would be impossible, and the
banks of rivers and seas would be uninhabitable.
The adhesion of the particles of water to each
other is the cause of its preservation in masses ;
it would otherwise evaporate like tether, or be dis-
persed like dust. Such is the simplicity employed
by Nature in all her works."
Sih. We have twice seen the stormy petrel,
but as yet it has not been the forerunner of
storms ; it is black, with a very little white near
the tail. One of the officers told me it is called
petrel, after St. Peter, from his having walked
on the sea.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 9
9^/i. We have been looking at a grampus, or
a small kind of whale, and at a shoal of porpoises,
that passed close alongside of the ship. The
grampus was blowing water up in the air, in the
most amusing manner, making beautiful jets d'eau
that sparkled in the sun. The captain told me
that in sucking in their food the whale tribe draw
in a great deal of water, which they have the
power of spouting out through a hole in the head.
13th. Yesterday we crossed the tropic of
Cancer. There is already a great change in the
sea, which was so beautifully smooth while we
were in the torrid zone, that we danced almost
every evening; but now it is rough and dis-
turbed, and at times the waves break so violently
that I see nothing but foam. I like very much
to look at them in that state.
. Mrs. P - and I have seen several
dolphins ; one of them was struck with the har-
poon, and, while hanging upon deck, it was
continually changing into an endless variety of
colours. The back was blue, then green ; its
breast a brilliant orange or yellow, spotted with
blue and lilac; and its fins were just like a
peacock's neck. Indeed, the captain called it
the " peacock of fishes."
The sea is now quite rough the tranquil water
we had while near the line is gone ; and I some-
10 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
times find my head too unsteady to be able to
write.
16th. We have seen a great deal of sea-weed
for some days*; they suppose it to be drifted
here by the Gulf-stream. I asked the captain
to explain to me what the Gulf-stream is ; and
he told me that the trade-wind, which constantly
blows across the Atlantic ocean from the east-
ward, forces the sea into the Gulf of Mexico,
and makes it rise there above its natural level.
From the Gulf it escapes by the narrow channel
between the West India islands and Florida, and
takes a north-easterly direction along the coast
of North America, as far as the island of New-
foundland. It is there turned off to the south-
east, and runs to the Azores, or perhaps to the
coasts of Europe and Africa, before it spreads
out and entirely loses itself in the surrounding
ocean. The first accurate account of this great
current was published by Dr. Franklin, who had
discovered that, after being heated in the torrid
zone, it cools so gradually that its temperature
continues always higher than that of the ocean
through which it flows so much so, that ships
can tell when they enter it or leave it, by dipping
a thermometer into the sea, Its velocity is very
great, as it is said to run at the rate of four
or five miles an hour, when it first leaves the
Gulf.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 11
A good deal of the sea-weed was hauled up
for Mrs. P to examine. It seems to be all of
one species the floating fucus, she calls it ; it is
curious what quantities of it are matted toge-
ther, like a tangle of ropes, and what a number
of very small crabs take up their abode in it.
18th. More sea-weed, but of different kinds.
This day the captain shewed us some of the vine-
leaved fucus, which is one of the most curious
species. He says it is sometimes brought up, by
the sounding lead, from the bottom of the ocean,
where, even at the depth of one hundred and
ninety-two feet, its leaves are as green as grass.
He says this is considered as one of the few
instances of plants vegetating in obscurity, with-
out becoming white ; for, though light is trans-
mitted through the sea, yet it is much weakened
by passing through such a depth. We have also
seen the giant fucus, and one of the officers
said he had once measured a piece that was eight
hundred feet long.
The captain says, that the reason why we find
such an extraordinary quantity of sea-weed in
this part of the ocean, is, that the Gulf-stream
finally expends its force about here ; and there-
fore the weed which it conveys must accumulate,
and remain till it perishes, or till it sinks ; and
he shewed us several specimens in different
states of decay. Yes," said Mrs. P -, " its
12
decay is very evident ; but what can make it
sink?"
He replied, by shewing us several little shell-
fish adhering to the under side of a bit of weed.
"These," said he, "must have been deposited
there before it was torn from its native rocks by
the current ; in the course of their long voyage
they grow ; and their increased size and weight
gradually sink the weed. My attention was first
turned to this curious circumstance from having
observed some of the weed lying edgewise in the
water ; I had it taken up, and found some heavy
limpets attached to the lower edge."
Mrs. P acknowledged this was quite a
new fact to her.
20th. The captain amused us to-day by
shewing a very simple method of ascertaining
the saltness of the sea, which any person can
try. He dried a towel in the sun, weighed it
carefully, and I noted its weight. It was then
dipped in sea water, and being wrung sufficiently
to prevent it from dripping, it was again weighed,
the increase of weight being that of the water
imbibed by the cloth. It was now thoroughly
dried, and once more weighed, and the excess of
this weight, above the original weight of the
cloth, shows the quantity of the salt retained by
it; then, by comparing the weight of this salt
with that of the sea-water imbibed by the cloth,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 13
we found what proportion of salt was contained
in the water.
22d. This morning a little land bird flew on
board ; I begged to have it, and I keep it in the
cabin, and feed it. I asked how they knew it
was from the land, and a sailor answered, " No
sea birds, Miss, except boobies *, ever rest upon
the ships they follow ; this poor fellow has been
blown off shore by some long north-easter."
Our captain was laughing to-day at the mis-
takes that authors, who have never been at sea,
make in some of their fine poetical descriptions.
He mentioned the albatross, as an instance,
which some one has described as rising off the
deck. He says it never alights on the deck,
and if it were there, it could not rise again. It
finds great difficulty in rising even from the sea,
and scrambles along the waves to a great distance
before it can fairly use its wings. They have
five joints to spread out, and appear to have no
motion except at the moment the bird first raises
itself into the air; when, at the same time, it
makes several strokes against the water with its
webbed feet. This impulse once given it seems
to have no longer occasion to flap its wings ; it
holds them widely expanded while it glides along,
balancing its body from right to left, and sweep-
ing majestically over the surface of the sea.
* Sula communis.
c
14 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
24th. We have passed two of the Azores or
Western islands, Flores looked very green ; but
the other, Corvo, seems little better than a lofty,
naked rock.
-
26th. We have had a very hot south-easterly
wind this morning, which the captain says comes
from Africa. He showed us that the sails and
ropes were tinged with the reddish sand that
these winds generally carry with them. It was
quite impalpable to the touch ; and he was for
a long time trying to obtain some of it, by wash-
ing and roasting, for his microscope.
26th. I am growing a little tired, dear
Mamma, of this long voyage, though Mrs. P
finds continual objects of amusement for me.
Sometimes, when there is a heavy swell of the
sea, and that the wind blows freshly, we divert
ourselves watching the waves : it is curious to
see the head of a large wave, just as it rises and
meets the wind, dashed off, and changed into
foam ; and showing, when we can place our-
selves between it and the sun, innumerable little
rainbows.
I happened to say at dinner that I wondered
how this constantly moving ocean should ever
become frozen into one field of ice ; but the
captain told me that the deep ocean never
freezes permanently. Any ice that may have
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 15
been formed on it in winter is broken up by gales
of wind, and is drifted about till it becomes fixed
to the shores.
The great icebergs that are sometimes seen
floating on the sea are formed by the accumu-
lation of ages on high precipitous shores, and are
afterwards broken off by their increasing weight.
How extraordinary every thing relating to the
freezing of the sea is ; and how strange that
plants should grow on ice islands. How do they
get there, or the earth in which they vegetate ?
2Sth. There was a sudden change of wind
to-day; it drove the sea furiously before it, and
the meeting of the new wind with the old waves
made them break as high as the ship, and like
the surf on a reef of rocks : it was most beautiful,
but very terrific indeed.
. I suppose that such a sudden change
of wind is the forerunner of a storm, for last night
there was a dreadful one for some hours. Mrs.
P - and I were a little frightened ; but the
vessel was not in any danger, Captain M
says. Towards morning the wind subsided, the
raging sea became less boisterous, and she and
I read together the service for thanksgiving after
a storm. Our hearts, indeed, felt what is ex-
pressed there. How beautiful are the psalms
16 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
selected for it particularly " O come ! let us
give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious."
30th. I hear the cry of " land! " They see
the land tlje cliffs of Cornwall. I must go on
deck to see them; how happy I am to be well
and able to look at the first appearance of
England.
I have run down to the cabin to tell you that we
are entering a great harbour Falmouth. There
are two castles that protect the entrance : on
the right is St. Mawes, and on the left Pendennis.
3lst. At Falmouth ! Yes ; in England at
last! We anchored last night in the country
which you love so dearly. How glad I shall be
to go on shore.
We are going ; Mrs. P calls me.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 17
Fernhursty August 4.
MY DEAR MAMMA,
As I wrote to you on the day after we
landed, and told you of the safe arrival of your
child in her native country, and of all that I had
seen at Falmouth, I will say no more on that
subject.
My uncle was so good as to come for me, and
Mrs. P , who had been unceasingly kind and
tender to me throughout the whole voyage, gave
me into his care. I felt much regret at parting
from her, and as I was going amongst relations
whom I had never seen, I was the more sorry to
lose this good friend ; but my uncle made Mrs.
P promise to visit him at some future time.
We set out very early in the morning from
Falmouth, slept one night on the road, and
arrived here yesterday evening to tea. My aunt
and cousins received me in the most affectionate
manner.
I cannot tell you how odd many things in this
country seem. In coming here we passed along
great wide roads, which are indeed very different
from those in Brazil ; they are so smooth that
the carriage rolled on without impediment, and
I was not half as much tired by the journey here
as I have been going only from Rio to the
Prince's farm. The whole appearance of the
country the trees, the fields, the roads, the
c3
18 BEJITHA.'S VISIT TO HER
people, the houses, are so different from what I
have been accustomed to, that I still feel in a
state of constant surprise ; but nothing that I
see appears so remarkable, as that there are no
slaves here no poor negroes !
Though my aunt and cousins are very good-
natured to me, I cannot help feeling a little
afraid of them. Indeed, I must confess, though
you, who love my uncle so much, will be sur-
prised, that I felt quite a dread of meeting him ;
but I soon perceived that I was a fool, and that
he was as kind and indulgent as you had told me
he would be.
On our journey he talked to me of you, dear
Mamma, and told me many delightful anecdotes
of your youth, when you and he were so happy
together. How I do wish your health may soon
permit you to return to England, that you may
be again with this dear brother.
I am determined to continue my journal re-
gularly; for it will be my greatest pleasure to
write every thing that interests me to you and
my dear Marianne. I shall sometimes imagine
I am speaking to you.
August 6th. It still seems like a dream to
think that I actually am here, where I have so
often wished to be.
This place i^ altered in many respects, I am
told, since you saw it last. Some of the old
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 19
windows are enlarged ; new walks are made ; and
there is a new flower-garden and conservatory,
of which my aunt is very fond. Your favourite
walk has been preserved quite unchanged. My
uncle loves it so much, that he shewed it to me
himself, and we sat under your favourite tree,
where you and he used to play and read
together in those happy times when you were
companions.
I sleep in your room, which has the same
dear old projecting window, which you described
to me, a half hexagon, with stone divisions, and
pretty casement work between.
8th. I begin to feel more at ease with all my
new friends ; indeed, I do not know why I am
afraid of them. Generally, before we leave the
breakfast table, one of my cousins reads aloud for
about half an hour. This morning, before we sepa-
rated, my uncle said, (t My dear children, I hope
you will consider my little Bertha as another
sister ; we must make her feel at home. Let us
go on just as usual with all our employments,
and she will gradually cease to be a stranger."
" I hope," said my aunt, t( that Bertha does
not feel herself a stranger she will soon become
accustomed to our mode of life ; but we must
give her a little time we must become ac-
quainted by degrees."
" But, Mamma," said Caroline, " will not
20 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
my cousin feel a little neglected, if we continue
our own pursuits, without any attention to hers ?"
" Certainly, were that the case but I think,
my love, that as Bertha will have her own em-
ployments, she may not, perhaps, at first like to
make one of our happy family school ; but
though occupied ourselves, I am sure we shall
never be inattentive to her feelings."
ft I dare say Bertha knows that to be always
employed is the chief secret of happiness," said
my uncle ; " and I arn convinced that both you
and she will perceive that we never enjoy the
society of our friends so much, as when we have
earned it by useful labour or moderate restraint. 3 '
Just then the letters were brought in ; one of
them from cousin Hertford, who is now visiting
the Western Isles, seemed to give great delight
to the whole party.
Wth. After breakfast is over, Mary and
Caroline retire to my aunt's dressing-room,
where they go on with their studies. I long to
be admitted to sit there in the mornings, and
share in their employments.
Mary is not so pretty as Caroline, but she has
a most expressive countenance ; her health has
been delicate, and she is timid and reserved in
company, but very lively when we are quietly
together. They are both very charming, but
different in many respects.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 21
I generally sit part of the morning in the li-
brary, where my uncle invited me, and am very
happy, except that when Wentworth and Fre-
derick are engaged with him I feel afraid of be-
ing an intruder. But my uncle likes to have me
there, and his conversation is always pleasant
and instructive.
Yesterday evening my cousins sung, and then
we all danced for an hour even my uncle
danced, while my aunt played for us.
II th. After I had written yesterday, I went
out to walk with my aunt and uncle my cousins
did not come. In the hot-house I saw many
plants, nursed with great care, which I had
been accustomed to see growing wild and un-
heeded, such as our beautiful pink and blue
passion-flower, the coffee-plant, jessamines, the
many-flowered gloxinia^ which ornaments our
rocks with its beautiful blue flowers, and several
others.
In this sheltered place many plants grow wild
in the open ground, which do not live in more
exposed places in England. The tigridia, a na-
tive of Mexico, grows here in great profusion ;
having heard that the Mexicans eat its roots, or
bulbs, my uncle tried them, and found them
almost as good as chestnuts.
The little lawn into which the library opens is
well defended from all winds, and there the most
22
delicate plants are placed. A miniature grove
of orange trees in tubs stands there during the
summer they have fruit and flowers on them,
and smell delightfully ; but, though healthy, they
look stunted fa my eyes, accustomed to those of
our favourite valley at the foot of the Corcorada
I mean the Laranjeros, where the orange trees
are so numerous at each side of the little stream
along which we used to have such delightful
walks. When shall I walk there again with
you, or wander about the pretty green plain, at
the entrance of the valley ? How often Mari-
anne and I have made you loiter there, while
we looked at the rivulet dashing over its stony
bed, or at the grotesque war-horsemen, in all
their various dresses !
In my aunt's flower-garden are hedges of
Chinese rose and sweet-brier, with pyrus japo-
nica intermixed. They are very pretty, but not
equal to ours of acacia and mimosa, with the
passion-flower twining through them, and the
bignonia and maranta forming such beautiful
garlands, particularly on our favourite green
plain. How unequal, too, in strength to those
fences that we saw at Pernambuco, made of
woven palm leaves, arid covered with our bril-
liant creeping plants ; or to those of yucca and
prickly pear, through which neither dog nor sheep
can penetrate. Her garden is on a bank, which
slopes from the conservatory to a little stream
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 23
that runs through the grounds the flower-beds
are intermixed with smooth grass-plats and a
walk extends a little way from the conservatory,
covered by a sort of trellice-work made of thin
oak-laths bent and crossed, with roses and climb-
ing plants twisted into it. The bramble-flowered
rose is particularly suited to this purpose, and
covers it with wreaths of pretty little pink flowers.
It is curious to observe the effect of even the
small degree of shade caused by the trellice on
the young autumn shoots, which hang within
from the rose-trees . They are pale and tender,
appearing as if in a house, and not in the open
air.
We spend the finest part of the evenings out
of doors walking, sauntering, or sitting then
comes tea ; and once or twice we have been
tempted to go out again afterwards. Some
evenings we read to ourselves, but now and
then my uncle is so good as to read aloud, and
that is very delightful, he reads so well.
He likes to see us employed while he reads,
for he says it is a useful exercise of the attention
to listen, and at the same time to employ the
fingers. Last night he read, at Mary's request,
" The Midsummer Night's Dream," while his
audience employed themselves in needle-work
or drawing. As I had not any work in the room,
my aunt said she would supply me. I find
that she has always a little store of things to be
24
made for the poor, in readiness to employ those
who wish for work caps, aprons, bedgowns,
and baby-linen. By these means she has always
some useful article of clothing ready to give the
distressed people who apply to her; and, besides,
she likes that young people should acquire the
habit of employing some of their time for the
benefit of others.
My aunt truly practises what she advises to
be useful is her great object - } but she mixes
usefulness and domestic pleasures so well, as my
uncle says, that one is scarcely aware of all she
effects.
12th. When I was in the library to-day, look-
ing at some books of prints, and Wentworth and
Frederick engaged in their algebra, my uncle
coming to the window said, " Bertha, my dear,
are you a good arithmetician ?"
" No, uncle, I am not ; Mamma has always
found it difficult to get arithmetic into my head
I do not know why, but I cannot learn it."
" Perhaps you mean, will not attend to it."
" No, indeed, uncle ; but there was always
some little thing that was not quite clear, and
which prevented me from advancing as fast and
as far as I ought."
" Yes," said my uncle, " that is the secret
some little step, which appears to the instructor
so simple as to require no explanation, becomes
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 25
a stumbling-block to the understanding, and
then we imagine we cannot learn ; but cannot
learn I never allow my pupils to say."
Dear Mamma, my uncle reminds me so
much of you sometimes : oh ! if I had attended
better to your instructions, I should not blush as
I do now at my own ignorance ; but one comfort
is my uncle knows you so well that he cannot
attribute my faults to your neglect.
But I must tell you all that happened about
this same arithmetic. I was so vexed at my own
stupidity, and at appearing as if you had taught
me nothing, that a few tears forced their way
into my eyes, though I tried to struggle against
them : my uncle good-naturedly went back to
the table where Wentworth and Frederick were
employed, and I soon recovered.
When they had finished their algebra, to which
they seemed to give their whole attention, my
uncle said, " Bertha, if you like to try arithmetic
again, my daughter Mary will readily assist you :
she has one of the clearest heads I ever knew ;
and will make every step plain. But I must
remark that, if we were to force ourselves to
repeat every day the substance of what we learn
to some third person, we should instantly dis-
cover what part is not clear to us."
I went then with him to Mary, who undertook
the task in the kindest manner to-morrow we
are to begin.
D
26
After this was all arranged, Mary and Caroline
invited me to play at shuttlecock, as the day was
rainy. Shuttlecock I had never seen, and knew
only from your description ; my first attempts,
therefore, produced a great deal of laughter.
. Sunday. I am sure you would like
the way that Sunday is spent in this house, my
dear Mamma. There is no day that brings you
so particularly to my mind, because several
things that occur here make me remember what
you have often said in regard to it, and the
good habits you tried to give me.
My uncle generally selects some passage, in
Scripture, for the purpose of conversing upon it,
and leading us to think; or else some expression
which he sees requires explanation, and on which
some light can be thrown, either from parallel
passages, or from profane authors. These little
conversations are, generally, between breakfast
and the time of setting out for church.
This day he read the llth chapter of 2d of
Corinthians, and told us, that St. Paul's expres-
sion " to triumph in Christ," v. 14, alludes to
the Roman triumph, or the celebration of a
victory ; and as the conqueror went in procession
through the streets of Rome to the Capitol, with
the attendant captives following the triumphal
car, so the apostle describes himself as led from
city to city, and from province to province,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 27
triumphing over the powers of darkness, while
the name of Christ, " as a sweet savour," was
diffused wherever he came.
My uncle said that this expression, " sweet
savour," alludes to the custom in the Roman
procession, of strewing the streets with flowers,
and causing the altars to smoke with incense ;
while, immediately before the victorious general,
a long train of attendants marched, carrying
perfumes, which exhaled a sweet and powerful
fragrance; and thus was the knowledge of
Christ, like a reviving odour, diffused around, to
improve and strengthen all who received it.
Indeed, it is still the custom of all eastern
nations, he says, to introduce sweet waters and
other perfumes, on solemn occasions, which
makes the propriety of the allusion still more
strong.
15th. As we walked through the flower-
garden to day, I ventured to suggest that the
yucca and the prickly pear would make more
impenetrable hedges than the sweet-brier and
china rose.
" I cannot help smiling," said my aunt, " at
your partiality to the plants to which you have
been accustomed, when you would prefer hedges
of the frightful prickly pear to these. If, indeed,
we could have such hedges of the Chinese
28
hibiscus as they have in India, they might be
desirable."
I assured my aunt that I did not prefer those
plants for beauty, but as useful from their
strength, and, therefore, worth introducing into
England.
(l I am afraid," said she, " their succulent
nature might make them liable to be injured by
frost." " Besides," said my uncle, " these plants
have not yet been well naturalised to our climate,
though they do grow in the open ground in some
few gardens ; and then we have our beautiful
whitethorn and our furze, both of which, if kept
in order, and well clipped, make a secure fence
against all depredators ; the holly, too, with its
bright and beautiful dark green foliage, makes
an admirable hedge."
As we walked along, my uncle shewed me all
these and other plants for hedges, saying, " You
may observe, Bertha, that one of the numerous
marks of a gracious Providence is the variety
of means which he puts at our command in the
different parts of the world. In every region we
find plants suited to the soil and climate, and
adapted for the use and advantage of its inha-
bitants ; and we may generally discover some
circumstance attending them, which renders
those native productions of peculiar value to the
people who possess them."
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 29
" Bat, uncle," said I, " can that be the
case in such countries as Lapland and Norway,
which give one an idea of the utmost misery and
want?"
" You have named a part of the world," he
replied, " which is an excellent proof of what I
have just said. There, you know, the rein-deer,
that most useful animal, contributes in every
way to the comfort and the sustenance of the
inhabitants. They drink the milk they eat the
flesh they make clothing of the skin and,
besides, with its assistance, they can move from
place to place with delightful swiftness, when
otherwise they must be confined by the snow,
during three-fourths of the year. But what would
become of the rein-deer, was there not an
abundant supply of the vegetable on which its
vast herds are supported the rein-deer moss.
No vegetable grows throughout Lapland in such
abundance ; for many miles together the sur-
face of the sterile soil is covered with it, like
snow : and on the destruction of forests by fire,
when no other plant can lind nutriment, this
moss, or lichen, springs up and flourishes. Here
the rein-deer are pastured, and whatever may
be the depth of snow during the long winter
of that climate, they have the power of pene-
trating through it, and obtaining the necessary
food,"
D 3
30 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
" But still, uncle," said I, " useful as that
same moss is, you cannot consider it among the
vegetable productions on which man can live.
It supports the rein -deer, and the rein-deer sus-
tains man but man could not live on moss or
lichen."
" There is a common saying, my little Bertha,"
replied he, et that one-half of the world knows
not how the other half live. Now, there is a
certain lichen called Iceland-moss which is
brought to England as a medicine, and which
no one would suppose could be used as food ;
yet it is a fact that, in those northern regions
of which we are speaking, immense quantities of
it are gathered for home consumption as an ar-
ticle of common food. When the bitter quality
has been extracted by steeping in water, the
lichen is dried and reduced to a powder, and then
made into a cake, with the addition of a little
meal ; or else boiled and eaten with milk and it
is eaten with thankfulness too, my dear Bertha,
by the poor natives, in years of scarcity, who say
that a bountiful Providence sends them bread
out of the very stones.
" I might also mention the tripe de roche, on
which Captain Franklin and his unfortunate
companions were reduced to live ; but my object
was, I believe, to shew, not how many mosses
or lichens might be eaten, but that every country
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 31
contains within itself some vegetable prod actions
which are, at times, an invaluable resource to
the poor inhabitants. For instance, in that part
of the Russian empire near the Caspian Sea,
called the Steppes, their principal food, in some
years, consists of mushrooms, dried and powdered,
and made into bread, which is neither unwhole-
some nor unpleasant."
IQth. My aunt's flower-garden is certainly
very pretty, and with those of my cousins, which
join it, make a delightful spot ; and they all
seem to be so fond of their flowers, and to find
so much pleasure in gardening, that I begin to
think I should like to assist them ; but at present
lam contented with watching what they do.
My aunt said tome, when we were walking there,
" After all, Bertha, I must confess, that the ob-
jection I made yesterday against the prickly pear,
of its not being adapted to this climate, was not
very wise; for had our gardeners been prevented
by such fears, we should not now have the variety
of foreign plants that we possess, and many of
which are not only pretty, but highly useful."
I asked her whether it was true, that many of
the vegetables, now common in kitchen-gardens,
have been brought from other countries.
" Yes," said she, " several of the most useful
species have been brought from Asia into Europe,
and in the course of two thousand years have
32 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
been gradually spread over it in former times
by the Greeks and Romans, then by the Cru-
saders, and more recently by the direct means
of navigation; and these again have passed on
to America, to which we have given all our vege-
table treasures."
I asked if America, which abounds in delight-
ful plants, has given any thing useful in return
to Europe.
" Yes," said my aunt, " one plant in particu-
lar, which is so useful that its cultivation is
almost universal. In this country it makes so
important a part of the food of millions, that
I think it better deserves the name of * the
hundred ounces of gold' than the famous Peony
tree, called in China * Pe-hany-king,' which has
that meaning on account of the enormous price
given for it."
I could not help interrupting her to say, I was
sure that was what Mrs. Barbauld alluded to in
the line,
And China's groves of vegetable gold.
She smiled and went on: "The American
plant, I speak of, is no longer curious, nor high
in price, though it is in value. Can you guess
what it is, Bertha ? it is a native of Peru, where,
however, it does not seem to grow with half the
luxuriance that it does in Europe."
" I believe, aunt, you mean the potatoe."
"Yes," said my aunt, " the potatoe. It was
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 33
first brought to England by a traveller, more as
a specimen of the vegetable productions of other
countries, than with any view of bestowing an
extensive benefit on society. And thus it is*
my dear, that all things really useful are diffused
over those parts of the globe to which they are
at all suited. While man is occupied in gratify-
ing his love of conquest, his curiosity, or his
avarice while he is searching after the hidden
treasures of the earth, or trafficking for the sake
of gain, Providence employs those worldly pas-
sions and pursuits to dispense blessings and com-
forts to all nations."
" I suppose, aunt," said I, l( that when people
settle in new countries, all that is useful amongst
us is gradually introduced there."
"Yes, my dear," said she, "both the moral
acquirements and the natural productions of the
parent countries are spread throughout the world
by colonies. Emigrants of different nations meet
and blend those customs in which some are
superior to others ; and thus proceeds the slow
but sure improvement of the great families of the
earth."
I said that it would be amusing to trace the
gradual changes of those great families, and the
progress of nations from one country to another
by the similarity of customs.
" Nothing could be more useful or entertaining
than such an inquiry," replied my aunt ; t( but
34 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
in consulting the historian on those subjects you
must take the traveller to your assistance : they
each throw light on the other ; and each be-
comes doubly interesting, when we read with
the view of comparing the past and the present,
and of tracing the progress or the failure of arts
and civilization."
And now, dear Mamma, I smile when I think
of your reading this philosophic page in my jour-
nal. So, adieu 5 for this day !
llth. In these fine evenings there is a soft
calmness in the air that is delightful ; last night
we enjoyed it till the sun's last faint rays had
retired, and not even a streak of red appeared in
the west. Before we came home I had the
pleasure of seeing the glow-worms light their little
lanterns
Stars of the earth and diamonds of the night.
But, I must say, our fire-flies of Brazil are
much superior to them in brightness. Indeed,
all the productions of nature here are less bril-
liant ; the birds, insects, and flowers of Brazil
are quite dazzling, compared with the dull things
that I see in this country. But I am told that
this deficiency in beauty is more than made up
by some greater merits. For instance, the sing-
ing of the birds here in spring is said to be so
sweet und so various, that I feel a little childish
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 35
impatience for their sieging time to return, that I
may hear them. I am, however, already ac-
quainted with the robin redbreast. I have re-
peatedly heard its plaintive autumn song.
I never rightly understood till now that the glow-
worm is the female fire-fly, though it looks just
like a worm, and does not fly. My aunt showed me
to-day that this insect, though it possesses neither
wings nor elytra, and differs but little in appear-
ance from a caterpillar, is, notwithstanding, an
insect in the last or perfect state : the head and
corselet are formed exactly like those of the male,
who is furnished with both elytra and wings. My
aunt also showed me that under the last ring of
the body there are two very small reservoirs of a
thick oily fluid of the nature of phosphorus, which,
if the animal is killed, continues to give light till
it becomes dry. It is a slow-moving creature I
am told, and seems to drag itself on by starts
or slight efforts.
My uncle says that in the Philosophical Trans-
actions for 1684, there is a paper by a Mr.
Waller describing an English flying glow-worm,
which he observed at Northaw, in Hertford-
shire, the light of which was so vivid as to be
plainly perceived even when a candle was in the
room.
Mary put a common glow-worm into a box of
transparent paper with some grass and moss, two
days ago ; and when we went to examine it last
36
night we saw its beautiful light illuminating every
object within a small space around it.
When I saw the glow-worm shining on its
mossy banks 4 I amused myself in imagining how
many other living creatures were perhaps lighted
by its soft beams. The various beetles, which
seem at all hours running to and fro ; the slugs,
which are for ever in one's path ; and the nu-
merous family of spiders, who are so industrious,
that they must, I suppose, work "by midnight
lamps." The moth tribe, also, who seem to love
light only at night, can please themselves at this
little lamp, without injuring their delicate wings ;
and I must not forget the little airy beings, of
whose histories I am so fond the fairies who
say so prettily
And when the moon doth hide her head,
The glow-worm lights us home to bed.
Frederick and I were devising various ex-
pedients for making the light of the glow-worms
and fire-flies useful ; when Mary, who heard us,
told me that at Cape Comorin there are certain
birds that build pendulous nests; and that it is a
fact that these nests are lighted, at night, by fire-
flies: the bird fastens a bit of clay to the top
of the nest, and sticks a fire-fly on the clay, as
if to illuminate the dwelling, which consists of
two chambers ; but the real object is, probably,
to deter the bats from approaching, as they kill
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 37
the young of these birds. This is mentioned in
the life of Dr. Buchanan, who says that the
blaze of light dazzles the eyes of the bats. A
friend of my uncle's has written some lines on
the glow-worm, which I wilj copy here.
TO THE GLOW-WORM.
THOU little gem of purest hue,
That, from thy throne o'erspread with dew,
Shedd'st lustre o'er the brightest green
That ever clothed a woodland scene,
I hail thy pure and tranquil light
Thou lovely living lamp of night !
Thy haunt is in the deepest shade
By purple heath and bracken made :
By thee the sweetest minstrel sings,
That courts the shady grove ;
O'er thee the woodlark spreads his wings,
And sounds his notes of love
Companion of the lights of heaven 1
Thine is the softest breeze of even ;
For thee the balmy woodbine lives,
The meadow-grass its fragrance gives.
And thou canst make thy tranquil bower
In Summer's sweetest, fairest flower.
The hour of peace is all thy own ;
Thy lamp is lit for one alone ;
Shedding no transitory gleams,
No rays to kindle or destroy ;
Constant, innocuous still it beams
The light of life, of love, of joy.
My aunt has been so kind as to permit me to
make an extract from my cousin Hertford's last
letter to her. I enclose it with my journal, which
my uncle is going to dispatch to-morrow.
ft At last I have overcome every obstacle ; and
have visited Staffa and its curious caves.
VOL. i. E
38
" The natural columns of basalt, near the
landing-place, lie in so many different directions
that I cannot give a clear notion of them erect,
oblique, and horizontal ; and sometimes in each
of these posftions they are curved. In the first
cave which occurs, the columns are bent in such
a manner as to have given rise to its name of the
scollop ; but I think they look still more like the
inside of the timbers of a ship. On the other
side, the wall which leads into the cave, is formed
by ends of columns, which make it appear some-
thing like a honeycomb ; and immediately beyond
this cave, the broken ends form a sort of stairs
to the causeway, and up to the great cave.
Beneath this part of the cliff is situated a single
rock, called Buachaille, (the herdsman) a name
commonly applied in the Highlands to remark-
able mountains and rocks. There is a very
striking coincidence between the Gaelic and the
Greek languages, not only in this, but in other
words ; and my companion, who is well ac-
quainted with the Gaelic, thinks that they must
have had a common origin.
" Of the three caves in the south-west side of
the island, the westernmost is called the cave of
Mackinnon ; who seems, from the number of
places to which he has given his name, to have
been a hero of considerable celebrity. Its height
is 50 feet, and length 224 feet; but although
grand and sublime in general effect, it has not
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 39
the beautiful regularity so remarkable in the
cave of Fingal ; which I will now endeavour to
describe.
66 The opening into this celebrated cave finishes
above, in a sort of Gothic arch, which is 66 feet
above the surface of the water. The breadth, at
the entrance, is 42 feet ; the whole length of the
cave, 227 ; and the height within, from 40 to 50
feet. The sides, like the front, consist of groups
of columns ; and the cieling, at least towards
the middle, is composed of the sections, or
broken ends of columns, which give it a very
architectural appearance. The sea never ebbs
entirely out, and, therefore, forms the only floor
of the cave ; but the broken range of columns
which produces the exterior causeway, is con-
tinued on each side within, and admits of ac-
cess over the broken summits to the farther end,
if the water be not too high.
" After all, it is so impossible to describe this
cave, that the very attempt is presumptuous.
The more it is studied, the greater is the admi-
ration of the beholder. The richness arising
from the multiplicity of the parts the great ex-
tent the twilight gloom the varying effects of
the reflected light the transparent green of the
water the echo of the surge rising and falling
and the profound solitude of the whole scene,
must make a strong impression on any mind at
E 2
40
all sensible to beauty, in art or nature. I only
wish you could all have seen it, my dear
friends."
18th. This has been a most charming day ;
the mild calm dry feel of the air reminded me
of the lovely weather that we are accustomed to
at Rio. Here the days are very changeable ;
but then the nights have not that extreme chil-
liness that they have in Brazil.
It was resolved, at breakfast, in order to shew
me a little of the country, that we should take a
long walk visit a farmer who lives about a mile
and a-half from this and then return by a dif-
ferent way, through a hamlet, inhabited by some
of the poorest class.
We were all ready at one o'clock, which was
the appointed hour. My uncle dislikes very
much that people should not be ready in time,
and really considers it a fault not to be punctual ;
he says, it shews a selfish disregard of the wishes
of others, and besides, that a great deal of time
is wasted melted away by waiting for each
other. I hope I shall learn to be more exact
than I used to be, when with my indulgent mo-
ther.
We walked through several fields ; but they all
had a confined appearance, from being so much
more fenced than the open country to which I
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 41
have been accustomed. Some were all life and
bustle ; the reapers cutting the corn with their
sickles, and dexterously laying it in a line, so
that the binders who follow them can tie it up
into sheaves without delay ; several of these are
then made to stand endways, in a little tight
group, called a shock. In another place, horses
and waggons were engaged in drawing home the
corn which had been reaped first, and was now
dry enough to preserve it, to the farm-yard, where
it was to be stacked ; and they were succeeded
by many little girls, who were gleaning the scat-
tered ears. Farmer Moreland was in his farm-
yard, overseeing the stacking of his corn, and I
could not but admire the neatness and regularity
with which the sheaves were placed, with the tops
pointing towards the centre, all being made quite
firm, and the outside of the stack kept perfectly
even. My uncle made me also observe that open
passages, for the circulation of the air, were left
in the stack, to prevent its fermenting or heating,
which would spoil the grain. What a curious
thing it is that decaying vegetables, when thus
pressed together, without a free passage of air
should produce such a chemical change, as to
cause them to take fire !
After we had rested ourselves in Farmer
Moreland's comfortable house, we looked at his
garden, where I observed several rows of large
sunflowers, with the seed of which he feeds his
3
42 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
fowls ; and we then left him and Dame Moreland,
as we saw they were very busy.
In the nice smooth green fields which we
passed through, there are no beautiful flowers,
like those which spread a brilliant carpet over
our plains ; nor is there any of that rank grass,
nearly the height of a man, so common in some
parts of Brazil. The hay was all made up some
weeks ago, so that I cannot see the delicate
flowers of the grasses, nor their slender stalks
or culms. My aunt says, that grass contains a
great deal of very nourishing sugary juice ; and
if the hay is cut and made up early, before that
juice is exhausted by maturing the seed, it be-
comes much more strengthening food than when
mowed late.
Nor are there any herds of wild cattle here, like
those in parts of our country ; and, therefore, the
Brazilian custom of catching the cattle by a noose
is not in use. I described to Wentworth the dexte-
rity with which the peons fling the noose, or lasso,
over the head of any animal, even in full gallop.
Here the cattle are in small numbers, and sub-
mit readily to the restraint of being confined in
fields. The person who takes care of them has
comparatively little trouble ; and though he does
not live on beef for every meal, like the peon, yet
he is in fact more comfortable. We saw some
very poor people in the hamlet by which we re-
turned home, and found them civil in their man-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 43
ners, and contented with their employment. As
to their houses, they are very different, indeed,
from the peon's hovel of upright posts, inter-
woven with branches of trees, and plastered with
mud, thatched with nothing but long grass, and
a hide stretched on four sticks, by way of a door.
I was surprised to see with what docility a
number of cows allowed themselves to be driven
home by a little boy to Farmer Moreland's. My
uncle told me, that it is a great relief to them to
have their milk taken away ; and that were the
fields open, they would go home at the regular
hours to be milked. I had imagined that cows
had but a small portion of sense or instinct ; but
my uncle told me several instances of their saga-
city, and among others, one which he read lately
in travels in Norway and Lapland.
The author frequently saw cows feeding close
to precipices several hundred feet high, where
an English cow would have but little chance of
escape ; but the Norway cows, turned out amidst
the mountains to procure their subsistence, be-
come as nimble as goats, and climb the rocky
crags with the greatest ease.
The manner in which instinct has taught them
to descend the mountains is curious. Sitting on
their haunches, they place their fore-feet close
together, and in this way slide down places,
which from their steepness would appear quite
impassable with safety.
44 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
We went into several cottages belonging to
the poor labourers. They are either built of
brick, or of frame-work filled in with bricks and
plaster, with good doors and glass windows ; and
inside, every thing, though shewing poverty,
gave the idea of comfort. The walls papered,
or nicely white-washed, the floors scowered and
sprinkled with sand ; plates, cups, and saucers
displayed on shelves; beds with clean patch-
work quilts ; and in two of the houses,, wooden-
clocks to call the people up to their business.
And to all of them there was a detached shed
for the pig, unlike the filthy place left, between
the posts, that support the floor of the Brazilian
huts. In the last cottage we visited, we found
that the hospitable people it belonged to had
contrived to make room for a poor traveller and
her child. She had come there on Saturday
evening, when they gave her lodging for charity.
On Sunday, she begged permission to remain, be-
cause she did not think it right to travel on that
day ; and on Monday she grew ill, and has been
in bed ever since. These good people seemed
so kind and generous to her, though very poor
themselves, that my aunt is much interested for
them.
How gratifying it is to see the poorest people
assisting each other, even when really distressed
themselves, but the most delightful thing of all,
dear Mamma, is that there are no slaves here ;
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 45
every body is free, and may work or be idle as
they like ; but if they prefer idleness, they must
of course want the comforts possessed by the
industrious ; for industry, as you used to say,
brings comfort and happiness.
. This forest of Deane is very extensive,
I find, for it is nearly twenty miles long, and ten
broad. Here, at the south-east, it is bordered
by the Severn, and on the north-west it stretches
to the Wye ; so that it forms the chief part of
the western district of Gloucestershire. It was
once the chief support of the English navy ; but
the timber is much diminished in consequence
of the iron works in its neighbourhood, which it
supplied a long time with fuel. My uncle says,
however, that it has more the appearance of a
forest than almost any other in England ; and
it still contains many noble old oak and beech
trees, besides birch, holly, and underwood.
Here and there a few acres, surrounding cot-
tages, have been cleared and cultivated, which
make a beautiful variety. These cottages, and
some farm-houses which stand upon the forest
land, are free from taxes, and belong to no
parish.
My aunt says, it is quite remarkable for the
quantities of primroses and lilac wood-sorrel that
are every where found. There are a few deer
46 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
in some parts of the forest, but I have not yet
seen them.
2Qth. What a difference between this coun-
try, and that which I have left ! I scarcely know
which to call my own : should it not be that
where I lived during my happy childhood with
my dear Mamma ? The kindness and affection
of all my friends here will, I am sure, soon make
this country dear to me also ; but beautiful I
can never think it, when I recollect Brazil, and
all its various charms, and all the innumerable
flowers and trees that are at this moment in bril-
liant beauty; while here, the principal flowers
are all gone by, and symptoms of the decay of
autumn already appear.
It was just about this season that you used
to take us to the cottage you had on the La-
goa de Bodingo Freitas. What various amuse-
ments we had there ! The road along the slope
of the mountain was so pretty, among myrtles,
begonias, and paullinias ; and there we were
always sure of finding the diamond-beetle ; and
then when gradually descending from the hill,
we drove along the banks of the sea covered with
lofty ferns ; and when you used to allow us to
stop on the shore and search for sea-stars, ur-
chins, shells, and plants. Oh, those were happy
times ! Or when we used to go with you to the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 47
low grounds near the lake, and lose ourselves in
the thickets of mangrove trees, while gathering
their curious seeds, and wondering at the long
roots they shoot out to the ground, and while
you were searching for marsh plants and fern
bushes. Indeed, I never, never can forget those
days ; nor the still solitude of that valley, the
beauty of the rock of Gavia, covered with the
blue gloxinia, and the wild mountain stream that
came tumbling down into the lake ; nor the poor
fishermen who used to look so happy when you
gave them a few reals.
Though we live here on the borders of a forest,
it is quite unlike that forest near which the Sen-
hor Antonio Gomez lives, and where we used
sometimes to spend a few weeks so pleasantly.
I miss several little things that seemed to me to
belong to a forest, and which used to amuse
Marianne and me so much the howling of
the monkeys in the wood, that wakened us in
the mornings, and the deep noises of the frogs
and toads, with the chirp of the grasshoppers and
locusts, like a monotonous treble mixed with that
croaking bass.
And then when playing about in the wood
after the mists of the night had been dispelled by
the rising sun, and when every creature seemed to
be rejoicing in the return of day, we had such
delight in chasing the pretty butterflies. Nothing
at all here like those great butterflies that used to
48 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
flutter from flower to flower, and hover amono-
' O
the bushes under which we sat ; or that sometimes
collected in separate companies on the sunny
banks of the little stream that ran through the
O
valley near tn"e Senhor's house. None of those
great owl-moths sitting quietly on the trees wait-
ing, with their wings spread open, for the approach
of evening. Alas! I see none of those beautiful
creatures here \ nor the long nests of the wasps
hanging from the trees ; nor the beetles sparkling
brightly on the flowers and fresh leaves *, nor the
beautiful little serpents, equal to flowers in splen-
dour, gliding out of the leaves and the hollows of
trees, and creeping up the stem to catch insects.
I have just been describing to Mary those
woods which seemed actually alive, when the
monkeys came leaping and chattering from tree
to tree, and enjoying the sun ; as well as all our
birds with their bright plumage, whose various
notes formed such extraordinary concerts. The
urapong, which makes the woods resound with
a noise like the strokes of a hammer on the anvil.
The showy parrots of every colour, and the mana-
kin, whose melodious morning song you loved,
because it was so like the warbling of the night-
ingale ; and which Mary tells me is called the
organiste, in St. Domingo, on account of the
compass of its song, as it forms a complete oc-
tave. And besides all these, the dear little busy
orioles, that my sister and I have so often watched
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 49
creeping out of the little hole at one side of
their long bag-shaped nests, to visit the orange
trees, while their sentinels gave them notice by a
loud scream of the approach of strangers.
