HIS INTENSE LOVE OF NATURE.
This rose to the level of a passion, and was constantly revealing itself in unconscious words and actions. Once he told the story of Dürrckheim, a German naturalist, who after close investigation, wrote a monograph upon the cockchafer, a common insect of Europe, which attracted much attention from scientific men. For weeks before he went hard to work he abstained from any kind of food which was stimulating, even coffee, so that he might have full command of his nerves and steadiness of his muscles. He also so supported his person that the beating of his arteries should not interfere with his delicate dissection. Then Agassiz having held up before us this example for our imitation, gave utterance to the following memorable words: “When sitting at the laboratory table, you should give yourselves up to the work exclusively. Never trifle with Nature. The objects we study are the works of the Creator. Even materialists consider them as the works of the highest forces in Nature. A laboratory of natural history is a sanctuary in which nothing improper should be admitted or exhibited. There we are in the constant presence of Nature and its Author. I can tolerate with less mental agony improprieties in churches.” When the student would come in from the sea with a bowl of newly-captured jelly fish, or some other equally common specimen, he would frequently see Agassiz coming down to the path to meet him. “What have you got this morning?” Looking at them tenderly—although he had seen the like thousands of times—he would exclaim, “Oh, they are beautiful; very beautiful!” This tenderness for animals extended even to those usually considered repulsive. The toads of the island he would frequently handle without a thought of disgust. A live garter snake two feet in length was brought to him in the presence of ladies who manifested their usual repugnance and fear. “Why,” said Agassiz, “of what are you afraid? It can not harm you. See! I will let it bite me.” Then taking the reptile in his hands he suffered it to coil over his wrist, and holding it gently by the neck, put his finger into its mouth. “It does not hurt me nor harm so much as the pricking of a pin. This is a very fine specimen of unusual color. It should be preserved.” He was particularly careful to forbid any wanton destruction of life, or practice of cruelty in the preparation of specimens for dissection. Abundant as the birds were on the island, only the ornithologist was allowed to shoot, and he was restricted to specimens actually needed. Even the nests so profusely scattered were sacred, and those who were engaged in the study of embryology alone were permitted to collect them. Familiarity with all the forms of life had made him exceedingly tender and watchful of their natural rights.
Thus only a glimpse has been given of the summer school at Penikese. We can but make bare mention of the other principal attractions and advantages: the daily boat excursion over the bay and sound; the rambles along the rocky shores in search of treasures cast up by the sea; the trips to Gay Head, on Martha’s Vineyard, in search of tertiary fossil shark’s teeth; the unique curiosities of the sea that were daily brought in for inspection, ever new and wonderful; the parties selected each day for dredging expeditions on the beautiful yacht “Sprite,” under the lamented Count Pourtales; the lectures and admirable practical lessons given by the other members of the faculty, Profs. Packard, Wilder, Bicknell, Arnold Guyot, Dr. Brewer, Benjamin F. Pierce; the naturalists’ “club” meetings; the quiet Sabbaths, when, in the absence of regular service, meetings for religious conversation were held; the evening gathering with Prof. and Mrs. Agassiz under the flagstaff on the summit of the island, overlooking the western sea, to watch the glories of the dying day, whiling away the hour with song and familiar converse—all these memories and many more crowd upon us for notice, but we forbear.
Alas! that the golden hopes raised by such brilliant beginning should so soon be blasted. Agassiz died during the succeeding December. No man was ever more generally, more tenderly, or more profoundly mourned. By none was his loss felt with more poignant grief than by those who were with him at Penikese. No man, after his death, felt himself capable to complete the liberal plans laid out by Agassiz, and the enterprise was abandoned. Had Agassiz lived, such was his power over men that he would have readily secured, from legislative action, and from the donations of wealthy men, all the money he would have asked, to enable him to carry forward the enterprise. His success in that direction was unparalleled.
It is impossible to conjecture what an impulse would have been given to the study of natural history and higher culture in kindred science, had he been permitted to live until he could have seen the budding promise burst into bloom of realized success. But it was not to be.
Fain would we linger still upon the thoughts which crowd upon the memory now, but we must draw the curtain. Yet his beautiful spirit, genial, loving face, beaming with kindliness and sympathy, his winning grace and charming presence, his sublime self-denial in his devotion to Nature, his grand intellectual expression with voice and pen, his overflowing heart, so tender and so true, and so constant in its blessing, can never fade from our vision, nor from our memory.
[THE COMING OF SUMMER.]
By HARRIET MABEL SPALDING.
We are looking for summer. Far over the hill,
Do you catch the faint sound of her hurrying feet?
Does the voice of her coming with melody thrill?
Do you strive the first breath of her whispers to greet?
She is coming. Bright garlands her pathway surround;
Her fair hands are laden with blossoms of snow.
