text:
Constitution of Alabama of 1861

We, the people of the State of Alabama, having separated ourselves from the Government known as the United States of America, and being now by our representatives in the Convention assembled, and acting in our sovereign and independent character; in order to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity—invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God—do ordain and establish the following Constitution and form of Government for the State of Alabama: And the boundaries of this State are established to be: Beginning where the thirty-first degree of North latitude crosses the Perdido river; thence, East, to the boundary line of the State of Georgia; thence along said line to the Southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee; thence, West, along the Southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee, crossing the Tennessee river, and on to the second intersection of said river by said line; thence up said river to the mouth of Big Bear creek; thence by a direct line to the North-west corner of Washington county in this State, as originally formed; thence Southerly along the line of Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico; thence Eastwardly, including all Islands within six leagues of the shore, to the Perdido river; and thence up the same to the beginning.

That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare:

That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are equal in rights; and that no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive, separate public emoluments or privileges, but in consideration of public services.

All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and, therefore, they have at all times an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government, in such manner as they may think expedient.

No person within this state shall, upon, any pretence, be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping God in the manner most agreeable to his own conscience; nor be compelled to attend any place of worship; nor shall any one ever be obliged to pay any tithes, taxes, or other rate, for the building or repairing any place of worship, or for the maintenance of any minister or ministry.

No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience.

No person shall be hurt, molested or restrained in his religious profession, sentiments or persuasion, provided he does not disturb others in their religious worship.

The civil rights, privileges, or capacities of any citizen, shall in no way be diminished, or enlarged, on account of his religious principles.

There shall be no establishment of religion by law; no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship; and no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under this State.

Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.

The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and possessions, from unreasonable seizures or searches; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused has a right to be heard by himself and counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation, and have a copy thereof; to be confronted by the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and, in all prosecutions, by indictment or information, a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offence shall have been committed: he shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor shall he be deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by due course of law.

No person shall be accused, arrested, or detained, except in cases ascertained by law, and according to the forms which the same has prescribed; and no person shall be punished, but in virtue of a law, established and promulgated prior to the offence, and legally applied.

No person shall, for any indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally by information; except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or the militia when in actual service, or by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanor in office.

No person shall, for the same offense, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall any person's property be taken or applied to public use, unless just compensation be made therefor.

All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done him, in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay.

No power of suspending laws shall be exercised, except by the general assembly, or its authority.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments inflicted.

All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient securities, except for capital offences, when the proof is evident, or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of "habeas corpus" shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion, or invasion, the public safety may require it.

The person of a debtor, where there is not strong presumption of fraud, shall not be detained in prison, after delivering up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

No ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be made.

No person shall be attainted of treason or felony by the general assembly. No attainder shall work corruption of blood, nor forfeiture of estate.

The estates of suicides shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death; if any person shall be killed by casualty, there shall be no forfeiture by reason thereof.

The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address, or remonstrance.

Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the State.

No standing army shall be kept up without the consent of the general assembly; and, in that case, no appropriation of money for its support shall be for a longer term than one year; and the military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power.

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

No title of nobility, or hereditary distinction, privilege, honor, or emolument, shall ever be granted or conferred in this State; nor shall any office be created, the appointment of which shall be for a longer term than during good behavior.

Emigration from this state shall not be prohibited, nor shall any citizen be exiled.

The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

No person shall be debarred from prosecuting or defending any civil cause, for or against him or herself, before any tribunal in this State, by him or herself, or counsel.

This enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people: and to guard against any encroachments on the rights herein retained, or any transgression of any of the high powers herein delegated, we declare, that every thing in this article is excepted out of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate; and that all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void.

The powers of the government of the State of Alabama shall be divided into three distinct departments; and each of them confided to a separate body of magistracy, to wit: those which are legislative to one; those which are executive, to another; and those which are judicial to another.

No person, or collection of persons, being of one of those departments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances herein after expressly directed or permitted.

The legislative power of this State shall be vested in two distinct branches; the one to be styled the Senate, the other the House of Representatives, and both together "The General Assembly of the State of Alabama;" and the style of their laws shall be, "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Alabama, in General Assembly convened."

The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by the qualified electors, and shall serve for the term of two years from the day of the commencement of the general election, add no longer.

The representatives shall be chosen every year, on the first Monday in August, until otherwise directed by law.

No person shall be a representative, unless he be a white man, a citizen of the State of Alabama, and shall have been an inhabitant of this State two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof, a resident of the county, city, or town, for which he shall be chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years.

Every white male person of the age of twenty-one years, or upwards, who shall be a citizen of this State, and shall have resided therein one year next preceding an election, and the last three months within the county, city, or town, in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector, but no elector shall be entitled to vote except in the county, city, or town, (entitled to separate representation) in which he may reside at the time of the election.

Electors shall, in all cases, except in those of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same.

In all elections by the people, the electors shall vote by ballot, until the general assembly shall otherwise direct.

Elections for representatives for the several counties shall be held at the place of holding their respective courts, and at such other places as may be prescribed by law: Provided, That when it shall appear to the general assembly that any city or town shall have a number of white inhabitants equal to the ratio then fixed, such city or town shall have a separate representation, according to the number of white inhabitants therein; which shall be retained so long as such city or town shall contain a number of white inhabitants equal to the ratio which may from time to time be fixed by law; and thereafter, and during the existence of the right of separate representation, in such city or town, elections for the county in which such city or town (entitled to such separate representation) is situated, shall not be held in such city or town; but it is understood, and hereby declared, that no city or town shall be entitled to separate representation, unless the number of white inhabitants in the county in which such city or town is situated, residing out of the limits of such city or town, be equal to the existing ratio; or unless the residuum or fraction of such city or town shall, when added to the white inhabitants of the county, residing out of the limits of said city or town, be equal to the ratio fixed by law for one representative; and, provided, that, if the residuum or fraction of any city or town, entitled to separate representation, shall, when added to the residuum of the county in which it may lie, be equal to the ratio fixed by law for one representative, then the aforesaid county, city, or town, having the largest residuum, shall be entitled to such representation: and, provided, also, that where there are two or more counties adjoining, which have residuums or fractions over and above the ratio then fixed by law, if said residuums or fractions, when added together, will amount to such ratio, in that case one representative shall be added to that county having the largest residuum.

The General Assembly shall cause an enumeration to be made in the year eighteen hundred and fifty, and eighteen hundred and fifty-five, and every ten years thereafter, of all the white inhabitants of this State; and the whole number of representatives shall, at the first regular session after such enumeration, be apportioned among the several counties, cities, or towns, entitled to separate representation, according to their respective number of white inhabitants, and the said apportionment, when made, shall not be subject to alteration until after the next census shall be taken.

The general assembly shall, at the first session after making every such enumeration, fix by law the whole number of senators, and shall divide the state into the same number of districts, as nearly equal in the number of white inhabitants as may be, each of which districts shall be entitled to one senator and no more: Provided, that the whole number of senators shall never be less than one-fourth, nor more than one-third, of the whole number of representatives.

When a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of which such district consists, shall not be entirely separated by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a district.

Senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors, for the term of four years, at the same time, and in the same manner, and at the places where they may vote for members of the House of Representatives; and no person shall be a senator, unless he be a white man, a citizen of the State, and an inhabitant thereof two years next preceding his election, and the last year thereof, a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen; and shall have attained to the age of twenty-seven years.

Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years; yet, at the general election after every new apportionment, elections shall be held anew in every senatorial district; and the senators elected, when convened at the first session, shall be divided by lot into two classes, as nearly equal as may be: the seats of those of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of two years, and those of the second class at the expiration of four years, dating in both cases from the day of election, so that one half may be biennially chosen, except as above provided.

The House of Representatives, when assembled, shall choose a speaker, and its other officers; and the Senate shall annually choose a President and its other officers, biennially; each house shall judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members; but a contested election shall be determined in such a manner as shall be directed by law.

A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties, as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish members for disorderly behavior, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member; but not a second time for the same cause; and shall have all other powers necessary for branch of the legislature of a free and independent State.

Each house, during the session, may punish by imprisonment, any person, not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly behavior in its presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings: Provided, that such imprisonment shall not, at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours.

