by courtesy of mr. cable i came into possession of a singular book eight or ten years ago. it is likely that mine is now the only copy in existence. its title-page, unabbreviated, reads as follows:
‘the enemy conquered; or, love triumphant. by g. ragsdale mcclintock,[3] author of “an address,” etc., delivered at sunflower hill, south carolina, and member of the yale law school, new haven: published by t. h. pease, 83 chapel street, 1845.’
3. the name here given is a substitute for the one actually attached to the pamphlet.
no one can take up this book, and lay it down again unread. whoever reads one line of it is caught, is chained; he has become the contented slave of its fascinations; and he will read and read, devour and devour, and will not let it go out of his hand till it is finished to the last line, though the house be on fire over his head. and after a 78first reading, he will not throw it aside, but will keep it by him, with his shakspeare and his homer, and will take it up many and many a time, when the world is dark, and his spirits are low, and be straightway cheered and refreshed. yet this work has been allowed to lie wholly neglected, unmentioned, and apparently unregretted, for nearly half a century.
the reader must not imagine that he is to find in it wisdom, brilliancy, fertility of invention, ingenuity of construction, excellence of form, purity of style, perfection of imagery, truth to nature, clearness of statement, humanly possible situations, humanly possible people, fluent narrative, connected sequence of events—or philosophy, or logic, or sense. no; the rich, deep, beguiling charm of the book lies in the total and miraculous absence from it of all these qualities—a charm which is completed and perfected by the evident fact that the author, whose naïve innocence easily and surely wins our regard, and almost our worship, does not know that they are absent, does not even suspect that they are absent. when read by the light of these helps to an understanding of the situation, the book is delicious—profoundly and satisfyingly delicious.
79i call it a book because the author calls it a book; i call it a work because he calls it a work; but in truth it is merely a duodecimo pamphlet of thirty-one pages. it was written for fame and money, as the author very frankly—yes, and very hopefully, too, poor fellow—says in his preface. the money never came; no penny of it ever came; and how long, how pathetically long, the fame has been deferred—forty-seven years! he was young then, it would have been so much to him then; but will he care for it now?
as time is measured in america, mcclintock’s epoch is antiquity. in his long-vanished day the southern author had a passion for ‘eloquence’; it was his pet, his darling. he would be eloquent, or perish. and he recognised only one kind of eloquence, the lurid, the tempestuous, the volcanic. he liked words; big words, fine words, grand words, rumbling, thundering, reverberating words—with sense attaching if it could be got in without marring the sound, but not otherwise. he loved to stand up before a dazed world, and pour forth flame, and smoke, and lava, and pumicestone, into the skies, and work his subterranean thunders, and shake himself with earthquakes, and stench himself with sulphur fumes. if he 80consumed his own fields and vineyards, that was a pity, yes; but he would have his eruption at any cost. mr. mcclintock’s eloquence—and he is always eloquent, his crater is always spouting—is of the pattern common to his day, but he departs from the custom of the time in one respect: his brethren allowed sense to intrude when it did not mar the sound, but he does not allow it to intrude at all. for example, consider this figure, which he uses in the village ‘address’ referred to with such candid complacency in the title-page above quoted—‘like the topmost topaz of an ancient tower.’ please read it again; contemplate it; measure it; walk around it; climb up it; try to get at an approximate realisation of the size of it. is the fellow to that to be found in literature, ancient or modern, foreign or domestic, living or dead, drunk or sober? one notices how fine and grand it sounds. we know that if it was loftily uttered, it got a noble burst of applause from the villagers; yet there isn’t a ray of sense in it, or meaning to it.
mcclintock finished his education at yale in 1843, and came to hartford on a visit that same year. i have talked with men who at that time talked with him, and felt of him, and knew he was real. one needs to remember that fact, and to 81keep fast hold of it; it is the only way to keep mcclintock’s book from undermining one’s faith in mcclintock’s actuality.
as to the book. the first four pages are devoted to an inflamed eulogy of woman—simply woman in general, or perhaps as an institution—wherein, among other compliments to her details, he pays a unique one to her voice. he says it ‘fills the breast with fond alarms, echoed by every rill.’ it sounds well enough, but it is not true. after the eulogy he takes up his real work, and the novel begins. it begins in the woods, near the village of sunflower hill.