Do you hear the soft sweep of her robe o’er the ground,
As she speaks to the flowers to awaken and glow?
Creep forth the small vines from the hedge and the wall,
So shyly they meet the glad gaze of the sun;
The brooklets sing low as they clamber and fall,
And the brown hills new mantles resplendent have won.
The spider a shimmering gossamer weaves
In the lap of the meadow, and lightly is thrown
Its faint web of gold o’er the green of the leaves,
While buds of ambrosia around us are blown.
There’s a gem in each drop of the dew on the grass,
The earth is awakened with carolings sweet;
The daisies are flashing in stars where we pass,
And the buttercups hide in the moss at our feet.
The cowslips are changing from green into gold,
On banks where the frosts of the winter have died;
The violets are seeking their hues to unfold,
And the red rose has flung its rich canopy wide.
There is blue overhead: there is emerald below,
A blending of hues in the pearl of the sky;
While garlands of azure and blossoms of snow
In gardens of beauty and loveliness lie.
She is here! she is here! the bonnie, bright June,
Like words of rejoicing in moments of grief;
Her song you may trace in the woodland’s glad tune,
Her tear in the cloud and her smile in the leaf.
Gen. Bolly Lewis, who spends midwinter in Jacksonville, Florida, and spring and fall at the Gibson House, Cincinnati, will have charge of the Hotel Athenæum at Chautauqua during the summer. He is making every preparation to furnish his guests first-class entertainment. With a hotel and furnishing that cost $125,000, all complete, even to the grounds being graded, sodded, and flowers blooming, he is sure to do it. The hotel will be open June 15, one month before the School of Languages opens. Correspondents should address General Lewis before that date at the Gibson House, Cincinnati, Ohio; after that, at Hotel Athenæum, Chautauqua, N. Y.
[IN SOME MEDICAL BY-WAYS.]
By ANDREW WILSON, F. R. S. E.
That the beautifying or improvement of the person, under certain circumstances, is a perfectly legitimate procedure, when judged by the common-place rules of society, is a conclusion which demands no evidence by way of support. No one would dream for a moment of disputing the assertion, to come to personal details, that a defacing wart, mole, or wen, on the face, capable of being readily removed, without danger, by surgical interference, should be so disposed of. And to take the very common and exceedingly annoying case, of a profusion of hairs attaching themselves prominently, say, to some simple skin-growth, and capable of being permanently or temporarily removed by depilatories, the same remark holds good. Such acts of personal attention need no excuse. On the ground of common personal æsthetics, apart altogether from the freedom of annoyance from marked blemishes of face or figure, the amelioration of such deformities is a bare act of justice to the individual in question. The removal of a blemish is physiologically as defensible a proceeding as the replacement of missing teeth by the aid of the dentist, and in this latter act we find the truest warrant, since, for digestive purposes, the possession of teeth or their artificial substitutes is absolutely necessary for the preservation of health. To the replacement of a maimed limb by an artificial one, there can be still less objection. The common ground of expediency, utility, and function, presents us with an unanswerable argument in favor of aiding nature, in so far as we are able, by the devices of art.
Very different, however, is the argument which would fain carry these same reasons into the domain of the peruke maker, and into that of the manufacturer of face-paints and lotions. On what grounds, æsthetic or otherwise, could a change of color in the hair be demanded or defended? Similarly, on what grounds could we justify the practice of face-enameling, or the smoothing out of the wrinkles which time writes naturally enough on our brows and faces at large? It can not be argued that a false eyebrow or curl is as justifiable as false teeth, for the purpose of the latter as aids to digestion is plain enough; whilst the only conceivable ground for the adoption of the former appendages would be “an improvement in looks”—an avowedly small-minded excuse, and one, in any sense, of doubtful correctness. To the deficiency or want of eyebrows we become accustomed, as to the whiteness of hair or other peculiarities of physique; but if the practice of supplying nature’s defects—justifiable enough under certain conditions, as we have seen—is to be regarded as legitimate under all circumstances, the extremes of absurdity to which such a practice may and does lead are readily enough discerned. Admitting the false eyebrow, why should we exclude the “nose machine” advertised for the charitable purpose, when worn daily (in private), of altering the unbecoming natural style to that of a becoming and, it is to be presumed, fashionable olfactory organ?
