Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XI.—April, 1851—Vol. II.

After parting company with the other vessels, the "Prince Albert" stood on her way westward, until they almost reached the spot where it had been proposed to winter, and where the design of the expedition would begin to be put in execution. But they found the harbor which they had proposed to enter blocked up with ice; and so unaccountable a discouragement came over the expedition, that on the 22d of August a sudden resolution was taken to return forthwith. The Journal of Mr. Snow is extremely guarded as to the reasons for this determination. The vessel had performed admirably; every preparation had been made for wintering; they were provisioned for two years; the crew were in excellent health: and yet the whole expedition, which had been fitted out at such a sacrifice, was abandoned, almost before it was fairly begun. We are led to infer that the true reason was that the officers in command had not the cool, determined courage requisite for such a charge. But we are sure that such a deficiency can not be laid to the charge of our author. From this time forth a tone of deep and bitter chagrin runs through the Journal at this inglorious termination of the expedition. It was no small addition to this feeling of intense mortification, that on the very day when they determined to abandon the enterprise, and return home, the American Expedition fitted out by Mr. Grinnell, which they had seen, a fortnight before, blocked up by ice, as they supposed, in Melville's Bay, but which had now overtaken them, notwithstanding their own tow by the steamers, was seen boldly pressing its way where they themselves dared not follow. Notwithstanding this feeling of mortification, Mr. Snow has too intense a sympathy with daring and courage, ennobled by high and philanthropic purpose, to fail to do ample justice to

THE AMERICAN RELIEF EXPEDITION

"Large pieces of ice were floating about, and setting rapidly up the inlet. We had to stand away for some distance, to round the edge of this stream; and as we approached the far end, we perceived that a vessel, which we had some time before seen, was apparently standing right in toward us. At first, we took her to be Sir John Ross's schooner, the 'Felix,' but a few moments more settled the point, by her size and rig being different, and her colors being displayed, which proved her to be one of the 'Americans!' All idea of sleep was now instantly banished from me. The American vessels already up here, when we had fancied them still in Melville's Bay, not far from where we had left them on the 6th instant! Much as I knew of the enterprising and daring spirit of our transatlantic brethren, I could not help being astonished. They must have had either some extraordinary luck, or else the ice had suddenly and most effectually broken up to admit of their exit, unaided by steam or other help, in so short a time. I felt, however, a pleasure in thus finding my repeated observations concerning them so thoroughly verified; and I was not sorry for themselves that they were here. All exclusive nationality was done away with. We were all engaged in the same noble cause; we were all striving forward in the same animating and exciting race, and none should envy the other his advance therein. We showed our colors to him; and Captain Forsyth immediately determined to go on board of him, and see whether the same plan of search for him was laid out as for us. The boat was lowered, and in a short time we were standing on the deck of the 'Advance,' Lieutenant De Haven, of the American Navy, and most cordially received, with their accustomed hospitality, by our transatlantic friends.

"The 'Advance' was most extraordinarily fortified to resist any pressure of the ice, and to enable her to force her way against such impediments as those she encountered this evening. Her bow was one solid mass of timber – I believe I am right in saying, from the foremast. Her timbers were increased in size and number, so that she might well be said to have been doubled inside as well as out. Her deck was also doubled, then felted, and again lined inside, while her cabin had, in addition, a sheathing of cork. The after-part of the vessel was remarkably strong; and a movable bulk-head, which ran across the forepart of the cabin, could at any time be unshipped to afford a free communication fore and aft when needed. The crew, if I remember rightly, lived in a strongly built 'round-house' on deck, amidships, one end of which was converted into a cook-house, called a 'galley,' and another the 'pantry.' Ten men formed the number of the working seamen; there were no 'ice-masters,' nor regular 'ice-men:' but most of the sailors were long accustomed to the ice. A steward and a cook completed the full complement of the ship. The officers lived in a truly republican manner. The whole cabin was thrown into one spacious room, in which captain, mates, and surgeon lived together. Their sleeping berths were built around it, and appeared to possess every accommodation to make them comfortable.