‘brightening clouds seemed to rise from the mist of the fair chattahoochee, to spread their beauty over the thick forest, to guide the hero whose bosom beats with aspirations to conquer the enemy that would tarnish his name and to win back the admiration of his long-tried friend.’
it seems a general remark, but it is not general; the hero mentioned is the to-be hero of the book; and in this abrupt fashion, and without name or description, he is shovelled into the tale. ‘with aspirations to conquer the enemy that would tarnish his name’ is merely a phrase flung in for the sake of the sound—let it not mislead the 82reader. no one is trying to tarnish this person; no one has thought of it. the rest of the sentence is also merely a phrase; the man has no friend as yet, and of course has had no chance to try him, or win back his admiration, or disturb him in any other way.
the hero climbs up over ‘sawney’s mountain,’ and down the other side, making for an old indian ‘castle’—which becomes ‘the red man’s hut’ in the next sentence; and when he gets there at last, he ‘surveys with wonder and astonishment’ the invisible structure, ‘which time had buried in the dust; and thought to himself his happiness was not yet complete.’ one doesn’t know why it wasn’t, nor how near it came to being complete, nor what was still wanting to round it up and make it so. maybe it was the indian; but the book does not say. at this point we have an episode:
‘beside the shore of the brook sat a young man, about eighteen or twenty, who seemed to be reading some favourite book, and who had a remarkably noble countenance—eyes which betrayed more than a common mind. this, of course, made the youth a welcome guest, and gained him friends in whatever condition of life he 83might be placed. the traveller observed that he was a well-built figure which showed strength and grace in every movement. he accordingly addressed him in quite a gentlemanly manner, and inquired of him the way to the village. after he had received the desired information, and was about taking his leave, the youth said, “are you not major elfonzo, the great musician[4]—the champion of a noble cause—the modern achilles, who gained so many victories in the florida war?” “i bear that name,” said the major, “and those titles, trusting at the same time that the ministers of grace will carry me triumphantly through all my laudable undertakings, and if,” continued the major, “you, sir, are the patroniser of noble deeds, i should like to make you my confidant, and learn your address.” the youth looked somewhat amazed, bowed low, mused for a moment, and began: “my name is roswell. i have been recently admitted to the bar, and can only give a faint outline of my future success in that honourable profession; but i trust, sir, like the eagle, i shall look down from lofty rocks upon the dwellings of man, and shall ever be ready to 84give you any assistance in my official capacity, and whatever this muscular arm of mine can do, whenever it shall be called from its buried greatness.” the major grasped him by the hand, and exclaimed: “o! thou exalted spirit of inspiration—thou flame of burning prosperity, may the heaven-directed blaze be the glare of thy soul, and battle down every rampart that seems to impede your progress!”’
4. further on it will be seen that he is a country expert on the fiddle, and has a three-township fame.
there is a strange sort of originality about mcclintock; he imitates other people’s styles, but nobody can imitate his, not even an idiot. other people can be windy, but mcclintock blows a gale; other people can blubber sentiment, but mcclintock spews it; other people can mishandle metaphors, but only mcclintock knows how to make a business of it. mcclintock is always mcclintock, he is always consistent, his style is always his own style. he does not make the mistake of being relevant on one page and irrelevant on another; he is irrelevant on all of them. he does not make the mistake of being lucid in one place and obscure in another; he is obscure all the time. he does not make the mistake of slipping in a name here and there that is out of character with his work; he always uses names that exactly and fantastically 85fit his lunatics. in the matter of undeviating consistency he stands alone in authorship. it is this that makes his style unique, and entitles it to a name of its own—mcclintockian. it is this that protects it from being mistaken for anybody else’s.
uncredited quotations from other writers often leave a reader in doubt as to their authorship, but mcclintock is safe from that accident; an uncredited quotation from him would always be recognisable. when a boy nineteen years old, who had just been admitted to the bar, says, ‘i trust, sir, like the eagle, i shall look down from lofty rocks upon the dwellings of man,’ we know who is speaking through that boy; we should recognise that note anywhere. there be myriads of instruments in this world’s literary orchestra, and a multitudinous confusion of sounds that they make, wherein fiddles are drowned, and guitars smothered, and one sort of drum mistaken for another sort; but whensoever the brazen note of the mcclintockian trombone breaks through that fog of music, that note is recognisable, and about it there can be no blur of doubt.
the novel now arrives at the point where the major goes home to see his father. when mcclintock 86wrote this interview, he probably believed it was pathetic.
