CONCLUSION.
A philosopher has remarked that greatness must be renounced before it can be appreciated; the same thing might have been said of fortune, happiness, or any mode of enjoyment liable to become habitual.
Never had the poor captive of Fenestrella so venerated the wisdom of Girardi, the charms and virtues of his daughter, as after the departure of his two companions! Profound sadness succeeded to this momentary elation. The efforts of Ludovico, the attentions required by Picciola, were insufficient to divert his attention from his sorrows. But at length, the sources of consolation he had derived from the study of nature brought forth their fruit; and the depressed Charney gradually resumed his strength of mind.
His last stroke of affliction had perfected the happy frame of his feelings. His first impulse had been to bless the loneliness which afforded his whole leisure to muse upon his absent friends; but eventually he learned to behold with satisfaction a new guest seated in the vacant place of the old man.
His first and most assiduous visitor was the chaplain of the prison, even the worthy priest whom during his illness he had so harshly repulsed. Apprised by Ludovico of the state of despair to which the prisoner was reduced, he made his appearance, forgetful of the past, to offer his good offices, which were received with courtesy and gratitude. More amicably disposed than formerly towards mankind, the Count soon became favourably, nay, even affectionately disposed towards the man of God; and the rustic seat became once more the bench of conference. The philosopher loved to enlarge upon the wonders of his plant, the wonders of nature, and repeat the lessons of the excellent Girardi; while the priest, without bringing forward a single dogma of religion, contented himself, in the first instance, with reciting the sublime moral lessons of Christianity: grounding their strength upon the principles already imbibed by the votary of natural religion.
The second visitor was the commandant; and Charney now discovered that Morand was essentially a good sort of man, whose heart was militarily disciplined; that is, disposed to torment the unfortunate beings under his charge no farther than he was necessitated by the letter of government instructions. So just, too, did he show himself in his appreciation of the merits of the two prisoners recently released, as almost to put Charney into good humour with petty tyranny.
But all this was soon to end; and it became Charney’s turn to bid adieu to the priest and the captain. One fine day, when least prepared for the concession, the gates of his prison opened, and he was set at liberty!
On Napoleon’s return from Austerlitz, incessantly importuned by Josephine (who had probably some person besetting her in turn with supplications in favour of the prisoner of Fenestrella), the Emperor caused an inquiry to be made into the nature of the papers seized among the effects of the Count de Charney. The cambric manuscripts were accordingly forwarded to the Tuileries, from the archives of the police, where they had been deposited; and, attracted by the singularity of their appearance, Napoleon himself deigned to investigate the indications of treason contained in their mysterious records.
“The Count de Charney is a madman,” exclaimed the Emperor, after most deliberate examination; “a visionary and a madman; but not the dangerous person represented to me. He who could submit his powers of mind to the influence of a sorry weed, may have in him the making of an excellent botanist, but not of a conspirator. He is pardoned! Let his estates be restored to him, that he may cultivate there, unmolested, his own fields, and his taste for natural history.”
Need it be added that the Count did not loiter at Fenestrella after receiving this welcome intelligence; or that he did not quit the fortress alone? but, transplanted into a solid case, filled with good earth, Picciola made her triumphal exit from her gloomy birth-place—Picciola, to whom he owed his life—nay, more than life—his insight into the wondrous works of God, and the joys resulting from peace and good-will towards mankind—Picciola, by whom he has been betrayed into the toils of love—Picciola, through whose influence, finally, he is released from bondage!
As Charney was about to cross the drawbridge of the citadel, a rude hand was suddenly extended towards him. “Eccellenza!” said Ludovico, repressing his rising emotion, “give us your hand! we may be friends now that you are going away—now that you are about to leave us—now that we shall see your face no more! Thank Heaven, we may be friends!”
Charney heartily embraced him. “We shall meet again, my good Ludovico,” cried he; “I promise you that you do not see me for the last time.” And, having shaken both the hands of the jailer again and again with the utmost cordiality, the Count quitted the fortress.