"The 'Advance' was one of two vessels (the other being the 'Rescue' – a smaller craft) that had been bought and fitted out in the most noble and generous manner, solely by one individual – Henry Grinnell, Esq., a merchant of New York. This truly great and good man had long felt his heart yearn toward the lost ones, whom we were now seeking, and their friends; and desiring to redeem the partial pledge given by the government of the United States to Lady Franklin, he yielded to the strong impulses awakened by some of her private letters, which he had had the opportunity of reading, and being blest with an ample fortune, he determined to employ no small portion of it in sending out at his own expense an expedition to this quarter of the world, to aid in the search that England was making this year after her gallant children. It required, however, not a trifling sum to accomplish this, and I well know with what distrust and doubt of its fulfillment the first notice of his intentions was received in New York and elsewhere, when publicly made known. But he was not a man, it has appeared, to promise what he means not, or can not perform. At a very heavy outlay he purchased two vessels, one of, I believe, 125 tons, and the other of 95 tons, and had them strengthened and prepared in a most efficient manner for the service they were to enter upon. Applying to Congress, then assembled, he got these ships received into the naval force, and brought under naval authority. Officers and crews were appointed by the Board of Administration for Maritime Affairs, and the government, moreover, agreed to pay them as if in regular service, making an additional allowance on each pay, of a grade in rank above. This having been accomplished, and all things in readiness, on the 24th of May, 1850, he had the satisfaction of seeing his two ships and their brave crews depart from New York on their generous mission. He accompanied them himself for some distance, and finally bid them farewell on the 26th, returning in his yacht to the city, where, as he has often declared, he can sit down now in peace, and be ready to lay his head at rest forever; knowing that he has done his duty, and striven to perform the part of a faithful steward with the wealth which he enjoys.

"The 'Advance' was manned by sixteen persons, officers included. Her commander, Lieutenant De Haven, a young man of about twenty-six years of age, had served in the United States exploring expedition, under Commodore Wilkes, in the Antarctic Seas. He seemed as fine a specimen of a seaman, and a rough and ready officer, as I had ever seen. Nor was he at all deficient in the characteristics of a true gentleman, although the cognomen is so often misapplied and ill-understood. With a sharp, quick eye, a countenance bronzed and apparently inured to all weathers, his voice gave unmistakable signs of energy, promptitude, and decision. There was no mistaking the man. He was undoubtedly well-fitted to lead such an expedition, and I felt charmed to see it.

"His second in command (for they were very differently organized from us) was still younger and more slim, but withal of equally determined and sailorlike appearance. Next to him was a junior officer, of whom I saw but little; but that little was enough to tell me that the executives under Captain De Haven would be efficient auxiliaries to him. Last of all, though not least among them, was one of whom I must be excused for saying more than a casual word or two. It was Dr. Kane, the surgeon, naturalist, journalist, &c., of the expedition. Of an exceedingly slim and apparently fragile form and make, and with features to all appearance far more suited to a genial clime, and to the comforts of a pleasant home, than to the roughness and hardships of an arctic voyage, he was yet a very old traveler both by sea and land. His rank as a surgeon in the American navy, and his appointment, at three days' notice, to this service, were sufficient proof of his abilities, and of his being considered capable of enduring all that would have to be gone through. While our captain was talking to the American commander, Dr. Kane turned his attention to me, and a congeniality of sentiment and feeling soon brought us deep into pleasant conversation. I found he had been in many parts of the world, by sea and land, that I myself had visited, and in many other parts that I could only long to visit. Old scenes and delightful recollections were speedily revived. Our talk ran wild; and there, in that cold, inhospitable, dreary region of everlasting ice and snow, did we again, in fancy, gallop over miles and miles of lands far distant, and far more joyous. Ever-smiling Italy, and its softening life; sturdy Switzerland, and its hardy sons; the Alps, the Apennines, France, Germany, and elsewhere were rapidly wandered over. India, Africa, and Southern America were brought before us in swift succession. Then came Spain and Portugal, and my own England; next appeared Egypt, Syria, and the Desert; with all of these was he personally familiar, in all had he been a traveler, and in all could I join him, too, except the latter. Rich in anecdote and full of pleasing talk, time flew rapidly as I conversed with him, and partook of the hospitality offered me. Delighted at the knowledge that I had been residing for some time in New York, he tried all he could to make me enjoy the moment."