‘the road which led to the town presented many attractions. elfonzo had bid farewell to the youth of deep feeling, and was now wending his way to the dreaming spot of his fondness. the south winds whistled through the woods, as the waters dashed against the banks, as rapid fire in the pent furnace roars. this brought him to remember while alone that he quietly left behind the hospitality of a father’s house, and gladly entered the world, with higher hopes than are often realised. but as he journeyed onward he was mindful of the advice of his father, who had often looked sadly on the ground, when tears of cruelly deceived hope moistened his eyes. elfonzo had been somewhat of a dutiful son, yet fond of the amusements of life—had been in distant lands, had enjoyed the pleasure of the world, and had frequently returned to the scenes of his boyhood almost destitute of many of the comforts of life. in this condition he would frequently say to his father, “have i offended you, that you look upon me as a stranger, and frown upon me with stinging looks? will you not favour me with the sound of your voice? if i have trampled upon your veneration, or have 87spread a humid veil of darkness around your expectations, send me back into the world, where no heart beats for me—where the foot of man has never yet trod; but give me at least one kind word—allow me to come into the presence sometimes of thy winter-worn locks.” “forbid it, heaven, that i should be angry with thee,” answered the father, “my son, and yet i send thee back to the children of the world—to the cold charity of the combat, and to a land of victory. i read another destiny in thy countenance—i learn thy inclinations from the flame that has already kindled in my soul a strange sensation. it will seek thee, my dear elfonzo, it will find thee—thou canst not escape that lighted torch, which shall blot out from the remembrance of men a long train of prophecies which they have foretold against thee. i once thought not so. once, i was blind; but now the path of life is plain before me, and my sight is clear; yet, elfonzo, return to thy worldly occupation—take again in thy hand that chord of sweet sounds—struggle with the civilised world, and with your own heart; fly swiftly to the enchanted ground—let the night-owl send forth its screams from the stubborn oak—let the sea sport upon the beach, and the stars sing together; but 88learn of these, elfonzo, thy doom, and thy hiding-place. our most innocent as well as our most lawful desires must often be denied us, that we may learn to sacrifice them to a higher will.”
‘remembering such admonitions with gratitude, elfonzo was immediately urged by the recollection of his father’s family to keep moving.’
mcclintock has a fine gift in the matter of surprises; but as a rule they are not pleasant ones, they jar upon the feelings. his closing sentence in the last quotation is of that sort. it brings one down out of the tinted clouds in too sudden and collapsed a fashion. it incenses one against the author for a moment. it makes the reader want to take him by his winter-worn locks, and trample on his veneration, and deliver him over to the cold charity of combat, and blot him out with his own lighted torch. but the feeling does not last. the master takes again in his hand that concord of sweet sounds of his, and one is reconciled, pacified.
‘his steps became quicker and quicker—he hastened through the piny woods, dark as the forest was, and with joy he very soon reached the little village of repose, in whose bosom rested the boldest chivalry. his close attention to every important object—his modest questions about 89whatever was new to him—his reverence for wise old age, and his ardent desire to learn many of the fine arts, soon brought him into respectable notice.
‘one mild winter day, as he walked along the streets towards the academy, which stood upon a small eminence, surrounded by native growth—some venerable in its appearance, others young and prosperous—all seemed inviting, and seemed to be the very place for learning as well as for genius to spend its research beneath its spreading shades. he entered its classic walls in the usual mode of southern manners.’
the artfulness of this man! none knows so well as he how to pique the curiosity of the reader—and how to disappoint it. he raises the hope, here, that he is going to tell all about how one enters a classic wall in the usual mode of southern manners; but does he? no; he smiles in his sleeve, and turns aside to other matters.
