Part 13

"Why, I can't exactly say what it was," replied Boggle, "acause the book didn't exactly tell me; but I found out as every fellow as had it should be reg'lar as clock-work in his eatables, and should have no more nor a sartain quantity at no time. So I began 'deavourin' to cure the dyspepsia. I hadn't the power to make 'em reg'late their jaw tackle accordin' to the book; but I took precious good care as every one should have a sartain quantity. Whether a fellow could eat a horse, or hadn't a appetite no more nor a blue bottle, I sarved 'em all wi' a sartain quantity. Acause why? It was good for their dyspepsia. But they kicked up such a bobbery! The big eaters got into a devourin' rage, and they left the shop, swearing I was a tryin' to pick their pockets. Ungrateful wretches! I was only a tryin' to cure their dyspepsia. And the little eaters were so very few in comparison, that, if they had remained satisfied wi' my treatment, their custom would have been of no sort o' significance; but, acause I gived them more nor their money's worth, they quitted the place, saying it was too cheap to be good, and that I was only a wantin' to poisen 'em. Ignorant creturs! I was only a wantin' to cure their dyspepsia! Well, my uncle was in a reg'lar take in at the loss o' his business: it put him into as complete a botheration as ever you seed. He was a man o' very few words, but was unkimmon handy upon occasions; and, seein' or fancyin' summut wasn't correct, he watched my goin's on; and one day he cotched me a sarving out a sartain quantity to a fellow who didn't want quite so much. So he axed me what I was arter; and I up and I told him all about the dyspepsia; and all about my attemptin' to cure it; and all about my sarvin' out a sartain quantity to every body as comed to the shop. Well, afore I'd got to the end o' my story, my uncle, in the most unnat'ral way as could be, took up a stick as was handy, and he sarved _me_ out wi' a sartain quantity, till I was obligated to make all sail out o' the shop."

"Accordin' to my notions, it wasn't a bit more nor you deserved," remarked the unsympathising Climberkin.

"What, not for trying to cure the dyspepsia!" loudly exclaimed the other.

"Not for trying to cure nothin'," was the reply. "But what became o' you arter that?"

"Why, my friends thought my notions o' things in general not likely to come to no good ashore, so they took it into their heads to send me afloat," responded his companion. "My first voyage lasted long enough to give me a tolerable smartish insight into the nautical; but I was continually wantin' to set things right, and my good intentions were as continually a sarving me out wi' a sartain quantity. Now, this might ha' made any fellow but me tired o' tryin' to benefit his fellow-creturs: but I wasn't a chap o' that sort; and I still went on, as sarcumstances required, 'tempting to do lots o' good, and gettin' in return nothin' but lots o' bad. Well, when I came ashore in my native place, I was rather a hold-your-head-up sort o' young chap; and, havin' some money to spend, I swaggered about the streets most consumedly, and fancied as every gal I cotched sight on was thinkin' o' nothin' in natur' but lookin' arter me. So I thought as a matter o' course I'd look arter them. I just did. As I had 'ticular notions o' things in general, as every man as is a man, and thinks like a man, should have, I thought it would be cruel to the rest o' the she creturs if I confined my attentions to one: consequently, I went a courtin' away like a steam-engine to all as I could meet. I had 'em o' all sorts and sizes, colours and complexions--scraggy or squab--longs or shorts--it made not a bit o' difference--as long as they were inclined to be fond o' me, I was inclined to be fond o' them. I had the best intentions--I thought o' nothin' but makin' 'em happy; and the more happiness as I could make, the more good I thought I was a doing. Well, somehow or other, things began to look queer, and every one on 'em was a wantin' me to marry 'em. Now, there was a law again a fellow marryin' more nor one wife; and I knew as if I married one it would be unkimmonly unjust to the rest. This my 'ticular notion o' things in general wouldn't allow. I still entertained the best intentions; so thinkin' as if they knowed the rights o' the case they would see the impossibility o' my agreein' to their wishes, I, unbeknown to the others, invited every one to meet me under a large tree, a little way out o' the town, in the branches o' which I hid myself very snug, to diskiver the upshot. First one came--then came another--and number one looked at number two in all sorts o' ways. Then came a third, and the two looked at number three in all sorts o' ways. Then came a fourth, a fifth, a sixth--ay, I may as well acknowledge at once as how they came to a matter o' twenty; and they all looked at one another in all sorts o' ways. At last, one on 'em, as I knowed to be a bit o' a spit-fire, spoke up.