After parting with the American Expedition, the "Prince Albert" took her homeward way, reaching Aberdeen on the 1st of October. "As it was quite dark," says Mr. Snow, "few witnessed our arrival, and I was not sorry for it". Had we returned fortunate, it would have been different; as it was, why, the night was, I thought, better suited to our condition. The "Prince Albert" brought the latest tidings received of the "Advance" and "Rescue," when

BROTHER JONATHAN GIVES JOHN BULL "A LEAD."

"If I had ever before doubted the daring and enterprising character of the American, what I saw and heard on board of the 'Advance' would have removed such doubt; but these peculiar features in the children of the Stars and Stripes were always apparent to me, and admiringly acknowledged. I was given a brief history of their voyage to the present time, as also an outline of their future plans. They intended to push on wherever they could, this way or that way, as might be found best, in the direction of Melville Island, and parts adjacent, especially Banks's Land; and they meant to winter wherever they might chance to be, in the Pack or out of the Pack. As long as they could be moving or making any progress, in any direction that might assist in the object for which they had come, they meant still to be going on, and, with the true characteristic of the American, cared for no obstacles or impediments that might arise in their way. Neither fears, nor the necessary caution which might easily be alleged as an excuse for hesitation or delay, at periods when any thing like fancied danger appeared, was to deter them. Happy fellows! thought I: no fair winds nor opening prospects will be lost with you; no dissension or incompetency among your executive officers exist to stay your progress. Bent upon one errand alone, your minds set upon that before you embarked, no trifles nor common danger will prevent you daring every thing for the carrying out of your mission. Go on, then, brave sons of America, and may at least some share of prosperity and success attend your noble exertions!

"If ever a vessel and her officers were capable of going through an undertaking in which more than ordinary difficulties had to be encountered, I had no doubt it would be the American; and this was evinced to me, even while we were on board, by the apparently reckless way in which they dashed through the streams of heavy ice running off from Leopold Island. I happened to go on deck when they were thus engaged, and was delighted to witness how gallantly they put aside every impediment in their way. An officer was standing on the heel of the bowsprit, conning the ship and issuing his orders to the man at the wheel in that short, decisive, yet clear manner, which the helmsman at once well understood and promptly obeyed. There was not a rag of canvas taken in, nor a moment's hesitation. The way was before them: the stream of ice had to be either gone through boldly or a long detour made; and, despite the heaviness of the stream, they pushed the vessel through in her proper course. Two or three shocks, as she came in contact with some large pieces, were unheeded; and the moment the last block was past the bow, the officer sung out, 'So: steady as she goes on her course;' and came aft as if nothing more than ordinary sailing had been going on. I observed our own little barky nobly following in the American's wake; and, as I afterward learned, she got through it pretty well, though not without much doubt of the propriety of keeping on in such procedure after the 'mad Yankee,' as he was called by our mate."

WHAT BECOMES OF ALL THE PINS?

Every body uses pins – men, women, and children. Every body buys them. Every body bends them, breaks them, knocks off their heads, and loses them. They enter into every operation, from the drawing-room to the scullery. Go where you will, if you look sharp, you may calculate with certainty on picking up a pin – in the streets, in the cabs, on door-steps and mats, in halls and drawing-rooms, sticking in curtains and sofas, and paper-hangings, in counting-houses and lawyers' offices, keeping together old receipts and bills, and fragments of papers, in ladies' needlework, in shopkeepers' parcels, in books, bags, baskets, luggage – they are to be found every where, let them get there how they may, by accident or design. Their ubiquity is astounding – and their manufacture, being in proportion to it, must be something prodigious. There is no article of perpetual use with which we are so familiar; and out of this familiarity springs indifference, for there is no article about whose final destination we are so profoundly ignorant. We know well enough the end of things (not half so useful to us) that wear out in the course of time, or that are liable to be smashed, cracked, chipped, put out of order, or otherwise rendered unavailable for further service; but of the fate of this little article, so universal in its application, so indispensable in its utility, we know nothing whatever. Nobody ever thinks of asking, What becomes of the Pins? For our own parts, we should be very glad to get an answer to that question, and should be very much obliged to any person who could furnish us with it.

