hewasalwaysbright，andoftensuggestive;buttooreliantuponastylewhichisnowoutofdate，——frequentlysummoning"alliteration’sartfulaid，"andresortingtootherdevices，fashionablethen，butnowdiscarded。Perhapsthebestofallhissentenceswastheoneonthethreegreatstatesmenofthatperiod，totheeffectthatWebsterwasINductive，CalhounDEductive，andClaySEductive;whichwasnotonlywellstatedbuttrue。Veryvividlycomesbacktomeasupper—partygivenearlyin1875atthehouseofJamesT。Fields，incelebrationofBayardTaylor’sbirthday。BesidesMr。andMrs。FieldsandTaylorwerepresentRichardH。Dana，eminentinlawandletters;Cranch，thenknownbothasapainterandpoet;Mr。Osgood;andmyself。Taylorrecited，asIhadheardhimdoatothertimes，fromtheproductionsoftheGeorgiapoet，Chivers，andespeciallyfromthe"EonxofRuby。"Chivers，accordingtoTaylor’sshowing，hadbecomeinfatuatedwithPoe，andadornedhisverseswitheverysortofbeautifulwordwhichhecouldcoin，theresultbeingasnonsensicalamedleyaswaseverknown。Earlierintheevening，Taylor，Fields，andmyselfhadeachofusbeengivingalecture，andthisledTaylortospeakofarecentexperienceofhiswhileholdingforthinoneofthesmallertownsofMassachusetts。Thechairmanofthelecturecommittee，beingseatedbesidehimontheplatform，andwishingtoentertainhimwithedifyingconversationwhiletheaudiencewascominginremarkedthattheyhadhadratheratryingexperienceduringthelectureoftheweekbefore。
OnTaylor’saskingwhatitwas，thechairmananswered:"Thelecturerwasseizedbyaviragoonthestage。"Hemeantvertigo。
DanatoldgoodstoriesofoldDr。OsgoodofMedford，whosehatredofDemocracywasshownnotonlyinhiswell—knownreadingofGovernorGerry’sproclamation，butinhisbittersermonattheelectionofThomasJefferson。AtthissomeonegaveastoryregardingourcontemporaryDr。Osgood，theeminentUnitarianclergyman，who，towardtheendofhislife，hadgoneintotheProtestantEpiscopalChurch。Ihadknownhimasamanofmuchabilityandpower，butwitharatherextraordinarywayofassertinghimselfandpatronizingpeople。Hehadrecentlydied，andalegendhadarisenthat，onhisarrivalintheNewJerusalem，beingpresentedtoSt。Paul，hesaid:"Sir，Ihavederivedbothprofitandpleasurefromyourwritings，andhavecommendedthemtomycongregation。"
Ourhost，Fields，wasespeciallydelightful。HegavereminiscencesofhisstaywithTennysonontheIsleofWight——amongothers，oftakingawalkwithhimonedarkeveningwhen，suddenly，thegreatpoetfellonhisknees，andseemingtoburrowinthegrasscalledoutgutturallyandgruffly:"Man，getdownonyourmarrow—bones;hereareviolets。"FieldsalsogavereminiscencesofCharlesSumner，showingthegreatsenator’sutterlackofanysenseofhumor，andamongthemastoryofhissummoninghisoffice—boytohispresenceontheeveoftheFourthofJulyandaddressinghimonthiswise:"Patrick，to—morrowisthenataldayofourRepublic;itisadayforpublicrejoicing，atimeofpatrioticfestivity。Youneednotcometotheoffice;
gooutandrejoicewithourfellow—citizensthatyourlotiscastinsohappyacountry。Herearefiftycents;IadviseyoutopassthedayatthecemeteryofMountAuburn。"
VeryinterestingtomeweresundryexcursionsintheSouthernStates，thefirstasfarbackas1864。AfterattendingtheBaltimoreConventionwhichrenominatedMr。Lincoln，andpayingmyrespectstohimatWashington，asstatedinmypoliticalreminiscences，IwentsomewhatlatertoRichmond。LibbyPrisonhadasadinterestforme，asformanyatthattime，andonallsideswasseenthehavocofwar;butperhapsthemostcuriousfeatureofmystaywasavisittothehousewhichhadservedastheWhiteHouseoftheConfederacy——thedwellingofJeffersonDavis，for，justasIenteredthedoorImetoneofthearchantislaverymenofNewEngland，Dr。LeonardBaconofNewHaven。
