text:
Strafford (Browning)/Act V

Scene I
WHITEHALL.

HOLLIS, CARLISLE.

HOLLIS.

Tell the King, then! Come in with me!

CARLISLE.

Not so! He must not hear 'till it succeeds!

HOLLIS.

Vain! Vain! No dream was half so vain—you'll rescue Strafford And outwit Pym! I cannot tell you. . . girl, The block pursues me—all the hideous show. . To-day. . . is it to-day? And all the while He's sure of the King's pardon. . think, I have To tell this man he is to die! The King May rend his hair, for me! I'll not see Strafford!

CARLISLE.

Only, if I succeed, remember——Charles Has saved him! He would hardly value life Unless his gift. My staunch friends wait! Go in— You must go in to Charles!

HOLLIS.

And all beside Left Strafford long ago—the King has signed The warrant for his death. . the Queen was sick Of the eternal subject! For the Court,— The Trial was amusing in its way Only too much of it. . the Earl withdrew In time! But you—fragile—alone—so young! Amid rude mercenaries—you devised A plan to save him! Even tho' it fails What shall reward you?

CARLISLE.

I may go, you think, To France with him? And you reward me, friend! Who lived with Strafford even from his youth Before he set his heart on state-affairs And they bent down that noble brow of his—— I have learned somewhat of his latter life And all the future I shall know—but, Hollis, I ought to make his youth my own as well! Tell me——when he is saved!

HOLLIS.

My gentle girl He should know all—should love you—but 'tis vain!

CARLISLE.

No—no—too late now! Let him love the King! 'Tis the King's scheme! I have your word—remember!— We'll keep the old delusion up! But, hush! Hush! Each of us has work to do, beside! Go to the King! I hope—Hollis—I hope! Say nothing of my scheme! Hush, while we speak Think where He is! Now for my gallant friends! (Exit.)

HOLLIS.

Where He is! Calling wildly upon Charles—— Guessing his fate——pacing the prison-floor. . . Let the King tell him! I'll not look on Strafford! (Exit.)

Scene II
THE TOWER.

STRAFFORD ''sitting with his Children. They sing.''

O bell' andare Per barca in mare, Verso la sera Di Primavera!

WILLIAM.

(The boat's in the broad moonlight all this while)

Verso la sera Di Primavera.

And the boat shoots from underneath the moon Into the shadowy distance—only still You hear the dipping oar,

''Verso la sera. . .''

And faint—and fainter—and then all's quite gone, Music and light and all, like a lost star.

ANNE.

But you should sleep, father: you were to sleep!

STRAFFORD.

I do sleep, dearest; or if not—you know There's such a thing as. ..

WILLIAM.

You're too tired to sleep?

STRAFFORD.

It will come by and bye and all day long, In that old quiet house I told you of: We'll sleep safe there.

ANNE.

Why not in Ireland?

STRAFFORD.

Ah! Too many dreams!—That song's for Venice, William: You know how Venice looks upon the map. . . Isles that the mainland hardly can let go?

WILLIAM.

You've been to Venice, father?

STRAFFORD.

I was young then.

WILLIAM.

A city with no King; that's why I like Even a song that comes from Venice!

STRAFFORD.

William!

WILLIAM.

Oh, I know why! Anne, do you love the King? But I'll see Venice for myself one day.

STRAFFORD.

See many lands, boy—England last of all,— That way you'll love her best.

WILLIAM.

Why do men say You sought to ruin her, then!

STRAFFORD.

Ah. . . they say that.

WILLIAM.

Why?

STRAFFORD.

I suppose they must have words to say. As you to sing.

ANNE.

But they make songs beside: Last night I heard one, in the street beneath, That named you. . . Oh, the names!

WILLIAM.

Don't mind her, father! They soon left off when I called out to them!

STRAFFORD.

We shall so soon be out of it, my boy! 'Tis not worth while: who heeds a foolish song?

WILLIAM.

Why, not the King!

STRAFFORD.

Well: it has been the fate Of better men, and yet. . . . why not feel sure That Time, who in the twilight comes to mend All the fantastic Day's caprice—consign Unto the ground once more the ignoble Term, And raise the Genius on his orb again— That Time will do me right?

ANNE.

(Shall we sing, William? He does not look thus when we sing.)

STRAFFORD.

For Ireland,— Something is done. . too little, but enough To show what might have been:—

WILLIAM.

(I have no heart To sing now! Anne, how very sad he looks! Oh I so hate the King for all he says!)

STRAFFORD.

Forsook them! What, the common songs will run That I forsook the People? Nothing more? . . . Aye, Fame, the scribe, will pause awhile, no doubt, Turning a deaf ear to her thousand slaves Noisy to be enrolled,—will register All curious glosses, subtle notices, Ingenious clearings-up one fain would see Beside that plain inscription of The Name— The Patriot Pym, or the Apostate Strafford! (The children resume their song timidly, but break off.)

Enter HOLLIS and an Attendant.

STRAFFORD.

No. . . Hollis? in good time!—Who is he?

HOLLIS.

One That must be present.

STRAFFORD.

Ah—I understand— They will not let me see poor Laud alone! How politic! They'd use me by degrees To solitude: and just as you came in I was solicitous what life to lead When Strafford's "not so much as Constable In the King's service." Is there any means To keep one's self awake? What would you do After this bustle, Hollis, in my place?

HOLLIS.

Strafford. ..

STRAFFORD.

Observe, not but that Pym and you Will find me news enough—news I shall hear Under a quince tree by a fish-pond side At Wentworth. Or, a better project now— What if when all is over, and the Saints Reign, and the Senate goes on swimmingly,— What if I venture up, some day, unseen— To saunter through the Town—notice how Pym, The Tribune, likes Whitehall—drop quietly Into a tavern—hear a point discussed— As, whether Strafford's name were John or Richard— And be myself appealed to. . . I, who shall Myself have near forgotten!

HOLLIS.

I would speak. ..

STRAFFORD.

Then you shall speak,—not now: I want, just now, To hear the sound of my own tongue. This place Is full of ghosts!

HOLLIS.

Will you not hear me, Strafford?

STRAFFORD.

Oh, readily! . . . Only, one droll thing more,— The minister! Who will advise the King, And yet have health—children, for aught I know! —My patient pair of traitors! Ah. . but, William— Does not his cheek grow thin?

WILLIAM.

'Tis you look thin, Father!

STRAFFORD.

A scamper o'er the breezy wolds Sets all to-rights!

HOLLIS.

You cannot sure forget A prison-roof is o'er you, Strafford?

STRAFFORD.

No, Why, no. I would not touch on that, the first. I left you that. Well, Hollis? . . . . Say at once The King could find no time to set me free! A mask at Theobald's?

HOLLIS.

Hush. . . no such affair Detains him.

STRAFFORD.

True: what needs so great a matter? The Queen's lip may be sore!—Well: when he pleases,— Only, I want the air: it vexes one To be pent up so long!

HOLLIS.

The King. . . I bear His message, Strafford. . . pray you, let me speak!

STRAFFORD.

Go, William! Anne, try o'er your song again! (The children retire.) They shall be loyal, friend, at all events. I know your message: you have nothing new To tell me: from the first I guessed as much. I know, instead of coming here at once—— Leading me forth before them by the hand,— I know the King will leave the door ajar As though I were escaping. . . let me fly While the mob gapes upon some show prepared On the other side of the river!

HOLLIS (to his Companion).

Tell him all; I knew my throat would thicken thus. . Speak, you!

STRAFFORD.

'Tis all one—I forgive him. Let me have The order of release! . . . I've heard, as well, Of certain poor manoeuvrings to avoid The granting pardon at his proper risk; First, he must prattle somewhat to the Lords— Must talk a trifle with the Commons first— Be grieved I should abuse his confidence, And far from blaming them, and. . .                         . . . Where's the order?

HOLLIS.

Spare me!

STRAFFORD.

Why. . . . he'd not have me steal away? —With an old doublet and a steeple hat Like Prynne's? Be smuggled into France, perhaps? Hollis, 'tis for my children! 'Twas for them I e'er consented to stand day by day And give those Puritans the best of words— Be patient—speak when called upon—observe Their rules,—and not give all of them the lie!

HOLLIS.

No—Strafford. . no escape. . no. . dearest Strafford!

STRAFFORD.

What's in that boy of mine that he should be Son to a prison-breaker? I shall stay And he'll stay with me. Charles should know as much— He too has children! (Turning to HOLLIS'S companion.) Ah, you feel for me! No need to hide that face! Though it have looked Upon me from the judgment-seat. . . I know Strangely, that somewhere it has looked on me. . . Still there is One who does not come—there's One That shut out Heaven from me. ..

HOLLIS.

Think on it then! On Heaven. . and calmly. . as one. . as one to die!

STRAFFORD.

Die? True, friend, all must die, and all must need Forgiveness: I forgive him from my soul.

HOLLIS.

Be constant, now. . . be grand and brave. . be now Just as when. . . Oh, I cannot stay for words. . . 'Tis a world's wonder. . but. . but. . you must die!

STRAFFORD.

Sir, if your errand is to set me free This heartless jest will. .                       Hollis—you turn white, And your lip shivers!—What if. . .                                 Oh, we'll end, We'll end this! See this paper—warm. . feel. . warm With lying next my heart! Whose hand is there? Whose promise? Read! Read loud! For God to hear! "Strafford shall take no hurt". . read it, I say! "In person, honour, nor estate". . ..

HOLLIS.

The King. ..

STRAFFORD.

I could unking him by a breath! You sit Where Loudon sate. . Loudon, who came to tell The certain end, and offer me Pym's pardon If I'd forsake the King—and I stood firm On my King's faith! The King who lived. ..

HOLLIS.

To sign The warrant for your death.