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and cause the same to be published immediately after its adjournment, excepting such parts as, in its judgment, may require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall at the desire of any one tenth of the members present, be entered on the journals. Any member of either house shall have liberty to dissent from, or protest against, any act or resolution, which he may think injurious to the public or an individual, and have the reasons of his dissent entered on the Journals.

Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, during the session of the General Assembly, and in going to and returning from the same; allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the General Assembly is convened; nor shall any member be liable to answer for any thing spoken in debate in either house, in any court or place elsewhere.

When vacancies happen in either house, the Governor, or the person exercising the powers of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions, as, in the opinion of the house, may require secrecy.

Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

Bills may originate in either house, and be amended, altered, or rejected, by the other; but no bill shall have the force of a law until on three several days it be read in each house; and free discussion be allowed thereon; unless, in case of urgency, four-fifths of the house in which the bill shall be depending, may deem it expedient to dispense with this rule; and every bill, having passed both houses, shall be signed by the Speaker and President of their respective houses: Provided, that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may amend or reject them as other bills.

Each member of the General Assembly shall receive from the public treasury, such compensation for his services, as may be fixed by law; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the session at which such increase shall have been made.

No Senator or Representative shall during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office of profit under this State; except such offices as may be filled by elections by the people.

No person holding any lucrative office under this State, or any other power, the office of Postmaster, offices in the militia, to which there is attached no annual salary, justices of the peace, commissioners of the Court of County Commissioners, notary public, and commissioner of deeds excepted, shall be eligible to the General Assembly of this State.

No person who may hereafter be a collector or holder of public moneys, shall have a seat in either house of the General Assembly, or be eligible to any office of trust or profit under this State, until he shall have accounted for, and paid into the treasury, all sums for which he may be accountable.

The General Assembly shall meet annually, on such day as may be provided by law, and may continue in session not more than thirty days. The next session of the General Assembly shall commence on the second Monday in November eighteen hundred and sixty-one.

No special law shall be enacted for the benefit of individuals or private corporations, in cases which are provided for by a general law, or where the relief sought, can be given by any court of this State.

Private property shall not be taken for private use, or for the use of corporations, other than municipal, without the consent of the owner; but the right of way may be secured by law, to persons and corporations, over the lands of persons and corporations; also, the right to establish depots, stations and turn-outs to works of public improvement: Provided, just compensation is made to the owner of such land.

No power to levy taxes shall be delegated to individuals or private corporations.

Taxes shall not be levied for the benefit of individuals or corporations, other than municipal corporations, without the consent of the tax-payer; but this section shall not be so construed as to effect the power of the General Assembly to perfect or secure any right or privilege arising under any existing system of this State; and no right or privilege arising under any existing law of this State; and no right or privilege arising under any existing law of this State, shall be affected by this section.

The General Assembly shall not borrow or raise money on the credit of the State, except for purposes of military defense against actual or threatened invasion, rebellion, or insurrection, unless two-thirds of the members elected to each house, shall concur; nor, shall the debts or liabilities of any corporation, person or persons, or other State be guaranteed; or any money, credit or thing loaned, or given away, unless by a like concurrence of each house, voting, in cases provided for in this section, by ayes and nays to be placed upon the journals.

The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled the Governor of the State of Alabama.

The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and places when they shall respectively vote for Representatives.

The returns of every election for Governor shall be sealed up, and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall, during the first week of the session, open and publish them in presence of both houses of the General Assembly. The person having the highest number of votes shall be Governor, but if two or more, shall be equal and the highest in votes, one of them shall be chosen Governor by the joint vote of both houses. Contested elections for Governor shall be determined by both houses of the General Assembly, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

The Governor shall hold his office for the term of two years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be duly qualified; but shall not be eligible for more than four years in every term of six years; he shall be at least thirty years of age, shall be a citizen of the State of Alabama, and native of one of the States or Territories, lately styled the United States of America.

He shall, at stated times, receive a compensation for his services, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which he shall have been elected.

He shall be commander in chief of the army and navy of this State, except when acting with any other power, in which case, the General Assembly shall fix his rank.

He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

He may, by proclamation, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different place, if that shall have become, since their last adjournment, dangerous from an enemy, or from contagious disorders; and in case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next annual meeting of the General Assembly.

He shall, from time to time, give to the General Assembly, information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he may deem expedient.

He shall take care that all the laws be faithfully executed.

In all criminal and penal cases, except in those of treason and impeachment, he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulation as shall be prescribed by law. In cases of treason, he shall have power, by, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to grant reprieves and pardons; and he may in the recess of the Senate, respite the sentence until the end of the next session of the General Assembly.

There shall be a Seal of this State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him officially.

All commissions shall be in the name, and by the authority of the State of Alabama, be sealed with the State Seal, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State.

There shall be a Secretary of State, appointed by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, who shall continue in office during the term of two years. He shall keep a fair register of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes and vouchers relative thereto, before the General Assembly; and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law.

Vacancies that may happen in offices, the appointment to which is vested in the General Assembly, shall be filled by the Governor, during the recess of the General Assembly, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of the next session.

Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the General Assembly shall be presented to the Governor; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large upon the journals, and proceed to reconsider it; if after such reconsideration, a majority of the whole number elected to that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; if approved by a majority of the whole number elected to that house, it shall become a law: but in such cases, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the journals of each house respectively: if any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within five days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in which case, it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both houses may be necessary, except on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor, and, before it shall take effect, be approved by him, or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

In case of the impeachment of the Governor, his removal from office, death, refusal to qualify, resignation, or absence from the State, the President of the Senate shall exercise all the power and authority appertaining to the office of Governor, until the time, pointed out by this Constitution for the election of Governor, shall arrive, unless the General Assembly shall provide by law for the election of a Governor to fill such vacancy, or until the Governor absent or impeached, shall return or be acquitted.

If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President of the Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall, in like manner, administer the government. If there is no President of the Senate, or no Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of State shall exercise all the duties and powers appertaining to the office of Governor, until the office of Governor is filled, as provided by this Constitution.

The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of State, during the time they respectively administer the government, shall receive the same compensation which the Governor would have received, had he been employed in the duties of his office.

The Governor shall always reside during the session of the General Assembly, at the place where their session may be held, and at all other times, wherever, in their opinion, public good require.

No person shall hold the office of Governor, and any other office or commission, civil or military, either in this State, or under any State, or any other power, at one and the same time.

A State Treasurer and a Comptroller of public accounts, shall be biennially elected by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly.

A sheriff shall be elected in each county by the qualified electors thereof, who shall hold his office for the term of three years, unless sooner removed, and who shall not be eligible to serve either as principal or deputy, for the three succeeding years. Should a vacancy occur subsequent to an election, it shall be filled by the Governor, as in other cases, and the person so appointed shall continue in office until the next general election, when such vacancy shall be filled by the qualified electors, and the sheriff then elected shall continue in office for three years.

The General Assembly shall provide by law for organizing and disciplining the militia of this State.

Any person who conscientiously scruples to bear arms shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service.

The Governor shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.

All officers of the militia shall be elected or appointed in such manner as may be prescribed by law: Provided, that the General Assembly shall not make any such elections or appointments, other than those of adjutants-general, and quarter-masters general.

The Governor shall appoint his aids-de-camp; majors general, their aids-de-camp, and all division and staff officers; brigadiers general shall appoint their aids, and all other brigade staff officers; and colonels shall appoint their regimental staff officers.

The General Assembly shall fix, by law, the method of dividing the militia into divisions, brigades, regiments, battalions, and companies; and shall fix the rank of all staff officers.

The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Supreme Court, Circuit Courts to be held in each county in the State, and such inferior courts of law and equity, to consist of not more than five members, as the General Assembly may, from time to time, direct, ordain and establish.

The Supreme Court, except in cases otherwise directed by this Constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be co-extensive with the State, under such restrictions and regulations, not repugnant to this Constitution, as may from time to time, be prescribed by law: Provided, that the Supreme Court shall have power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, quo warranto, habeas corpus, and such other remedial and original writs as may be necessary to give it a general superintendence and control of inferior jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court shall be holden at the seat of government, but may adjourn to a different place, if that shall have become dangerous from an enemy or from disease.