Bothofuswerehappyattheoutcomeofthewar，butitwaswithaverysolemnsortofjoythatwethusmetinsuchaplace。I
seemedtohear，assooftenintheSouthofthatday，and，indeed，intheNorthalso，thatfearfulprophecyofThomasJefferson——whenspeakingofslaveryintheSouthernStates——beginningwiththewords，"ItremblewhenIrememberthatGodisjust。"HaltingatGettysburgonmyreturnnorthward，I
foundmarksoftheterriblecontestofthepreviousyearstillvivid。Formiles，inalldirections，ontheroadsandthroughthefields，werefragmentsofshell，ofcannon，ofharness，ofclothing，andequipmentsofeverysort。Thetrees，especiallythosenearthegreatcentersofthestruggle，wherethecemeterynowis，weregashedandtornintrunkandbranches，andhereandthereweretobeseenfragmentsofhumanbodieswhich，havingbeentoohastilyburied，hadbeenwashedoutbytherains。
Abouttenyearslater，——February，1875，——beingmuchwornwithlaborandcareattheuniversity，ImadeashortstayinthemoreSouthernStates，myfirststopbeingatWashington，whereI
passedaninterestingeveningattheExecutiveMansionwithPresidentGrant，whowasassimpleandcordialinmannerasever。
ThenextdayIleftWashingtonforRichmondandthefarSouth，andonthemorningfollowingwasarousedatoneoftheway—stationsbyhearingnegroessinginginaneighboringcar。
Theywerehappyattheprospectofbreakfast，butacuriouspreliminarywasthateachcameoutupontheplatform，and，takingacurrycombwhichwashungupforthepurpose，curriedhimself，muchasanostleradministersthattreatmenttoahorse——everynegrograspinginhisturnthelargewoodenhandleandpullingtheironteeththroughhisplentifulwool。
StoppingnextatColumbiainSouthCarolina，Isawflagrantexamplesofcarpet—bagrule;butofthoseintheState—houseI
havealreadyspoken。HerewasafocusofSouthernfeeling;andattheStateUniversity，whichwascharminglysituated，andaltogetheramostfittinghomeforscholarsandthinkers，IwastakenintothelibrarywhereformerlystoodthebustofFrancisLieber，onceaprofessorintheinstitution。NeverhadtheSouthawiserorbetterfriend。InafteryearsIknew，loved，andrespectedhim。Nomanwithadeeperknowledgeoffreeinstitutions，orwithgreaterloveforthem，haseverlivedinourcountry;butwhenthenewscametohisolduniversity，wherehehadbeensogreatlyadmired，thathewastruetotheUnion，hismarblebustwastornfromitsplace，dishonored，anddestroyed。TherecouldbenobetterillustrationofBishopButler’sideaof"apossibleinsanityofStates。"
OnSunday，havingbeentakenbyoneoftheprofessorsintheuniversitytoaProtestantEpiscopalchurchforcoloredpeople，ofwhichhewasrector，Iwassurprisedatthelightcolorandrealbeautyofmanyofthewomenpresent:nowhere，saveinJamaica，hadIseenpeopleofmixedracessoattractive。InCharlestontherewereonallsidesruins，duenotonlytotheCivilWar，buttothemorerecentfireandearthquake。ItallseemedasifthevengeanceofHeavenhadbeenwroughtuponthecity。Mysympathiesweredeeplyenlisted;Ifeltnoangeroverthepast，noexultation。IwastakentoahomeforConfederateorphansandtoanotherforwidows，andinbothwerepointedouttomemembersoffamilies，nowhopelesslydestitute，whobeforethewarlivedinluxury。Innocity，athomeorabroad，haveI
everseenalineofstatelymansionswhichseemedmorefittingabodesforwealthandculturethanthoseupontheesplanadeatCharleston;inthedaysgonebyanoblehospitalityhadcenteredthere，butallwasnowsilentanddistressed。