Mary smiled when I told her, what I am sure
Marianne remembers how we used to like to
listen to the toucan rattling with his large hol-
low beak, as he sat on the extreme branches,
and calling, in plaintive notes, for rain ; and
how sometimes, when he was sitting comfortably
and almost hid in the nest which he had scooped
in the stem of a tree, we used to pretend to alarm
him, that we might see how instantly he prepared
to attack the invader with his bill.
But these are all passed away. Dear Mamma,
forgive this listof pleasing recollections: describing
them to you makes me feel as if I was again en-
joying them in your company. There is such a
glowing splendour, as I told Mary, in the sunny
days of Brazil, when the glittering humming-birds
dart about, and with their long bills extract the
honey from the flowers, that I cannot avoid per-
ceiving how gloomy every thing appears here ;
but pray do not think me discontented.
Mary, to whom I had been describing all these
past delights, came back to me just as I had
written so far ; and, seeing the tears in my eyes,
she seemed to feel with me, and to think it quite
natural that I should every moment perceive the
difference between two countries so opposite in
F
50 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
climate and in every thing ; though she laughed
a little at my repeating to you all that you see
continually ; but you know, Mamma, you desired
me to write all I thought, and you may well
suppose how constantly my thoughts turn towards
the country in which you live.
Mary said she should have been surprised if I
had not felt the change. "But indeed, Bertha,"
said she, tc you must not forget how well balanced
are our blessings. If Brazil has a climate, and
various beautiful productions which England does
not possess, England, on the other hand, has far
more substantial comforts ; and, by her com-
merce, she has the means of enjoying those of
all other countries. We have not your brilliant
flowers and birds, but you will find that we have
many which are more useful, and which will interest
you, who love natural history. Our birds have
no pendent nests, because they are in no danger
from such depredators as your monkeys and
snakes, and therefore their instinct does not lead
them to contrive such means of defence ; but
you will see, amongst both our birds and insects,
many whose habits are equally curious."
I said that I believed, as you, Mamma, have
often told me, that there is no country which
does not possess much to attach its inhabitants
to it, and to interest an observant mind.
(t And it is in the mind," she replied, " that
our real happiness will always be found. It
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 51
rests on our own disposition and thoughts, much
more than on those outward circumstances
which appear coloured by our feelings ; just as
objects appear the colour of the glass through
which you look at them. But," added she, " I
came not to moralise, but to beg of you to come
out and walk."
Out we went ; and my thoughts soon turned
from the scenes I have been lamenting, to the
satisfactory feeling of having, in both my coun-
tries, such dear and good friends.
2lst. Sunday. In the course of a conversa-
tion this morning about the Sabbath day, a lady,
who is here on a visit, remarked that it was the
idea of some people, that the Sabbath, having
been instituted at the time that the Israelites
received the Ten Commandments, is not binding
on Christians, any more than the other Levitical
institutions.
In order to show what a mistaken idea that
is, my uncle read to us the extract which I am
going to copy here.
" It is a great mistake to consider the Sabbath
as a mere festival of the Jewish church, deriving
its whole sanctity from the Levitical law. The
religious observation of the seventh day is in-
cluded, in the Decalogue, among our first duties ;
but the reason assigned for the injunction is ge-
neral, and has no relation to the particular cir-
F 2
52
cumstances of the Israelites, or to the particular
relation in which they stood to God as his chosen
people. The creation of the world was an event
equally interesting to the whole human race ; and
the acknowledgment of God as our Creator is
a duty, in all ages and countries, incumbent
on mankind.
" The terms of the ordinance plainly describe
it as an institution of an earlier age ' Wherefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and set it
apart,' which is the true meaning of hallowed it.
These words express a past time. It is not
said, Wherefore the Lord now blesses the seventh
day, and sets it apart, but, Wherefore he did
bless it, and set it apart in times past ; and he
now requires that you, his chosen people, should
be observant of that ancient institution.
fi In confirmation of this fact, we find, by the
16th chapter of Exodus, that the Israelites were
already acquainted with the Sabbath, and had
been accustomed to a strict observance of it,
before Moses received the tables of the law at
Sinai. For, when the manna was first given for
their nourishment in the wilderness, they were
commanded to lay by, on the sixth day, a suffi-
cient portion for the succeeding day. ( To-
morrow,' said Moses, is the rest of the holy
Sabbath unto the Lord : on that day ye shall
not find it in the field ; for the Lord hath given
you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 53
sixth day bread for two days.' He mentions the
Sabbath as a divine command, with which the
people were well acquainted ; for he alleges the
well-known sanctity of the day, to account for
the extraordinary supply of manna on the pre-
ceding day. But the appointment of the Sabbath,
to which his words allude, must have been earlier
than the appointment of the law, of which no part
had yet been given. For this first gathering of
manna was in the second month of the departure
of the Israelites from Egypt ; and they did not
arrive at Sinai, where the law was given, till the
third month.
" An institution of this antiquity and import-
ance could derive no part of its sanctity from
the authority of the Mosaic law ; and the abro-
gation of that law no more releases the worship-
pers of God from a due observation of the
Sabbath, than it cancels the injunction of filial
piety, or the prohibition of theft or murder.
" The worship of the Christian church is pro-
perly to be considered as a restoration of the
patriarchal church in its primitive simplicity and
purity ; and of the patriarchal worship, the Sab-
bath was one of the noblest and simplest rites.
As the Sabbath was of earlier institution than
the religion of the Jews, so it necessarily survives
the extinction of the Jewish law, and makes a
part of Christianity.
F 3
54 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
" It differs from all other ordinances, of similar
antiquity, and is a part of the rational religion
of man, in every stage and state of his existence,
till he shall Attain that happy rest of which the
Sabbath is a type.
* c Let us remember, always, that to mankind
in general, and to us Christians in particular, the
proper business of that day is the worship of God
in public assemblies. Private devotion is the
Christian's daily duty ; but the peculiar duty
of the Sabbath is public worship. Every man's .
conscience must direct him what portion of the
remainder of the Sabbath should be allotted to
private devotion, useful duties, and sober recre-
ation. And, perhaps, a better general rule
cannot be laid down than this that the same
proportion of the Sabbath, on the whole, should
be devoted to religious exercises, public and
private, as each individual would employ, on
any other day, in ordinary business."
22d. I have just been made very happy,
dear Mamma. I was sitting in my aunt's dress-
ing room, labouring through a difficult question
in arithmetic, which Mary had given me, when
my uncle came in ; and, after a little conversa-
tion, he said to my aunt and cousins, " I am
very much pleased with this good girl. I have
not judged of her hastily I approve of her as a
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 55
companion for my daughters ; and she has my
free permission to be with them in this room
and every where, as much as she pleases."
It is a great satisfaction to add, that my cousins
looked as much pleased at this as I did ; but
they could not feel the delight that I felt, when
he continued, " Bertha, my dear, when you
write to your mother, I desire that you will say
I am highly pleased with her education of her
little daughter. Separated from her friends and
country by ill health, with little of good society,
and labouring under many disadvantages, she
has not sunk into indolence or indifference she
has preserved her good sense and energy, and
has made you a gentlewoman in mind and man-
ners ; and I rejoice to see you so much what
the child of my excellent sister ought to be."
My beloved mother, this little message to you
gave me such heartfelt delight, that my eyes very
nearly overflowed.
My kind uncle afterwards said, " But,
Bertha, do not imagine that I think you have no
faults."
" No, dear uncle," said I, " that never came
into my head ; but I am sure you and my aunt
will be so good as to assist me in conquering
them."
" Most readily I will," said he : " indeed I will
write myself to your mother, and tell her how much
I like her Bertha, who deserves to be the com-
56 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
panion of my daughters ; my sister knows how
particular I am about their intimacies and early
friendships."
Though I Iwow his letter will be a most wel-
come one to you, I could not resist the pleasure
of telling 'you all this myself, dear Mamma. I
shall feel much more bright and cheerful now,
than I have felt, since I left you.
23d. I can walk much more here than I
could in our own hot country, so I am out a
great deal every fine day.
Yesterday, we all set out on a ramble through
the forest, that I might see some of its wildest
parts ; and the morning was so fine, that we
went much farther than my cousins had been
for a long time. There is but little of it that
answered to my ideas of a forest; some parts
are quite cleared away, and in others, the trees
are spoiled by being copsed. I must confess, that
some of the oaks are fine trees; but how insig-
nificant the best of them would appear by the
side of our noble bombax, or of our tall palms,
which spread their leaves like immense umbrel-
las. And besides, the green of the foliage is so
dull, when compared to the vivid tints of the trees
in Brazil ! We found, however, some very nice
and smooth grassy paths through the wood, of
which I might say
All around seems verdure meet
For pressure of the fairies' feet.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 57
As we walked along one of these, we were sur-
prised by the appearance of smoke curling
through the trees ; and we soon after came to a
little cottage, in a very solitary part of the forest.
Frederick ran on, " to discover," he said,
" whether it contained a giant, ready to devour
us with fee, fan, fum, or some hermit who had
retired to this sequestered spot, to expiate his
crimes in solitude and silence."
We soon followed, and instead of either giant
or hermit, there was a poor man almost
blind, employed in making a basket, while his
daughter, a pretty looking young woman about
twenty, sat within, engaged in needlework ; and
the house, though one of the poorest that I have
seen, looked clean and airy. But as it is built
against a sloping bank, it must be damp, I think
and his daughter has rather a delicate appear-
ance, and looks pensive, as if she was not in
good health.
I was very much interested in observing the
method by which he made his basket. It was
not made of willow, which I thought was always
used ; so we inquired what the material was,
and I was surprised to find that it was oak. He
splits the wood into long strips when it is quite
fresh, or after it has been soaking in water for
some time ; these strips are about an inch broad,
and being only a tenth of an inch thick, they
are so pliable, that he weaves them without dif-
58 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
ficulty. The shape of his basket was circular,
with a flat bottom. A sort of skeleton frame
is made first, of stronger slips of wood j then
the long thin pieces are woven in and out, close
together ; and the ends are neatly fastened
under each other. It seemed a tedious work ;
he is to have half a crown for the basket he is
now making, for a washerwoman; and as it is
more than two days' employment, his gain is but
very small.
He lost his sight many years ago in the mines,
and though never idle, he cannot easily support
himself. I believe his wife is dead. He says
he has lived in that place several years ; and I
understand that the inhabitants of the Forest of
Deane have certain privileges in regard to
taxes, that make it a very desirable residence to
a poor man.
My uncle is to go in a few days to bespeak
some of those baskets, and I hope to walk there
with him : it will have been very happy for this
poor man that we found him ; for my uncle and
aunt will certainly be of use to him. They assist
the industrious very much ; and all they do for
the poor, is done in such a kind and cheerful
manner, that it doubles the favour.
24th. This morning brought another letter
from Hertford it has been delayed on its road,
for it was written several weeks ago. Here are
some extracts from it : perhaps they may enter-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 59
tain you, as he describes his visit to the little
island of North Rona.
" It is accessible in one spot only, and that
with difficulty. The landing place is on an irre-
gular cliff, and you must watch for the moment
to jump out on the first ledge of rock to which
the boat is lifted by the waves. It is a perilous
operation to remove sheep from this island ; the
animal being slung by the legs round the neck
of a man, and thus carried down the face of a
rock, where a false step exposes him to the risk
of being either strangled or drowned.
" The violence and height of the waves, which
in winter break over the island, are almost in-
credible. The dykes of the sheep-folds are
often thrown down ; and stones of enormous
bulk are removed from their places, at elevations
of 200 feet above the high-water mark. It is
inhabited by one family only, who cultivate it,
and tend about fifty sheep. Twice in the year
that part of the crop which is not consumed on
the farm, together with the sheep's wool, and the
feathers obtained from the sea-fowl, which these
poor people are bound to procure, are taken
away by the boat to Lewis, and thus some little
intercourse with the external world is preserved.
But they are so little accustomed to the appear-
ance of any one but the proprietor of the island,
that when we appeared, the women and children
were seen running away to the cliffs to hide
60 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
themselves, loaded with whatever moveable pro-
perty they possessed, while the man and his son
began to drive away the sheep. A few words of
Gaelic recalled the men, but it was sometime
before the females ventured from their retreat,
and when they did, the impression they made
on us was not very favourable to the progress
of civilization in Rona; the mistress of the
family would have ill stood a comparison with
Iliglaik, whose accomplishments are so well
described by Captain Lyon.
" Not even the solid Highland hut can with-
stand the violence of the wind in this region.
The dwelling is, therefore, excavated in the
earth, the wall requisite for the support of the
roof scarcely rising two feet above the surface,
and the whole is surrounded with turf stacks to
ward off the gales. The entrance to this sub-
terranean retreat is through a long winding pas-
sage, like the gallery of a mine, commencing
by an aperture not three feet high, and very
difficult to find. Were it not for the smoke, the
existence of a house could never be suspected ;
indeed, we had been talking to its possessor for
some time, before we discovered that we were
actually standing on the top of his castle. Like
a Kamtschatkan hut, it receives no other light
than that from the smoke hole ; it is floored with
ashes, and festooned and ornamented with strings
of dried fish. Its inmates, however, appeared to
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 61
be contented and well fed, and little concerned
about what the rest of the world was doing ;
they seemed to know of no other world than
North Rona, and the chief seemed to wish for
little that North Rona could not supply. The
great object of his wishes was to get his two
younger children baptised, for no people are
more zealous in the observance of their religious
duties than the Highlanders ; and even in that
dreary solitude, this poor man had not forgotten
his."
I am quite established now as one of the
dressing-room party. A nice little table has
been allotted to my use, and I shall be very
comfortable as well as happy.
In the library, I was frequently interrupted
in drawing or reading, by morning visiters but
into this charming retired room no visiters are
admitted, and we shall seldom be disturbed.
My aunt has given me just such a nice little
table as each of my cousins has : the top serves
as a desk for reading, or writing, or drawing,
and can be raised to any slope, as it is joined by
hinges at one side ; while on the other side
there is a light frame, which supports the book
or drawing I am copying ; and which, when not
wanted, folds in under the top. It has places
for pens, ink, and knife, and two drawers, be-
sides many other conveniences. Indeed, I must
be happy in this room, where a variety of useful
62 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and agreeable things, and much gaiety too, are
always to be found,
1 wish, Mamma, you could know your nieces.
There is a nice mixture of gaiety and steadiness
in both. Mary would be almost perfect, if she
were not too timid. Caroline is the handsomest;
she has such a fresh, bright complexion, and
such pretty waving ringlets ; yet she never
seems to think of herself or her beauty. She
is very active and very useful ; always punctual,
and ever ready to oblige and assist others, to
walk out or stay at home with them to search
for a book, or to hunt out a passage in it to
converse or to remain silent. Yet she contrives
to have time for all her own employments, and
to lay up stores of knowledge, which are always
ready when called for. Her temper is so mild,
and her feelings are so much under her own
controul, that one does not at first see exactly
how much she enters into those of other people ;
but every day, her character has opened more
and more to my observation.
Grace is a dear, little, animated creature
very obedient in general, very intelligent, and my
uncle's play-fellow, but never spoiled. What a
pity you cannot see all these children of a brother
you love so much. My aunt often expresses
her anxiety for your return ; she says, that if
my uncle and she had their dear sister within
reach of them, their family happiness would be
complete.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 63
I told you before, I believe, that my uncle,
and my aunt too, though she does not say
much, are not pleased, if we are not punctual
and must I confess it ? yes, I must acknow-
ledge, that several mornings I have been rather
late for breakfast ; my uncle has been very pa-
tient however, and says he will make allowance
a little while for the indolent habits I have ac-
quired by living in a warm climate, and with
" too indulgent a mother/ 3
So good night ; I have been writing when I
ought to have been in bed.
26th. There was a good deal of conversation
about salt and salt mines to-day. My uncle
asked me, if there were many such salt marshes
in Brazil as abound in North America, and of
which cattle are so fond. I forgot at first, and
said very foolishly, that I could not tell I was
in a silly fit, till at last I recollected myself, and
told him I had heard that there were some,
though they are obliged to import a great deal
of salt. What an extraordinary appearance a
salt plain must have, where the salt is open
and uncovered ! When we went up stairs, Mary
showed me Mr, Salt's description of one in
Abyssinia.
He says, that some of his party and Mr. Cof-
fin " stopped at the edge of an extensive salt
plain to refresh themselves, under the shade of
64 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
a group of acacias, near some wells of fresh water.
At this place they were provided by the natives
with a sort of sandal, for walking on the salt,
made of the Jeaves of a dwarf palm.
tC The plain lies perfectly flat, and is said to
be four days' journey in length. The first half
mile was very slippery, and the feet sank at
every step into the mud. After this, the surface
became strongly crusted, resembling, in appear-
ance, a rough coat of ice, covered with snow.
" On the Assa Durwa side of the plain, a
number of Abyssinians were engaged in cutting
out the salt, which they accomplished by means
of a small adze. The salt lies in horizontal
strata, so that when the edges are once divided,
it separates without any great difficulty : that
which is immediately under the surface is ex-
ceedingly hard, white, and pure ; but as the
workmen advance deeper, it becomes of a
coarser quality, and much softer. In some
places it continues tolerably pure to the depth
of three feet, below which it becomes mixed
with the soil, and consequently unfit for use.
" This salt plain, from which the whole of
Abyssinia is supplied, is infested by a cruel race,
who make it a practice to lie in wait for the
individuals engaged in cutting it. These poor
fellows, in the absence of their guards, lie down
flat on the surface, when working, that they may
escape the observation of their barbarous ene-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. G5
mies, and on the approach of a stranger, they
run in alarm to the mountains."
When we had finished reading this extract,
Mary said, that since I was so much amused by
it, she would find a description of some curious
salt cliffs on the banks of the Indus.
" Near Callabaugh, on the banks of the
Indus, the road is cut out of the solid salt, at
the foot of salt cliffs, which in some places are
more than 100 feet high above the river. The
salt is hard, clear, and almost pure ; and would
be like crystal, were it not a little streaked and
tinged with red. Several salt springs issue from
the rocks, and leave the ground covered with a
crust of the most brilliant whiteness. The earth
is blood red, and this, with the beautiful spec-
tacle of the salt rocks, and the Indus flowing in
a deep and clear stream, through lofty moun-
tains, presented a most singular scene."
I have copied these for Mamma, for I am sure
you have neither of the books.
26th. I have been out till very late this
lovely evening, which was so calm, and still, and
fragrant, that it made me think of some of our
own evenings ; and the brightness of the stars,
and the clear blue sky, increased the resem-
blance. While walking, I described to Mary
and Caroline the country-house of the Ccndc
G 3
66 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
de San Lourenc^o, on the slope of the hills which
extend from the city towards the south-west ;
and the fine view, from that spot, of the city and
part of the ba^y. I endeavoured to make them
understand the beauty of our evenings, after the
sultry day, when the mimosas, that have folded
up their leaves to sleep, stand motionless beside
the dark manga, jaca, and other trees ; or
if a little breeze arises, how it makes the stiff,
dry leaves of the acaju * rustle, and the myrtles
drop a fragrant shower of blossoms; while the
majestic palms slowly wave their crowns over
all.
My cousins appeared so much interested, that
I endeavoured to complete my picture of a Bra-
zilian evening. I described to them the shrill
cries of the cicada, and the monotonous hum of
the tree frog. The singular sound of the little
animal called the macue, which almost resembles
a distant human voice calling for help. The plain-
tive cries too of the sloth ; and the various noises
of the capuira, the goat-sucker, and the bull-
frog ; along with the incessant chattering of the
monkey tribe ; while myriads of fire-flies, like
moving stars, complete, as you used to say, the
beauty of our evenings. I did not forget to
mention those palms, whose flowers suddenly
* The cashew-nut.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 67
burst out in the evening, and join their fra-
grance to that of the orange groves. Indeed,
all these things were so strongly pictured in my
mind, that I could almost have thought myself
walking amongst them.
Caroline, in her ardent manner, expressed a
wish to visit this interesting scene ; but quiet
Mary repeated a few stanzas of a poem supposed
to be written by a European in South America.
Two of them are worth sending you.
In the silence and grandeur of midnight I tread,
Where savannahs in boundless magnificence spread;
And, bearing sublimely their snow-wreaths on high,
The far Cordilleras unite with the sky.
The fern-tree waves o'er me the fire-fly's red light
With its quick glancing splendour illumines the night;
And I read, in each tint of the skies and the earth,
How distant my steps from the land of my birth.
21th. I do not wonder at the attachment
you feel, Mamma, to this place : it is, indeed,
very pretty. These wooded banks, arid green
lawns and fields that slope towards the Severn,
and form such a lovely view from some of the
windows ! But there is no view so pretty to my
fancy, as that from the little bedchamber which
my aunt has been so kind as to allot to me. I
have a glimpse of the river and its woody banks ;
and very near my window there is a group of
laburnums, and an old fir-tree, in which there
are numbers of little birds, that I amuse myself
68
in watching. I am very fond of sitting in the
projecting bow window, also, at the end of the
library : I call it the poetical window, for all that
you see fronuit suits the feelings that descriptive
poetry excites.
By the way, I must say that I can read
THOMSON'S Seasons now, and other descriptive
poetry, with much more pleasure than I could
before I came to England, because so much of
the scenery described was unknown to me, and
so many of the rural occupations I had scarcely
seen.
I shall now remember, much better than I
used to do, some of your favourite descriptions,
that I have learned over and over again. My
aunt says, that it has been remarked, by a philo-
sopher who has written a most interesting book
on the human mind, that in descriptive poetry
we always remember best those scenes which
we can picture to ourselves. I am sure this is
the case ; for now, as I begin to understand the
allusions, it requires but little effort to recollect
those beautiful lines of Thomson on harvest-
home.
When I came here, several of the fields were
still unreaped : all is now cut, dried, drawn
home, and stacked ; and the fields only show,
by the yellow stubble remaining in the ground,
what treasures gilded the earth but a short time
since.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 69
All the farmers in this neighbourhood have
finished their harvest ; and my uncle took me
again to Farmer Moreland's, that I might see the
whole of the process. The stacks, I see, are placed
on stands, supported by stone pillars, with a pro-
jecting cap of flag-stone, so that the corn has a
free passage of air underneath, and is out ot the
reach of rats.
Farmer Moreland is one of the most comfort-
able farmers in this part of the country ; and,
being an old, experienced man, and very much
respected, he seems to be considered at the head
of the yeomanry.
Every year, when his great harvest is well
secured in his farmyard, he gives a feast to all
his labourers and the neighbouring farmers ; and,
when he saw that we were so much interested,
he very civilly said to my uncle, " If so be the
young ladies would like it, and if you have no
objection to a little mirth or so, they shall be
heartily welcome to see my harvest home, on
Saturday, at three o'clock."
We were all delighted to go, and have had a
lovely day for it. We walked through the little
beech-grove and the pretty fields to the farmer's ;
we found all his labourers and their families
assembled, dressed in their Sunday clothes. The
farmers' wives and daughters amused me by the
varieties in their dress ; some in fine flourishing
70
caps, with broad ribbons and borders, and flounces
in imitation of the Squire's lady ; and others,
plain, clean , and tidy.
There was a very plentiful dinner, set on tables
under a clump of trees ; and the good farmer
seemed to feel real delight in making his hard-
working labourers eat heartily. Two fiddlers
were playing all the time, to enliven them ; and
the ale and cider were abundantly circulated.
When the repast was finished, the more active
sports began ; and nothing could be prettier
than the different groups of dancers, or more
laughable than the attempts to jump through a
ring, and hop in a sack.
Under the trees, most of the older people sat
comfortably, talking ; though some, excited by
the general joy, took part in the dance, and
others presided at a wrestling match. Each of
those men who had been more particularly en-
gaged in getting in the harvest, had his hat
ornamented with a large bunch of wheat ; but
the leader, or captain of the sports, was actually
crowned with a whole sheaf. He was carried
round the tables on the shoulders of his comrades,
and the sports began by dancing round him in a
general ring ; at last he gave the signal, when
they suddenly separated, and each fixed on his
favourite damsel.
Dame Moreland gave us some nice syllabub ;
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 71
and, highly gratified with the whole scene, we
left her and her happy guests, in the midst of
their merriment.
My uncle met there an old acquaintance,
whom he had not seen or heard of for several
years. When he knew him, this gentleman was
in the fashionable world, but now he seems com-
pletely a farmer. He is much altered : my
uncle did not recollect him; but he had so
much the look and language of a gentleman,
that my uncle's attention was attracted. His
manner, to the inferior society he was with, was
mild and good humoured, without any appear-
ance of proud condescension, or of too great
familiarity. My uncle spoke of him two or
three times on our way home, as if he was
surprised at finding him in his present situation.
2Sth. Sunday. My uncle was speaking,
this mom ing, of the general character of the
Christian religion, as being so directly contrary
to fanaticism and imposture. This is particu-
larly marked, he says, by the manner in which it
explains the obligations that arise from the dif-
ferent relations of civil society. He remarked,
that " the chief object of every religious system,
founded on imposture, has been to use its spiri-
tual influence in acquiring political authority,
and to consecrate the legislator by investing him
with the sanctity of the priest or the prophet.
72
But Christianity, in this respect, in its original
simplicity, stands totally free from all suspicion.
The kingdom of our Saviour and his apostles
was, literallf, ' not of this world ; ' and in no
instance whatever did they claim or exercise
any degree of political power, or encroach, in
the least, on the authority of the magistrate.
Christianity released none from their duties,
public or domestic ; they were still to be dis-
charged by all persons, and not only with equal
fidelity, but with more exalted views ; no longer
' as pleasers of men, but as servants of God.'
" It seems almost surprising," said my aunt,
"that enthusiasm, or rather bigotry, should ever
have crept in amongst the professors of a religion
that is so mild and so moderate in all its doc-
trines."
" Every line of the gospel," said my uncle,
tf expresses the same calm and merciful spirit,
with which our Saviour checked the intemperate
zeal of his disciples, who would have called fire
from heaven on the Samaritans, for refusing to
receive him. And take notice, that his heavenly
wisdom not only prohibits every species of per-
secution, but reprobates all those overbearing
feelings which leads to discord of every kind.
How strongly do St. Paul's precepts enforce this
forbearing principle ! In the language of a
heart overflowing with benignity, he says, ' Why
dost thou judge thy brother; for we shall all
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 73
stand at the judgment-seat of God. We that
are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the
weak. Wherefore, receive ye one another as
Christ also received us.' "
I am very careful, dear Mamma, to write down
as much as I possibly can of our Sunday morn-
ing conversations, because I know they will in-
terest you particularly ; and it is very pleasant to
me to trace in these opinions of my uncle and
aunt the very same sentiments which you have
so often impressed on your little Bertha.
Aug. 29. My uncle went to-day to bespeak
some baskets from the blind man whom I men-
tioned before, and who I found out has a sick old
wife, who cannot get out of bed. We all begged
of course to accompany him. We found the old
man sitting on a little bench at his door, talking
earnestly to his daughter. She looked disturbed,
and when we spoke to her, I observed that her
colour rose and fell rapidly ; my uncle asked if
she was ill, or if we came at an inconvenient time ?
*' No, no, sir," said the old man. " Bessy, my
dear, go in and stay awhile with the old wife,
perhaps she may want you."
My uncle again said, " that he feared he inter-
rupted them."
" No, sir," said the blind man, ' you do not in-
terrupt us I must work, happen what may ; but
as you speak so kindly, sir, I will tell you how it
VOL. i. H
I
74
is: Bessy Grimley, sir," said he, "is not my
daughter I have none, sir ; but I will say no more
of that. It was the will of God to take all my
own from me, and I won't complain but Bessy
is as good a daughter to me as if she had been
my own. Some years ago, sir, her father was
one of my neighbours; he was Joe Grimley, that
you may have heard of, who kept the carrier's
inn, at the other side, near the town ; I lived
there at that time. Well, he broke, poor fel-
low, and had to go off in the night to hide
from his creditors his wife was taken ill that
same night, because of the fright, I believe.
She was put to bed, and had a fine little girl;
but she never did any good afterwards, and be-
fore a month was over she was gone. The poor
woman asked my wife to take care for a while of
her infant, till her husband was no longer under
a cloud ; and we promised it, sir, and have kept
our promise through all times, bad as well as
good. While we were well to do, she had her
share of all that my own had and then, when
times changed, we never forsook her. And now,
sir, you see she is every thing to us. When I
lost my sight, poverty came fast upon us my
wife soon after lost her health with grief, I be-
lieve, and can now do nothing. Our sons went
away to the wars, and died in the field of glory
our two daughters worked too hard, I believe
Alas ! sir, one after another declined away and
. UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 75
died. About four years ago, while Bessy was
still a young creature, for she is only twenty-one
now, a young man, a farmer's son, fancied her,
and wished to marry her ; but his father could
not give him sufficient maintenance, and the poor
girl had nothing you know. Young Franklin's
love for her was of the right sort ; he got his
father's consent, and he went off to America to
make a fortune. He went to the States, sir, and
there he found plenty of work, and high wages ;
and though he was rot naturally a thrifty lad, he
wisely laid by most of his earnings till he had
saved altogether a sufficient sum to buy a farm ;
and a few months ago, sir, Bessy had a letter
from him, long after, 1 believe, she had begun to
think he had forsaken her. He told her how he
had prospered, and that he was going to com-
plete the purchase of his land, and that he
hoped, if she was still constant, she would go out
to him ' if you will not come to me,' said he,
' I shall think that you never loved me, and I will
try to think of you no more if I can help it ;
but if you will come and be my wife, I will love
and cherish you, and besides, you shall live like
any lady in England.'
" Well, sir, the dear child would not leave us
my last daughter, my poor Jenny, had been,
taken a little before, and I knew not who to get
to live with us ; but I pressed Bessy to go at any
rate. * No, father,' said she, ' I owe every thing
H2
7G BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
to you and to mother you have nursed me
and bred me up, and you have taught me alii
know ; never, never will I forsake you, with
your infirmity, or leave poor helpless mother to
the care of a stranger. No, no, dear father, God
would not send his blessing upon me, if I did so.
Indeed, 1 never should be right happy with
James, if I forsook you : and if James Frank-
lin loves me, he will say I have done right.'
" I will not take up your time, sir, repeating all
the arguments J tried with her ; but I assure
you, I did my best to make her take the offer.
If you could but know how for months arid
months she has tended us patiently assisting the
poor old woman night and day, and bearing with
the crossness that a suffering creature will some-
times shew often watching by her half the
night always ready in the morning to prepare
our meals many a time assisting me at my work
and besides, sharing our want of comfort, sir,
for often we be hard put to it for a meal. Sir,
she does it all with cheerfulness and kindness,
and never did I hear a word of complaint from
her. She works hard with her needle, too, to help
to support us, and never seems to think of the
riches offered to her. But now, sir, mark this
I have lived long, and I never saw it happen,
that people who acted with a hearty desire of
pleasing God, were left without reward. The
religion that makes us do what is good, that is,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 77
what I call true religion, sir, always brings happi-
ness, somehow or other, with it.
61 But I was a going to say, that this day my
poor Bessy had a letter from James, telling her,
that from some delay in the business, he had not
bought the farm he intended when he received
her refusal to go out to him. He says, c he felt
a little angry at first ; but he found he could not
help loving her the better, and that he would
bring his money to England, and be content
with a smaller farm, near her own friends, and
only work the harder for his excellent Bessy.'
He expected to be here about this time ; and
what between this sudden news, and the hope of
so soon seeing him, and her joy at his constancy,
she is a little unsettled, sir, to-day. But I pray
God to give them happiness together, and reward
her with children that will be to her, what she
has been to me."
I have tried to tell you this story in his own
words, as well as I could. As soon as my uncle
had bespoken the baskets, we came away ; but
he desired to be told when Franklin comes. He
was very much touched with the poor man's ac-
count of all Bessy's goodness, so much, indeed,
that even in repeating it to my aunt, when we
came home, his voice quite faltered.
3()th. I have just chanced to discover that
the bird which Dr, Buchanan described as
H 3
78
fastening the fire-fly to its nest, is the Bengal
grossbeak. It is very common in Hindostan,
where its Hindu name is bay a. It is remark-
able for its sagacity, its pendent nest, and its
brilliant plumage*.
It is described to be like a sparrow in shape,
and in the colour of the back ; but the head and
breast are yellow. These birds make a chirping
noise ; but have no song. They associate in
large communities, and cover extensive clumps
of acacia and Indian fig-trees with their nests;
and also the palmeira, or wild date, on the leaves
of which the Bengalese children learn to write.
They prefer those trees which hang over a rivulet :
the nest is made of long grass, which they weave
almost like cloth, in the form of a large bottle. It
is divided into three chambers, and is suspended
firmly to a flexible branch, with the neck down-
wards, so as to secure the eggs and young from
serpents, monkeys, squirrels, and birds of prey.
The eggs of this little bird resemble large pearls.
The baya is wonderfully sensible, faithful, and
docile, and never voluntarily deserts the place
where its young were hatched. It is easily
tamed, and taught to perch on the hand of its
master ; and may be taught to fetch a piece of
paper, or any small thing that he points out ;
and so great is its quickness and dexterity, that
* See Forbes' Oriental Memoirs, and Asiatic Researches.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 79
if a ring be dropped into a deep well, the bird
will dart down, with such amazing celerity, as to
catch the ring before it touches the water, and
bring it up with apparent exultation.
A singular instance of its docility was fre-
quently witnessed by the writer of this account.
The young Hindu women, at Benares, wear thin
plates of gold, called ticas, slightly fixed, by way
of ornament, between their eye-brows. Mis-
chievous young men train the bayas to go, at a
signal given them, and pluck the pieces of gold
from the foreheads of the women, as they pass
through the streets, and bring them to their
employers. They do not sing, but when as-
sembled together, on a tree, they make a lively
din or chirping ; their want of musical talent,
however, is compensated by their sagacity, in
which they are not excelled by any feathered
inhabitant of the forest.
There is another species of this family,
found in Madagascar, which is sometimes called
the toddy bird ; it is very like the one I have
described, and fastens its bag, or nest, which is
made of straw and seeds, in the same manner,
to a branch, over a stream. Though it builds
a fresh nest every year, it does not abandon the
old nest, but fastens the new one to the end of
the last; so that sometimes five may be seen
hanging one from the other. They build in
80 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
society like rooks, five or six hundred nests being
often found on one tree.
Tell Marianne not to confound the tailor bird
with these, as^I did, for it is quite different of
a different family, and very superior to the baya
in beauty ; it even resembles some of our hum-
ming birds in shape and colour. There is the
prettiest mixture in the male bird, of blue, pur-
ple, green, and gold. In order to conceal its
nest, it first selects a plant, or bush, with large
leaves, then gathers cotton, spins it into a thread,
by means of its long bill and slender feet, and
sews the leaves neatly together, as if with a
needle j so that its nest is joined to one leaf, and
covered over by the other.
3\.st. Mary has been a very patient arith-
metical mistress 5 I have endeavoured to be very
diligent, and we are both now rewarded, she says,
by my progress. I begin to understand the
reason of each process, and there is some hope,
therefore, of conquering my difficulties. My
uncle said, I ought to trample on them and I
resolved to do so like the boy, without a genius,
in " Evenings at Home."
My uncle frequently puts arithmetical questions
to us, which we work in our minds, without the
aid of pencil or paper. This requires some ex-
ertion, and was very difficult at first ; but I
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 81
already perceive that my attention is much more
under command than formerly. Clearness and
quickness, in arithmetic, he thinks, are not only
useful for the management of our common do-
mestic affairs, but improve and strengthen our
reasoning powers.
We pass our time here in a delightful manner
there is such a nice mixture of amusement
and useful employment. My cousins read a
great deal, and have much real knowledge. Ac-
complishments are not neglected ; but my aunt
thinks that most people make them of too much
importance, as they should be the ornament, not
the object of our life. Mary says she considers
the various things she learns, not as tasks, but
as the means of enabling her to get through the
business of life with pleasure and success ; and
that were she to call them lessons, she should
feel as if they were to be laid aside with child-
hood.
That reminds me of what my uncle said just
after I came here. " At your age, Bertha, all
you learn must be voluntarily acquired, not ham-
mered into your head. Whether it be science,
or history, or languages whatever you learn,
try to feel an interest in it ; you will then apply
with energy, and what is acquired in that way
will always be liked. Music and drawing are
valuable pleasures ; but they are only pleasures "
82 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
never forget that your mind is to be cultivated ;
and that if a part of each day be not employed
on objects of a higher and more useful nature,
you are only^preparing yourself for a trifling,
selfish life."
I shall think of this advice every day, but I
assure you, dear Mamma, that I will not neglect
any of those things you used to encourage me
to learri.
My cousins have no governess, and yet my
aunt says, she has never found teaching them
by any means laborious. She says, the chief
part of education is to make children compre-
hend the difference between right and wrong
to teach them self-command and to give them
a love for rational occupation ; and then they
do not require to be watched. You would be
surprised to see how much they accomplish in
the course of the day ; and yet they always
seem at liberty; everything is done methodi-
cally. Besides their regular employments,
many things are done privately without any
show ; such as visiting the poor and attending
a school for poor children, which my aunt has
established. It is in a small white cottage,
about five minutes walk from the shrubbery.
My aunt, or my cousins, visit it frequently and
I go there sometimes. I forgot to tell you in
the right place, that I sing every day. We are
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 83
all three, just now, learning the glee of " Hark
the Lark," that we may sing it on my uncle's
birth-day. Caroline takes the tenor she has a
very good voice.
Sept. 1. Last night, my uncle read a para-
graph to us, from Ker Porter's travels, as a cu-
rious instance of the permanence of customs, in
countries where the indolence of the inhabitants
and a despotic government are continual obsta-
cles to improvement.
<e The Tigris is navigable for vessels of twenty
tons burthen, only sixty miles above Bagdad ;
but there is also a kind of float called a kclek,
having been in very ancient use, which carries
both passengers and merchandise, from Mosoul
to Bagdad. Its construction is singular ; con-
sisting of a raft in the form of a parallelogram.
The trunks of two large trees, crossing each
other, are the foundation of its platform, which
is composed of branches of osier. To this light
bottom are attached several sheepskins, filled
with air, and so arranged, that they can be re-
plenished at will. The whole is wattled and
bound together with wicker work ; and a raised
parapet of the same secures the passengers.
It is moved by two large oars, one on each side,
and a third acts as the rudder.
" When these machines reach their place of
84
destination, and the cargo is disposed of, all the
materials are sold, except the skins, which, being
previously exhausted of air, are laid on the backs
of camels, and return to Mosoul with their
masters.
" But the kelek is not the only vessel on these
rivers, which may be traced to antiquity. The
kufa, so named from an Arabic word that means
basket, is still used there as a ferry-boat. Its
fabric is of close willow work, and a good coat
of bitumen completely secures it from sinking.
Perfectly circular, it resembles a large bowl on
the surface of the stream ; it holds about three
or four persons, though not very agreeably ; and
is paddled across with ease.
" Herodotus," my uncle added, " exactly
describes these boats ; he notices their circular
form, the three oars, and their construction of
willows and skins, and he mentions, that on their
arrival in Babylon, the owners sold all the ma-
terials, except the skins, which were returned to
Armenia by land. And it is a very curious
testimony to the truth of that historian, that
after the lapse of twenty -two centuries, we find
the same customs and the same implements that
he described, still in use."
" But is it not more extraordinary, uncle,"
said I, " that the people of those countries have
not adopted boats like ours, which would convey
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 85
themselves and the rich merchandise of the east,
so much more securely ?"
<{ I do not think," replied he, " that it is very
extraordinary, for we must consider, in the first
place, that to build vessels like ours, would be
too hazardous an exertion for a people who are
governed despotically, and who can never feel
secure of the possession of their property. And
as to your ' rich merchandise of the east,' you
will not find much of that in the neighbourhood
of Bagdad at present ; you read of such in the
Arabian tales but nothing remains now, but
the misery, the decay, and the desolation, which
were so often foretold by the prophets."
2d. I now perceive the meaning of the last
part of Thomson's description of happy Harvest
Home
Thus they rejoice : nor think
That with to-morrow's sun their annual toil
Begins again the never-ceasing round.
For no sooner is that event over, than the la-
bourer begins the preparations fora future harvest.
The ploughs are all at work to-day, and I see
the fields which have but just yielded up their
rich burden, again prepared to receive the seeds
of another crop. But this, my uncle says, is ge-
nerally of a different species from the last, in order
to make a change in the nature of the nourish-
ment drawn from the soil. The ploughing in
8G BERTHA'S VISIT TO TIER
of the old stubble enriches the ground, or some
other manure is added ; and, indeed, I see it
is, as he says, {C a continual chain of produc-
tion and repioduction." In some parts of the
country, wheat is not sown till early in spring ;
but this depends on the nature of the soil. Oats
are always sown in spring, but that grain is not
commonly cultivated in this part of the
country.
" The rich soil, then, of Gloucestershire, is
better suited to the food of man, than to the
food of horses ?" said I to my uncle. " Yes,"
he replied, " if you mean oats, by what you call
the food of horses ; but I assure you, that in a
considerable part of Great Britain, the oat is
the chief food of man and most happily for
him, he can live on it. In the cold hills of the
Highlands of Scotland and in the poor soil of
parts of England and Ireland, the oat thrives
better than wheat, and not being put into the
ground till the depth of winter is past, it is less
liable to be injured by the effects of frost and
damp. Barley, too, has this merit of growing in
poor or rather in light soils, and of supplying food
for numbers."
I told my uncle that I was very desirous of
learning something of agriculture. He advised
me to observe the various operations of husban-
dry myself. " When you are interested in the
progress of the work," he said, " you will find
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 87
it easy to comprehend the principles ; far better
than if I were to give you a lecture every day on
the subject.
" Now is the time to begin. The harvest,
you see, is safely lodged, and that of the coming
year is preparing. In the warmer regions of the
earth, a very slight degree of cultivation is suffi-
cient ; and the natural sloth of man is encouraged
by the small quantity of labour necessary to till
the earth. Here, however, that is not the case :
our climate is so uncertain, that constant labour
is necessary to success ; and in every season of
the year, some operations in husbandry are going
on. The farmer must be at all times alert, either
to prepare for something that is to be done, or
to watch his growing crops, and help their pro-
gress by hoeing, weeding, earthing, and many
other processes ; but then he has, at all times,
the enjoyment that labour brings with it, and
the happiness which arises from industry. His
best feelings, too, are excited, for he receives,
with a grateful heart, the success with which
Providence blesses his labours; or, if they fail
if the season is unfavourable, and blights his
hopes, he learns to bear with humble submis-
sion, and sees that even the best human skill
requires aid from Him who is Lord over the
elements."
3d, Another letter from Hertford rejoiced
88
all our eyes yesterday. My aunt is so pleased
with his journal, that she is sure you will like it
too ; and I have copied a large piece for you,
dear mamma.*
" The Isle of Sky has very much interested
me. Sky is the Scandinavian word for clouds.
It is the Isle of Mist of the Gaelic poet. The
whole island is extremely hilly, and in the north-
east part of it the mountains are very picturesque,
the rocks and cliffs often assuming a variety
of forms, like castles and towers. One remark-
able rock, which is said to be 160 feet high,
represents a spire so exactly, that it is so called
by seamen, to whom it is a well-known sea
mark.
