The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell Part 57

Mr. Hitchc.o.c.k also informs us that his friend 'lies buried in the Jaalam graveyard, under a large red-cedar which he specially admired. A neat and substantial monument is to be erected over his remains, with a Latin epitaph written by himself; for he was accustomed to say, pleasantly, "that there was at least one occasion in a scholar's life when he might show the advantages of a cla.s.sical training."'

The following fragment of a letter addressed to us, and apparently intended to accompany Mr. Biglow's contribution to the present number, was found upon his table after his decease.--EDITORS ATLANTIC MONTHLY.]

TO THE EDITORS OF THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY

JAALAM, 24th Dec., 1862.

RESPECTED SIRS,--- The infirm state of my bodily health would be a sufficient apology for not taking up the pen at this time, wholesome as I deem it for the mind to apricate in the shelter of epistolary confidence, were it not that a considerable, I might even say a large, number of individuals in this parish expect from their pastor some publick expression of sentiment at this crisis. Moreover, _Qui tacitus ardet magis uritur_. In trying times like these, the besetting sin of undisciplined minds is to seek refuge from inexplicable realities in the dangerous stimulant of angry partisans.h.i.+p or the indolent narcotick of vague and hopeful vaticination: _fortunamque suo temperat arbitrio_.

Both by reason of my age and my natural temperament, I am unfitted for either. Unable to penetrate the inscrutable judgments of G.o.d, I am more than ever thankful that my life has been prolonged till I could in some small measure comprehend His mercy. As there is no man who does not at some time render himself amenable to the one,--_quum vix justus sit securus_,--so there is none that does not feel himself in daily need of the other.

I confess I cannot feel, as some do, a personal consolation for the manifest evils of this war in any remote or contingent advantages that may spring from it. I am old and weak, I can bear little, and can scarce hope to see better days; nor is it any adequate compensation to know that Nature is young and strong and can bear much. Old men philosophize over the past, but the present is only a burthen and a weariness. The one lies before them like a placid evening landscape; the other is full of vexations and anxieties of housekeeping. It may be true enough that _miscet haec illis, prohibetque Clotho fortunam stare_, but he who said it was fain at last to call in Atropos with her shears before her time; and I cannot help selfishly mourning that the fortune of our Republick could not at least stay till my days were numbered.

Tibullus would find the origin of wars in the great exaggeration of riches, and does not stick to say that in the days of the beechen trencher there was peace. But averse as I am by nature from all wars, the more as they have been especially fatal to libraries, I would have this one go on till we are reduced to wooden platters again, rather than surrender the principle to defend which it was undertaken. Though I believe Slavery to have been the cause of it, by so thoroughly demoralizing Northern politicks for its own purposes as to give opportunity and hope to treason, yet I would not have our thought and purpose diverted from their true object,--the maintenance of the idea of Government. We are not merely suppressing an enormous riot, but contending for the possibility of permanent order coexisting with democratical fickleness; and while I would not superst.i.tiously venerate form to the sacrifice of substance, neither would I forget that an adherence to precedent and prescription can alone give that continuity and coherence under a democratical const.i.tution which are inherent in the person of a despotick monarch and the selfishness of an aristocratieal cla.s.s. _Stet pro ratione voluntas_ is as dangerous in a majority as in a tyrant.

I cannot allow the present production of my young friend to go out without a protest from me against a certain extremeness in his views, more pardonable in the poet than in the philosopher. While I agree with him, that the only cure for rebellion is suppression by force, yet I must animadvert upon certain phrases where I seem to see a coincidence with a popular fallacy on the subject of compromise. On the one hand there are those who do not see that the vital principle of Government and the seminal principle of Law cannot properly be made a subject of compromise at all, and on the other those who are equally blind to the truth that without a compromise of individual opinions, interests, and even rights, no society would be possible. _In medio tutissimus_. For my own part, I would gladly--

Ef I a song or two could make Like rockets druv by their own burnin', All leap an' light, to leave a wake Men's hearts an' faces skyward turnin'!-- But, it strikes me, 'tain't jest the time Fer stringin' words with settisfaction: Wut's wanted now's the silent rhyme 'Twixt upright Will an' downright Action.

Words, ef you keep 'em, pay their keep, But gabble's the short cut to ruin; 10 It's gratis, (gals half-price,) but cheap At no rate, ef it henders doin'; Ther' 's nothin' wuss, 'less 'tis to set A martyr-prem'um upon jawrin': Teapots git dangerous, ef you shet Their lids down on 'em with Fort Warren.

'Bout long enough it's ben discussed Who sot the magazine afire, An' whether, ef Bob Wickliffe bust, 'Twould scare us more or blow us higher. 20 D' ye spose the Gret Foreseer's plan Wuz settled fer him in town-meetin'?

Or thet ther'd ben no Fall o' Man, Ef Adam'd on'y bit a sweetin'?

Oh, Jon'than, ef you want to be A rugged chap agin an' hearty, Go fer wutever'll hurt Jeff D., Nut wut'll boost up ary party.