The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, and each circuit shall contain not less than three, nor more than six counties; and for each circuit there shall be appointed a Judge, who shall, after his appointment, reside in the circuit for which he may be appointed.

The Circuit Court shall have original jurisdiction in all matters, civil and criminal, within this State, not otherwise excepted in this Constitution: but in civil cases, only when the matter or sum in controversy exceeds fifty dollars.

A Circuit Court shall be held in each county in the State, at least twice in every year, and the judges of the several Circuit Courts may hold courts for each other, when they may deem it expedient, and shall do so when directed by law.

The General Assembly shall have power to establish a Court or Courts of Chancery, with original and appellate equity jurisdiction; Provided, that the judges of the several circuit courts shall have power to issue writs of injunction, returnable into the Courts of Chancery.

The General Assembly shall have power to establish, in each county within this State, a Court of Probate, for the granting of letters testamentary, and of administration, and for orphans' business.

A competent number of Justices of the Peace shall be appointed in and for each county, in such mode, and for such term of office as the General Assembly may direct. Their jurisdiction in civil cases shall be limited to causes in which the amount in controversy shall not exceed fifty dollars; and in all cases tried by a Justice of the Peace, right of appeal shall be secured, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law.

Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts, and Courts of Chancery, shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall be fixed by law, and shall not be diminished during their continuance in office: but they shall receive no fees or perquisites of office, nor hold any other office of profit or trust under this State, or any other power.

Chancellors and Judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly; but at and after the session of the General Assembly, to be held in the winter of the year eighteen hundred and forty-nine–fifty, the General Assembly shall provide by law for the election of judges of the circuit Courts, by the qualified electors of their circuits respectively, and for the election of Judges of the Courts of Probate, and other inferior courts, (not including Chancellors,) by the qualified electors of the counties, cities, or districts, for which such courts may be respectively established; the first Monday in November in any year shall be the day for any election of such judges by the people, or such other day not to be within a less period than two months of the general election for Governor, members of the General Assembly, or members of Congress, as the General Assembly may by law prescribe; but no change to be made in any circuit, or district, or in the mode or time of electing, shall affect the right of any Judge to hold office during the term prescribed by the Constitution, except at the first elections thereof, to be made by the people, after the ratification of these amendments or either of them, which elections shall then, all be had on the same day throughout the State, and the terms of the Judges then to be elected, shall commence on that day; vacancies in the office of Judge, shall be filled by the Governor, and the persons appointed thereto by him, shall hold until the next first Monday in November, or other election day of Judges, and until the election and qualification of their successors respectively; and the General Assembly have power to annex to the offices of any of the Judges of the inferior courts the duties of clerks of such courts respectively.

The Judges of the several courts in this State, shall hold their offices for the term of six years; and for wilful neglect of duty, or other reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the Governor shall remove any of them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly; Provided, however, that the cause or causes for which such removal shall be required, shall be stated at length in such address, and entered on the journals of each house; And provided, further, That the cause or causes shall be notified to the Judge so intended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defense, before any vote for such address shall pass; and in all such cases the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of each house, respectively; And provided, also, That the Judges now in office may hold their offices until the session of the General Assembly, which shall be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified, unless removed by address or impeachment.

No person who shall have arrived at the age of seventy years shall be appointed to, or continue in, the office of Judge in this State.

Clerks of the Circuit and Inferior Courts in this State, shall be elected by the qualified electors in each county, for the term of four years, and may be removed from office for such causes and in such manner as may be prescribed by law; and, should a vacancy occur subsequent to an election, it shall be filled by the Judge or Judges of the court in which such vacancy exists; and the person so appointed shall hold his office until the next general election; Provided, however, that after the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, the General Assembly may prescribe a different mode of appointment, but shall not make such appointment.

The Judges of the Supreme Court shall, by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace throughout the State; as also the Judges of the Circuit Courts in their respective districts, and Judges of the inferior courts in their respective counties.

The style of all process shall be "The State of Alabama," and all prosecutions shall be carried on in the name, and by the authority of the State of Alabama, and shall conclude, "against the peace and dignity of the same."

There shall be an Attorney General for the State, and as many Solicitors as the General Assembly may deem necessary, to be elected by joint vote thereof, who shall hold their offices for the term of four years, and shall receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching.

All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate; when sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

The Governor and all civil officers shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office, and to disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under the State; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law.

The members of the General Assembly, and all officers, executive and judicial, before they enter on the execution of their respective offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation, to wit: "I solemnly swear [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will support the Constitution of the State of Alabama so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully discharge, to the best of my abilities, the duties of according to law, so help me God!"

Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or his own confession in open court.

The General Assembly shall have power to pass such penal laws to suppress the evil practice of duelling, extending to disqualification from office, or the tenure thereof, as they may deem expedient.

Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office or place of honor or profit, under the authority of the State, who shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election or appointment.

Laws shall be made to exclude from office, from suffrage, and from serving as jurors, those who shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes, or misdemeanors. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper conduct.

In all elections by the General Assembly, the members thereof shall vote viva voce, and the votes shall be entered on the journals.

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of an appropriation made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneys shall be published annually.

All lands liable to taxation in this State, shall be taxed in proportion to their value.

The General Assembly shall direct, by law, in what manner, and in what courts, suits may be brought against the State.

It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to regulate, by law, the cases in which deductions shall be made from the salaries of public officers, for neglect of duty in their official capacities, and the amount of such deduction.

Temporary absence from this State, shall not cause a forfeiture of a residence once obtained.

No member or delegate to any Congress of other States or powers, nor persons holding any office of profit or trust under any foreign power, shall hold or exercise any office of profit under this State: Provided, that this section does not apply to any deputy, delegate or commissioner elected by this convention.

Divorces from the bonds of Matrimony shall not be granted, but in cases provided for by law by suit in chancery. But decrees for divorce shall be final, unless appealed from within three months from the date of the enrollment thereof.

In prosecutions for the publishing of papers investigating the official conduct of officers, or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence; and, in all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the courts.

Returns of all elections for officers who are to be commissioned by the Governor, and for members of the General Assembly, shall be made to the Secretary of State.

The General Assembly may, by a vote of two-thirds of both houses thereof, arrange and designate boundaries for the several counties of this State, which shall not be altered, except by a like vote of the General Assembly. But no county shall be hereafter formed of less extent than nine hundred square miles, nor shall it contain, at the time, less than one hundredth part of the population of the State, and no existing county shall be hereafter reduced below such area or population by the formation of a new county.

It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitrators, to be appointed by the parties, who may choose that summary mode of adjustment.

It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as circumstances will permit, to form a penal code, founded on principles of reformation.

Within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, the body of our laws, civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested and arranged, under proper heads, and promulgated, in such manner as the General Assembly may direct: and a like revision, digest, and promulgation, shall be made within every subsequent period of ten years.

The General Assembly shall make provision by law for obtaining correct knowledge of the several objects proper for improvement in relation to the navigable waters, and to the roads in this State, and for making a systematic and economical application of the means appropriated to those objects.

In the event of the annexation of any foreign territory to this State, laws may be passed, extending to the inhabitants of such territory, all the rights and privileges which may be required by the terms of such acquisition: anything in this Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

Schools, and the means of education, shall forever be encouraged in this State; and the General Assembly shall take measures to preserve, from unnecessary waste or damage, such lands as have been granted by the United States for the use of schools, within each township in this State, and apply the funds, which may be raised from such lands, in strict conformity to the object of such grant. The General Assembly shall take like measures for the improvement of such lands as have been or may be hereafter granted by the United States to this State, for the support of a seminary of learning, and the moneys which may be raised from such lands, by rent, lease, or sale, or from any other quarter, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a fund for the exclusive support of a State University, for the promotion of the arts, literature and the sciences; and it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as early as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds and endowments of such institution.

No bank be established, nor bank charter renewed under the authority of this State, without the concurrence of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly.

Not more than one bank shall be established, nor bank charter renewed at any one session of the General Assembly, nor shall any bank be established, or bank charter renewed, but in conformity with the following rules.