" The cliffs, on the eastern side of the promon-
tory of Strathaird, contain a number of caves,
one of which has been celebrated in history for
having been amongst the places where Prince
Charles concealed himself. We visited another,
which is called the Spar Cave. The entrance
is formed K y a narrow fissure in the cliff, which,
for the first hundred feet, is dark and wet : then
comes a steep acclivity ; but that once sur-
mounted, the whole interior comes into view,
covered with stalactites, disposed in a variety of
grotesque forms, and rising to the height of
upwards of forty feet. In the floor there are
numerous little pools, which are filled with
groups of crystals, in a state of constant aug-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 89
mentation, and which afforded us a gratifying
opportunity of seeing the process by which cal-
careous spar is formed.
" The coast scenery is, in many parts, very
sublime. A series of columnar cliffs stretches
to Loch Staffin, presenting the general features
of the ranges of Staffa, but on a scale of five or
six times the magnitude.' In one place, these
rocks represent a circular temple, of Greek archi-
tecture, so exactly, that the artist, in sketching
it, might be accused of forcing nature into the
forms of art. The detached state in which many
slender groups remain, after the surrounding
parts have fallen away, is a singular circum-
stance, that sometimes occurs among these
columnar ranges. From their mode of wasting,
the summits of the cliffs are frequently crowned
with pinnacles ; and, in some instances, single
columns are seen, in front of the colonnade,
appearing like the remains of a ruined portico.
One of the most remarkable appears to be about
200 feet in height ; its lower part clustered, and
the pillars terminating in succession upwards,
till a single one remains standing alone, for the
height of thirty or forty feet, and apparently not
more than four or five in diameter.
<c There is a cascade here, which is very
striking, from the unbroken manner in which it
falls over a perpendicular cliff, not less than 300
feet in height ; but when the squalls, which
J 3
90 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
blow from the mountains in this stormy region,
are violent, very little of the falling water reaches
the waves below.
" We then* visited Loch Scavig ; and after
passing the river which runs foaming over a
rock into the sea, a long valley suddenly opens,
enclosing the beautiful lake Cornisk, on the
black surface of which a few islands, covered
with grass and juniper, form a striking contrast
to the absence of all verdure around.
" It is an exquisitely savage scene, and was
to me particularly interesting, because I had
lately read again the Lord of the Isles ; and
here I beheld the truth of its descriptions, and
felt anew the sadness and horror of the death
of Allan. We often stopped, on our return, to
admire the effects of the storms. Stones, or
rather large masses of rock, of a composite kind,
quite different from the strata of the lake, were
scattered on the rocky beach. Some lay loose,
and tottering upon the ledges of the natural rock,
so that the slightest push moved them, though
their weight might exceed many tons. The
opposite side of the lake is pathless and inac-
cessible, and the eye rests on nothing but barren,
naked crags, though of sublime grandeur, Indeed,
our favourite Scott says, truly
For rarely human eye has known
A scene so stern as that dread lake,
With its dark ledge of barren stone.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 91
The wildest glen, but this, can show
Some touch of Nature's genial glow.
But here above, around, below,
On mountain or in glen,
Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower,
Nor aught of vegetative power,
The weary eye may ken ;
For all is rock, at random thrown,
Black waves, bare crags, and banks of stone,
As if were here denied
The summer's sun, the spring's sweet dew,
That clothe, with many a varied hue,
The bleakest mountain-side *.
4A. Sunday. My uncle read some parts to
us, this morning, of a book which he likes very
much " Sumner on the Ministerial Character
of Christ." I intend soon to read it. There was
a curious fact mentioned in the part my uncle
chose, which, however, must be well authenti-
catedj or Sumner would not have given it.
In speaking of the gradual manner by which
converts were taught the truths and mysteries of
the Gospel, he says that the Catechumens were
not permitted to say the Lord's Prayer till after
they had been baptised, and had therefore been
thoroughly instructed in the Gospel. The Chris-
tian converts, he says, were divided into the
Catechumens, or learners, and the Fideles, or
believers ; and there was a great distinction
maintained between these classes, in the pri-
mitive church. The Catechumens were allowed
* Lord of the Isles, c, iii.
92
to hear the Scriptures, as well as the popular
discourses upon them, and upon points of mora-
lity ; but it was not till after baptism, when those
converts becanfe Fideles, that they were allowed
to partake of the Lord's Supper. Another pri-
vilege was, to join with the ministers in all the
prayers of the church. More particularly, the
use of the Lord's Prayer was only permitted to
the Fideles ; it was considered an honour, to be
conferred only on the most perfect Christians,
to be allowed to use it ; and it Avas therefore
called, by some of the Fathers, " the prayer of
the believers."
After my uncle had finished reading what I
have only written here from memory, we had
some conversation on the subject of early reli-
gious instruction ; for a lady was present who
disapproved extremely of not teaching the Lord's
Prayer to little children, as soon as they could
speak. "It is so pretty," said she, <f to hear
them lisp out prayer and praise."
" Yes," said my aunt, " if they understand
what they lisp ; but if they do not, I consider it
as a sort of profanation."
(i And would you not teach children to pray
while they are young?"
" I do teach them to pray," replied my aunt,
" but only in the most simple manner, so that
their little minds may accompany their words,
and that they may not acquire an early habit of
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 93
inattention, from repeating phrases which they
do not comprehend."
" You know, my dear Madam," said my uncle,
" that in education nothing should be done with-
out object. Let us consider the object of teaching
a young child to pray : is it not to give it an
early feeling of devotion, and to implant the seed
of what we hope will grow and ripen with the
child's increasing strength?"
" Oh! surely, that, you know, is what I mean,"
said the lady.
" Therefore," said my uncle, " I would en-
deavour to lead the little heart to rational prayer,
and to real piety, by teaching it only what suits
its comprehension, and never suffering it to
repeat, by rote, what it cannot distinctly follow."
" Then I suppose," said she, " that you would
not take children to church."
" Certainly not, while their minds are still in
an infantine state."
" We have never taken any of our children to
church," said my aunt, " till they had obtained
a certain portion of religious knowledge. The
consequence has been what we expected ; for I
must say, that our children are not only remark-
ably attentive to the service of the church, but
do, I believe, really join in it with their hearts."
The lady appeared to be satisfied ; and my
uncle, turning to me, said, <e Bertha, my dear,
pray tell your mother what we have just been
94 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
saying. Many years ago she convinced me of
the justice of these ideas ; your aunt and I have
adopted them from her ; and you will judge for
yourself as to* our success."
I have written this conversation as well as I
can remember it ; and I may add, dear Mamma,
that nothing can be more just than what is said
of my cousins, for they are truly religious, but
without any show or ostentation. Some day I
will send you the nice simple prayers which
have been composed for little Grace.
5th. Besides the two species of the little bird
that builds pendulous nests, which I have already
mentioned in my journal, my aunt has just told
me of another, the Sociable grossbeak. It is
about the size of a bulfmch, brown and yellow,
and is found in the interior country at the Cape
of Good Hope. Its habits were thus described
to my aunt :
These birds live together in large societies,
and build in a species of acacia, which grows
to an uncommon size ; they seem to select
it on account of its strong branches, which
are able to support their extensive buildings,
and also for its tall, smooth trunk, which
their great enemies, the monkey tribes, are
unable to climb. In the tree described to my
aunt, there could not have been fewer than
eight hundred birds residing under a single roof,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 95
which appears like thatch, and projects over the
nestSj and is so smooth and steep that no reptiles
can approach them. The industry of these birds
is equal to that of the bee : throughout the day
they appear to be busily employed in carrying a
fine species of grass, which is the principal mate-
rial they employ in the construction of this
extraordinary work, as well as for repairs and
additions.
It appears that, as they increase annually in
numbers, they join nest to nest, till at last the
bough on which they have built gives way under
their weight, and they are forced to seek for a
new dwelling. One of these deserted colonies
was examined, and found to be as ingeniously
contrived within as without. The entrances
formed a regular street, with nests on both sides,
at about two inches distance from each other ;
and it was evident, from the appearance, that a
part of it had been inhabited for many years.
The grass with which they build is called Bosh-
man's grass, and its seed is their principal food ;
but the remains of insects, found in their nests,
prove that they prey on them also.
6th. I wonder, dear Mamma, whether it is
as difficult to others, as it is to me, to lay aside
old habits. I must acknowledge, that I have
been of late too much addicted to lying in bed,
and have quite disgraced myself, after having for
96
some time made great efforts. It is a strange
sort of indolence that chains me down, and
makes me delay, from moment to moment, the
trifling exertion of jumping up ; it is not sleep,
for I am generally awake, merely thinking, in a
confused sort of way, of things that are past, or
things that I intend to do. My aunt says, that
were I asleep all the morning, she would not
then struggle against my habits, for my consti-
tution might require sleep ; but I have not that
excuse to plead.
When I do get up early, there is no time of
the day that I enjoy so much. The brightness
of the morning sun makes the dewy trees and
grass look so beautiful ; and then the birds seem
so happy, and so active, in the sweet fresh air.
These are pleasures that 1 knew not till I came
to England, and they are every day within my
reach. I have determined not to let them slip
iiny more. You have often told me of the danger
of giving way to bad habits, but nothing teaches
one so forcibly as experience.
My aunt and uncle are both of them early
risers ; and they consider it of great importance
that young people should so manage their time
as to have some part of every morning to employ
in serious reading. " I wish my little Bertha,"
said he, " to bestow ample time on the neat-
ness and propriety of her dress ; but it is still
more necessary that she should never feel in
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 97
the least hurried in the performance of those
religious exercises with which every day should
begin, and which should be gone through with
calmness and leisure before she joins the family
circle at breakfast, and before the cares or plea-
sures of the day mix with her graver thoughts."
They spoke to me very kindly on this subject
yesterday, and I think and hope that I shall not
again shew myself unmindful of their advice.
I have consulted Caroline about it. I find
that she and Mary are always up early, and
are seriously engaged for a part of the morning.
Caroline is indeed an extremely early riser,
and she has engaged to rouse me regularly at a
reasonable hour. She began this morning, and
to encourage me, she read a pretty little poem
on early rising. By copying it for Marianne, I
shall recollect it the better.
Good morn, good mornsee the sweet light breaking,
.O'er hill and dale to greet thy waking !
The dark grey clouds are flitting away,
And the young sun sheds forth a twilight ray ;
And an halo of bloom is in the skies,
Yet the night of slumber is on thine eyes.
The dew lies fresh on the opening flower,
And sweetly cool is the youthful hour;
And the birds are twittering their tender song
The bright and weeping boughs among ;
And all seems fresh and with rapture rife,
While wakening into conscious life.
Oh, rouse thee! rouse thee ! the precious time
Is fleeting fast and merrily chime
The morning bells ; and the beautiful view
Thy touch should, arrest, is fading too I
K
98
The glow of the cloud is darkening fast,
And the sunny mist is almost past ;
And thy lyre is lying all unstrung ;
And thy matin hymn is still unsung;
And thy lip i mute, and thy knee unbending,
Nor is yet the sweet prayer to heaven ascending.
What ! slumbering still ! Arise, arise !
For thy lively dreams are fantasies,
And mock thy waking ; but come with me
And listen to life's reality.
And come and muse on that deeper sleep,
O'er which Hope will her silent vigils keep,
And soothe and shield with her guardian wing
The Spirit's secret fluttering ;
And lead it on to that brighter day,
Which knows no evening and no decay.
7th. My uncle says, that agriculture is only
gardening on an enlarged scale ; and that all the
implements are only magnified garden tools.
The sharp edge of the sloping ploughshare
turns up the earth in the same manner as the
spade, which is put into the ground in a slanting
direction ; but the plough being drawn by ani-
mals, whose strength is far superior to that of
man, in a few hours the earth is separated and
thrown back 5 in a space that, to be dug, must
have occupied days.
The harrow is only a large rake, and is useful,
not only in breaking the clods of earth, but in
covering over the newly sown seeds. What use-
ful inventions were these machines, and all the
improvements that have been made in them !
My uncle explained to me, that vegetation is
the common source from whence all animals
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 99
derive their food ; either at once, from the
growing plant, or at second hand from their prey,
who had been nourished by it ; and that vegeta-
bles, in their turn, live on all that has already
lived and vegetated. There is a continual suc-
cession of production and decay ; for it is by
decay, and the decomposition that follows, that
nature restores to the ground those substances of
which it is robbed by vegetation.
But when the produce of the soil is removed
for the use of man, and not left to immediate
decay, the agriculturist is obliged to assist nature,
by supplying other decayed vegetable matter, or
else, by mixing it with some artificial manure.
To do this more effectually, people are obliged
to study the principles of the different soils, in
order to know what species of manure should
be applied to fertilize, or to correct them ; to
render one, for instance, more alkaline, or to
lessen the siliceous nature of another. Even
rest restores to the earth some of its productive
powers; and when it is ploughed up, and long
exposed in what is called a fallow, the air has
considerable influence in improving it.
This led to a conversation on the many varie-
ties of soils ; and my uncle says I shall become
acquainted with them in time. They are all
well known to good farmers, who can thereby
determine what crops are adapted to each.
Who could have thought, Mamma, that all this
K 2
100
skill and knowledge was necessary to a common
farmer ! I imagined that any one could sow
what seed he chose, and then reap and gather
the produce ;but as to feeding the earth in re-
turn for the nourishment drawn from it, I cannot
say that ever entered my head. So, you see,
that I have learned something to-day some-
thing real, Mamma.
Qth.~ My uncle has been very much interested
in the account which Ker Porter gives of Ba-
bylon, in his second volume, and has been so
kind as to read to us the description of what
this great city was, when at the summit of its
glory ; and what it is now, and has been for
so many ages.
According to Herodotus, the walls of this
prodigious city were sixty miles in length, and
formed a square of fifteen miles each way, in
which gardens, lawns, and groves were included.
They were built of large bricks, cemented to-
gether with bitumen, and, he says, were 350 feet
high, and 87 feet thick, and protected on the out-
side by a vast ditch, lined with the same mate-
rials. There were 25 gates of solid brass on each
side, and from every gate a street of 150 feet
wide crossed the city to the opposite gate. Ac-
cording to his description, the temples, palaces,
and hanging gardens were equally wonderful.
A branch of the Euphrates flowed through the
UNCLJi/aN ENGLAND. ]Q1
city, from north to south. To prevent this great
river from overflowing, it was confined by walls
or quays of brick ; and while these were build-
ing, the course of the river was turned into a
basin, forty miles square, and thirty-five feet
deep, which had been cut for the purpose of re-
ceiving it.
The wealth, and power, and grandeur of this
magnificent city, is strongly expressed in the
Scriptures, where it is spoken of as " The lady
of kingdoms given to pleasure, that dwellest care-
lessly, and sayestin her heart, 1 am, and there is
none beside me."
Among its vast buildings, was the Tower of
Babel, erected ages before, by Nimrod, on the
plain of Shinaar a pyramid, or rather a moun-
tain of masonry in that form, and on which
it is supposed that, in after ages, Nebuchad-
nezzar raised the temple of Belus. This temple
was of such prodigious magnitude, that having
been destroyed by Xerxes, it cost Alexander, who
intended to rebuild it, the labour of 1600 men
for two months, in merely removing the rubbish
caused by its destruction.
Of all these immense buildings, the traces can
now be scarcely distinguished ; confused heaps
of bricks extending many miles, and grown over
with grass, still exercise the ingenuity of travel-
lers and antiquaries. In this dreary waste, there
are, however, three very conspicuous mounds.
102 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
The principal one, now called the Birs Nimrod,
is supposed to be the temple of Belus. Ker
Porter says that, in passing this barren tract,
his eyes rangwl on all sides, for something to
point out the remains of this once imperial city ;
but all was withered and gone, and comparatively
level with the horizon, except where the gigantic
Birs Nimrod presented itself, " standing in the
solitary waste, like the awful figure of Prophecy,
pointing to the fulfilment of her word."
The two other mounds of ruins are supposed
to be the citadel and the palace. The former is
of an oblong shape, and flat at the summit ; and
several excavations which have been made in it by
the Turks, when searching for hidden treasures,
are now occupied by wild beasts. In his second
visit, his party suddenly halted, on seeing several
objects moving about the summit, which they at
first imagined to be Arabs ; but which were soon
discovered to be lions.
What numerous reflections this sight must have
produced ! Those savage animals thus wander-
ing amidst the towers of Babylon, and dwelling
within the cavities of her once magnificent
palaces, proved how faithfully the prophecies
had been fulfilled, which relate to her fall, and
how exactly the words of Isaiah have been veri
fied, " wild beasts of the desert shall lie down
there, and the houses shall be full of doleful
creatures "
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 103
Among the fragments, and elevated on a sort
of ridge, he found the famous solitary tree which
has escaped the general destruction. It bears
the marks of almost as great antiquity in its ap-
pearance as tradition gives it. The Arabs call
it athelg, but its species was quite unknown to
him ; the trunk must have been enormous, and
now, though hollow and shattered, it supports
very large spreading branches, which are adorned
with tress-like tendrils resembling heron fea-
thers. These long and delicate tendrils bend
towards the ground, like a weeping willow, and
while gently waving in the wind, they make a
low melancholy sound.
The Euphrates wanders in solitude through
this desolate region, its banks are covered with
reeds, and now unrestrained by its former stately
quays, it annually overflows the country ; pro-
ducing high rank grass, and leaving stagnant
pools and swamps among the hollows of the ad-
jacent plain. Ct I will make thee a possession
for the bittern, and pools of water."
Upon the whole, though so little remains to
point out the several parts of this once stupen-
dous city, there is enough to convince the atten-
tive examiner, that he is on the very spot
where the hand of God wrote on the wall the
awful and well known denunciation against Ba-
bylon !
u How the scene is now changed ! At that
104 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
time these broken hills were palaces these long
undulating mounds were streets and this deso-
late solitude was filled with the busy subjects of
the proud daughter of the East."
My dear Mamma, I hope you will not think
that I fill up my journal with too long extracts ;
but I was so much interested in all that relates
to Babylon, that I could not deny myself the
pleasure of copying some parts of this great book,
\vhich I am sure will not for a long time make
its way to Rio.
Sept. 9. Do you recollect, dear Mamma, that
I mentioned in my journal about a fortnight ago,
my uncle's surprise at meeting an old acquaint-
ance at the harvest home, who, when he formerly
knew him, was in the gay world ; and who,
it then seemed very improbable would have to
lead a rural life, and to associate with plain far-
mers ? My uncle's notice was attracted by his
very gentlemanlike air, even in the homely dress
of a farmer ; and when he discovered who he
was, he doubted at first whether he should address
him, as he feared that the evident change in his
situation might make it disagreeable to him to be
recognised. However, they did renew their ac-
quaintance, and my uncle obtained permission
to wait on him.
He rode to see him in a few clays, and was
much charmed with the neatness of his farm
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 105
and cottage, and, indeed, with all his family.
He lives on the borders of the forest, as well as
my uncle, but at a distance of several miles
from this place. My uncle gave us a little
sketch of his history in the evening, as nearly in
his own words as he could ; and he was so kind
as to permit me to tell it to you, because he
thinks you once knew this gentleman yourself.
I have never heard his name, se I do not know
what to call him ; and I will try to write it just
as my uncle repeated it to us :
" At the period that you knew me," said he,
tl I was moving in the most fashionable circles,
occupied by the world, and all its silly amuse-
ments, and without any other object than to
amuse away my idle life. I travelled on the
continent I afterwards went into the army ; but
at home or abroad, I was pursued by that ennui
which is always the consequence of idleness. I
need not recount to you, sir, all the extravagant
follies I committed in search of pleasure, that
brilliant, but deceitful phantasm, which leads us
into error, and betrays us to disappointment.
" From the time that I was a schoolboy,
pleasure had been my only object; the mistaken
indulgence of my parents increased the fault, and
diminished the enjoyment ; for it left me no diffi-
culties to overcome no efforts to make. My
father was rich, and profusely generous to me ;
and though I was the second son, I knew that
106 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
my mother intended to bequeath me her estate,
which was in her own power.
"At last I grew tired of idle prosperity; I
sighed for novelty to relieve me from the burden
of time ; and I sometimes felt that I had a mind
capable of more than had hitherto occupied it.
Having gone with some of my friends to shoot on
my mother's property of Strath-morton, I was at-
tacked by a feverish and tedious cold ; and as my
gay associates left me when I could no longer
join in their pursuits, I had abundant leisure for
reflection. The good-natured old steward was
my principal visiter, and his conversation gene-
rally turned on the miseries of not having a resi-
dent master at Strath-morton ; for my father and
mother always resided at their place in Sussex;
and a poor tenantry and impoverished land were
of course the effect. This led me to think of my
insignificant life. I began to wish for the variety
of being useful ; and at last I determined to be-
come an active country-gentleman, in order to
become of consequence, as well as for the plea-
sure of having a new object. The motives were
undoubtedly erroneous; but I tell them, sir, in
order to shew you the progress of my mind.
" I readily obtained my father's permission to
make Strath-morton my abode ; and with his
sanction, I entered on my new life as soon as
it was possible to make my arrangements. The
novelty alone could at first have r uade me endur
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 107
it; but I found a sort of pleasure that seemed
extraordinary at the time ; and in the course of
a few months I had, with the natural energy of
my character, quite devoted myself to my new
occupations. My mother was gratified to see me
interested in the place that was to become mine ;
and full powers were given me to thin the ancient
woods, to make whatever changes I pleased, and
to lay out money to a considerable amount in
improving the estate, which had been much neg-
lected. By degrees, the increase of knowledge,
and the encouragement of a little success, made
these employments become less irksome; and I
began to feel a real interest for the tenants and
labourers. I found that I could easily promote
their comfort ; I felt that I was of consequence,
and I began to enjoy all the pleasures of assisting
the industrious.
" I had been attached to a young lady whom I
had known in London only. I knew that, though
fashionable, she was well principled, clever, and
literary, and I imagined that I was equally well
acquainted with all her tastes. We married : I
expected her to be perfect ; and when I brought
her early in the summer to Strath-morton, I an-
ticipated the delight of having a companion to
sympathize with, and to assist me in the plans to
which I had devoted myself. Judge then of my
disappointment at finding, that she had no taste
108 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
for a real country life, and disliked its mono-
tonous occupations. For some time, however, we
lived happily, till I lost my kind, indulgent father,
who was succeeded in his honours and estates
by my brother ; and as I perceived that my ex-
pensive improvements could not well be conti-
nued, now that I had no longer my father's
wealth to support them, I took that opportunity
to indulge my wife in a visit to the continent.
" On our return to England, my mother was
apparently in health, but in a few weeks she was
suddenly seized with a severe illness, and died
before she could collect her thoughts sufficiently
to arrange her affairs. Forgetful of the uncer-
tainty of life, she had made no will ; and her
estate, which 1 had long considered as my own,
was inherited by my brother as heir at law.
" What was now to become of us ? My father,
anxious to preserve the wealth of the head of the
family, and knowing that Strath-morton was to
be mine, had left me but a very small property ;
and as my brother was not sufficiently convinced
of what had been my mother's intentions, he re-
tained her estate. My wife's fortune had been
small. In short, we were suddenly reduced from
the thoughtlessness of affluence, to absolute po-
verty. I might, perhaps, have obtained some
employment, which would have just enabled us
to live ; but I was not much inclined to take up
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 109
my abode in London, in so different a style from
that in which I had always appeared there.
Vanity and pride survive all the other passions
and my country life had rather increased than
subdued them. However, though painful to me
to return to London, I determined to do so, if
my wife approved ; and I left all to her decision ;
I knew she did not love the country, and I an-
ticipated that her sentence would be some hard-
working office for the rest of my life.
<c But I little knew the soundness of my wife's
judgment, and her generous forgetfulness of self.
Her decision was soon made ; * In our circum-
tances,' she said, * and for our children's sake, a
laborious country life will be vastly preferable to
the confined, and not less laborious, situation of a
clerk, or some such thing in town ; we can more
easily submit to deprivations, and shall be better
able to support and assist each other's toils.' I
reminded her that she disliked the country * Oh,'
said she, ' think no more of those fancies ; it is
on ourselves alone, and not on the gratifications of
either town or country that our happiness must
now depend. Let us take a small farm let us
be really farmers. You will be able to apply the
agricultural knowledge you have acquired ; and
I will not neglect my part. Our children must
be bred up usefully they will not be accom-
plished but what does that signify ? they will
VOL. I. L
110 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
be our real comforts, and we can teach them real
virtues.
We'll form their minds, with studious care,
To all tfeat's manly, good, and fair.
" I gladly consented, and was so fortunate as
to procure this farm at a reasonable rent, and
with a comfortable cottage. My creditors saw
that my intentions towards them were honour-
able; and satisfied with the assignment of my
little patrimony, they insisted on my retaining my
books, and such furniture as could be useful.
We soon removed ; and firmly resolved to sub-
mit to any distress, however abject, rather than
get into debt. I may now acknowledge that our
distress was sometimes severe, while learning the
little details of economy. The art of good ma-
nagement, if not acquired in youth, can only be
gained by bitter experience. You will perceive,
then, that I became a real hard-working, drudg-
ing farmer ; and you will wonder, probably, how
we could get on, when I had such an ignorant
wife. My dear sir, I cannot do her sufficient
justice I cannot describe the strength of mind
with which she cheerfully submitted to the change
of life, nor the energy with which she sought the
common knowledge requisite for our situation.
She had proposed this life of labour, and she
almost seemed to enjoy it, and to find a pleasure
in her continual exertions. For some years we
UNCLE IN ENGLAND, 111
could only have one servant, a poor hard-work-
ing, willing creature, who, though doing her best,
could not do half that was necessary for our
family. But this best of wives^ instead of un-
reasonably expecting every thing from one poor
slave, as 1 might almost call her, worked hard
herself. She who had been used to late hours,
and luxurious ease, was up at six every morning,
to superintend her little household, and to
make with her own hands most of the prepara-
tions for our meals. She was the same in every
thing, and never uttered a complaint.
" Oh ! how often in these years of distress,
when every shilling we could spare was devoted
to discharging old debts did I think of the
sums I had lavished in my days of gaiety on
useless trifles those trifles that are well named
* 'tis huts' on dress on all those indulgences
of appetite which leave no pleasure behind ; and
the taste for which I can distinctly trace back
to the habits of petty self-indulgence permitted
at our great schools.
" The first winter of our residence here was
one of such hardship, that I trembled for my
wife's health ; but Providence graciously sup-
ported her. It was at that time that a circum-
stance occurred, which I think will interest you.
We had an infant, of a few months old, who suf-
fered much, by the anxiety that my wife, who was
nursing it, secretly felt, the poor babe sunk. -
L 2
112
Its decline was rapid ; and before we were aware
of the danger, we found that it was actually dying.
It was on a dreadful evening of snow and storm,
that we sat "watching over our expiring babe.
One candle lighted our little room, and, cold as
the weather was, we could only afford a small fire ;
my three elder children were gathered close round
it ; and one began so mildly, but urgently, to
ask for her supper, that a piece of bread was
given to her. We heard a violent knocking at
the door, and the maid having opened it before
I could go myself, two men rudely pushed by
her, and forced their way into the room where
we sat. You may imagine the indignation and
horror I felt at such an intrusion, and at such a
moment. I asked, as calmly as I could, their
business, and one of them said ' Our business,
sir, is to demand assistance ; you may call it
charity if you like, but as we are driven by want
of work to starve, w y e must take by force what is
not willingly given to us ; my children have not
a crust to eat, and I am resolved to procure
something for them ; this is the first time we
have ever attempted to get by force what we
would willingly earn by our labour.'
" * My friends/ said I, ' I am a stranger here,
and in distress myself misfortunes have reduced
me as well as you and the whole sum that I
am at present possessed of, will scarcely do more
than pay for the funeral of the infant whom you
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 113
see dying. I will give you a part of it ; if you
take it all by force, I cannot resist you. All
I can do is to advise you not to enter on this
lawless life why do you not apply to the clergy-
man of the parish ? try every honest means
before you attempt to live by violence but if
once you stain your character, nothing can re-
store it. Return to your homes I promise
never to betray you,, unless you renew such con-
duct take this money and perhaps to-morrow
may bring you employment or assistance."*
' And here,' said my little girl> ' here, take this
bread to your little children, it was my supper
but I can do without it. J
"The man was touched by this action of the
child, his voice faultered as he thanked me for
the small sum I had put into his hand, and with
his companion went away quietly. They followed
my advice, and applied next day to the village
pastor, who had but lately returned from an ab-
sence occasioned by ill health ; and who as yet
had known nothing about me. He soon found
his way to our cottage sympathized with equal
delicacy and kindness in our affliction, and re-
quested as a favour, the permission of sometimes
visiting us. The friendship of Mr. Benson, who
is an example of the virtues and graces of piety
and benevolence blended together, has been our
greatest source of pleasure ever since the sad
occasion of his visit ; and I may say, that I owed
L3
114
it to the gratitude of the poor mistaken men
whom I had rescued from guilt. I found that they
were Irishmen ; and that they had been driven
as vagrants from parish to parish. I soon had it
in my power to procure them work, and their
warm hearts do, I believe, feel endless gratitude.
" As my eldest boy was a very promising child
in disposition and intellect, my good friend Mr.
Benson made it a point, that he should be allowed
to assist in his education ; he has completely
prepared him for the university, and through
some interest which he possesses, he was so kind
as to place him there a few months since, at a
very trifling expense to me. Through him, also,
another happy circumstance occurred to me
two or three years ago; a connection of Mr.
Benson's, who had lately come into possession of
an estate in this neighbourhood, having met me
at the parsonage, requested me to be his agent ;
giving me full powers to plant, improve, and su-
perintend the management of the whole pro-
perty. This to me is a most interesting employ-
ment ; and as I give full time and attention to it,
I consider my salary to be fairly and honourably
earned.
" Amidst all her laborious vocations, my
wife continued to educate our daughters. Her
main object has been to give them religious
principles, and that solid kind of knowledge,
which a well-taught female should possess.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 115
She has made them, as I hope you will find,
gentlewomen in their manners, but industrious
and independent ; and she has, I think, inspired
them with her own neatness and love of order,
which never ceased, even when our distress
might have been some excuse for negligence.
We had, as I mentioned, preserved our books,
and with these, and the aid of her own admirable
talents, she has formed their minds, and I may
say, their hearts ; for she has taught them to
love being useful, and never to turn from a poor
applicant under the selfish plea of their own po-
verty, or the specious one of public duty.
"We have gradually made our cottage larger:
clean, neat, and cheerful, it always was ; but
now it is really comfortable. Here I wish always
to remain it has been the scene of happiness,
springing from active exertion, and humble reli-
gious trust."
]_Qth. My uncle had a visit to-day from a
Mr. H , who is just returned from Stock-
holm, where he has been for some months. He
told us a great deal of the manners and customs
of that city ; and it is curious to observe, how
exactly its present state agrees with the account
given by Dr. Clarke, who says, "that if a razor
was to be put in order, or an instrument repaired,
they were sent to London ; and that such was
the scarcity of vegetables, that there was a con-
116 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
stant importation of them from other countries.
When he was at Stockholm, there were thirty-six
wig-makers, and only one cutler forty-seven vint-
ners, and not 9. single chimneysweeper nineteen
coffee-roasters, though coffee had been prohibited
one hundred and thirteen keepers of ordina-
ries, and only one tool grinder; iron and tar
were to be had in plenty, but there was nothing
good manufactured in the country, excepting
Scania gloves, which are the best in the -world.
Almost every thing imported from England was
contraband, and, therefore, clandestinely sold, at
an immense price. The inferiority of Swedish
workmanship, and often the total want of the
article itself, is very striking a whole day may
be lost in searching for common necessaries.
When Clarke was at Christiana, in Norway, a
rich merchant told him, that all the linen of his
family was annually sent to London to be washed.
"We cannot go," said he, ft to market, or to
shops, as you do in an English town : here, those
who would live handsomely, must collect into
their own warehouses from all parts of the
world, whatsoever they may want for a whole
year's consumption.*" Mr. H. says, " there are
few hands in Sweden expert enough to repair
machinery ; and the clumsy machines used in
the mines, is a proof of the small progress they
have made. As to gardens, scarcely any body
thinks of cultivating vegetables enough for them-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 117
selves, much less of having them for sale ; and
England still largely supplies that article of food
to Stockholm."
In speaking of this, after Mr. H. had gone, my
aunt reminded us of the facts we had lately read
in Ker Porter's Persia, respecting the manner in
which some customs continue unchanged for
ages ; but she thought this far more extraordi-
nary in Sweden, which is in constant communi-
cation with the rest of Europe.
" It is partly caused," said my uncle, " by the
nature of the government, which tends rather to
repress, than to excite speculation. Some im-
provement, however, does take place : a friend
of mine, Mr. B., thirty years ago, saw in a gen-
tleman's garden at Stockholm, a little bed of
potatoes, which the owner shewed him as a great
curiosity. ' They tell me, sir,' said the gentle-
man, ' that in some countries, the roots of this
plant are eaten as common food by the people.'
Yet now," continued my uncle, "this potatoe,
which was then such a wonder, is generally cul-
tivated throughout all Sweden, and is liked by
all classes."
\\tli. Sunday. Wentworth asked my uncle
to-day, what is meant by thy kingdom come
in the Lord's prayer ? c ' What do we exactly
pray for when we repeat those words ?"
" I believe," said my uncle, " that they have
118 BEBTHA'S VISIT TO HER
been variously explained. By some they are
supposed to allude to that period, when the
Messiah will again dwell on the earth, and
when wickedness and misery shall finally cease.
Others apply them to the universal diffusion of
the gospel ; when all nations will become the
people of Christ 5 and when his kingdom may
therefore be truly said to extend over the whole
world.
" But besides these general, and I fear, distant
applications of the expression, there is another,
and a simpler one, which more immediately di-
rects itself to our present feelings and actions :
when the influence of Christ has overcome all
our sordid and selfish motives ; when his humi-
lity is the example we endeavour to follow ; when
our passions are controlled by the purity of his
precepts ; when our actions are subjected to the
dominion of his will ; in short, when our love,
gratitude, and obedience to him, form the go-
verning principle of our lives : then, indeed, it
may be literally said, that his reign has been es-
tablished in our hearts, and that his kingdom has
come.
" We may certainly interpret these words as
relating either to the future kingdom of the
Messiah on earth, or to the progress of Chris-
tian knowledge in humanising the savage and
enlightening the heathen ; but we are scarcely
authorised to suppose that our prayers can be of
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 119
any avail in hastening the time appointed by
immutable Wisdom for those important events.
When, therefore, in using this sublime and con-
cise prayer, we mean to express either [of these
significations, we must perceive that they do not
possess that second quality which seems to me
to be essentially necessary in every prayer pro-
ceeding from man namely, that while we
address our petitions to God, they, at the same
time, should convey an admonition to ourselves,
and instruct us how to do our part towards at-
taining those objects for which we supplicate.
" But if, on the other hand, we apply those
words to the dominion of Christian principles in
ourselves, we are given reason to hope that the
petition may be granted^ because we pledge our
own humble, but earnest efforts, as the requisite
condition on which we presume to pray for it ;
and for these reasons I am inclined to consider
that this is the most important meaning of the
words, Thy kingdom come."
12th. Hertford's letters have, of late, been
very frequent. I think the following extract
will amuse you.
" The Druidical monuments of the island of
Lewis are remarkable. Scotland possesses many
specimens of those structures ; but, except in
Lewis, they are rare among the Western islands.
In the neighbourhood of Loch Bernera, several
120 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
of them are comprised in a comparatively small
space : a square mile would include the whole.
They are situated in an open, fertile tract, on
the borders o"F an inlet of the sea ; and if they
were really temples, dedicated to Druid ical wor-
ship, so many being collected together would
almost imply that this spot was the seat of a
college. Next to Stonehenge, they are, perhaps,
the most interesting remains which have been
found in Great Britain.
" The largest of these structures has the form
of a cross, with a circle at the intersection, and
a large central stone. Its total length, at pre-
sent, is 588 feet, but other stones are found, in
the same direction, for above 90 feet farther; so
that we may suppose the whole length to have been
nearly 700 feet. The cross line, which intersects
that one at right angles, measures 204 feet, but
it probably was much greater ; and the diameter
of the circle that occupies the interior of the
cross, is 63 feet. The stone which marks the
centre is 12 feet in height ; the other stones
rarely reach beyond 4 jfeet, though a few of
7 or 8 feet high are to be found, and one reach-
ing to 13 is seen near the extremity of the long-
line. The intervals between them vary from 2
to 10 feet ; and the whole number of stones,
either erect or recently fallen, is forty-seven.
The aspect of the whole work is very striking, as
it occupies the top of a gentle eminence of moor-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 121
land, and as there is no other object, not even a
rock or a stone, to divert the attention, or dimmish
the impression which it makes.
" There are some circles of stones to be seen
in the neighbourhood, but they are less perfect ;
and several large solitary stones, apparently of a
monumental nature, are found in other parts of
Lewis ; but the cruciform shape of the structure
which I have described is a remarkable and
peculiar circumstance. No ruin, of that form,
has been traced beyond the introduction of
Christianity } and I believe it is agreedj that
where the figure of the Cross is found carved
on buildings of higher antiquity, it has been
done by Christians, who have converted the
monuments of ancient superstition to their
own purposes. But such attempts cannot be
supposed to apply to such an assemblage of
large rude stones ; while the circular parts, and
the general resemblance of the whole to other
Druidical structures, seem to prove its ancient
origin."
13th. My uncle is so kind as to permit me
to sit in the library whenever I like ; and though
he studies a great deal, he says my being there
does not disturb him. He seems pleased when-
ever we young people go there, and very often
lays aside what he is engaged in, to converse
with us, or shew us something curious. Some-
122 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
times he takes that opportunity of giving a little
gentle reproof; for he is so considerate of our
small feelings, that he seldom exposes any one
publicly in th*e family circle, knowing that half
the good is destroyed by the mortification.
I was up remarkably early this morning, and
went to the library before breakfast, expecting to
be commended a little for my improvement in
early rising. After our morning greetings, my
uncle did commend me very kindly, and said
that the pleasure of seeing me in the library
was doubled by the satisfaction it gave him to
find that I had such power over myself. I was
beginning to exult a little inwardly at this, when
he added, " But now, Bertha, as there are few
pleasures without alloy, I must cloud this praise
a little by doing what I dislike by finding fault."
You may suppose, dear Mamma, what a damp
this cast on me for a moment ; but I knew that
he never chides without reason, he is so mild ;
and he never mistakes one's conduct, he is so
just: so I brightened up again, and anxiously
listened.
" The fault, my dear Bertha, which I have
to mention, is one that I have observed ever
since you have been here and it is, in my opi-
nion, so important, that I can no longer wait
for your own good sense to perceive it ; for
habit strengthens at a rapid pace. A general
want of neatness is the fault to which I allude.
UNCLE IN KNGLAND. 123
I do not mean a want of actual cleanliness, but
an untidy, careless way of arranging your clothes.
I observe that they are not always put on
straight up at one side, down at the other
your petticoat, or something, forcing its way
above or below the edge of your gown a button
off a string broken part of a flower torn or
unsewed frills looking flattened and wrinkled,
and not having the fresh look that every thing
about a young lady should have. Your hair in
general looks shining and nice, but I don't per-
ceive why it should not always be arranged more
carefully, and so as to prevent it from straggling
at the sides, as I sometimes see.
" Ladies are always very anxious to be fash-
ionable, but I assure you, Bertha, though your
dresses may be of the newest patterns, you will
not look well dressed without something more.
Fashion changes continually ; the furbelows of
to-day give place to-morrow to some other
whim and the vulgar and the empty-minded
have the never-ending delight of altering their
dresses, but fail after all in acquiring the air of
gentlewomen.
" A good carriage, a smooth walk, a feeling of
being at ease in company, ready attention to all
that is going on, and withdrawing one's thoughts
from self, give the stamp of good society more
effectually, than all the finery that can be pur-
chased. That valuable feeling of being at ease,
M 2
124
and the self-possession it produces, can be ob-
tained but one way. Never allow yourself when
alone, to sit or move, in a manner that you
would think inconsistent with propriety in com-
pany. But to return to our dress, pray, ac-
custom yourself to have your clothes in neat
order, whatever they are ; and well put on,, at all
times. The French expression * d'etre bien
mise,' conveys everything that can be said on
this subject; for besides the reasonable atten-
tion to fashion, which good sense requires, and
the suitable correspondence of colours which
implies good taste, it includes all the proper pin-
ning, tying, and arrangement, which in my opi-
nion is the most important point of all."
I thanked my uncle very sincerely ; and he
then added, " Yes, Bertha, I consider it as a very
unwise tenderness, not to make known their
lesser faults to young people. Your aunt is of
a somewhat different opinion, and was unwilling
to annoy you 5 so I took it on myself to advise you
on the subject of your toilette. It was from this
mistaken delicacy of your dear aunt's, that one
of your cousins was acquiring the unfortunate
habits of want of neatness and an ungraceful
walk. Your aunt depended on her own good
sense to overcome them ; but at last, perceiving
the injury we should do the child, by allowing
those habits to become fixed, I spoke to her
myself she not only outlived my interference,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND, 125
but immediately and vigorously set about cor-
recting them. She found some difficulty, I be-
lieve, but she has succeeded so well, that I think
you cannot discover which of my daughters I
mean, except that she is now, perhaps, the most
remarkable for her neatness, and is always Hen
14th. My uncle read to us to-day, an ac-
count given by a traveller in Savoy, of the fall
of a part of Mont Grenier a very astonishing
instance, he says, of the local changes that occur
on the face of the earth. 1 must give you a
short account of it, dear Mamma.
Mont Grenier is five miles south of Cham-
berry ; and rises about four thousand feet above
the broad plain, on which it stands almost alone.
A part of this mountain fell down in the
year 1248, and entirely buried five parishes, and
the town and church of St. Andre. The ruins
spread over nine square miles, which are called
les Abimes de Myans ; and though many cen-
turies have passed away, they still present a sin-
gular scene of desolation.
The Abimes de Myans now appear like little
hills of a conical shape, and varying in height
from twenty to thirty feet. They consist of de-
tached heaps of fragments, but the largest masses
have evidently fallen from the upper bed of
limestone, by which Mont Grenier is capped ;
M 3
126 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and some of them have been projected to the
distance of four miles from the mountain. This
limestone rests on beds of softer materials, by
the gradual crumbling away of which, it is sup-
posed the mass above them was undermined and
precipitated into the valley. In the course
of years, the rains or torrents, produced by dis-
solving snows, have washed away the loose
earth, and thus the little conical mounts have
been separated and detached as they are seen at
present.
So deep is the mass that has covered the town
of St. Andre, that nothing belonging to it has
been discovered, except a small bronze statue.
The ancient chronicles do not inform us,
whether the catastrophe was preceded by any
warning that allowed the inhabitants time to
escape. The quantity of matter sufficient to
cover the plain to such a depth and extent,
rushing from the height of three quarters of a
mile into the plain, must have produced a shock
inconceivably awful. A great part of the dis-
trict has been gradually planted with vines, but
it still presents a most impressive scene of ruin.
My uncle said that this is one of the most re-
markable eboulements of which he has ever seen
a description he read it to us from travels very
lately made in Switzerland and Savoy *.
* Bakewell's Travels.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 127
15th. I hope you are interested, dear Mam-
ma, in Bessy Grimley's history.
Franklin is returned he came about a week
after his letter; poor Bessy was very anxious,
for the weather was stormy, and she could not
hinder herself from being frightened at the
thoughts of the great ocean he had to cross.
We went again to see her, and I tried to cheer her,
by telling her 1 had lately come a much longer
voyage. My aunt accompanied us, and was
pleased with the cottage and its inhabitants ;
she went to visit the poor old decrepit woman,
and found her bed made up comfortably, and
both that and the room looking very tidy and
clean. The window was open, and a rose tree
covered with flowers hung over it. My poor
daughter, said the old woman, planted that rose-
tree in her last illness, and Bessy has nursed
both it and me ; and she trims it and trains it in
such a manner, that the flowery branches hang
where I can see them, because she knows how
much I love the tree.
