The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-12-09

oesn aoie 10 get together very superior col
lection In point of fact, Plato's garden was
the complement of his library, and his passion
for nowers the complement of his passion for
books. His tastes were emphaticaIlv m;cro-
cosrnic. He like to view the world in speci
mems parcelled and labelled. Through his
books he was wont to commune with humanity's
great heart and in philosophic ease count its
puisations and measure its emotions to listen
dreamlly and with reverence to the utterances
OF great men, whose personal presence would
have embarrassed and awed him Through
has flowers he was brought into communion
with Nature as he loved her, rather prim and
IN full dress, but honest and quietly smiling
The forum suited him not, nor natures sublime
moods, but to view them afar through the mi
croscope OF book and flower, this was his delight
Now, however, as he walked in his garden,
10 the time of the "sere and yellow leaf" the
giories OF his Nature IA petto were temporarily
passed away. He could not now, as in the glow
and life of June, walk among leaf and blossom
talking to them as to old friends, plucking
awass dead leaf here, smoking to stupefaction
piratical bug caterpillar there In con-
genial mood to the desolation about him, Plato
walked in his garden, and pondered over his
affairs
Mr.. Classics parish was a small one, a very
small one, and his people were even poorer in
spirit than they were in numbers. The fact is
Mr.. Z. was not a spirited preacher; he wrote
sufficiently well, possessed an admirable style
for an elaborate essay, and was man of much
penetration in erudite matters, but his manner
and delivery were very bad, and he had no more
idea of the requisites to popular sermon than
Mrs. Reyes had of the Porsonian type Con-
sequently, when ne assumed his parish, the YES
try had effected compromise with him. They
were not to complain of his oratorical defcien-
cies, of which he was humbly conscious and
he, on the other hand, was not to call upon
them for any salary, except so much as he
might require, over and above his income
Tins, the vestry said to themselves, was enough
and more than enough for man of his habits /;
and SO it would have been, could he only have
gotten the upper-hand of his bibliomania. He
was the owner of very nice little farm of some
two hundred acres, for which he got a very
good rent, and on which his parsonage was
built. But books were more fascinating to him
than thoughts of hours to the dying Moslem,
and his rents were usually gone before the first
quarter of the year had passed. In the extrem-
ity to which the sharp words of Mrs Keyes had
awakened poor Plato, he Immediately recalled
the terms of his bargain with the vestry Sure
ly, here was an occasion Just such as was con-
templated in the agreement He had not pre-
viously called upon them; this was his first en-
barrassment, and they would of course only ask
aim to name the amount of his requirements,
and pay it over Immediately. With thoughts
as complacent as these, therefore, did Mr.. Clas-
sic attend the next meeting of his vestry, and
lay his case before them. There were eight
solid well-to-do members of his flock present,
any one of whom could have given Plato a
check for the amount he asked, without feeling
it at all. Not SO, however, did they act. They
asked time to deliberate, and to do so more
freely, requested Plato to walk about for while,
and leave them to themselves. Bewildered,
our learned man retired, and the eight speci-
mems of Solidity, with intelligent chances at each
others faces, began to compare notes. The re-
suit of their consultation was this:
1t is likely Mr.. Classic will requirer a salary
henceforth, unless he sell his books and cease
to purchase others. He is such poor preacher
that it will be next to impossible to raise
maintenance for him from the parish at large.
Therefore, the burden of his support will fall
upon Us of the yestry. Consequently ia legiti-
mate sequence, this, when the pocket is touch
ed,) we ought either to require him to sell his
books, and live within his income; or, we ought
to secure minister eloquent enough to preach
salary out of his congregation. Q. Z. ID.
Many poor fellow has been driven to the
wall by just such a course of reasoning as this.
more innocent unsuspicious man than
Plato Classic never lived. He had no ideas
whatever respecting business-nOt by any
means do we intend, however, that the reader
shall conceive of him as belonging to the Har-
old Skimpole order of genius, for he was as high
toned and honorable as he was unsnspectng-
but still, there was a refined deicacy of feeling
about him, something intuitive that answered
in place OF the sagacity and quick discernment
other men acquire by contact with the world,
and these qualities must have been terribly
dulled, indeed, if he failed to be wounded at the
way in which his vestry received him, on
being summoned back into their presence. He
felt that many of the questions propounded to
him were personal, and meant to offend him,
as-What is the amount of your debts? What
is the amount of your income? What are the
necessary expenses of man of your habits
living as you do? Then, what becomes Of the
balance of your income over your requirements?
Are these books necessary to you in your pro-
fessiOn as a minister of the Gospel and rector
of country parish? Have you, then any right
to call upon US for aid in the purchase of luxu-
ries, and such Injuries, too, as necessarily tend
to divert your attention from parochial duties
Ought we to pay these debts, so needlessly and
improperly incurred or, rather ought not these
books, these causes of your difficulties and en-
barrassments, these vanities, so unseemly in a
man of your sacred Office, to be first forfeited
thus giving you the power to redeem your credit
by the same means which have done it injury?
Artfully enough put, these queries were, but
Mr.. Classic broke through their meshes with a
flashing eye and an indignant burst:
Enough, gentlemen, enough | will pay
my debts myself. Sell my books, indeed At
least you will credit me with the fact that |
have not INDUCED myself in these Injuries and
these vanities at your expense. Sell my
books, indeed !"
And he retired from the meeting very much
heated and exasperated. The vestry had very
effectually brought his nose to the grind
stone" but be was man Of too much spirit to
permit them to keep it there. That very even
ing he put into the post office, directed to the
vestry, letter resigning his charge of the par
ish and, strange coincidence on the following
morning received one from that respectable
body, expressing their expectation that he would
resign IN tavOr'of younger and more active
man.
He was not tardy in complying with their
wishes He had for some time had a standing
offer for his farm In cash, and this offer he now
closed with, received the money, paid off all his
creditors, dismissed Mrs. Reyes with blessing
and largesse, and made preparations for his
immediate removal to the city. There was one
difficulty attending this, however, that occa-
stoned him very great perplexity. His books
he was to take with him, and there they were,
most carefully and affectonately bestowed in
those boxes-but his flowers, his precious, his
darling flowers, what was he to do with them
He could not take them with him to the city,
but he could not sell them, nor give them away.
No, indeed he would as soon part with his books
as with these jewels. He was happily relieved
of his perplexity, however, by one of his parish
toner's, young lady, Miss Ruth Congreye by