"'Ladies,' says she, 'may I ask what brought you all here?'

"'I came to meet Boggle,' said one.

"'I came to meet Boggle,' said another.

"'I came to meet Boggle,' said all.

"'You came to meet Boggle, you hussy!' exclaimed every one in the whole lot; and, in less than a jiffy, caps flew about, dresses were torn, and there was the most considerable shindy that ever was known in this here univarsal world. Now, I had the best intentions. I only thought o' creatin' as much happiness as I could. I never had no suspicion as my notions o' things in general could ha' led to such a revolution. And when I seed 'em all one a top o' t' other, a pummelling, a scratching, and screeching like so many wild cats, I was taken quite comical; and, missing my hold upon the bough, I tumbled right down into the very midst on 'em. Directly as they caught eyes o' me they left off fighting. 'I shall settle the matter comfortably at last,' thought I. Miserable Boggle that I was! how I did deceive myself! In the next moment they all flew at me like a lot o' tigers, and they scratched me up, and they scratched me down, and they scratched me sideways--they pulled every hair out o' my head, and they tore my clothes into bits not big enough to cover a pincushion; and they didn't leave my unfortunate body till they thought they had killed me out and out."

"I should think that ought to have sickened you o' goin' a courtin'," remarked Climberkin, unable to restrain his mirth.

"Sickened!" exclaimed the other; "the very sight o' a she cretur makes me as good as done for. Why, I was obliged to be laid up in lavender for a month. I became as tender as a chicken, and every bone I possessed seemed to have been smashed into porridge. And this was all in return for my 'deavourin' to make 'em happy! If this arn't a most ungrateful world I'm a nigger!"

"And what followed this adventure?" inquired his companion.

"Oh, don't ask me!" replied Boggle, very gravely: "I haven't the heart to go on. But it was all the same. Still from time to time I thought o' setting things to rights; and on every 'portunity I was rewarded for my good intentions wi' exactly a similar sort o' treatment."

"Here comes the governor!" said the other, as he noticed Oriel and his party approaching; and the two young men hastily left their seats on the gun-carriage to attend to their duty in the ship.

"What coast is this, captain," asked the young merchant, pointing to the shore that lay at the distance of a few miles.

"That is the coast of Arabia," replied Hearty.

"A part of the world rendered particularly interesting to the philosopher by the many important incidents which, from the early history of the world, have there occurred," added the professor. "Here the chariots of Pharaoh, pursuing the fugitive Jews, were ingulfed in the waters of the Red Sea; and yonder is the land where, after their escape, the children of Israel wandered during their weary pilgrimage."

"Yes, the religion of Moses may be said to have had its origin here; and here, also, the religion of Mahomet was created, don't you see," remarked the doctor. "This is the land of Mecca and Medina: this is the land which, during the darkness of the middle ages, evinced the first dawn of civilisation that gave light to the world--the land of Arabian literature--of Arabian chivalry--of Arabian science and art. I cannot say that I honour the character of their prophet; and I detest the way in which his religion was promulgated as I detest every religion or every form of faith that may be called a religion, which has had its foundation upon bloodshed, rapine, and persecution. But, looking to the effects produced by the diffusion of the absurdities of the Koran wherever the arms of the Mahometans could penetrate, I must say that it has created more good than many religions which have since obtained more consideration."