My aunt observed a little shelf of books in one
corner, and sked if Bessy could read, " Oh !
yes, ma'am I wonder the old man did not tell
you that, for many a time she has comforted us
both, and indeed, often makes me feel less pain,
by reading to us. I taught her myself, when she
was a little creature, and I am sure I often won-
der how any one can object to the poor having
128 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
the blessing of education. Why, it would do
your heart good, Ma'am, to hear her read the
Bible, she reads it with such piety or a prayer
or two, often out of her prayer book. We have
a few little stories too, that we like to hear again
and again. The Blind Farmer and the History
of Wilcocks and a pretty tale called Simple
Susan in short, madam, though I am always a
suffering, poor creature, and though we sometimes
are supperless, we are still happy, and it is all
owing to that grateful good Bessy."
But I must tell you, Mamma, about Franklin.
He has really given up a great deal for her sake :
he might have been in a much richer way had
he remained in America; but then, he says,
what good would it all have been to him away
from his Bessy ! They are to be married next
week ; and my aunt, and all of us, are preparing
different articles of dress or furniture, that may
be useful presents to them. My uncle suggested
some little alterations in the arrangement of the
house, so as to make room, at present, for the
Franklins ; and he offered to assist them next
spring in making it still more comfortable.
There is a farm to be let not very good
ground, but well situated, and about half way
between Fernhurst and the old man's cottage.
My uncle has hopes of procuring it for the
Franklins; and I am sure it will be an ad-
vantage to them to be near my uncle, his advice
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 129
is so useful, and he knows so much about every
thing.
Some of the land is like forest ground, and
has neither been fenced nor drained ; but
Franklin says he will gradually bring it into
cultivation. I am in hopes I shall have many
a pleasant walk there with my uncle ; and then
I shall have a good opportunity of seeing the
whole process of farming.
How benevolent my uncle and aunt are ! they
are as much interested about Bessy as if they
had always known her ; and my uncle's manner
is so kind and so cheerful, that he raises the
spirits of the poor old couple whenever they
see him,
. My cousins are such gardeners, parti-
cularly Mary and Wentworth, that they have
made me wish to become one too. Caroline is
not so fond of gardening as the others, though
she has some very pretty flowers, and labours a
good deal. She has given a large portion of her
garden to little Frederick, who is her particular
charge. He calls himself her little boy, and he
is so indeed, for she teaches him most of what
he learns, reads with him, and makes herself
quite his companion.
When we were gathering a few still lingering
roses to-day in Mary's garden, I said that I
130 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
began to think that I should like to manage a
little garden as well as they did.
" Huzza!" exclaimed Wentworth and Frede-
rick ; "I Imew she would become one of us
at last."
" Oh yes," said Mary ; "I have been ex-
pecting this ; I always knew that Bertha was
not really indolent. Now she will no longer
sigh after
The coffee plains, the orange groves,
And flow'ry vales she so much loves."
" And now," said Frederick, " to encourage the
poor child, we must give her a little bit of ground
rent free. I will give her a bed in my territory."
" And I and I," said each ; " we must all
contribute to her garden." " And so must I
too," said little Grace ; " I will give her a share
of my garden, and I will teach her how to shell
the seeds, and then to sow them."
When my uncle and aunt came in from riding,
my cousins went in a body to tell him how they
intended to manage. For that is one of the
happy things in this family, dear Mamma, as I
heard some one remark lately ; they feel a
mutual interest in each other's pursuits, and
my uncle and aunt are always ready to assist
them in accomplishing their little plans, whether
serious or playful. There is no jealousy or
mystery all is open ; and, thougli ready to
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 131
assist each other, they never officiously interfere
in one another's occupations, because each has
abundance of their own.
But I must continue my history. When they
had told my uncle of their intended donations,
he said, in his playful manner, " Most puissant
friends, if I were allowed a voice in this affair, I
would say that Bertha ought to have an inde-
pendent portion, which she could cultivate or
spoil, to her own satisfaction. If your aunt has
no objection, I will give her a certain spot near
Caroline's garden, which requires a good deal to
be done to put it into order. A little steady
employment will be of great use in breaking her
into the noble science of horticulture ; and she
can lay out her domain to her own taste. May
I hope this suggestion meets with your appro-
bation? 1 '
" Oh yes," said Wentworth ; " we all approve
of your amendment. Papa, though we are sorry
not to have the pleasure of making a general
contribution in her behalf. However, I know
she will require help ; and I engage to be her
labourer, and do all her hard work.' 7
4C And I," said Frederick, " will be her little
garden boy her slave, if she likes ; for I know
she comes from a country where slaves are em-
ployed."
" Well then, Bertha," said my uncle, " I will
shew you this piece of ground j and, if you like
132
it, you shall have it on three conditions . The
first is, that you never work long enough to
fatigue yourself. These creatures have been lit-
tle labourer* and tillers of the earth ever since
their infancy, but you are not accustomed to it,
and I like moderation in every thing in work as
well as in play. Condition the second that
you really learn to garden, and do not blindly
go through a certain routine of operations,
because others do. Mere imitation is a bad
rule of conduct, whether in gardening or any
other action of life. You must learn the why
and the wherefore of what you do. Condition
the third that all your implements be regularly
put in their proper places every day, when you
have done ; and that you have a basket to carry
seeds, and knife, and all other small affairs."
I promised to adhere to his conditions ; and
as soon as luncheon was over, we went to the
place. It extends from Caroline's garden, to-
wards a little stream which skirts the shrubbery,
and comes very near my aunt's flower-garden.
Frederick has undertaken to connect them by a
bridge, and I have already formed a multitude
of plans for laying out this little spot.
17th. Caroline has allowed me to make the
following extract, from a letter that she received
this morning from Hertford :
" There are some marine animals here
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 133
which I cannot find mentioned in any of the
books we have with us ; and one species, my
companion says, has very rarely been observed
in the British seas. These animals belong to a
gregarious family, and often adhere together, but
in a manner that is peculiar to each species. In
this new species they are linked together end-
ways, so that the whole forms a chain. They
move forwards by swallowing, and suddenly emit-
ting the water ; and it is amusing to observe the
whole chain of many feet in length, swimming
with an undulating motion, resembling that of a
serpent. They are quite transparent, and the
adhesion is so slight, that the least force sepa-
rates them. We put some in a bucket of water,
but they did not like the confinement, and died
in half an hour.
" That interesting phenomenon luminous
sea-water, is seen here in autumn in great bril-
liancy. It certainly does not proceed from any
ingredient of the water itself, but from the phos-
phorescent property of living animals ; and from
what I can learn, there are a great many other
tribes that possess this power of giving light, be-
sides those described in Dr. Macartney's inge-
nious paper, which you and I read together. I
am informed, that Sir Charles Giesecke disco-
vered several new species on the coast of Green-
land, which were not only luminous when alive,
but retained this property even when broken to
134 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
pieces by the violence of the sea. They have
been well called the glow-worms of the deep, by
a writer, whose account of these islands has been
a great assistance to me in my tour.
" I have much more to tell you on this subject
when we meet ; but now the wind is fair for my
voyage to St. Kilda, and all hands are waiting
for me."
. Sunday. There was some little ar-
gument going on at breakfast, this morning,
between Frederick and Wentworth, on the ques-
tion of resisting injury and injustice, or of
passively submitting, according to the injunction
of the Gospel ; and my uncle took advantage of
it to say a few words on the subject, lest we
should mistake between the real meaning and
the figurative expression.
11 It has been charged against the Gospel,"
he said, " "that it teaches men to feel towards
their enemies in a manner which is compatible
only with an abject, slavish temper, and that it
directs what it is impossible to practise ; not
only forbidding retaliation, but inculcating pa-
tience under the grossest ill-usage ; as in these
passages : ' Love your enemies, bless them
which curse you. Resist not evil ; but whoso-
ever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to
him the other also. 5 But such objections can
only be urged against the mere words ; they do
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 135
not apply to the spirit of the precept. It is a
forbearing disposition a slowness to resent- a
readiness to make allowance for the passions of
others, which is meant ; for, in many instances,
it would be totally unreasonable to take them in
their literal meaning. These texts, and others
of the same nature, were intended to counteract
the misinterpretation of the Jewish doctors ;
who, because the Mosaic code enjoined exact
retaliation in the punishment of crimes by the
regular sentence of the judge, perverted that
into a permission to indulge in private revenge ;
and who were notorious, also, for want of charity
in their feelings and conduct to all persons not of
their own nation or sect. It was in consequence
of these corrupt prejudices, that our Lord in-
culcated, with peculiar emphasis, the contrary
principles of forbearance, forgiveness, and kind-
ness, to those who had offended ; and he illus-
trated these precepts by striking and familiar
instances.
" It appears, from various other passages,
also, that it was not the literal rule which Christ
meant strictly to enforce in every instance, but
the spirit of it that is, the temper of humility,
the control of all violent and selfish impulses,
and the patience and submission which are the
effects of self-control ; above all, the pausing
to put ourselves in the place of. the offender,
before we give way even to just resentment; so
N 2
136 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
that, by supposing the fault our own, we may
consider in what light ,it would then appear to
us, and, consequently, lead us to act towards
others as we"should wish to be acted by. Our
Saviour meant that we should have a willingness
to forgive, and that we should habituate our
hearts to that amiable benevolence which dis-
poses us, under real provocation, to pardon, and
even to promote the good of those who have
injured us. It is astonishing how soon we can
acquire the habit of not gratifying resent-
ment.
" One strong proof that it was never intended
that we should understand these rules too lite-
rally is, that we find, by the instructions of our
Lord to his apostles, as well as by their own
subsequent conduct, that they did not recom-
mend or practise either perfect insensibility
under injuries, or indifference to their character.
They occasionally resorted to such legal and
innocent means of guarding their safety and
good name, as were compatible with their situa-
tion and their peculiar mission. When, there-
fore, we see undoubted malignity in the conduct
of others towards us, we are justified in guarding
against its repetition ; but Christianity binds us,
at the same time, to moderation, and to omit
no opportunity of benefiting and reforming our
enemy, whose heart may be softened by the
control we exercise over our feelings, and who
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 137
may often be changed, and rendered more
Christian, merely by our forbearance."
My uncle said he dwelt the longer upon this
important subject, because every other virtue,
he thinks, rests on self-control.
19th. Well, dear Mamma, I have taken pos-
session of my garden ; and now I hope I shall
not grow tired of it, or disgrace myself by having
it ill kept. One part of it had been a little nursery
for rose trees, rhododendrons, and other flowering
shrubs. That, and the large bed near it, which
is rather moist, have become very weedy; but
the front beds, and the slope down to the brook,
are in very good order ; and when the annuals,
which are now in seed there, are removed, I shall
begin to dig. The moist bed is to be trenched ;
and as this is the best time for transplanting deci-
duous shrubs, as well as almost all plants, I shall
have plenty of work on my hands. I may have
as many shrubs as I please, and I am to have
advice from all these gardeners, particularly Mary,
who does every thing at the right season. She
has some nice cards, on which are written hints
of what is to be done in each month ; and, as
they hang in her room, I can easily see there
what I am to do : besides which, I intend to
read a little in their gardening books, that I may
understand what I am about. I look forward,
with great pleasure, to this new employment,
N 3
138 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
though I know I shall always feel disappointed
at not, having my garden full of the bright and
glowing flowers that I have been accustomed to
see. It mu^l look, I fear, as sombre as the
forest and the valley do, when I compare them
with those of my former country. But they tell
me that I must not judge now of the look either
of the garden or of the country, as spring will
give them a very different appearance ; and,
indeed, I must confess that, gloomy as the
season is becoming, the well-sheltered fields,
with the cattle quietly browsing, or tamely
going home, at regular hours, to be milked, do
look exceedingly cheerful.
I have frequently visited my aunt's dairy ;
and the operations there are so new to one just
fresh from a country where cows and dairy are
but little attended to, that I take constant in-
terest in them. " And the milkmaid singeth
blithe" is now a familiar image to me; formerly
it was only from your description I understood
it. How is it that such a precious gift as milk
can be overlooked in any part of the world, par-
ticularly in one that abounds with cattle as Brazil
does ; while, in some of the rocky parts of South
America, the palo de vaca, or cow tree, is consi-
dered such a treasure ? But it is curious that
I never heard of that tree till I came here.
Humboldt says that it has dry, stiff leaves, and
its large w r oody roots seem as if they could
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. J39
scarcely penetrate into the crevices of the bar-
ren rocks on which it grows. For several
months in the year, the foliage is not softened
by a single shower, and its branches appear
dead or dried ; though, when the trunk is
pierced, a sweet and nourishing milk flows from
it. This milk is most abundant at the time of
sunrise, and the natives are then seen hastening
from all quarters, with large bowls, to receive
it. He says it is rather thick, but sweet and
well tasted.
I am making myself acquainted with all the
dairy operations here, so that I shall be able, if
ever I return to you, to teach them to our neigh-
bours from the milking of the cows to the
making of the butter. To shew that I know
some of them already, I must tell you that each
cow is milked twice over, both in the morning
and evening. What she first yields is called the
fore-milk, and is not nearly equal to the second
in richness, which is always strained separately,
and set in separate pans. From this comes all
the nice cream we have at breakfast and tea.
Both are skimmed a second time ; and the
produce is all collected in pans. When there is
a sufficient quantity (that is, about every second
day), this cream, which has been thus collecting,
has become sufficiently acid, and is churned.
My aunt tells me that the oily particles are, by
the motion of the churn dash, separated from
140
the whey, which, together, formed the cream,
and thus become butter.
This is the method here ; but she says that in
some parts of England it is managed differently ;
for the second milk is there put along with the
cream collected for churning ; and by this means,
instead of a poor sort of whey, which is given to
the pigs, there remains a great deal of nice but-
ter milk, that is very nourishing and agreeable,
and forms a great part of the food of the poor.
My aunt says she has even seen good cheese
made of buttermilk ; and the Scotch, after
tying it up in bags and suffering it to drain,
make a favourite dish, which they eat with sugar
and lemon.
20th , Extracts from another letter of cousin
Hertford's it is dated August 22, though it
only arrived yesterday being delayed in the
islands by contrary winds.
* * * * " There is a greater number and
variety of ancient remains to be found in Islay,
than in any of the neighbouring islands. 1 saw
several monumental stones, which are as usual
attributed to the Danes ; but you know these
rude monuments were common to all the de-
scendants of the great Celtic nation. There are
also some of those little round hills of earth
called barrows, some of which have been exca-
vated and found to contain urns and ashes ; the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 141
burning of the dead having been at times prac-
tised among the Celts.
" Some of those ancient weapons called celts,
made of stone as well as of brass, have been
found in this island : arid also the elf-shot or
flint arrow heads, the universal weapon of ancient
times ; what amazing patience it must have re-
quired to shape this \veapon into the accurate
form which it usually possesses !
" Among other antique remains discovered in
I slay, are eighteen large gold rings, which were
buried in one spot. They are bent into a cir-
cular form but not closed ; and having been at
first used by the person who found them as
handles for his drawers, they are still employed
in the same way, though their value has long
been known. It is supposed that they were the
collars of Roman officers, and probably the
spoils of war.
" I observed a curious circumstance in this
island which I may as well mention here. At
its western extremity the cattle visit the beach
every day at low water, and quit their pastures to
feed on sea-weed. The accuracy with which they
attend to the diurnal changes of the ebb tide is
very remarkable ; as they are seldom mistaken
even when they have some miles to walk to the
beach. They are very fond of fish also, prefer-
ring it to the best grass. In Shetland, I am told,
that both dogs and horses eat fish from choice,
142 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and that this is a practice very common also in
Canada."
When this part of Hertford's letter was read,
my uncle said* that a friend of his who had been
for some time at Stockton upon Tees, observed
that the cattle, who always came to drink at the
river when the tide was out, and the salt-water
retired, calculated the proper time with unfailing
precision.
2lst. I have been looking, in a description of
foreign birds, and I find that besides my little fa-
vourites with pendant nests, there is another very
pretty species in North America, called the red-
winged starling ; it is found everywhere from Nova
Scotia to Mexico but not in the West Indies.
In autumn they migrate to Louisiana in such
multitudes that, flying close together, they abso-
lutely darken the air, and three hundred of them
have been caught at one drag of a net. The males
are distinguished by a bright red patch on the
wing or shoulder, and formerly when these were
worn by ladies as ornamental trimmings for their
gowns, a person collected forty thousand of them
in one winter.
They build among aquatic plants, in places
that are inaccessible \ suspending their nests be-
tween two reeds, the leaves of which they inter-
lace and form into a sort of shed or covering.
To the nest they give solidity by grass bound
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 143
with mud ; and they line it with the softest and
most delicate herbage. This little cradle is
always raised above the highest reach of the
water over which it hangs ; and when they do
not find reeds suited to their purpose, they build
between the branches of a bush or shrub, but
always in a swampy situation. They commit
great depredations on the maize when it is just
sown, and the farmers therefore steep the seeds
in a decoction of hellebore, which stupefies
them ; but nothing can save the corn when ripe
from the myriads of these birds that attack it
then.
Another species is called the Baltimore bird,
not because it frequents Baltimore, but from the
similarity of its colours to those in the arms of
the ancient Baltimore family. Its nest, which is
formed of tough fibres, is open at top, but with a
hole at the side for more conveniently feeding the
young ; and it is attached by vegetable threads
or fibres to the extreme forks of the tulip-tree
and the hiccory. The country-people call them
fire birds, because, in darting from branch to
branch, they look like little flashes of fire.
22d. I have just learned from my uncle,
what gum lac is. I have often wished to know, but
1 never had sense enough to ask him till this even-
ing. It is a resinous substance produced by an
insect called the coccus lacca, and is deposited on
144
the small branches of a tree, for the preservation
of its eggs, as well as for the nourishment of the
young maggoj; afterwards. As the gum is laid
on, it is formed into small cells, which have as
much regularity as those of a honey-comb;
and in each cell there is found a little red oval
egg, about the size of an ant's. When the eggs
are hatched, the young grubs pierce through the
gummy coat that surrounds them, and go off,
one by one, leaving their exuviae behind, which
are, in fact, the white membranous substances
found constantly in stick lac.
The lac insect is cultivated in many parts of
the Mysore in the East Indies ; but is found only
on trees of some particular species. These trees
put out their leaves from the middle of March to
the middle of April ; during which time, a small
twig, having some of these insects on it, is tied
on each of them, and by the latter part of Oc-
tober, all the branches are thickly covered with
the insect, and almost all the leaves are de-
voured. The branches are then cut off, spread
on mats and dried in the shade. They are after-
wards sold to the merchant under the name of
stick lac, and are a staple article of commerce
in the Mysore, as well as in Assam, a country
bordering on Thibet. The only trouble in pro-
curing it, is that of breaking down the branches
and taking them to market.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 145
The best gum lac is deep red ; it comes to
England in five different states :
1. Stick lac, as in its natural state.
2. Seed lac, which is the former broken into
small pieces, and appearing in a granulated
form.
3. Lump lac, that is, the seed lac, liquefied
by fire, and formed into cakes.
4. Shell lac, or the latter substance thoroughly
purified. For this purpose it is put into canvass
bags, and held over a charcoal fire, till liquid
enough to be squeezed through the canvass ; it
is then allowed to drop on the smooth bark of the
plantain tree, to which it will not adhere, and it
spreads itself there in thin transparent layers.
Gum lac is extremely useful, being a principal
ingredient in varnishes, in sealing-wax, and in
cements ; it is also used in large quantities in
dyeing silk ; and, when mixed with tamarinds, it
is said to make a beautiful scarlet, which is not
discharged by washing.
24/i. Yesterday, you well know, dear Mam-
ma, was my uncle's birth-day it was not al-
lowed to pass unnoticed, though, he says, the
habit of marking particular days may be the
cause hereafter of much pain. Be that as it
may, we all were anxious to celebrate it. Lit-
tle Grace repeated to him, when he came to
breakfast, some very touching lines, written by
VOL, i. o
146
Mary, as an address from all his children. Ca-
roline presented him with his two favourite
flowers, a rose and a sprig of lavender ; and I
followed her with a little drawing of one of the
few wild flowers still in blossom the great white
bindweed, which I had often heard him admire.
I felt very doubtful of venturing to offer it, but
he received it with an encouraging kindness pe-
culiar to himself.
As the day was mild and bright, my uncle
hired a boat, and took us all up the river, beyond
the village of Elmore ; we had an excellent view
of Gloucester, and in the distance, we saw the
pretty Malvern hills.
In returning, we went on shore at Elmore, where
my aunt paid a visit to a lady, with whose daugh-
ters she ran away for a few days ; and lower
down the river, we stopped for half an hour at
Newnham, to call on Mrs. Ando, who had been
an old servant of my aunt's. She is now living
independently on her earnings, in a neat com-
fortable house ; and she is always so rejoiced to
see any of the family, that a visit to her is quite
a festival. We found a pretty little child playing
about the room, prattling French, and looking very
droll, in a large Swiss hat. Mrs. Ando told us,
that about a fortnight since, a gentleman and
lady, with this child, had crossed the Severn,
and come to Newnham ; but the illness of the
poor gentleman had detained them, and as the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 147
inn was small, and unfit for invalids, and the inn-
keeper being unwilling to let a sick man remain in
the house, she had allowed them to lodge with
her out of compassion. She described them as
very amiable people ; they had expected a friend
to meet them, but had been disappointed ; and she
added, that they seemed to be distressed for
money.
When we returned, there was the most beau-
tiful western sun-light on every thing ; cottages,
trees, and the orchards full of rosy apples, were
all gilt by it ; and the river appeared like a sheet
of glassy silver.
Soon after dinner, the evening part of the
birth-day rites began, by a merry party at French
blind-man's buff. This was very amusing, for
my uncle and aunt joined in it, and he was so
comical, that it gave the game quite a riew^ cha-
racter. Tea succeeded, and after Grace had
retired to bed, the piano-forte was opened, and
we three sang for my uncle his favourite song
of " Hark the Lark," which we had learned
purposely to surprise him on this day. He ap-
peared so much gratified by this little attention,
which had been a happy thought of Mary's, that
we were more than repaid for all our exertion
to perform it well. Several other favourite
songs were sung, in some of which the young
ladies who nad come from Elmore assisted ; and
when we were tired of singing, we danced reels
b 2
148 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and quadrilles, to finish the evening. Some-
times my uncle made up our number, and my
aunt was so good as to play for us,
The servants were allowed to have a tea-party
for their friends on this occasion, and I heard,
this morning, that my aunt had distributed meat
or clothing to all her poor pensioners. The
school-girls, too, had a holyday; and books
work-bags pin-cushions or housewifes -were
distributed according to their merits. Caroline
did all this part of the business.
Sunday. My uncle has been giving
me some instruction in reading the Psalms to
day. He thinks they are not always rightly
understood, partly from the mistaken views of
modern expositors^ who have ascribed the im-
mediate subject of every psalm, either to the
history of the Jewish nation, or to the events of
David's life.
" Many of the psalms," he said, " do com-
memorate the miraculous interpositions of God
in behalf of his chosen people, and many of them
were probably composed upon the dangers, af-
flictions, and deliverances of King David. But
even of those which relate to the Israelites as a
nation, there are few which do not represent, in
a figurative manner, the future history of the
Christian church ; and of those which allude to
the life of David, there are none in which it is not
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 149
the ' Son of David' who is the principal and real
subject. David's complaints against his enemies
are the Messiah's complaints David's afflictions
are the Messiah's sufferings David's penitential
supplications are the petitions of the Mes-
siah, under the burden of the imputed guilt of
man; and David's songs of triumph are the
Messiah's thanksgivings for his victory over sin
and death. In short, every part of the book of
Psalms has a double object.
" They go in general under the name of the
Psalms of David : he probably gave a regular
form to the musical part of the Jewish service ;
but there is good reason for supposing them to
be the compositions of various authors ; some
more ancient than the time of King David, and
some of a later age. Of many, he was un-
doubtedly the author ; and we know, from his
own words, that those of his composition were
prophetic ' David, the son of Jesse, the sweet
psalmist of Israel, said, the spirit of Jehovah
spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.'
" The psalms are all poems of the lyric kind,
that is, adapted to music, but with great variety
in the style of composition. Some are simply
odes, elegiac, or pathetic, or moral ; but a great
proportion of them are a sort of dramatic ode,
consisting of dialogues between persons sustain-
ing different characters. These persons are fre-
quently the Psalmist himself, or the chorus of
03
150 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
Priests and Levites opening the ode with an in-
troduction declarative of the subject ; and some-
times closing tfce whole with a solemn admonition.
Sometimes Jehovah himself speaks ; and Christ,
in his incarnate state, is personated either as a
priest, or as a king, or sometimes as a conqueror ;
and in those psalms in which he is introduced in
this latter character, the resemblance is very re-
markable to the warrior on the white horse in
the book of Revelations.
" If this idea were kept in the mind," continued
my uncle, " it would greatly conduce to the right
understanding of the psalms ; and any reader, of
ordinary penetration, would easily perceive to
what speakers the different parts of the dialogue
belonged."
My uncle read to us, as an example, the
twenty-fourth psalm, from Bishop Horsley's
translation. " It opens," he says, " with a
chorus, proclaiming the divinity of Jehovah, the
creator and Lord of the universe. It then de-
scribes in questions and answers, sung by different
voices, the sort of righteousness which consists
not in ceremonial observances, but in clean hands
and a pure heart. And the song concludes with
a prediction of the Messiah, under the image of
the entry of Jehovah into his temple."
Chorus.
]. To Jehovah belongeth the earth and all that therein is.
The world and its inhabitants.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 151
2. For he hath founded it upon the seas ;
And upon the floods hath established it.
FIRST VOICE.
3. Who shall ascend the mountain of Jehovah,
And who shall stand within the precincts of his sanc-
tuary ?
SECOND VOICE.
4. The clean in hand, and pure in heart,
Who hath not carried his soul to vanity,
And hath not sworn to the deceiving of his neighbour :
5. This man shall obtain blessing from Jehovah,
And justification from the God of his salvation.
Chorus.
6. This is the generation of them that seek after him,
Of them that seek thy presence, O God of Jacob.
PART U.Semichorus.
7. O gates, lift up your heads,
And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
And let the King of Glory enter.
A SINGLE VOICE.
8. Who is He, this King of Glory ?
ANOTHER VOICE.
Jehovah, strong and mighty;
Jehovah, mighty in battle.
Semichorus.
9. O you gates, lift up your heads,
And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
And let the King of Glory enter.
A SINGLE VOICE.
10. Who is He, this King of Glory ?
Grand Chorus.
Jehovah of Hosts. He is the King of Glory.
26//i. This is the last day of our Elmore
152 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
friends, the Miss Maudes' visit ; fortunately it
has been very fine, for they wished to walk
through the forest ; and we did ramble very far.
We took them fo visit the blind basket-maker and
the Franklins, and shewed them all the improve-
ments that my uncle had made in the cottage ;
and we came home by a round-about way through
an oak coppice, in which there are nice glades and
pretty paths. In one of these glades there was
an immense pile of oak bark ; and Miss Maude
told me that in May it is peeled off the young
trees which are cut down in thinning the wood,
and is piled up in stacks to dry, till the latter end
of Autumn, when it is disposed of by weight. For
this purpose there was a huge pair of scales, set
up near the stack, and on this very day they
began to take it down, to weigh it, and pack it
in large mats, made of a kind of bent grass, in
which it is sewed up, and sold to the tanners at
a very high price. The different groups, some
weighing, some packing, and others taking it
away on drays, made a very lively scene and
Miss Maude and I each made a sketch of it.
While we were drawing, she asked me several
questions about the Brazilian forests, and I en-
deavoured to describe to her the richness of
foliage, and the majestic height of the trees, to
which none here can be compared. I did not
forget the great variety in our Brazil woods,
where almost every tree was different from that
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 153
next to it, while here, there are not more than
four or five species, which you meet again and
again. Nor did I omit to mention how beauti-
fully they are ornamented, by twining and para-
site plants, and yet not rendered impassable ; for
I repeated what I had heard a gentleman at Rio
say, that such is the regularity of those great
forests, that he could gallop for miles through
them, without being stopped by underwood.
Both she and her sister were very much inter-
ested in the account I gave of the silk cotton
trees, which spread out all their branches at
such a height from the ground ; and of the lecy-
this, with its pitcher-shaped fruit, and of the
jacaranda, with its large feathered leaves of dark
green, which make such a contrast with its gold-
coloured flowers, some species of it so very tall
and magnificent, and others with such singular
tufts of whitish leaves at the ends of the
branches.
They encouraged me to go on, and after de-
scribing how the dark tops of the Chilian fir
mingle with all these other trees, I came to the
humbler shrubs and flowers, which exhibit such
a wonderful variety of tints, and then to the
festoons of those twining plants, called liancs,
which descend from the tops of the highest trees,
or twist round the strongest trunks, till they
gradually kill them.
Though many trees grow to great size here,
154 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
there is certainly not that profusion of vegetation
which you used to make me notice at Brazil ;
and there is a gravity in these English woods,
which I told tlfem is very different from the gay
and flowery appearance of the woods, and even
of the road-sides, in Brazil, where the hedges of
myrtle, china roses, scarlet passion-flowers, and
trumpet flowers, make so gay a mixture. The
autumn tints, so much admired here, are per-
fectly dead, compared to those of South
America.
I described, also, our plains or campus, with
the humming-birds buzzing like bees round the
flowering shrubs, and the myriads of gay butter-
flies, fluttering over the streams. How astonished
these Gloucestershire people would be, if they
were to see the troops of emus or American
ostriches, which run with the swiftness of horses
through the bushes, accompanied by their
young !
Insignificant, however, as the forest of Deane
appears to me, I find that it once chiefly sup-
plied the British navy ; and was considered of so
much importance, that one of the special in-
structions to the Admiral of the Spanish Armada,
was to destroy it.
27/A. We had another boating party to-day,
to take the Miss Maudes home. The river was
quite alive, so many trading vessels were going
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 155
up. The coal mines and iron works in this
neighbourhood employ a great deal of shipping,
and the city of Gloucester is, besides, a place of
considerable business.
As we boated along that part where the river
makes a sudden horseshoe bend, and skirts the
forest so beautifully, the woodland scenery natur-
ally became the subject of conversation ; and my
uncle, after smiling at some of my rhapsodies
about " the magnificent trees of Brazil," told us,
that a friend of his who has been in New South
Wales, had described the appearance of the
forests there, as very peculiar. From the scarcity
of deciduous trees, there is, he says, a tiresome
sameness in the woods ; the white cedar being
almost the only one that is not evergreen, in that
extensive country ; and besides, they have, in
general, a disagreeable grey or silvery appear-
ance. One of the most common trees there^ is
the eucalyptus, with white bark, and a scanty
foliage, which is more like bits of tin, than leaves ;
and no painter, he said, could make a picturesque
view of any scene there, because the trees have
no lateral boughs, and, therefore, cast no masses
of shade. He says, the Australian forests have
all a very peculiar character, owing to the manner
in which the two species that compose at least
one-half of the forests, turn their leaves to the
light. These trees are the acacia, and the euca-
lyptus ; their leaves hang edgeways from the
156
branches, and both the surfaces of the leaf being
thus equally presented to the light, there is
scarcely any difference between the front and the
back.
New South Wales, he says, is a perpetual
flower-garden ; and in point of size, the trees are
not surpassed by those of any quarter of the
globe. Amongst others, he mentioned the cab-
bage palm, which rises sometimes one hundred
feet above the rest of the forest; and another
palm called the seaforthia elegans, equal in
size to the cabbage tree, but with pinnate leaves
like those of the cocoa nut. From the broad
membranous spatha of the flowers, the natives
make water-buckets, by tying up each end, just
as they make their bark canoes. The farmers
use them for milk-pails ; and of the leaves, both
hats and thatch are made ; so that, altogether,
this seaforthia seems as useful as it is elegant.
The Miss Maudes having alluded to the de-
scription I had given them yesterday of the dif-
ference between the woods in England and
Brazil, my uncle said, that young people did
well to make such observations, and to acquire a
general idea of the productions that characterize
the great divisions of the globe. He added, that
on all subjects of natural history it is not enough
to amuse ourselves with details, or to accumulate
mere facts, however valuable, they should be
classed in our minds ; we then perceive the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 157
leading distinctions, and we become able to
trace every new fact up to some general cause.
This, he says, may be called gaining a sort of
double knowledge at least, it is making know-
ledge doubly useful.
2Qth. I send you a long extract from the last
of Hertford's Western Isle letters. He is now
at Edinburgh.
" I have been at the island of St. Kilda ; the
passage to it was stormy and dangerous, which
kept us always on the look out. St. Kilda is so
remote and solitary, that I had expected to find
it more interesting than it is in fact,, for I had
hoped to find some peculiarities among the in-
habitants, in which I might trace the olden times.
Unfortunately the clergyman was absent, and as
the inhabitants have not learned to speak English,
we could not have any very satisfactory inter-
course with them.
" They were a little alarmed at first, by the
sight of strangers, and fled in all directions $ but
they soon became calm, and treated us very hos-
pitably. They seemed to be a most innocent
contented set of people about a hundred all
together and \vere very comfortably dressed.
They use the quern, or hand-mill, as in all the
Hebrides, to grind their oatmeal, and to make
their snuff. Their usual snuff-box is a simple
cow's horn, stopped at the large end, and a small
p
158 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
piece cut off at the point, to let out the snuff,
where they fix a leather plug. This is still called
a snuff-mill in Scotland, for they formerly used
a machine attached to it, like a nutmeg-grater,
which made the snuff, as often as a pinch was
required ; and my companion says that this is
the custom also amongst the shepherds of the
Alps.
" Their houses are constructed without mortar,
for there is no lime on the island ; the stone walls,
which are raised only three or four feet from the
ground, are double, and the interval is filled with
earth. In the walls there are several recesses,
each covered by a flag ; and in these holes, like
ovens, the people sleep. The windows and chim-
neys are simple openings in the roof; from which
also hang their implements of husbandry, as well
as of bird-catching, with their ropes, and fishing-
rods, &c. and many long bladders, containing the
oil of the fulmar, to supply their lamps, and also
to use as a medicine. Every person has a dog,
a small rough species of the Highland terrier,
which scrambles along the cliffs, and creeps into
the holes of the Ailsa cocks, who live in the
ground, like rabbits.
" As to music, for which St. Kilda was famous,
I am sorry to say that neither bagpipe nor violin
were in the island when I was there ; the airs, it
is said, are very plaintive, like the generality of
Highland music.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 159
" The mode of preserving the peat in winter,
and also the corn and hay, is ingenious, and pe-
culiar, I am told, to this island. They are kept
in buildings, which from their domed shape ap-
peared most extraordinary, till I discovered their
purpose. They are the first objects visible on
approaching from sea, and I, of course, thought
they were the dwellings of the natives. The sides
admit a free passage of air, but the roofs are ren-
dered water-tight by a covering of turf; the domes
are formed by the regular diminution of the courses
of masonry, and the whole is closed and secured
at top by a few large heavy stones.
" The bird-catchers of this island have long
been celebrated. The puffins are caught in their
burrows by the dogs, and the chase is usually
managed by the children, while the men are en-
gaged in the pursuit of more difficult game.
Gannets, or Solan-geese, and other large birds,
are taken by hand, or with snares, on their
nests ; for which purpose the bird-catchers de-
scend the cliffs, by the assistance of a rope, which
is sometimes made of hair, or sometimes of slips
of twisted cow-hide.
" A party, who were provided with these ropes,
led me to the brink of a precipice, of such a
height, that the sea, dashing against the rocks
below, was not heard above. Several of the
ropes having been tied to one another, to increase
their length, the man who was going down fastened
160
one end of it round his w r aist, and the other end
he let down the precipice, to about the depth to
which he intended to go ; then giving the mid-
dle of the rt)pe to a man to hold, he began to
descend, always steadying himself by one part of
the rope as he let himself down by the other.
He was supported from falling only by the single
man above, who merely held it in his hands, and
sometimes with one hand alone, looking at the
same time over the precipice, without any stay
for his feet, and conversing with the young man
as he descended. In a short time, however, he
returned, with a fulmar in his hand ; it was placed
on the ground, and a little dog having been set
at it, the angry bird repeatedly cast out quantities
of pure oil, which it spat in the dog's face.
" I accompanied the same party in one of
their night expeditions, as far at least as the edge
of the precipice, in order to see them catch the
Solan-geese. These wary birds have always a
sentinel to keep watch; the object is therefore,
by surprising him, to prevent his giving the
alarm 5 for this purpose, the catcher descends the
rock, at some distance from the sentinel, and then
passing along horizontally, comes upon him un-
perceived, and so quickly breaks his neck, that
the other birds are not roused. He then quietly
removes one into the nest of another, which causes
an immediate battle ; this disturbs all the geese
on the rock, and while they are gaping at the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 161
combat they are easily caught ; the man twist-
ing the necks of as many as he chooses, and
thrusting their heads into his belt eight hun-
dred are sometimes taken by this method in one
night.
" There is a loose skin under their bill, in
which these birds can carry four or five herrings
at a time, besides sprats, which the young pick
out with their bill, through the mouth of the pa-
rent, as with a pair of pincers. When the gan-
nets observe a shoal of herrings, they close their
wings to their sides and precipitate themselves
head-foremost into the water, dropping just like a
stone. Their eye is so exact in doing this, that
they are sure to rise with a fish in their mouth.
" I must also mention the Foolish Guillemot.
A rock-man descends at night by his rope to
the ledge of a precipice, where he fixes himself,
and tying round him a piece of white linen, awaits
the approach of the bird, who, mistaking the cloth
for a rock, alights on it, and is killed imme-
diately. This silly bird lays but one egg, and
without any nest to protect it : so that when dis-
turbed, she frequently tumbles it down the rocks
as she rises."
.' I have been labouring most diligently
at my garden, and many a time did I wish that
my Mamma and Marianne could have seen
how much the indolent Bertha, as she used to
162
be called, is improved in activity and in real
strength. I was preparing a bed for hyacinths ;
taking out the old soil, and putting nice fresh
earth, mixedVith sand, in its place. Wentworth
helped me to dig out the earth, and Frederick
and his wheelbarrow were for a long time busily
employed in taking it away. My aunt had given
me the bulbs, and we were anxious to complete
the job, before the weather should become too wet.'
My uncle paid us a visit, and seemed pleased
with us all. He likes to see that sort of patient
perseverance it is more valuable, he says, than
genius ; and in the evening, he read to us the
following anecdote from Bakewell's Savoy, to
shew how much may be done by it.
The mineral waters of Breda were formerly
covered by a sudden inundation of the river
Isere, and lost. In the summer of 1819, the
breaking down of the side of a glacier, in one of
the upper valleys of that river, produced another
inundation, which brought down with it an
immense quantity of stones and earth, that
blocked up the river and forced it into a new
channel. A miller and his family, who lived on
the banks, narrowly escaped with their lives,
and most of his little property and all his winter
stores were swept away. He was then an old
man ; but nature had given him that resolute
spirit, which regards common calamities only
as motives for additional exertion. He lost no
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 163
time in useless lamentations, and immediately
began, not only to repair, but to improve, and
to provide, as much as possible, against a recur-
rence of similar misfortunes. He excavated
with his own hands a large cellar in the rock
near his mill, partly by the pickaxe, and partly
by blasting with gunpowder ; and there his
stores and winter provisions were safe from any
power of destruction, less formidable than an
earthquake.
But this industrious man had long been the
wonder of the commune. One of his perform-
ances, that almost exceeds belief, was the re-
moval, in 1796, of an immense block of marble,
and the working it into a millstone for crushing
walnuts. The block had fallen into the valley,
about three hundred yards from his mill. He
had often viewed it with a wishful eye t but to
remove it seemed beyond his power ; he was,
however, then in the vigour of life, and he re-
solved to attempt it. He began by cutting the
stone into a proper form, which was a labour of
many months ; when this was done, by the aid
of his wife, his mother, and his servant boy, and
with some miserable pulleys, he contrived, for
several successive weeks, to move it a few inches,
or a few yards everyday, according to the nature
of the ground, till at length he brought it safely
within his mill. It is about nine feet in diame-
ter, and three feet in thickness ; and cannot
164 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
weigh less than fourteen tons, as it contains
about 189 cubic feet of marble. The removal
of this huge stone, with the very slender means
by which it was accomplished, is a striking in-
stance of what labour can effect, by unremitted
perseverance.
In the winter which followed the last inun-
dation, his wife observed steam constantly rising
from the opposite bank of the river, and, on
going to the spot, she found a considerable spring
of hot water, which being examined, and found
to be mineral, baths were established there.
Mr. Bakewell adds, that being desirous that this
industrious miller should derive some advantage
from his wife's discovery, he recommended his
keeping mules to let out to the bathers, and cows
to supply them with milk, during the season.
With these suggestions he was much pleased,
and should he adopt them, it will be equally ad-
vantageous to visiters at the baths as to himself,
as there was neither horse nor mule to be hired in
the place ; and in the summer months, as all
the cattle are pastured in the mountains, milk
can be procured only once or twice a-week.
Oct. 1st. I have just read such a pretty de-
scription of the humming-bird, that I must copy
it for Marianne : it is from BufFon, who calls this
bird I'Oiseau Mouche. *' Of all animated beings,"
he says, " it is the most elegant in form, and the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 165
most brilliant in colours our precious stones
cannot be compared in lustre to this jewel of
Nature, who has bestowed on it all the gifts
which she has only shared amongst other birds.
Lightness, swiftness, grace, and the most splen-
did clothing, all belong to this little favourite.
" The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz,
sparkle in its plumage, which it never defiles
with the dust of the earth ; and scarcely even
deigns to touch the green turf for a- moment. It
is always on the "wing, fluttering from flower to
flower, and possesses their freshness as -well as
their brilliancy it lives on their nectar, and
only inhabits those climates where flowers never
cease to bloom.
" It is in the warmest regions of the New
World, that all the species known of these birds
are found ; for those which advance in summer
to the temperate zones, only remain there a short
time. They seem to follow the sun, to advance
and retire with him ; and to fly on the wings of
Zephyr in the train of an eternal spring."
I thought we had in Brazil the smallest hum-
ming-birds that were known ; but I have read in
Mr. Bullock's very entertaining book, that he
procured one in Jamaica, that was less than even
some species of the bee. It had taken its station
on a large tamarind tree, which was close to the
house, and overspread part of the yard ; there it
spent most of the day, and kept absolute posses-
166 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
sion of its dominions; for, the moment any
other bird, though ten times larger than itself,
approached the tree, it furiously attacked and
drove off the* intruder ; always returning to the
same twig, which it had worn quite bare, by
continually perching on the same spot.
Mr. Bullock observed these birds feeding on
insects, which contradicts the general idea that
they live only on the honey of flowers. When
he was in Mexico, one of them took possession
of a pomegranate-tree, and sat on it the whole
day catching the flies that came into the flowers ;
and on dissection he has found other insects in their
stomach. Though naturally petulant, and very
tenacious of intrusion, they seldom quarrel in
captivity ; for example, when a great blue-
throated humming-bird occupied the perch, he
has seen the diminutive Mexican star settle on
its beak, and quietly remain there for some in-
stants, \vithout the insult having been resented.
In the air, indeed, they fight desperately till one
falls, and Mr. Bullock witnessed a battle in heavy
rain, every drop of which he thought would have
been sufficient to beat the little combatants to the
ground.