After his carriage had traversed the esplanade, and left far behind the mountain on which the citadel is situated, crossed the bridge over the Clusone, and attained the Suza road, a voice still continued crying aloud from the ramparts, “Addio, Signor Conte! Addio, addio, Picciola!”
Six months afterwards, a rich equipage stopped at the gate of the state prison of Fenestrella; from which alighted a traveller inquiring for Ludovico Ritti: the former prisoner was come to pay a visit to his jailer! A young lady, richly attired, was leaning tenderly upon his arm—Teresa Girardi, now Countess de Charney. Together, the young couple visited the little court and the miserable camera, so long the abode of weariness, scepticism, and despair. Of all the sentences which had formerly disfigured the wall, one only had been suffered to remain—
“Learning, wit, beauty, youth, fortune, are insufficient to confer happiness upon man.”
To which the gentle hand of Teresa now added, “if unshared by affection”—and a kiss, deposited by Charney upon her lovely cheek, seemed to confirm her emendation.
The Count was come to request Ludovico would stand godfather to his first-born child, which was to make its appearance before the close of the year; and, the object of their mission accomplished, the young couple proceeded to Turin, where, in his beautiful villa, Girardi was awaiting their return.
There, in a garden closely adjoining his own apartment, in the centre of a rich parterre, warmed and brightened by the beams of the setting sun, Charney had deposited his beloved plant, out of reach of all danger or obstruction. By his especial order, no hand but his own was to minister to her culture. He alone was to watch over Picciola. It was an occupation, a duty, a tax eternally adopted by his gratitude.
How quickly—how enchantingly did his days now glide along! In the midst of exquisite gardens, on the banks of a beautiful stream, under an auspicious sky, Charney was the happiest of the human kind! Time imparted only additional strength to the ties in which he had enchained himself; as the ivy cements and consolidates the wall it embraces. The friendship of Girardi, the tenderness of Teresa, the attachment of all who resided under his roof, conspired to form his happiness, perfected at the happy moment when he heard himself saluted as a father.
Charney’s affection for his son soon seemed to rival that he bore his young and lovely wife. He was never weary of contemplating and adoring them, and could scarcely make up his mind to lose sight of them for a moment. And lo! when Ludovico Ritti arrived from Fenestrella to fulfil his promise to the Count, and proceeded to visit, in the first instance, his original god-daughter—the god-daughter of the prison—he found that amid all this domestic happiness—all these transports of joy and affection—all the rapture and prosperity brightening the home of the Count and Countess de Charney, Picciola had been forgotten—La povera Picciola had died of neglect, unnoticed and unlamented. The appointed task was over. The herb of grace had nothing farther to unfold to the happy husband, father, and believer!
THE END.
D. APPLETON & CO.’S PUBLICATIONS.
IN THE TRACK OF THE SUN. Readings from the Diary of a Globe Trotter. By Frederick Diodati Thompson. Profusely illustrated with Engravings from Photographs and Drawings by Harry Fenn. Large 8vo. Cloth, gilt.
In this magnificently illustrated volume the author describes in an easy, entertaining, intelligent manner the tour of the world. Starting from New York, he crosses the continent, sails from Vancouver for Japan, where he spends some time in studying noteworthy features of that delightful country, and then visits China, Singapore, Ceylon, and other places, reserving a considerable portion of his time for India and Egypt, where he does most extensive sight-seeing, and afterward traversing Italy and France and returning to New York by way of London and Liverpool. Mr. Thompson is an instructive and amusing cicerone. The illustrations, comprising full-page pictures, vignettes and other text cuts, head and tail pieces, and initials, number over two hundred, and present an itinerary of the journey around the world, including not only scenery, historic and remarkable buildings and street scenes, but also an abundance of studies from life, which show contrasting types of humanity the world over, ranging from our Western Indians to Maharajahs of the Orient, and from the beautiful women of Japan to Egyptian fellahs. “In the Track of the Sun” gives a bird’s-eye view of the world’s picturesque features.