"What! shall the Barbarians who destroyed the Alexandrian library be held up to admiration?" exclaimed Fortyfolios, indignantly. "Shall they who desolated wherever they went, among those who would not acknowledge their pretended prophet, be considered benefactors to their species? I cannot think you are in earnest, Doctor Tourniquet."

"But I am in earnest, don't you see," replied the doctor. "I would take and compare the state of Mahometanism in Arabia, with the state of Christianity at the same time in any part of the world--suppose we say from the commencement of the seventh century, during the rule of the Abbaside caliphs, till as late as the reign of the Ommeyide caliphs in Spain?"

"But we must look to the opposite shore for the land from which all intelligence proceeded," observed the professor. "Egypt was the cradle of the arts and sciences; and her advances in knowledge preceded those of Arabia by many centuries."

"And, doubtless, the advances made in India and China preceded those of Egypt by about the same time, don't you see," added the doctor. "If we would seek the origin of philosophy, we must, of course, find it among the first people; and there is every reason to suppose that the earliest inhabitants of this globe were located in India."

"That is doubtful," replied Fortyfolios. "But the Egyptians are at least entitled to the credit of having, at an early period, carried the mechanical arts to purposes the magnitude of which have never been exceeded; and the degree of excellence they attained in philosophy and learning is sufficient to make us regard them with a profound veneration."

"We can only judge of the tree by the fruit, don't you see," responded Tourniquet. "All I know is, that the Egyptians distinguished themselves by erecting the most magnificent fooleries that had ever been conceived. Of what use were their pyramids--their colossal statues and stupendous monuments--their gigantic idols--their vast temples, and elaborate sculptures? Superior knowledge did exist certainly, for they were the teachers of the Jews and of the Greeks; and, although the latter surpassed their instructors, they have still a claim upon our admiration. But the priests were the depositors of this knowledge, and they wrapped it up in mystery so cleverly, that it was of no use to the people, among whom it ought to have been distributed, and was of just the same advantage to posterity when both priests and people were crumbling into dust."

"Are we not approaching the grand water communication that carries the Red Sea into the Mediterranean?" inquired Oriel Porphyry.

"Ah! there's some sense in that!" exclaimed the doctor. "It beats the wonders of Thebes to nothing; and yet there could not have been more labour employed upon it than must have been used to erect that vast city."

"Under what circumstances did it originate?" asked the young merchant.

"After the Russians had made themselves masters of Constantinople," said Fortyfolios, "the Turkish empire gradually dwindled into insignificance; but the territory of their conquerors had become so immense, that it was impossible, even at the expense of a military power scarcely ever equalled, to keep it together. Symptoms of dissolution began to show themselves. The native Russians, who had gradually risen from a state of abject servitude to one in which a strong love of liberty became its greatest characteristic, grew restless and dissatisfied with their government, and were continually endeavouring to force it to become more liberal. The frequent disturbances which arose in consequence kept the country very unsettled; and there was a powerful party in the state, that, being opposed to the policy of those in authority, aided in creating the public disaffection. At this time, when the government was fully employed by its own internal disorganisation, several of the conquered provinces threw off their allegiance. Of these, the most successful were Poland and Greece. There arose amongst the Greeks a man of extraordinary valour, wisdom, and soldiership, who, from the petty leader of an insurrection, had become the chief of the national armies; and, having succeeded in driving the Russians from his country, was unanimously elected its king. But the independence of Greece did not satisfy the ambition of this conqueror. He knew that the military ardour of his countrymen required to be constantly exercised; and, leaving his kingdom to the wisdom of his counsellors, he led a mighty armament into the enemy's possessions in Turkey. Battle after battle was here fought with the same result. The heroic Greeks drove all before them; besieged and took Constantinople, in which they planted a colony; conquered their way through Asia Minor, and, entering the subjected province of Persia, excited the inhabitants to revolt: nor did they desist from their triumphant career till they had become masters of the walls of Petersburgh. At the same time the Poles, having taken up arms, they not only succeeded in relieving their country from the iron bondage in which it had so long been enslaved, but, in concert with the Greeks, invaded the lands of their conquerors, and in many a sanguinary battle revenged the wrongs they had endured."

