Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-08-08
THE PROFESSOR.
BY Gu ARIOrrr pRONrr, AUTHOR OF ZANE EYRE

this sentence describing a peculiarly calm after
noon, such as all Of us must remember to have
seen and felt =
"Not only tho winds, but the very ftful wan.
dering airs were that afternoon, AS by common con-
sent, all fallen asleep in their various quarters
The north oas hushed, the south silent, the east
so6bed not, nor did the rest ,chiSper."
No writer of inferior power would have dared
to incur the danger of redundancy by adding to
a sentence seemingly so complete and exhaustive,
the four clauses which we have printed in italics.
But Miss Bronte is bold-she dared, and she has
made no failure there is no redundancy in the
sentence as she has written it each OF the clauses,
with a singularly felicitous accuracy OF express
ion adds something to the idea. But this is NOS
all, besides the retorical success of the addition,
observe how admirably she manages the grammat
ical structure of these four bers OF tho SEN
tence. No two of them stand in precisely she
same form there is no repetition even In appear
anco. Although all four of the clauses represent
similar and negative ideas, the form of two is pos
tive and two negative; two OF the verbs are
primarily transitive and two intransitive two
are simple and two are compound, and the auxill-
aries in the compound verbs are different. such
a grammatical feat could not be accomplished ex-
cept by a writer who held words and forms entire
ly within powerful grasp such u writer was
Miss Bronte. Although the detailed analysis OF
this sentence has occupied 80 much space, it falls
upon the ear simply and pleasantly, and we do
not doubt that it was inartisticlly written but
the power over language which permitted it to be
thus easily written could only be acquired Jas it
was in Miss Bronte's case by patient practice,
We should be glad to copy, for the entertain
ment of our readers, the whole of the nineteenth
chapter of the professor" This chapter which
happens to be the one in which this sentence just
quoted occurs, contains the crisis of the book.
Our space will only permit US to give a portion OF
the chapter. 1t must be understood that the Pro-
fcssor, who tells his own story, is a teacher in n
school in Brussels, and has become interested in
q young lady who is one o. the under-teachers
there, but lie in attendance upon his lessons as
a pupil. The mistress of the school, who is a
little Jealous of her underling, dismissed her, and
the Professor is unable to learn her address.
After recounting several failures in attempting to
ascertain where she lives, the story proceeds
M natter" said l to myself, as | again closed
the door, "no matter; I'll seek her through Brus'
sells"
And l did, l sought her day by day, whenever
I had a moments leisure, for four weeks l sought
her on Sundays all day long | sought her on the
Boulevards, in the Alec Nerte, in the Park l
sought her in the two Protestant chapels | at
tended these latter in the German, French and
English services, not doubling that ] should meet
her at one of them. All my researches were alb
solutely fruitloss my security on the last point
was proved by the event to be equally groundless
with my other calculations. L stood at the door
of each capel after service, and waited till every
individual had come out, scrutinizing every gown
draping a slender form, peering under every bon
net covering a young head. In vain | saw girl
ish figures pass me, drawing black scarfs oyer
their sloping shoulders, but none of them had the
exact turn and air of Mdlle. HenrIs; | saw pale
aud thoughtful faces ''encadrees" in bands of
brown hair, but | never found her forehead, her
her eyes, her eyebrows. AN the features
of all the faces l met seemed frittered
away, because my eye failed to recognize the pecu,
~liarities it was bent upon an amp pie space Of
brow and a large, dark, and serious eye, with a fine
but decided limo of eyebrow traced above.
"She has probably left Brussels-perhaps is
gone to England, as she said she would, "muttered
|, inwardly, as, on the afternoon OF the fourth
Sunday. turned from the door of the chape
royal which the doorkeeper has just closed anC
locked, and followed in the wake of the last of tn,
congregation, now dispersed and dispensing owe
the square. | had soon outwalked the couples o
English gentlemen and ladies'. Gracious good
ness why don't they dress better? NV eve i
yet filed with visions of the high-flounced, sloven
ly, a1d tumbled dresses in costly silk and satin
of the large, unbecoming collars in expensiy
lace; of the ill cut coats and strangely fashioned
pantaloons which every Sunday, at the Englisl
service, filled the chapel royal and after it, issuin,
forth into the square, came into disadvantageou
contrast with freshly and trinity attired foreigl
figures, fastening to attend salut at the church o
Coburg.)
had passed these pairs of Britons, and tn
groups of pretty British children. and the BIRTHS
footmen and waiting maids; | had crossed tn
Place Royale,a and got into the Rue Royale; theme
/ had diverged into the Rue de Louvain-an oil
and quiet street. 1 remember that, feeling a littl
hungry, and not desiring to 60 back and take m
share of the ''gouter" now on the refectory tabl
at Pelet's-to.wit, ~pistolets and water-I steppe
into a bakers and refreshed myself on a couc 4
it is a Flemish word | don't know how to spe
Iit,) a Corinthe--Angtice, a currant bun-and
cup of coffee; and then | strolled on toward tb
Porte de Louvain. Very soon / was out of til
city, and, slowly mounting the hill which ascend
from the gate, L took my time, for the afternoon
though cloudy, was very sultry, and not a breez
stirred to refresh the atmosphere. No inhabitar
Of Brussels need wander far to search for solitud,
let him but move half q league from his own cit,
and he will find her b~rooding still and blank owe
the wide fields, SO drear though so fertile, sprea
out treeless and trackless round the can't,
of Brabant.
Having gained the summit of the hill, and ha,
ing stood and looked long over the cultured b,
~lifeless champaign, / felt a wish to quit the bip
road, which | had hitherto followed, and get
among those titled grounds-fertiie as the beds
a Broblignagian kitchen garden-spreading f,
and wide over the boundaries of a horizon, wber
from a dusk green, distance changed them to
sullen blue, and confused their tints with those
the livid and thunderous looking sky. Accor
ImSlg, tuihou w ny rath " tHe riSnt, l IA
not followed it far ere il brought me, as [ expecte
into the fields, amid which. just before m
lstrectched a long and lofty white wall, enclosini
as it seemed from the foliage showing above, SON
thickly-planted nurseries of yew and cypress, for
that species we're the branches resting on the pa
parapets, and ~crowding gloomily about a MASH,
cross, planted doubtless on a central eminence,a an
extending its arms. which seemed of black marbl,
over the smmits of those sinister trees.
/ approached, wondering to what house thi
well-protected garden appertained IL turned til
angle of the wall. thinking to see some stated
residence. / was close upon great iron gates
there was a.hutserving for the lodge near, but ha
no occasion to apply for the key the gates wor
open l pushed one leaf back rain had ruste
its hinges, for it groaned ~dolefully as they revolvet
Thick planting uncovered the entrance. Passin
up the avenue, | saw objects at each hand whict
in their own mute language of inscription an
a sign, explained clearly to what abode | had mad
\ my way. This was ,he house appointed for a
living; crosses, monuments. and garlpnds of eve
r hastings announced "The Protestant Cemetery,
outside The patA of Iouyain-