The question is by no means an idle one. If we could get at the statistics of pins, we should have some tremendous revelations. The loss in pins, strayed, stolen, and mislaid, is past all calculation. Millions of billions of pins must vanish – no woman alive can tell how or where – in the course of a year. Of the actual number fabricated, pointed, headed, and papered up for sale from one year's end to another (remember they are to be found in every house, large and small, within the pale of civilization), we should be afraid to venture a conjecture; but, judging from what we know of their invincible tendency to lose themselves, and our own inveterate carelessness in losing them, we apprehend that, could such a return be obtained, it would present an alarming result. Think of millions of billions of pins being in course of perpetual disappearance! And that this has been going on for centuries and centuries, and will continue to go on, probably, to the world's end. A grave matter to contemplate, my masters! A pin, in its single integrity, is a trifle, atomic, in comparison with other things that are lost and never found again. But reflect for a moment upon pins in the aggregate. The grand sum-total of human life is made up of trifles – all large bodies are composed of minute particles. Years are made up of months, months of weeks, weeks of days, days of hours, hours of minutes, minutes of seconds; and, coming down to the seconds, and calling in the multiplication-table to enlighten us, we shall find that there are considerably upward of thirty-one millions of them in a year. Try a similar experiment with the pins. Assume any given quantity of loss in any given time, and calculate what it will come to in a cycle of centuries. Most people are afraid of looking into the future, and would not, if they could, acquire a knowledge of the destiny that lies before them. Pause, therefore, before you embark in this fearful calculation; for the chances are largely in favor of your arriving at this harrowing conclusion, that, by the mere force of accumulation and the inevitable pressure of quantity, the great globe itself must, at no very distant period, become a vast shapeless mass of pins.

As yet we have no signs or tokens of this impending catastrophe, and are entirely in the dark about the process that is insidiously conducting us to it; and hence we ask, in solemn accents, What becomes of the Pins? Where do they go to? How do they get there? What are the attractive and repulsive forces to which they are subject after they drop from us? What are the laws that govern their wanderings? Do they dissolve and volatilize, and come back again into the air, so that we are breathing pins without knowing it? Do they melt into the earth, and go to the roots of vegetables, so that every day of our lives we are unconsciously dining on them? The inquiry baffles all scholarship; and we are forced to put up with the obscure satisfaction which Hamlet applies to the world of apparitions, that there are more pins in unknown places and unsuspected shapes upon the earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.

LAMARTINE ON THE RELIGION OF REVOLUTIONARY MEN

I know – I sigh when I think of it – that hitherto the French people have been the least religious of all the nations of Europe. Is it because the idea of God – which arises from all the evidences of Nature, and from the depths of reflection, being the profoundest and weightiest idea of which human intelligence is capable – and the French mind being the most rapid, but the most superficial, the lightest, the most unreflective of all European races – this mind has not the force and severity necessary to carry far and long the greatest conception of the human understanding?

Is it because our governments have always taken upon themselves to think for us, to believe for us, and to pray for us? Is it because we are and have been a military people, a soldier-nation, led by kings, heroes, ambitious men, from battlefield to battlefield, making conquests, and never keeping them, ravaging, dazzling, charming, and corrupting Europe; and bringing home the manners, vices, bravery, lightness, and impiety of the camp to the fireside of the people?

I know not, but certain it is that the nation has an immense progress to make in serious thought if she wishes to remain free. If we look at the characters, compared as regards religious sentiment, of the great nations of Europe, America, even Asia, the advantage is not for us. The great men of other countries live and die on the scene of history, looking up to heaven; our great men appear to live and die, forgetting completely the only idea for which it is worth living and dying – they live and die looking at the spectator, or, at most, at posterity.

Open the history of America, the history of England, and the history of France; read the great lives, the great deaths, the great martyrdoms, the great words at the hour when the ruling thought of life reveals itself in the last words of the dying – and compare.