STRAFFORD.

"Put not your trust In Princes, neither in the sons of men, In whom is no salvation!" On that King—— Upon his head. ..

CHARLES.

O Hollis, he will curse me!

HOLLIS.

The scaffold is prepared—they wait for you— He has consented. ..

CHARLES.

No, no—stay first—Strafford! You would not see me perish at your foot. . . It was wrung from me! Only curse me not! The Queen had cruel eyes! And Vane declared. . And I believed I could have rescued you. . Strafford—they threaten me! and. . well, speak now, And let me die!—

HOLLIS.

(To STRAFFORD.) As you hope grace from God, Be merciful to this most wretched man!

VOICES FROM WITHIN.

Verso la sera Di Primavera.

STRAFFORD (after a pause).

You'll be good to those children, Sire? I know You'll not believe her even should the Queen Think they take after one they never saw! I had intended that my son should live A stranger to these matters. . . but you are So utterly deprived of friends! He too Must serve you—will you not be good to him? Stay—Sire—stay—do not promise—do not swear! And, Hollis—do the best you can for me! I've not a soul to trust to: Wandesford's dead— And you've got Radcliffe safe—and Laud is here. . I've had small time of late for my affairs— But I'll trust any of you. . . Pym himself— No one could hurt them: there's an infant, too— . . . These tedious cares! Your Majesty could spare them— But 'tis so awkward—dying in a hurry! . . . Nay—Pardon me, my King! I had forgotten Your education, trials, and temptations And weakness. . I have said a peevish word— But, mind I bless you at the last! You know 'Tis between you and me. . . what has the world To do with it? Farewell!

CHARLES (at the door).

Balfour! Balfour! . . . What, die? Strafford to die? This Strafford here? Balfour! . . Nay Strafford, do not speak. . Balfour!

Enter BALFOUR.

The Parliament. . . go to them—I grant all Demands! Their sittings shall be permanent— Tell them to keep their money if they will. . . I'll come to them for every coat I wear And every crust I eat, only I choose To pardon Strafford—Strafford—my brave friend!

BALFOUR (aside).

Is he mad, Hollis?

CHARLES.

Strafford, now, to die! . . But the Queen. . . ah, the Queen!—make haste, Balfour! —You never heard the people howl for blood, Beside!

BALFOUR.

Your Majesty may hear them now: The walls can hardly keep their murmurs out: Please you retire!

CHARLES.

Take all the troops, Balfour!

BALFOUR.

There are some hundred thousand of the crowd.

CHARLES.

Come with me, Strafford! You'll not fear them friend!

STRAFFORD.

Balfour, say nothing to the world of this! I charge you, as a dying man, forget You gazed upon this agony of one. . . Of one. . or if. . why you may say, Balfour, The King was sorry—very—'tis no shame! Yes, you may say he even wept, Balfour,— And that I walked the lighter to the block Because of it. I shall walk lightly, Sire! —For I shall save you. . save you at the last! Earth fades, Heaven dawns on me. . I shall wake next Before God's throne: the moment's close at hand When Man the first, last time, has leave to lay His whole heart bare before its Maker—leave To clear up the long error of a life And choose one happiness for evermore. With all mortality about me, Charles, The sudden wreck—the dregs—the violent death. . . I'll pray for you! Thro' all the Angel-song Shall penetrate one weak and quivering prayer— I'll say how good you are. . inwardly good And pure. .     (The KING falls: HOLLIS raises him.) Be witness, he could not prevent My death! I'll go—ere he awakes—go now! All must be ready—did you say, Balfour, The crowd began to murmur?—They'll be kept Too late for sermon at St. Antholin's! Now—but tread softly—children are at play In the next room—Ah, just my children—Hollis! ——Or. . . no—support the King! (a door is unbarred.) Hark. . they are here! Stay Hollis!—Go Balfour! I'll follow. . . ..

CARLISLE (entering with many Attendants).

Me! Follow me, Strafford, and be saved! . . . The King? (To the KING.) Well—as you ordered. . They are ranged without. . The convoy. . (seeing the KING'S state.) (To STRAFFORD.) You know all then! Why, I thought It looked so well that Charles should save you—Charles Alone. . 'tis shame that you should owe it me— Me. . no, not shame! Strafford, you'll not feel shame At being saved by me?

HOLLIS.

All true! Oh Strafford, She saves you! all her deed. . this girl's own deed —And is the boat in readiness? . . . You, friend, Are Billingsley, no doubt! Speak to her, Strafford! See how she trembles. . waiting for your voice! The world's to learn its bravest story yet!

CARLISLE.

Talk afterward! Long nights in France enough To sit beneath the vines and talk of home!

STRAFFORD.

You love me, girl! . . . . Ah, Strafford can be loved As well as Vane! I could escape, then?

CARLISLE.

Haste. . Advance the torches, Bryan!

STRAFFORD.

I will die! They call me proud. . but England had no right When she encountered me—her strength to mine— To find the chosen foe a craven! Girl, I fought her to the utterance—I fell— I am hers now. . and I will die! Beside The lookers-on! Eliot is all about This place with his most uncomplaining brow!

CARLISLE.

Strafford!

STRAFFORD.

I think if you could know how much I love you, you would be repaid, my girl!

CARLISLE.

Then, for my sake!

STRAFFORD.

Even for your sweet sake. . I stay.

HOLLIS.

For their sake!

STRAFFORD.

I bequeath a stain. . . Leave me! Girl, humour me and let me die!

HOLLIS.

No way to draw him hence—Carlisle—no way?

CARLISLE (suddenly to CHARLES).

Bid him escape. . wake, King! Bid him escape!

STRAFFORD.

(Looks earnestly at him.) Yes, I will go! Die, and forsake the King? I'll not draw back from the last service.

CARLISLE.

Strafford!

STRAFFORD.

And, after all, what is disgrace to me? Let us come, girl! . . . That it should end this way! Lead then. . . but I feel strangely. . . it was not To end this way!

CHARLES.

Lean—lean on me!

STRAFFORD.

My King! Oh, had he trusted me—his Friend of friends— Had he but trusted me!

CARLISLE.

Leave not the king— I can support him, Hollis!

STRAFFORD.

(Starting as they approach the door at the back.)

Not this way; This gate. . . I dreamed of it. . . this very gate!

CARLISLE.

It opens on the river—our good boat Is moored below—our friends are there!

STRAFFORD.

The same! Only with something ominous and dark, Fatal, inevitable. ..

CARLISLE.

Strafford! Strafford!

STRAFFORD.

Not by this gate. . I feel it will be there! I dreamed of it, I tell you. . touch it not!

CARLISLE.

To save the King,—Strafford, to save the King!

(As STRAFFORD opens the door, PYM is discovered with HAMPDEN, VANE, &c. STRAFFORD falls back to the front of the stage: PYM follows slowly and confronts him.)

PYM.

Have I done well? Speak, England! Whose great sake I still have laboured for, with disregard To my own heart,—for whom my youth was made Barren, my future dark, to offer up Her sacrifice—this man, this Wentworth here— That walked in youth with me—loved me it may be, And whom, for his forsaking England's cause, I hunted by all means (trusting that she Would sanctify all means) even to the grave That yawns for him. And saying this, I feel No bitter pang than first I felt, the hour I swore that Wentworth might leave us,—but I Would never leave him: I do leave him now! I render up my charge (be witness, God!) To England who imposed it! I have done Her bidding—poorly, wrongly,—it may be With ill effects—for I am but a man. . . . . Still, I have done my best, my very best, Not faltering for a moment! I have done!

(After a pause.)

And that said, I will say. . . yes, I will say I never loved but this man—David not More Jonathan! Even thus, I love him now: And look for my chief portion in that world Where great hearts led astray are turned again, (Soon it may be . . and . . yes . . it will be soon: My mission over, I shall not live long!)— . . . Aye here I know I talk—and I will talk Of England—and her great reward—as all I look for there; but in my inmost heart Believe I think of stealing quite away To walk once more with Wentworth—with my friend Purged from all error, gloriously renewed, And Eliot shall not blame us! Then indeed. . (This is no meeting, Wentworth! Tears rise up Too hot . . A thin mist—is it blood?—enwraps The face I loved so!) Then, shall the meeting be! Then—then—then—I may kiss that hand, I know!

STRAFFORD.

(Walks calmly up to PYM and offers his hand.) I have loved England too; we'll meet then, Pym! As well to die! Youth is the time—our youth, To think and to decide on a great course: Age with its action follows; but 'tis dreary To have to alter one's whole life in age— The time past, the strength gone! as well die now. When we meet, Pym, I'd be set right—not now! I'd die as I have lived. . too late to change! Best die. Then if there's any fault, it will Be smothered up: much best! You'll be too busy With your hereafter, you will have achieved Too many triumphs to be always dwelling Upon my downfall, Pym? Poor little Laud May dream his dream out of a perfect Church In some blind corner? And there's no one left. . .                               (He glances on the KING.) I trust the King now wholly to you, Pym! And yet. . I know not! What if with this weakness. . . And I shall not be there. . . And he'll betray His friends—if he has any. . . And he's false. . And loves the Queen, and. .                           Oh, my fate is nothing— Nothing! But not that awful head. . not that!

Pym, save the King! Pym, save him! Stay—you shall. . . For you love England! I, that am dying, think What I must see. . 'tis here. . all here! My God! Let me but gasp out, in one word of fire, How Thou wilt plague him, satiating Hell! What? England that you love—our land—become A green and putrefying charnel, left Our children. . . some of us have children, Pym— Some who, without that, still must ever wear A darkened brow, an over-serious look, And never properly be young. . .                               No word! You will not say a word—to me—to Him! (Turning to CHARLES.) Speak to him. . . as you spoke to me. . . that day! Nay, I will let you pray to him, my King— Pray to him! He will kiss your feet, I know!