Of the deleterious effects of the continued application of the fashionable lotions and varnishes for the face, medical science is not slow to testify. Few readers can forget the exposures in the famous Rachel case; or the testimony then and at other times offered, to show that such “preparations” for the toilet are made, as a rule, to sell and not to use. Let Dr. Taylor, in the name of authority, speak concerning the effects of common hair-dyes. “Cosmetics and hair-dyes,” says this author, “containing preparations of lead, commonly called hair-restorers(!) may also produce dangerous effects. I have met,” he continues, “with an instance in which paralysis of the muscles on one side of the neck arose from the imprudent use of a hair-dye containing litharge. These hair-dyes, or ‘hair-restorers,’ are sometimes solutions of acetate of lead of variable strength in perfumed and colored water. In other cases they consist of hyposulphite of lead, dissolved in an excess of hyposulphite of soda. In one instance, the continued use of such a dye is reported to have proved fatal, and lead was found in the liver, and in one of the kidneys. Mr. Lacy,” adds Dr. Taylor, “has pointed out the injury to health which is likely to follow the use of white lead as a cosmetic by actors.” Doubtless “preparations” do exist, in which the metal in question is absent; but in any case, the want of certainty as to the composition of the substance, should, in itself, serve as a condition inculcating caution and suspicion in regard to the use of such nostrums.
[DEATH’S CHANGED FACE.]
By FREDERICK LANGBRIDGE.
Sweet Savior, since the time thy human feet
Trod thirty years our parched and dusty ways,
How hath the wilderness of life grown sweet
With flowers and warbled praise!
How hath the heavy mist that wrapt us round,
The weary mist of tears and soul-wrung sighs,
Lifted, and bared to us the blue profound
Of God’s far quiet skies!
And more than all, how hath a gracious change,
To poor scared men that slunk with fluttering breath,
Passed o’er the face, that erst was stern and strange,
Of thy strong angel, Death!
Lo, through the mazes of a tangled wood,
Nowhither bound, we groped through vistas dim,
While shadowlike amid the shadows stood
Old Death, the archer grim.
We deemed his face was pitiless and blind;
Shot all at random seemed each whirring dart,
Yet none did fail a resting-place to find
In some wrung, quivering heart.
And there, with writhen limbs and sightless stare,
Down in the drenchèd grass the victim lay,
What erst was man, erect and tall and fair,
Now shrunk and fading clay.
And over him in dull and hopeless pain
The mourners stood, sore stricken and perplexed;
“He lieth prone; he will not rise again;
And who shall fall the next?”
O sweet changed face! We see, we know him now,
Rent the thick mist that blurred our straining ken—
Death: of all angels round the throne that bow,
Most pitiful to men!
Through the dusk chamber where the watchers weep
Slowly he moves with calm and noiseless tread,
And o’er the weary one that longs for sleep
He bends his gracious head.
“Poor eyes!” he saith, “long have ye wept and waked;
I come to bid your tears and vigils cease.”
“Poor heart!” he saith, “long hast thou yearned and ached;
I come to give thee peace.”
“Be of good cheer,” he saith, “world-weary waif.
One sharp swift step, and all the way is trod:
Through the heaped darkness I will lead thee safe
To the great light of God.”
A sharp sweet silence smites the tingling ears.
How snow-like falls the peace upon his brow!
Hark! happy mourners, smiling through their tears,
Whisper, “He sleepeth now!”
[CHAUTAUQUA RIPPLES.]
At the opening exercises of the Chautauqua Teachers’ Retreat and Chautauqua School of Languages, on Saturday, July 14, addresses will be delivered by the Rev. Dr. J. H. Vincent, Superintendent of Instruction, and the Rev. C. H. Payne, D.D., LL.D., president of the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. Prof. Sherwin will conduct the concert. Day fireworks, under the direction of Prof. Hand, of Hamilton, Ontario; Readings by Prof. Cumnock, of Illinois and a reception in the parlors of the Hotel Athenæum.
The above item shows that the Chautauqua schools open one week later this year than in former years. It will be a great day. Perhaps we shall hear something about the new “Chautauqua University” in July.
Applications are numerous for documents and general information, at the office of the C. T. R. and C. S. L. Early in May it was common to fill out eighteen applications for admission in one day.
On June 24, Dr. Vincent, president, Lewis Miller, of Akron, Messrs. Clem. Studebaker, of South Bend, Indiana, Jacob Miller, of Canton, Ohio, vice-president F. H. Root, of Buffalo, N. Y., and J. Glidden, of Cleveland, Ohio, and the secretary, Mr. A. K. Warren, of Chautauqua, were in council at the Hotel Athenæum, at Chautauqua, providing liberal things for the accommodation and comfort of the multitudes expected at Chautauqua in July and August.
The drive-ways for carriages hereafter will extend a mile and a half along the lake shore, touching docks, railroad depot, ice-cream stands, hotel, croquet, and lawn-tennis grounds, and giving a beautiful view of vessels plying the lake.
The large correspondence received at the office of Miss Kimball, in Plainfield, N. J., by Dr. Vincent, in New Haven, Conn., Mr. Warren, at Chautauqua, and at the office of The Chautauquan, and Chautauqua Assembly Herald, in Meadville, Pa., indicate that there will be a great gathering at Chautauqua, from the North and the South, from the East and the West, the coming season.