‘the principal of the institution begged him to be seated, and listen to the recitations that were going on. he accordingly obeyed the request, and seemed to be much pleased. after the school was dismissed, and the young hearts regained their freedom, with the songs of the evening, laughing at the anticipated pleasures of a happy home, 90while others tittered at the actions of the past day, he addressed the teacher in a tone that indicated a resolution—with an undaunted mind. he said he had determined to become a student, if he could meet with his approbation. “sir,” said he, “i have spent much time in the world. i have travelled among the uncivilised inhabitants of america. i have met with friends, and combated with foes; but none of these gratify my ambition, or decide what is to be my destiny. i see the learned world have an influence with the voice of the people themselves. the despoilers of the remotest kingdoms of the earth refer their differences to this class of persons. this the illiterate and inexperienced little dream of; and now, if you will receive me as i am, with these deficiencies—with all my misguided opinions, i will give you my honour, sir, that i will never disgrace the institution or those who have placed you in this honourable station.” the instructor, who had met with many disappointments, knew how to feel for a stranger who had been thus turned upon the charities of an unfeeling community. he looked at him earnestly, and said: “be of good cheer—look forward, sir, to the high destination you may attain. remember, the more elevated the mark 91at which you aim, the more sure, the more glorious, the more magnificent the prize.” from wonder to wonder, his encouragement led the impatient listener. a strange nature bloomed before him—giant streams promised him success—gardens of hidden treasures opened to his view. all this, so vividly described, seemed to gain a new witchery from his glowing fancy.’
it seems to me that this situation is new in romance. i feel sure it has not been attempted before. military celebrities have been disguised and set at lowly occupations for dramatic effect, but i think mcclintock is the first to send one of them to school. thus, in this book, you pass from wonder to wonder, through gardens of hidden treasure, where giant streams bloom before you, and behind you, and all around, and you feel as happy, and groggy, and satisfied, with your quart of mixed metaphor aboard, as you would if it had been mixed in a sample-room, and delivered from a jug.
now we come upon some more mcclintockian surprises—a sweetheart who is sprung upon us without any preparation, along with a name for her which is even a little more of a surprise than she herself is.
92‘in 1842 he entered the class, and made rapid progress in the english and latin departments. indeed, he continued advancing with such rapidity that he was like to become the first in his class, and made such unexpected progress, and was so studious, that he had almost forgotten the pictured saint of his affections. the fresh wreaths of the pine and cypress had waited anxiously to drop once more the dews of heaven upon the heads of those who had so often poured forth the tender emotions of their souls under its boughs. he was aware of the pleasure that he had seen there. so one evening, as he was returning from his reading, he concluded he would pay a visit to this enchanting spot. little did he think of witnessing a shadow of his former happiness, though no doubt he wished it might be so. he continued sauntering by the road-side, meditating on the past. the nearer he approached the spot, the more anxious he became. at that moment a tall female figure flitted across his path, with a bunch of roses in her hand; her countenance showed uncommon vivacity, with a resolute spirit; her ivory teeth already appeared as she smiled beautifully, promenading, while her ringlets of hair dangled unconsciously around her snowy neck. 93nothing was wanting to complete her beauty. the tinge of the rose was in full bloom upon her cheek; the charms of sensibility and tenderness were always her associates. in ambulinia’s bosom dwelt a noble soul—one that never faded—one that never was conquered.’
ambulinia! it can hardly be matched in fiction. the full name is ambulinia valeer. marriage will presently round it out and perfect it. then it will be mrs. ambulinia valeer elfonzo. it takes the chromo.
‘her heart yielded to no feeling but the love of elfonzo, on whom she gazed with intense delight, and to whom she felt herself more closely bound, because he sought the hand of no other. elfonzo was roused from his apparent reverie. his books no longer were his inseparable companions—his thoughts arrayed themselves to encourage him to the field of victory. he endeavoured to speak to his supposed ambulinia, but his speech appeared not in words. no, his effort was a stream of fire that kindled his soul into a flame of admiration and carried his senses away captive. ambulinia had disappeared, to make him more mindful of his duty. as she walked speedily away through the piny woods she calmly echoed: “o! elfonzo, 94thou wilt now look from thy sunbeams. thou shalt now walk in a new path—perhaps thy way leads through darkness; but fear not, the stars foretell happiness.”’
to mcclintock that jingling jumble of fine words meant something, no doubt, or seemed to mean something; but it is useless for us to try to divine what it was. ambulinia comes—we don’t know whence nor why; she mysteriously intimates—we don’t know what; and then she goes echoing away—we don’t know whither; and down comes the curtain. mcclintock’s art is subtle; mcclintock’s art is deep.