What if I curse you? Send a strong Curse forth Clothed from my heart, lapped round with horror, till She's fit, with her white face, to walk the world Scaring kind natures from your cause and you—— Then to sit down with you, at the board-head, The gathering for prayer. . ..

VANE.

O speak, Pym! Speak!

STRAFFORD.

. . . Creep up, and quietly follow each one home— You—you—you—be a nestling Care for each To sleep with, hardly moaning in his dreams. . . She gnaws so quietly. . . until he starts— Gets off with half a heart eaten away. . . Oh you shall 'scape with less, if she's my child!

VANE (to PYM).

We never thought of this. . . surely not dreamed Of this. . it never can. . . could come to this!

PYM (after a pause).

If England should declare her will to me. ..

STRAFFORD.

No—not for England, now—not for Heaven, now. . . See, Pym—for me! My sake! I kneel to you! There. . I will thank you for the death. . . my friend, This is the meeting. . . you will send me proud To my chill grave! Dear Pym—I'll love you well! Save him for me, and let me love you well!

PYM.

England——I am thine own! Dost thou exact That service? I obey thee to the end!

STRAFFORD (as he totters out).

O God, I shall die first—I shall die first!

CURTAIN FALLS.

title: Strafford (Browning)/Act V


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Grymeston, Elizabeth

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Guader, Ralph


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Gubbins, Martin Richard


text:
Page:Book of the Riviera.djvu/13

Rh
 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

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 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

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 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by Alinari.

 * From a photograph by Alinari.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by G. Brogi.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Alinari.

 * From a photograph by Alinari.

 * From an old engraving.

title: Page:Book of the Riviera.djvu/13


text:
Page:Book of the Riviera.djvu/12

 * From a photograph by G. Richard.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From the triptych of the Burning Bush, at Aix.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by A. Bandieri.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by G. Richard.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

 * From a photograph by J. Giletta.

 * From a photograph by Neurdein frères.

title: Page:Book of the Riviera.djvu/12


text:
User talk:Padraic

— billinghurst  sDrewth  00:01, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

title: User talk:Padraic


text:
Author:John Sterling

Works

 * Fitzgeorge (1832) vol 1, vol 2, vol 3
 * Arthur Coningsby (1833)
 * "Fine Simile" (extract) in Leigh Hunt’s London Journal (1835)
 * Poems (1839) external scan
 * The poetical works of John Sterling (1842) external scan
 * The onyx ring (1856) external scan
 * A correspondence between John Sterling and Ralph Waldo Emerson (1897) external scan
 * Strafford
 * Richard Cœur de Lion
 * Essays and tales (1848) vol 1, vol 2

Translations

 * "On those who died at Thermopylae", by Simonides of Keos, in Masterpieces of Greek Literature (1902)

title: Author:John Sterling


text: Author:James Sterling

title: Author:James Sterling


text:
Author:Anthony Coningham Sterling

Works

 * The Highland Brigade in the Crimea
 * (tr.) Russia under Nicholas I

title: Author:Anthony Coningham Sterling


text:
Strafford

 * Strafford, a play by Robert Browning
 * Strafford, a tragedy by John Sterling

title: Strafford


text:
User talk:Xanthoxyl

Did some tidying to style
Thanks for the work. Just reporting on some tidying to local style. We try to disambiguate early in the life of work if there is likely to be another work of the name, so I have moved Strafford to Strafford (Browning) and also done some work around relative links rather than hard links. With the year parameter, we usually only add it to the top of the work, unless there is a part of the work that is specifically different. — billinghurst  sDrewth  00:43, 21 November 2010 (UTC)
 * It is also useful to addd textinfo on the talk page of an article with where you sourced the text. To point to that one can add to the   to header — billinghurst  sDrewth  00:50, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Statistic for you
Congrats on the first edit of the new year (UTC)! That would be your contribution of La Saisiaz. Thanks, and here's to many more! --Eliyak T · C 04:30, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

title: User talk:Xanthoxyl


text:
Page:Condor3(3).djvu/1

 == THE CONDOR. ==

Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club,

A BI-MONTHLY EXPONENT OF CALIFORNIAN ORNITHOLOGY.

Vol. 3. No. 3. Santa Clara, Cal., May-June, 1901. $1.00 a Year

A Season With the Golden Eagles of Santa Clara Co., Cal
BY ROLLO H. BECK, BERRYESSA, CAL.

With photographs by the author.

While reading this evening in the September-October CONDOR of the editor's wanderings among the birds, my thoughts instinctively wander back to memories of spring-time, and to happenings that befell me while in quest of the aeries of Aquila chrysaelos, familiarly known as the Golden Eagle. As the pocket-worn note-book opens what different scenes are re- called! The first note under 1900 was written in the shade of a tall old pine from which I had just descended with two fresh eggs, while the eagles sat on a fence a mile away across the canyon and enjoyed the magnificent scenery, not knowing of my presence.

Under date of March 8, my second entry, my thot's are turned to a spot miles away. After climbing for hours up a steep mountain side surrounded by fog and wet ciothes, the nest is found torn down, but as I slide and scramble down, with regrets for the long climb, back to the wagon, an eagle flies from a nest in a small sycamore in the bottom of the gulch but a few rods away. The hills are so steep, that a careful inspec- tion is made with the aid of glasses at a distance of forty yards and the nest is seen to be lined with fresh leaves and ready for eggs. With high hopes I re- turned to this nest a week later and found the bird sitting on a limb of a near-by oak contemplating the nest which still contained the fresh lining, but no eggs.

On the 9th of March with an early start my third nest was reached about noon. It was located forty feet up in a small oak, surrounded by a tangle of poison oak and other bushes. Owing to the steepness of the hill a good nega- tive was obtained of the bird on the nest at a distance of 60 feet, by using the long-focus lens. This picture and set of two eggs but partially recompense me for all the time and trouble neces- sary to obtain them. Had it been the eagle's picture instead of a Western Horned Owl's, which occupied the nest, the recompense would have been ample! But one gets used to these things after they happen every few days through the season.

At four o'clock that afternoon I sat eating my lunch a quarter of a mile be- low an eagle's nest built in a white oak on another steep hillside. This nest was 75 yards below the old nest which was situated in a lofty sycamore and visible for miles. While debating whether 'twas worth while to climb up to such an exposed nest, the male bird

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User talk:99.192.104.11

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Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 23.djvu/383

Guthrie's early work was chiefly chemical. His first paper printed in English was 'On Iodide of Acetyle' in the 'Philosophical Magazine' for 1857; and in 1858 he published a paper 'On the Action of Light on Silver Chloride' in the 'Journal of the Chemical Society.'

While in the Mauritius he pursued his first published investigations on physical problems, the results being communicated to the Royal Society in 1864 and 1865 in two papers on 'Drops' and one on 'Bubbles.' At the same time he published a paper on the 'Iodide of Iodammonium,' and a pamphlet on 'The Sugar-Cane and Cane-Sugar,' and made complete analyses of the waters of the chief rivers of the island.

In 1870 Guthrie discovered the remarkable phenomenon of 'Approach caused by Vibration,' as seen, for example, in the apparent attraction exerted by a vibrating tuning-fork on a light object suspended in the air near it. Among numerous other researches may be mentioned: on the thermal conductivity of liquids, on stationary vibrations of liquids in circular and rectangular troughs, on salt solutions and attached water, including the discovery of 'cryohydrates,' and on 'Eutexia,' an investigation into the properties (especially the melting points) of metallic alloys and mixtures of salts.

Guthrie's students at South Kensington included large numbers of the 'certificated science teachers' of this country, and for them he devised a very practical mode of teaching physics, by which the learner constructs his own apparatus. They can testify to his unvarying kindness and to his unflagging energy.

Guthrie was the founder of the Physical Society of London in 1873. Its meetings were held in his rooms at South Kensington, and he assumed the arduous post of 'demonstrator,' not consenting to fill the presidential chair until 1884. Early in 1886 he delivered three lectures on 'Science Teaching' before the Society of Arts. His teaching was always eminently experimental and practical; and he had but slight respect for the work of mathematical as distinguished from experimental physicists. Guthrie was a good French and German scholar, and his literary abilities were considerable. He published two poems, written in early life, and exhibiting genuine poetical power and considerable metrical skill: 'The Jew. A Poem,' by Frederick Cerny, 1863; and in 1877, and under the same pseudonym, 'Logroño, a Metric Drama in two Acts.' His scientific books were, 'Elements of Heat and Non-Metallic Chemistry,' 1868; 'Magnetism and Electricity,' 1873; 'Introduction to Physics;' and the 'First Book of Knowledge.'

Guthrie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1859, and a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1873. Altogether he published about forty papers on chemistry and physics, only about one-third of these, however, belonging to chemistry.