"Did the Greek conqueror stop when he had subdued the Russians?" inquired Oriel Porphyry, who seemed to listen with intense interest.

"No conqueror will halt in his career while he imagines there is any thing to subdue," replied Fortyfolios. "The devotion with which the Greeks regarded their chief gave him absolute power over the lives and liberties of his subjects, and they wanted no inducement to follow him in the pursuit of glory. Wherever he led they crowded to his standard. He had but to declare his wish and armies were at his command. At this period Egypt was a fertile and flourishing kingdom. The English and French had vainly endeavoured to subdue it. They had made conquests and formed settlements: but when these two great empires decayed, the conquests were given up, and the settlements abandoned. Since then, under its own rulers, the people had advanced in prosperity, and had become powerful among the surrounding nations. This country the Greeks invaded. They met with desperate resistance; but after a frightful destruction of human life, and making the prosperous kingdom a wilderness, they succeeded in bringing the Egyptians into subjection, and planted a colony near the mouths of the Nile. This new colony throve rapidly; as after the death of the conqueror a long interval of peace ensued, and the population increasing rapidly, thousands emigrated to the shores of Egypt and of Turkey. In little more than a century the colonies threw off the supremacy of the mother-country, and although many attempts were made to force them to acknowledge their dependency, they did not succeed, and now they have become free states, scarcely inferior in importance to the great empires of Columbia and Australia; while of the great European nations that flourished a thousand years ago, Spain, Italy, and Portugal, are in a semi-barbarous condition; France, after having tried a hundred different forms of government, is split into a dozen little republics, each trying to destroy the other, and all acknowledging the supremacy of the German empire, the most powerful of the European states, having a territory stretching from the Rhine to the Vistula and from the English channel to the Adriatic sea. The state of England you will be better able to comprehend during the visit you are about to make to its shores than any description I can give you: but I must return to the Greek colony in Egypt. Its population increased rapidly, and the intelligence of the people seemed to increase with their numbers. They built many new cities, but by far the largest and most magnificent of them is the city of Athenia, which was erected on the borders of the lake Menzaleb. The colonists having turned their attention to commerce, for many years had considered the advantages that would accrue to their city if they could open a communication with the Mediterranean on one side, and with the Gulf of Suez on the other. This idea, if it were practicable, they saw would give them facilities of traffic which no country could surpass; and all their thoughts were anxiously turned towards the realisation of this splendid scheme. But the project was so gigantic that the most skilful engineers pronounced it impracticable. At last, one more bold than the rest published a plan by which he said it might be accomplished, with an enormous capital, a considerable interval of time, and the application of immense labour. The plan was considered, and, after much discussion, approved of. Funds were collected, a multitude of labourers were employed, and the work commenced by cutting a broad channel through the Isthmus of Suez, and from the Lake to the Mediterranean. In twenty years from its commencement the waters mingled together, and in fifty years Athenia was one of the busiest sea-ports, and one of the most magnificent cities in the world."

"And its inhabitants are the wisest and the happiest people on the globe, don't you see," added the doctor. "They allow no superstitious follies to cramp the energies of their minds. They act and think as become men and not slaves. Their laws are simple, few, and admirably adapted to their wants. Their sociality is perfect, their morality unrivalled, their intelligence exceeds that of any other people beneath the sun. As for their form of faith, nothing can equal its philosophy, for they maintain that philanthropy is the only religion, and that the true worship of God is doing good to man."

"Those are the principles my father entertains," observed the young merchant.