1. The stockholders shall be liable respectively for the debts of the bank in proportion to their stock holden therein.

2. The remedy for collecting debts shall be reciprocal for and against the bank.

3. No bank shall commence operations until half of the capital stock subscribed for be actually paid in gold or silver, which amount shall, in no case, be less than one hundred thousand dollars.

4. Should any bank neglect or refuse to pay on demand any bill, note, or obligation, issued by the corporation, according to the promise therein expressed, the holder of any such note, bill, or obligation shall be entitled to receive and recover interest thereon until the same shall be paid, or specie payments are resumed by said bank, at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum from the date of such demand, unless the General Assembly shall sanction such suspension of specie payments by a vote of two-thirds of each house of the General Assembly.

5. Whenever any bank suspends specie payments, the charter is thereby forfeited, unless such suspension is legalized, as is provided by the preceding rule at the then next ensuing session of the General Assembly after such suspension.

No slave in this State shall be emancipated by any act done to take effect in this State, or any other country.

The humane treatment of slaves shall be secured by law.

Laws may be enacted to prohibit the introduction into this State, of slaves who have committed high crimes in other States or territories, and to regulate or prevent the introduction of slaves into this State as merchandise.

In the prosecution of slaves for crimes, of a higher grade than petit larceny, the General Assembly shall have no power to deprive them of an impartial trial by a petit jury.

Any person who shall maliciously dismember or deprive a slave of life, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted in case the like offense had been committed on a free white person, and on the like proof, except in case of insurrection of such slave.

That no inconvenience may arise from a change of territorial to a permanent State Government, it is declared that all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, and contracts, as well of individuals, as of bodies corporate, shall continue as if no such change had taken place; and all process, which shall, before the third Monday in September next, be issued in the name of the Alabama territory, shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State.

All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, accruing to the Alabama territory, shall accrue to the use of the State.

The validity of all bonds and recognizances, executed to the Governor of the Alabama territory, shall not be impaired by the change of government, but may be sued for and recovered in the name of the Governor of the State of Alabama, and his successors in office; and all criminal and penal actions, arising or now depending within the limits of this State, shall be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of said State, all causes of action arising to individuals, and all suits at law or in equity, now depending in the several courts, within the limits of this State, and not already barred by law, may be commenced in, or transferred to, such courts as may have jurisdiction thereof.

. All officers, civil or military, now holding commissions under the authority of the United States, or of the Alabama territory, within this State, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices under the authority of this State, until they shall be superseded under the authority of this Constitution, and shall receive from the treasury of this State, the same compensation which they heretofore received, in proportion to the time they shall be so employed. The Governor shall have power to fill vacancies by commissions, to expire so soon as elections or appointments can be made to such offices, by authority of this Constitution.

All laws and parts of laws, now in force in the Alabama territory, which are not repugnant to the provisions of this Constitution, shall continue and remain in force as the laws of this State, until they expire by their own limitation, or shall be altered, or repealed, by the Legislature thereof.

Be it declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, That the State of Alabama now withdraws, and is hereby withdrawn from the Union known as "the United States of America," and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States, and is, and of right ought to be a Sovereign and Independent State.

Be it further declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, That all the powers over the territory of said State, and over the people thereof, heretofore delegated to the government of the United States of America, be, and they are hereby withdrawn from said Government, and are hereby resumed and vested in the people of the State of Alabama.

Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention Assembled, That the Constitution framed and adopted on the 11th day of March, 1861, by the Deputies from the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, in convention assembled, at Montgomery, Alabama, be, and the same is hereby and, as the Federal Constitution for the people of Alabama.

No law enacted by the authority of the State of Alabama, in force on the 11th day of January, A. D., 1861, and consistent with the Constitution of this State, and not inconsistent with the ordinances of this Convention, is affected by the ordinance known as the Ordinance of Secession, adopted on said day, and entitled "An Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of Alabama and other States, united under the compact styled the Constitution of the United States."

No office, civil or military, created by this State, or under the authority of its laws, in force on the eleventh day of January, A. D., 1861, and no officer lawfully exercising the powers or duties of such office, is affected by said Ordinance of Secession, except the offices of the members of the House of Representatives, and of the Senators of the Congress of the United States of America, and these are abrogated.

No offense against the laws of this State, committed before or since the adoption of said Ordinance of Secession, is affected by said ordinance, and no offender against said laws, is relieved or discharged from the consequences of such offense by said ordinance; and no amercement, fine, penalty, forfeiture, escheat, bond, or recognizance, accruing or enuring, in whole or in part, to the State of Alabama, whether in action or in judgment, is affected by said ordinance.

No bond issued by authority of the laws of this State, or bills or coin lawfully used as money in this State, and no bond, obligation, debt or duty, due or owing to this State, or enuring, in whole or in part, to this State, before or since the adoption of said ordinance, is affected thereby.

No process or proceeding of any Court of this State, is affected by said Ordinance of Secession.

No right, title, franchise, easement, license or privilege given, granted or conferred to, or upon any person or body corporate, under and by authority of the laws of this State, and no right of possession or property, action or prosecution, title, claim, contract, agreement, obligation, debt or duty, of any person or body corporate, is affected by said Ordinance of Secession, unless the same is inconsistent with said ordinance, or is affected by some other ordinance of this Convention.

No rights acquired, or vested in any body corporate under the Constitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof, or under any law of this State, and not incompatible with said Ordinance of Secession, is affected by said ordinance.

Be it ordained by the people of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, That no change made in the Constitution of the State of Alabama, by this Convention, shall have the effect to divest any right, title, or legal trust existing at the time of making such change. But all such changes shall have a prospective and not a retrospective effect, unless otherwise declared n the change itself.

Be it ordained by the people of Alabama in Convention assembled, That, an ordinance adopted by the people of this State, in Convention, at Huntsville, on the second day of August, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, disclaiming forever all right to the waste or unappropriated lands lying within this State, is hereby repealed; but the navigable waters of this State shall remain forever free to the citizens of this State, and of such States as may unite with the State of Alabama, in a Southern slaveholding Confederacy. But no right heretofore obtained, by any person or corporation, to erect a bridge, or bridges, across the navigable waters of this State, and shall be affected by this State, shall be affected by this ordinance; Provided, That the navigation of such rivers be not obstructed thereby.

The General Assembly, whenever two-thirds of each House shall deem it necessary, may propose amendments to this Constitution, which proposed amendments, shall be duly published in print, at least three months before the next general election of Representatives, for the consideration of the people, and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers, at the next general election which shall be held for Representatives, to open a poll for, and make a return to the Secretary of State, for the time being, of the names of all those voting for Representatives, who have voted on such proposed amendments, and if, thereupon, it shall appear that a majority of all the citizens of this State, voting for Representatives, have voted in favor of such proposed amendments, and two-thirds of each House of the next General Assembly, shall, after such an election, and before another, ratify the same amendments by yeas and nays, they shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this Constitution; Provided, That the said proposed amendments shall, at each of the said sessions, have been read three times, on three several days, in each House; Provided further, That a Convention of the people of the State may be called by a vote of two-thirds of each branch of the General Assembly, under such rules and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe, to amend the Constitution or for any other purpose.

Adopted by the people of Alabama, by the unanimous vote of their delegates in Convention assembled, at the Capitol, in the city of Montgomery, on this the twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the Confederate States of America the first year.

WILLIAM M. BROOKS, President of the Convention of the people of the State of Alabama.

Attest—A. G., Secretary of Convention.

title: Constitution of Alabama of 1861


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/141

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

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/141


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/142

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/142


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/334

 difficulty in making it succeed on account of the situation. Such is the answer I receive from almost every one. I tell them the retired situation is, in some points of view, an advantage; that were it in the midst of a large town I could not pretend to take pupils on terms so moderate (Mrs. B. remarked that she thought the terms very moderate), but that, as it is, not having house-rent to pay, we can offer the same privileges of education that are to be had in expensive seminaries, at little more than half their price; and as our number must be limited, we can devote a large share of time and pains to each pupil. Thank you for the very pretty little purse you have sent me. I make to you a curious return in the shape of half a dozen cards of terms. Make such use of them as your judgment shall dictate. You will see that I have fixed the sum at 35l., which I think is the just medium, considering advantages and disadvantages."