[Proceedings of the Physical Society for 1887, viii. 9-13 (notice by Professor Carey Foster); Nature, 4 Nov. 1886, pp. 8-10.]  GUTHRIE, GEORGE JAMES (1785–1856), surgeon, descended from an old Forfarshire family, one of whose members settled in Wexford, was born in London on 1 May 1785. Having been early apprenticed to a surgeon, and served as assistant in the York Hospital, Guthrie passed the examination for the membership of the Royal College of Surgeons on 5 Feb. 1801, when not yet sixteen. In March 1801 he was appointed by his friend Rush, then inspector-general and member of the army medical board, assistant surgeon to the 29th regiment. After serving five years with his regiment in Canada he was ordered to the Peninsula, where he remained (except for an interval in 1810) from 1808 till 1814, taking principal charge of the wounded at many important battles, and gaining the Duke of Wellington's especial commendation. A graphic description of his Peninsular experiences, in which Guthrie often displayed the qualities of a soldier as well as of a surgeon, is given in the 'Lancet' for 1850, i. 726-38. After the battle of Salamanca he introduced the practice of making long incisions through the skin to relieve diffused erysipelas. In 1814 he retired on half-pay, and on returning to London diligently attended the surgical lectures of Bell and Brodie at the Windmill Street school, and Abernethy at St. Bartholomew's. He found that his experience had enabled him to make considerable improvements in practical surgery. He had a further opportunity after Waterloo, when he successfully amputated a man's leg at the hip joint, divided the muscles of the calf to tie the main artery, and extracted a ball from a man's bladder. Each of these operations was a novelty, and the cases excited much interest. After the war the patients were sent to the York Hospital, then situated where one end of Eaton Square now stands, and Guthrie gave lectures and took charge for two years of two wards in which illustrative cases were treated and exhibited. Here Guthrie was the first in England who used a lithotrite for crushing a stone in the bladder. At this time the Duke of York offered him knighthood, which he declined owing to want of means.


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Fredericksburg, Virginia 1608-1908/11

Ancient and Historical Buildings — Mary Washington Monument — Gen. Mercer's Statue — Mary Washington's Will, &c.

In stating that Fredericksburg has more ancient reminiscent and historical buildings than any other town of its size in this country, we do not fear successful contradiction. Fredericksburg is one of the oldest towns in the State and has from its settlement been the center of refinement and culture. Here the young men of this section of Virginia were taught and imbibed those principles of liberty and justice that made them leaders in the movement against oppression, which resulted in our constitutional rights and religious liberty. Here they were equipped for all the duties of life in whatever station they might be placed. Here was the home and birthplace of men who commanded armies, controlled navies, swayed statesmen, electrified assemblies, and many of those homes and birth-houses are still standing, and it will appear but natural if they shall be pointed out and written about by the inhabitants of Fredericksburg with patriotic pride. Notwithstanding the quaint architecture of many of them, and the ravages of time upon them, they are dear to us and are regarded as heirlooms of the town which have witnessed the advent and exit of many generations. Among the oldest houses now in Fredericksburg are the residence of the late William A. Little, the Mary Washington House and the Rising Sun Hotel. It is impossible to give the order of seniority of these buildings, because we have no way of ascertaining when they were built. Mr. Little, several years ago, so renewed and extended his residence and adorned it as to almost destroy its ancient identity. This old mansion has recently passed to Mr. John C. Melville. The Rising Sun Hotel, located on the west side of Main street, just above Fauquier, is one of the oldest buildings now standing. It is of the old style of architecture of wooden buildings that prevailed in the first settlement of the country, which, notwithstanding its hoary age and frequent necessary repairs, has never been changed. In the first of the eighteenth century, and even before the Revolutionary war, it was one of the leading hotels of the town, and was the stopping place of many of the Southern senators, representatives and other dignitaries as they journey to and from Washington city. It is claimed that the eccentric John Randolph, of Roanoke, has more than once addressed the people of the town from the steps of this building. General George Weedon, long years before he entered the Colonial Army for American Independence, kept hotel in this house. Just prior to that war it became the property of General Gustavus B. Wallace, a Revolutionary patriot, and it has remained in the Wallace family until the death of Capt. C. Wistar Wallace, a public spirited citizen, a little over one year ago. At his death, May 20, 1907, it became the property of the Society for the Preservation of the Antiquities of Virginia, by the provisions of his wilL The Fredericksburg branch of the society has charge of the building, a one and a half story wooden structure, and now has it in good condition and open for the inspection of those who would like to live for a short time in the far distant past, when Mrs. Livingston was the "doctress and coffee-woman" of the town. That society has renovated the building and it is now in good repair. It has not been kept as a hotel since the Civil war. The handsome residence "erected by Mr. Stannard, on the lot now occupied by Mr. George W. Shepherd, was destroyed by fire in the great conflagration that occurred here in 1807, which is mentioned elsewhere. The fire originated in that house and had made considerable headway before it was discovered. In the year 1815 the large, brick residence now standing on that lot was erected by Mr. Robert Mackay, a merchant of the town and Mayor for two years, from 1817 to 1819. It is said that the cost of erecting that building, and beautifying the grounds, was thirty thousand dollars, and it so embarassed Mr. Mackay that he never recovered from it For a number of years this place was the residence and home of Thomas Seddon, a wealthy gentleman, who died there in 1831. As is said elsewhere herein, he was the father of James A. Seddon, secretary of War of the Confederate States, who, it is claimed by some persons, was born there, although his biographers say, and it is substantiated by his relatives, that he was born in Falmouth, in Stafford county. It is not disputed, however, that Secretary Seddon spent his boyhood days in that building, having moved there when he was quite young, but his birthplace is beyond doubt as his biographers and relatives state it, as he was born the same year this residence was built, and Mr. Mackay occupied it for some years before Mr. Seddon moved there. The old, one and a half story frame house, which stands on the east side of Princess Ann street, between Prussia and Wolfe streets, just below Shiloh Baptist church (new site), was at one time owned by James Monroe. He was elected to a seat in the Legislature, and the law required that members of the General Assembly should be owners of real estate. In order to make him eligible his uncle gave him a pocket deed to this house and lot. This was the first civil office, except that of Common Councilman of Fredericksburg, Mr. Monroe ever held. The house at the time stood on a lot in the upper part of the town and was without the wings it has at present. Mr. Monroe's boarding place was located on the same lot on which now stands the handsome residence of Mrs. James H. Bradley. His law office was in the row of low, brick buildings, formerly known as the "City Lunch," on Charles street, in rear of Colonel E. D. Cole's store. The "Sentry Box," at the lower end of Main street, was the residence of General George Weedon, of Revolutionary fame, and was afterwards owned and occupied by Colonel Hugh Mercer, a son of General Hugh Mercer, who was killed at the battle of Princeton, and a nephew of General Weedon, to whom it was devised by General Weedon. We are unable to state when this house was erected or who built it. It is doubtless one of the oldest buildings in town. It is a large two-story frame house, with a wide hall through the center and overlooks the Rappahannock river. It has been known as the "Sentry Box" as far back as the mind of our oldest inhabitant goes, and the past generations knew it by that name. Tradition has brought the name down to us and we need not stretch our imaginations as to the "why it was so called." From the upper story of the southeast end of this stately building is a beautiful and unobstructed view of the river for some distance, and there sentinels were placed at various times during the Revolutionary war, to watch and give the alarm of the approach of the enemy. It was thus used for three wars to much advantage to the side with which Fredericksburg was in sympathy—the Revolution, as above mentioned, the war of 1812 and the Civil war, or the War between the States. Another thing that gives the "Sentry Box" additional historical interest is the claim that has been made, which may need verification, that in this house has been received and entertained every President of the United States from George Washington to James Buchanan. The property is now owned and occupied by Mr. O. D. Foster, a veteran of the Confederate army. The splendid two-story brick residence, owned and occupied by Gen. Daniel D. Wheeler, of the United States army, on the east side of lower Main street, was built by Roger Dixon, a gentleman of means, who owned most of the land in the lower end of the town about 1764. A few years after its constmction Mr. Dixon died, and most, if not all of his property, was purchased by Dr. Charles Mortimer. Dr. Mortimer was one of Mary Washington's physicians, and tradition has it that the last visit she made was to her much-loved physician; that upon her return home she was taken down with cancer and after that never left her home. Of one of the many delightful dinings and balls at this splendid mansion, so frequent in that day with the "well to do folks" of Virginia, Mrs. Roger A. Prior, in "The Mother of Washington and Her Times"  says, "Little Maria Mortimer, aged sixteen, was at the Fredericksburg ball. Her father, Dr. Charles Mortimer, issued invitations at the ball for a great dinner to the distinguished strangers the next day but one, and his wife (Sarah Griffin Fauntleroy), being too ill to preside, that honor fell to the daughter of the house. The house, an immense pile of English brick, (?) still stands on the lower edge of the town, facing Main street, with a garden sloping to the river, where Dr. Mortimer's own tobacco ships used to run up to discharge their return English cargoes, by a channel long since disused and filled up. * * * The table, as little Maria described it in after years, groaned with every delicacy of land and water, served in massive pewter dishes, polished until they shone again. The chief sat beside the master of the house at the long table, although at his own house his place was always at the side of the table among his guests. Little Maria, 'with her hair craped high,' was taken in by the Marquis Lafayette, or Count d'Estaing, or Count Rochambeau—they were all present—and the little lady's heart was in her mouth, she said, although she danced with every one of them at the ball—nay, with Bettie Lewis's uncle George himself!" Dr. Mortimer was the first Mayor of Fredericksburg. His remains are buried near the center of Hurkamp Park, which was for nearly a century a public burying ground. As has been said, he was Mary Washington's physician, but not the only one at her late illness, for it is quite certain that Dr. Elisha Hall, who was the grandfather of Dr. Horace B. Hall, and who lived on the lot now occupied by Dr. J. E. Tompkin's residence, was also one of her physicians in her last days. This is shown beyond a doubt by a letter, still preserved from Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, to Dr. Elisha Hall, his cousin, written July 6, 1789, a short time before Mrs. Washington's death. Dr. Hall had written to him for his experience and advice for cancer treatment and received the following:— "The respectable age and character of your venerable patient lead me to regret that it is not in my power to suggest a remedy for the cure of the disorder you have described in her breast. I know nothing of the root you mention, found in Carolina and Georgia, but, from a variety of inquiries and experiments, I am disposed to believe that there does not exist in the vegetable kingdom an antidote to cancers. All the supposed vegetable remedies I have heard of are compounds of some mineral caustics. The arsenic is the most powerful of any of them. It is the basis of Dr. Martin's powder. I have used it in many cases with success, but have failed in some. From your account of Mrs. Washington's breast [ breast cancer] I am afraid no great good can be expected from the use of it. Perhaps it may cleanse it, and thereby retard its spreading.