It will be the tenth year of the Chautauqua Assembly, and the greatest year of all.
One of the new things in July will be the “Summer Trip Beyond the Sea.” The evening on the journey will be characterized by the organ, choir, fire-works, etc.
The complete Chautauqua program for 1883 will appear in the advance number of the Assembly Herald, a copy of which we shall send to every subscriber with the July number of The Chautauquan.
The Chautauqua Assembly Herald is the official organ of the Chautauqua Assembly. It is a daily, published on the grounds at Chautauqua every morning. It will contain full reports of the meetings and from sixty to seventy-five lectures in the volume. The first number will be issued on Saturday morning, August 4, and every day thereafter (Sundays excepted) till August 27. Price, $1.00 for the season. Address T. L. Flood, editor and proprietor, Meadville, Pa.
“Minnehaha,” “Hiawatha,” “Winona,” “Buffalo,” and the “Assembly,” are among the new names of steamers on Chautauqua Lake.
The large steamers will be provided with stewardesses to look after the comfort and welfare of lady passengers. This is a new provision and one that will be highly appreciated.
New families commenced moving to Chautauqua early in June, and every day scores new arrivals.
The Governor of Tennessee is in lively sympathy with the “Chautauqua Idea.” He is giving encouragement to the Monteagle Assembly, in the South, and hopes soon to visit Chautauqua. General Lewis says there will be a large representation from the South at Chautauqua the present season. The more the better.
Grocery stores, meat stores, furniture stores, and even a millinery store, may be found at Chautauqua.
“Tell us which will be the great days at Chautauqua?” This question comes to us nearly every day. It is hard to answer. Dr. Talmage, Rev. D. H. Wheeler, LL.D., president of Allegheny College, Bishop Warren, Dr. Vincent, Joseph Cook, Rev. A. Wheeler, D.D., of Pittsburgh, presidents of a half-dozen colleges and universities, eminent editors, great preachers, and splendid musicians from all parts of this country and Canada will be there. And then C. L. S. C. Commencement Day, which will be the golden day of ’83 (Saturday, August 18), with an oration by the Rev. Lyman Abbott, D.D., addresses by Dr. Vincent and Lewis Miller; concerts by the big choir, great organ, little organs, pianos, bass viol, cornet; cantatas, solos, duets, choruses, etc.; stereopticon exhibitions, fireworks by day and fireworks by night, spelling matches, Greek lights, C. L. S. C. bonfires and bonfires for children, croquet, lawn tennis, rowing, sailing, excursions on the steamers, receptions and processions. The best way to get the great days is to bid your friends who must stay at home good-bye, and go to Chautauqua for the season.
If you can’t go for the season, don’t fail to be present on Tuesday evening, August 7, when the tenth Assembly opens. Then the Chinese lanterns will be lighted, cottages illuminated, a peal of bells will ring, cannon be fired, flags will wave, vespers (the old songs) will be sung, orators of other years on this sod and new ones from many States and Canada will speak. The lake will glow with beauty, as the steamers illuminated with many colored lights come and go with their crowds of people, and the fireworks glare on the shore, and shooting into the air redden the dome of the sky and reflect the glory of their colors in the waters below. At Chautauqua every day is a great day.
The cost of living is not high. A room can be rented in a cottage, for the season, for $12.00; it will be furnished with bed, chairs, etc.; at such a price the occupant must take care of it herself. Table-boarding may be secured for the season at $5.00 per week. A better room, furnished with more conveniences, costs more. A party of a dozen people, more or less, coming from a distance, may rent a cottage for $125.00 or $150.00 (or a larger party a larger cottage for more money), and then board themselves. By bringing their own servant and taking a lady or gentleman through free—if they will do the buying and preside over the house—board is reduced to the minimum price. If, however, individuals or families prefer to go to a regular boarding-house, that is, a cottage kept by a private party (and some of these are well kept, and make pleasant homes), they may secure room and boarding in the same cottage for $8.00, $9.00 and $10.00 per week, and perhaps less. The Hotel Athenæum is a magnificent institution—with dining-rooms facing the lake, and a capacity for seating five to six hundred people at one time. It will accommodate from four to five hundred guests. The price per day and week is higher, but the fare is the best and worth all that is asked. Write to Mr. A. K. Warren, secretary, Chautauqua, Chautauqua County, N. Y., for information about rooms, cottages, boarding, or anything you desire to know about living at Chautauqua, and your questions will be answered promptly and satisfactorily.
[CHAUTAUQUA SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES.]
[HINTS TO BEGINNERS IN THE STUDY OF NEW TESTAMENT GREEK.—III.]
By Rev. ALFRED A. WRIGHT, A.M.[M]