This was written in July; August, September, and October passed away, and no pupils were to be heard of. Day after day, there was a little hope felt by the sisters until the post came in. But Haworth village was wild and lonely, and the Brontës but little known, owing to their want of connections. Charlotte writes on the subject, in the early winter months, to this effect:—

"I, Emily, and Anne, are truly obliged to you for the efforts you have made in our behalf; and if you


text:
Talk:Noah's Ark (film)

For the French dialogue
I'd like to give credit to my good friend M-le-mot-dit, a native French speaker and fellow film enthusiast, for helping me to hear lines of the French soldiers in this film. SnowyCinema (talk) 14:05, 28 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Noah's Ark (film)


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/335

 have not been successful, you are only like ourselves. Every one wishes us well; but there are no pupils to be had. We have no present intention, however, of breaking our hearts on the subject, still less of feeling mortified at defeat. The effort must be beneficial, whatever the result may be, because it teaches us experience, and an additional knowledge of this world. I send you two more circulars."

A month later, she says:—

"We have made no alterations yet in our house. It would be folly to do so, while there is so little likelihood of our ever getting pupils. I fear you are giving yourself too much trouble on our account. Depend upon it, if you were to persuade a mama to bring her child to Haworth, the aspect of the place would frighten her, and she would probably take the dear girl back with her, instanter. We are glad that we have made the attempt, and we will not be cast down because it has not succeeded."

There were, probably, growing up in each sister's heart, secret unacknowledged feelings of relief, that their plan had not succeeded. Yes! a dull sense of relief that their cherished project had been tried and had failed. For that house, which was to be regarded as an occasional home for their brother, could hardly be a fitting residence for the children of strangers. They had, in all likelihood, become silently aware that his


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/336

 habits were such as to render his society at times most undesirable. Possibly, too, they had, by this time, heard distressing rumours concerning the cause of that remorse and agony of mind, which at times made him restless and unnaturally merry, at times rendered him moody and irritable.

In January, 1845, Charlotte says:—"Branwell has been quieter and less irritable, on the whole, this time than he was in summer. Anne is, as usual, always good, mild, and patient." The deep-seated pain which he was to occasion to his relations had now taken a decided form, and pressed heavily on Charlotte's health and spirits. Early in this year, she went to H. to bid good-bye to her dear friend Mary, who was leaving England for Australia. But a weight hung over her—the gloom preceding the full knowledge of sin in which her brother was an accomplice; which was dragging him down to confirmed habits of intemperance; yet by which he was so bewitched, that no remonstrance, however stern, on the part of others—no temporary remorse, however keen—could make him shake off the infatuation that bound him.

The story must be told. If I could, I would have avoided it; but not merely is it so well-known to many living as to be, in a manner, public property, but it is possible that, by revealing the misery, the gnawing, life-long misery, the degrading habits, the early death of her partner in guilt—the acute and long-enduring agony of his family—to the wretched woman, who not only survives, but passes about in the gay circles of


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/337

 London society, as a vivacious, well-dressed, flourishing widow, there may be awakened in her some feelings of repentance.

Branwell, I have mentioned, had obtained a situation as a private tutor. Full of available talent, a brilliant talker, a good writer, apt at drawing, ready of appreciation, and with a not unhandsome person, he took the fancy of a married woman, nearly twenty years older than himself. It is no excuse for him to say that she began the first advances, and "made love" to him. She was so bold and hardened, that she did it in the very presence of her children, fast approaching to maturity; and they would threaten her that, if she did not grant them such and such indulgences, they would tell their bed-ridden father "how she went on with Mr. Brontë." He was so beguiled by this mature and wicked woman, that he went home for his holidays reluctantly, stayed there as short a time as possible, perplexing and distressing them all by his extraordinary conduct—at one time in the highest spirits, at another, in the deepest depression—accusing himself of blackest guilt and treachery, without specifying what they were; and altogether evincing an irritability of disposition bordering on insanity.

Charlotte and her sister suffered acutely from his mysterious behaviour. He expressed himself more than satisfied with his situation; he was remaining in it for a longer time than he had ever done in any kind of employment before; so they could not conjecture that anything there made him so wilful, and restless, and


text:
Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/48

Rh

Then his mother interrupted,

Asking him his cause of trouble.

“Wherefore whet the men their sword-blades,

Wherefore sharpen they the lance-tips?”

Answered lively Lemminkainen,

Said the handsome Kaukomieli,

“Therefore do they whet their sword-blades,

Therefore they the lance-tips sharpen:

On the head of me unhappy,

On my neck to bring destruction.

From a quarrel rose a duel,

There in Pohjola’s enclosure;

I have slain the son of Pohja,

Slain the very lord of Pohja,

Then rose Pohjola to battle,

Close behind me comes the tumult,

Raging all for my destruction,

To surround a single warrior.”

Then his mother gave him answer,

To her child the old crone answered:

“I myself already told you,

And I had already warned you,

And forbidden you most strictly

Not to Pohjola to venture.

Had you stayed at home in quiet,

Living in your mother’s dwelling,

Safely in your parent’s homestead,

In the home of her who bore thee,

Then no war had ever risen,

Nor appeared a cause of contest.

“Whither now, my son unhappy,

Canst thou flee, unhappy creature,

Go to hide thee from destruction,

Flying from thy wicked action,

Lest thy wretched head be captured,

And thy handsome neck be severed,

That thy hair remain uninjured,

Nor thy glossy hair downtrodden?”

Said the lively Lemminkainen,

“No such refuge do I know of,

title: Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/48


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/338

 full of both levity and misery. But a sense of something wrong connected with him, sickened and oppressed them. They began to lose all hope in his future career. He was no longer the family pride; an indistinct dread was creeping over their minds that he might turn out their deep disgrace. But, I believe, they shrank from any attempt to define their fears, and spoke of him to each other as little as possible. They could not help but think, and mourn, and wonder.

"Feb. 20, 1845.

"I spent a week at H., not very pleasantly; headache, sickliness, and flatness of spirits, made me a poor companion, a sad drag on the vivacious and loquacious gaiety of all the other inmates of the house. I never was fortunate enough to be able to rally, for as much as a single hour, while I was there. I am sure all, with the exception perhaps of Mary, were very glad when I took my departure. I begin to perceive that I have too little life in me, now-a-days, to be fit company for any except very quiet people. Is it age, or what else, that changes me so?"

Alas! she hardly needed to have asked this question. How could she be otherwise than "flat-spirited," "a poor companion," and a "sad drag" on the gaiety of those who were light-hearted and happy! Her honest plan for earning her own livelihood had fallen away, crumbled to ashes; after all her preparations, not a pupil had offered herself; and, instead of being sorry


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/339

 that this wish of many years could not be realized, she had reason to be glad. Her poor father, nearly sightless, depended upon her cares in his blind helplessness; but this was a sacred pious charge, the duties of which she was blessed in fulfilling. The black gloom hung over what had once been the brightest hope of the family—over Branwell, and the mystery in which his wayward conduct was enveloped. Somehow and sometime, he would have to turn to his home as a hiding place for shame; such was the sad foreboding of his sisters. Then how could she be cheerful, when she was losing her dear and noble Mary, for such a length of time and distance of space that her heart might well prophesy that it was "for ever"? Long before, she had written of Mary T., that she "was full of feelings noble, warm, generous, devoted, and profound. God bless her! I never hope to see in this world a character more truly noble. She would die willingly for one she loved. Her intellect and attainments are of the very highest standard." And this was the friend whom she was to lose! Hear that friend's account of their final interview:—

"When I last saw Charlotte (Jan. 1845), she told me she had quite decided to stay at home. She owned she did not like it. Her health was weak. She said she should like any change at first, as she had liked Brussels at first, and she thought that there must be some possibility for some people of having a life of more variety and more communion with human kind, but she saw none for her. I told her very warmly, that she


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/143

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/143


text:
Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/49

Runo XXVIII]

Where a safe retreat awaits me,

Where I from my crime can hide me.

O my mother who hast borne me,

Where do you advise my hiding?”

Answered Lemminkainen’s mother,

And she spoke the words which follow:

“No, I know not where to hide you,

Where to hide you or to send you.