 * [Mary Ball Washington died of cancer.]

You may try it diluted in water. Continue the application of opium and camphor, and wash it frequently with a decoction of red clover. Give anodynes, when necessary, and support the system with bark and wine. Under this treatment she may live comfortably many years, and finally die of old age." The house on the south corner of Prince Edward and Fauquier streets, purchased in 1898 by Mrs. Beraice Hart, tradition says, was for over one hundred years the clerk's office, and the court records of the trustees of the town were kept there. There may have been a court held in that small place under the Colonial charter of the town, but not a criminal court since that time, as the records show to the contrary. The records of courts held here before the War of the Revolution—if any were held here—and the record of proceedings of the trustees cannot be found at present The house was a small, one and a half story frame building, similar in architecture to the old part of the Mary Washington House. The additions made to it in recent years have completely destroyed its original form and architecture and have given it a modern appearance. No one, of course, knows when it was built, but, judging from its style and the material of which it was constructed, it must take its place with the oldest of our ancient buildings. "Federal Hill," on Hanover street, owned and occupied by Mrs. H. Theodore Wight, was, in the latter part of the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth centuries, the home of Thomas Reade Rootes, who was one of the most distinguished lawyers of his day. His third daughter was Sarah Robinson, who married Colonel John A. Cobb, of North Carolina, a son of Howell Cobb, of Virginia. Soon after his marriage Colonel Cobb settled in Georgia, where were born those two distinguished lawyers and soldiers, Howell and Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb. The latter was killed in front of the Stevens House, at the foot of Marye's Heights, on the 13th of December, 1862, it is claimed, by a shell, which was said to have been thrown from a gun stationed at Federal Hill, where his mother was born and married. A recent writer in a Northern journal, however, claims that General Cobb was killed by a shell thrown from the Stafford side of the river. But both accounts differ from the report of General Kershaw, who took command of the line when General Cobb was wounded. In his report of the battle he says General Cobb was killed by a sharp-shooter stationed in one of the houses to his left on Hanover street.[1] As General Kershaw was on the ground a few minutes after General Cobb was wounded, and saw and talked with him after he was wounded, his version is more than likely the correct one.

[1] See War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Vol. 21, page 590.

No one knows when or by whom Federal Hill was built. At one time the property belonged to a gentleman by the name of Lovell, who moved to Fauquier county, and it may be he erected the residence. The old, one and a half story frame building on the corner of Prince Edward and Fauquier streets, now owned and occupied by Mfrs. Mary Knox Moncure, takes its place among the oldest buildings of the town. It was the birth-place and home of John Forsythe, who made such a brilliant record as a Statesman from Georgia, to which State he moved while a young man. His father was Robert Forsythe, a major in the Revolutionary war, who died in Fredericksburg early in the nineteenth century. This house was also said to have been the home of John Dawson, an old bachelor, who represented this district in Congress from 1797 to 1814. His success at the ballot-box was due as much, perhaps, if not more, to his declaring himself a friend to the poor man (a hobby much ridden these days by politicians) than to any other one thing. He is said to have created quite a sensation in the courthouse in Fredericksburg during one of his heated campaigns, which gained him many votes. Political feeling ran high, the people were much stirred up, the canvas was exciting and the result doubtful. A public meeting had been extensively advertised to take place at the courthouse, and the building was early filled to its capacity to hear a joint discussion between the Congressional candidates. Mr. Dawson, a few minutes late, reached the courthouse, and, finding his way blocked by the dense crowd, shouted at the top of his voice from the door—"Make way, gentlemen, for the poor man's friend!" All eyes were at once turned to the speaker, and, seeing it was John Dawson, the candidate, the crowd parted and he was escorted through to the stand, amid thundering applause. He was reelected to Congress. The old, frame building on the south comer of Main and Amelia streets, one and a half stories high, for many years of the first of the nineteenth century was occupied by a Mr. Henderson as a store, and was known for more than a century as Henderson's corner. It is a very old building and prior to the Revolutionary war, while political feeling was almost at fever heat, those who opposed resistance to the Mother Country congregated at this corner and discussed the "state of the country." This gave it the name of "Tory Comer," by which it was known for many years afterwards. This was the only building left in the track of the great fire of 1807, and has not been used as a storehouse for more than half a century. The venerable brick mansion, known as "Kenmore," facing Washington avenue, and the residence of Clarance Randolph Howard, Esq., was built by Colonel Fielding Lewis, a man of great wealth, and who owned a large body of land west of the town. The bricks of which the house was built, tradition had it, came from England, but that is hardly possible, as elegant bricks were manufactured in this country at that time—in the seventeen forties—and the best of clay is found in that locality, where signs of a brick-yard can now be found. The interior stucco work of this colonial mansion is probably equal in workmanship to the best in this country, and is said to have been done by expert Englishmen. It has stood for a century and a half without repairs, so far as is known, until some fifteen years ago, when Mr. Wm. Key Howard gave it some slight touches, which compare favorably with the old work. Col. Lewis, for his second wife, selected Miss Bettie Washington, sister of Gen. George Washington, and to this beautiful mansion she was taken as a bride, and lived there until a few years before her death. Col. Lewis was an officer in the Patriot army and commanded a division at the Siege of Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered and where the Seven Years' war ended. He was an ardent patriot, and during the Revolutionary war, at one time, superintended the manufacture of arms, shells and shot on the north side of the Rappahannock river, just above Falmouth. The ruins of the old forge are still to be seen there, and also the old prison barracks, where some German prisoners were kept during that struggle. The garrison was commanded by Colonel Enever. Colonel Lewis was also a magistrate in the town after the war, a member of the City Council and represented the county in the Legislature. He died in December, 1781, and, it is said, is buried under the front steps of St. George's Episcopal church. His wife, Bettie, survived him sixteen years. In the latter part of her life she went to Culpeper county and lived with one of her children, where she died and was buried. Colonal Fielding Lewis was the father of Captain Robert Lewis, who was one of President Washington's private secretaries, and Mayor of Fredericksburg from 1821 to the day of his death, February 11, 1829. Captain Lewis delivered the address of welcome to General Lafayette on his visit to the town in 1824. Mary, the mother of Washington, must have lived in Fredericksburg the most of her widowhood, which was about forty-six years. Some time after her husband's death, on the opposite side of the Rappahannock river, she moved into the town, where she brought up her illustrious son George to manhood. The dwelling she occupied during that time is now standing on the west corner of Charles and Lewis streets. Until some fifteen years ago this old residence was owned and occupied by private individuals, but just prior to the World's Fair in Chicago a party from that city was negotiating for it, with a view of transferring it to Chicago. While a difference of five hundred dollars in the price was under consideration some ladies of Fredericksburg, who opposed its being disturbed, communicated the condition of things to the Society for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, at Richmond, who at once purchased the property at four thousand and five hundred dollars. The Society had the buildings put in good repairs and the purchase is considered a valuable addition to the possessions of the Society. It is a plain, substantial, old fashioned one and a half story dwelling, of the prevailing order of architecture of that period, and though it has been thoroughly overhauled and repaired, the distinctive features of architecture and general appearance have been faithfully preserved. Mrs. Mary Washington died in the front room of this building in 1789, and was buried on a spot which she had selected for her grave there, on a part of the Kenmore tract, which belonged to the estate of Colonel Fielding Lewis, her son-in-law.

THE MARY WASHINGTON MONUMENT.