‘not many days afterwards, as surrounded by fragrant flowers, she sat one evening at twilight to enjoy the cool breeze that whispered notes of melody along the distant groves, the little birds perched on every side, as if to watch the movements of their new visitor. the bells were tolling, when elfonzo silently stole along by the wild wood flowers, holding in his hand his favourite instrument of music—his eye continually searching for ambulinia, who hardly seemed to perceive him as she played carelessly with the songsters that hopped from branch to branch. nothing could be more striking than the difference between the two. 95nature seemed to have given the more tender soul to elfonzo, and the stronger and more courageous to ambulinia. a deep feeling spoke from the eyes of elfonzo—such a feeling as can only be expressed by those who are blessed as admirers, and by those who are able to return the same with sincerity of heart. he was a few years older than ambulinia: she had turned a little into her seventeenth. he had almost grown up in the cherokee country, with the same equal proportions as one of the natives. but little intimacy had existed between them until the year forty-one—because the youth felt that the character of such a lovely girl was too exalted to inspire any other feeling than that of quiet reverence. but as lovers will not always be insulted, at all times and under all circumstances, by the frowns and cold looks of crabbed old age, which should continually reflect dignity upon those around, and treat the unfortunate as well as the fortunate with a graceful mien, he continued to use diligence and perseverance.
‘all this lighted a spark in his heart that changed his whole character, and, like the unyielding deity that follows the storm to check its rage in the forest, he resolves for the first time to shake off 96his embarrassment, and return where he had before only worshipped.’
at last we begin to get the major’s measure. we are able to put this and that casual fact together, and build the man up before our eyes, and look at him. and after we have got him built, we find him worth the trouble. by the above comparison between his age and ambulinia’s, we guess the war-worn veteran to be twenty-two; and the other facts stand thus: he had grown up in the cherokee country with the same equal proportions as one of the natives—how flowing and graceful the language, and yet how tantalising as to meaning!—he had been turned adrift by his father, to whom he had been ‘somewhat of a dutiful son’; he wandered in distant lands; came back frequently ‘to the scenes of his boyhood, almost destitute of many of the comforts of life,’ in order to get into the presence of his father’s winter-worn locks, and spread a humid veil of darkness around his expectations; but he was always promptly sent back to the cold charity of the combat again; he learned to play the fiddle, and made a name for himself in that line; he had dwelt among the wild tribes; he had philosophised about the despoilers of the kingdoms of the earth, and found out—the cunning creature—that they 97refer their differences to the learned for settlement; he had achieved a vast fame as a military chieftain, the achilles of the florida campaigns, and then had got him a spelling-book and started to school; he had fallen in love with ambulinia valeer while she was teething, but had kept it to himself awhile, out of the reverential awe which he felt for the child; but now at last, like the unyielding deity who follows the storm to check its rage in the forest, he resolves to shake off his embarrassment, and to return where before he had only worshipped. the major, indeed, has made up his mind to rise up and shake his faculties together, and to see if he can’t do that thing himself. this is not clear. but no matter about that: there stands the hero, compact and visible; and he is no mean structure, considering that his creator had never created anything before, and hadn’t anything but rags and wind to build with this time. it seems to me that no one can contemplate this odd creature, this quaint and curious blatherskite, without admiring mcclintock, or, at any rate, loving him and feeling grateful to him; for mcclintock made him; he gave him to us; without mcclintock we could not have had him, and would now be poor.
98but we must come to the feast again. here is a courtship scene, down there in the romantic glades among the raccoons, alligators, and things, that has merit, peculiar literary merit. see how achilles wooes. dwell upon the second sentence (particularly the close of it), and the beginning of the third. never mind the new personage, leos, who is intruded upon us unheralded and unexplained. that is mcclintock’s way; it is his habit; it is a part of his genius; he cannot help it; he never interrupts the rush of his narrative to make introductions:
‘it could not escape ambulinia’s penetrating eye that he sought an interview with her, which she as anxiously avoided, and assumed a more distant calmness than before, seemingly to destroy all hope. after many efforts and struggles with his own person, with timid steps the major approached the damsel, with the same caution as he would have done in a field of battle. “lady ambulinia,” said he, trembling, “i have long desired a moment like this. i dare not let it escape. i fear the consequences; yet i hope your indulgence will at least hear my petition. can you not anticipate what i would say, and what i am about to express? will you not, like minerva, who sprung from the brain 99of jupiter, release me from thy winding chains or cure me——” “say no more, elfonzo,” answered ambulinia, with a serious look, raising her hand as if she intended to swear eternal hatred against the whole world; “another lady in my place would have perhaps answered your question in bitter coldness. i know not the little arts of my sex. i care but little for the vanity of those who would chide me, and am unwilling as well as ashamed to be guilty of anything that would lead you to think ‘all is not gold that glitters’; so be not rash in your resolution. it is better to repent now, than to do it in a more solemn hour. yes, i know what you would say. i know you have a costly gift for me—the noblest that man can make—your heart! you should not offer it to one so unworthy. heaven, you know, has allowed my father’s house to be made a house of solitude, a home of silent obedience, which my parents say is more to be admired than big names and high-sounding titles. notwithstanding all this, let me speak the emotions of an honest heart—allow me to say in the fulness of my hopes that i anticipate better days. the bird may stretch its wings towards the sun which it can never reach; and flowers of the field appear to ascend in the same direction, because they cannot do otherwise: but 100man confides his complaints to the saints in whom he believes; for in their abodes of light they know no more sorrow. from your confession and indicative looks, i must be that person: if so, deceive not yourself.”
