The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-01-19
r WRITTEN FOR THE JOURNAL.
Hodqe-P 0dde P0pers.
BY DIV Err OBJ
MEMBER THREE.


a proper climax Of glory, one must begin
at the going down of the sun, by taking
a seat on the hurricane deck of q steam
boat, and watch the shadows grow, as
darkness steals over the earth.
GNoTE.-I am indebted to Charles Dickens
works, illustrated by Boz and published by
I. B. Peterson of Philadelphia. for some yalu-
able matter that follows.
"When twilight everywhere released
the shadows prisoned up all day, that now
closed in and gathered like mastering
swarms of ghosts, -when they stood low
ering in the corners of rooms and frown-
ed out from behind halfopen DOORS
when they had full possession Of unoccu-
pied apartments, when they danced on
the floors, and walls, and ceilings of in
habited chambers while the fire was low,
and withdrew like ebbing waters when 1t
sprung into blaze,-when they fantas-
tically Knocked the shape Of household
objects, making the nurse an ogress, the
rocking horse a monster, and the wonder
ing child half scared and half-amused, a
stranger to itself, and the very tongs upon
the hearth a straddling giant with his
arms akimbo, evidently smelling the blood
of an Englisbman, and wanting TO grind
peoples bones to make bis bread when
these shadows brought to the mind of
elder people other thoughts, and showed
them different images,-when they stole
from their retreats in tho AHseHosses Of
forms and faces from the past, from the
grave, from the deep, deep gulf where the
things that might have been and never
were arc always wandering" And SO
the spell works on us. The bluffs stand
ont, dark, frowning, huge walled forts.
1t ia so easy, so safe and comfortable to
believe they are forts.
Let the shadows grow. But not to
cover the green islands that sleep on the
bosoms of the waters with their willow
bowers which look so cool in the summer.
They are the tops of mermen's houses,
who come out of the scuttle and dance
with their neighbors the fairies. Was it
not precious bit of news for them to tell
who read the poster on the Itasea last
season? I expect they envied their At
lantic brethren, whose superior facilities
for Geographic communication must raise
the price of town lots between Newfound-
land and Ireland. Think of u norman
in an empty barrel of sugar for an office,
receiving messages. He would want two
bungholes to the barrel, to bring
the wire in at, the other for door over
which to paint his sign" Jacob John
son, Submarine Telegraph Operator y
What an advantage if we could only CON-
munieate with mermeu! One could
have a hand hanging on to the rudder Of
vessel, and if anything happened lei
him dive and send ashore for aid.
Oh! it is very pleasant; the shadows
will grow until the bluff forts are too
much like the dwellings of warriors for
peaceable citizens to look upon with plea
sure. They remind us of the Black For
est Castles,-we fairly know lots of them
just by their looks,-and almost expect a
Black Knight, half-full of kirseh soasser,
to spring upon his battlements command
ing us to give an account of ourselves.
We would have him look perfectly aston
ished at the audacity displayed by this
strange animal, breathing fire, smoke and
vapor, yet courageous enough to bid il
stand, though his own death-warrant be
signed by the word. This may be child
ish imagery; buff SO, let children read it
II have hed fue subject for a paint
er running through my brains for the las
few days; it is camping party on the
Wisconsin river one hundred and eighty
years ago. 1t is night; and q soLDIEF
and PRIEST are sitting by a glowing camp
fire in the dark forest; an INDIAN IS peer
inc out from behind tree, just where the
rays of light are lost in the surrounding
darkness.
The painter must do more than to rep
resent two or three men and fire in tbs
woods by night He mast give US faces
on the canvass in which zee can read
"By the command of my King, an
J across the Atlantic Ocean, and one thou