Washington and Franklin fought, spoke, suffered, ascended, and descended in their political life of popularity in the ingratitude of glory, in the contempt of their fellow-citizens – always in the name of God, for whom they acted; and the liberator of America died, confiding to God the liberty of the people and his own soul.

Sidney, the young martyr of a patriotism, guilty of nothing but impatience, and who died to expiate his country's dream of liberty, said to his jailer – "I rejoice that I die innocent toward the king, but a victim, resigned to the King on High, to whom all life is due."

The Republicans of Cromwell only sought the way of God, even in the blood of battles. Their politics were their faith – their reign a prayer – their death a psalm. One hears, sees, feels, that God was in all the movements of these great people.

But cross the sea, traverse La Mancha, come to our times, open our annals, and listen to the last words of the great political actors of the drama of our liberty. One would think that God was eclipsed from the soul, that His name was unknown in the language. History will have the air of an atheist, when she recounts to posterity these annihilations, rather than deaths, of celebrated men in the greatest year of France! The victims only have a God; the tribunes and lictors have none.

Look at Mirabeau on the bed of death – "Crown me with flowers," said he; "intoxicate me with perfumes. Let me die to the sound of delicious music" – not a word of God or of his soul. Sensual philosopher, he desired only supreme sensualism, a last voluptuousness in his agony. Contemplate Madame Roland, the strong-hearted woman of the Revolution, on the cart that conveyed her to death. She looked contemptuously on the besotted people who killed their prophets and sibyls. Not a glance toward heaven! Only one word for the earth she was quitting – "Oh, Liberty!"

Approach the dungeon door of the Girondins. Their last night is a banquet; the only hymn, the Marseillaise!

Follow Camille Desmoulins to his execution. A cool and indecent pleasantry at the trial, and a long imprecation on the road to the guillotine, were the two last thoughts of this dying man on his way to the last tribunal.

Hear Danton on the platform of the scaffold, at the distance of a line from God and eternity. "I have had a good time of it; let me go to sleep." Then to the executioner, "you will show my head to the people – it is worth the trouble!" His faith, annihilation; his last sigh, vanity. Behold the Frenchman of this latter age!

What must one think of the religious sentiment of a free people whose great figures seem thus to march in procession to annihilation, and to whom that terrible minister – death – itself recalls neither the threatenings nor promises of God!

The republic of these men without a God has quickly been stranded. The liberty, won by so much heroism and so much genius, has not found in France a conscience to shelter it, a God to avenge it, a people to defend it against that atheism which has been called glory. All ended in a soldier and some apostate republicans travestied into courtiers. An atheistic republicanism can not be heroic. When you terrify it, it bends; when you would buy it, it sells itself. It would be very foolish to immolate itself. Who would take any heed? the people ungrateful and God non-existent! So finish atheist revolutions! —Bien Publique.

[From Dickens's Household Words.]