‘elfonzo replied, “pardon me, my dear madam, for my frankness. i have loved you from my earliest days—everything grand and beautiful hath borne the image of ambulinia: while precipices on every hand surrounded me, your guardian angel stood and beckoned me away from the deep abyss. in every trial—in every misfortune, i have met with your helping hand; yet i never dreamed or dared to cherish thy love, till a voice impaired with age encouraged the cause, and declared they who acquired thy favour should win a victory. i saw how leos worshipped thee. i felt my own unworthiness. i began to know jealousy, a strong guest indeed, in my bosom, yet i could see if i gained your admiration, leos was to be my rival. i was aware that he had the influence of your parents, and the wealth of a deceased relative, which is too often mistaken for permanent and regular tranquillity; yet i have determined by your permission to beg an interest in your prayers—to ask you to animate my drooping spirits by your smiles and 101your winning looks; for, if you but speak, i shall be conqueror, my enemies shall stagger like olympus shakes. and though earth and sea may tremble, and the charioteer of the sun may forget his dashing steed; yet i am assured that it is only to arm me with divine weapons, which will enable me to complete my long-tried intention.” “return to yourself, elfonzo,” said ambulinia, pleasantly, “a dream of vision has disturbed your intellect—you are above the atmosphere, dwelling in the celestial regions, nothing is there that urges or hinders, nothing that brings discord into our present litigation. i entreat you to condescend a little, and be a man, and forget it all. when homer describes the battle of the gods and noble men, fighting with giants and dragons, they represent under this image our struggles with the delusions of our passions. you have exalted me, an unhappy girl, to the skies; you have called me a saint, and portrayed in your imagination an angel in human form. let her remain such to you—let her continue to be as you have supposed, and be assured that she will consider a share in your esteem as her highest treasure. think not that i would allure you from the path in which your conscience leads you; for you know i respect the conscience of others, as i 102would die for my own. elfonzo, if i am worthy of thy love, let such conversation never again pass between us. go, seek a nobler theme! we will seek it in the stream of time as the sunset in the tigris.” as she spake these words she grasped the hand of elfonzo, saying at the same time—“peace and prosperity attend you, my hero: be up and doing.” closing her remarks with this expression, she walked slowly away, leaving elfonzo astonished and amazed. he ventured not to follow, or detain her. here he stood alone, gazing at the stars—confounded as he was, here he stood.’
yes; there he stood. there seems to be no doubt about that. nearly half of this delirious story has now been delivered to the reader. it seems a pity to reduce the other half to a cold synopsis. pity! it is more than a pity, it is a crime; for, to synopsise mcclintock is to reduce a sky-flushing conflagration to dull embers, it is to reduce barbaric splendour to ragged poverty. mcclintock never wrote a line that was not precious; he never wrote one that could be spared; he never framed one from which a word could be removed without damage. every sentence that this master has produced may be likened to a 103perfect set of teeth—white, uniform, beautiful. if you pull one, the charm is gone. still, it is now necessary to begin to pull, and to keep it up; for lack of space requires us to synopsise.