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These verses offer a full expression of the great poet’s love of Nature. The volume contains over forty poems, the list beginning with the classic “To a Waterfowl,” and closing with “Our Fellow-Worshippers.” The chronological arrangement enables the student of Bryant to follow the influences of ripening age and enlarged experience upon the poet’s attitude toward Nature. M. Longpré, an exact as well as a loving student of the fields and forests, has gathered a rich harvest of the American flora, and his thoroughly artistic and beautiful studies, comprising nearly one hundred subjects, have the value of truthful records as well as high aesthetic worth.
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STRAIGHT ON. A Story of a Boy’s School-life in France. By the author of “The Story of Colette.” With 86 Illustrations by Edouard Zier. 320 pages. 8vo. Cloth, $1.50.
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The great popularity which this book has attained in its smaller form has led the publishers to issue an illustrated edition, with thirty-six original drawings by Jean Claude, both vignette and full-page.
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LOVE SONGS OF ENGLISH POETS, 1500-1800. With Notes by Ralph H. Caine. 16mo. Cloth.
In this collection the editor has carefully culled the rarest flowers from the rich fields of English poetry, and has produced a volume which is a singularly delicate and perfect expression of the universal passion in verse. To find all that is contained in this volume it would be necessary to search the pages of many books.
“Is it not a little singular that, amid the many treasuries of poetry which have been published with so much acceptance during the last five-and-twenty years, there have been so few devoted to the poetry of love? This is the consideration which emboldens me in putting forth the present volume. Its scope is limited, and even within its limits its possibilities are circumscribed. A body of English love-poetry from the earliest times to the present has appeared to me too great for representation within the space of a single volume. I have therefore contented myself with the fullest selection possible, down to the beginning of the present century.... Of lovers of every mood and variety, examples will be found in these pages. There are the true lover and the false lover, the constant lover and the jealous lover, the quiet lover and the boisterous lover, the merry lover and the mournful lover, the humble lover and the conceited lover, the admiring lover and the pressing lover. We have the lover before marriage and the lover after marriage....”—From the Introduction.
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AN ATTIC PHILOSOPHER IN PARIS; or, A Peep at the World from a Garret. Being the Journal of a Happy Man. By Émile Souvestre. With 39 Illustrations by Jean Claude. 8vo. Cloth, $1.50.
The great popularity of “An Attic Philosopher in Paris,” by Émile Souvestre, has led the publishers to prepare this fine illustrated edition, uniform with the illustrated edition of “Colette.” For this volume a large number of full-page and vignette illustrations have been made by the French artist Jean Claude, the illustrator of “Colette.” A rich binding has been specially designed, and this volume, considering the fine literary quality of the text and the daintiness of the book’s appearance, will be found to possess a permanent value.
“A delightful bit of French sentiment. The poor and unfortunate are represented as making the best of their miserable surroundings, helping each other with unselfish zeal, and a rose-colored light is thrown over many a disagreeable situation. The tone is wholesome and helpful, and many passages are full of pathos. There is, too, an enthusiasm for country, for the growth and glory of France, which is charming.”—Portland Transcript.
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THE HOUSEHOLD BOOK OF POETRY. Edited by Charles A. Dana. Entirely new edition, from new type, with nearly two hundred additional poems. Steel engravings. Square 8vo. Cloth, gilt, $5.00.
“When the first edition of ‘The Household Book of Poetry’ was published by Mr. Dana in 1857, no other collection could so much as aspire to rival it. Since then we have had Bryant’s collection and Emerson’s collection, both by poets of fame, and both presumably eclipsing the effort of a writer who is not, so far as the world knows, a poet. Nevertheless Mr. Dana’s collection remains the best of the three. The book deservedly keeps the lead in popular favor which it took at the start.”—New York Times.
“Every intelligent reader and student of poetry has of course his own favorites, but we are safe in saying that no popular anthology is so well calculated as this to gratify and instruct the general public, or to provide for the genuine lover of verse so much that is good and worthy of preservation.”—Boston Traveller.