THOMAS HARLOWE

All amid the summer rosesIn his garden, with his wife,Sate the cheerful Thomas Harlowe,Glancing backward through his life.Woodlarks in the trees were singing,And the breezes, low and sweet,Wafted down laburnum blossoms,Like an offering, at his feet.There he sate, good Thomas Harlowe,Living o'er the past in thought;And old griefs, like mountain summits,Golden hues of sunset caught.Thus he spake: "The truest poetIs the one whose touch revealsThose deep springs of human feelingWhich the conscious heart conceals."Human nature's living fountains,Ever-flowing, round us lie,Yet the poets seek their watersAs from cisterns old and dry."Hence they seldom write, my Ellen,Aught so full of natural woe,As that song which thy good uncleMade so many years ago."My sweet wife, my life's companion,Canst thou not recall the timeWhen we sate beneath the lilacs,Listening to that simple rhyme?"I was then just five-and-twenty,Young in years, but old in sooth;Hopeless love had dimmed my manhood,Care had saddened all my youth."But that touching, simple ballad,Which thy uncle writ and read,Like the words of God, creative,Gave a life unto the dead."And thenceforth have been so blissfulAll our days, so calm, so bright,That it seems like joy to lingerO'er my young life's early blight."Easy was my father's temper,And his being passed alongLike a streamlet 'neath the willows,Lapsing to the linnet's song."With the scholar's tastes and feelings,He had all he asked of lifeIn his books and in his garden,In his child, and gentle wife."He was for the world unfitted;For its idols knew no love;And, without the serpent's wisdomWas as guileless as the dove."Such men are the schemer's victims.Trusting to a faithless guide,He was lured on to his ruin,And a hopeless bankrupt died."Short had been my father's sorrow;He had not the strength to faceWhat was worse than altered fortune,Or than faithless friends – disgrace."He had not the strength to combatThrough the adverse ranks of life;In his prime he died, heart-broken,Leaving unto us the strife."I was then a slender stripling,Full of life, and hope, and joy;But, at once, the cares of manhoodCrushed the spirit of the boy."Woman oft than man is strongerWhere are inner foes to quell,And my mother rose triumphant,When my father, vanquished, fell."All we had we gave up freely,That on him might rest less blame;And, without a friend in London,In the winter, hither came."To the world-commanding London,Came as atoms, nothing worth;'Mid the strift of myriad workers,Our small efforts to put forth."Oh, the hero-strength of woman,When her strong affection pleads,When she tasks her to enduranceIn the path where duty leads!"Fair my mother was and gentle,Reared 'mid wealth, of good descent,One who, till our time of trial,Ne'er had known what hardship meant."Now she toiled. Her skillful needleMany a wondrous fabric wrought,Which the loom could never equal,And which wealthy ladies bought."Meantime I, among the merchantsFound employment; saw them write,Brooding over red-lined ledgers,Ever gain, from morn till night."Or amid the crowded shippingOf the great world's busy hive,Saw the wealth of both the Indies,For their wealthier marts, arrive"So we lived without repining,Toiling, toiling, week by week;But I saw her silent sufferingsBy the pallor of her cheek."Love like mine was eagle sighted;Vainly did she strive to keepAll her sufferings from my knowledge,And to lull my fears to sleep."Well I knew her days were numbered;And, as she approached her end,Stronger grew the love between us,Doubly was she parent – friend!"God permitted that her spiritShould through stormy floods be led,That she might converse with angelsWhile she toiled for daily bread."Wondrous oft were her communings,As of one to life new-born,When I watched beside her pillow,'Twixt the midnight and the morn."Still she lay through one long Sabbath,But as evening closed she woke,And like one amazed with sorrow,Thus with pleading voice she spoke:"'God will give whate'er is needful;Will sustain from day to day;This I know – yet worldly fettersKeep me still a thrall to clay!"'Oh, my son, from these world-shacklesOnly thou canst set me free!''Speak thy wish,' said I, 'my mother,Lay thy lov'd commands on me!'"As if strength were given unto herFor some purpose high, she spake:'I have toiled, and – like a miser —Hoarded, hoarded for thy sake."'Not for sordid purpose hoarded,But to free from outward blame,From the tarnish of dishonor,Thy dead father's sacred name,"'And I lay on thee this duty —'Tis my last request, my son —Lay on thee this solemn dutyWhich I die and leave undone!"'Promise, that thy dearest wishes,Pleasure, profit, shall be naught,Until, to the utmost farthing,Thou this purpose shalt have wrought!'"And I promised. All my beingFreely, firmly answered, yea!Thus absolved, her angel-spirit,Breathing blessings, passed away."Once more in the noisy, jostlingHuman crowd; I seemed to stand,Like to him who goes to battle,With his life