Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-08-30

1 uukc HitterS OF lHul1eTcncc. 1 WOulu not
have given the toss of farthlng to know all
| about them. My attention was engaged with
| a nobler theme. l was analyzing his mouth,
admring the blandness of its expression, won
| dering at It's hugeness, and envying its happy
owner tho possession of so magnificent a char
acteristic. Ii was not an ireful mouth; tho cor
ners were not turped down in the attitude OF
wrath or contempt, but cured upwards in that
benign hexibility Of curve, which Charles Bell
has SO we'll illustrated to his Anatomy of Ex-
preston. He did not laugn-hc was too Sc
date for that but his mouth was clothed with
! gentle smile, betokening inward tranquility
of spirit Never did gaze upon being so
| full of mildness-so void Of gall; and the longer
looked at him, became convinced that those
| lips had been nurtured with milk and mamma,
and that the mind to whose thoughts they gave
| utterance was ono which knew not guile or
| bitterness
When first noticed this marvellous man. it
was six O'Clock, which at that very moment
pealed from tho clock Of St. Giles; and the
room, as have already stated, was becoming
obscured with the shades Of approaching eve.
The light which glanced in at the windows
was sullen and sepulchral, and flung broad,
dull radiance, upon the fluted Corinthian col
umns, that extended their double rows along
the Library, supporting i,s painted roof upon
their foliage capitals. Within and without all
was calm. Save our two selves, there was not
a soul in the apartment. The Librarian had
gone, Lord knows whther-the advocates had
bidden their literary sanctum adieu, and tho
man with the mouth and myself were left in
undsputod possession of tho premises.
We had now sat for a considerable time to-
gether, he reading the Chronicle, I udmiring
his mouth. 1t was certainly the most extra
axI. n. ..I IL.
observation i'll an uncommon degree. His
whole face was absorbed in this mighty fea-
ture. He had, it is true, ears, and eyes, and
checks, and nose, and chin but they were
pigmied to nothing in such lordly noighbor-
hood. He was in fact earless, eyeless, cheek
less, noseless, and chinless. To speak COM
paratively, he had neither ono or tho other !:
he was all mouth.
Imust say that felt gratifcd in having It in
my power to witness such spectacle. by
heaven! | respected tho man, or rather his
mouth. Ho was, 1t is true, a sad radical, as
his newspaper reading testified. but then he
had vanquished Christopher North and after
80 great an achievement, what feats might he
not perform' began to think that there was
no exploit IN tho world beyond his accomplish
ment. That mouth was to him the brazen
head of Friar Bacon-the sword Of Achilles -
the mirror of Merlin--the wand OF Prospero-
the griffin Of Astol pho-the Elixir Vite-the
Philosophers Stone. He could rule the ma
tions with il; terrify the Gouls and Dives with
its grin; convulso the universe with laughter,
beyond the power of Liston, and draw more
tears from beauty's eyes, than Siddons in Bel
vdera, or O'Nei in Juliet The mouth was,
in fact, omnipolent: i. would be wronging it
to say that it belonged to the man, for the
man belonged TO it. 1t was to him body and
soul; and the other parts Of his frame, such as
trunk, limbs, and head, were merely his appen-
dages.
Such were the reflections which in spite of
fate, arose in my mind on witnessing this ex-
traordinary phenomenon, when circumstance
occurred which gave rise to new train Of
ideas. Hitherto the mouth had been quies-
cent: not muscle Of it had moved, while its
appendage the man, was employed at his oc'
cupation. 1t was fixed rigid, and apparently
as incapable of change as the eternal rocks,
had even begun TO wonder whether it possess
cd the power of motion whether it could open
and shut like other mouths whether, in u
word, its powers were equal 10 its pretcnsions.
But these unworthy surmlses were soon put TO
flight: for, on looking attentivcly, perceived,
with feeling Of intense awe, that 1t began to
move. Upon my honor the lips began to sep
aratc, first hair-bro adth then two then
three-then a whole line, and at last half an
inch. There was solemn grandeur about the
process OF opening. The mouth was unques-
tionably one of too much Importance TO open
itself ON trifling occasions, or IN trng man
ner. 1t performed the operation slowly, dellb-
erately, s.blimcly; and looked on it with the
same bleathless anxiety, as whon listening IN
the Great Glen Of Scotland TO the expectant
bursting Of a thunder cloud, which hangs IN
threatening mood over the summit OF Bennevis
To say that it resembled church door would
be dong it injustice-no church door, even the
main ono of Notre Dame or St. Paul's, ever
expanded its huge jaws with such deliberate
majesty. Reader, If you have seen the open
ing of the dock gates at Portsmouth, or OF the
locks on the Caedonan Canal, you may form
somo idea of that of the mouth.
think 1 said 1t had opened half an inch; TO
do SO it took no less than three mlnutes-this
| particularly noticed. Now" said |, " this
mouth is capable of expanding at least twelve
times that length, or six inches. Three min
utes to half an inch make six minutes to a
whole inch. Six multiplied by six, mako thirty
six. In all, one half hour and six minutes must
elapse before this glorious mouth can attain
its ne plus ultra.
White this process was going on, day waned
apace, and twilight was oil the point of being
succeeded by darkness. Those broad floods
of light which bathed the pillars with their
lurid lustrc, were becoming fainter ana fainter
and nocturnal gloom threatened, in few
minutes, to reign "Lord of the ascendant -
But this approaching observation was no i'm
pedimcnt to the mouth. 1t opened wider every
instant. At last it attained the climax OF its
extension; and, wide as it was, would strot ch
no farther. The mouth, after all, was not 80
omnipotcnt as supposed. There were limits
to its powers, and after thirty SIX minutes OF
incessant operation, 1t had done It's best.
now began to wonder what object my op-
posite neighbour could have in opening his
mouth 10 such an apocrypbal oxtent-o or rather
4 I'm,