Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVI, July 1852, Vol. VVarious
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVI, July 1852, Vol. V
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
trifling to us, to it so vast. There was this journal--in its dates
reminding me of stormy events of my own existence, and grand doings in
the world's. And those dates there, chronicling but the mysterious
unrevealed record of some obscure loving heart! And in that chronicle,
O, Sir Poet, there was as much genius, vigor of thought, vitality of
being, poured and wasted, as ever kind friend will say was lavished on
the rude outer world by big John Burley! Genius, genius; are we all
alike, then, save when we leash ourselves to some matter-of-fact
material, and float over the roaring seas on a wooden plank or a
herring-tub?" And after he had uttered that cry of a secret anguish,
John Burley had begun to show symptoms of growing fever and disturbed
brain; and when they had got him into bed, he lay there muttering to
himself, until toward midnight he had asked Leonard to bring the light
nearer to him.
So now he again was quiet--with his face turned toward the wall; and
Leonard stood by the bedside sorrowfully, and Mrs. Goodyer, who did
not heed Burley's talk, and thought only of his physical state, was
dipping cloths into iced water to apply to his forehead. But as she
approached with these, and addressed him soothingly, Burley raised
himself on his arm, and waved aside the bandages. "I do not need
them," said he, in a collected voice. "I am better now. I and that
pleasant light understand one another, and I believe all it tells me.
Pooh, pooh, I do not rave." He looked so smilingly and so kindly into
her face, that the poor woman, who loved him as her own son, fairly
burst into tears. He drew her toward him and kissed her forehead.
"Peace, old fool," said he, fondly. "You shall tell anglers hereafter
how John Burley came to fish for the one-eyed perch which he never
caught: and how, when he gave it up at the last, his baits all gone,
and the line broken among the weeds, you comforted the baffled man.
There are many good fellows yet in the world who will like to know
that poor Burley did not die on a dunghill. Kiss me! Come, boy, you
too. Now, God bless you, I should like to sleep." His cheeks were wet
with the tears of both his listeners, and there was a moisture in his
own eyes, which, nevertheless, beamed bright through the moisture.
He laid himself down again, and the old woman would have withdrawn the
light. He moved uneasily. "Not that," he murmured--"light to the
last!" And putting forth his wan hand, he drew aside the curtain so
that the light might fall full on his face. In a few minutes he was
asleep, breathing calmly and regularly as an infant.
The old woman wiped her eyes, and drew Leonard softly into the
adjoining room, in which a bed had been made up for him. He had not
left the house since he had entered it with Dr. Morgan. "You are
young, sir," said she, with kindness, "and the young want sleep. Lie
down a bit: I will call you when he wakes."
"No, I could not sleep," said Leonard. "I will watch for you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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