Here's h.e.l.l broke loose, an' we lay flat With half the univa.r.s.e a-singe-in', 30 Till Sen'tor This an' Gov'nor Thet Stop squabblin' fer the gardingingin.

It's war we're in, not politics; It's systems wrastlin' now, not parties; An' victory in the eend'll fix Where longest will an' truest heart is, An' wut's the Guv'ment folks about?

Tryin' to hope ther' 's nothin' doin', An' look ez though they didn't doubt Sunthin' pertickler wuz a-brewin'. 40

Ther' 's critters yit thet talk an' act Fer wut they call Conciliation; They'd hand a buff'lo-drove a tract When they wuz madder than all Bashan.

Conciliate? it jest means _be kicked_, No metter how they phrase an' tone it; It means thet we're to set down licked, Thet we're poor shotes an' glad to own it!

A war on tick's ez dear 'z the deuce, But it wun't leave no lastin' traces, 50 Ez 'twould to make a sneakin' truce Without no moral specie-basis: Ef greenbacks ain't nut jest the cheese, I guess ther' 's evils thet's extremer,-- Fer instance,--s.h.i.+nplaster idees Like them put out by Gov'nor Seymour.

Last year, the Nation, at a word, When tremblin' Freedom cried to s.h.i.+eld her, Flamed weldin' into one keen sword Waitin' an' longin' fer a wielder: A splendid flas.h.!.+--but how'd the grasp 61 With sech a chance ez thet wuz tally?

Ther' warn't no meanin' in our clasp,-- Half this, half thet, all s.h.i.+lly-shally.

More men? More man! It's there we fail; Weak plans grow weaker yit by lengthenin': Wut use in addin' to the tail, When it's the head's in need o' strengthenin'?

We wanted one thet felt all Chief From roots o' hair to sole o' stockin', 70 Square-sot with thousan'-ton belief In him an' us, ef earth went rockin'!

Ole Hick'ry wouldn't ha' stood see-saw 'Bout doin' things till they wuz done with,-- He'd smashed the tables o' the Law In time o' need to load his gun with; He couldn't see but jest one side,-- Ef his, 'twuz G.o.d's, an' thet wuz plenty; An' so his '_Forrards!_' multiplied An army's fightin' weight by twenty. 80

But this 'ere histin', creak, creak, creak, Your cappen's heart up with a derrick, This tryin' to coax a lightnin'-streak Out of a half-discouraged hayrick, This hangin' on mont' arter mont'

Fer one sharp purpose 'mongst the twitter,-- I tell ye, it doos kind o' stunt The peth and sperit of a critter.

In six months where'll the People be, Ef leaders look on revolution 90 Ez though it wuz a cup o' tea,-- Jest social el'ments in solution?

This weighin' things doos wal enough When war cools down, an' comes to writin'; But while it's makin', the true stuff Is pison-mad, pig-headed fightin'.

Democ'acy gives every man The right to be his own oppressor; But a loose Gov'ment ain't the plan, Helpless ez spilled beans on a dresser: 100 I tell ye one thing we might larn From them smart critters, the Seceders,-- Ef bein' right's the fust consarn, The 'fore-the-fust's cast-iron leaders.

But 'pears to me I see some signs Thet we're a-goin' to use our senses: Jeff druv us into these hard lines, An' ough' to bear his half th' expenses; Slavery's Secession's heart an' will, South, North, East, West, where'er you find it, 110 An' ef it drors into War's mill, D'ye say them thunder-stones sha'n't grind it?

D' ye s'pose, ef Jeff giv _him_ a lick, Ole Hick'ry'd tried his head to sof'n So's 'twouldn't hurt thet ebony stick Thet's made our side see stars so of'n?

'No!' he'd ha' thundered, 'on your knees, An' own one flag, one road to glory!

Soft-heartedness, in times like these, Shows sof'ness in the upper story!' 120

An' why should we kick up a muss About the Pres'dunt's proclamation?

It ain't a-goin' to lib'rate us, Ef we don't like emanc.i.p.ation: The right to be a cussed fool Is safe from all devices human, It's common (ez a gin'l rule) To every critter born o' woman.

So _we're_ all right, an' I, fer one, Don't think our cause'll lose in vally 130 By rammin' Scriptur' in our gun, An' gittin' Natur' fer an ally: Thank G.o.d, say I, fer even a plan To lift one human bein's level, Give one more chance to make a man, Or, anyhow, to spile a devil!

Not thet I'm one thet much expec'

Millennium by express to-morrer; They _will_ miscarry,--I rec'lec'

Tu many on 'em, to my sorrer: Men ain't made angels in a day, 141 No matter how you mould an' labor 'em, Nor 'riginal ones, I guess, don't stay With Abe so of'n ez with Abraham.

The'ry thinks Fact a pooty thing, An' wants the banns read right ensuin'; But fact wun't noways wear the ring, 'Thout years o' settin' up an' wooin': Though, arter all, Time's dial-plate Marks cent'ries with the minute-finger, 150 An' Good can't never come tu late, Though it does seem to try an' linger.