They are still worn by the Mexican ladies as
ornaments for the ears ; and their name in the
Indian language signifies " Beams, or locks of
the sun." But he says, what is very true, indeed,
that the stuffed humming-birds can give but little
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 167
idea of their real brilliancy ; for the sides of the
fibres of each feather being of a different colour
from the surface, the least motion of the bird
continually changes the hue. For example, the
topaz-throated humming-bird of Nootka Sound
is ever varying from a vivid fire colour to the
bright green of the emerald.
They are very cunning little things; the house
in which Mr. B. lived was of one story, inclosing
a garden round which it was built. The spiders
had spread their numerous webs from the tiles
of the projecting roof, to the trees in the garden,
so closely, that they resembled a net. The hum-
ming-birds endeavoured to seize on the entangled
flies ; but, afraid of entangling their own wings,
and perhaps a little alarmed by those great spiders,
they would fly rapidly round and round, as if to
reconnoitre the best avenue ; then darting in,
they picked out the smallest fly, and escaped
without touching a single thread.
I was surprised to find that some of these birds
were found as far north as Nootka Sound ; and
I asked my aunt if she thought there was any
mistake in the name of the place. She said, that
though the winters are very severe in that part of
America, the summer is extremely hot ; and she
added that an intimate friend in Upper Canada,
with whom she corresponds, mentions the hum-
ming-birds as being constant visiters in summer
I had not before heard that she had a corre-
168
spondent there. How interesting, said I, her letters
must be from those frozen regions, where every-
thing is so different, from the part of America in
which I have lived !
" You shall see her letters with pleasure,"
replied my aunt ; " and I hope at some future
time you will know the amiable and excellent
writer herself."
, 2nd. Sunday. In speaking to-day of reading
the Bible, my uncle regretted that indolence so
often prevents people, when they find difficulties,
or apparent contradictions, from taking a little
trouble to try if they could not be reconciled.
" How often," said he, " by a small degree of
attention, might we perceive that the seeming
disagreement arises from some oversight of our
own, and that it might be made quite clear by a
little reflection.
" For instance, in 1st Kings, vii. 26, it is stated
that the molten sea contained two thousand
baths ; while in 2nd Chronicles, iv. 5, we are
told that it received and held three thousand
baths. Now the case is this : the writer of the
book of Chronicles states that ten lavers of brass
were made, which joined the molten sea. ' Five
on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash
in them ; such things as they offered for the
burnt-offering they washed in them \ but the sea
was for the priest to wash in. 5
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 169
" Hence it appears that the molten sea, with
its appendages the lavers, were altogether for the
washings ; but each part was appropriated to
distinct purposes the lavers for the washing
of burnt-offerings, and the sea for the washing of
the priests ; as it would not have been proper for
the priests to have washed in the same water in
which the burnt-offerings were washed. The
lavers are not noticed in the book of Kings, in
which the contents only of the sea are alluded
to but in Chronicles you perceive they are both
mentioned. The lavers received one thousand
baths, exactly the difference which makes these
accounts appear contradictory but which is
completely explained by observing that a part
only of the sea is alluded to by one writer, while
the other describes the whole of it."
My uncle mentioned some other passages in
the Old Testament, which are misunderstood, in
consequence of some slight inaccuracy in the
English construction. I think I can give one of
them nearly in his words. " In 2nd Chronicles,
chap, ii., an astonishing number of men are said
to have been employed in building the Temple
a number that at first sight appears incredible,
supposing them employed on the Temple only.
But we are told by the learned that the original
does not signify that they were all employed on
what, properly speaking, was called the Temple,
or inner-house, where the cherubim were kept.
Q
170
BERTH AS VISIT TO HER
The expression applies equally to the outer di-
vision before the veil, which was called the
greater house ; and we are therefore to consider
that all the*buildings attached to the Temple are
included in this account of the employment of
the workmen. Now the buildings around the
whole area where the temple stood were in-
tended not only for the residence of the priests
and Levites, but were also adapted to contain
their portion, or tenth, of the produce of the land ;
and certainly, for these purposes, the out-build-
ings must have been very capacious. And
besides, we must recollect that great numbers of
men were necessarily occupied in quarrying stones
for buildings of such extent, as well as in pre-
paring the materials for fitting up the interior.""
When my uncle had finished this satisfactory
explanation, Mary said that she had lately been
comparing the history in the books of Kings and
Chronicles, and that she had met with a little
difficulty. In 1st Kings, ix. 23, we are told that
the number of chief officers over Solomon's work
was five hundred and fifty. But in 2nd Chro-
nicles, viii. 10, they are said to be two hundred
and fifty. " Now, papa," said Mary, " I know
you can clear up this difficulty. 1 "
" The accounts do seem contradictory," said
my uncle, " yet both are correct. You see in
1st Kings, v. 13, that Solomon levied out of all
Israel thirty thousand men. This army was
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 171
divided into tens, and every tenth man was an
officer. These three thousand officers, if divided
by twelve, (the number of the tribes,) will give
two hundred and fifty chief officers, according
to Chronicles. But we had been already told
(chap. ii. 18) that Solomon employed one hun-
dred and fifty thousand workmen, and that over
them he appointed three thousand six hundred
overseers. These overseers were regulated in
the same manner as the officers of the army ;
and, therefore, if three thousand six hundred be
divided by twelve, it will give you three hundred
chief officers ; which added to the two hundred
and fifty, selected from the guards, makes five
hundred and fifty officers that bare rule over the
people, according to your quotation from the first
book of Kings."
3d. I had a nice walk with my uncle to-day,
to Farmer Moreland's, with whom he had some
business. As we passed through the field in
which there had been meadow this year, my
uncle made me observe what a fine growth had
sprung up since it was mowed ; the after-grass he
called it. I asked, did he not consider the grasses
as amongst some of the most useful plants ?
He said, " The tribe of grasses yield more
sustenance to man, and to the larger animals, than
all the rest of the vegetable kingdom put to-
gether. Their herbage is perpetually springing,
Q 2
172 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and it is adapted to almost every soil, climate,
and situation. The grasses are a very exten-
sive tribe, and yet throughout the whole of it,
nothing poistmous or injurious is found, except,
perhaps, the stupefying quality attributed to the
seeds of the lolium, or rye-grass. The farina-
ceous produce of wheat, rye, barley, rice, maize,
and many others, supplies mankind with the
most general and wholesome nutriment."
As we walked along, I shewed him quantities
of wild ranunculus mixed with the grass, and I
asked, was there no way of preventing the
growth of all those weeds. He answered, that a
certain proportion of what we vulgarly called
weeds, are now considered useful in making the
grass more palateable to cattle, and even more
wholesome " Just in the same manner," said
he, " as men could scarcely live on flour alone,
so cattle cannot be well supported by mere grass,
without the addition of various plants, in them-
selves too acrid, bitter, or narcotic, to be eaten
unmixed. Salt, spices, and a portion of animal
food, supply us with the requisite stimulus or
additional nutriment ; and, in the same manner,
the ranunculus tribe, and many other plants,
season the pasturage of cattle."
My uncle afterwards told me, that some of
the grasses run chiefly to stalks, the leaves de-
caying as the seed advances towards perfection :
such as rye-grass, dog's-tail grass, and line bent ;
UNCLE IN ENGLAND, 173
while others, whose leaves continue to grow after
the seed is formed, retain their verdure and
juices during the whole season, as in the poa
and fescue tribes, whose leaves are green and
fresh, when the seeds are ripe. Ignorant farmers
do not attend to this, and often, in mistake, sow
those very grasses that run all to stalk and seed.
Besides the numerous families of real grasses,
there is also a great variety of plants cultivated
by farmers, to supply their places, and are, there-
fore, called the artificial grasses.
" In some cases they are of more rapid growth
than a crop of grass in others, the change is
of use to the soil. Sainfoin, for instance^ of
which you see so much in Gloucestershire, is
found to be particularly adapted to a soil ex-
hausted by repeated corn crops, because its root
enters deeply into the ground, while the fibrous
roots of corn spread close to the surface. Lu-
cern, clover, vetches, and other succulent and
quickly growing plants of this nature, are also
called artificial grasses and are thus of great
advantage to the farmer, by supplying his cattle
with excellent food, and at the same time by al-
ternately giving rest to different portions of his
ground."
4th. Some visiters have just arrived ; they
are to spend a week here, and I am sure we
Q 3
174 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
shall not go on half so pleasantly, for these peo-
ple will interrupt all our employments, and will,
I suppose, be very formal. I said so to my aunt
this morning, and I was surprised to find that
she was not of that opinion ; I thought she would
particularly dislike having the regular., happy life
here deranged.
I have been very busy in my garden this
morning. With some help I have completed the
little flower beds, which I intend to be so pretty
next spring they are intermixed with grass-
plots, and are made up of good, fresh earth, pro-
perly prepared for the plants they are to contain.
Mary, who seems to have a great deal of know-
ledge, has assisted me for I find that much of
the art of gardening consists in suiting the soil
to the nature of the plants. In my jonquil bed,
she advised me to put abundance of sand, and
no manure. This has been done ; and this fine
mild dry day, I planted it with the bulbs as she
directed me. I have a narcissus bed, too, and
this has been made up with what the gardener
calls hazel loam, and a small portion of manure.
These two beds, along with one for hyacinths,
that I described before, and one for carnations,
make up what I call my regular flower-beds, on
the upper part of the sloping bank. Besides
these, I have two beds at one side, one for roses
of different kinds, and one for white lilies. These
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 175
last have, I am told, very magnificent flowers, and
in order to have them very fine, a great deal of
fresh manure has been dug in to nearly two feet
in depth.
Some days ago, I planted a number of rose-
trees, contributions from all my kind friends. I
have also made little edgings to all my beds ;
and I am now, like a mere child, already longing
for the time when I shall see them covered with
blossoms. But I have not nearly done yet all
that I intend ; for I heard a gentleman, who
comes sometimes to see my uncle, Mr. Biggs,
telling him of such a variety of nice plants, and
the modes of managing them, that I am deter-
mined to try some of the things which he men-
tioned. I must first consult my uncle, because
I have great plans in view ; but I am afraid all
these strangers will prevent him from having
time to listen to me.
I find that this is a busy season in the garden,
though the decline of the year, and that several
plants, and almost all deciduous trees and shrubs,
should be transplanted now. I have quite got
into the spirit of gardening, I think ; it is indeed
a delightful occupation to the mind, as well as
the body. There is not only much to think of,
and to remember to do at the right time, but also
to know why it should be done.
Tuesday night. Though I am tired after all
my hard work to-day, I must tell you, Mamma,
176 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
before I go to bed, that I see how foolish it is to
judge of people in a hurry, or to think strangers
must be tiresome, because they interrupt our
usual habits.* The strangers who arrived to-day
appear to be very pleasing ; Mr. Lumley, who
has travelled a great deal, has many entertaining
things to tell ; and his daughters, and their
mother also, are very nice people. They
brought some pretty kinds of work with them,
and I was glad to find that we might employ our-
selves, instead of sitting up stifly and formally.
5th. I mentioned last night, that the Lum-
leys seemed to be a very agreeable family ; yet,
when I woke this morning, I felt that some of my
apprehensions were returning. Night, however,
has come round again, and I must tell you, dear
Mamma, that we have passed the day most
pleasantly ; partly in our usual occupations, for
I found that my cousins never neglect those
which are most important, for any guests what-
ever ; and partly in walking and in gardening.
The Miss Lumleys pleased me very much, by
appearing interested in the progress of my gar-
den, and they even helped me to transplant
several of my flowers. Then came my uncle
and Mr. Lumley ; they examined every part of
my garden, and asked me several questions.
My uncle inquired about the new scheme of
which I had been talking, and said he would
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 177
assist me as much as possible. I shewed him
the old quarry, and boldly described all that I
intended to do frequently referring to hints I
had picked up from his conversations with Mr.
Biggs. My uncle said he was rejoiced to find
that I could attend so well to general conver-
sation, and gave me the quarry to reward me.
When I had finished what I had to do in my
garden, he and Mr. Lumley took Frederick and
me to walk with them, and I heard numbers of
entertaining things, much more than I can now
put in my journal.
We left the forest, and passing through the
open fields which lie between it and the Severn,
we walked for some time close by the edge of
the river. I saw a beautiful bird sitting on a
projecting stone, and we all stopped to observe
it ; sometimes fluttering its wings, and exposing
its brilliant blue, green, and red plumage to the
sun. It then took wing, and hovered in the air
for some time, watching for the moment to dart
on its victim. At last we saw it make a spring
of twelve or fifteen feet upwards, and then drop
perpendicularly into the water, where it remained
several seconds. It was a kingfisher, which
Mr. Lumley told me is a very common bird on
the continent. He says it is shy and solitary,
frequenting banks of rivers, where it will sit still
for hours, as we saw it. It usually takes posses-
sion of a hole in the bank, which had previously
178
been made by a martin, or a mole, and which
it enlarges a little for its own purpose. The
hole has generally an ascending direction, and
penetrates t\to or three feet into the bank ; at
the end it is scooped into a hollow, where quan-
tities of small fishes' bones are often found.
Mr. L. has seen these nests frequently ; and he
told me that as the old birds appear to have
nothing in their bills when they feed their young,
it is thought that they discharge from their sto-
mach the requisite nourishment.
There are several species, but this one is the
halcyon of the ancients, which poets imagined
had a floating nest endowed with power to calm
the winds and seas. Some of the gravest of the
ancient writers relate, that it sat only a few days,
just in the depth of winter, and that during that
period the mariner might sail in full security
whence the expression, " halcyon days"
Mr. Lumley has studied the habits even of the
despised house-sparrow, which however, he does
not at all despise ; for he says that it is a most
useful creature, destroying various kinds of
grubs that would be most injurious to our crops.
Though it generally builds in holes and gutters,
and under the eaves of houses, yet it sometimes
builds in the top of a tree ; and then its nest,
which is carelessly formed, because in a place
where it is protected, is made as large as a man's
head, with a cover to keep off the rain. It is
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 179
composed chiefly of hay find straw, but warmly
lined with feathers, and fragments of thread or
worsted, bits of cloth, or any material that can
be picked up about a house ; and should their
nest be destroyed, they will build up another in
twenty-four hours.
In some parts of France, Mr. Lumley saw
earthen pots hung out of houses, for the sparrows
to breed in, for the purpose of having a supply
of young sparrows for the table ; and it is said
that the kings of Persia have them trained to
hunt the butterfly.
6th. My uncle and Mr. Lumley have been
conversing to-day about the trees and woods
of Europe. I had been saying so much to
my cousins lately about the forests of tropical
countries, that it was delightful to hear them
continue the subject ; and finding that I listened,
they tried to make me comprehend all they said.
They remarked that each region of Europe
may be distinguished, in some degree, by the
different character of its forests ; the pine and
birch being invariably found in the cold northern
countries ; the lime, beech, ash, oak, chesnut,
and walnut in the temperate regions ; and, ap-
proaching the warmer climates, the cork tree and
the olive.
The most useful of the tree families are boun-
tifully extended, said my uncle, from nearly the
180 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
frigid to the torrid zone ; and if we do not possess
the rich variety of the tropical regions, the palms,
the teak, the jnahogany, the banyan, and the bao-
bab, yet are we, on the other hand, provided with
some tribes that cannot be surpassed in usefulness
or in beauty. And it is worthy of remark, he
added, that some one species of the oak and of
the pine, those two most useful trees, are to be
found in every climate of the earth, excepting
in the immediate polar regions. The woods of
northern Russia, of Norway, and Sweden, con-
sist, with little variation, of the pine tribe. The
Scotch fir retains its dense foliage during the long
winter, and affords shelter to the wild animals
of the forest ; and the greater the intensity of
cold, the firmer and more dense the timber be-
comes in texture. This tree supplies the pea-
santry with their cottages, their boats, and their
fuel. Tar, rosin, and turpentine, are extracted
from it by very rude methods of distillation, and
its ashes produce potash. On the mountainous
ranges of the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Apen-
nines, it grows luxuriantly at that elevation
where the temperature is similar to that of the
northern regions. In the mountains of Thibet,
which are now considered the highest in the
world, six different species of pine flourish ; and
even at the elevation of 12,000 feet, forests
of pine are found mixed with birch and rho-
dodendron
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 181
In Finland, and in the neighbourhood of Peters-
burg, the birch, which comes next to the pine
in quantity, is inclined to grow by itself ; but it
abounds in the natural woods of Great Britain
and of other parts of Europe. In the central
parts of our continent, elm, maple, and ash are
common, and grow to a noble size ; but their
extent is small in proportion to the northern forests
of birch and pine, and they seem to prefer an open
situation. In the sheltered parts of Savoy and
Switzerland the walnut is a very profitable as well
as ornamental tree ; and the olive flourishes on
the sloping sides of the hills, particularly in
Italy. In low and warm situations there, the
cypress and poplar grow to a great size above
them comes the chesnut, and still higher, ap-
proaching the pines, appears the magnificent oak.
The grey foliage of the olive gives a peculiar
appearance to the country ; and the cork-tree,
also, Mr. Lumley says, excites the admiration of
all travellers. Spain, Portugal, and the South
of France are the countries in which this beautiful
tree is most prominent ; it grows higher than
the oak, of which it is a species, and has more
slender branches and smaller leaves, The chief
distinction is the spongy bark, which the tree
throws off naturally; and it is said that the growth
of the tree is improved by peeling it.
Besides the common and well known uses of
the bark, he told us that it is employed in Por-
VOL. I. R
182 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
tugal for beehives, for covering stables, and for
many domestic purposes. Near Cintra he saw a
convent buiU between two perpendicular rocks
which actually formed the outer walls ; and the
monks, by neatly lining them with large flat
pieces of cork, had effectually excluded all damp-
ness. The timber is employed for the same
purposes as oak ; the acorns fatten immense
droves of hogs ; and the acorn-cups of this useful
tree is one of the principal ingredients in tanning
the Portuguese goat-skins.
Cork trees are found in great perfection in the
South of France. From Bayonne, where the low
sandy heaths called lea Landes commence, and
extend as far as Bordeaux, the woods consist
almost entirely of that tree, and of the pinus
maritima, which is scarcely less useful. The
wood is excellent, and yields an extraordinary
proportion of turpentine resin, and tar ; the fruit
contains a kernel which has a pleasant flavour of
the almond, and is often used in cookery ; and
from the root is obtained a brown dye which the
fishermen use to preserve their nets. They are,
however, in many parts of that tract of country
prohibited from touching the roots, because their
long matted fibres, by running along the surface,
fix the loose sand and prevent its blowing away.
Mr. Lumley spoke with admiration of the
woods of Old Castile, particularly of the fine
evergreen oaks and the bushy laurel-leaved
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 183
neither of which he has seen anywhere
else in such beauty. The acorns of the former,
Avhen roasted, form a large part of the food of the
poor peasantry.
7th. Mr. Lumley and my uncle have been
studying Dr. Richardson's remarks on the cli-
mate of the Hudson's Bay countries, and I have
noted for you all I could understand.
In the neighbourhood of Fort Enterprise,
lat. 64 N. the white spruce advances nearer
the northern limit than any other pine. The
largest of those trees were between eight and
nine feet in circumference. The elm, ash, sugar-
maple, and arbor-vitae extend to nearly the same
latitude.
Oak and beech terminate about lat. 50. The
balsam poplar sends straggling trees as far north
as lat. 63, and the aspen grows in pretty large
clumps a degree farther north, beyond which
it was not seen. The balsam poplar forms a
large proportion of the drift timber observed on
the shores of the Arctic Sea, and is supposed to
come principally from M'Kenzie river.
Fort Enterprise was supposed to be elevated
about 800 feet above the Arctic Sea, and the
banks of the river on which it was built are
ornamented with groves of the white spruce tree.
On each side of the river, an irregular marshy
plain extends to ranges of unconnected hills, at
R2
184
the base of which there is commonly a thin
stratum of mountain peat. The bottom of the
valleys is generally occupied by lakes of a con-
siderable depth, which are entirely land-locked,
and communicate with each other only when
flooded by the melting snow. The sides of the
hills, and all the drier spots of the valley, are
clothed with a beautiful carpet of the lichens,
which form the favourite food of the reindeer;
and some shrubs, such as the great bilberry, the
marsh ledum, some of the willow tribe, and
different species of andromeda, arbutus, and the
kalmia glauca, frequently enliven the scene.
In sheltered situations, where the peat is
deeper than usual, a few starved larch and black
spruce are scattered. There are also thin clumps
of the paper birch on the borders of the rapids,
as well as of the white spruce, which thrives better
there than any other tree ; but all are of slow
and stunted growth. Of the spruce cut down
at Fort Enterprise, the increase seemed to have
been in general at the rate of four rings, or
years, to one inch ; and though the house which
the travellers built there was only 24 feet wide*
it was with difficulty they obtained half a dozen
beams of sufficient length, the trees tapered so
much.
It appears by Dr. Richardson's tables, that up
to the 20th of June, 1821, there was no appear-
ance of vegetation among the flower-bearing
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 185
plants, except the gradual opening of the willow
catkins. Early in June, the first, or female band
of reindeer passed to the northward of lat. 65 ;
their progress seemed to be regulated by the un-
covering of the lichens. When the thaw is much
farther advanced, the lichens become too tender
and pulpy, and the deer resort to the swamps to
feed upon the grass, or rather hay, which having
been frozen up in the preceding autumn^ retains
its sap and nutritive qualities, when the snow melts
from around it in spring. In a few days, how
ever, the stalks become dry, and the seeds are shed ;
but the deer by that time have reached the sea-
coast, where other plants supply them with food,
which, however, are not so fattening as the lichens.
On Midsummer-day the dwarf birch opened
its buds ; a fortnight afterwards the ice on the
larger lakes broke up, and several plants flowered.
But on the 5th of September a storm set in,
which clothed all the country with snow for the
winter ; and in the beginning of October the party
again walked over the lakes which they had
crossed on the ice in the middle of June ; an in-
terval of only 116 days.
The sap of the trees and shrubs freezes there
in winter ; arid the wood becomes so hard that
the chips produced by an axe flew off more like
splinters of stone than of wood.
In all those dreary districts there are no traces
of the influence of man over the appearance of
R3
186 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
the vegetable kingdom. Cultivation is entirely
confined to a few small gardens at the fur-posts ;
and the only .mode in which the arts and customs
of the natives affect the vegetable kingdom, is by
their setting fire to the forests. These fires
spread rapidly in summer, and are only extin-
guished by heavy rains. Years elapse before
anything grows in the places thus laid waste.
The branchless trunks of the burnt trees are in a
season or two stripped of their bark and bleached,
if not sooner thrown down by the wind. The
surface of the ground in time acquires a little
verdure from a few mosses and lichens ; other
vegetables take root ; and, at last, the place
where a pine forest had been, is occupied by
dense thickets of slender aspens. The growth
of this tree, instead of a renewal of the pine
forest, which might have been expected, is a
curious circumstance, and can be attributed only
to its winged seeds favouring their dispersion.
I hope what I have written will amuse you, as
in your last letter you wished to hear something
of the discoveries made by Captain Franklin's
party.
Sth. I have much to tell you, dear Mamma,
of all that we have seen and done this day ;
some of it quite out of our usual course, for we
went to see a magnificent place, about nine miles
from hence, belonging to Lord S . My
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 187
uncle, Mr. Lumley, and my cousins, rode, ex-
cept Frederick, who came in the carriage with
the ladies. The grounds and woods are exten-
sive ; but the gardens, stove, and conservatory,
are remarkably fine, and were our chief object.
Few private gardens have such a collection of the
palm tribe, and of South American plants. I saw
many of my old Brazilian friends ; and moreover
many plants and trees from Brazil, and the neigh-
bouring countries, of which I was quite ignorant.
The house where the palms are kept was built
on purpose for them, of an uncommon height ;
and Lord S has endeavoured to arrange the
numerous specimens, as well as he could, ac-
cording to Humboldt's division of the tribe :
the first, those which grow in dry places or
inland plains, such as the fan- palm ; secondly,
those on the sea coast, as the cocoa-nut, &c. ;
next, the palms which flourish at the elevation
of 1400 to 3000 yards above the sea, and which
were unknown till Humboldt's visit to the Andes;
and, fourthly, those of fresh-water marshes, as
the Mauritia palm. This is the sago-tree of South
America ; it extends along the swamps as far in-
land as the sources of the Oroonoko, and supplies
the inhabitants with flour. In the season of the
inundations, these clumps of mauritia appear as
if rising from the bosom of the waters. They
serve as habitations for a tribe of wretched
Indians ; and as they grow in great abundance
188 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
in the low grounds of the Delta, at the mouth
of the Oroonoko, strangers sailing up the river
at night are astonished at seeing the tops of the
trees illuminated by large fires. The poor natives
suspend strong mats between the trunks of the
trees, and fill them with moist clay, on which
they kindle the fire necessary for their household
wants. These people have preserved their inde-
pendence, and probably owe it to the quaking
and swampy soil which they alone know how to
pass over, to their dwellings in the trees.
This mauritia palm is called the Tree of Life
by the missionaries ; for it not only affords the
Indian a safe dwelling, but supplies him with
food and wine, and cordage. Its fruit and fari-
naceous pith supply food its saccharine juice
ferments into wine, and the fibres of the
leaf-stalks furnish thread fit for weaving ham-
mocks, or twisting into ropes. How very sin-
gular, Mamma, to see a whole nation of human
creatures depending on one single species of
palm-tree for their existence !
We had much conversation about the various
species of palms which we saw ; and particularly
the real sago-tree, which grows in the East, and
which exceeds all other plants in the quantity of
nutriment it affords to mankind. My uncle told
me that a single tree, in its fifteenth year, some-
times yields six hundred pounds weight of sago
or meal ; for the word sago signifies meal, in
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 189
the dialect of Amboyna. Mr. Lumley said that,
as these trees grow about ten feet asunder, an
English acre could contain four hundred and
thirty-five of them; and, supposing their average
produce to be only one third of what my uncle
mentioned, it would amount to eight thousand
seven hundred pounds yearly of meal, from each
acre. This, he said, was three times as much as
would be considered a good crop of corn in this
country. Sago is collected from five different
palms, but not in the same abundance as from
the real sago-tree.
We then examined some fine specimens of
the date-tree, so famous in all our Eastern tales,
and so delightful to all travellers. Mr. Lumley
has often seen it near Lisbon, where it grows
well; but the fruit never ripens perfectly in
Europe. It is found in great abundance in
Africa, and particularly on the borders of the
vast desert of Sahara, where the parched sandy
soil is so unfit for the production of corn. But
the date-tree supplies the deficiency, and fur-
nishes the inhabitants with almost the whole of
their subsistence. Forests of this most useful
palm may be seen there, of several leagues in
circumference : their extent, however, depends
on the quantity of water that can be procured,
as they require constant moisture. The Arabs
say these trees are very long lived ; and there is
scarcely any part of them which they do not
190 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
make useful. The wood, though of a spongy
texture, lasts such a number of years, that they
say it is incorruptible ; most of their instruments
of husbandry are made of it; and though it
burns slowly, it gives out great heat. The Arabs
strip the bark and fibrous parts from the young
trees, and eat the substance in the inside of the
stalk. It is nourishing and sweet, and is called
the marrow of the date-tree. They eat also the
young leaves, with lemon-juice ; and the old ones
are dried, and used for making mats, baskets,
and many other articles, with which they carry
on a considerable trade. From the stumps of
the branches arise a great number of delicate
filaments, of which ropes, and even a coarse
cloth, are manufactured.
Indeed I believe all the palms are very useful,
even the humble dwarf fan-palm, which we saw
also in this collection, and which Mr. Lumley
says is very plentiful in Algarve, the southern
province of Portugal ; it seldom grows more than
three or four feet high, though the stem is thick:
its fan-shaped leaves are used for making the
baskets in which the dried figs are packed ; and
its young shoots are eaten as vegetables.
But I was surprised not to see in this collec-
tion the silk-thread palm, that celebrated tree
which you and I have had the pleasure of seeing
in its own country, with its beautiful, long, ser-
rated leaves, composed of innumerable fibres,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 191
both finer and stronger than silk, and of which the
fishing-nets are sometimes made. How useful
it would be if this tree could be induced to grow
in England and how my uncle and aunt would
laugh at me if they saw this sentence !
We returned by a different road, and I enjoyed
the day very much ; the drive was in itself so
pleasant, and it is so satisfactory to see any thing
new with people who have real knowledge like
my companions, and who are alive to the pleasure
of seeing what is curious. The Miss Lumleys
have seen very little, they have seldom been out
of the forest in their lives ; yet they are not at
all ignorant. They told me that they have not
much time for reading, but that what little know-
ledge thay have, has been acquired by the con-
versation of their father and mother.
Mrs. Lumley is rather silent in company; she
seems to have much tenderness, mixed with a
firm mind and though always cheerful, she looks
as if she had suffered a great deal. I imagine
they are in confined circumstances, for she said
to-day that till the morning they came here
she had not been for many years in a car-
riage.
9A. Sunday. After breakfast this morning
my uncle conversed a little with us about the
Epistles of St. Paul, which I had been saying
were very difficult to understand ; he remarked,
192
"that if we attended to the long parentheses that
St. Paul makes, and in which his energy and
warmth sometimes seem to carry him away, we
might easily connect the chain of his argument.
But," said he, " there are other causes of occa-
sional obscurity. One is the nature of epistolary
composition, leading the writer to refer to per-
sonal and local circumstances, and particularly
to conversations, which were well known to those
whom he addressed, and therefore not needing
explanation to them. Another arises from the
many allusions to peculiar laws and customs that
were familiar to his readers, but requiring much
research to comprehend them now. There is
a third, and a very important circumstance,
which is a source of frequent perplexity to com-
mentators, and which, in some degree, affects all
the writings of the New Testament, particularly
those parts where doctrines are taught rather
than facts detailed. Our great philosopher,
Locke, alludes to this difficulty: he somewhere
observes, that the subjects treated of in the
Epistles are so wholly new, and their doctrines
so different from the notions that mankind had
previously adopted, that many of the most im-
portant terms have a different signification from
what the same Greek words bear in the heathen
authors. Indeed it is obvious that the common
Greek language of the day could not furnish
accurate expressions for doctrines either entirely
tJNCLK IN ENGLAND. 193
new, or derived from the Mosaic law, and the
writings of the Jewish prophets. Hence the
writers of the New Testament were obliged to
employ Greek words, whose meanings were de-
termined rather by analogy, than by their original
derivation; and to combine them according to
the idioms of the Hebrew and Syriac languages,
rather than by the natural construction of Grecian
phraseology.
" It is remarkable," he continued, " that this
circumstance is one which some rash infidels have
presumed to consider as inconsistent with the
idea of a divine interference in the promulgation
of Christianity ; and yet on sober inquiry, it will
be found materially to strengthen its evidence.
For if no phrase had been used which was not
in conformity to the purity of the Grecian tongue,
we should lose one of the great marks of authen-
ticity in the New Testament its peculiar lan-
guage. You will readily perceive that the He-
braisms and Syriasms by which it is distinguished,
and which could have proceeded only from men
of Hebrew origin, prove it to have been a pro-
duction of the first century ; for after the death
of the first Jewish converts to Christianity, we find
hardly any instance of Jews becoming preachers
of the gospel : and as to the Christian fathers,
they were mostly ignorant of Hebrew. This dis-
tinguishing mark is to be found in all the books
of the New Testament, in different degrees; nor
s
194
BERTHA S VISIT TO HER
have these idioms the appearance of art or design,
being exactly such as might be expected from
persons who* used a language spoken, indeed,
where they lived, but not the dialect of their
country.
" Obscurity, from this cause, more particularly
applies to St. Paul's Epistles, because they were
designed principally for the Jews. St. Paul,
indeed, was born at Tarsus, and his native lan-
guage was therefore Greek ; but having been a
very zealous Jew, it was natural that his language
should be tinctured by Hebraisms ; and it is pro-
bable that had he studied to avoid the air of a
Celician Jew, in speaking or writing, his language
would not have been so well adapted to his pur-
pose, and would have made far less impression
on the multitude. 5 '*
11th. I have made such a discovery ! I long
to tell you, Mamma, though I dare say you have
already guessed it. I have discovered that Mr.
Lumley is the very person whom my uncle met
at the harvest home, and whose history I wrote
to you. But I never heard my uncle speak of
him by any other name than Fitzroy, which I
now find is one of his Christian names.
This evening we happened to be speaking of
accomplishments, and Miss Lumley said that she
had none to boast of. " I believe you know,"
said she, " that since we left Strath Morton, a
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 195
place I shall never forget, though I was then very
young, we have been obliged to employ ourselves
in what was useful only ; and, until very lately,
to assist mamma even in the menial work of the
house. I do not feel ashamed to mention this,"
she added ; " for it is really gratifying to think
and speak of all that my dear mamma was able
to do ; I only wish you could have witnessed
the cheerfulness that accompanied all her exer-
tions."
She described their little cottage as it was at
first, and their way of living ; and then continued
" We were anxious to save mamma from some
of the drudgery there must be, even in the smallest
family ; and, though often against her will, my
sister and I shared, as much as children could, in
her laborious occupations.
11 She and my father gave us the best of all
knowledge, that of religion they taught us to
feel well the weakness of our nature, and to
look up with trust to that Power, who gives as-
sistance to the humble. Their leisure was de-
voted to giving us solid instruction, to the culti-
vation of our minds, and even to directing our
taste to literature.
" If sometimes we amused ourselves with a
pencil, or tried to sing one of Mamma's songs,
she was delighted to encourage and assist us
and instead of lamenting that we could not do
more, it raised her spirits to see even our child-
s 2
196
ish attempts. Indeed, she has often said that
the delight of seeing us gay, open-hearted, and
good, was al^she wanted; and when we danced
merrily to our own singing, or made a scratchy
drawing of a tree, she used to reward us with one
of her sweet encouraging smiles, and would say,
* Perseverance will do much ; and as music and
drawing are useful accomplishments, when kept
in their right places, your attempts give me
pleasure; but I value your cheerful dispositions,
and grateful hearts still more.'
" And indeed Mamma was right, for never
were there happier creatures than we have been,
though enjoying but few of what are called
comforts. Our gardens, our forest plays, and
the pains we took in watching the habits of birds
and insects, were our never-failing amusements ;
and we desired no more, if we were but sure
that Papa and Mamma were pleased with us.
To the constant visits of Mr. Benson, our good
old clergyman, we are indeed indebted for much
of what we know ; he speaks to us so kindly,
and he often reads with us, and removes our dif-
ficulties by his clear explanations. He has
always approved of our acquaintance with the
creeping and flying inhabitants of the forests,
for he says, natural history is not only a most
entertaining occupation, but well suited to a re-
ligious mind,"
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 197
12th, My aunt, in the course of the last
week, frequently turned the conversation on Mr.
Lumley's travels : and he told us many interest-
ing things that he had seen both in Italy and
Portugal. First about the vine. In one of the
Minho vallies, not far from Oporto, the fields
are small, and surrounded by high oaks, ches-
nuts, and poplars ; the ground is artificially
watered, and every tree supports a vine, which
mounts to the top, and hangs its clusters to the
highest branches. In other places, the vines are
supported on rough trellises, so as to form shady
arched walks in summer. But neither of those
methods is supposed to produce as good fruit
as when the vines are kept low ; and as these
are planted in straight rows, corn and other
vegetables are sown between them. They are
pruned down every year into the shape of a
bush ; and a short time before and after they
come into blossom, all superfluous branches are
removed, and some of the leaves are afterwards
taken off to expose the fruit to the sun. The
ground is hoed before the leaves come out in
spring, and again before the flower comes.
Rising grounds are usually preferred for vine
culture, and when they are very steep, the earth
is supported by dry walls, so as to convert the
face of the hill into a succession of narrow ter-
races, which prevent the heavy rains from
washing away the soil from the roots.
S3
198
He then told us that when figs are gathered
in that country, they are thrown into a heap, in
a building prepared for the purpose, and that a
syrup flows from them which is used for making
brandy. They are then spread to dry in the
sun, and after some days, are pressed into small
baskets, made of the dwarf fan-palm, each
basket containing 28 pounds weight.
The carob tree is one of the most beautiful of
European trees, according to Mr. Lumley's ac-
count ; it attains a considerable height, and has a
wide shady top, with a graceful, evergreen foliage
of small glossy leaves. The wood is hard and
red, and very useful ; and the large pods of seed
when dry, make excellent fodder for cattle : this
tree is also called St. John's bread.
But what made the greatest impression on me,
was his description of a forest of date palms,
near the town of Elche in Valencia. The fruit
hanging on all sides, in large clusters of an
orange colour, and the men swinging on ropes
to gather them, formed, he says, a very striking
scene. The trees were old and lofty ; and their
number was said to exceed two hundred thou-
sand. Many of them had their branches bound
up to a point, and covered with mats, by which
process they became white ; they are then cut
off and sent by ship-loads from Alicant, to various
parts of Italy, for the grand processions on Palm
Sunday.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 199
Mr. L. says, that the little chick pea forms a
considerable part of the food of the poor in Por-
tugal ; and even common lupines, when soaked
in running water to destroy their bitterness, are
boiled, and sold in the market-place, and the
people eat them out of their pockets. They are
also used by the poor in Italy, but generally
along with chesnuts, which are bruised and
made into a sort of cake.
In ascending the Apennines, Mr. Lumley
came to a mountain village, of very singular
appearance ; it gave him more the idea of a
collection of huts in some savage country ; no
streets, no gardens, no appearance of cultivation,
except a few great chesnut trees, that united
their branches over the miserable houses. The
people have large flocks of goats and sheep,
whose milk supplies them with cheese, and
whose wool is spun by the women in winter, and
manufactured into a kind of stuff.
Most of the inhabitants of the Apennines
depend on chesnuts, pigeons, bees, and milk, for
their food ; and like the natives of Auvergne,
they make all their own furniture and clothes.
They earn, however, a good deal by going every
year to work, for the harvest season, in Lom-
bardy and Tuscany, and the money they gain
there, they bring carefully home.
The summer pastures, for the cattle of the rich
plains of Tuscany, extend along the brow of the
200 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
lower chain of the Apennine mountains, where
there are a few huts to shelter the wandering
shepherds, those plains, he says, are scarcely
habitable in hot weather, from the pestilential
effects of the malaria, which produces agues
and fevers, and which probably arises from the
exhalations of the low stagnant marshes. He
also saw a vast number of goats ; one flock con-
sisted of twelve hundred, and though apparently
very wild, they come regularly to their shep
herds, twice a- day, to be milked, and are always
rewarded with a little salt.
He afterwards visited the vale of Arno, and
travelled along the right bank of that river, at
the foot of the Apennines. He describes the
forests of chesnut trees, which appeared on the
higher slopes of the mountains, with their fresh
and beautiful verdure, as forming a singular
contrast with the pale blue tint of the olive trees,
which cover the lower hills. The road was bor-
dered on each side by pretty brick houses, con-
sisting of a single story, and separated from the
road by a walled terrace, on which are com-
monly placed stone vases, containing flowers or
orange trees, or aloes ; and the house itself com-
pletely covered with vines. At the doors, or
seated on shady benches, were groups of young
female peasants, nicely dressed in white linen,
with silk bodice, and straw hats ornamented with
flowers. They are constantly employed in plait-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 201
ing straw for the fine Florence or Leghorn hats ;
and they earn a great deal of money, which they
are permitted to lay by for their dower ; but out
of this they pay a certain allowance to poor
women, who do their share of the farm work.
He was assured that a crop of two acres would
supply straw sufficient for the whole manufacture
of hats in Tuscany. It is the stalk of beardless
wheat, cut before it is quite ripe ; and the poverty
of the soil, which is never manured, keeps it
white.
Between Pisa and the sea, he passed through
a forest of ilex. The leaves of all these trees
were bitten off at the same height just twelve
feet from the ground ; and, on inquiry, he found
that they had been eaten by camels. He soon
after saw two hundred of these animals lying on
the sand, waiting to return into the wood as the
day became hotter. He was much amused by
a group who rose up as he approached, and
who, in trotting off with their young, bounded
and leaped about with a vivacity which scarcely
seemed to belong to their awkward-looking
figure. It is said that this Asiatic race of
camels was brought into Italy, at the time of
the Crusades, by the Grand Prior of Pisa.
Mr. L. says they do most of the farm labour.
On this plain he saw also a herd of nearly
two thousand cattle. The cows are so wild and
fierce, that it is impossible to milk them ; and
202 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
they are killed by the torreadors with short
lances, after a sort of hunt, which affords great
diversion to the country people. These Tartar
habits, he says, are very opposite to those of the
vale of Arno, where every thing has been brought
to the extreme of art and civilization.
I have been so much interested in all these
circumstances, that I have sat up very late to
write them for you ; and though I have not got
through half of them, I will now go to bed like
a good girl. One word more : I must add that
the shepherds in the neighbourhood of Rome,
who resemble Tartars, with their long pikes and
wrapped in mantles,, come every evening with
their flocks to seek an asylum within the walls
of the city ; as they dare not sleep exposed to
the noxious air of the adjoining country, where
there are no cottages, and where the water even
is infected. They take possession of houses and
palaces which have been abandoned by the in-
habitants, who have been driven into the interior
of the city by the malaria.
To-morrow is the last day of the visit
of these charming Lumleys. I shall be very
sorry to lose them, for I have liked them better
every day. The second has the sweetest voice
that can be, and joined in some of our glees,
which she easily learned. Once or twice they
sang all together for us, in the way they do at
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 203
home ; and, among other things, a beautiful
little hymn, which we discovered was written by
Mrs. L. If I can, I will send it to you and
Marianne ; and, perhaps, some time or other,
we three may also sing it together. Oh ! when
will that time come ?
Even now that I know their history, it is dif-
ficult to perceive in their appearance and manners
that they have lived in such complete retirement,
for they always express themselves in good lan-
guage ; and, though timid, they are not in the
least awkward. Whatever they do, they do well.
They are excellent arithmeticians, and answered
some puzzling questions of my uncle's with a
facility that surprised him. The power of cal-
culating in the head he thinks highly useful ;
and, on this occasion, he encouraged me to try
with the rest, by shewing me how to seize upon
the leading points of a question. At first I
made no attempt, but spent the time, that others
were at work, in thinking that I had no chance
of success. Having at last, however, recovered
from this silly fit, I exerted myself, and actually
gave the first answers to the three following
questions : though I will not say that some of
the party did not good-naturedly wait a little for
me. I send them to Marianne, though I know
they will appear trifling to her, for she was
always quicker at arithmetic than I was ; but tell
her the great thing is, to do them in her head.
204
"How much time, in the course of thirty years,
does a person gain, who rises at six o^clock in
the morning, foyer another who sleeps till nine ;
supposing that the former goes to bed at eleven,
and the latter. at midnight ?
There is a cistern in this house, which contains
180 gallons of water : it is supplied by a feeding
pipe, which admits 15 gallons in ten minutes ;
and the tap, or discharging pipe, lets off 12
gallons in six minutes. Now suppose, when
the cistern was exactly half full, that both cocks
were opened, and that, at the end of an hour
afterwards, the tap-cock was shut : in what time
will the cistern be filled ?
. Herodotus mentions a brass vessel, that was
shown in Scythia in his time, which was six
digits in thickness, and contained GOO amphora,
or about 4300 gallons. It had been made
of arrow points, collected by the king from
his subjects, in order to ascertain their num-
ber each individual being obliged to bring
one. Such a vessel would be 11 or 12 feet in
diameter ; and, from the thickness of the metal,
must have weighed about 71,000 pounds troy.
Now, if each arrow point was half an ounce, the
question is Of how many fighting men could
the Scythian monarch boast ? for it is not pro-
bable that the women and children were included
in that kind of warlike census.