we left elfonzo standing there, amazed. at what, we do not know. not at the girl’s speech. no; we ourselves should have been amazed at it, of course, for none of us has ever heard anything resembling it: but elfonzo was used to speeches made up of noise and vacancy, and could listen to them with undaunted mind like the ‘topmost topaz of an ancient tower’; he was used to making them himself; he—but let it go, it cannot be guessed out; we shall never know what it was that astonished him. he stood there awhile; then he said, ‘alas! am i now grief’s disappointed son at last.’ he did not stop to examine his mind, and to try to find out what he probably meant by that, because, for one reason, ‘a mixture of ambition and greatness of soul moved upon his young heart,’ and started him for the village. he resumed his bench in school, ‘and reasonably progressed in his education.’ his heart was heavy, but he went into society, and sought surcease of sorrow in its light distractions. he made himself popular with his violin, ‘which seemed to have a thousand chords—more 104symphonious than the muses of apollo, and more enchanting than the ghost of the hills.’ this is obscure, but let it go.
during this interval leos did some unencouraged courting, but at last, ‘choked by his undertaking,’ he desisted.
presently ‘elfonzo again wends his way to the stately walls and new-built village.’ he goes to the house of his beloved; she opens the door herself. to my surprise—for ambulinia’s heart had still seemed free at the time of their last interview—love beamed from the girl’s eyes. one sees that elfonzo was surprised, too; for when he caught that light ‘a halloo of smothered shouts ran through every vein.’ a neat figure—a very neat figure, indeed! then he kissed her. ‘the scene was overwhelming.’ they went into the parlour. the girl said it was safe, for her parents were abed and would never know. then we have this fine picture—flung upon the canvas with hardly an effort, as you will notice.
‘advancing towards him she gave a bright display of her rosy neck, and from her head the ambrosial locks breathed divine fragrance; her robe hung waving to his view, while she stood like a goddess confessed before him.’
105there is nothing of interest in the couple’s interview. now, at this point the girl invites elfonzo to a village show, where jealousy is the motive of the play, for she wants to teach him a wholesome lesson if he is a jealous person. but this is a sham, and pretty shallow. mcclintock merely wants a pretext to drag in a plagiarism of his upon a scene or two in ‘othello.’
the lovers went to the play. elfonzo was one of the fiddlers. he and ambulinia must not be seen together, lest trouble follow with the girl’s malignant father; we are made to understand that clearly. so the two sit together in the orchestra, in the midst of the musicians. this does not seem to be good art. in the first place, the girl would be in the way, for orchestras are always packed closely together, and there is no room to spare for people’s girls; in the next place, one cannot conceal a girl in an orchestra without everybody taking notice of it. there can be no doubt, it seems to me, that this is bad art.
leos is present. of course one of the first things that catches his eye is the maddening spectacle of ambulinia ‘leaning upon elfonzo’s chair.’ this poor girl does not seem to understand even the rudiments of concealment. but she is ‘in her 106seventeenth,’ as the author phrases it, and that is her justification.
leos meditates, constructs a plan—with personal violence as a basis, of course. it was their way, down there. it is a good plain plan, without any imagination in it. he will go out and stand at the front door, and when these two come out he will ‘arrest ambulinia from the hands of the insolent elfonzo,’ and thus make for himself a ‘more prosperous field of immortality than ever was decreed by omnipotence, or ever pencil drew, or artist imagined.’ but, dear me, while he is waiting there the couple climb out at the back window and scurry home! this is romantic enough, but there is a lack of dignity in the situation.
at this point mcclintock puts in the whole of his curious play—which we skip.
some correspondence follows now. the bitter father and the distressed lovers write the letters. elopements are attempted. they are idiotically planned, and they fail. then we have several pages of romantic powwow and confusion signifying nothing. another elopement is planned; it is to take place on sunday, when everybody is at church. but the ‘hero’ cannot keep the secret; 107he tells everybody. another author would have found another instrument when he decided to defeat this elopement; but that is not mcclintock’s way. he uses the person that is nearest at hand.
the evasion failed, of course. ambulinia, in her flight, takes refuge in a neighbour’s house. her father drags her home. the villagers gather, attracted by the racket.