Onthe4thofMarchwearrivedinFloridaandfounditfascinating。NeverbeforehadIbeenfarthersouthuponthemainlandoftheUnitedStatesthanCharleston，andneverhadI
seenanythingofthisregion，savewhenthefrigatebearingtheSantoDomingoCommissiontouchedatKeyWest。AmongthemostcharacteristicthingsatJacksonvillewasalargechurchbelongingtothenegroBaptists，whowereevidentlytheleadingsect。Thechurchwaslarge，butunfinished，andamainfeatureofeveryservicewaspassingthehatforcontributions。Theservicesweresingularindeed。Therewasoneoldnegropastorwho，thoughhecouldreadlittleifatall，hadschooledhimselftolookintotheBiblewhilerecitingpartsofchapters，andtokeephiseyesuponthepagesofhishymnalwhilerepeatingthehymns;andaveryweightyfunctionwasthereadingofnoticesofeverysortofsocialgathering，especialprominencebeinggiventomeetingsoffire—enginecompanies。ThenumberofNorthernvisitorswasverylarge，anditwasevidentthatthenegromanagersofthecongregationfelttheimportanceofkeepingongoodtermswithallofthemwithoutregardtoparty;for，ononeoccasion，asthepastorwasgivingthesenotices，slowlydecipheringthem，withtheaidofayoungerminister，andreadingthemmechanically，hebeganasfollows:"Derewillbeameetin’ofdeRepublikinsofdisward"——andinstantlyanumberofthebrethrenstartedtotheirfeet，andputuptheirhandswithalong"Hu—u—u—sh！"Thepreacherwasgreatlyembarrassedandpassedonimmediatelyto"TherewillbeameetingofNo。2FireCompany，"etc。，etc。Mostheartyofallwasthesinging，inwhichthewholecongregationjoinedloudlyandwithvoicesclearandsilvery。Aftertheserviceswereovertherecameregularlywhatwascalledthe"sperritualpart。"Someoneofthemoregiftedsingers——ofwhom，perhaps，themostsatisfactorywasayoungcoloredmaninablackvelvetcoatandabrilliantredtie——cameforward，stoodbeforethepulpit，andbeganalongsolo——asarule，withscoresofverses。Onewasonthecreation，anotherontheflood，eachverseparaphrasingthescripturalaccount;andtherefrain，inwhichthewholecongregationjoined，wasasfollows:
"OlePharaohhegotlaw—s—t——
Gotlaw—s—t，gotlaw—s—t——
OlePharaohhegotdrowndedIntheRe—e—e—e—dSea。"
Butsooncameasongwhichamazedme。Itwastotallydifferentincharacterfromanyoftheothers，andwascalled"TheSevenGloriesofMary。"Oneoftheversesranasfollows:
"An’deberrynextglorydatMaryshehad，Itwasdegloryofsebben——
ItwasdatherSonJesushetolleddebellsofhebben;"
andthen，asattheendofeachverse，camefromthewholecongregationtherefrain:
"Oh，trialsan’tribulashuns！
I’mgwinetoquitdisworld。"
NextdayIsentforthesingerandaskedhimwherehehadlearnedhissongs。Hisanswerwas，"Boss，Imade’emupmyself。"TothisIanswered，"Quitelikely，someofthem;butnot’TheSevenGloriesofMary。’"Hethoughtamoment，andthensaid，"Yes，boss，you’reright;datsongIbroughtdownfromoleVirginny。"
ItwasasIhadthought。ThesongwasanoldChristmascarol，evidentlybroughtfromEnglandinColonialtimes;andthenegroes，havingsubstitutedhereandthereawordoraphrasewhichstruckthemasfinerthantheoriginalhadpreservedit。
Strange，indeed，werethedevotionsofthisgreatcongregation。
Occasionallysomeoldplantationnegro，gray—headedandwornwithlabor，wouldriseandleadintheprayerswitharealinspiration，pouringouthiswholeheart，withallitshopesandsorrows。NeverhaveIheardmorepatheticsupplications。MorethanonceIhaveseentearsstreamingfromtheeyesoftheNorthernvisitors，andthen，almostinamomen...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：