My uncle was pleased at the efforts I made,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 205
even when I failed, because it shewed that I had
conquered my old enemy indolence.
I wrote down these questions while they were
fresh in my mind ; and then we all went to take
our last walk together to Franklin's farm. We
found him and his active wife fixing on the
situation of the house and garden, and orchard.
They have chosen a place where there is a
pretty slope in the ground, so that the drains
will have a good fall from the house. The gar-
den is to be in front, and the orchard at one
side. They are going to double-trench the
ground, by digging it to twice the depth of the
spade. It is to be left in that state during the
winter ; and the soil, being thus exposed to the
action of air and frost, will be improved. In
the course of the winter they will plant a young
hedge round the garden.
This day was one of those lovely, mild, sunny
days in October, of which I have often heard
you speak.
When Autumn scatters his departing gleams.
We staid out till sunset, enjoying the balmy
air and amusing ourselves capping verses. This
we are all very fond of, and all strove hard for
victory ; but I must confess that Mary was most
frequently the conqueror.
, It has surprised every body how much
T
206 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
knowledge these Miss Lumleys have acquired ;
and yesterday, when we were out walking, my
aunt expressed this surprise to Mrs. Lumley.
"Next to the great principles of religion and
morality," she replied, "we endeavoured from
their infancy to give them habits of exactness,
which we have always found lead not only to
regularity and economy of time, but become
great preservatives of truth. On such a founda-
tion it was not difficult to engraft the love of
knowledge ; and literature was always made
an indulgence, not a task. After affectionately
helping me in our many coarse and laborious
works, they first sympathised in the pleasure
they perceived I felt, when I had time to read a
few pages of some interesting history or poem ;
and, from sympathy, they soon began to taste
the pleasure themselves."
They continued the conversation till dinner-
time, and both seemed equally pleased at finding
how exactly they agreed in their sentiments on
education. In the evening, after some music,
my aunt, who had been particularly gratified
with the piety that appeared in every thing that
had dropped from Mrs. Lumley, but who knew
that very good people sometimes differed in opi-
nion on trifling matters, said to her, "I should
be inclined to play some lively tunes, and set
our young people to dance; but I am not sure
whether you approve of dancing, arid in such a
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 207
slight thing I would not offend opinions that I
am sure deserve respect."
" Indeed, 5 * she replied, " I feel, just as you do,
great pleasure in seeing young people cheerful,
and enjoying amusements suited to their age ;
nor can I find in any part of that Book which
should be our guide, one word to indicate the
impropriety of social amusement if moderately
indulged in, and not made the business of life.
Moderation, in all things, I do indeed enjoin.
My daughters, I fear, can ill take a part in a
dance with yours but I shall be delighted to see
my good, homely girls amused. I must add,"
continued she, " that I should be sorry you
mistook my opinions ; misfortune has made me
think seriously, but not harshly. It has given me
deeper views of religion than I had in the care-
less hours of prosperity, but at the same time it
has convinced me how much more there is of
affected singularity than of real religion, in pro-
hibiting a moderate degree of amusement. It
is very probable that I might have become en-
thusiastic or melancholy, had it not been for the
friendship of Mr. Benson, that good clergyman
who lives near us. It is not too much to say,
that in his conduct, as well as in his sentiments,
he shews the happiest union of Christian piety
with all the social virtues ; and that his profound
learning on the most important of all subjects,
T 2
208 BERTH A'S VISIT TO HER
is embellished by the graces and knowledge of
this world."
My aunt ihen sat down to the piano-forte,
and summoned us all to dance. Mr. L. and my
uncle were so good as to join our party, and we
danced very merrily for about an hour ; and so
ends our last night with these very engaging
Lumleys.
MIIS. LUMLEY'S HYMN.
Teach me, O God ! to Thee my voice to raise
In meek submission, and in humble praise ;
In all events, thy gracious will to see,
In all misfortunes, to behold but Thee.
To feel, in want and anguish, all thy love,
The tender father's discipline to own ;
To know that sorrow comes, my heart to prove,
To feel the warning of thy awful frown.
O ! make me grateful, that I'm timely tried,
And forced from earthly cares to love Thee, Lord !
That, by thy chastisement, thus purified,
I live in Thee, and in Thy holy word.
As lightning clears the sky, by clouds o'ercast,
So shall adversity my heart revive ;
When worldly joy is gone, and sorrow past,
My humbled heart in faith and hope shall live.
The sun behind our western hills declines,
But gilds the evening clouds with golden ray :
Thus when the morn of life no longer shines,
Still Christian hope illumes our fading day.
And as the rising sun dispels the night,
So shall we wake with joy in Gospel light.
I5th. Mr. Lumley said the other day, that
the inhabitants of the Apennines were like the
people of Auvergne in their manners ; so I took
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 209
an opportunity this morning of asking my aunt
some questions about them. She told me, that
Auvergne has been very little known till lately ;
even the remarkable fact, that the whole district
is a collection of extinct volcanoes, has not been
very long discovered. It has been visited by
few travellers, and the people seem to have had
but little intercourse with their neighbours.
Bakewell's Travels were in the room, and she
gave me the following passages to read.
" It was market day, and we met a long train
of carts with wood, each drawn by four oxen,
coming to Clermont. The dress and appearance
of the mountaineers who were conducting the
carts, were very striking ; with immense broad-
brimmed hats, long, lank hair, gaunt features,
and striped cloth cloaks, that reached nearly
to their feet, they bore no resemblance to
Frenchmen, and they spoke a diffferent lan-
guage. I believe they are the descendants
from the same race who resisted Caesar, for
whatever changes may have taken place in other
parts of France, none of the warlike hordes who
ravaged the more fertile parts of the country in
succeeding ages, would have wished to take pos-
session of the sterile mountains of Auvergne, or
to undertake the task of driving out the original
inhabitants. I was much surprised, on entering
some of the houses, to observe that the lamps,
waterpots, and other earthenware vessels, were
T 3
210 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
of the same form as the Etruscan vessels from
Herculaneum ; they are doubtless made after
models transmitted from very remote antiquity,
as vessels of these forms are not found in any
other parts of France that I have visited. The
music of the Auvergnats is the bagpipe.
'* Many of the families in the lower or middle
rank of life, have small vineyards, and make
wine for their own use. A freehold vineyard,
which costs two hundred francs, or about eight
pounds sterling, produced wine, more than suffi-
cient for a family of live persons, as we were
informed by one of these little proprietors. They
cultivate the vineyards themselves ; and seem
to live in contented and obscure independence,
relying on their own industry for every thing,
and preserving the customs of their remote an-
cestors."
\(}th. Sunday. The history of our first pa-
rents, and the nature of their transgression, was
the subject of our conversation this morning.
Towards the end of it, my uncle said, " It is a
strange error, though some sensible people seem
to have fallen into it, to doubt the truth of this
early part of sacred history, because the eating
of a certain fruit was apparently too trifling to be
considered a trial of obedience. But there is
one circumstance which they do not seem to
have sufficiently considered ; that, if it was ne-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. " 211
cessary to lay Adam under some small restraint,
to remind him, that notwithstanding his dominion,
over all things, he was still the servant of the
Most High ; a trial of his obedience to any
moral precepts could scarcely have been made,
for there was no opportunity at that time of vio-
lating them. For instance, there was nothing to
tempt him to idolatry, when every recent cir-
cumstance must have carried with it a convic-
tion of the single power of the Almighty ; and
when the impression of the Creator's beneficent
agency was kept alive by the frequent visits of
his glorious presence. Highly favoured crea-
tures, the voice of their God was a sound fami-
liar to their ears !
< As there were no other inhabitants in the
world, it was impossible to steal, murder, covet,
or commit any crime against society. It had
been, therefore, vain indeed, to forbid that which
could not be done. There could be no virtue
in abstaining from crimes to which there was no
temptation. But there would have been virtue
in submitting to the commands of God, who re-
quired only this simple abstinence, in token of
their subjection; and no matter how small the
trial, it was their part to have obeyed. It
pleases God to try our virtue sometimes with
very small temptations, and the weakness with
which we transgress in the least things, may con-
vince us that we are not very capable of resist-
ing great temptations.
212 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
" Insignificant creatures that we are, with
narrow views and limited perceptions ; we are
always readyto arraign the decrees of the Su-
preme Disposer of all, and to wonder why things
are not otherwise. I have read a good remark,
made by Philo a learned Jew, which may apply
to this presumptuous disposition of mankind. In
treating of the plagues of Egypt, he says, * Some
inquire why God punished the country by such
minute and contemptible animals, as flies and
frogs, rather than by lions, leopards, or other
savage beasts that prey on man. But let them
reflect, that God chose rather to correct, than to
destroy the inhabitants if he had desired to
annihilate them utterly, he had no need to have
made use of any auxiliaries. Let them remember,
also, that when God the source of all power-
who stands in need of no assistance, chooses to
employ instruments, as it were, to inflict chas-
tisement ; instead of the strongest, he selects the
mean and the despicable but which, in his
service, are endowed with irresistible force.' "
Yith. As my uncle saw how much I was in-
terested about the Laplanders, and their rein-
deer, he was so good as to read to us, last night,
an account of them, from De Capell Brooke's
travels, a very entertaining book, which has been
lately published. I will transcribe a little of it
liere, as I know Marianne will like to see it.
" My landlord having received intelligence
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 213
that the Laplanders, with their reindeer, were
within a mile of Fugleness, I was anxious to
avail myself of the opportunity of seeing them.
After an hour's walk, we found the tent and its
owner, Per Mathison ; and inside the tent, into
which we crept, Marit, his wife, was busy pre-
paring the utensils for milking the deer, and
making the cheese. She was not more than four
feet nine inches high, and of a brown com-
plexion, which seemed more the result of habi-
tual dirt, ?.iid of living constantly in smoke, than
of nature. She had on her summer dress of
dirty white cloth, girt round by a belt, to which
was suspended a small knife ; and her komagcrs,
or shoes, were of strong leather, forming a peak
at the toes. On her head she wore a high cap,
made partly of cloth, and partly of bits of co-
loured calico. This cap is peculiar to the Nor-
wegian Lapland, and is rather elegant in its
shape. Though wild and uncouth, her manners
did not betray the surliness so conspicuous in
her husband. The latter was dressed in rein-
deer fawn skins, which, being thin and pliable,
were not likely to be too warm.
*' Another Laplander and his wife lived in the
same tent. This man seemed to be a partner
of Per Mathison ; their deer were mixed together,
but the superior number belonged to the latter,
and he was evidently head of the family, which
was easily perceived, from his idleness and
214 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
inactivity, mixed with a kind of gruff independ-
ence, that bespoke a laird of the mountains.
He had, fof the last two summers, brought his
herd of deer to the mountains of Whale Island,
from the interior of Norwegian Lapland a dis-
tance of more than two hundred miles. Here
he remained between two and three months ;
and, before the approach of winter, again re-
turned to his native forests.
'* In about two hours, the distant barking of
the dogs indicated the coming of the leer, which
we at last discerned winding slowly along the
mountains, at the distance of near a mile, ap-
pearing like a black moving mass. They now
approached the fold, which was a large space
that had been cleared of the brushwood, and
inclosed by branches of dwarf birch and aspen,
stuck around to prevent the deer from straying.
As the herd came up to it, the deer made fre-
quent snortings ; and a loud crackling was
heard, produced by their divided hoofs striking
against each other. These animals, being endued
with an exquisite sense of smelling, soon per-
ceived there were strangers near ; and our
appearance, so different from the dress of the
Laplanders to which they had been accustomed,
alarmed them to such a degree, that it was
necessary for us to retire till they had entered
the fold. After some difficulty, the whole herd
were at length collected within the circle; and
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 215
the women, bringing their bowls from the tent,
began the operation of milking, which, as some
hundreds of deer were assembled, was likely to
take up a considerable time. In this both the
men and women were busily employed. Before
each deer was milked, a cord with a noose was
thrown round the horns, by which it was secured
and kept steady. The Laplanders are extremely
expert at this ; and it was surprising to see the
exactness with which the noose was thrown from
a distance ; hardly ever failing to light upon the
horns of the deer for which it was intended, though
in the thickest of the herd. The cord for this
purpose was made of the fibres of the birch, very
neatly plaited together, and exceedingly strong.
During the short time the animal was milking,
this cord was either held by one of the women,
or made fast to a birch shrub ; some of the
thickest having been stripped of their leaves,
and left standing for this purpose. Many of
the deer, instead of being tractable, as I had
imagined, were very refractory, frequently even
throwing the women down, and hurting them
with their horns. They seemed very little to
mind this ; but, strong as the Laplanders are,
they appeared to have little power over these
animals, for when one had the cord round
its horns, and refused to be milked, it dragged
the holder with ease round the fold. The quan-
tity of milk that each deer gave scarcely ex-
BERTHAS VISIT TO HER
ceeded a tea-cup full ; but it was extremely
luscious, of a fine aromatic flavour, and richer
than cream v Of this we eagerly partook, after we
had permission ; which, however, Per Mathison
did not at first seem willing to grant, but his
sullen nature was soon softened by brandy.
" In the middle of the herd of deer, suspended
to the branches of a low birch, was a child about
a year old, enclosed in a kind of cradle, or case
covered with leather. The Laplanders, when
obliged to go any distance from their tents, fre-
quently leave their children thus suspended on
a tree, by which they are secured from the attack
of any ravenous animal.
" It was past midnight before the whole of
the herd was milked. The sun had left the
heavens about an hour, but a deep orange
tint, on the verge of the horizon, shewed that
it was not far below it. The deer were at
length turned out from the fold ; and, spreading
themselves along the sides of the mountains,
were quickly lost to our view. The Laplanders
now collecting the milk, which amounted to a
considerable quantity, proceeded with it to the
tent, inviting us to supper. We crept in,
and seated ourselves on reindeer skins, which
were strewed on the ground. The business of
making cheese now commenced : and Mark,
emptying the milk from the bowls into a large
iron pot, placed it over a fire, in the centre of
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 217
the tent, the smoke of which annoyed us much.
In a short time, the milk assumed the appearance
of curd ; and, being taken off, was placed in
small moulds, made of beech wood, and pressed
together. The number of cheeses thus made
amounted to about eight, of the size of a com-
mon plate, and barely an inch in thickness.
The whey and curds that remained were for our
supper, though the dirty habits of the people
much diminished my appetite.
" After supper was finished, and the bowls
and other utensils removed to a corner of the
tent, fresh wood was placed on the fire, which
again enveloped us in smoke. On its burning
up, the flames reached the cheeses, which had
been placed on a board directly over the fire,
that the smoke might harden them. Their rich-
ness and the heat caused large drops of oil to
trickle from them, which the men licked up with
evident relish.
" The whole group was a curious one. Oppo-
site to us, around the fire, were the uncouth
figures of the Laplanders, squatting on their
haunches. In one corner were two children
asleep in deer- skins ; and more than twenty
small dogs were also reposing about us. It was
soon time for the men to commence their nightly
employment of watching the deer, and accord-
ingly one of them left the tent. On. making a
signal, about half the dogs, whose turn it was to
VOL, i. u
218 BERT4IA'S VISIT TO HER
commence the watch, started suddenly up, and
followed their master to the mountains. I was
greatly surprised to find the rest take no notice
of the summons, and remain quietly stretched on
their deer-skins, well aware, singular as it may
seem, that it was not their turn."
ISth. Mary is reading Waddington's Visit to
Ethiopia and Dongola, and she shewed me an
account in it of the mirage, that most curious
deception of the sight.
In crossing the immense sandy plain near
Askan, in Dongola, Mr. W. says they had a
good view of the mirage. It assumed at first
the appearance of abroad winding stream, which
he mistook for the Nile. It then changed rather
suddenly from a river to a sea, covering the
whole of the horizon in front of the party ; while
castles, trees, and rocks seemed to stand in the
middle of the water, in w 7 hich those objects were
most disti ^ctly reflected. The apparent distance
of the nearest part was continually changing from
one quarter to three quarters of a mile.
At Bakkil Mr. W. saw another beautiful mi-
rage ; and he remarks that the two or three
places where he had seen this phenomenon in
the greatest perfection, were peculiarly fre-
quented by the antelope, as if she loved the
banks of that fairy sea, and delighted to gaze upon
its fugitive waters. It is a singular coincidence
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 219
\vith this observation, that the mirage is called
by the Arabs of the Desert, the lake of the
gazelles.
I was anxious to learn something further on
this curious subject, and not knowing what books
to consult, I applied to my uncle. He tells me
that a species of mirage is very common at sea ;
distant ships seem grotesquely caricatured by it
either in length or in height ; and sometimes, over
the real vessel, an inverted picture of it appears
suspended in the sky, with the masts of each
prolonged, so as to unite. A similar effect was
observed in the desert by the French, in their
Egyptian expedition ; the villages appearing dis-
torted, or raised above their natural level, or as if
built on an island in the middle of a lake. As
they approached, the apparent surface of the
water became narrower and narrower, till it dis-
appeared ; and the same deceptive appearance
began again at the next village. But all tra-
vellers through sandy plains, in hot climates,
mention this kind of optical deception, and parti-
cularly that of its having the appearance of water.
Some of them, after having travelled for hours in
a burning desert, faint and exhausted, have
had their spirits revived by the sight of water,
and have eagerly pushed on to refresh them-
selves and their poor camels ; you may judge of
their disappointment when they perceived that it
was all illusion.
V 2
220 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
Another very remarkable instance of mirage,
my uncle says, has been more than once seen at
Reggio, in the straits of Messina, where it is
called the Fata Morgana. When the rays of the
sun form an angle of about 45 with the sea, and
that the bright surface of the water in the bay is
not disturbed by wind or current, if the spectator
be placed with his back to the sun, there sud-
denly appears on the water the most incom-
prehensible variety of objects pilasters, arches,
and castles, lofty towers and extensive palaces,
with all their balconies and windows or per-
haps trees, vallies, and plains, with their herds
and flocks armies of men, on foot and on
horseback, and many other strange objects ; all
in their natural colours, and all in action, passing
rapidly in succession along the surface of the sea.
But if, besides the circumstances before de-
scribed, the atmosphere happens to be loaded
with a dense vapour, which the sun had not
previously dispersed, the observer will behold a
representation of the same objects in the air, as
if traced there on a curtain ; though not so dis-
tinct or well defined as those on the sea. These
curious appearances were fancifully called by the
Italians, the castles of the Fairy Morgana.
My uncle says that the celebrated Dr. Wol-
laston has proved, by some very ingenious ex-
periments, that they arise from the irregular
refraction of the rays of light, in passing through
UNCLE IN ENGLAND.
contiguous portions of air, of different densities.
One of these experiments he was so good as to
shew us ; and as it is so simple, that Marianne
can easily try it, I will endeavour to describe it
here.
He put a little clear syrup into a square phial,
and then poured about an equal quantity of water
into it, over the syrup. The phial was set on
the table, and having placed a printed card about
an inch behind it, he made us observe that when
we looked through the syrup^ or through the
water, the letters on the card appeared erect;
but, that when they were seen through that part
where the two fluids were gradually mixing to-
gether, the letters were equally distinct, but
inverted. A similar effect, he said, may be pro-
duced with hot and cold water, or even by two
portions of cold and heated air - y and to shew us
this, he performed another very easy experi-
ment. He placed two of the library chairs back
to back, and about a foot apart ; he connected
the tops of the chairs with two bits of strong
wire, and on the wires he laid the kitchen poker,
the square end of which he had made red hot.
Exactly in the direction of the poker he pinned
a large printed A upon the wall, which was about
ten feet distant ; and then desired us to look at
it along the heated poker. We did so, and we
all distinctly saw three images of the A, the
u 3
222 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
middle one being inverted, and the two others
erect.
Dear mamma, how this reminded me of the
day when you first explained to us the meaning
of refraction, and shewed us the pretty little
experiment of the stick, which appeared to bend
just at the surface of the water. How often I
now feel the benefit of all your patient instruc-
tion, and how often I wish I had your excellent
memory, which enabled you to teach us so many
things, without having any books to assist you I
20th. My cousins like Eastern tales just as
much as I do and my uncle speaks of the
Arabian Nights' Entertainments as if he was still
a boy. He thinks that they are not only very
ingenious, but that many of the apparent won-
ders, which are related as supernatural, may be
easily explained, by means of the chemical and
philosophical knowledge which is too generally
supposed to be the result of late discoveries. I
should like to read over all my favourite tales
with him, for the benefit of his explanations.
What brought them into my mind now, was a
pretty little anecdote which I once heard him
tell Grace, and which she has just been repeating
to me.
In Khorasan, there was a certain old caravan-
serai, called Zafferounee, which was once so
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 223
very extensive, as to contain seventeen hundred
chambers, besides baths and shops, and besides
accommodation for thousands of cattle within its
walls. It is said to have been erected by one of
those wealthy Eastern merchants, who delighted
in perpetuating their names by acts of public
utility. While it was building, and a large quan-
tity of straw and clay were mixing up for that
purpose on the road near it, a cafilah, consisting of
a hundred camels, loaded with saffron, chanced to
pass; and one of them, slipping into the clay, fell,
and was disabled. Their owner inveighed bitterly
against those who by so carelessly doing their
work on the public road, had occasioned such a
serious loss to him. The merchant, who was
himself superintending the progress of the build-
ing, on hearing these complaints, inquired what
might be the value not only of the camel, which
had been disabled, but of all the rest ; and pur-
chasing the whole on the spot, ordered the saffron
to be tumbled into the clay, and worked up with
it, instead of chopped straw. It was from this
that the caravanserai obtained the name of Zaf-
ferounee, or Saffron.
This rich merchant, however, fell afterwards
into difficulties, as might have been expected,
from his extravagance, and at last became a
beggar. Travelling in search of subsistence, into
foreign countries, he happened to visit the place
where the camel-driver, now grown immensely
224
rich, lived in splendour. It came to the ears of
the latter, that a stranger, in poverty, who spoke
of his former, riches in Khorasan, was living
wretchedly in the town ; and suspecting that this
might be his old benefactor, he invited him to
his house ; and after feasting him superbly, in-
duced him to relate his history: when, in con-
cluding it, the unhappy Khorasanee described
his destitute condition, the other interrupted him,
saying, " How can you call yourself poor, when
you are, in reality, a man possessed of great
riches ?" " Ah ! no," replied the other ; " once
indeed, I had much wealth, but all is gone ; and
I am now a beggar!" On this his host carried
him to a secret chamber, which was full of money
" This," said he, " is all yours ; it is the price
of the saffron which you so liberally purchased
from me: I have traded upon it and become rich,
but the original sum I have always reserved as
belonging to you ; take it now, and live happily."
Grace is always encouraged to repeat to others
the little stories which are told to her : I wish
you could have heard her relating this to us
before tea.
22d. Well, I am in actual possession of the
old quarry. Having settled all my plans, I at
once set to work, and my uncle was so good as to
let me have one of the workmen to help me, be-
cause he said my ideas were rational. The opening
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 225
of the quarry fronts the south-west ; the rock at
the back is high and steep, and a spring, which
trickles from it, keeps the part which had been
most deeply worked constantly full of water.
In this I have put several pretty water-plants
Mr. Biggs, I know, lays a quantity of peat com-
post in his pond ; but though I have not been
able to obtain that yet, I have planted the white
and the yellow water lily, which the gardener
found for me a few miles off. A thick skreen of
shrubs has been planted by my uncle's directions,
above the rocks to tbe north, but no forest trees,
for in a short time they would outgrow the place
which they ornament only while young.
The middle and southern parts of the quarry
are to be sloped and dressed ; all the briars have
been already taken out, and the loose splinters
of the quarry are spread on the surface of the
bank. Upon these, the gardener has laid a
mixture of peat earth and sand, which he had to
spare ; and here I intend to have an incom-
parable bed of strawberries.
South of these, and where the rocky bank
sinks, I am filling up the hollow and uneven
spots with the same mixture and rotten leaves ;
for Mr. Biggs says that the natural soil of the
beautiful North American shrubs is chiefly
formed of decayed vegetables.
Groups of rhododendron, azalea, kalmia, and
226
many more, which, as I have learnt from that
delightful book, Miller's dictionary, are suited to
that soil and aspect, are to flourish there ; and
by Mary's advice, they are to be mixed with
some of the Scotch roses. These are rather
scarce here; but Mr. Biggs has been so generous
as to send me a small piece of the root of each of
his own rose bushes. There are a few fibres on
them, and he assures me they will sprout in
spring so it will be a good experiment at least.
I shall also have a little grass plat, with a few
small beds for choice flowers, which I expect
will blossom very early in this little snug spot.
I have planted some of the lobelia fulgem,
and a hydranyea, which is a native of marshy
ground, near the edge of the pond and when
spring comes, I hope to execute many other
grand plans which I have formed, from hearing
Mr. Biggs. My cousins approve of them, and
all help me, and Mary wonders she never
thought of adorning the old quarry before.
I am now very busy in making a bed for ixia,
gladiolis, lachenalia, and oxalis they are usu-
ally in a greenhouse, but I hear that, if planted
late in October, in a soil composed of peat earth,
and sharp sand, and over this, if a layer of peat,
eight inches thick, be laid, to prevent the frost
from reaching them, they will be in beautiful
blossom in spring. I will try this my uncle
UNCLE TN ENGLAND. 227
encourages experiment ; he says it is the high
road to truth and he assists all who wish to
travel on it.
23rd., Sunday. I asked my uncle this morn-
ing to tell me the meaning of Noah's prediction,
" Gpd shall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell
in the tents of Shem." In reply, he told us the
opinions of a very learned person, for whose
writings he has a high respect ; and I will endea-
vour to give you the substance of what he said.
" The most obvious meaning of the expression
is, that Providence would bless Japhet with a
numerous progeny, which should not only spread
over an ample tract of country, but that they
would afterwards encroach on the territory of
Shem's descendants. And this sense of the words
is supported by history ; for the whole of Europe,
and a considerable part of Asia, was originally
peopled, and has been always occupied, by
Japhet's offspring, who, not contented with their
own possessions, have repeatedly made encroach-
ments on the sons of Shem ; as, for instance,
when Alexander the Great, with an European
army, attacked and overthrew the Persian mo-
narchy ; when the Romans subjected a great
part of the East ; and still more, when the Tar-
tar conquerors of the race of Genghis Khan
destroyed the empire of the Caliphs, took pos-
session of their country, and made settlements
228 BERTHA'S VISIT TO UER
in all parts of Asia. Tamerlane also led his
Moguls, who were another branch of Japhet's
progeny, into Hindostan ; and their descendants
gradually obtained possession of that immense
country, a part of Shem's original inheritance.
These events, and others of the same nature,
may be considered as the accomplishment of that
prophecy ; not only because they answer to the
natural import of its terms, but because they
have had great influence on the state of true
religion in various parts of the world ; so that in
this interpretation we find the two circumstances
which are the characteristics of a true inter-
pretation, an agreement with the facts recorded
in history, and a connection of the particular
prediction with the general system of the pro-
phetic word.
" It would seem, however, that some amicable
intercourse between parts of those two great
families is implied by the expression, ' Japhet's
dwelling in the tents of Shem' ; for the settle-
ments made by the Portuguese, English, Dutch,
and French in different parts of India, which was
apart of Shem's inheritance, may be taken in this
sense. And consequences cannot but arise of
great importance, from such numerous and exten-
sive settlements of Christians, in countries where
the light of the Gospel has been for ages ex-
tinguished.
"There is still a third sense : but in order to
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 229
make it more apparent, it will be proper to con-
sider the precise meaning of Shem's blessing-
a blessing obliquely conveyed in this emphatic
ejaculation, ' Blessed be Jehovah, the God of
Shem !' This evidently implied that Jehovah
was to be more peculiarly the God of Shem ;
and in the same sense that he afterwards vouch-
safed to call himself the God of one branch of
Shem's progeny of Abraham, Isaac, and of
Jacob, and of their descendants the Jewish
people. Although the universal Father of all
the nations of the earth, he may be said to have
more particularly adopted the descendants of
Shem, in choosing them to be the depositaries of
the true religion, while the rest of mankind were
sunk in idolatry and ignorance. Among them
he preserved the knowledge and worship of him-
self, by a series of miraculous dispensations ; to
them he confided the representative priesthood,
the type of the Messiah ; and when the destined
season came, he raised the Messiah himself from
among the offspring of that chosen family.
"But the expression, ' the tents (or taber-
nacles) of Shem,' alludes to the Jewish tabernacle,
which was one of the external means of pre-
serving the worship of the true God. The word
in Hebrew is the same for both tent and taber-
nacle. This holy tent was Shem's tabernacle,
because it was entrusted to his descendants, and
because none but them might bear a part in.
x
230
its sacred service. Now this tabernacle, and
this service, were undoubtedly emblems of the
Christian church and Christian worship. It ap-
pears, then, that in the mention of the tents of
Shem, Noah was inspired to make allusion to the
Jewish tabernacle, as the symbol of the Christian
dispensation ; and that the dwelling of Japhet in
those tents of Shem, took place when the idola-
trous nations of Japhet's line became converted
to the faith of Christ, and worshipped the God
of Shem in Shem's tabernacles ; that is, wor-
shipped God in the truth and spirit of revealed
religion.
" This prediction, therefore, bears directly
upon the general object of all the prophecies the
union of all nations in the faith of Christ. And
the fact is notorious, that the Gospel has, from
the beginning to the present time, made the
greatest progress in Europe, where the early
and wide-spreading conversions of the idolaters
of Japhet's line (among whom were our own
ancestors) soon led to encroachments on the
territory of Shem.
" How grateful should we be," my uncle
added, " to those learned men who thus elu-
cidate the difficult passages in Scripture, and
shew the beautiful harmony of the whole pro-
phetic system ! "
. I am reading " Bartram's Travels in
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 231
North America." It is not a late publication,
but very interesting to me, as I like to compare
the productions of North and South America.
Among all the beautiful trees of our Southern
regions, I do not recollect having seen or heard
of the deciduous cypress, the majestic grandeur
of which, he says, is surprising. It generally
grows in low flat grounds, that are covered, part
of the year, with water. The lower part of the
stem, which is frequently under water, enlarges
into prodigious buttresses ; and they project
on every side to such a distance, that several
men might hide in the recesses between them.
The stem is generally hollow as high as the but-
tresses reach, where it forms, as it were, another
beginning, and rises, in a straight uninterrupted
column, to the height of 80 or 90 feet. There
it throws out its noble branches like an umbrella ;
eagles securely build their nests in them ; they
are the abode of hundreds of parroquets, who
delight in shelling the seeds ; and even the hol-
low stem is not untenanted, as it affords spacious
apartments for the wild bees.
The trunks supply excellent timber; and, when
hollowed out, make large and durable canoes.
When the planters fell these mighty trees, they
erect a high stage round them, so as to reach
above the buttresses ; and on these stages eight
or ten men can work together, with their axes.
Another curious fact which I found in this
X 2
232 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
book is, that the inhabitants of East Florida
prepare, from the root of the China briar, a
very agreeable sort of jelly, which they call
conti. They chop the root in pieces, which are
afterwards pounded in a wooden mortar ; and,
when washed and strained, the sediment that
settles to the' bottom dries into a reddish flour.
A small quantity of this, mixed with warm water
and sweetened with honey, becomes a delicious
jelly, when cool ; or, mixed with corn flour and
fried in fresh bear's oil, it makes very nice cakes.
26^/z. I have just found, in " Bartram's
Travels," some particulars that I do not think
we knew before, of that curious species of the
Tillandsia, commonly called long moss.
It grows on all trees in the southern regions
of North America ; and any part of the living
plant, torn off and caught on the branches of
another tree, immediately takes root. Wherever
it fixes, it spreads into long pendent filaments,
which subdivide themselves in an endless man-
ner, waving in the wind like streamers, to the
length of twenty feet. It is common to find the
spaces between the boughs of large trees entirely
occupied by masses of this plant, which, in bulk
and weight, would require several men to carry.
In some places, cart loads of it are found lying
on the ground, torn off by the violence of the
wind. When fresh, cattle and deer eat it in the
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 233
winter season ; and when dry, it is employed for
stuffing chairs, saddles, and beds ; but to prepare
it properly for these purposes, it is thrown into
.shallow ponds of water, where the outside furry
substance soon decays : it is then taken out of
the water and spread in the sun; and, after a
little beating, nothing remains but a hard, black,
elastic filament, resembling horse- hair.
There is a curious anecdote about the name of
this plant, in " Harry and Lucy concluded ; "
but I need not mention it here, because my
uncle has sent that delightful little book to you,
and I am sure Marianne will have run through it
with as much eagerness as I did.
28th. I have just found some more instances
of those strange optical deceptions, which seem
to be of the same nature as the Fata Morgana.
My aunt thinks that the term mirage only ap-
plies to the deceitful waters of the desert.
Mr. Dalby writes in the Philosophical Trans-
actions that, ascending a hill in the Isle of Wight,
he observed that the top of another hill, of about
the same level, seemed to dance up and down as
he advanced ; and on bringing his eye down to
within two feet of the ground, the top of the hill
appeared totally detached, or lifted up from the
lower part, the sky being seen under it. This
he repeatedly observed; and he adds, that as
the sun was rather warm for the season, with a
x 3
234 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
heavy dew, there was a great deal of evaporation
going on.
Another veiy singular example of these extra-
ordinary appearances in the atmosphere, is given
by Dr. Buchan. Walking on the cliff, about a
mile east of Brighton, in the latter end of No-
vember, just as the sun was rising, he saw the
face of the cliff on which he was standing repre-
sented precisely opposite to him, at some distance
in the sea ; and both he and his companion per-
ceived their own figures standing on the summit
of the apparent cliff, as well as the picture of a
windmill near them. This phenomenon lasted
about ten minutes, when it seemed to be elevated
into the air, and to be gradually dissipated ; and
he remarks, that the surface of the sea was covered
with a dense fog many yards in height, which
slowly receded before the sun's rays.
How frequently it happens, when the curiosity
has been awakened by any new subject, that
chance leads one to some circumstance in books,
or conversation, that exactly applies to it! By
mere accident, I opened Scoresby's voyage at
the following passage, which I have just time to
transcribe.
After describing the amusing spectacle of some
distant ships, which were either curiously dis-
torted, or inverted in the air, by means of this
wonderful kind of refraction, he says, " When
looking through the telescope, the coasts
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 235
or rock, had often the appearance of the remains
of an ancient city, abounding with the ruins of
castles, churches, and monuments, with other
large and conspicuous buildings. The hills often
appear to be surmounted with turrets, battle-
ments, spires, and pinnacles, while others, sub-
jected to another kind of refraction, seem to be
large masses of rock, suspended in the air, at a
considerable elevation above the actual termina-
tions of the mountains to which they refer. The
whole exhibition is a grand and majestic phan-
tasmagoria ; scarcely is the appearance of any
object fully examined and determined, before it
changes to something else ; it is perhaps alter-
nately a castle, a cathedral, or an obelisk, and
then expanding and coalescing with the adjoining
mountains, it unites the intermediate vallies,
though they may be miles in width, by a bridge
of a single arch, of the most magnificent ap-
pearance."
29th. We have been visiting Franklin's farm
to-day, and have had a very pleasant walk, late
as it is in the year. He is so diligent, that he has
done a great deal to it since we were last there.
Between it and the next land he has made a
ditch, with a high firm fence of flat stones placed
edgeways, in three rows, each row sloping a little,
and all supported by a bank of earth behind them ;
236 BERTHA/S VISIT TO HER
between the two upper rows of stones, he has
planted quick-thorns, and on the top of the bank
a few young gak and elm trees. The deep ditch
will serve to carry off the water from some drains
that are to be made in a part of the ground
which is wet and marshy. These drains are to
be covered with earth ; and something must be
done to keep them from filling up. Some people
line them with stone, but that is too expensive ;
and as he has just clipped some of his hedges,
he intends, I believe, to put the branches of the
thorn-bushes into the bottom of the drains, which
will also prevent the sides from falling in.
Springs are formed in the bosom of the earth,
my uncle says, by the rain water which sinks
through the surface, and which, gently oozing,
or percolating, as he calls it, through the 'sand
or gravel, or through other porous strata, con-
tinues to descend till it is intercepted by some
bed of clay or rock. No longer being able to
descend, it follows the course of this impassable
bed, and if thus conducted to the outside of the
ground, lower down the hill, it forms then a
spring. But if prevented oy any obstacle from
flowing freely out of the ground, it diffuses itself
under the surface, and produces swamps and
marshes. My uncle has been of great use to
Franklin, not only by teaching him how to dis-
cover from the form of the ground where it is
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 237
most likely to meet with and tap these concealed
springs, but by laying out the drains for him with
a levelling instrument, so that they should have
sufficient fall into the main ditch, or into a little
rivulet which skirts his farm. I could not have
conceived that science might be made so useful
even in common agriculture.
Franklin is also ploughing a field for wheat
.and is going afterwards to plough up another
field that looks all rough and ugly but which
is to be left unsown the whole winter ; he
intends to plough it two or three times, and then
in Spring, after it has lain fallow in this way,
he will sow it with barley. Another grand opera-
tion is the preparing a piece of ground for an
orchard ; my uncle has promised him some nice
young fruit-trees for it ; and Franklin, very pru-
dently, brought over some American apple-trees,
which he says are very productive.
The blind basket-maker sometimes walks to
the farm with the assistance of Bessy's arm; and
it is impossible to see the happiness of the whole
family without feeling the strongest interest in
their welfare. She now looks quite blooming
and healthy ; and she is so industrious that
besides her in-door occupations, she has per-
suaded her husband to give her an acre of ground
for flax, with which she hopes to do a great deal.
This will be a very uncommon crop in this
238
country, but I am sure, from what my uncle says,
that it will be very profitable.
30^., Sunday. We had a conversation this
morning on the character of Joseph, which my
uncle thinks a fine example of all the Christian
virtues. " If we follow him," said my uncle,
" from his youth to the height of his preferment,
we see him^ in every part of his life, virtuous and
religious ; patient and courageous under mis-
fortune ; modest and temperate in the greatest
success. He suffered injustice from his master
who imprisoned him, though he had been just
and faithful ; but under this great trial he had
the comfort of knowing that he was innocent.
He had the still greater comfort of confiding in
the support of God, who, in his own good time,
delivered him from prison, and permitted him to
be raised to a high situation, where his integrity
might be made manifest. Then, if we consider
his generous forbearance towards his brethren,
how highly does it raise our admiration of his
truly amiable disposition ! When they were in his
power in just resentment of their former cruelty,
he thought it right to mortify and humble them
but no sooner did he see that they were peni-
tent, than his anger ceased. -And when he dis-
covered himself to them, with what kindness -and
magnanimity he endeavoured to make them less
dissatisfied with their former conduct !
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 239
* Be not grieved nor angry with yourselves,
that ye sold me hither $ for God did send me
before you to preserve life : to preserve you a
posterity in the earth. So now it was not you
that sent me hither, but God.'
" Can any thing be more touching," added
my uncle, " than his generous anxiety to make
his brethren forgive themselves, by shewing the
advantages that were ultimately produced by
their conduct to him ?"
" There is one thing," said Wentworth, " that
I do not understand why does Joseph say there
shall be neither earing nor harvest, as if he meant
two separate things ?"
** The word earing," replied my uncle, " sounds
as if it meant gathering ripe ears of corn : but it
is an old English term for ploughing, and is used
in that sense in two other parts of scripture."
" I had imagined," said Caroline, " that ear-
ing was mentioned in that particular manner, in
allusion to some blight, through which the corn
should no longer give such an astonishing pro-
duce as seven ears to one stalk/'
" No :" said my uncle, " nor was that an un-
usual produce. A species of wheat still grows
in Pgypt, which generally bears this number of
ears, and the stem is solid, that is, full of pith,
in order to support so great a weight. The stem
of our own wheat is, you know, a mere hollow
straw* You see how necessary it is, my dear
240 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
children, when you do not perfectly understand
what you read or hear, to have courage enough
to confess ^our ignorance, and to ask for ex
planation.
" Before we finish the subject of Joseph," he
continued, " I will explain another small circum-
stance, of which perhaps Bertha at least may
not be aware. The ancient manner of eating
was for each person to have one or more dishes
to himself; they were all first set before the
master of the feast, who distributed to every one
his portion ; and as a mark of affection for Ben-
jamin, Joseph sent him five dishes, while he only
sent one to each of the others. In Persia arid
Arabia, every dish that is set before the master
of the house is divided into as many portions as
there are guests, but those of the greatest rank
have by far the largest shares. 1 '
. Mr. R -- , a friend of my uncle's, has
been here for a few days, and has amused us
very much.
Yesterday he shewed us a Proteus kind of
substance ; it had at first a milky transparency,
and reflected a bluish white light, but when we
looked through it, it was yellow. He slightly
wetted it, and then it lost all transparency, appear-
ing like chalk. He immersed it completely in
water, and the edges became more transparent
than before, and at the same time a little gas
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 241
seemed to escape from it. A small white ball
appeared in the centre, but it gradually dimi-
nished in size, and the transparency extended
through the whole mass.
He afterwards put some of this substance into
oils of different colours the colours it quickly
acquired and when it had completely absorbed
the oil it became transparent, but when partially
it was opaque. When steeped in oil, coloured
with alkanet-root, it had quite the tints of the
ruby; from a preparation of copper it imbibed
the colour of the emerald ; and from some acid
exactly that of a Brazilian topaz. He then
shewed us that all these brilliant colours could
be discharged along with the oil, by exposing the
substance to a strong heat.
Fortunately for us, when Mr. R. called here
he was on his way home from London, where he
had provided himself with these curiosities, and
he was so good-natured as to unpack some of his
treasures for our gratification.
I was much surprised at these cameleon-like
changes ; and at last I learned that this sub-
stance is the tabasheer, of which I had read
something before. It is found in the cavities of
the bamboo ; while the plants are young, it is
fluid, but as they advance in size it hardens.
Mr. R. shewed us three specimens ; the first
was almost transparent, and so tender, that in
carelessly taking it up, I crushed it. He was so
Y
242 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
kind as to say it did not signify, as he had some
more ; but I determined in future to see without
the help of jny fingers, as you have often advised
me, dear mamma. The second piece was harder
and more opaque, having only a little trans-
parency at the edges. The third specimen was
perfectly opaque, and looked like a bit of stucco ;
it was on this piece that he shewed us the curious
experiments I have mentioned.
Mr. R. endeavoured to make us comprehend
the causes of all those changes which have ap-
peared so contradictory. " In the first place,"
said he, " tabasheer is a remarkably porous sub-
stance ; now if one of the pores be filled with
air, a ray of light in passing through it suffers
very little refraction, and is therefore so little
scattered, that the tabasheer appears transpa-
rent, and objects can be partly seen through it.
This arises from the small difference between
the refractive power of air and of tabasheer.
Next," said he, "suppose a very small quantity
of water introduced into this pore, so as not to
fill it, but merely to line it with a film ; then the
light, in passing through the tabasheer, the film
of water, the air within, the film again, and lastly
the tabasheer, is so much scattered by these six
refractions, that the substance appears opaque.
But when by complete immersion the pores
are filled with water, the multiplied refractions
caused by the films and the portions of air
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 243
within, cease, and the light is more freely trans-
mitted."
My uncle and Mr. R. talked a long time on
the subject, and tried several other experiments,
explaining to us the reasons for each step they
took; but I have said enough to shew you that
I endeavoured to understand what they were
doing, and this I am sure will give you pleasure.
Indeed the advantages of beins able to com-
O O
prehend something of the conversation of such
people is so great, that I cannot sufficiently
thank you for having given me a little taste for
science. You used to say that there was great
danger of making girls conceited by giving them
a smattering of science ; but I assure you that I
shall keep a careful watch over myself in that
respect ; the little knowledge I have is only a
peep-hole through which I see the boundless
stores that I can never hope to possess and
surely this can only make me more humble.
