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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages itself . — ( jOETUE *
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MARTYRS AND PROPHETS . What , tho' the Prophets and Martyrs have perisht , The Angel of Life rolls the stone from their graves ! It liveth immortal—the freedom they cherisht ; T heir faith ' s triumph-cry stirs the spirits of slaves . They are gone ; hut a glory they ' ve left in our life X < ike the Day-God ' s last kiss upon dark clouds of even ; Gone down on the desolate seas of their strife , To climb as star-beacons up Liberty ' s heaven . Think of the -wrong that has ground us for ages ; Think of the wrong we have still to endure ! Think o £ the blood , red on history ' s pages ; Then work that the guerdon be speedy and sure ! Slaves cry unto God ; let our God be revealed , — In our lives , in our works , in our warfare for Man : And , bearing—or borne upon—Victory ' s shield , Let us fight battle-harness'd , and fall in the van I
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VIVIAN ON THE WYE . Fytte Third—( continued ) . We left the countryman singing his interminable ditty , passed through the kitchen and mounted the stairs , which led to a ricketty corridor and our bedroom . I was casually contemplating an agreeable countenance ( my own ) in the glass , when the rustic vassal , pointing to one of the two beds which stood behind me , said , " That is your , bed , sir , * ' and left the room with a friendly good night . We were puzzled why she should take upon herself to
determine which bed I was to sleep in , rather than leave it to my own free choice ; but as I resumed the contemplation of that perfectly agreeable image , the explanation naturally suggested itself . She had reserved the better bed for her favourite ! Peter was sarcastic on the " frivolity" of women ; but I made myself snug , and , leaving him to the pleasing operation of puncturing his blisters , was soon asleep . I was awakened by feeling an enquiring hand wander about my bed , and starting up I saw in the moonlight the majestic form of McPousto in his shirt . " Have you sheets on your bed ? " he enquired . " Sheets ? Of course . " " There are none on mine—in fact , there ' s nothing there but a
mattress and a counterpane ; " and he revealed , as he spoke , a most uninviting sheetless bed . I now fancied 1 perceived why my admirer was anxious to impress me with the fact that one of the beds was set apart for me ; but Peter suddenly exclaimed , "Why , they must mean us to sleep together in the same bed 1 " It was but too obvious . " There is not a corpse in it , is there ? " I asked . I saw the philosopher ' s knees knock together at the horrid suggestion—for he had that day told me the story of a man who at a country inn was allowed to sleep in the room with a corpse , and only discovered it when the morning light revealed the ghastly companionship !
Things , however , were not so bad as that . We were in a primitive place , and to our Welsh host it doubtless seemed the most natural thing in the world that two travellers should share one bed . Peter hunted for a bellrope ; but no such " fixture" did the bedroom own ; so huddling on his trousers he went to the head of the stairs , and mellifluously called for Mary . A bed was soon made ; and after a hearty laugh Peter reclined his noble head upon the pillow . But the idea of the corpse haunted him ; and by way of making his dreams grim I wickedly told the following story .
" I remember a friend of mine , who was at Oxford at the time , " said I , " describing a fearful episode in a collegian ' s life . The young fellow was driving his gig along the London road when he overtook a pretty farm servant , whom lie had often joked with before , and throwing the reins to his groom , he jumped out and walked along the path with her , using all his eloquence , and receiving only sharp replies from her offended virtue . There was a giggling- complacency , however , which urged him to persevere , and made her rebuffs seem like invitations . At length they neared the house , and the girl pointing to an open window said that was her bedroom—if he
liked to run the risk he might get in there that night , she would leave the window open , but for the rest he must take all consequences . Don Juan joyfully accepted the proposition j she entered the farm , and he drove on . Now , Peter , conceive what women are capable of ! Don Juan having dined at a neighbouring inn , about eleven o ' clock he drove towards the house , and , leaving his servant with the gig a few hundred paces off , proceeded on foot to his conquest . Wearily the minutes passed to the groom who awaited his master ! The clock struck twelve—one—two ! He grew excessively impatient . His master was only to be absent about half an hour . Could anything have happened ? He would see .