As a pine upon the mountain,

Juniper in distant places,

There might still misfortune find thee,

Evil fate might rise against thee.

Often is the mountain pine-tree

Cut to pieces into torches,

And the juniper on heathland,

Into posts is often cloven.

“As a birch-tree in the valley,

Or an alder in the greenwood,

There might still misfortune find thee,

Evil fate might rise against thee.

Often is the valley birch-tree

Chopped to pieces into faggots,

Often is the alder-thicket

Cut away to make a clearing.

“As a berry on the mountain,

Or upon the heath a cranberry,

Or upon the plain a strawberry,

Or in other spots a bilberry,

There might still misfortune find thee,

Evil fate might rise against thee,

For the girls might come to pluck thee,

Tin-adorned ones might uproot thee.

“In the lake as pike when hiding,

Powan in slow-flowing river,

There misfortune still might find thee,

And at last destruction reach thee.

If there came a youthful fisher,

He might cast his net in water,

And the young in net might take thee,

And the old with net might capture.

title: Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/49


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/340

 ought not to stay at home; that to spend the next five years at home, in solitude and weak health, would ruin her; that she would never recover it. Such a dark shadow came over her face when I said, 'Think of what you'll be five years hence!' that I stopped, and said 'Don't cry, Charlotte!' She did not cry, but went on walking up and down the room, and said in a little while, 'But I intend to stay, Polly.

A few weeks after she parted from Mary, she gives this account of her days at Haworth.

"March 24, 1845.

"I can hardly tell you how time gets on at Haworth. There is no event whatever to mark its progress. One day resembles another; and all have heavy, lifeless physiognomies. Sunday, baking-day, and Saturday, are the only ones that have any distinctive mark. Meantime, life wears away. I shall soon be thirty; and I have done nothing yet. Sometimes I get melancholy at the prospect before and behind me. Yet it is wrong and foolish to repine. Undoubtedly, my duty directs me to stay at home for the present. There was a time when Haworth was a very pleasant place to me; it is not so now. I feel as if we were all buried here. I long to travel; to work; to live a life of action. Excuse me, dear, for troubling you with my fruitless wishes. I will put by the rest, and not trouble you with them. You must write to me. If you knew how welcome your letters are, you would write very often.


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/144

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/144


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/145

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/145


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/146

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/146


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/147

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/147


text:
Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/50

38

“Didst thou roam as wolf in forest,

Or a bear in rugged country,

There might still misfortune find thee,

Evil fate might rise against thee;

If a sooty tramp was passing,

He perchance might spear the growler,

Or the wolves bring to destruction,

And the forest bears might slaughter.”

Then the lively Lemminkainen

Answered in the words which follow:

“I myself know evil places,

Worst of all do I esteem them,

There where any death might seize me,

And at last destruction reach me.

O my mother who hast reared me,

Mother who thy milk hast given,

Whither would’st thou bid me hide me,

Whither should I now conceal me?

Death’s wide jaws are just before me,

At my beard destruction’s standing,

Every day for me it waiteth,

Till my ruin is accomplished.”

Then said Lemminkainen’s mother,

And she spoke the words which follow:

“I can tell the best of places,

Tell you one the best of any,

Where to hide yourself completely,

And your crime conceal for ever,

For I know a little country,

Know a very little refuge,

Wasted not, and safe from battle,

And untrodden by the swordsmen.

Swear me now by oaths eternal,

Binding, free from all deception,

In the course of sixty summers,

Nevermore to go to battle,

Neither for the love of silver,

Nor perchance if gold was needed.”

Then said lively Lemminkainen,

“Now I swear by oaths the strongest,

title: Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/50


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/341

 Your letters, and the French newspapers, are the only messengers that come to me from the outer world beyond our moors; and very welcome messengers they are."

One of her daily employments was to read to her father, and it required a little gentle diplomacy on her part to effect this duty; for there were times when the offer of another to do what he had been so long accustomed to do for himself, reminded him only too painfully of the deprivation under which he was suffering. And, in secret, she, too, dreaded a similar loss for herself. Long-continued ill health, a deranged condition of the liver, her close application to minute drawing and writing in her younger days, her now habitual sleeplessness at nights, the many bitter noiseless tears she had shed over Branwell's mysterious and distressing conduct—all these causes were telling on her poor eyes; and about this time she thus writes to M. Héger:—

"Il n'y a rien que je craigns comme le désœuvrement, l'inertie la léthargie des facultés. Quand le corps est paresseux l'esprit souffre cruellement; je ne connaîtrais pas cette léthargie, si je pouvais écrire. Autrefois je passais des journées des semaines, des mois entiers à écrire, et pas tout à fait sans fruit, puisque Southey et Coleridge, deux de nos meilleurs auteurs à qui j'ai envoyé certain manuscrits, en ont bien voulu témoigner leur approbation; mais à prèsent, j'ai la vue trop faible; si j'écrivais beaucoup je deviendrai aveugle. Cette


text:
Page:The life of Charlotte Brontë (IA lifeofcharlotteb01gaskrich).pdf/342

 faiblesse de vue est pour moi une terrible privation; sans cela, savez-vous ce que je ferais, Monsieur? J'écrirais un livre et je le dédierais à mon maître de litterature, au seul maître que j'aie jamais eu—à vous, Monsieur! Je vous ai dit souvent en français combien je vous respecte, combien je suis redevable à votre bonté, à vos conseils. Je voudrai le dire une fois en Anglais. Cela ne se peut pas; il ne faut pas y penser. La carrière des lettres m'est fermée N'oubliez pas de me dire comment vous vous portez, comment madame et les enfants se portent? Je compte bientôt avoir de vos nouvelles; cette idée me souris, car le souvenir de vos bontés ne s'effacera jamais de ma mémoire, et tant que ce souvenir durera le respect que vous m'avez inspiré durera aussi. Agréez, Monsieur, &c."

It is probable, that even her sisters and most intimate friends did not know of this dread of ultimate blindness which beset her at this period. What eyesight she had to spare she reserved for the use of her father. She did but little plain-sewing; not more writing than could be avoided; and employed herself principally in knitting.

"April 2, 1845.

"I see plainly it is proved to us that there is scarcely a draught of unmingled happiness to be had in this world. 's illness comes with 's marriage. Mary T. finds herself free, and on that path to adventure and exertion to which she has so long been seeking


text:
Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/51

Runo XXVIII]

Never in the first of summers,

Nor in any other summer,

Mix myself in mighty battles,

In the clashing of the sword-blades.

Wounds are still upon my shoulders,

In my breast deep wounds still rankle,

From my former battle-pleasures,

In the midst of all the tumult,

In the midst of mighty battles,

Where the heroes all contended.”

Then did Lemminkainen’s mother

Answer in the words which follow:

“Take the boat your father left you,

And betake yourself to hiding.

Traverse nine lakes in succession,

Half the tenth one must thou traverse,

To an island on its surface,

Where the cliffs arise from water.

There in former times your father

Hid, and kept himself in safety,

In the furious fights of summer,

In the hardest years of battle.

There you’ll find a pleasant dwelling,

And a charming place to linger.

Hide thyself a year, a second,

In the third year come thou homeward,

To your father’s well-known homestead,

To the dwelling of your parents.”

title: Page:Kalevala (Kirby 1907) v2.djvu/51


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/148

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/148


text: Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 28

title: Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 28


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/149

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/149


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/150

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/150


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/151

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/151


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/152

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/152


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/153

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/153


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/154

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/154


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/155

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/155


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/304

286 "Optegnelser om mit Levneds og min Tids Historie" (Memoranda from the history of my life and of my time). It furnishes valuable information not only concerning the political life in which the author took a prominent part, but also in regard to the religious and ecclesiastical movement in Denmark. His works contain many valuable facts for a thorough understanding of the intellectual movements of his time.

(born 1808), bishop of Zealand, has attained a celebrity extending far beyond the limits of Denmark by his very important works "Den christelige Dogmatik" and "Den christelige Ethik." His work on ethics contains not only a wealth of great theological learning in a form intelligible even to the layman, but also the results of mature reflections concerning all the relations of life viewed from a Christian standpoint.