Within a few steps of the place where Mary, the mother of Washington, was buried is a ledge of rocks and a beautiful grove of original oak trees, much larger then in area than at present, to which she used often to resort for private reading, meditation and prayer. The grave was marked by a small, marble slab, appropriately inscribed. About forty-five years after her death a stately marble monument, designed to mark her grave and perpetuate her memory, was partly constructed by the private munificence of Mr. Silas Burrows, a wealthy merchant of New York. The corner-stone of this proposed monument was laid on the 7th of May, 1833, with an imposing military and civic display, by Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, President Andrew Jackson, Past Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee, being present and participating. This monument, because of the failure of Mr. Burrows in business, remained in a half completed condition for nearly sixty years and was greatly mutilated by time and relic hunters. An appeal for a Congressional appropriation to restore and complete the structure by the United States Government, made by a bill, introduced in the Forty-third Congress by Hon. James B. Sener, then representing this Congressional district, was unsuccessful, notwithstanding his patriotic efforts were seconded by a strong appeal of the Mayor and Common Council of Fredericksburg and unanimously recommended by a Congressional committee, who visited the place, of which Hon. Horace Manard, of Tennessee, afterward Post-Master General, was chairman. A similar effort was made some years thereafter by Hon. George T. Garrison, representing this district in Congress with the same result. Upon the failure of the efforts of these two members of Congress, aided by the city authorities, to secure the completion of the monument by the government, came the women's opportunity. They were deeply interested in the subject, and cherished an honest pride in having the monument completed to perpetuate the memory and virtues of the greatest of American women. In 1889, the centennial year of the death of this venerated lady, an association was formed by the devoted and patriotic ladies of Fredericksburg, with Mrs. James P. Smith as their leader, who resolved to spare no time or effort to raise the necessary money to complete the structure, and thus save the grave of this sainted woman from oblivion. A systematic correspondence and appeals were commenced, and in a short time, mainly, if not altogether, through the influence of the Fredericksburg association, a national association was formed in Washington, with Mrs. Chief-Justice Waite as president. These two associations cooperating, other strong appeals were sent out to the patriotic women of the United States, soliciting contributions, and soon money began to flow into the treasury of the association, until a sufficient sum was raised to complete the work. A sufficient amount of money being in hand this perplexing question arose—should the old monument be renovated and completed, or should it be set aside and a new one constructed? This gave rise to considerable controversy, because there was quite a division of sentiment, and serious results were feared by members of both associations. This difficulty was met, however, by an order to have the unfinished monument examined by an expert, who, upon a thorough investigation, reported that it was so broken and mutilated that it could not be repaired, and so plans for a new monument were ordered. The plan submitted by Mr. Wm. J. Crawford, of Buffalo, New York, was adopted by the ladies and to him was intrusted the work of erecting the monument on the site of the unfinished structure, under which the remains of this venerable and venerated woman reposed. The monument is a square base, with a solid granite shaft fifty-one and a half feet high—total height, fifty-five feet—with the words "Mary, the Mother of Washington," in raised letters, cut on the base. The material of the old monument was broken up and placed in the foundation of the new one, except such of the fluted columns as remained unbroken, which were donated to different institutions. One of them was given to Fredericksburg Lodge of Masons, of this place, by Mr. Crawford, the architect, which is now in the lodge room. In due time the monument was finished to the satisfaction of both the Fredericksburg and Washington associations, which was accepted, and the 10th of May, 1894, was designated as the time for its dedication. The Fredericksburg Masonic Lodge, which had laid the corner-stone of the old monument, was invited to conduct the ceremonies of dedicating the new, but it gracefully turned that honor over to the Grand Lodge of Virginia, which performed the work in good style, escorted and assisted by Lodges No. 4 and No. 22 of Alexandria, Va. The day for the dedication of the monument dawned beautiful and clear and found everything in readiness for the grand event. Besides the National Association being largely represented from Washington, headed by Mrs. Waite, there were President Grover Cleveland, with most of his cabinet and their wives; Vice-President A. E. Stevenson and lady, Chief-Justice Fuller, Justice Harlan, Senators and Representatives, Governor Charles T. O'Ferrall and Staff, the volunteer militia from different portions of the State, the Grand Lodge of Masons of Virginia, with Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, and Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22, and distinguished men and Masons from different parts of the country. The streets of the town were thronged with thousands of people from far and near, eager and anxious to witness the ceremonies. Never before was such a vast number of people seen in Fredericksburg, except at the great battle in December, 1862. The dedicatory services were conducted by the Grand Lodge of Masons of Virginia, Major Mann Page, Jr., Grand Master, which were solemn and impressive. Addresses, appropriate to the occasion, were made by Mayor A. P. Rowe, Governor Charles T. O'Ferrall, President Grover Cleveland and Mr. Blair Lee, who were followed by Senator John W. Daniel, the orator of the occasion. Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4, gave a grand banquet at the opera house in the afternoon to the Masonic fraternity and several hundred invited guests, which was presided over by Judge James B. Sener. On that interesting occasion addresses were made by several distinguished guests, including President Cleveland, Vice President Stevenson, Justice Harlan and others. The Marine band was present and furnished music of the highest order for both the dedication and banquet. Since the monument was finished the associations have erected a comfortable granite building on the grounds for a residence and office for the custodian of the monument and the grounds, and Mrs. John T. Goolrick, a descendant of George Mason, occupies that position.

MARY WASHINGTON'S WILL

The last will and testament of Mary Washington has for many years attracted general interest, and numerous visitors call at the courthouse to inspect and feast their eyes upon the original document. So precious does the court regard this relic that an order was made for its preservation, and it is now is a qase and receives the special attention and care of Mr. A. B. Yates, the polite and accommodating clerk of the court. The will is in these words:— "In the name of God, amen. I, Mary Washington, of Fredericksburg, in the county of Spotsylvania, being in good health, but calling to mind the uncertainty of this life and willing to dispose of what remains of my earthly estate, do make and publish this my last will, recommending my soul into the hands of my Creator, hoping for a remission of all my sins through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind. I dispose of all my worldly estate as follows:— Item. I give to my son General George Washington all my lands on Accokeek Run, in the county of Stafford, and also my negro boy, George, to him and his heirs forever; also my best bed, bedstead, and Virginia cloth curtains (the same that stands in my best room), my quilted blue-and-white quilt and my best dressing glass. Item. I give and devise to my son, Charles Washington my negro man, Tom, to him and his assigns forever. Item. I give and devise to my daughter, Betty Lewis, my phaeton and my bay horse. Item. I give and devise to my daughter-in-law, Hannah Washington, my purple cloth cloak lined with shay. Item. I give and bequeath to my grand son, Corbin Washington my negro wench, old Bet, my riding chair, and two black horses, to him and his assigns forever. Item. I give and bequeath to my grand son, Fielding Lewis, my negro man, Frederick, to him and his assigns forever; also eight silver table spoons, half of my crockery ware, and the blue and white tea china, with book-case, oval table, one bed, bedstead, one pair sheets, one pair blankets and white cotton counterpane, two table cloths, six red leather chairs, half my pewter, and one half of my iron kitchen furniture. Item. I give and devise to my grand son, Lawrence Lewis, my negro wench, Lydia, to him and his assigns forever. Item. I give and bequeath to my grand daughter, Betty Carter, my negro woman, little Bet, and her future increase, to her and her assigns forever; also my largest looking glass, my walnut writing desk with drawers, a square dining table, one bed, bedstead, bolster, one pillow, one blanket and pair of sheets, white Virginia cloth counterpane and purple curtains, my red-and-white tea china, tea spoons and the other half of my pewter, crockery-ware, and the remainder of my iron kitchen furniture. Item. I give to my grand son, George Washington, my next best dressing glass, one bed, bedstead, bolster, one pillow, one pair sheets, one blanket and counterpane. Item. I devise all my wearing apparel to be equally divided between my grand daughters, Betty Carter, Fanny Ball and Milly Washington; but should my daughter, Betty Lewis, fancy any one, two or three articles, she is to have them before a division thereof. Lastly. I nominate and appoint my said son, General George Washington, executor of this my will, and as I owe few or no debts. I desire my executor to give no security nor to appraise my estate, but desire the same may be allotted to my devisees with as little trouble and delay as may be, desiring their acceptance thereof as all the token I now have to give them of my love for them. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 20th day of May, 1788. MARY WASHINGTON. Witness: JOHN FERNEYHOUGH. Signed, sealed and published in our presence, and signed by us in the presence of the said Mary Washington, and at her desire. JAMES MERCER, JOSEPH WALKER." The will was written by Judge James Mercer, first President of the Court of Appeals, or "Chief-Justice of the General Court."

THE MERCER MONUMENT.

In the year 1906 the government of the United States erected a monument to General Hugh Mercer, who was mortally wounded at Princeton, N. J., while gallantly leading his men in a charge against the British in 1777. He lived one week in great suffering, when he died and was buried near where he fell, but afterwards removed to Philadelphia, Pa., where he now sleeps. Gen. Mercer was bora in Scotland, studied medicine at Aberdeen and graduated with high honors. After graduating he soon rose to distinction as a surgeon and physician and did much service in the army. He was at the battle of Culloden Moor, Scotland, where his party was badly defeated, and those not taken prisoners fled to other countries to save their lives. Gen. Mercer came to this country and settled in Pennsylvania. He was with Gen. Braddock, who was killed at Fort Duquesne, and, being thrown with Gen. Washington, became attached to him and came to Fredericksburg "to be near him," landing here in 1763. He practised medicine and established a drug store at the corner of Main and Amelia streets.[2] Gen. Mercer married Isabella Wallace and lived at the "Sentry Box" with Geo. Weedon, who married his wife's sister, until the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Soon after his death Congress appropriated $5,000 for the erection of a monument in this place to his memory, but the matter was overlooked and the gratitude of the government for his services was not exhibited to the extent of a memorial until the year 1906, one hundred and twenty-nine years after his death. In 1905 a bill was passed by Congress appropriating $25,000 to erect a monument to perpetuate the memory of the grand hero— two-thirds of the interest of the amount appropriated in 1777— and he now appears in heroic size, on his pedestal, on Washington avenue, in the attitude of a patriot, drawn sword in hand, ready to strike for Home and Country—Liberty and Independence. We naturally uncover our heads while we "behold this friend of Washington—this heroic defender of America." [2] One tradition is that this drug store was at the corner of Princess Ann and Amelia streets, where Mr. John Stansbnry Wallace lives; but another tradition locates it at the corner of Main and Amelia, most likely adjoining the corner house. This tradition Is strengthened by finding, some time ago, while repairing the house, many old papers and other things that must have come from a drug store, and no other such store was ever known at that place.

title: Fredericksburg, Virginia 1608-1908/11


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Guthrie gave lectures on surgery from October 1816 for nearly thirty years, which were open gratuitously to all the officers of the army, navy, and East India Company. In December 1816 he founded an infirmary for diseases of the eye, afterwards the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital at Charing Cross, to which he was chief surgeon. An incautious remark in one of his lectures led to attacks upon him in the 'Lancet' (, Autobiography, p. 259, and Lancet, 1850, i. 734). Guthrie entered an action for libel, which he afterwards withdrew, Mr. Wakley, the proprietor of the 'Lancet,' subsequently apologising, and becoming Guthrie's firm friend. He was elected assistant surgeon to the Westminster Hospital in 1823, and full surgeon in 1827; he resigned in 1843 to make way for his son, Charles Guthrie, as assistant surgeon. In 1824 he became a member of the council of the Royal College of Surgeons, of which he was president in 1833, 1841, and 1854. He was professor of anatomy and surgery from 1828 to 1831, and lectured on the principal subjects in which he had made improvements. As a councillor he succeeded in carrying numerous reforms in the college procedure and in its requirements from candidates for its diplomas; but he strongly opposed the charter of 1843. He died in London on 1 May 1856, and was buried at Kensal Green. He was twice married; by his first wife, Margaret Paterson, daughter of the lieutenant-governor of Prince Edward's Island, he had two sons and one daughter; the eldest son, the Rev. Lowry Guthrie. died before him; the younger, Charles Gardiner Guthrie, became a capable surgeon, but died in 1859, aged 42. He wrote 'Lectures on Ophthalmic Surgery,' and numerous papers on diseases of the eye (Lancet, 1859, iii. 203).