the bed-side , drew open the curtains , and there the moonlight streamed in upon a corpse ! Bewildered by the horror of the moment , he sprang out of window and broke his leg . " Peter shuddered , and declared he should dream of nothing else all night ; but his tuneful nose very shortly afterwards assured me he was enjoying the slumbers of the just . Next morning we laughed over the " bed episode /' and schemed our plan for the day . Before breakfast I took a desultory ramble , seduced by the balmy morning air . After breakfast we went to Ragland Castle , which disappointed us . It is a noble ruin , but our expectation had been raised too high , and the absence of sunlight robbed it of half its
charm . Not to enquire too curiously into the cause , enough if I say we did not greatly enjoy the visit , so hastened to resume our tramp . We walked to Abergavenny , where we expected to find a coach to Merthyr Tydvil ; but no coach was to run until the morning , and the idea of remaining half a day at Abergavenny was intolerable . After some trouble , and many enquiries which did not impress me with an exalted idea of the intelligence of the Welch ( you see , like a true traveller , I generalize somewhat rapidly !) , we succeeded in hiring a dog-cart to take us to Nant-y-glo . Our ride was very picturesque : the valley of the Usk is celebrated for its beauty , and the weather was the best of all weathers for mountainous scenery — sombre and misty . The
purple mountains piling up on every side , the huge rolling mists circling their summits , the long stretches of bleak rock , the few isolated blasted trees extending their gaunt branches into the air with a most weird aspect , the rushing river below us tumbling through the ravine , made up a drear and gloomy picture , which sombred our thoughts and kept us silent . At length , as the shades of evening deepened , we saw by the red glare of the heavens that we were approaching Nant-y-glo , the gigantic ironworks ; and soon the forges belching fire , like a Vesuvius , were seen rearing their heads from the mountain gorge .
We descended at the solitary inn—for , although Nant-y-glo contains something like fifteen thousand souls , the population is exclusively limited to workmen and their families—and after a succuleut steak and a mild cigar we placed ourselves under the guidance of a perfectly stupid policeman and went over the works . The aspect was singularly grand . As we stepped out into the dark night the glare of the heavens , the tumultuous belching of the forges , the long lines of fire intersecting the vast blackness before us , which we knew were the works , the hurrying to and fro of hundreds of men and boys , now standing in the full glare of the furnaces , now passing into darkness , the clanging thunder of the ceaseless hammers , and the torrents of rain which fell at the moment , the whole scene was Plutonine , and seemed to
realize Dante ' s Hell . We followed our guide through the vast structure , and watched the men at work . What particularly struck us—after the stupendous aspect of the whole—was the agility with which innumerable boys tossed about the fiery bars , and the way they avoided dangers which seemed incessant and from all sides . Every variety of fire seemed to be passing to and fro with rapidity ; yet no accident occurred . They often do occur , of course—and one of my friends describes with great vividness the painful impression created on him by seeing so many of the boys hopping about on one leg , the other having been amputated in consequence of terrible burns . But we saw nothing of the kind . The scene was hideous enough in itself—hideous yet sublime .
Returning to our inn we drew our chairs to the fire , and over brandy and water and cigars gave vent to the feelings which were oppressing us . McPousto in particular expressed himself on a civilization which needed such foundations as Nant-y-glo , in a manner so . little complimentary to the age we live in that I forbear to repeat his sarcasms . Whatever the reflections it suggested , we both agreed that Nant-y-glo was one of the most astounding and impressive sights we had ever seen , and was amply worth our quitting the pretty banks of the Wye to reach it—which hint I give for the beneiit of
future travellers . That night I passed in a restless fire-haunted state ! My dreams were nightmares—or night serpents—for threading the scenes were serpents of fire , pursuing me in fantastic ways—strange pellmell of the vision which my eyes had seen ! If I awoke it was to hear the rush of the rain against our windows and the clanging of the ceaseless hammers ; dropping asleep , the huge bars of lire seemed to be rushing upon me , and McPousto ' s face seemed mocking my terror over a glass of steaming brandy and water . Morning came at last to rid me of this fever , and we were recalled to the serious business of life by a red-elbowed Welch girl with no nose to speak of .
" Fastening the horse to a stile , lie walked towards the house ; on arriving opponite to it , he heard a low groan which startled him , and looking into the garden beheld his master on the ground . He rushed to his assistance , and found him unable to move . The thigh was broken . " It appeared that the amorous youth had entered through the window , by means of a ladder , and found himself in an old bedroom with brilliant white curtains j to hi « whispered questions no answer was returned j he placed his hand on the bed to feel if it was empty , but his touch assured him of a leg ; so , imagining his innumorata waa coquetting with him , he walked round to
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SONNET . ( from a welsh fault :. ) King Arthur , resting from the fervid day In shaded precinct of a holy well , An airy dwarfish Sprite , malformed and fell , Approached the glittering monarch whore he lay . Wilt wrestle , King ? " shrilled gibingly the Pay . But Arthur deigned no motion to repel That strayed impuissant embryo of hell , And , rising , soon went calmly on his way . The subtle Elf , repeating still its brave , Pursued , and , lo , impendent , grosser grew , And waxed exceeding strong . The King then knew Arch Ilubit for his foe , and durst not waive The contest longer : gruppling fierce they strave , Till Arthur , nearly spent , the Sprite o ' erthrew . W . H .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 2, 1850, page 764, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1857/page/20/
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