within his hand."All things wore a different aspect;I was now mine own no more:Pleasure, wealth, the smile of womanAll a different meaning bore."Thus I toiled – though young, not youthfulEver mingling in the crowd,Yet apart; my life, my labor,To a solemn purpose vowed."Yet even duty had its pleasure,And I proudly kept apart;Lord of all my weaker feelings;Monarch of my subject heart."Foolish boast! My pride of purposeProved itself a feeble thing,When thy uncle brought me hither,In the pleasant time of Spring."Said he, 'Thou hast toiled too closely;Thou shalt breathe our country air;Thou shalt come to us on Sundays,And thy failing health repair!'"Now began my hardest trial.What had I with love to do?Loving thee was sin 'gainst duty,And 'gainst thy good uncle too!"Until now my heart was cheerful;Duty had been light till now,– Oh that I were free to woo thee;That my heart had known no vow!"Yet, I would not shrink from duty;Nor my vow leave unfulfilled!– Still, still, had my mother known thee,Would she thus have sternly willed?"Wherefore did my angel-motherThus enforce her dying prayer?– Yet what right had I to seek thee,Thou, thy uncle's wealthy heir!"Thus my spirit cried within me;And that inward strife began,That wild warfare of the feelingsWhich lays waste the life of man."In such turmoil of the spirit,Feeble is our human strength;Life seems stripped of all its glory:– Yet was duty lord at length."So at least I deemed. But meetingToward the pleasant end of MayWith thy uncle, here he brought me,I who long had kept away."He was willful, thy good uncle;I was such a stranger grown;I must go to hear the readingOf a ballad of his own."Willing to be won, I yielded.Canst thou not that eve recall,When the lilacs were in blossom,And the sunshine lay o'er all?"On the bench beneath the lilacs,Sate we; and thy uncle readThat sweet, simple, wondrous ballad,Which my own heart's woe portrayed."'Twas a simple tale of nature —Of a lowly youth who gaveAll his heart to one above him,Loved, and filled an early grave."But the fine tact of the poetLaid the wounded spirit bare,Breathed forth all the silent anguishOf the breaking heart's despair."'Twas as if my soul had spoken,And at once I seemed to know,Through the poet's voice prophetic,What the issue of my woe."Later, walking in the eveningThrough the shrubbery, thou and I,With the woodlarks singing round us,And the full moon in the sky;"Thou, my Ellen, didst reproach me,For that I had coldly heardThat sweet ballad of thy uncle's,Nor responded by a word."Said I, 'If that marvelous balladDid not seem my heart to touch;It was not from want of feeling,But because it felt too much.'"And even as the rod of MosesCalled forth water from the rock;So did now thy sweet reproachesAll my secret heart unlock."And my soul lay bare before thee;And I told thee all; how strove,As in fierce and dreary conflict,My stern duty and my love."All I told thee – of my parents,Of my angel-mother's fate;Of the vow by which she bound me;Of my present low estate."All I told thee, while the woodlarksFilled with song the evening breeze,And bright gushes of the moonlightFell upon us through the trees."And thou murmured'st, oh! my Ellen,In a voice so sweet and low;'Would that I had known thy mother.Would that I might soothe thy woe!'"Ellen, my sweet, life's companion!From my being's inmost coreThen I blessed thee; but I bless thee,Bless thee, even now, still more!"For, as in the days chivalricLadies armed their knights for strife,So didst thou, with thy true counsel,Arm me for the fight of life."Saidst thou, 'No, thou must not waver,Ever upright must thou stand:Even in duty's hardest peril,All thy weapons in thy hand."'Doing still thy utmost, utmost;Never resting till thou'rt free! —But, if e'er thy soul is weary,Or discouraged – think of me!'"And again thy sweet voice murmured,In a low and thrilling tone;'I have loved thee, truly loved thee,Though that love was all unknown!"'And the sorrows and the trialsWhich thy youth in bondage hold,Make thee to my heart yet dearerThan if thou hadst mines of gold!"'Go forth – pay thy debt to duty;And when thou art nobly free,He shall know, my good old uncle,Of the love 'twixt thee and me!'"Ellen, thou wast my good angel!Once again in life I strove —But the hardest task was easy,In the light and strength of love."And, when months had passed on swiftly,Canst thou not that hour recall —'Twas a Christmas Sabbath evening —When we told thy uncle all?"Good old uncle! I can see him,With those calm and loving eyes,Smiling on us as he listened,Silent, yet with no surprise."And when once again the lilacsBlossom'd, in the merry May,And the woodlarks sang together,Came our happy marriage day."My sweet Ellen, then I blessed theeAs my young and wealthy wife,But I knew not half the blessingsWith which thou wouldst dower my life!"Here he ceased, good Thomas Harlowe;And as soon as ceased his voice —That sweet chorusing of woodlarksMade the silent night rejoice.[From Fraser's Magazine.]