The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-06-05

the far distance, ami only the wide ocean
stretched beyond. passed along the inSu-
lated piles OF cliff that rise thick along the
basis Of the precipices-now In sunshine,
nov insshadow-till ! reached the opening
of one Of the largest caves. The roof rose
more than fifty feet over my head broad
stream Of light, that seemed redder aud more
tiery from the surrounding gloom, slanted
lnwardS, and, as paused in the opening
my shadow, heightened ana dark, fell athwart
the tioOr-a slim and narrow bar Of bacn-
/ t'll lost in the gloom of the inner recess
\ There was a wild and uncommon beauty IN
the scene that powerfully affected the lmagi
nation; but stood admiring It in that de-
c0us dreamy mood N which one can for
get all but the present enjoyment, when |
was reused 20 d recollection al the business
Of the evening by the sound Of a football
echoing from within. il seemed approach
ing by sort OF cross passage in the rock,
and, in moment after, young man, one OF
the country people whom had left among
/ the cliffs above, stood before me. He wore
broad Lowland bonnet, aud bis plain,
I hOnely suit Of coarse russett seemed to be-
speak him peasant Of perhaps the poorest
/ class but, as he emerged from the gloom,
I and the red light fell fnll on has c0unteaance,
| saw 40 HdescTibable something a the ex
7 preston that in an instant awakened my Gu
riosity. He was rather above the middle
Y size, Of a ame the most muscular
and compact | have almost ever seen, and
\ there was blended mixture OF elasticity and
I hrmness in his tread that 10 one accustomed,
as | had been, to estimate the physical ca
pabllities of met, gave evidence Of A union
OF immense personal strength with great ac-
tiyity. My first idea regarding the stranger
and | know not how It should have struck
me-was that 81 a very powerful, frame, ami
mated by double purti n Of vitality. The
red light shOne foil % his fac, anI gave
ruidy tinge % the complexion, which | at-
terwards found II wantcd-i0r he was natu-
rally II a darker hue than common but
there was no mistak,ug the expression Of
the large flashing eyes, the features thar
seemed SO thoroughly cast Ia the mould Of
thought, and Of the broad, iuli, perpeud Gu
ar forehead. Such, az least, was tie i'm
preston on nv mind, that | .3fressed him
with more ol the courtesy which my earlier
pursuits had rendered familiar 10 me, than
0f the bluugness Of my adopted pvlfessiJn.
"Tnis sweet eycaiuE," ! said, rs fy far
too fine for our lugser, | question whether,
10 these eams, we need expect her before
midnight, but, It's vel, since wait We must,
that It's in a place where tie hours may pass
so agreeably"
4 The stranger, good hum0rediy, acquieseed
in the remark, aud we sat down together on
the dry, vater-woyn pebbles, mixed WITH
fragments Of broken shells and minute pieces
of wreck, that sueved tae opening " The
cave.
"Was there ever q l0velar ey ming i' be
exclaimed "tle waters above the firms narJ
seem an Of apiecs with the waters below.
And never surely was there a scene Of Wild
er beauty. Only look invards, aud see how
4 the stream Of red light seems bounded by
the extreme darkness, ike river by its
banks, and how the reflection Of the ripple
goes waving in golden curls along the root"
| have been admiring he scene for the last
half hour" said: Shakespeare speaks Of
music that cannot by heard, and have net
yet seen a place where 0re might better
learn to comment on the passage
Both the thought and tho phrase seemed
new TO hin.
"a music that cannot r. heard - hr re-
/. Ieated and then, after -l0mentSTy laOse,
'y0u ailale to TIE fact" be continued, 'that
sweet music, and forms such as these, OF
I
mind emO.toas Of nearly the same class.
There is something truly exquisite in the
concert Of Tonight
Y ! muttersd simple assent.
"Sse," be continued, chow finely these
insulated piles of rock, that rise il - many
combinations Of form along the beach, breek,
and diversity the red light, and how the
glossy leaves Of the ivy glisten IN the boI-
lows Of the precplees abovel And then,
how the sta spreads away TO the horizon, a
glorious pavement Of crimson and gold -
and how the dark AlSa rises in tho midst,
hike the little cloud seen by the prophet
The mind seems to eularga, the heart 90 ex-
pand, ia tue plation Of 70 much Of
beauty and grandeur. An, Oh It's surely
well that we can escape from those little
cares Of life which fe.ter down our thoughts,
our hopes, our wishes, to the wants gnd the
enloyments Of oar animal existence and
that, amid the grand and the sublime of na-
ture, we may lea, a from the spirit within
US that we are better than the beasts that
perishw
| looked up to the animated countenance
and flashing eyes of my companioE, and
wondered what sort of peasant It was
had met with
l I
said, "vOu will tind, y en among those who
arrogate to themselve the praise Of vision
and learning, men VIII regard such scenes
as mere errors of nature. Barnet would have
told you that Ddtch landscape, without
hill, rock, OF valley, must be the perfection
of beauty, seeing that Paradise itse could
have furnished nothing better"
Il hold Milton as higher authority on the
subject SAID my compadion, "tha all the
philosophers who ever wrote. Beauty, ia a
tame unvaried fiat, where man would know
his country only by the milestones A very
Dutch Paradise truly ~
"But would not some Of your companions
above" | asked, "deem the scene as much
an error OF nature as Burnet himselfS They
could pass oyer these stubborn rock ue 4er
pillow nor harrow"
"True," he replied, there is a species of
small wisdom ia the world that often consti-
tutes the EXTREMIST OF IT'S folly . wisdom
that would change the entire nature Of good
had it but the power, By vainly endeavoring
to render that good universal. 1t wouli con
vert the entire earth into one vast cornfield,
and then hnd that Il had ruined the species
oy its improvement"
'We, Of Scotland, can hardly be ruired in
that way ioT an age to come," | said. "Bat
| am not sure that understand you, Alter
the very nature OF good IN the attempt to
render il universal Howl"
Il daresay you have seen a graduated
scale, salG my com aHion, exhibiting the
various powers Of the different musical in-
sIuments, and observed how some Of limited
scope cross only few Of the divisions, and
how others stretch nearly from side to side.
'Tis but poor truism, perhaps, to say that
similar differences in scope and power obtain
aIaoog men--that there are minds vino could
not join IN the concert to-night-who could
see neither beauty nor grandeur amid these
wild cliffs aud caverns, or in that glorious ex.
Psnse of sea and sky and that, on the other
hand, there are minds so finely In0dulated
minds that sweep 50 broadly across the