And beautiful forms of nature, had a voice
Of eloquent worship.”
Every pretty flower that bloomed in the hedge, or at the wood-borders, Dick would diligently gather, and carefully preserve in a little book, which he carried with him for that purpose. Many a colored butterfly with its wings of powdered gold, and many a nameless insect, streaked or spotted with all the rich hues of the rainbow, would he hunt down and add to his collection. His great delight at the close of the ramble consisted in copying, with his paints, the rich colors of these beautiful objects; and soon he had formed quite a portable museum of pretty prints, flowers and insects; and in this recreation he received no little aid from his kind-hearted teacher. He soon became a proficient in the art of mingling colors, and by a zealous application to the details of art, in a short time was able to sketch a scene or strike off a likeness with considerable faithfulness and ability. So great was his love of the art, that he really derived much pleasure from his rambles, long and difficult as they often were. In the course of a few months’ practice, he had learned all that his teacher had to communicate; and it was often asserted by their rustic patrons that the little painter was in no respect inferior to his principal with the brush. Indeed, so conscious were they themselves of this fact, that an equal partnership was formed between them, and whatever sums fell into their exchequer, were shared equally between them.
But, alas! there is an end to all human enjoyment, and a severance of all earthly ties. The poor artist, what with the fatigues of journeying, often at inclement seasons, and with the wearing labors of his long and tedious tasks, had gradually undermined a constitution naturally infirm; and his poor little protegè, as he gazed sorrowfully upon his wan face and wasted form, saw plainly that the one was getting paler, and the other thinner and thinner, every day; and soon was impressed with the certainty that they must soon part from each other, and that that parting would be at the grave’s foot. And so indeed it turned out, when a year or two had elapsed from the commencement of their connection. The elder artist, after struggling on with all his resolution, and unwilling to yield to the insidious advances of disease, was at length completely exhausted and subdued. He sank down on the way at the door of a little village public house, where he was obliged to take to his bed, and receive the aids and doses of the doctors, in the feeble hope of a restoration to health. But in vain; his poor frame, already so much reduced, grew feebler and feebler day by day, and his sunken cheek grew still more hollow, and the little light that sickness had lent to his eye trembled and flickered, and then expired altogether; and finally the poor fellow, after taking an affectionate and mournful farewell of Dick, and bequeathing to him all the little possessions that he called his own, resigned himself patiently to his fate, and without pain or struggle “passed away.” Dick, after following his remains to the humble church-yard, and pouring out his soul in the truest sorrow over his dust, departed sad and solitary on his way. He assumed his poor master’s easel and other implements, and followed “the painter’s quiet trade” on his own account. He met with but indifferent success, however; he painted the rough faces of country squires, and the hard-favored features of their spouses, without number, but the recompense he received therefor scarcely served to find him in “meat and manger.” After struggling with adversity for many a weary year, and encountering every species of trial and disappointment with the firmness of a martyr, he at length, in very despair, was obliged to relinquish his beloved profession, and settle down quietly in a flourishing town, where the products of his brush could be turned to better account. He was forced to abandon entirely the higher walks of art, and stoop to a humbler, but more profitable branch of trade; devoting himself, in short, to the daubing of chairs, tables, and vehicles of every description, and embellishing them with as many of the “scientific touches” of his former calling as the time and pay would justify. In this way he contrived to eke out a humble but respectable subsistence, and after gaining the good will of his employer by his faithful and honest exertions, he scraped together sufficient money to enable him to set up an establishment of his own, where a flaming board proclaimed that Richard Dashall executed sign, house and chaise painting, in all its varieties, “in the most neat and expeditious manner possible;” assisted by two or three active young apprentices in all his handicrafts. In due course of time he joined to his fortunes a pretty little lady of a wife, and conjointly they reared up and educated a numerous progeny. So ends the history of poor Dick Dashall; and it is that of many an honest and industrious young fellow, who is cast forth like a weed upon the ocean of life, to sink or to swim as the chance may be.
The Fata Morgana.
Travels, Adventures, and Experiences of Thomas Trotter.
CHAPTER XIII.
Messina.—Trade of the place.—The Fata Morgana.—Embark for Naples.—The Sicilian pilot.—The Faro of Messina.—Scylla and Charybdis.—Exaggerations of the ancient writers.—Fatal adventure of a Neapolitan diver.
We found Messina quite a lively, bustling place, with a harbor full of all sorts of Mediterranean craft. Several American vessels lay at the quay, loading with oranges and lemons for Boston. These fruits constitute the chief trade of the place, and give employment to a great part of the population of the city and neighborhood. Every orange and lemon is carefully wrapped in a paper before being packed. The paper absorbs the moisture which exudes from the fruit, and prevents the rotting. Labor, however, is so cheap in this country that all this preparation adds but little to the cost of the cargoes. Another article exported is barilla, a sort of alkali, or potash, made by burning sea-weed. The barilla is used by our manufacturers for bleaching cotton cloth.