"They may truly be called a nation of philanthropists," continued the surgeon. "There is philanthropy in their laws--there is philanthropy in their government--there is philanthropy in their dealings one with another. From the cradle to the grave the object of all is to teach good or to practise it; and such things as hate, deceit, envy, avarice, and all the black catalogue of vices that stain other nations are to them unknown."

"They are a people worthy of being studied," said Oriel.

"Studied! they ought to be got by heart, by every nation on the face of the globe, don't you see," replied Dr. Tourniquet. "There is nothing in nature so refreshing to the sight. It makes one in love with humanity. It dissolves all the freezing selfishness that the prejudices of education have created upon our feelings, and allows us to enjoy the sunshine and the gladness of a free and unalterable sympathy for all our race. It is under such circumstances, and under such only, that man becomes what he was created to be--a creature eminently happy, enjoying moderately all his inclinations, pleased with the pleasures of others, and liberally sharing his own: knowing neither fear, nor crime, nor want, nor folly; suffering from few diseases, and those only the most ordinary afflictions of existence; entertaining no idea of emulation but that of endeavouring to exceed one another in doing good; having no interest in any property apart from the interest of the community; possessing no attachment to any object or place which is not shared by those around him--and while looking neither to the past nor to the future with either hope or fear, endeavouring to make the present as beneficial to himself and others, as with a kind, a just, and a reasonable way of life the present can be made. And this is what I call a perfect state of society, don't you see."

CHAP. XI.

ATHENIA.

A party, consisting of the two philosophers, Oriel Porphyry, Zabra, and a stranger, were proceeding in an elegant open carriage through the crowded streets of Athenia. The stranger was a man of about fifty, of noble mien, and lofty stature. There was a classic purity in the outline of his face, that became more pleasing to the gazer from its being accompanied by features of the most benevolent expression. A mild and graceful spirit seemed shining in every look; and none could behold his clear expansive forehead without feeling a conviction that he stood in the presence of an intelligence of the highest order. A white turban was carefully folded over his brows, covering the lower portion of a small velvet cap that fitted close to the head. The upper part of his body was robed in several vests, or short jackets, made of different stuffs, in elegant patterns, each being of a different fabric and colour; and beneath these an under garment, of remarkably fine linen, might be observed. The waist was bound round with a rich silken sash, the ends of which hung down on the left side; and below it, in very full folds, descended to the knees a garment of a thick fabric, of a white colour till near the skirt, where there appeared three narrow bands of light blue: leggings of thin silk descended to the feet, which were cased in shoes of fine leather; and an ample robe of embroidered purple cloth hung loose from the shoulders.

"This is a magnificent street," remarked the young merchant, noticing a line of palaces that stretched for a considerable distance on each side of him.

"What noble porticoes--what lofty domes--what a beauty and harmony there is in the arrangement of every building!" exclaimed Zabra. "Surely they are inhabited by a race of princes."

"Of what are usually called princes, we know nothing," said the stranger mildly. "This is the street of our great men. Here dwell our most illustrious poets, philosophers, artists, and men of science."

"Can it be possible?" asked Fortyfolios. "How do they manage to acquire such splendid dwellings?"

"When a citizen has shown by his works," resumed the stranger, "that he possesses those intellectual powers that most ennoble human nature, the public, out of gratitude for the gratifications they receive from his superior intelligence, place him in a situation where he can be most honoured, and where his own pleasures may correspond in degree with the pleasures he is creating."

"Nothing can be more wise, don't you see," said the doctor; "and it has been a disgrace to all civilised nations that their men of intellect, the only nobles that any society can possess, have been so little cared for, that few have ever enjoyed an adequate return for the labour and the wealth they were bestowing upon their country. Rarely have they been held in the estimation which their superiority in the only true greatness which can distinguish humanity ought to command; and a vast number have been left to battle with a selfish world, till, having endured every species of suffering that can most afflict their sensitive natures, steeped to the lips in poverty, weary and heartbroken, they lie down in some obscure corner and die."