Nov. 1st. I had not time yesterday to say
any thing of the plant which produces the taba-
sheer ; and perhaps Marianne might like to have
the particulars that we were told.
It is the bamboo-cane, which is of the
-same natural order as the grasses ; it grows
in both hemispheres, almost anywhere within
the tropics, and very abundantly in the East
Indies. The main roots are thick and jointed,
Y 2
244
and from these joints spring several stems,
which are sometimes eighteen inches in cir-
cumference ^at the bottom. These stems or
culms are round, hollow, and shining; they
grow quite straight, and often to the height of
sixty feet; arid they are articulated, or knotted ;
the knots being about a foot apart, and each
armed with one or two sharp spines. The
leaves are narrow, eight or nine inches long, and
supported on short foot stalks ; and the flowers
grow in large panicles, three or four together,
from the joints of the stem.
The stalks of the bamboo, while young, are
filled with a spongy substance which contains a
sweetish milky juice ; but they become hollow as
they grow old, except at the joints, where they
are crossed by a woody membrane such as I
believe there is in the knots of all culms. Upon
that membrane the liquor rests, and concretes
into the substance called tabasheer, or sugar of
Mombu which was held in such esteem by the
ancients, that it was valued at its weight in
silver. It had long been used as a medicine all
over the east, but was first made known in Eu-
rope by Dr. Russell in 1790.
The young shoots are dark green ; and, while
tender, make a good pickle ; but the old stalks
are of a shining yellow colour, and prodi-
giously hard and durable : they are used in
buildings, in all the farming tools, and in all
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 245
sorts of household furniture. By piercing the
joints they are often converted into water-
pipes, and they make excellent poles by which
the porters carry casks, bales, and palanquins.
In the island of Java, a sort of palanquin is
formed of bamboos, resembling a small house
in shape, and called a clooly. In short there
are few plants which have such a variety of
uses.
2nd. This last summer is said by every one
to have been remarkable for the quantity of seed
produced by almost all plants ; and acorns were
particularly plentiful. Some were gathered for
the purpose of sowing; but an immense number
remained under the oak trees in the lawn, till
within these few days, when they all disap-
peared, and what fell from the trees in the
course of one day, had vanished before the
next. After much puzzling about what could
have become of them, Wentworth discovered
that the sheep eat them ; he caught them in the
act to-day. He also observed that chaffinches
and other birds eat beech-masts but I do not
wonder at that, for I think them excellent; and
my aunt tells me that on some parts of the con-
tinent they are very much used as food by the
poor inhabitants. The oil which is previously
expressed from them is of the finest quality ; and
Y3
246 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
in Alsace, as well as all along the borders of
France and Germany, the peasants make a sort
of cake with j;he remainder.
I saw the jay to-day for the first time ; Mary
shewed me several of these pretty birds under a
hedge. We watched them for some time, and
I actually saw one raise and depress the bunch
of black and white feathers on his forehead re-
peatedly ; the wing coverts are beautiful. Jays are
very affectionate to their young, who remain with
their parents during all the autumn and winter
months, instead of separating early, as most birds
do. In winter they are to be seen continually
under high hedges, or on the sunny side of woods
and copses, seeking for acorns, crab-apples, or for
the grubs and worms to be found in fields where
cows have pastured. They are timid and watch-
ful, and feed in silence ; but timid as they are,
they are very destructive in summer to the gardens.
The Lumleys, you know, live in a very se-
questered part of the forest, and the jays seem
to have established themselves in that undis-
turbed spot. Miss Lumley told me that they
make great havoc among the beans in June ;
and though in general cautious and wary, at
that season their boldness is quite remarkable,
and nothing seems to intimidate them. She has
frequently seen one of the parent birds descend
from a tree into the bean rows they soon an-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 247
nou nee their discovery by a low but particular
scream, and then all the family hastened to join
in the plunder.
Their throat is so wide that they can swallow
beans, acorns, and even chesnuts whole ; and it is
said they can imitate various sounds, such as the
bleating of a lamb, the hooting of an owl, the
mewing of a cat, and even the neighing of a
horse.
They appear to be fond of each other, but to
other birds they are very troublesome, destroying
their nests and eggs, and sometimes pouncing on
the young ones, to the great vexation of the
Lumleys.
4th. Those poor travellers, whom more than
a month ago I told you that good Mrs. Ando
had so generously taken into her own house, have
been obliged to continue there ever since ; and
my aunt has two or three times driven to Newn-
ham to visit them. They have, you know, one
little child, but the man seems to be dying, and
his wife, a foreigner, nurses him with the most
tender care. They have told their history to my
aunt, and she has given me leave to relate it to
you.
The young \voman is a Swiss, her name is Ma-
deleine, and her father was a merchant of Ge-
neva, where they lived in comfortable affluence*
till his wife died, His affliction on this occasion
248 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
was so violent that he resolved to quit Geneva
for ever, and remove to a city in the south of
France, whese he might continue his business;
but Madeleine was tired of a town life, and per-
suaded her father to give up commerce and re-
tire to a little property he possessed in the dis-
trict of Beaufort, in Savoy. She had formed
delightful pictures in her imagination of the
occupations of the farm, the vineyard, and the
dairy, and she longed to realise them.
Her indulgent father yielded to her wishes,
and they removed from all the comforts of Ge-
neva to that remote and mountainous district.
When they arrived, and that she saw the change
which she had persuaded her father to make,
she felt sev 7 ere regret for having interfered ; and
would then have persuaded him to return, but
he had arranged every thing for his residence in
Savoy he had made his decision, and he would
not let it be again shaken.
His activity in a short time made the house
comfortable, and he employed his time and his
money in forming a garden and an extensive vine-
yard. The industry which he had devoted to
trade, he now directed to the cultivation of the
vine, and his unwearied assiduity was rewarded
in a few years by a profusion of grapes, of which
he made excellent wine. Every thing seemed to
prosper, and Madeleine dearly loved a place
where they had conquered so many difficulties,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 249
and where they had seen comfort and plenty rise
out of a bare and rocky valley ; a place which,
with their endeavours to shelter and beautify it,
and with the ornament of a remarkable group of
fine old walnut trees on the hill behind the house,
was now quite picturesque. The poor around
them had also reason to like the change, for
many a distressed family were now employed,
and many an ignorant child was taught as well
as clothed by Madeleine. But her father had
laid out all his ready money on the vineyard
and on a large stock of cattle ; so that every thing
depended on the success of his plans.
According to the custom of the country, their
cattle were sent every summer with those of the
neighbours, to the fresh air and sweet pasture of
the mountains. They were all intrusted to the
care of one person, who during the season lived
on the top of the mountain, in a little wooden
hut, called a chalet. There the milk of the cattle
was collected ; and in eight days after the cows
had been driven up to the common pasture, the
owners assembled, and the quantity of milk from
each cow was weighed. The same thing was
repeated once in the middle of summer ; and at
the end of the season the whole quantity of
cheese and butter was divided in due proportion.
The cattle were then driven back to the vallies,
when there was a general festival, in which the
whole commune joined. All the young people
250
used to assemble at the chalet on this occasion
in their holiday dresses, decorated with Alpine
flowers ; and with all the gaiety of youth, and
with songs and dances, they attended the descent
of their herds, which were also decked with rib-
bons, and bells, and garlands. At intervals the
party sung together the touching song of the
Ranz des vaches, or some of the pretty Savoyard
airs.
On the morning of one of these festivals a
traveller, who had missed his way in crossing the
mountain, happened to apply at the chalet for
assistance. The youthful crowd were actually
setting out the song which announced the ge-
neral movement had already commenced when
seeing that the traveller was faint and in want of
assistance, they stopped and hastened to relieve
him. They gave him such refreshment as they
could, and, unmindful of their own interrupted
pleasures, they delayed their march to give him
time to recover. When he was sufficiently re-
vived by their hospitality, he accompanied the
gay party to the village ; and, charmed by their
simple manners, he joined as well as he could in
their happy and innocent festivity.
The traveller was an English officer, who had
been wounded. He was then enjoying the bracing
air and wild scenery of Savoy ; and though he
intended to winter in Italy, he wished to loiter
a little longer among the glens and mountains of
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 251
this picturesque country. Madeleine's father was
interested by his appearance of ill health, and
pleased by the manner in which he expressed
his gratitude for the kindness he had received,
and therefore invited him, whenever his wander-
ings should lead him that way, to take up his
quarters at Beaufort. He came more than
once in the course of the autumn, and was al-
ways welcomed with warmth and hospitality by
the good old Swiss and Madeleine.
At length he bade them adieu, and pursued his
way to Italy, leaving them in happiness and pros-
perity. At the end of two years he again re-
turned, and found them sunk into poverty and
misery. The overflowing of the Doron, early in
spring, had caused universal destruction in the
valley : houses, gardens, and vineyards were
swept away, and even the cattle, which were to
have gone in a few weeks to the hills, were in-
cluded in the general ruin. All was gone
a few hours had reduced these amiable people
from affluence to absolute want. He who had
been master there whose active head and in-
dustrious hands had planned so well and executed
so much, was now the passive object of his daugh-
ter's cares. The shock had irreparably injured
his mind, for he had spent his whole fortune in
making this place for her, and he had now the
melancholy consciousness that both were beg-
gars. But Madeleine's energy rose above mis-
252 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HKR
fortune. She turned her whole thoughts to the
comforts of her father and the means of pro-
curing them ; and she earnestly prayed for the
blessing of Heaven on her exertions.
As soon as they were settled in a very small
cottage in the neighbourhood, she determined
again to trv the cultivation of the vine but con-
siderably higher on the side of the hill so as to
be secure from a second inundation. She in-
tended to have laboured at this new plantation
herself, with the assistance of one old and attached
servant, but numbers of people from the neigh-
bouring villages, who loved her and were grateful
to her, insisted on being allowed to help. It is a
common custom in Switzerland to plant vines on
very steep hills, with alternate rows of dry stone
walls, to preserve the soil about the plants ; and
Madeleine resolved to accomplish such a vine-
yard. By the assistance of these good-natured
people, a small plantation was made : while some
were digging, others built the little walls ; and
Madeleine herself guided the donkies which were
laden with earth to make a sufficient soil, or with
her own hands disposed it round each vine plant,
and dressed the whole.
Though the vineyard was small, she hoped to
derive an additional benefit from it for her
father, by planting a few useful vegetables,
which might perhaps interest him in his favourite
occupation of gardening. But when she tried to
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 253
rouse his mind to this, he only wept at the loss
of their former pretty garden, for which they had
both done so much.
The group of walnut-trees still remained ; and,
fortunately, they bore remarkably well. The
gathering of the fruit and the pressure of the
oil is one of the most important occupations of
the Savoyards, and Madeleine was again assisted
by her kind neighbours. The walnut harvest
commences about September ; the fruit is
beaten off the trees with long poles, and the green
husks are taken off as soon as they begin to
decay ; the walnuts are then laid in a chamber
to dry, where they remain till the end of Autumn,
when the process of making the oil commences.
The first operation is of course to take out the
kernel, and for this the neighbouring peasantry
collect. They are usually placed round a long
table ; a man at each end of it cracks the nuts
with a mallet, by hitting them on the point ; and
as fast as they are cracked they are distributed
to the persons round the table, who take out the
kernels and remove the inner part. The Savoy
ards are so lively, that this employment is in
general accompanied by songs and various amuse
ments. The day that Bertram, their English
friend, returned, Madeleine was thus occupied ;
while her poor old father, placed in a chair beside
her, was gazing vacantly at what they were
doing.
VOL. T, Z
254 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
Though changed so much in circumstances,
she did not appear dejected she had not sunk
into despair^ and though her countenance, as he
told my aunt, no longer expressed gaiety, yet
even in her tears she had the smile of hope and
cheerfulness. He had always esteemed her, and
was now so charmed by her various merits, and
so anxious to assist and protect her, that he per-
suaded her to accept his hand. He wrote to his
father, who is a clergyman in Wales ; he obtained
his consent, and for a few years lived happily
with Madeleine in her cottage, enjoying those
pleasures that follow laborious industry, and
taking part in all the tender cares she be-
stowed on her poor father. His half-pay added
to their comforts, but still he was obliged to
work to labour sometimes for the pleasure of
making Madeleine's father comfortable at the
close of his life, and he was rewarded by the
success of their exertions.
But the severity of the climate in winter and
his laborious life were too much for his constitu-
tion, which had never recovered the effect of his
wounds. He felt that his strength was declining;
and the poor old father having died, last spring,
Bertram became anxious to return to his own
country. They had no longer any tie to Savoy,
and Madeleine willingly acquiesced in his wishes
and sold her little property ; yet it gave her many
a pang to part for ever with the place where she
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 255
had been so happy with ker father a place so
endeared to her by years of cheerful industry,
and by the sympathy and kindness she had re-
ceived from all the inhabitants.
Unfortunately, Bertram became so much
worse on his journey, that they were frequently
obliged to rest, and by the time they arrived in
Gloucestershire they found their expenses had
been so great that they should not have sufficient
means to accomplish the remainder of their jour-
ney. Thus stopped by want of money as well
as by illness, poor Madeleine was looking for
some humble lodging, when that kind-hearted
creature Mrs. Ando, prevailed on them to come
to her house. He has repeatedly written to re-
quest his father would come to him, but till last
Monday he received no answer. It appears
that the old gentleman had been also very ill,
and all his letters remained unopened. He is
now expected every day and a sad meeting it
will be, for my aunt fears that his son is too ill
to recover.
Mrs. Ando sent a messenger yesterday to tell
my aunt that her poor patient very much wished
to see her again. She instantly went, and they
had a long conversation on religious subjects,
which gave her heartfelt pleasure, his senti-
ments were so pious. He spoke in the most
affecting manner of Madeleine's cheerful and
tender care ; and added that having been sepa-
256 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
rated from his father when very young, he
had become careless and indifferent about reli-
gion ; for Q. soldier's life is rather unfavourable
to religious improvement 5 but that his excellent
wife had perceived this, and with prudent cau-
tion had gently led him to think ; her good sense
and admirable example awakened his mind, and
while he taught her the English language, she
taught him in return the principles, the humility,
and the practice of Christianity.
Still long she nursed him ; tender thoughts meantime
Were interchanged, and hopes and views sublime.
To her he came to die, and every day
She took some portion of the dread away ;
With him she prayed, to him her Bible read,
Soothed the faint heart, and held the aching head ;
She came with smiles the hour of pain to cheer ;
Apart she sighed; alone, she shed the tear ;
Then, as if breaking from a cloud, she gave
Fresh light, and gilt the prospect of the grave.
5f/i. I was rather naughty yesterday, I did
not walk out; and my uncle reproached me for
it this morning. ft If you shut yourself up every
cold day, Bertha, you will never become more
hardy than the stove plants from your own
country, which would certainly be more orna-
mental, and more valuable, if they could be re-
conciled to our climate^ and made to grow here
in the open ground. And you, too, would be
happier as well as stronger, if you were able to
enjoy the out of door pleasures of winter as well
as those of the fire-side,"
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 257
" Yes, uncle, I wish to do so, but I delayed
till the day changed in hopes of having Caroline
with me ; the straight beech-walk is comfortably
sheltered from the north-east wind, bat then the
high ditch prevents one from seeing any thing,
and makes it a dull place without a companion."
My uncle laughed at my wanting to have a
view from my walk, and said, " Certainly it
would have been pleasant to have had a compa-
nion ; but for my own part, I often enjoy a soli-
tary walk : it is, I think, a great advantage to ac-
custom the mind to submit sometimes to soli-
tude, and to look for pleasure from within. Sup-
pose there be nothing to see, why should you be
dull ? Have you not memory and reflection for
companions ? Do not your various pursuits fur-
nish you with matter for consideration ? Study
is absolutely useless, if you do not, by daily re-
calling what you have read, endeavour to class
and arrange it in your mind ; can you feel alone
and dull when thus engaged, and is not that re-
tired walk exactly suited for such employment ?
But, come with me, my dear," he added, " and
I will shew you sufficient to occupy both eyes
and mind even in that dull place."
A walk with my uncle is one of my greatest
pleasures, dear mamma. I was ready in a mi-
nute and to the beech-walk we went ; but it
was no longer a dull walk ; all he says is so
delightful, and he listens so patiently to every
Z 3
258 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
question. After a few turns, in which I entirely
forgot the North-east wind, he said, " There is
no place, my little Bertha, that does not present
some objects of interest to those who choose to
open their eyes. For instance, even on this
rough ditch, and on the old wall that joins it,
you may see a curious variety of vegetation,
which your finest embroidery cannot equal.
Look at those mosses ; they are among the
meanest plants, yet there is not one that is not
worth examining. The fructification is still to be
seen on that tuft of bearded thread moss. Take
your little magnifying glass and look at the cup
which is so delicate, and yet so firm, its edge
strengthened by that finely toothed ring, to
which the slender conical lid is exactly fitted ;
its pointed top, you see, serves to attach that
little shining scaly membrane, which is the
principal defence of the flower and seed from the
weather, and which is called the veil or Ca-
lyptra.
" Now, Bertha, look at this silver thread moss,
here on the walk, with its diminutive leaves so
closely pressed to the stem as to be hardly vi-
sible ; it is now quite green, but in some weeks
it will become of a shining silvery white, espe-
cially when dry; and this circumstance dis-
tinguishes it from all other mosses."
I asked him the name of the moss that is
so common on the roots of the trees, creeping
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 259
through the grass round them, and growing in
tufts of long crowded shoots ; he told me that
those long crowded shoots mark that species,
and he shewed me the brown fibres by which
they cling to the trees ; and the leaves which
grow in double rows, ending in little crooked
hairs ; he called it the trailing feather moss.
He seemed to take as much pleasure in explain-
ing a thousand things about them as I did in
listening. How stupidly I had walked up and
down there, and never cast my eyes on the
beautiful structure of these little plants! We
then examined several lichens, some in tufts
hanging from the branches of trees and bushes,
or encircling them with their crisp flat leaves \
others covering the stems with an odd white
crust; while on the damp earth beneath we
found the cup lichen in deep sea-green patches,
displaying its tiny cups like fairy wine-glasses.
*' On those stones," said my uncle, " you may
trace the beginning of all vegetation, from the
little black spots, which are scarcely discernible,
to the larger lichens and mosses of different
forms and sizes. Or, let us turn to the grassy
bank, and you may there see a great number
of herbaceous plants still green, mixing with that
useful grass, the creeping bent, which throws out
fresh pasture at this late season from the joints
of its runners or stolones."
He shewed me many of these plants ; and
260 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
more than once said, ^Everything here is inte-
resting to persons of observation, and particularly
so to those wjio know something of botany. But
they are not merely for momentary examination
the variety and the design, to be found in
each, supply ample subject of reflection."
Just at that moment I heard a shrill cry, and
1 interrupted my uncle to ask what it was.
He told me that it was the alarm-cry of the
fieldfare, and pointed to a large tree at the end
of the walk, where a number of fieldfares and
redwings, lately arrived from a colder climate,
had collected.
" You see," said my uncle, "that even without
any fine picturesque view, you may have abund-
ance of amusement here, not only in observing
the growth of mosses and plants, but in watching
the habits of birds. You may see the little wood-
pecker, and the still smaller creeper running
nimbly up the stems of the trees, and pecking in-
sects and their eggs out of the crevices of the bark ;
or the fauvette and the friendly robin waiting
on every spray for a little notice ; while in the
thickets to the left you may see the missel thrush,
and may sometimes distinguish its note, though it
does not actually sing at this season."
As my uncle said this, we approached the tree
on which the fieldfares were perched : they
seemed at first unmindful of us ; but, as we came
nearer, one bird which I had observed sitting
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 261
alone at the very end of a branch, rose suddenly on
its wings and gave a cry of alarm, which was the
same I had heard before. The moment this hap-
pened, they all flew off together, except one,
which remained there till we almost reached the
tree, when it repeated the same cry and followed
the rest.
My uncle told me that this is the constant habit
of these birds ; they arrive late in autumn, and
always collect in a flock, placing one on the watch
to give the alarm. When they spread over a field
in search of food, they never separate much, and
fly off in a body at the first notice of their sen-
tinel. The redwing sings sweetly in its native
country, Sweden, though here it makes only a
piping noise. As we walked along, he told me
that fieldfares were formerly kept in aviarie s
by the Romans, who fattened them on bread and
minced figs ; during which process very little light
was admitted, and all objects were excluded
from their sight, that could remind them of
their former liberty. We watched these birds
for a long time ; and as we returned home my
uncle said, " But in suggesting these subjects
of observation, Bertha, I do not mean that you
should always stand still in the cold to examine
them ; nor do I suppose that in one walk you
could attend to such a variety of objects. I only
want to shew you how much amusement a so-
262
litary winter's walk, even along a dull straight
high ditch, can supply for both eyes and thoughts.
" Besides all these, you, my little botanist, might
have another endless subject for examination in
our deciduous trees, on many of which you will
find that, unlike those of tropical climates, the
young shoots, leaves and flowers are formed in
autumn, and cradled up in scaly buds, where
they are secure from frost, till the following
spring.
* ' Indeed, the comparisons you must be naturally
induced to make between your two countries,
might supply you with amusing and useful occu-
pation ; and the result will be, that in each you
will discover how peculiarly every creature and
every vegetable is adapted to the country where
it has been placed."
6/i, Sunday.* I asked my uncle this morn-
ing, why Joseph said that every shepherd was
an abomination to an Egyptian ; and also, why
Joseph expected, that t when Pharaoh was in-
formed that his father and brethren were shep-
herds, he would order them to dwell in the land
of Goshen ?
" In the first place," said he, " it is supposed
that Egypt had been invaded and subdued by a
tribe of warlike shepherds from Arabia, called
Cushites, or sons of Gush. They were also called
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 263
the Pali, or shepherds ; and their leaders called
themselves the Shepherd-Kings. Six of these
Shepherd-kings are said to have successively
reigned in Egypt, till at length the native princes,
weary of their tyranny, rebelled, and expelled
them. They retired into the land of Canaan,
and established themselves at Jerusalem, and in
other strong situations in that country, which,
from them, obtained the name of Palestine, or
Palis-tan the country of the Pali. These peo-
ple afterwards became the Philistines, who
were such troublesome neighbours to the Israel-
ites.
u The memory of their tyranny was still fresh
in the minds of the Egyptians, at the time that
Joseph's family removed to Egypt; and it was,
therefore, natural that every shepherd should
be an abomination to the Egyptians. Cush,
you know, was the eldest son of Ham ; the
Egyptians were decended from Mizraim, the
second son of Ham, and Egypt is to this day
called Mizr, by the Arabs and Abyssinians.
l( As to your second question," continued my
uncle, ** in regard to their being ordered to dwell
in the land of Goshen, it appears probable that
there had been shepherds in those parts before ;
otherwise Joseph could scarcely have foreseen
that that portion of the land would be given to
his brethren. Besides which, Goshen being
chiefly adapted to pasturage, which was so con-
264 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
trary to the taste of the Egyptians, this region
most likely lay neglected. Hence we see why
the Israelite* found such easy access into the
country, so as not only to be allowed to dwell in
it, but to have the land of Goshen given them
for a possession, even the best of the land of
Egypt."
" I wonder," said Wentworth, " why the
Israelites were sent by Providence into Egypt,
as they were, after a time, to be placed in
Canaan, the land of promise, and would, there-
fore, be again unsettled and obliged to remove."
" It has been suggested," said my uncle,
f ' that the promise made to Abraham, to give to
his posterity the land of Canaan, was not to be
fulfilled, till this great family of Israel was strong
enough to take that land by force from the in-
habitants, and to keep possession of it. Besides,
the Canaanites had not then completed the mea-
sure of their wickedness, which was to be pu-
nished by the loss of their country.
" In the meantime, though the Israelites were
obliged to reside amongst idolaters, and were
enjoined to preserve themselves unmixed ; yet
Egypt was the only place where they could for
so long a time remain safe from being confounded
with the natives. For the ancient Egyptians
were, by numerous institutions, forbidden all fel-
lowship with strangers ; and having a particular
aversion to the employment of the Israelites,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 265
they were, by that means, more completely sepa-
rated. Besides, during their long residence of above
400 years in Egypt, the Israelites, who were but
simple shepherds when they went there, had the
advantage of acquiring a knowledge of the va-
rious arts in which the Egyptians excelled.
tf The Bible here, as in many other cases, only
records the facts : we cannot now penetrate, my
dear boy, into the causes or motives which led to
them ; but we may be sure that what was dic-
tated by Infinite Wisdom was just and proper ;
and in venturing to assign such reasons as we
can infer from other circumstances in history, we
should do so with great modesty and distrust of
ourselves."
7th. My uncle has been obliged to go to
London about business ; he left us this morning,
but his stay will not be very long, I hope, for we
shall miss him excessively, and the more so, as
winter is completely begun. We have now dark
days, with frequent rain and storms ; few trees
have even a withered leaf remaining, and every
thing out of doors has a forlorn and desolate
appearance.
But though the leaves are all gone, we have
still a few flowers ; the China rose is still in
bloom, and in the sheltered warm borders, we
find a few wall-flowers, some lilac primroses,
2 A
266 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and many Neapolitan violets, which are de-
lightfully sweet.
.
9/A. When we were walking this morning in
the forest, Frederick made me take notice of a
flock of crows, which were quite different in ap-
pearance from the common rook. The back is
ash-coloured, while the head, throat, wings, and
tail, are black. I was surprised at my own
blindness in not having observed them before 5
but Frederick told me that they had only ar-
rived lately, as they change their abode twice
in the year. About the middle of autumn,
they appear in the southern parts of England
in flocks ; and in the beginning of spring
they depart in a northerly direction ; though
in some parts of Scotland and Ireland, they
remain through the whole year. This species is
still more familiar than the rook, and in winter
will go even to the yards of houses to pick up
food. It is called the hooded crow, or scare-crow.
I heard it give two cries, one was the hollow
hoarse note of the crow, but the other was
shrill, and not very unlike the crowing of a cock.
They are remarkable for this double cry.
Mr. Landt, in his description of the Feroe
Islands, says that one or two hundred of these
birds sometimes assemble, as if by general con-
sent. A few of them sit with drooping heads,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 267
others seem as grave as if they were the judges,
and others again very bustling and noisy. The
meeting breaks up in about an hour, when one
or two are generally found dead on the spot ;
and it has been supposed, by those who have
observed them carefully, that they were cri-
minals punished for their offences. Frederick
says he has read that in the Orkneys, too, they
meet in spring, as if to deliberate on concerns
of importance ; and after flying about in this
collected state for eight or ten days, they sepa-
rate into pairs, and retire to the mountains.
Along with those we saw several carrion crows
with their glossy plumage of bluish black ; they
not only associate with rooks and other crows,
but approach our dwellings and saunter among
the flocks ; and I really saw some hopping on
the backs of pigs and sheep, with such apparent
familiarity that one might have imagined they
were domestic birds.
Towards the close of winter the hooded crow
and the rook remove to other regions, but the
carrion crows resort to the nearest woods, which
they seem to divide into separate districts, one
for each pair; and it is remarkable that they
never intrude on each other's portions.
Crows may well be called omnivorous birds, for
they eat every thing flesh, eggs, worms, grain 3
fish, and fruit. Shell fish, it is said, they very
ingeniously crack by dropping them from a great
2 A 2
268
height on a stone. Many people have seen this ;
and the great Mr. Watt, whose observation was
always aliv, watched one of these sagacious
crows taking up a crab into the air, which it
repeatedly let fall on a rock, till the shell was
completely broken. The same ingenuity has
been observed in another species of the crow
family, in North America : a blue jay, which
had been tamed, finding the dried seeds of In-
dian corn too hard to break, placed one in the
corner of a shelf in the green-house, between the
wall and a plant box : having thus secured it
on three sides, he easily contrived to break it ;
and, having once succeeded, he continued ever
after to apply the same means.
. We have had a grand discussion in
our walk this morning, on genius. Mary's opi-
nion is, that it never exists originally ; and that
wherever biography affords us the opportunity of
learning the small circumstances of early life,
we may observe that something had occurred to
turn the attention, while young, to that pursuit,
in which successful perseverance had been after-
wards ascribed to genius. For instance, in the
thirteenth century, some Greek painters being
employed in the churches of Florence, the youth-
ful Cimabue gazed for whole days in admiration
of their work : he afterwards devoted himself to
the art, and quickly surpassed his masters. Here,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 269
but for the circumstance of the Greek painters,
his talent might have remained unknown even to
himself.
" But," said Caroline, "his own pupil, Giotto,
may be opposed to your theory ; you know he was
a shepherd boy, whom Cimabue found accurately
drawing the figures of his sheep on the sand."
" I confess," said Mary, " that does seem
rather against me, but we do not know what
previous opportunities he might have had. Ca-
nova's genius, it is said, shewed itself in the
obscurity of village life ; yet we learn from his
Memoirs that he lived with his grandfather, who,
though only a common stone-cutter, was in the
habit of designing and working architectural
ornaments, and surely that accounts for the ten-
dency of his pupil's mind."
"Very well," replied Caroline, c ' I will leave
you in possession of Canova, and only ask
what you think of West the great West ?
Belonging to the sect of Quakers, who disap-
prove of making any representation of the
human form, and born in North America, where
the arts were not at that time cultivated, he had
never seen any sort of drawing ; yet while he
was a very little boy, being desired to watch
a sleeping infant, he was so charmed with its
little face and attitude, that he made an ex-
cellent sketch of it with a bit of half-burned
2 A 3
270 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
wood. Was not that, Mary, from the impulse
of genius ?"
" I see," aid Wentworth, " that Mary does
not think herself quite conquered ; but as it is
going to rain, suppose we adjourn the debate,
as papa says, to another day. Caroline shall
then have Bertha on her side ; I will do my best
for Mary, as a true knight is bound to assist the
weak ; and Frederick shall be the umpire, and
adjudge the wreath of victory."
We all agreed to this plan ; and I am sure it
will produce a great deal of amusement. My
uncle and aunt approve of these good-humoured
contests, in which we never lose our temper, and
all gain information.
llth. Our genius conversation of yesterday
having been mentioned in the evening at tea,
my aunt encouraged us to repeat our argu-
ments, and to defend them by fresh examples ;
and my uncle so nicely threw himself, sometimes
into one scale, and sometimes into the other, that
both parties valued themselves on his support.
I am rather in doubt which will amuse you most,
the anecdotes of various people that he related,
or some circumstances in Canova's life that my
aunt afterwards told us : I believe these interested
me the most, so I shall begin with them.
" The beautiful country round Passagno, and
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 27l
the refreshing breezes from the Alps, made it a
frequent summer residence for the Venetian no-
bility. Old Pasino Canova, who lived there,
was often employed in the repairs or embellish-
ments of their villas, and on these occasions he
was accompanied by his grandson. Young Ca-
nova thus became known to the senator Falier,
who was afterwards his most zealous patron ;
and an intimacy was formed between him and
Giuseppe Falier, the youngest son, which ceased
only with Canova's life.
" The ingenuous disposition of Canova, his
animated countenance and his modesty, interested
the elder Falier ; and he took him, when about
twelve years old, under his immediate protection.
But it was by a mere accident that his talents
were first noticed. At a festival celebrated at
the villa of Falier, and attended by many of the
Venetian nobility, the domestics had neglected
to provide an ornament for the dessert. The
omission was not discovered till it was too late ;
and, fearing the displeasure of their master, they
applied to Pasino, who, with his grandson, was
then at work in the house.
" The old man could suggest no remedy; but
young Antonio desired to have some butter, and
in a few moments he modelled a lion, with such
skill and effect, that, when it appeared at table,
it excited the attention and applause of all pre-
sent. The servants were questioned the whole
272
was disclosed, and little Tonin declared to be
the contriver. He was immediately called for ;
and blushing and half reluctant, was led into the
brilliant assembly, where he received universal
praise and caresses."
" There is a circumstance strikingly similar to
this," continued my aunt, " which is told of our
celebrated sculptor Chantrey, and of which I
believe there is no doubt, as I was told it by
a person to whom Chantrey, with noble candour,
had himself communicated it. When quite q,
boy, not more than nine or ten, he used fre-
quently to visit his aunt, who was housekeeper
to a lady of fortune in Derbyshire. During one
of these visits, it was observed that the flowers
and ornaments of the pastry at table were
executed with particularly good taste ; and the
housekeeper acknowledged that she had allowed
her little nephew to amuse himself in making
whatever ornaments he fancied. The lady de-
termined on giving him other opportunities of
trying his talents, and finding how very superior
they were, she actually sent him to London to
receive instruction. With what delight this be-
nevolent and judicious woman must now behold
the works of this great artist ; and how much
she must enjoy the fame which he has so justly
acquired !
*' The progress which Canova made, and the
perfection even of his earliest works, is known to
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 273
all the world ; but perhaps you may not have heard
that during his whole life, both while suffering
opposition from envious artists, who threw every
obstacle in his way, and afterwards when he had
attained the highest success, he preserved his un-
pretending modesty and simplicity. He neither
yielded to occasional disappointment, nor to the
vanity of shewing that he could surpass his rivals.
Improvement was the one great object which
he unremittingly pursued, and all his ideas were
subjected to rigid examination ; he compared
them first with nature, and he then flew to the
Vatican, where he compared them with the an-
tique. The result always calmed his solicitude ;
he returned with fresh confidence to his studio,
and in solitude laboured to perfect his style,
without either boasting to his friends, or triumph-
ing over his opponents.
" This modest reserve always marked his con-
duct. To the observations of friends, whether
of approbation or criticism, he seldom replied.
' To praise,' he used to say, ' what can I an-
swer ? to the censures of well-wishers I must
listen in silence ; for if wrong, their feelings
would be hurt by telling them so, and if correct,
I endeavour to profit by their remarks.' But it
frequently occurred that he reminded his friends
of their former criticisms, and candidly pointed
out the consequent correction.
" His high talents were combined with the
274 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
most amiable disposition, and a most grateful
heart. His good old grandmother lived to see
the success and the excellence of the object of
her care; and Canova, who cherished every affec-
tionate feeling, enjoyed that first of pleasures
the repaying former benefits. After the death
of his grandfather he brought her to reside with
him at Rome, and his friends still remember his
tender anxiety to make the close of her life
happy.
" Canova sculptured the bust of his grand-
mother, in the dress of her native province, which
was the same as that of Titian's mother ; and
this bust he kept in his own apartment. Point-
ing it out one day to a visiter, he said, with
much emotion, f That is a piece which I greatly
value ; it is the likeness of her to whom I owe
as much as it is possible for one human being to
owe to another;' adding, ' you see she is dressed
nearly as Titian's mother ; but unless affection
renders me a partial judge, my grandmother is
much the finer old woman.' "
. Mary has a most enviable memory;
she has just been entertaining me with what she
read in Waddington's travels in Dongola.
She says, the houses there are either a sort
of mud fortresses intended for defence, or else
low cottages of straw and branches, tied together
with bands, and supported at each corner by
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 275
the dry stem of a palm, to which the walls are
united.
The vale of Farjas is described as a most ro-
mantic little spot ; a green and cultivated valley
not two hundred yards broad, closely shut in
between a range of high granite rocks, and a
narrow branch of the Nile ; and flourishing in
freshness and fertility, in the middle of the wild-
est waste. The simple inhabitants offered a
great many little civilities to Mr. W. and his
companions.
She mentioned also two very curious passes
through the hills ; one called the {i Pass of the
Water's Mouth," near the entrance of which
are two immense stones, as regular as if formed
and placed there by art ; and the other a winding
pass amongst high rocks, that required an hour
and forty minutes to travel through it ; it is oddly
called u The Father of the Acacias," though
from beginning to end it contains not one symp-
tom of vegetation.
But I can write no more now, for my aunt
has sent for me to walk with her, if I am so in-
clined and that indeed I am.
I3th, Sunday.' The conversation, at break-
fast this morning, having turned on the history
of Moses, my aunt observed, that the entire
account of his life is told in the most plain and
artless manner, unmixed with any circumstances
276
BERTHA S VISIT TO HER
likely to exalt his personal character, and is
throughout distinguished by that candour and
impartiality w with which Moses always speaks of
himself.
I asked her, how soon after the death of
Joseph, the destruction of the first-born of the
Israelites was decreed by Pharaoh.
" There is reason to think," said my aunt,
" that it was about sixty-four years after the
death of Joseph ; probably soon after the birth
of Aaron, who had not been subject to this
decree ; and about one hundred and thirty-three
years after their settlement in Egypt.
" You are of course aware, Bertha," continued
she, " that Pharaoh was the title of all the Egyp-
tian sovereigns at that ancient period ; the Pha-
raoh who had favoured Joseph was dead, and
his successors were ill-disposed towards the
Israelites, who had increased so much, that the
Egyptian kings began to fear them, for they still
recollected the thraldom in which they had for
a long time been held by the Cushite or Shep-
herd invaders. And besides, Egypt was still sub-
ject to incursions from the Arabians, on that very
side where the Israelites dwelled ; which ac-
counts at once both for their jealousy of the
Israelites, who had the power of betraying them,
by admitting the invaders, and also for the fear
expressed by Pharaoh, lest they should ' get
them up out of the land ;' because, as long as they
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 277
were in Goshen, they were, if faithful, a sort of
defence to his kingdom, by being thus situated
on its frontiers.
" But to return to the history of Moses the
ark of rushes which his mother ' took for him,'
was a little vessel or basket, made of reeds, and
daubed with slime or pitch, to keep out the
water ; it was probably of the form of one of
those boats, with which the river was always
covered, and made, like them, of ' bulrushes,' by
which is meant the papyrus of which the Egyp-
tians made their paper, and which grew in
abundance on the banks of the Nile. This papy-
rus was strong enough to resist the water, and
well adapted by its lightness to swim with a
child's weight. The vessels of bulrushes men-
tioned in both sacred and profane history were
made in the same manner on a larger scale.
Bruce, the traveller, saw them in common use
in Abyssinia; and even at this day they are to
be seen on the Nile ; though the introduction of
plank and stronger materials has caused them
to be laid aside in a great degree.
"It was customary for the Egyptian females to
express their veneration for the Nile, by plunging
into it, when it began to overflow the country ;
and it is probable, that when the daughter of
Pharaoh bathed, it was in compliance with some
such custom. Modern travellers tell us, that a
ceremony is still observed by the Egyptian fr>
278 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
males, of going to solemnize with songs, and
dance, and bathing, the first visible rise of the
Nile.
" Observe here, my dear children," continued
my aunt, " the chain of small circumstances by
which God leads mankind to the accomplish-
ment of his high decrees. When the daughter
of Pharaoh goes to celebrate a heathen ceremony
when she finds the babe, and calls the He-
brew woman to be his nurse, and when that
nurse turns out to be his own mother what
a singular concurrence of events, simple and ob-
vious in themselves, but wonderful in their com-
binations !
" Joseph us, the Jewish historian, states that
Pharaoh's daughter was married Ht had no
children, and therefore adopted Moses, and gave
him a princely education ; that he became a man
of eminence amongst the Egyptians, was made a
general and leader of their armies, and fought
some battles with success. While he was in-
structed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, he
was taught at home a knowledge of God ; his
father Amram imparted to him the promised re-
demption of Israel, and his mother fixed the
true faith in his heart ; so that it became the
guide and the principle of all his actions.
" The land of Midian, to which Moses fled
when he killed the Egyptian in defence of the
ill-treated Israelite, was a part of Arabia Petrsea,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 279
where some of Abraham's posterity were settled ;
it lay upon the further side of the Red Sea, to
the east of the wilderness of Sin. During his
long absence from Egypt, Moses never forgot
that he was separated from his family and his
nation ; and to mark his feelings he called his son
Gershom, a desolate stranger. While he was
thus an exile, he was trained in the school of
adversity; his faith was strengthened, so that it
prepared him for the arduous mission which he
was born to undertake ; and he became ( meek
above all the men which were on the face of the
earth.' No man, indeed, had greater trials
but about them and the important part he after-
wards performed, I will take some other oppor-
tunity of conversing with you."
I&th. I had so many questions to ask about
papyrus, that I thought it better not to interrupt
my aunt yesterday, when Moses was more parti-
cularly the subject of our conversation. This
morning, however, I begged of her to tell me
some particulars about the paper made from
that plant, and I will now put down here the
substance of what she told me.
" The papyrus, or Egyptian reed, as it is
called, grows in the marshy ground, caused by
the overflowing of the Nile, and rises to the
height of six or seven cubits above the water.
2 B 2
280
The stalk is triangular, and terminates in a crown
of small filaments, resembling hair, which the
ancients used to compare to a thyrsus. It was
very useful to the inhabitants of the country
where it grew, for the stem not only served for
building small boats, but was likewise used for
making cups and other utensils. The pith of the
plant was eaten as food, and the root, being full
of a sweet juice, was frequently chewed.
" But the manufacture of paper was the most
important of all its uses ; for I need not tell you,
Bertha, that before mankind had some means of
noting events, the recollection of them was
either lost, or became so mixed with error, in
being preserved by mere oral tradition, that we
have no records of the ancient transactions of
the inhabitants of the globe ; except those con-
tained in the Bible, which were, you know, written
by Moses retrospectively. Before the invention
of letters, mankind may be said to have been
perpetually in their infancy, as the arts of one
age or country generally died with their inventors.
" When the outer skin or bark of the stem of
the papyrus," continued my aunt, " was taken off,
several slender films or pellicles were found one
within the other. These pellicles were carefully
separated with a pointed instrument, and spread
on a table so that the thickest parts were all
ranged together. On these, another layer of
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 281
pellicles was then transversely placed in a simi-
lar manner, and moistened with Nile water ;
the whole was heavily pressed, and when dried
in the sun, formed a smooth substance well fitted
for writting upon with pens made of hollow reeds,
through which a coloured liquid was allowed to
flow. The saccharine juice in the bark helped
to make the adhesion perfect, but some-
times a thin coat of gum was laid upon the first
layer. Thus large sheets were prepared for
writing, and when formed into books, the boards
or covers, we learn from some of the early Greek
writers, were made from the woody parts of the
same plant.
" The Egyptian name of this plant is Babr,
from whence both papyrus and our word paper.
seem to have been derived. The bark of a
species of mulberry tree was afterwards used for
paper ; and liber, which properly meant the bark
of a tree, was, therefore, applied to signify a
book."
Caroline, whose memory always serves her at
the right moment, immediately repeated these
lines,
Papyrus, verdant on the banks of Nile,
Spread its thin leaf, and waved its silvery style ;
Its plastic pellicles Invention took,
To form the polished page and lettered book ;
And on its folds, with skill consummate taught
To paint, in mystic colors, sound and thought.
B3
282 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
My aunt smiled, and then added : "To form
those little bulrush vessels that are alluded to in
the Bible and elsewhere, the papyrus was made
up in bundles, and by tying these bundles to-
gether, and placing a piece of timber at the
bottom to serve as a keel, they gave their vessels
the necessary shape. Several ancient writers
describe them ; Lucan speaks of the Memphian
or Egyptian boat, made of the thirsty papyrus ;
which corresponds exactly with the nature of the
plant, as well as with its Hebrew name, which
signifies, to drink or soak up.
" This plant requires so much water that it
perishes when the river on whose banks it grows
is much reduced ; and it is for that reason that
Job mentions it as the image of transient pro-
sperity."
. My uncle has returned, to the joy of
the whole family ; he looks a little tired, but
seems rejoiced to be at home. He has seen
numbers of curious things, and has already told
us some of them.