An' come wut will, I think it's grand Abe's gut his will et last bloom-furnaced In trial-flames till it'll stand The strain o' bein' in deadly earnest: Thet's wut we want,--we want to know The folks on our side hez the bravery To b'lieve ez hard, come weal, come woe, In Freedom ez Jeff doos in Slavery. 160

Set the two forces foot to foot, An' every man knows who'll be winner, Whose faith in G.o.d hez ary root Thet goes down deeper than his dinner: _Then_ 'twill be felt from pole to pole, Without no need o' proclamation, Earth's biggest Country's gut her soul An' risen up Earth's Greatest Nation!

No. VIII

KETTELOPOTOMACHIA

PRELIMINARY MOTE

[In the month of February, 1866, the editors of the 'Atlantic Monthly'

received from the Rev. Mr. Hitchc.o.c.k of Jaalam a letter enclosing the macaronic verses which follow, and promising to send more, if more should be communicated. 'They were rapped out on the evening of Thursday last past,' he says, 'by what claimed to be the spirit of my late predecessor in the ministry here, the Rev. Dr. Wilbur, through the medium of a young man at present domiciled in my family. As to the possibility of such spiritual manifestations, or whether they be properly so ent.i.tled, I express no opinion, as there is a division of sentiment on that subject in the parish, and many persons of the highest respectability in social standing entertain opposing views. The young man who was improved as a medium submitted himself to the experiment with manifest reluctance, and is still unprepared to believe in the authenticity of the manifestations. During his residence with me his deportment has always been exemplary; he has been constant in his attendance upon our family devotions and the public ministrations of the Word, and has more than once privately stated to me, that the latter had often brought him under deep concern of mind. The table is an ordinary quadrupedal one, weighing about thirty pounds, three feet seven inches and a half in height, four feet square on the top, and of beech or maple, I am not definitely prepared to say which. It had once belonged to my respected predecessor, and had been, so far as I can learn upon careful inquiry, of perfectly regular and correct habits up to the evening in question. On that occasion the young man previously alluded to had been sitting with his hands resting carelessly upon it, while I read over to him at his request certain portions of my last Sabbath's discourse. On a sudden the rappings, as they are called, commenced to render themselves audible, at first faintly, but in process of time more distinctly and with violent agitation of the table. The young man expressed himself both surprised and pained by the wholly unexpected, and, so far as he was concerned, unprecedented occurrence. At the earnest solicitation, however, of several who happened to be present, he consented to go on with the experiment, and with the a.s.sistance of the alphabet commonly employed in similar emergencies, the following communication was obtained and written down immediately by myself.

Whether any, and if so, how much weight should be attached to it, I venture no decision. That Dr. Wilbur had sometimes employed his leisure in Latin versification I have ascertained to be the case, though all that has been discovered of that nature among his papers consists of some fragmentary pa.s.sages of a version into hexameters of portions of the Song of Solomon. These I had communicated about a week or ten days previous[ly] to the young gentleman who officiated as medium in the communication afterwards received. I have thus, I believe, stated all the material facts that have any elucidative bearing upon this mysterious occurrence.'

So far Mr. Hitchc.o.c.k, who seems perfectly master of Webster's unabridged quarto, and whose flowing style leads him into certain farther expatiations for which we have not room. We have since learned that the young man he speaks of was a soph.o.m.ore, put under his care during a sentence of rustication from ---- College, where he had distinguished himself rather by physical experiments on the comparative power of resistance in window-gla.s.s to various solid substances, than in the more regular studies of the place. In answer to a letter of inquiry, the professor of Latin says, 'There was no harm in the boy that I know of beyond his loving mischief more than Latin, nor can I think of any spirits likely to possess him except those commonly called animal. He was certainly not remarkable for his Latinity, but I see nothing in the verses you enclose that would lead me to think them beyond his capacity, or the result of any special inspiration whether of beech or maple. Had that of _birch_ been tried upon him earlier and more faithfully, the verses would perhaps have been better in quality and certainly in quant.i.ty.' This exact and thorough scholar then goes on to point out many false quant.i.ties and barbarisms. It is but fair to say, however, that the author, whoever he was, seems not to have been unaware of some of them himself, as is shown by a great many notes appended to the verses as we received them, and purporting to be by Scaliger, Bentley, and others,--among them the _Esprit de Voltaire_! These we have omitted as clearly meant to be humorous and altogether failing therein.

Though entirely satisfied that the verses are altogether unworthy of Mr.

Wilbur, who seems to Slave been a tolerable Latin scholar after the fas.h.i.+on of his day, yet we have determined to print them here, partly as belonging to the _res gestae_ of this collection, and partly as a warning to their putative author which may keep him from such indecorous pranks for the future.]

KETTELOPOTOMACHIA

P. Ovidii Nasonis carmen heroic.u.m macaronic.u.m perplexametrum, inter Getas getico moro compostum, denuo per medium ardentispiritualem adjuvante mensa diabolice obsessa, recuperatum, curaque Jo. Conradi Schwarzii umbrae, allis necnon plurimis adjuvantibus, rest.i.tutum.

LIBER I