Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-09-03
Henry Klngslex,s View Book.

Kingsley is a brother Of Rev. Charles Kings
ley, now chaplain to the Prince of Wales,
whose earlier writings gave promise of broad,
generous thought, OF earnest purpose to ex-
pose social wrongs, and claim, for all classes,
justice and the right of development and cu.
tur". The liberal party hoped to find in him
Il worthy leader, but the aristocratic inhu-
ence, SO ounipotent in England, came III and
the free thought was crushed in his BOSOM
and fol hUnOrs and enulument, for ''handful
of silver and ''a ribbon to stick in his coat"
another ''loSt leader" had to be deplured
Henry Kingleys's books have been pleasant
wel-written stories, with no ambitious effort
in them to solve social problems, or correct
social abuses, and yet leaving behind in the
readers heart warmer, tenderer feeling for
SHINING, sorrowing humanity, nerving his
hand with helpful purpose, and whispering in
the most careless, needless ear of the fathers
business.
Austin Elliot is introduced to us as Il boy,
not perfect, indeed, but fine and noble, and
we are told "to think Of the handsomest and
most amiabe boy we ever knew" in forming
our idea of him. Fine, purifying, strength
ening influences were around him; the pilots
and lighthouse keepers who came to his faith
er's office, taught him courage and manliness,
and sit was well for this golden haired lad,
with his beautiful face, to stand at the knees
OF such men as these and listen to them. Il
thread Of love winds through the story, weav-
ing its beautiful pattern on the sombre back
ground, glancing in and out through the
young mans darkening fate, and twisting it.
self at last into shining cord, strong
enough to draw him out of all his
sorrows and disappointments up the ''gold-
en- stairs Of heaven" Friendship, too, filings
its purple glory over his opening days,
ending in a dull purple blood stain on
the earth and in haunting horror through
all the future. The young mans life is
wrecked apparently, and its whole course
changed by obedience to the old law Of honor
which decided the justice OF a cause by the
ordeal Of battle, and made mans character
depend on his skill dueist This portion
of the book is most interesting, at the present
time, showing as it does the horror and injus-
tice of the old system, when the action of to-
day, bringing war back upon us in all its old
pomp and glory, seems likely to bring back
with it the duel also. Private quarrels are
likely to follow in their settlements the law
for public quarrels, and the duel of nations
goes hand in hand with the duel Of individu-
ais.
1t is well to give thought to this matter, that
public opinion, while it gathers the golden
wheat Of heroism and courage and self-sacri-
fece, from the chat Of war, and treasures
these IN its store houses, may discountenance
that system of things which naturally grows
out OF war, and follows in its steps, whereby the
lives and honor of the noblest and the best
are at the mercy of the bully, whose constant
practice has made his pistol ball unerrng in
its aim, so that he can hide his real meanness
and cOwar lice behind it. The story of the
duel which wrecked this young lite is well told
as fClows:-
The short night wore on and he sat in his
chair without sleeping, trying, from time to
liiilt, w llldhc Jul LilC OulllUc Vi Ills lrlCDuS
face IN the dark. As the east began to grow
bright, and the sparrows began to twltter out
side the window, he dozcd; but he must have
Weakened again within half an hour. The
room was quite light now and he could see
his friend.
He was sleeping as peacefully as Il child.
The beautiful face was turned, III its express
sionless repose, towards Austin. One bare arm
was thrown half out OF bed, with the palm of
the hand uppermost, and the fingers relaxed;
the other arm under the sleeping mans
head among his close brown curls. 1t seemed
happy sleep, for he smiled and babbled in
articulately in his dreams-a happy school
boy sleep. Austin had awakened him from
such IA sleep at Eton, in old times more than
once, to come bathing, boating, bird-nest-
ing. He remembered how that face had
changed from the half unconscious express
sion fixed on it by some happy dream into
consciousness, into loving recognition of the
friend who had awakened him. He remem-
bered all that, and knew that he hadto awak-
en- him once mOre,-to what! What express
sion would the face take now! What kind
of curse would shine out of those eyes as soon
as the lids of them were raised, and the soul
behind them awoke to he appreciation of the
lamentable truth?
SO there grew on poor Avstin a horror and
ii uitttu VI inc sleeper aWdkluS anu as TIC
slept on, a new dread the dread OF having to
awaken him himself But 1t must be done,
and be done soon. Now there came into his
head something long forgotten, as long for
gotten trihes will come into mems minds, at
times Of awful anxiety like this. 1t would
have made HIM smile at another time but he
remembered 1t now. He once had read in
some BLACKBOARD book about prize fighting
that the men who trained the urize-fphters
never awoke them in the morning, but that
they put the window open, and that after
short time, as soon as the fresh morning air
reached the poor fellows faces, they quietly
awoke He remembered this now and open
ed the window. In a short time Charles Bar
ty turned in his bed and awoke. His eyes
met Austins, and he smiled attectiOnately;
but as consciousness came to him, that smile
faded into an expression Of anxiety, and al
most of horror. 1t he had sat up in bed, and
heaped curses on AustiuS head, Austin could
have borne it better than that look.
But it was late, they must hurry; that was
something. They would have breakfast when
they came back The other people were to
bring doctor with them, there was no.
thing to do but to drive fast. They spoke
very little, and on d 1erent subjects; Austin
drove They were late. When they got to
the heath, they saw dogcar standing, with
a groom at the horses head, and farther on,
they saw three men waiting for them,-Cap-
tain Hartford, Captain jackson, and the doc
tor.
They hurried forward Captain Jackson