Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1840-12-03
lFor tho Herald Of ,he Times.
Selected from the Scrap Book Of
a Literary Club.
ny J. u. ID.


1t has been humorously said, tha,
"The history of the past is mere pup
pet show. \ little man comes out ant
blows II little trumpet, and goes in again
and il is all over" There is a same
ness in History not altogether Disagree
able; tho murmuring rivulet charms
from tho very continuity Of its sounds
the prairie delights from the perfect uni
formity of its surface. Nations rise and
fall, as pillows Of the mighty deep
Time is vast ocean. The wind sweeps
DER its surface wave follows wave
one falls, another rises, and SO on till
they dash upon tho beach. The same
page that announces the death Of Greece
records the birth of Rome; the dcstruc-
iion of the Roman Empire was the ioun-
dation Of innimerablo nations. Thus it
is, and Thus it will be, till Time il merg-
cd in Eternity. Individuals start out
from the common herd, stand n moment
in view of the whole world, and disap-
pear, like bubbles on the fountain,
raised by some casual agitation of its
surface. History is similar to a fine
painting; one or two figures stand out
in bold relief, drawn with all ,he skill
of the artist, colorod and shaded by n
lively Imagination, and representing to
rs his "Lean ideal' of beauty and ex-
preston. The back ground is occu-
pied by less important and less inter
esting characters; every thing disgust
ing is kept out of sight.-As We gaze
upon distant landscape, the poor man 5
hut. surrounded with all that is nau-
seous, il transformed into tho rustic
cottage, overgrown with ivy and honey
sucklc, the abode of peace and content
ment. Yonder field, where the brinr
and thistle only flourish, is cQnvertcd
into luxuriant lawn; and TINT lake,
whose pestilcntial vapors scatter dis
ease and death around, is fringe with
a border, clad in Natures gayest livery:
in our naginaiion, every breath orwind
that kisses its bosom receives new ac-
cessions of purity and sweetness. 'Tis
thus with history. The past wears
dim relie eious light, from the obscurity
through which it is viewed. So the
golden snn-beams present still richer
hues, as they steal through the painted
windows Of some antique Cathedral
Amid the darkness which wells the past,
we discover but few individuals, and
those few divcstcd Of all realities and
clothed in the gossamer fabrics OF our
imusinings. We cannot conceive how
they ate, drank and lived like common
men. BY tho mist which has settled
over the past, every fact and incident,
every character and person, is enlarged,
as, in somo conditions Of the a,mos-
phere, the astonished peasant secs his
own image reflected from the neigh
boring heights in gigantic dimensions.
On clear October afternoon, as you
have sported on the CLASSY lake, did
you nevcr look into its calm, unrufied
bosom, and zee how faithfully sky,
clouds, and tho overhanging trees, with
all their foliage, were there traced in
fairy lincsi That luke may represent
History. 1t always takes its tints and
hues from the surrounding objects
On cool autumnal evening, did you
never notice leaf after leaf fall, rs the
breeze sighed through some half-robed
'rec' That may represent tho passage
of Timc-it is nothing more than the
continual falling Of leaf after leaf.