Guthrie had an active and robust frame, and keen, energetic features, with remarkably piercing black eyes. He was shrewd, quick, and sometimes inconsiderate in speech. His Hunterian oration in 1830, delivered without note, halt, or mistake, was a notable success. His somewhat brusque military manner concealed much kind-heartedness, and though dreaded as an examiner, he never rejected a candidate by his unsupported vote. His lectures were very popular, being interspersed with many anecdotes and illustrative cases. As an operator his coolness and delicacy of hand were of the highest order. His writings begin with 'Observations and Cases of Gunshot Wounds,' published in the fourth volume of the 'New Medical and Physical Journal,' 1811, in which he insisted on the necessity of tying both ends of a wounded artery. His celebrated work on gunshot wounds, published at the end of 1814, dealt especially with wounds of the limbs requiring amputation, and advocated immediate operation on the battle-field. The third edition, 1827, was enlarged, and entitled 'On Gunshot Wounds, on Inflammation, Erysipelas, and Mortification, on Injuries of Nerves, and on Wounds of the Extremities requiring the different operations of Amputation.' This work was translated into German in 1821. In 1819 he published a 'Treatise on Operations for the formation of an Artificial Pupil,' which was included in 1823 in his 'Lectures on the Operative Surgery of the Eye.' In 1834 he wrote a pamphlet 'On the Certainty and Safety with which the Operation of the Extraction of a Cataract may be performed.' In 1830 he published 'The Diseases and Injuries of Arteries,' delivered at the College of Surgeons in 1829, expounding especially the collateral circulation by which the life of a limb is maintained after the main artery has been tied. This was followed by works on 'Inguinal and Femoral Hernia,' 1833; 'The Anatomy and Diseases of the Neck of the Bladder and of the Urethra,' 1834; 'The Anatomy and Diseases of the Urinary and Sexual Organs,' 1836; 'Injuries of the Head affecting the Brain,' 1842; 'On Wounds and Injuries of the Arteries of the Human Body, with the Treatment and Operations required for their Cure,' 1846, and finally by a compendium of his former works, with new comments, issued in 1853 as 'Commentaries on the Surgery of the War,' 1808-15, termed a fifth edition; a sixth edition, with comments on the surgery of the Crimean war, appeared in 1855. The last two of these works are most interesting and graphic, and of much value as comments on military arrangements. His Hunterian oration was printed in the 'Lancet' for 1830. Many of his lectures and papers are published in various medical journals. He contributed three papers to the 'Transactions of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society,' the most important of which (viii. 550) was his 'Observations on the Treatment of Syphilitic Diseases without Mercury.' He also published a 'Letter to the Home Secretary on the Report of the Select Committee on Anatomy,' 1829 (second edition, 1837), and 'Remarks on the Anatomy Bill,' 1832.

[Pettigrew's Medical Portrait Gallery, iv. 1840; Lancet, 1850 i. 726-36 (with portrait), 1856 i. 519; J. F. Clarke's Autobiographical Recollections of the Medical Profession, pp. 257-60, 292.]  GUTHRIE or GUTHRY, HENRY (1600?–1676), bishop of Dunkeld, author of 'Memoirs of Scottish Affairs,' was descended from the old Forfarshire family of Guthrie of


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that ilk. He was born about 1600 at Cupar-Angus, of which parish his father, John Guthrie, was minister. He was educated at the university of St. Andrews, where he graduated M.A. 16 July 1620, afterwards studying divinity in St. Mary's College there. For some years he was a tutor in the family of the Earl of Mar, and at an unknown date became minister of the collegiate church of Guthrie, founded in 1479 by his ancestor Sir David Guthrie, armour-bearer to James III. Through the recommendation of the Earl of Mar he was in 1632 presented by Charles I to the parish church of Stirling, over which he was episcopally ordained on 13 May. He was in 1634 a member of the court of high commission. Although his ecclesiastical sympathies were rather with the government party, he disapproved of the measures adopted by the king in 1638 for the introduction of a liturgy, and on the abolition of episcopacy in the following year subscribed the covenant. This prudent conduct enabled him for some years to retain considerable influence in the deliberations of the church, and he was frequently chosen a member of the general assembly. In 1640 he brought before the assembly at Aberdeen the irregularities connected with the holding of 'circular' night meetings for family worship, and after long debate got an act passed forbidding 'families to convene together for religious exercise' (, Scots Affairs, iii. 221-31;, Letters and Journals, i. 248-55; , Memoirs, pp. 77-9). On Sunday, 3 Oct. 1641, Guthrie had the honour of preaching before the king in the abbey church of Holyrood. When in 1643 a letter was presented from the English divines at Westminster to the general assembly, proposing to extirpate episcopacy 'root and branch,' Guthrie moved that the proposal should not be entertained, and that the divines at Westminster should be asked to explain themselves, especially 'concerning that which they proposed to introduce;' but his motion met with no support. Although the assembly of 1647 condemned the 'engagement' of the Scottish parliament for the release of Charles from the Isle of Wight, because it contained no provision for the maintenance of the national religion, Guthrie and others preached in favour of it. After the defeat of the Scots army under the Duke of Hamilton he was, therefore, on 14 Nov. 1648, dismissed from his charge as a 'malignant.' For some time he lived in retirement, devoting himself to a close study of the Fathers; but the sentence of deposition having been removed by the synod 12 April 1655, he was on 7 April of the following year admitted minister of the parish of Kilspindie, Perthshire. After the Restoration he was on 9 July 1661 allowed 150l. by parliament 'on account of his sufferings.' The church of Stirling having also become vacant through the execution of James Guthrie [q. v.] on 1 June of the same year, he was restored to his old charge. There he remained till 1665, when, through the recommendation of John, earl of Lauderdale, he was translated to the bishopric of Dunkeld, to which he was consecrated on 24 Aug. Along with the bishopric he also held for a time the parish of Meigle. He died in 1676 at the age of about seventy-six. Guthrie was the author of 'Memoirs of Scottish Affairs, Civil and Ecclesiastical, from the year 1637 to the death of Charles I,' Lond. 1702; 2nd edit. Glasgow, 1747; same edition with memoir of the author by George Crawfurd, 1748. The work is of value as a contemporary account by a writer both of ability and moderation, notwithstanding that it is not quite free from party bias.

[Memoir by George Crawfurd prefixed to Memoirs; Hew Scott's Fasti Eccles. Scot.; Guthrie's Memoirs; Gordon's Scots Affairs (Spalding Club); Robert Baillie's Letters and Journals (Bannatyne Club); Nimmo's Hist. of Stirlingshire; Keith's Scottish Bishops.]  GUTHRIE, JAMES (1612?–1661), Scottish presbyterian divine, son of the laird of Guthrie, Forfarshire, was born about 1612, He was educated at St. Leonard's College, St. Andrews, where he graduated M.A., and became one of the regents, distinguished for his lectures on philosophy. At this time he was an episcopalian, and is said to have been zealous for prelacy and the ceremonies. Yet on 16 Dec. 1638 the strongly antiprelatic assembly at Glasgow put him in the list of those ready for ecclesiastical vacancies. In January 1639 Samuel Rutherford was made divinity professor at St. Andrews, and under his influence Guthrie became a presbyterian. In 1642 he was ordained minister of Lander, Berwickshire, and soon distinguished himself in the cause of the covenant. He was a member of the general assembly from 1644 to 1651; in the first year he received (15 May) 15l. towards the expenses of his attendance from the kirk session of Stow, Midlothian. In 1646 he was one of seven commissioners appointed by the committee of estates to wait on Charles I at Newcastle with a letter from the general assembly. He preached before parliament on 10 Jan. 1649, and on 16 Jan. before the parliamentary commission for the visitation of the university of St. Andrews. Next month a movement was made for his removal to Edinburgh. He preached on 13 July before the parliamentary commission for the


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Rh aboriginal inhabitants of America. This custom consists in the amputation of the little finger of the left hand. Among the New Hollanders the operation is confined to the females, and is performed during the infant years, being technically called "malgun" by the Port Jackson blacks when first observed by the European settlers. The true meaning or origin of this mutilation has never been properly explained, although numerous conjectures have been hazarded on the point. Like many other customs, not alone among the aborigines of Australia, but among barbarous nations of a much higher standing, the cause or object of the practice is utterly forgotten or unknown among the tribes by whom it is practised; or, if known to some of the sages, is kept a secret with scrupulous care. A somewhat ostensible though not very erudite method of solving the mystery, discovered by some Europeans, consists in the supposition that the small finger of the left hand of all females was amputated for the purpose of affording greater facility in winding up the lines which the aboriginal women exclusively use in fishing, and which they coil up on the left hand when their labour is done. In this latter process no doubt the absence of the little finger, or a portion of it, may be an advantage; but that the advantage is the cause of the finger being removed is a supposition which closely approximates to absurdity. It would, moreover, be attributing to the New Hollander a degree of wanton cruelty which would be hardly credible, to


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126 suppose that for so trifling a cause he would inflict such a torture and impose such a deformity on all the females of his tribe. Nothing can possibly afford a better clue for arriving at a just conclusion as to the probable meaning of the ceremony than an investigation of the practice among the North American Indians which has so strong a similitude to the one just mentioned. The ceremony among these last-named people, which is elaborately described by the author before quoted, is of a religious character, and is preceded by a process of torture of the worst possible description, at the termination of which the sufferer, as a last act of self-immolation, approaches a man appointed for the purpose, and placing his finger on the skull of a buffalo, it is chopped off at one stroke, the owner having previously offered it as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit. Among the Red Indians the operation appears to be confined to the men, and the loss of a finger, in the manner referred to, is regarded as a mark of the greatest distinction; nor are they in all instances content with the loss of one member, some warriors and chiefs, the more to bask in the favour of their Manitou, immolating at different times the first joint of several fingers: the greater the number missing the greater the reverence paid to the individual. Here then, most probably, is the true explanation of the practice among the New Hollanders which has been the cause of so much speculation. The amputation of the little finger of female children is — or was at a


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Rh remote period — intended as a sacrifice to a superior being, or as a propitiatory offering to the only spiritual being at present known to them — the spirit of evil; and the restriction of the ceremony to females may be explained by supposing that it is intended to counter- balance the loss of a front tooth among the male portion of the tribes, as before described. This may be the more readily believed as the knocking out of the tooth, which takes place at a mature age, is a much more painful operation than the excision of a joint of the finger when performed during infancy.