In the works of these three authors there is a marked philosophical element, but still they are decidedly theologians. But (1813-1855), the greatest thinker Denmark ever produced, must be looked upon as the connecting link between theology and philosophy. Religion was almost exclusively the object of his researches, yet it was not the dogmatic details, but the fundamental principles of Christianity, on which he wrote, and which he conceived in a most striking and original manner. The religious view which he advocates in his numerous works, form a decided contrast to that presented in the religious works of other authors. According to strictly logical methods he sets forth the absolutely ideal claims of Christianity, and in this respect he is a most remarkable parallel to Feuerbach. But while the tenets of the latter lead the reader away from Christian-


text:
Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/46

ALM. . Class 14,. Order:. The scientific name of this plant is Melissa, which is synonymous with the Greek word for bee, being derived from, honey, which is sought for in these flowers with avidity, “The recent plant has the agreeable odour of lemons.” “It was formerly prized as a corroborant in hypochondriacal and nervous affections.”’ It is on account of the soothing qualities of the waters distilled from this plant that it has been made the emblem of sympathy.

title: Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/46


text:
Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/156

150

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/156


text:
Page:The House Without Windows.djvu/42

34 see the very reflection of the sun breaking out through a cloud. The meadow was beautiful even when the sun was dim, but nothing to what it was now!

Eepersip could see every colour of the rainbow reflected in each crystal--orange, purple, green, blue, red, and many, many iridescent tints. Full of joy, she looked down upon the river once more, through the glittering iridescence. The longer she looked, the better she could see the river. But at last the sun went in again; it had been out hardly long enough to melt one snowflake. Everywhere round Eepersip went the chipmunk's little footprints, for he had shared her delight. At last, when Eepersip wanted to go back to her subterranean shelter, the chipmunk hung back and whimpered. Eepersip saw that he wanted to stay; and knowing that he could find his way, she left him behind and went back to the burrow herself.

But he didn’t come back. She waited and waited and often called, but he did not appear. "What can have have happened to my little friend?" she thought. At last she set out to look for him, calling as she went. She looked in every crevice, to see whether something had frightened him and he had plunged into some hiding-place. But she did not find him. At last, whistling and calling, she came

title: Page:The House Without Windows.djvu/42


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/157

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/157


text: Page:Latter-Day Psalms.pdf/13

title: Page:Latter-Day Psalms.pdf/13


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/305

Rh ity, Kjerkegaard most emphatically leads him to it. According to him Christianity is a paradox, that is to say, objectively considered it is an absurdity, which is of value only to the religious consciousness. To the reason it is a source of vexation, and to faith it is an object of passion. Life in faith is, therefore, according to Kjerkegaard, exclusively a union between God and "individuals" (one of his characteristic expressions). Of life in the Christian community he has not only no appreciation, but he even assumes an almost hostile attitude to it. When bishop Martensen, after Mynster's death, called the latter "a witness of truth" Kjerkegaard's attacks on the "official" Christianity assumed a more and more violent character. According to Kjerkegaard, official Christianity was glaringly opposed to that "imitation of Christ," which he demanded, and which in his estimation had nothing in common with the former, for the existing Christendom is a union of Christianity and the world, whereby the former is expelled, while real Christianity means a renunciation of the world." In his pamphlet "Öieblikket" (the Moment), the last of his very numerous works, the violence of his attacks on the official Christianity reaches its climax. His literary activity began with the philosophical dissertation "Om Begrebet Ironi" (On the idea of irony), then followed two works "Enten — Eller" (Either — Or), and "Stadier paa Livets Vei" (Stations on the path of life), in which the æsthetical and ethical points of view are contrasted with the Christian. In several works published under various signatures he developed his own peculiar conception of Christianity in its various relations. The most remarkable of these are probably "Afsluttende, uvidenskabelig Efterskrift," "Indövelse i Kristendom," and "Til Selvprövelse." All his works are distinguished for their refined and brilliant dialectics combined with passionate enthusiasm for the maintainance of Christianity as the "gospel of suffering." His style is noble, full of poetic sentiment, and very eloquent, though it is not always perfectly clear. His writings exercised a powerful


text: Flora's Lexicon/Balm

title: Flora's Lexicon/Balm


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/158

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/158


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/159

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/159


text:
Page:Latter-Day Psalms.pdf/14

2

title: Page:Latter-Day Psalms.pdf/14


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/160

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/160


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/161

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/161


text: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/162

title: Page:Poems McDonald.djvu/162


text:
MediaWiki:Ws-index-talkpage-notice

Formatting guidelines specific to this work may have already been established. Please check the talk page for details.

title: MediaWiki:Ws-index-talkpage-notice


text: Template:Street Angel/Angela Mia

title: Template:Street Angel/Angela Mia


text:
Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/47

ALSAM. . Class 5,. Order:. This plant, which is one of the most beautiful and delicate of popular annuals, is a native of East India, and forms a showy cone of carnation-like flowers finely variegated. It possesses the peculiar property of retaining, during the hottest months of summer, all its freshness and beauty, while many other plants are withered before they have flowered. It has been named Nolitangere and Impatiens, from the curious fact that when the seeds are ripe, they are thrown with considerable force out of the capsules on their being slightly touched; on this account it has been made the emblem of impatience, The Turks use it to represent ardent love.

title: Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/47


text: Flora's Lexicon/Balsam

title: Flora's Lexicon/Balsam


text:
Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/212

 Let us face the heavens and dream for a moment, forget the earth—let it drop away—just drift and dream.

How rapturously the poets have dwelt upon the music of the crystalline spheres! How sad that the volume of it was so excessive that the ear could not hear it! And great it must have been with the whirr of a globe so huge that it contained eight concentric crystalline spheres whirling around every twenty-four hours and resounding with the stars as they rolled in their orbits.

This idea of the crystal spheres of ancient astronomy was beautifully described by Milton in "Paradise Lost." Milton believed without a doubt in the theories of Copernicus who taught that the sun was a center of a system of planets which revolved about it at various distances, but he probably used this old conception of the universe because it gave him more artistic freedom in the writing of his great epic poem. Let us pursue this fascinating theme, while drifting and dreaming, and see in what way the great poet painted it in as a background for his story.

Milton pictured the boundless cosmos as divided into two parts—the "resplendent Kingdom of Heaven" which rested in brightness above, and the "turbulent darkness of Chaos" which surged in blackness below. Our "cheerful sun-illumined Universe" was thought to be contained in an opaque sphere which hung from the floor of Heaven by a golden chain. At the rebel-

title: Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/212


text: History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North/Part 2/Chapter 6


text:
Page:The four Gospels - translated from the Latin Vulgate, and diligently compared with the original Greek text, being a revision of the Rhemish translation (IA TheFourGospelsTranslated).pdf/24

16 EXPLANATIONS. The Memphitic, or Coptic version of the New Testament was made from the original Greek in the third century, in the language of Lower Egypt.

The Sahidic, or Thebaic, in the language of Upper Egypt, was made probably in the same century. Several of its peculiar readings harmonize with the Latin. Both versions generally represent the Alexandrian recension.

The Gothic version of the New Testament was made from Greek manuscripts by Ulphilas in the fourth century. The four Gospels are preserved in the celebrated Codex Argenteus, in the University of Upsal.

The Armenian version was made from the Greek at the commencement of the fifth century. It is thought to have been afterwards adapted to the Peshito.

The Æthiopic version was made early in the fourth century. It is literal, and often agrees with the Syriac called Peshito and with the Vetus Itala.

There are two Persian versions of the Gospels, one taken from the Peshito, the other from the Greek. The latter is designated Wheloc from the name of the Cambridge Professor who undertook to publish it.

The Slavonic version of the New Testament was made from the Greek text as found in the Constantinopolitan recension, by Cyril of Thessalonica and his brother Methodius. It is considered of great excellence.


text:
Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/213

 lion of Satan and his rebel followers, God hurled them through the floor of Heaven and down through the darkness of immeasurable space to a place in Chaos hollowed out to receive them. This place contained such dire discomforts that Satan in his wrath swore revenge.

Satan had heard that in order to hollow out this awful place in Chaos, the ether, which was believed to fill all space, flew upward

the stars walling-in a Universe which was to contain a dwelling place for a new race which might eventually take the place of the rebels cast from Heaven. The stars were then surrounded by a translucent shell which protected this new creation from the cold and tempests of outer space.