‘elfonzo was moved at this sight. the people followed on to see what was going to become of ambulinia, while he, with downcast looks, kept at a distance, until he saw them enter the abode of the father, thrusting her, that was the sigh of his soul, out of his presence into a solitary apartment, when she exclaimed, “elfonzo! elfonzo! oh! elfonzo! where art thou, with all thy heroes? haste, oh! haste, come thou to my relief. ride on the wings of the wind! turn thy force loose like a tempest, and roll on thy army like a whirlwind, over this mountain of trouble and confusion. oh, friends! if any pity me, let your last efforts throng upon the green hills, and come to the relief of ambulinia, who is guilty of nothing but innocent love.” elfonzo called out with a loud voice, “my god, can i stand this! arouse up, i beseech you, 108and put an end to this tyranny. come, my brave boys,” said he, “are you ready to go forth to your duty?” they stood around him. “who,” said he, “will call us to arms? where are my thunderbolts of war? speak ye, the first who will meet the foe! who will go forth with me in this ocean of grievous temptation? if there is one who desires to go, let him come and shake hands upon the altar of devotion, and swear that he will be a hero; yes, a hector in a cause like this, which calls aloud for a speedy remedy.” “mine be the deed,” said a young lawyer, “and mine alone; venus alone shall quit her station before i will forsake one jot or tittle of my promise to you; what is death to me? what is all this warlike army, if it is not to win a victory? i love the sleep of the lover and the mighty; nor would i give it over till the blood of my enemies should wreak with that of my own. but god forbid that our fame should soar on the blood of the slumberer.” mr. valeer stands at his door with the frown of a demon upon his brow, with his dangerous weapon[5] ready to strike the first man who should enter his door. “who will arise and go forward through blood and carnage to the rescue of my ambulinia?” said elfonzo. “all,” exclaimed 109the multitude; and onward they went, with their implements of battle. others, of a more timid nature, stood among the distant hills to see the result of the contest.’
5. it is a crowbar.
it will hardly be believed that after all this thunder and lightning not a drop of rain fell; but such is the fact. elfonzo and his gang stood up and blackguarded mr. valeer with vigour all night, getting their outlay back with interest; then in the early morning the army and its general retired from the field, leaving the victory with their solitary adversary and his crowbar. this is the first time this has happened in romantic literature. the invention is original. everything in this book is original; there is nothing hackneyed about it anywhere. always, in other romances, when you find the author leading up to a climax, you know what is going to happen. but in this book it is different; the thing which seems inevitable and unavoidable never happens; it is circumvented by the art of the author every time.
another elopement was attempted. it failed.
we have now arrived at the end. but it is not exciting. mcclintock thinks it is; but it isn’t. one day elfonzo sends ambulinia another note—a note proposing elopement no. 16. this time the 110plan is admirable; admirable, sagacious, ingenious, imaginative, deep—oh, everything, and perfectly easy. one wonders why it was never thought of before. this is the scheme. ambulinia is to leave the breakfast table, ostensibly to ‘attend to the placing of those flowers, which ought to have been done a week ago’—artificial ones, of course; the others wouldn’t keep so long—and then, instead of fixing the flowers, she is to walk out to the grove, and go off with elfonzo. the invention of this plan overstrained the author, that is plain, for he straightway shows failing powers. the details of the plan are not many or elaborate. the author shall state them himself—this good soul, whose intentions are always better than his english:
‘“you walk carelessly towards the academy grove, where you will find me with a lightning steed, elegantly equipped to bear you off where we shall be joined in wedlock with the first connubial rights.”’
last scene of all, which the author, now much enfeebled, tries to smarten up and make acceptable to his spectacular heart by introducing some new properties—silver bow, golden harp, olive branch,—things that can all come good in an elopement, 111no doubt, yet are not to be compared to an umbrella for real handiness and reliability in an excursion of that kind.
‘and away she ran to the sacred grove, surrounded with glittering pearls, that indicated her coming. elfonzo hails her with his silver bow and his golden harp. they meet—ambulinia’s countenance brightens—elfonzo leads up his winged steed. “mount,” said he, “ye true-hearted, ye fearless soul—the day is ours.” she sprang upon the back of the young thunderbolt; a brilliant star sparkles upon her head, with one hand she grasps the reins, and with the other she holds an olive branch. “lend thy aid, ye strong winds,” they exclaimed, “ye moon, ye sun, and all ye fair host of heaven, witness the enemy conquered.” “hold,” said elfonzo, “thy dashing steed.” “ride on,” said ambulinia, “the voice of thunder is behind us.” and onward they went with such rapidity that they very soon arrived at rural retreat, where they dismounted, and were united with all the solemnities that usually attend such divine operations.’
there is but one homer, there was but one shakspeare, there is but one mcclintock—and his immortal book is before you. homer could not 112have written this book, shakspeare could not have written it, i could not have done it myself. there is nothing just like it in the literature of any country or of any epoch. it stands alone, it is monumental. it adds g. ragsdale mcclintock’s to the sum of the republic’s imperishable names.