The practice of sorcery and incantations among the New Hollanders is attested by all who have had any degree of intercourse with them, being exhibited to travellers, on their first interviews with the aborigines, in a somewhat amusing manner. Thus, a party travelling in the far interior once came suddenly on a tribe of blacks who had never before been in close contact with Europeans. The latter, terrified at the appearance of the strangers with their horses, hastily collecting their gear, darted into the bush, in the depths of which they were soon effectually concealed and fortified. It being near evening the travellers prepared to encamp for the night, and having erected their tents and lighted their fires, were expending an hour in conversation previous to retiring to rest. Presently a slight rustling was heard among the surrounding brushwood, and the travellers, apprehensive of a hostile visit from the people whom they had previously so unceremoniously disturbed, grasped their arms,


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128 but without moving from their position, and listening attentively and straining their eyes in the direction whence the noise had proceeded, soon perceived by the light of their fire, at the distance of some yards, the cause of their apprehensions. This was a very old black man, whom they had previously noticed among the retreating tribe, and who now appeared in a stooping attitude, his hands resting on his knees, staring through an opening in the trees at the scene before him. After having gazed for some time, and finding himself unmolested, he commenced a series of the most extraordinary contortions and gestures, accompanied by some unmusical sounds, by spitting, and every conceivable mode of giving effect to his necromancy, all of which appeared so ludicrous to the whites that, forgetting their possible danger, they at length gave vent to their mirth in loud laughter, which only grew louder as the old man, enraged at their mirth, redoubled his exertions to cast a spell round the party. Finding his enchantment powerless, after exhausting his entire stock of charms, and after expending his whole energy, the old man turned round, and with a peculiar mode of leave-taking, which only gave a climax to the uproarious mirth of the whites, darted into the bush to rejoin his companions. Leichhardt, in the journal of his first expedition, relates that, his party being one night quietly seated in their camp, a solitary black, mistaking their fire for that of his tribe, walked into the midst of them; and, terrified beyond all description


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Rh at finding himself among such strange beings, clambered with the speed of lightning to the summit of a neighbouring tree, and from this elevated position commenced a series of contortions and gestures, calling aloud in a doleful voice, spitting, and snorting, evidently intending thereby to dissipate the vision, or render powerless the superhuman visitants — for as such, no doubt, he regarded the explorers.


text: Author talk:William Frederic Bade

title: Author talk:William Frederic Bade


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Author:William Frederic Bade

Works

 * (ed.) A Thousand-Mile Walk To The Gulf (1916)

title: Author:William Frederic Bade


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Guthrie, David


text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Guthrie, Frederick


text: Portal talk:Terrorism

title: Portal talk:Terrorism


text: Portal talk:War Correspondence

title: Portal talk:War Correspondence


text: Portal talk:War poetry

title: Portal talk:War poetry


text: Portal talk:Regret to Inform

title: Portal talk:Regret to Inform


text: Portal talk:Treaties

title: Portal talk:Treaties


text: Author:Johann Eduard Erdmann

title: Author:Johann Eduard Erdmann


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Page:History of West Australia.djvu/536

 opportunity ashore in foreign lands was eagerly embraced to enrich his knowledge. Copious notes, mental and literal, were taken by his keen observant mind, and written down as the nucleus of a subsequent magnum opus. He stayed but a few months in South Australia, yet he proves by the results of that limited period how a maximum of work can be effected in a minimum of time. He almost immediately set out on a visit to the Warburton Ranges, and reported most fully and scientifically on the geological conditions and chemical resources of the regions traversed. An account of his explorations was subsequently published in the Register, entitled "From Murat Bay to the Warburton Ranges." This narrative is well worthy of perusal, not only for the valuable scientific data contained in its periods, but for the clear and graphic style in which be couches what would otherwise be concrete, and therefore unpopular material. He was impressed with the importance of having efficient transit facilities into the interior, and resolved to purchase a number of camels to effect and accommodate that purpose. To obtain them he sailed for India in 1885, where he made many peregrinations into the interior, and proceeded as far as the Afghan border. He bought 300 camels, and imported them into South Australia. He lost no time in establishing a carrying station, with Hergott Springs as a centre. For prospectors, explorers, the casual traveller, and the squatter, these imported camels were invaluable, and were warmly recognised as a boon to the northern parts of the colony.

He could now with more ease and experience hazard a more difficult expedition than anything previously attempted. He set out with hopeful expectations of exploring and mapping out the western end of the Macdonnell and James Ranges, and to trace the far-off branches of the Finke River and its source. Laborious as the task was, he satisfactorily fulfilled the exhaustive objects of his errand in 1886. On reporting to the Government of the colony he received expressions of their gratitude for his desirable discoveries. The Government published a map illustrating his work, and he himself wrote a lengthy and vivid account of his expedition for the Register, with the title of "The Sources of the Finke River." This article, novel and racy, was commented favourably upon by the press, and received the enviable attention of the Royal Geographical Society, who elected him a Fellow.

For some time after the eventful termination of his expedition, he quietly engaged in pastoral and camel-carrying pursuits. These were not without their interest to the public. Article after article flew from his pen to the press advocating interior development and a better system of communication from the exterior. His letters had a partial effect in arousing a comparatively inactive Government, whose sole concern was the amelioration of its immediate surroundings. In 1887, feeling that his health had suffered somewhat from the privations of his expeditions, he proceeded to England. While there he published an article in the "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London," entitled "Central Australia." On his return to the scene of his former achievements, he once more, with the "quondam" enthusiasm and alacrity of his débût, made a journey to the Macdonnell Ranges. This expedition was more a scientific one than its predecessors, for he published a comprehensive geological sketch, entitled "Geological Notes on the Upper Finke River Basin," in the "Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia." This treatise treats of the subtle geological points that the country depicted exhibits, and is a fund of scientific and erudite information. In 1891, in consideration of his merits as a geologist, he was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. In the same year he left for London to study geology more closely and thoroughly. He attended the lectures of Professor Bonney, D.Sc., F.R S. and C. of the University College, London.—an eminent geologist and man of considerable locus standi in the scientific world. For two sessions he laboured hard in his earnest desire to acquire an exhaustive knowledge of his favourite subjects. To round off the edges of his studies he went to Heidelberg, and studied under Professor A. Andreae, palæntologist, now director at the Roemer Museum, Hildersheim, Germany; Professor Victor Meyer, the celebrated professor of chemistry; and Professor H. Rosenbusch, one of the greatest authorities on mineralogy and petrology. The provinces of these three chairs are not definitely demarcated. Ever and anon does the one professor wander into the secret grounds and enclosures of the other. Still their entrenching is in illustration of different points at issue. For two years Dr. Chewings was a continual student in the laboratory of Professor Rosenbusch. He gave special attention to geology, as illustrated by the microscopical study of the eruptive and other rocks, and the association of valuable minerals with them. It was during his university career in Germany that he wrote that interesting thesis, entitled "'Beitrage zur Kenutuiss der Geologie Sud'—und Central—Australiens nebst einer Ubersicht Des Lake Eyre Beckens und Seiner Randgebirge." He also took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the same University.

In 1894 he came to Western Australia to study the geological features and the origin and conditions under which reefs and gold generally occur on the gold fields. He was appointed to execute commissions for capitalists, and to report on the different gold-bearing areas or on mining properties. He attaches himself to no special company or firm. He has travelled much among the fields, and his conclusions can be relied on as weighted with authority. He made a careful examination of the geological structure of the auriferous rock of the Western Australian fields, and prepared a report of his investigations, which he read before the Royal Colonial Institute, entitled "Geological Notes on the Coolgardie Goldfields." The paper, impartial in its evidence, and thoroughly scientific in exposition, favourably impressed the leading periodicals of England and Australia, and was instrumental in arousing the confidence of investors and speculators at home as to the security and richness of the Coolgardie and other Western Australian goldfields.

To attempt an enumeration of all the mines the celebrated Doctor has reported on would be entirely abortive and uncalled for; but one characteristic that steals through his varied reports is equity,—severe and strict representation of facts as they exist. His opinion is courted for its authority, for the confidence which it elicits because of its truth and the scientific knowledge of premises which warrant the conclusion. His scientific status on the fields is that of the highest. No one there can produce a more brilliant record of scientific, literary, and scholarly results.

Over deserts, countries, and continents he has travelled in his enthusiasm for discoveries and for all kinds of information, general and particular. With his abilities and breadth of knowledge he is quite qualified and capable of furnishing true data concerning the goldfields. His ardour for knowledge has been such that he could step from the weary desolate life of the explorer into the science rooms of a university. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of Berlin and a member of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. His temporary residence is in Coolgardie.

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text: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Townshend, Thomas