Satan searched long and ardently through the darkness for this splendid ball of light. Finally he found it, hanging on its golden chain from Heaven, and, descending within by the radiant stairway of the angels, passed the stars and the planets in their sliding spheres of impalpable crystal, and discovered the earth, radiant in the brightness of the sun! Of the further adventures of Satan we need not speak, but the handling of the whole subject is masterly and brought to Milton undying fame.

The idea of the crystalline spheres first came to Eudoxus in the 4th century B. C. from watching the movements of the planets among the stars. He imagined that there must be nine of these hollow, transparent globes enclosed one within the other and surrounding the quiescent body of the earth; first, the "primum mobile," which carried around all the inner spheres and communicated to them a universal motion, next a sphere for all the stars, then one for the sun, one for the moon, and one for each of the five planets then known. These spheres were conceived to be of

title: Page:The Music of the Spheres.djvu/213


text: Page:Home pastorals, ballads and lyrics (IA homepastorals00taylrich).pdf/189


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/311

FTER Norway, in 1814, had been separated from Denmark and had obtained her own constitution, there sprang up a feeling of freedom and independence, and thus also a youthful desire of achieving great deeds without knowing exactly what to do. This sentiment of liberty assumed, however, such a preponderance that it strongly affected the domain of literature and particularly that of poetry. The national element in its purely abstract generality came so decidedly to the front that almost every other interest had to yield to it. "The rocks of Norway," particularly the Dovre mountains, "the cataracts of Norway," particularly the Sarpforce, "the lion of Norway," the "free, independent peasant," were for some the hackneyed phrases of the bombastic, rhetorical poetry, which was continually employed in glorifying Norway and its inhabitants. Such were the chords that were struck by the greater number, while a few others without being able to rise to any essential independence continued in the beaten track of the previous Danish-Norwegian literature. Now and then some writer, as for example Mauritz Chkistopher Hansen (1794-1842), in his rather bright stories, would try to approach the national element, but much progress in this direction was impossible, since the basis on which to found a national literature, that is an intimate knowledge of the popular life, was lacking. About the year 1830, however, the Norwegian nation began to


text: Page:Home pastorals, ballads and lyrics (IA homepastorals00taylrich).pdf/191


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/312

294 work itself out of this transitional condition and to become conscious of the fact that there are higher aims and better ways by which to glorify one's country than by bestowing exaggerated praise even on its advantages. About this time Wergeland and Welhaven appeared as the representatives of the two important tendencies, from the collision of which the new literature was to proceed.

was born in 1808. His father Nicolai Wergeland was a member of the constitutional convention, which assembled at Eidsvold, and he made an extraordinary sensation by his elequence which frequently soared to giddy heights, and by his unbridled, reckless enthusiasm for freedom. His intense patriotism found expression in various works, among which may be mentioned his pamphlet "Danmarks politiske Forbrydelser imod Norge," which, as indicated by the title, showed no mercy to Denmark. In the year 1817 Nicolai Wergeland became pastor at Eidsvold and here "on the sacred soil of Norwegian freedom" the lad Henrik grew up resembling his father in many respects and adopting his ideals, which were freedom, Norwegian sentiment, and reason. His special study was theology, but before he had completed his theological course, he wrote a few satirical farces under the signature "Siful Sifadda," a pseudonym which he afterward used when, as was frequently the case, he wished to vent his wrath in this kind of poetical compositions. He also published several exceedingly bombastic lyric poems, chiefly unrhymed odes. In the year 1830 appeared his lyric, dramatic poem, "Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias" (the Creation, Man and Messiah), a work of extraordinary length, though the author had produced it in about six months. It was a very obscure expression of the ideas that were fermenting in his mind, and at the same time it was a sort of glorification of the deism of the eighteenth century. It teemed with inelegant matter, but on the other hand it also


text: Page:Home pastorals, ballads and lyrics (IA homepastorals00taylrich).pdf/190


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/313

Rh contained many grand ideas and pictures of striking beauty, thus giving abundant evidence both of Wergeland's eminent talents and of his lack of intellectual maturity. He afterward revised this work, which he regarded as his masterpiece, but even in its altered form it is upon the whole chaotic and unattractive. The most prominent features of the first period of his literary activity are, generally speaking, a heaven-storming enthusiasm and a complete disregard of the laws of poetry. His mind is a seething, eddying chaos from whose dense mist flashes of grand ideas ever and anon dart forth. The great work above mentioned, accordingly found but few readers, nor did his other productions make any great impression, though they were hailed with great enthusiasm by a certain circle as the first point of a distinctly Norwegian literature. Still he was even in his first period a man of great influence, both on account of his marked personality and on account of his literary activity. Wergeland carried his love of freedom and country to the extreme and partook with his whole soul in the national movement, which without being able to produce any practical results, blindly waged war against all existing institutions, against the bureaucracy and, in short, against everything that pretended to be of Danish origin. He was a friend of the common people and promoted their welfare to the best of his ability. He watched jealously over the independence of Norway, and by his agitations he brought about that the 17th of May, the anniversary of the adoption of the Norwegian constitution, was raised to a national holiday of the Norwegian nation, in other words, he was the leader of the ultra-Norwegian party. Thus when the contest broke out between himself and Welhaven, the war was not limited to the domain of æsthetics, but it was based mainly on the wide difference between the contending parties in regard to all social relations and in regard to the principles which the development of culture in Norway ought to follow. The ultra-Norwegian party adopted the absolutely national prin-


text: Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics/Sonnet


text:
MediaWiki:Ws-index-pages-legend

(key to page status)

title: MediaWiki:Ws-index-pages-legend


text: Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics/From the North


text:
Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/48

ARBERRY. . Class 6,. Order:. The common barberry is abundant in many parts of the United States. Its close branches and thorns render it peculiarly fit for hedges, and its brilliant red berries are very ornamental to the fields which it encircles. These berries, worn in the hair, have been mistaken for coral ornaments, Preserved in sugar, they form a cheap but much valued dainty among the farmers of New England. The fruit of the barberry is so very acid that birds will seldom eat them. The tree is armed with thorns, and the flowers are so irritable, that at the slightest touch all the stamina close around the pistil. Thus this tree bears all the characteristics of persons whose temper is sharp and irritable.

title: Page:Floras Lexicon-1840.djvu/48


text: Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics/A Wedding Sonnet


text: Flora's Lexicon/Barberry

title: Flora's Lexicon/Barberry


text: Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics

title: Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics


text:
Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/317

Rh in the most violent controversies with his contemporaries, which, of course, prevented him from attaining his full development.

Welhaven maintained throughout his long career as an author and university professor the principles which he had advocated in his conflicts with Wergeland. His special department was philosophy, but he also delivered lectures on the history of literature, which were well attended. He wrote several essays on subjects from the Danish-Norwegian literature, notably on Ewald and the Norwegian poets, and this was the first conspicuous attempt to throw light on this important subject. The number of his poems is not very large. They are mostly lyrics, and they are to such a degree finished in style and rich in contents, that they have never been surpassed in Norway. His poetry is mostly of a symbolic character, whether he plunges into the contemplation of nature, which he is particularly fond of doing, or selects a myth or legend as the basis of his poem. Human life is almost always reflected in his poetry. In his romances he followed the way he had himself pointed out, and took his materials from ancient and modern time and from popular traditions, and in so doing he gave a mighty impulse to Norwegian literature. He died in 1873.

Andreas Munch (born 1811) may in many respects be regarded as a spiritual kinsman of Welhaven, though he is not as original as the latter. His poetry is a very graceful and pure though somewhat faint echo of Oehlenschläger's, and this is particularly true of his dramatical works, "Lord William Russell," "Salomon de Caus," "En Aften paa Giske," etc., all of which suffer from the same defects as Oehlenschläger's dramas without even distantly approaching them in poetical power. His tales are more characteristic, the many-hued materials for which he frequently borrows from Norway's


text: Index:Street Angel (1928).webm

title: Index:Street Angel (1928).webm


text: Page:Street Angel (1928).webm/1

title: Page:Street Angel (1928).webm/1


text: Page:Street Angel (1928).webm/2

title: Page:Street Angel (1928).webm/2