One thing that he mentioned was very inter-
esting to me ; he met a gentleman who had
lately arrived from our southern regions, and who
had seen that wonderful luminous creature of
those seas which I mentioned to you in my
journal when on board the Phaeton. Ac-
cording to this gentleman's account, each of
UNCLE IN ENGLA.ND. 283
these brilliant animals diffused a sphere of light
of eighteen inches in diameter ; "Think then,"
said he to my uncle, u what the effect must be
on the spectator, when the sea is absolutely full
of them as far as the eye can reach, and to many
yards in depth. One evening, in particular,
from seven to eleven o'clock, the ship sailed up-
wards of twenty miles through these living lamps ;
and the strong light they gave enabled him to
distinguish many fishes, even ten or twelve feet
beneath the surface of the water, that appeared
to be accompanying the ship."
My uncle then gave us a very entertaining
account of an experiment he witnessed on the
common house-spider, which proves that it pos-
sesses a natural diving-bell, to assist it in crossing
water. The spider was placed on a small plat-
form in the middle of a large tumbler full of
water, the platform being about half an inch
above the edge of the glass, and two inches
above the water. It first descended by the
stick that supported the platform, till it reached
the water, but finding no way to escape, it re-
turned to the platform, and for some time em-
ployed itself in preparing a web, with which, by
means of its hinder legs, it loosely enveloped its
body and head. It again descended, and with-
out hesitation plunged into the water, when my
uncle observed, that the web with which it was
covered contained a bubble of air, probably in-
284
tended for respiration. The spider, wrapped up
in this little diving-bell, endeavoured on every
side to make its escape ; but in vain, on account
of the slipperiness of the glass ; and after re-
maining at the bottom for about thirteen mi-
nutes, it returned, apparently much exhausted,
as it coiled itself closely under the platform, and
remained there for some time without motion.
Another beautiful thing that my uncle was
shewn by Dr. W., was a veil woven by cater-
pillars actually a gossamer veil. The inge-
nious person, a German I believe, who had
managed those little manufacturers, spread
them over a large glass, and contrived to place
them so that the work of each was connected
with that of its neighbour. As he could direct
or change their progress at pleasure, he was not
only able to form the veil of a tolerably regular
shape, but by sometimes inducing them to go two
or three times over the same spot, to give it the
appearance of flowered lace. The whole veil,
though of a large size, weighed only three grains
and a half; and a breath blew it up into the air,
where it floated like a cloud.
. When my uncle was in town, he was
present at the opening and examination of an
Egyptian mummy, along with several members
of the Royal Society. Some mummies, he says,
have two cases ; in these, the outer one is orna-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 285
mented with stripes of painted linen, and the
inner case is covered with a kind of paper on
which figures and hieroglyphics are painted with
great brilliancy of colour.
The one which he saw had but a single case,
which appeared to be made of sycamore-wood,
two inches in thickness ; the back and the front
being fastened together by pegs. The case is
made to stand upright, and is covered, inside and
out, with a kind of shell or coat of plaster, to a
considerable thickness. This coat is painted
outside with hieroglyphics in horizontal lines on
a deep orange ground ; and the whole is highly
varnished. The internal surface is likewise di-
vided into broad stripes, alternately white and
yellow ; and on both are inscribed hieroglyphics
and other characters about an inch long, pro-
bably consisting of prayers or invocations for the
dead, or perhaps of some biographical notice.
My uncle told us that the embalmed body was
most carefujly secured from the air, by a cover-
ing of cerecloth, and by bandages that were ap-
plied with a neatness and precision that would
have done honour to the most skilful surgeon
of modern times. Of the many species of band-
ages which are employed in surgery, there is not
one that did not appear to have been used; and
they were so many times repeated, that after
their removal, they were found to weigh twenty-
eight pounds. Each limb, nay, each finger
286 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
and toe had a separate one ; and over all, an-
other of great length, which, though without stitch
or seam, after making a few turns round both feet,
ascended spirally to the head, from whence it
returned as far as the breast, and terminated
there in loose threads like a fringe. In unravel-
ling all these bandages, my uncle and everybody
were struck with the judicious selection of their
size and form, so as to adapt them to the dif-
ferent parts, and to give the whole a smooth sur-
face, without a wrinkle.
They appeared to be made of a strong com-
pact kind of linen, and were all of a dark brown
colour, the result probably of some vegetable
solution that contained a large proportion of the
tannin principle. Many of them were daubed
with wax and some resinous or bituminous sub-
stance; and some little crystals were found, from
which a chemist who was present seemed to
think that lime had been used in preparing the
skin.
The circumstance that most astonished my
uncle was that some of the sinews were still elas-
tic and flexible, and that the joints moved as
easily as in a living body. My aunt and he
afterwards had a long conversation on the origin
of the ancient Egyptians ; the principal cir-
cumstance that I picked up was that the cele-
brated Cuvier has examined the skulls of above
fifty mummies, and that, in his opinion, they
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 287
have the same characters as those of the Ar-
menians, Georgians, and Europeans ; or, to
use his expression, that the common origin of
them all was Caucasian. The skull of that
which my uncle saw leads to the same con-
clusion, and differed essentially from the form
of the negro head. It is a curious fact,
which he says has been noticed by more than
one traveller, that whole families are still to be
found in Upper Egypt, in whom the general cha-
racter of the head and face strongly resembles
that of the mummies discovered in Thebes, as
well as the figures represented in the ancient
monuments of that country.
Ylth. A friend of my uncle's, Colonel Travers,
who has lately returned from India, where he
served for many years, arrived here yesterday.
He has been in various parts of the East, and is so
entertaining, that I am sure I shall forget to note
down half the curious things which I have heard
him mention.
The conversation turned on bees, and he told
us that in Mysore, where he was for a long time
stationed, he saw four different kinds. That
which makes the finest honey is a beautiful little
bee of very small size, and which does not
sting. It is called the cadi. It forms its combs
round the branches of trees ; the honey is
excellent, and can be procured with very little
288 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
trouble, as the bees are easily driven off with a
switch. But the bee from which the greatest
quantity of Uoney is procured is large and fierce,
and builds under projecting ledges of rock, or in
caverns. The honey is gathered twice a year,
for which purpose the people kindle a fire at
the foot of the rock, and throw into it the leaves
of a species of cassia, which emit a smoke so acrid
that nothing can endure it even the bees are
forced to retire. As soon as the smoke subsides,
a man is quickly lowered by a rope from the
top of the rock ; he knocks off the nest, and is
immediately drawn up again, for were he to
make any delay the bees would return, and
their stinging is so dreadful as to endanger life.
In a tour which Colonel Travers made through
a part of Ceylon, he found a species of bees
which might at first be mistaken for black
flies. Their heads, compared with their
bodies, are extremely large. The honey is very
liquid, and has a disagreeable flavour. I asked
him if he had ever seen the honey-bird or
Indicator, when he was at the Cape ? he did
see it, and heard its shrill note of cherr, cherr,
which announces the discovery of a bees' nest.
He followed this sagacious bird along with a
party of bee-hunters, and it soon pointed out a
bees' nest, by redoubling the frequency of its
cries, and by hovering over the place. Having
taken most pf the honey, they left only a small
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 289
portion for their little guide, so that not having
enough to satisfy him, he immediately flew off
to find more. These birds construct very sin-
gular nests : they are composed of slender fila-
ments of bark, woven together in the form of a
bottle ; the neck and opening hang downwards,
and a string is loosely fastened across the open-
ning, on which they perch.
Colonel Travers told us, that the skin of these
bin 1 s is so extremely thick, that it can scarcely
be pierced by a pin ; and the bees therefore
attack them by endeavouring to sting their eyes.
\Sth. Colonel Travers was describing to-day
the areca or betel nut palm. The berry of this
tree is, you know, constantly used by the In-
dians, who chew it both green and dry.
The preservation of the fruit during the rainy
season, and the cutting it down when ripe,
require much expertness and agility. He says,
that from the middle of winter to the middle of
spring, the leaves fall off: each leaf is attached
to a broad leathern petiole or leaf-stalk ; and
these membranes, which are about three feet
long, and half that breadth, are preserved for the
rainy season as covers for the young bunches
of fruit. This business is performed by a par-
ticular set of people ; for the stem of the tree,
which is about fifty feet high, straight, smooth,
and without branches, like most of the palm
VOL. i. 2 c
290 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
tribe, is very difficult to ascend. Round his an-
cles, and under the soles of his feet, the climber
fixes a rope ^ his feet, thus bound together, he
places against the stem, and while he holds on
steadily with his hands, he gently draws up his
feet. He thus moves one hand forward and then
the other hand, and afterwards again draws up
his feet. In this manner he slowly reaches the
top of the tree, where he makes fast a rope, the
end of it being tied to the middle of a short slick
on which he seats himself and performs his work ;
drawing up whatever he wants from below, by
means of a line hanging from his girdle. When he
has covered all the fruit, he unties his seat, secures
it round his neck, and swings the tree backwards
and forwards, till he can reach another tree,
ipon which he throws himself, and again makes
fast his seat. In this way he swings from tree
to tree, and covers or cuts the fruit in the
whole garden without once descending to the
ground.
19th. I hear such quantities of amusing
things from this East Indian friend of my uncle's,
that I scarcely know how to select from them.
I wish you were here to listen to his adventures
and to see his beautiful drawings. He lent me
a sketch of the famous talipot tree of Ceylon,
which I have been trying to copy. What a mag-
nificent object it appears, crowned at the top by
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 291
those immense leaves, one of which, it is said,
can shelter fifteen or twenty men from the rain !
They seem to be formed purposely for this use,
for they fold up like a fan, so that the whole
leaf, or any portion of it, becomes portable ;
and though tough and impenetrable to water,
they are easily cut with a knife. When a leaf is
spread out, it is nearly circular ; but it is cut for
use into triangular pieces, one of which every
Singhalese soldier carries as his parasol or um-
brella by day, and his tent at night. The fruit
is not eaten ; but the pith, like that of the sago
tree, is very good, if the tree be cut down before
the seed ripens ; when beaten in a mortar, it
produces a kind of flour, from which cakes are
made, that taste something like wheaten bread.
Colonel Travers made an excursion into the
interior of Ceylon, and he described to us to-
day a very curious mode of hunting which
they have there. Near the side of a large pond,
a hole is dug four feet deep, and wide enough to
contain two or three persons. It is covered with
leaves, branches, and earth, except a small open-
ing, through which the hunters can keep a look
out, and when necessary point their guns. Be-
fore dark they conceal themselves there, in order
to watch the wild beasts, which come from the
woods to drink, and the different species of
which always come in separate herds. The ele-
phants come first, and stay longest, as they
c2
292 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
usually bathe before they drink, and when the
water is not deep enough, they draw it up into
their trunks, and refresh themselves, by spouting
it over their* bodies. The buffaloes come next ;
after having satisfied their thirst, they amuse
themselves by lying down in the water, and
playing and tumbling about. The tigers and
the bears also take their separate turns, and
towards morning, the wild boars and deer, and
other smaller beasts. It is for these that the
hunters generally adopt this plan, which, how-
ever, is exposed to more dangers than one, for
there are instances of elephants falling into the
pits and crushing the people ; and even of
tigers and buffaloes having discovered them by
their scent. To avoid such misfortunes, the
hunters go in parties, and one person is placed
in some secure position, to warn the others,
and to frighten away the straggling animals that
come too near, by firing upon them, or throwing
rockets. Colonel Travers and his companions
joined a party of this kind, and here is his
history of it.
" We were called at two o'clock, and having
carefully loaded our pieces, and filled our pouches
with cartridges, we slowly advanced along the
river. At a distance on the other side, the noise
of various animals was echoed deep and terrible
through the forest; and we heard, in almost
every watery place around us, rustling and mo-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 293
tion. We pitched upon one of the largest of
these places, and crept softly, but at a little dis-
tance from each other, into the bushes and
thorns with which it was surrounded. This
pool seemed to be about five or six hundred
yards in circumference, and we all agreed not to
fire at an elephant, or at any of the large fierce
beasts, but to wait patiently the arrival of the
smaller animals.
" We had not been long concealed in our
thorny hiding place, when two tigers approached
at the opposite side, and we observed that they
drank one after the other, though there was
sufficient space for both. Another half hour
elapsed before any thing more made its appear-
ance, but the noise increased on all sides> and
made us rather uneasy. At last we heard the
deep low of approaching buffaloes, and three
soon made their appearance. After having
drank for a long time, they waded into the deep
part and lay down, so that nothing could be seen
but their noses ; and no one, who had not seen
them go in, could have suspected that such huge
animals were concealed there. In a short time
a fourth buffalo arrived, and after snuffing round
him for some moments, he began to drink.
Though the others put their heads out of the
water, they did not [interfere with him while
drinking, but when he appeared inclined to ad-
vance farther into the water, one of them in-
2 c 3
294 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
stantly attacked him with a hideous roar, and as
the moon shone very brightly, I could see dis-
tinctly the whole of their furious battle. At every
charge they retired some steps backwards, mak-
ing the sand fly in clouds, and then, with dread-
ful snortings and at full speed, again rushed upon
each other. At last the intruding buffalo received
such a tremendous blow, that he fled ; and the
conqueror, disdaining to pursue him, merely bel-
lowed twice, with a clear and terrific sound, that
re-echoed on every side, when he quietly returned
his companions.
" The pleasure I had felt in beholding this
furious combat, was soon changed into alarm, by
the unexpected report of a gun ! The three buf-
faloes started suddenly from the water for a
few moments they stood together snorting with
rage, and then two of them rushed off in the di-
rection of the flash, while the third came out
near me, as if to search the bushes on all sides.
I endeavoured to get out of my bush before the
monster could approach ; but unfortunately I
became entangled in the thorns, and it was im-
possible to extricate myself in time. By a violent
effort, however, I tore myself loose, leaving most
of my clothes behind, and instantly began to run
but the furious beasl was now close I almost
felt his breath, and looking round saw him not
six paces distant, when throwing myself flat on
the ground, he passed over me and continued at
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 295
full speed ! I again crept into the thicket, and in
a few minutes I heard the voices of my compa-
nions, who were in search of me, armed with
flaming pieces of wood. I had felt much in-
censed against them for firing but I found that
they had not been to blame, a branch had struck
the lock of one of their guns, which went off, and
theyhad been exposed to as much danger as
myself."
20th. " And he hardened Pharaoh's heart,
that he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord
had said."* My uncle told us to-day that this
passage should be expressed thus : " And the
heart of Pharaoh ivas hardened, so that he heark-
ened not unto them; as the Lord had foretold."
It is so rendered, he says, in the ancient versions ;
and the most judicious modern commentators
agree that this is the proper meaning.
** Indeed," said my uncle, <f in allowing it to
be inferred that the Lord had purposely hardened
Pharaoh's heart, the translators of the Bible
have acted inconsistently with their own view
of the phrase in several other places. | This
is very striking in the following chapter, where
it is said ' Pharaoh hardened his heart at this
time also/ which plainly implies that his re-
sistance after the former plagues had proceeded
* Exodus vii. 13. f Exod. vii.22, viii. 19 &32, ix. 7.
296 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
from his own perverse and stubborn disposition.
I have likewise been assured by some very
learned men, that according to the Hebrew
idiom, verbs "active often signify permission;
and in these verses it is much more consonant
to our ideas of divine justice so to understand
the expression : that is, that God permitted
Pharaoh to proceed in his own proud and wicked
career, insensible to the threatened judgments,
which he had already despised.
" But even supposing that the verb is to be
taken in the active sense, it is a remarkable
fact, that the event was constantly suspended
in order that Pharaoh might have it in his
power to relent and to ' set his heart,' that is, to
humble and change it, and become obedient to
the word of the Lord ; for after five plagues had
already been wrought upon him, and that he
still persisted, even then his punishment was
withheld ; in order to let him repent, if he would.
Besides which, the delay afforded a far more
conspicuous testimony of God's patience, and
gave greater dignity to his wrath.
" Pharaoh's final obduracy therefore was not
caused by God's will, but was the effect of
his own previous obstinacy; that he hardened
his heart was his sin ; that the Lord permitted
him to harden it, was his punishment.'"
My uncle said also that a Hebrew scholar
told him that the word which is translated by the
tfNCLE IN ENGLAND. 297
verb to harden in the above text is, in other parts
of the Bible, translated, to grieve or to trouble;
and that, in his opinion, the construction of the
sentence requires one of those words.
" In several parts of the English Bible," conti-
nued my uncle, " shall is put in the place of will.
For instance, in Exodus ix. 4. ' And the Lord
shall sev 7 er between the cattle," where the sense
evidently requires will; and thus, ch. vii. 4, and
xi. 9, ' Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you,'
should undoubtedly be rendered ' Pharaoh will
not hearken unto you.' This agrees exactly
with the principle I have already mentioned,
that verbs active sometimes signify permission."
My uncle mentioned several other instances
of this confusion between shall, which seems to
ordain, and will t which only foretels. And he
added, " There are several of these minor faults
and mistakes in our translation, which make it
very important that we should never judge of
detached passages, but that we should compare
different parts of the Bible together, in order
that they may throw light upon each other."
2lst. I forgot to tell you in the right part of
my journal, that in preparing my carnation beds,
the gardener observed a great number of those
wire-worms, which are so destructive to all the
pink tribe. I recollected that Mr. Biggs said
that salt destroyed them, but that it was difficult
298 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
to apply just the right proportion ; that is,
enough to kill the worms, but not enough to
render the ground sterile which a great quan-
tity of salt certainly does. In talking of this to
my uncle, it occurred to him that the stuff
called salt dross, which is often thrown away,
would be a mild form of applying salt ; and he
was so kind and indulgent, that he procured,
not without much trouble and difficulty, a boat-
load ; it is of an odd purplish brown colour, and
retains many saline particles.
To each of my intended carnation beds, which
are about six feet long and two feet broad, we
put a wheelbarrow full of this stuff, which the
gardener dug in, and thoroughly mixed with the
earth. The beds were then thrown up in high
ridges, to remain so for the winter, during which
the salt will, my uncle thinks, destroy these
mischievous worms, as well as the snail eggs.
If this succeeds, it will be a very satisfactory
experiment, but many months must pass before
we can ascertain its success.
This was done a few days before my uncle
went to town.
22nd. I have had another walk with my
uncle to-day, in the beech-walk, of which he
has made me so fond. I took that opportunity
of asking him why some trees lose their leaves
in winter, and others preserve them ; for the fall
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 299
of the leaf has been a subject of great curiosity
to me, and I felt quite sure that he could explain
the cause clearly. But he told me that it has
never been satisfactorily accounted for, and that
there is some objection to every opinion yet
published. He says it would be a very good
pursuit for my cousins arid myself, to begin a
course of observations on the nature of leaves
and leaf-buds, and their connexion with the
stem ; and he has offered a prize, as he says
they do in the learned societies, to whichever
amongst us takes the best view of the subject.
I asked, was it not caused by frost ? " It is not
always the effect of autumnal frost," he replied.
" Some trees seem to lose their leaves at stated
times, independently of the temperature. They
fall from the lime, for instance, before any frost
happens ; and indeed all deciduous leaves, as
the season advances, become gradually more
rigid, less juicy, lose their down, and at last
change their healthy green colour to a yellow or
reddish hue.
He then asked me if I had observed anything
of the order in which the different trees cast
them. I answered that the walnut and horse-
chesnut appeared to have lost their leaves before
any other : then the sycamore and lime, and I
believed the ash had soon followed; but that
many of the elm, and most of the beech and
300 BERTRAMS VISIT TO HER
oak trees were still well covered, though they had
changed colour.
" Yes," said he, " but the leaves of the young
beech, though they have become brown and dry,
will not fall till spring ; and the fibres of the
oak are so tough, that the leaf does not easily
separate from the branch. You may also per-
ceive that the apple and peach trees remain
green, very often till the beginning of December.
Some botanists attribute the defoliation of trees
to the drying up of the vessels which connect
the leaf with the stem ; and others to the swell-
ing of the young buds for the succeeding year.
This, they say, deprives the old leaf of its ac-
customed supply of sap, and as they enlarge,
they push it out of their way ; but there is a
material objection to this theory, that the leafits
of pinnated leaves fall in the same manner,
though there are no buds to push them off.
" It is also supposed that the vessels of the
petiole gradually become woody, and incapable
of freely transmitting the sap ; it therefore stag-
nates, the vessels become overloaded, and the
parts which connect the stem and the leaf crack
at the insertion of the petiole. The vessels
being thus interrupted, the leaf is no longer
supplied with proper nourishment ; it loses its
elasticity, and becomes dry and brittle ; and
the least shock, whether the effect of frost or of
wind, detaches it.
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 301
" Another opinion," added my uncle, "is,
that the fibres of the leaf-stalk are not a simple
continuation of those of the twig or branch, but
that they both terminate at that point from which
the leaf falls ; being only connected by a kind
of adhesive substance, which dries up when the
sap ceases to rise. This point of separation you
may easily perceive," said he, " like a cicatrice, in
the form of a ring ; and the same appearance of
a natural separation is to be seen in the pedun-
cles of flowers, which seem also to be attached
by a sort of vegetable solder to the stem."
" But, uncle, why then do not leaves fall much
sooner, if they are so slightly attached to the
stem ?"
" Because this adhesive substance is a strong
cement, as long as it is supplied by the vegetable
juices. If you attempt to remove the stalk
elsewhere than at that point where it is united,
the fibres are lacerated; and this proves that
the separation had been prepared for at that one
point, by some peculiar organization which acts
independently of frost or rain, or other external
causes."
My uncle then shewed me the ring which
marks the point of separation. It is most easily
seen in autumn, he says ; it is double in the
orange, and in the berberry he shewed me that
it is above the point of contact between the leaf
and branch, so that after the fall of the leaf, the
2 D
302
rudiment of the foot-stalk remains to preserve
the bud. He took the trouble of pointing out a
little triangle of thorns behind the young bud,
which seems to be another beautiful contrivance
of nature for its protection in that bush. We
then observed this point of separation in other
trees whose leaves were not at all gone, and he
told me that it is very strongly marked in the
horse-chesnut with five small dots.
I begged my uncle to tell me what I should
particularly pay attention to in the course of our
observations.
He said that as it has never yet been ascer-
tained whether the leaves spring from the wood
or from the bark, he would advise us not
merely to observe the progress of the buds, but
to take every means of tracing their connection
with the interior. We may examine with his
microscope all sorts of twigs, to see whether the
vessels of the central part of the wood extend to
the leaf-stalk ; and he suggests that we should
very carefully observe the difference of structure
in evergreen leaves, and in those which perish in
the autumn. He recommends us to lose no
further time in beginning our task on the few
remaining leaves, in order that we may see in
spring whether evergreens shed their leaves in
the same manner ; and we are also to ascertain
when their buds are actually formed. " Above
all," he says, " I advise you to take nothing for
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 303
granted examine every thing with your own
eyes, and learn facts."
I shall like this employment very much, and
Mary, Frederick, and myself have agreed to
work in concert. Both my uncle and aunt en-
courage us ; they say it will afford a large field
for very entertaining experiments, and they think
that inquiries of this sort are highly useful to
young people.
23d. The fields which were ploughed and
sown with wheat not above two months ago, are
now of a beautiful green ; how hardy it must be,
to withstand the severe weather, which I am
told may soon be expected ! My uncle says,
that wheat grows in every variety of climate,
except in regions of extreme cold.
It has not been ascertained of what country
wheat was a native, and it is certainly a very re-
markable fact, that, though cultivated so gene-
rally, no wild plants of those species that are used
in agriculture have been found, though one of
our late travellers imagined that he found it in
the mountains of Thibet.
The ploughs are still at work preparing the.
ground for oats to be sown in spring; or
they are laying it up in fallows. The potatoes
have all been dug long ago, and safely packed in
houses, to preserve them from the frost, which
spoils them. My uncle says, that, though pota-
304 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
toes are more used than formerly, they are not
such a general article of food as in Ireland.
The custom there is to store them in pits covered
with a high mound of clay, which by excluding
the air delays the progress of vegetation in the
root, until the time of replanting returns.
" It is quite astonishing," my aunt remarked
last night, "how the cultivation of potatoes has
spread since they were first discovered in South
America, and imported by the Spaniards, who
called them papas. Sir Walter Raleigh found
them afterwards in Virginia ; he introduced them
into this country in 1596, and there is now scarcely
a civilized spot on the earth to which we have
not distributed them. Even to Persia, this va-
luable root has been conveyed by the benevolent
exertions of our envoy, Sir John Malcolm ; and
at Abusheher the grateful inhabitants call it
Malcolm's plum."
I have been very busy this morning clearing
away all dead stalks and leaves in my garden,
and completing the borders, which I have edged
with thrift; and all my seed-beds have been
lightly covered to preserve them from the ex-
pected frost.
The gardener is going to try two new methods
of raising pine-apples ; for my uncle always likes
to ascertain truth by experiment. A great pit is
to be filled with withered leaves, which in decay-
ing undergo a fermentation that produces suffi-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 305
cient heat to answer the purpose ; and in this
pit the pots of pine plants are to be plunged.
The second method is to place the pine-pots on
a brick stand, in a moderate heat, and without
being plunged in either tan or leaves. He is a
most valuable gardener, and finds time for many
nice little experiments without ever neglecting his
regular work. All his carrot, parsnip, and beet
roots are taken up and preserved in dry sand ; he
is now sowing celery under glass frames for an
early crop for next year ; and Mary says they
have had celery every day since July, in Con-
tinual succession, as he constantly earthed it up,
adding still to the height of the earthing in order
to increase its size and whiteness. His peas
and beans he sowed three weeks ago in the
warm border in front of the south fruit-wall. He
is now going to protect them from frost by
branches of fir-trees, and he hopes to have some
ready for the table by the second week in May.
What a contrast there is between the labour
and attention necessary here for all these vege-
table productions, and the luxuriance with which
they spring up in Brazil! But there is a pleasure
I am sure in successful industry, that is scarcely
understood by the indolent inhabitants of those
warm and fertile climates.
25th. Yesterday being a bright lovely day,
my uncle and aunt took advantage of it to go to
2 D 3
306 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
Newnham to see the poor travellers, of whom we
had heard nothing for some time.
Beyond all our hopes they found Bertram
considerably tetter. My aunt had requested her
own physician to attend him, and he is now so
much recovered, that if the weather continue
mild he is to set out to-morrow on his way home.
The old gentleman arrived last week ; and though
great agitation was caused at first by their meet-
ing, yet it seemed to have a favorable effect on
Bertram, as the anxiety and fear of never seeing
his poor old father again had preyed on his
mind.
Madeleine's spirits are a little improved ; she
allows herself once more to hope, but she is
prepared to submit with true Christian resigna-
tion to whatever happens. She is relieved too
from all anxiety in regard to her new father ; he
received her as a daughter, and expresses the
greatest Underness for her and her pretty little
child ; who has learned to say (t dear grandpapa"
among the few English words she has picked up.
When my aunt went in, she found him just
going to read prayers to his son ; she begged of
him to go on, and she says nothing could be
more touching than the scene the weak but
solemn voice of the pious old man ; the calm-
ness and devotion in the countenance of the
son, and the gleam of hope that shone over Ma-
deleine's subdued and sad countenance.
UNCLB IN ENGLAND, 307
2Qth. Now that winter has really begun, we
make a circle round the fire after dinner ; and we
are so comfortable and happy there that I am often
sorry when the time comes for leaving the room.
We have various amusements ; on some days
we each invent little tales which are to turn on
some circumstance that is first agreed upon ; at
other times we have some of those question
plays in which you discover, by a particular
set of questions, the thoughts of another person.
One of our favourite occupations is doing arith-
metical questions in our heads. We have often
used a multiplier of three or four figures, which 1
assure you makes it hard work. My uncle and
aunt now and then join in this ; and being 01
course very ambitious to outdo them, we all
get into a sort of fever of exertion which makes
it very diverting, and the conqueror very trium-
phant. Then we compare the different methods
which we took, and each person finds out what
caused their mistakes. I am afraid I am ofterier
behind in the race than most of the party, for
beside their being much better arithmeticians
than me, I am so afraid of being wrong, that I
do not speak out in time even when I have my
answer ready and right.
I must tell you one of the questions we had
this evening ; it was proposed by Caroline. In
one of the vignettes to Bewick's birds, there is a
man preparing to fasten himself to a team of
308 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
birds which are to convey him to the moon ;
the team is wedge-shaped, and the birds are
harnessed together in rows, each of which in-
creases by one, from the single bird that acts as
leader. Now, supposing that the man weighs
ten stone, and that each bird can raise live
pounds, how many rows of birds are necessary
for his flight?
i, Sunday. My uncle again took up the
judgments inflicted on the Egyptians. He said
that if they were considered with reference to
that particular nation, it appeared that there was
a peculiar meaning in some of those calamities,
which would not have applied so well to any
other people. He told us that they paid an
idolatrous reverence to many of the inferior ani-
mals, and worshipped, as superior gods, the ox,
the cow, and the ram. Among these, the Apis
and Mnevis are well known ; the former, a
sacred bull adored at Memphis, and the latter
at Heliopolis. There were also a cow and heifer,
which had similar honours, at Momemphis.
These judgments were therefore very significant
in their execution and object ; as the Egyptians
not only saw their cattle perish, but, what was
still more dreadful, they saw their deities sink
before the " God of the Hebrews." This satis-
factorily explains what is said in Numbers :
" Upon their gods also the Lord executed judg-
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 309
ments*" ; and these events had doubtless a use-
ful influence, though not a lasting one, on the
minds of the Israelites, to whom the gods of the
Egyptians must at that time have appeared very
contemptible.
" I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail :"
this judgment, he told us, was also particularly
adapted to the Egyptians. The rain and hail
that were foretold must have appeared of all
things most incredible to the Egyptians ; for in
Egypt little or no rain ever falls, the want of it
being supplied by dews and by the overflowing
of the Nile ; and when they witnessed this storm
of hail, " such as had not been in Egypt since
the foundation thereof, 1 ' and accompanied by
" mighty thunderings," and fire that ran along
the ground, what dread and amazement they
must have felt ! Pharaoh had received warning
of these terrific prodigies, which the deities of
Egypt could not avert ; and even the fire and
water, which had been held sacred by the Egyp-
tians, were now employed they found as pas-
sive instruments of their punishment. Besides
the formation of the hail, which was so uncom-
mon in that country, its falling so miraculously
on the day, and in the district foretold, must have
overwhelmingly convinced them of the impotence
of the creatures which they worshipped, and of
the boundless power of the Almighty.
* Numbers, xxxiii. 4.
310
I asked my uncle at what season these plagues
had happened, and why the injury to flax and
barley were particularly mentioned.
" The season," said he, " is not expressly
stated ; but as the departure of the Israelites
was on the 15th of the month of Abib, which
corresponds with the beginning of April, we may
suppose that the seventh plague (of hail) was
sent about the beginning of March, so as to leave
time for the three succeeding plagues. This idea
is confirmed by travellers, from whom we learn
that the barley harvest in Egypt is reaped in
March, and the wheat in April ; and it explains
why ' the barley was in ear,' though not yet fit
for reaping ; and ' the wheat and the rye were
not grown up."* Abib means the month of the
young ears of corn.
" Their barley must have been a grievous loss,
as the principal beverage of the Egyptians was
made from it ; but scarcely any thing could have
distressed them more than the loss of their flax,
because the whole nation wore linen garments,
and the priests never put on any other kind of
clothing. This linen was manufactured from
that fine flax for which the valley of the
Nile was famous, and was in great request in
other countries also ; for though the Egyptians
did not trade abroad themselves, yet they rea-
dily disposed of it to foreign merchants.
28th. A question of mine this morning,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 311
though it exposed my ignorance, gave me an
opportunity of perceiving how much light is
thrown by general knowledge on the difficult
parts of Scripture history ; and, indeed, on all
other history. I had asked how it was that the
locusts, independently of their coming at the
appointed moment, could have been called one
of the miraculous plagues, as they were so com-
mon in Egypt. I saw my cousins looking a little
surprised, but they are so good-natured that they
never laugh at my mistakes.
My uncle explained to me that I was wrong
in supposing that locusts were common in Egypt.
" They are very abundant," he said, " in the
neighbouring regions of Arabia, which has been
proverbially called their cradle, but the Red Sea
appears to be an effectual barrier against their
molesting the Egyptians. They seldom succeed
in crossing any great extent of water ; for though
they frequently migrate into very distant coun-
tries, yet their habit of often alighting on the
ground is fatal to them in traversing the sea.
" There is another circumstance that saves
Egypt from the visits of these dreadful insects ;
when they take wing they are obliged to follow
the course of the wind, and in that country,
you know, the winds blow six months from the
north, and six months from the south ; but, at the
time spoken of, an east wind prevailed ' all day
and all night $' and the whole face of the country
312 BERTHA'S VISIT ro HER
in the morning was covered with the locusts.
This strong easterly wind, which enabled them to
cross the Red Sea, was plainly preternatural ;
and we are told distinctly that * before them
there were no such locusts as they, neither after
them shall be such.'
<c There are in Scripture ten names for locusts.
The species mentioned here is called Arbah,
which imports multiplicity ; a very just name,
indeed : for their prodigious numbers almost defy
calculation ; and the famous Dutch naturalist
Leuwenhoek asserts, that every female lays up-
wards of eighty eggs. When a cloud of these
insects alights upon the ground, the devastation
they create is dreadful. Adanson, in his voyage
to the western coast of Africa, says, that they
devoured to the very root and bark ; and that
there was something corrosive in their bite, which
prevented the trees from recovering their power
of vegetation for some time. They even at-
tacked the dry reeds with which the huts were
thatched. Another traveller tells us that in
Cyprus, as he went from Larnica to a garden
at about four miles' distance, the locusts lay
above a foot deep, on several parts of the high
roads, and millions were destroyed by the wheels
of the carriage. Dr. Shaw says, that he saw
them in such multitudes in Barbary, in the
middle of April, that in the heat of the day,
when they formed themselves into large bodies,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 313
they appeared like a succession of clouds
darkening the sun : in June the new broods
made their appearance ; on being hatched, they
collected together in compact bodies of several
hundred yards square ; and marching directly
forward, climbed over trees, walls and houses,
ate up every plant in their way, and let nothing
escape. The inhabitants made trenches and
filled them with water ; they also placed quan-
tities of combustible matter in rows and set them
on fire ; but in vain, for the trenches were
quickly filled up and the fires extinguished by
the vast numbers that succeeded each other.
"Strong winds, which can alone free a country
from this plague, have several times blown large
swarms over the central part of Europe, and even
to England; and it was a ' mighty west wind,'
which formerly carried them away from Egypt
and cast them into the Red Sea." I asked if these
insects were really eatable, as St. John is said to
have lived on locusts in the wilderness ?
" As it is well known," said my uncle, " that
locusts have in all ages been eaten in the east,
and are still esteemed a great delicacy in Bar-
bary as well as in the south of Africa, some
commentators have endeavoured to prove that
St. John did eat them in the wilderness. But
the word translated locusts, signifies also pods or
seed-vessels of trees. The pods of some of the
Robinia and Gleditsia tribes are considered in
314 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
Syria to be sweet and nourishing ; and it is, I
believe, generally supposed that they were the
food alluded*to in the Gospels.
. In our genius conversation to-day,
several people were mentioned on each side:
Mary quoted a passage from Johnson's Lives of
the Poets respecting Denham, who, he says,
was " considered at Oxford as a dreaming young
man, given more to cards and dice than to
study ; he gave no prognostics of his future
eminence, nor was suspected to conceal, under
sluggishness and idleness, a genius born to im-
prove the literature of his country." i Of Swift,
too," continued Mary, " there appears no early
proof of genius or diligence ; for when at the
usual time he claimed a bachelorship of arts,
he was found by the examiners too conspicu-
ously deficient for regular admission and at
last obtained his degree by special favour ; a
term used, as Johnson says, in the university of
Dublin, to denote want of merit." It is pro-
bable, therefore, that new circumstances com-
bined together afterwards to bring out the
powers possessed by these celebrated men ; and
I am sure, mamma, this little perpetual argu-
ment serves to bring out several very enter-
taining biographical facts,
Haydn, the famous composer, was the son of
a wheelwright; such an employment was not
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 315
likely to lead to the cultivation of music, and we
might be tempted to consider him as a natural
genius; but it appears that his father played
on the harp, and on holidays used to accompany
his wife while she sang. Whenever this little
domestic concert took place, the child, with two
pieces of wood in his hands, to represent a violin
and a bow, pretended also to accompany his
mother's voice ; and to the very close of his life,
this great musician used to perform with delight
the airs which she had then sung. A cousin of
theirs, a schoolmaster, came to see them, and
being well pleased with the boy's talents, pro-
posed to educate him. His parents accepted
the offer ; and at school, having discovered a
tambourine, an instrument which has but two
tones, he succeeded in forming a kind of air,
which attracted the attention of all who came to
the school-house. He was then taught to sing
at the parish desk, and was soon noticed by
Reiiter, who tried him with a difficult shake,
and who was so delighted with the child's ex-
ecution, that he emptied a plate of cherries into
his pocket. He was eight when admitted to the
choir of St. Stephen, at Vienna, and from that
time practised above sixteen hours a day. " In
all this," says Mary, " we see the natural effect
of circumstances, and no mark of what is called
absolute genius."
2 E 2
316 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
30th. Colonel Travers was not present at
our conversation about the locusts ; but on its
being alludecTto this evening, he told us that he
had once seen a flight of those creatures which
contained such an incredible multitude, that no-
thing could have persuaded him of the fact, if
he had not been an eye-witness to it himself,
Instead of going by sea to India, he went
overland, that is, through part of Turkey, Arabia,
and Persia ; and, in 1811, he happened to be at
Smyrna, in Asia Minor, when this extraordinary
flight of locusts occurred. He says that for
several days stragglers had been passing, but at
last the main body came, and in such a dense
column, as not indeed to obscure the sun, but to
produce a curious quivering light. He thinks
the lines in which they appeared to fly were
about one foot asunder, and that locust followed
locust at the distance of three feet. They came
in a steady, undeviating direction from south to
north, and continued to pass, without any dimi-
nution of their numbers, for three successive
days and nights. The breadth of this prodigious
column was at least forty miles, for a messenger
who had been dispatched by the consul to the
pasha of Sardis, passed through them all the way,
both going and returning. Caroline immediately
produced the map of Asia Minor, and we found
that Sardis is fully that distance from Smyrna,
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 317
and that its direction is just at right angles to
the direction of their flight.
My uncle was greatly interested by the Co-
lonel's account of this remarkable swarm, and
proposed that we should endeavour to make
some estimate of the number of locusts of which
it consisted. We all took out our pencils and
went to work. In the first place, the breadth of
the column was 40 miles, or 70,400 yards ; and
as their ranks were a foot apart, we have 211,200
for the number of locusts at each foot of eleva-
tion. Colonel T. was then examined as to the
entire height ; he thinks it must have been much
above 300 yards, for on looking upwards with
his pocket telescope, he could see them like little
specks glittering in the sun. We contented our-
selves with the 300, and taking them also at a
foot apart, there were of course 900 locusts in
height, by which we multiplied the former num-
ber, and the product was 190,080,000. Now,
mamma, for the length of the column : he says
there was a gentle breeze from the southward,
with which, and their own velocity, he thinks
that they were travelling at the rate of about
seven miles in an hour, and that they succeeded
each other at an average distance of three feet.
In each mile, then, there were 1760, and in
seven miles, 12 5 320, which, multiplied by 72,
the number of hours in the three days which the
flight continued, gives 887,040 for the number in
2E
318 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
each line of the column ; and this, finally mul-
tiplied by the 190 millions, gives the almost
inconceivable 'total of 168,608,563,200,000 in
this one swarm of locusts !
" I should like to know," said Mary, " the
exact size of these creatures."
The Colonel said that he could not answer
exactly, without referring to his journals, which
were in town, but that he imagined they were
about the same size as a large grasshopper :
" But why do you want their exact dimensions?"
Mary said she would have tried what sized
mountain they would have made if they were all
heaped together. Frederick, who is a great col-
lector of grubs and insects, immediately brought
down some dried grasshoppers, but they were
very small ; and after much consultation, it was
agreed to assume two inches for the length, and
a third of an inch for the breadth and thickness
of a locust. In a short time, Mary announced,
as the result of her calculation, that the whole
quantity would amount to 4818 millions of cubic
yards,
" But in order to compare this huge mass with
some tangible standard," said my uncle, " let us
see what proportion it bears to the largest pyra-
mid of Egypt. According to the measurement
of Dr. Greaves, the base of the pyramid of
Cheops is 693 feet, and its perpendicular alti-
tude is 499 feet."
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 319
We again 'went to work, and Mary was again
first with the answer, that her heap of locusts
was 1030 times larger than the pyramid !
" Well, Bertha," said my aunt, " you and I
will try what sort of a girdle the Colonel's locusts
would make for the earth, supposing them to
be placed close together ; but what shall we
assume for its circumference ?"
My uncle said we might take 24,800 miles ;
and with my kind aunt's assistance, I had the
pleasure of astonishing the party with the infor-
mation, that this great swarm of locusts would
have encircled the globe with a band of a mile
and an eighth wide !
If these locusts had alighted any where in a
body, I suppose they would have destroyed
every thing; as it was, Colonel T. says, the
stragglers did a great deal of mischief through-
out the country, and he mentioned a laughable
story of the wife of an English merchant at
Smyrna, with whom he was acquainted. This
lady was very fond of her garden, and on the
approach of the locusts she and her maids had
spread sheets and table-cloths over all her choice
flower-beds to protect the plants. Poor woman!
she went to bed priding herself on her ingenuity,
but when the morning came, she found all
gone not only the flowers, but the linen also
totally demolished.
In answer to a question from my uncle, he said
320 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER
he had not been able to learn whether any great
proportion of these locusts had penetrated into
Russia and Etirope, but he knew that myriads
had perished in the sea of Marmora and the
Euxine. In the gulf of Smyrna he had himself
seen a ridge of their dead bodies, which was two
feet high, and which had been washed up along
the whole extent of the beach by the waves. The
smell was most noxious, polluting the air for
several miles inland ; and this, he thinks, may
partly account for the plague which occurred in
the following spring. There is a saying in that
country, but for the truth of which he does not
vouch, that every seven years Arabia sends a
swarm of those destructive insects into Asia Mi-
nor, though very rarely of such magnitude as that
of 1811 ; and that every locust-year is succeeded
by a plague-year of more or less severity.
Wentworth asked him if he had ever seen
locusts used as food ; and he replied that
they are eaten in a great many parts of the
world, and cooked in a great variety of ways.
In some countries they are stewed, or fried,
or made into soup, or salted and preserved ; in
others they are ground, mixed up with flour,
and baked into cakes ; but he had frequently
seen the Arabs eat them without any prepara-
tion whatever, merely pulling off the head, wings,
and legs, just as we eat shrimps.
My uncle and he continued to converse on
UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 321
the subject for some time, and I learned one
more fact for you, that their flight produces a
sort of indistinct, tumultuous sound, something
like the rustling noise of ^flames. The Colonel
says this noise made his horse very uneasy,
which no doubt was greatly increased by the
locusts incessantly striking against him. In
riding to Bournabat, where the English mer-
chants have country houses, he crossed their
line of flight ; and in order to save his face, he
was obliged to keep his hat on the side of his
head, against which they pattered like a shower
of hail. It appears that they never turn to the
right or to the left, but fly straight forward, as
if following one supreme leader, or rather as
blindly impelled by some irresistible influence.
" How truly," exclaimed my aunt, " it is said
of them in the Bible, * The locusts have no king,
yet go they forth all of them by bands.' "
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
LONDON;
Printed by WILLIAM CX.OWES,
Stamford-street.
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