“Mr. Dana has added nearly two hundred poems to his well-arranged collection, including many short poems by authors who have not published volumes. The collection now includes eleven hundred and seventy-five selections from three hundred and seventy-seven authors, eighty-five of whom are Americans, and fifty-two women. This edition gives a list of authors, a list of the poems, and an index of first lines, and is printed with new type.”—New York World.
FIFTY PERFECT POEMS. A Collection of Fifty Acknowledged Masterpieces, by English and American Poets, selected and edited by Charles A. Dana and Rossiter Johnson. With Seventy Original Illustrations from Drawings by Alfred Fredericks, Frank Millet, Will Low, T. W. Dewing, W. T. Smedley, F. O. C. Darley, Swain Gifford, Harry Fenn, Appleton Brown, William Sartain, Arthur Quartley, J. D. Woodward, Walter Satterlee, S. G. McCutcheon, and J. E. Kelley. The illustrations are printed on Japanese silk paper, and mounted on the page. The volume is bound in silk. Large 8vo. $10.00.
“The title of this volume may perhaps appear a little audacious to those who recall Pope’s familiar dictum as to the impossibility of a faultless piece. In the absolute sense of the term there is, of course, no perfect poem, because there is no perfect thing of any kind. But as every art has its limitations, in whatsoever work the imperfections are caused by these limitations alone, the artist may fairly be said to have succeeded to perfection. On this principle the poems here collected have been chosen.”—From Preface.
POEMS. By William E. H. Lecky, author of “The History of England in the Eighteenth Century.” 18mo. White vellum, stamped in gold. $1.00.
Only the personal friends of the eminent historian have known his verses, and this is his first public appearance as a poet.
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IN GOLD AND SILVER. With many Illustrations. 16mo. Cloth, $2.00. Also, limited édition de luxe, on Japanese vellum, $5.00.
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THE LAST WORDS OF THOMAS CARLYLE. Including Wotton Reinfred, Carlyle’s only essay in fiction; the Excursion (Futile Enough) to Paris; and letters from Thomas Carlyle, also letters from Mrs. Carlyle to a personal friend. With Portrait. 12mo. Cloth, gilt top, $1.75.
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AN ENGLISH MAN IN PARIS. Notes and Recollections. Two volumes in one. 12mo. Cloth, $2.00.
This work gives an intimate and most entertaining series of pictures of life in Paris during the reigns of Louis Philippe and Louis Napoleon. It contains personal reminiscences of the old Latin Quarter, the Revolution of 1848, the coup d’état, society, art, and letters during the Second Empire, the siege of Paris, and the reign of the Commune. The author enjoyed the acquaintance of most of the celebrities of this time; and he describes Balzac, Alfred de Musset, Sue, the elder Dumas, Taglioni, Flaubert, Auber, Félicien David Delacroix, Horace Vernet, Decamps, Guizot, Thiers, and many others, whose appearance in these pages is the occasion for fresh and interesting anecdotes. This work may well be described as a volume of inner history written from an exceptionally favorable point of view.
“... The reader of these volumes will not marvel more at the unfailing interest of each page than at the extraordinary collection of eminent persons whom the author all his life knew intimately and met frequently. A list would range from Dumas the elder to David the sculptor, from Rachel to Balzac, from Louis Napoleon to Eugène Delacroix, from Louis Philippe to the Princess Demidoff, and from Lola Montez to that other celebrated woman, Alphonsine Plessis, who was the original of the younger Dumas’s ‘Dame aux Caméllias.’ He knew these persons as no other Englishman could have known them, and he writes about them with a charm that has all the attraction of the most pleasing conversation.”—New York Times.
“We have rarely happened upon more fascinating volumes than these Recollections.... One good story leads on to another; one personality brings up reminiscences of another, and we are hurried along in a rattle of gayety.... We have heard many suggestions hazarded as to the anonymous author of these memoirs. There are not above three or four Englishmen with whom it would be possible to identify him. We doubted still until after the middle of the second volume we came upon two or three passages which strike us as being conclusive circumstantial evidence.... We shall not seek to strip the mask from the anonymous.”—London Times.
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