The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-06-16

s'ohceS-ne nau repeu ION OF the dream o.
heaven, which he dreamed then; and besides
occasion, sung by the angels, he remembered
when he awoke, another verse of Herbert's
song:
q o he ascendeth.
| And nothe alone.
ofthose Thou hast given him,
| Hath he lost none -
He remembered, too when he awoke. that he
was not on the morrow, to go away again, far
from those he loved best, but that they were all
under the same roof with him, and perhaps
made wakeful like him by joy at his return
and Constance among them, waiting only for
the day to bless and cherish him.
A long career Of public and social usefulness,
and OF domestic honor, peace, and bliss, seemed
to be opening before him, and beckoning him
on. But FIRST" thought he, +" / must regain
my strength and so he ruthlessly denied his
eyes the pleasure of searching through the
fading hre-light and the shadows for glmpses
OF the Old, familiar, long-unaecustomed things,
shut them close, and slept once more when
once more he dreamed of the crucifxion. But
as he toiled, bearing his CALLING and crushing
cross up the steep of Golgotha, and Constance
followed at little distance, wearing his crown
OF thorns, a hand Of light flashed suddenly out
OF the black clouds above, caught up his bur-
den from him, and presently let down instead
dowery cross of asphodels, on which il gently
laid him down. A wonderful feeling of peace,
comfort, ease, and rest, spread through his
every pulse and fibre, but he looked to see how
1t Jared with Constance. Orange blossoms were
mingled with the thorns around her brows she
appeared, in her white beauty, like one on
whom Sorrow had done all its work, and gone
away, and threatened nothing more leaving the
sufferer in the healing hands of Resignation
and Hope. She looked not down on him, but
up into heaven, and sang and on the golden
tones OF her mounting soprano, as on a golden
stair, his soul seemed to mount step by step,
and climb and leap up to the Infinite, and lose
itself in blaze of light, love, harmony and ioy
unspeakable. When he awoke, he was better.
He was better but the next day was too
much for him, and so was the next week He
had been strong to bear the unkindness of his
old neighbors and fellow-townsmen he was too
weak to bear their kindness now. Too many
people came to see him at home too many
people were glad to see him when he went out
not merely poor or sick people whom he had
befriended, though these besiieged his door and
his walks as soon as they heard of his return,
but, to his astonishment respectable" fash,
ionable, influential political, and estranged
people, recovered their sight and memory,
knew him again, bowed and spoke to him
again, smiled upon him again, and even took
the bold step of crossing the street to welcome
him back, or honoring him with their long dis
continued invitations to dine, or drop in So
Gladly of an evening"
Because public opinion, sooner or later,
always does justice to everybody ?" Not pre-
clsey; that would be very nice maxim, if
only it were true one but | fear that, like
many other otherwise very nice maxims, unfor-
tunately it is not true. Why was it, then? Be
cause public opinion, if you wait long enough,
sometimes does Justice to somebody a pro
found apophthegn, out of which all the OPP
pressed--all the innocent men who have been
hanged upon equivocal evidence, or tortured to
ef~ ho,; ruoH sssy were ieiuier 10 20 vera
ciousIy before than after, and all the cats which
have been whipped for what the chambermaid
broke, or for what the children ate--are welcome
to get all the comfort that they can as. though
less comprehensive than the other, it probably
differs from it also in being perfectly we'll
founded.
The circumstances which had led to this re
versal Of the verdict in Herman's case were
numerous. Of these We will, in passing, notice
a few, both public and private First, the pub
lie: Demos, in broadcloth as well as in home
spun, is testy and ftfhl old fellow and, like
some other old fellows, he is somewhat given
to contradict anything that you say to him, in
the first place and, in the second, to lay 1t up,
forget where he got it, and to repeat and assert
it most positively quite his own. In this
manner, some scraps Of political sagacity, which
he had had originally, much against his WILL
from Herman, had now been for so many
twelve months rusting in his wits, that he
thought they grew there, and was almost ready
TO act upon them, and quite ready to thank
ANYBODY who would show him how. Moreover,
he is fond Of frequent nap, and, while he is
trying to take one, will scold you if you disturb
him, even in order to tell him that his stable
door is open. Then, if his horse runs away, he
may scold everybody for not having told him
that the door was open; and, if you venture to
suggest that you did, he will reply that you did
not moduate your voice agreeably, and trod
most unnecessarily and exasperatingly upon his
toes but after that, he will very possibly for
give you, and beg you by all means to shut the
door now, and to lock it, taking great credit to
himself for his condescension and eandor. De
mos had bis fill of mapping for the time; for, as
it happened, the saucy and wakeful Council OF
Three Hundred Thousand, emboldened by his
lethargy, had been, as the stableboy said.
"kind O. firing him with ptchfork," labelled
| Kansas, Nicaragua, or Cuba never mind
which; you will know, probably, before the
year l870-and he was shaking with rage, both
as to his head and to his fists, and very eager
to have something done about it, until he
forgot it again, which, for a wonder, was for
once not till after the next elections. This
fellow feeling made him wondrous kind to
Herman. He was certain, to be sure, that
Herman in past times must have been wrong
somehow else why had he not agreed with
Herman all along? But, at any rate, he was
very happy to be able to agree with Herman
now, and would charitably let bygones be by
cones.
led-we know how-to identify his interests
with those of the Ardens. He shook his head
at first, indeed, at Hermans enterprise as " a
poothy silly, fanaticle way of wasting young
feller's time and money" and, on the news OF
the disaster in which it terminated, was heard,
in the bosom of his family, to calculate,
" Starved him right" But that was too much
for even the timid Catherine. Cat-hke, she
bristled, astonished inwardly at her own te-
merity, and scrupled not to declare, that if he
said " another such word, she would go right
along off up to Aunts!' which alarming
string of adverbs and propositions and unprece
]. dented threat of desertion and travelling ex
penses. coupled with the probable consequences
of exposure, and disgrace with his sister-in-law
speedily brought him to better mind. Person
allv. he had iittle to do with the first class Of
merchants. He had, however, great deal tc
do with some n,iddling merchants, who had a
great deal to do with the former. Glad OF 9
good chance to boast of his wealthy, gentee
connections, he expressed much more Interest
in the misfortunes of his young brother-in-lav
, than he was capable of feeling, and spread the
, true version of his story on change, day by day
: in prudent, clear, business-like manner.
, Mr.. Halifax, in private letter to an inHuen
tial brother clergyman in Boston, had described
, Herman as " in all respects a very remarkable
| i Al l. e