Concordia

“ Both girls shook their heads, and Concordia said:
“We don’t have to drink to see things. First, when Nicoya threw in a banana skin, we saw a dog come up out of the water——a white dog that was as big as a tiger of the mountains——”
“And when Concordia threw in a clod,” the other girl took up the tale, “up came a man with a head of iron. It is magic. Concordia and I can work magic.”
“José,” one of the Indians addressed his mate, “this merits a drink.”
And each, in turn, while the other with his paddle held the canoe in place, took a swig from a square-face Holland gin bottle part full of pulque. ”

“ On the other hand Concordia, governed according to ancient principles, schooled to order, and disciplined into propriety, falls out of the race of life : the hand of a self-imposed ruler weighs heavy upon it; it sleeps, it swoons, it dies. We are encouraged by the experience of these two rival villages to believe in that future which is now mainly in the hands of poets, in the universal Republic, in the Fede- ration of peoples, and in the absolute self-rule which a progressive race will presently demand as its birthright.
The rapids above Salto are hardly passable during the dries. ”

“ True, he said, the climate of Cotrone was trying to a stranger. He understood my desire to get away; but—Catanzaro! Was I aware that at Catanzaro I should suddenly find myself in a season of most rigorous winter? And the winds! One needed to be very strong even to stand on one's feet at Catanzaro. For all this I returned thanks, and, having paid my bill, tottered back to the Concordia. ”

“ The right bank supports Concordia of Entre Rios ; opposite it, in the Banda Oriental, lies Salto, " the Cascade," whose site is similar to that of Paysandii. Nor will the town require description. It has a pier, a Custom-house, three long parallel streets ex- tending up the ridge, a main square, a Matriz, poor and yellow — the Saltefios appear more busy in temporal than in spiritual matters. The Hotel de la Concordia, kept by one Diogo Zavala ; an upper square ”

“ Throughout he grumbles, nothing is quite as it should be, and when the bill is presented he grumbles still more vigorously, seldom paying the sum as it stands. He rarely appears content with his entertainment, and often indulges in unbounded abuse of those who serve him. These characteristics, which I have noted more or less in every part of Italy, were strongly illustrated at the Concordia. In general, they consist with a fundamental good humour, but at Cotrone the tone of the dining-room was decidedly morose. One man—he seemed to be a sort of clerk—came only to quarrel. ”

“ The three little islands called the Solars were also under the influence of the Dutch settlement at Concordia: They are flat and low, but abound with provisions of every kind, and the middlemost is said to have a good harbour for shipping. Ende, another little island to the westward of the Solars, was still in the hands of the Portuguese, who had a good town and harbour on the north-east corner of it called Larntuca: They had formerly an harbour on the south side of it, but that, being much inferior to Larntuca, had for some time been altogether neglected. ”

“ Beyond Concordia the land runs about seven leagues to the bottom of the bay; then it is not above a league and a half from side to side, and the land trends away northerly to the north shore, then turns about again to the westward, making the south side of the bay. About three leagues and a half from the bottom of the bay on this side there is a small island about a musket-shot from the shore ”

“ The view of the town from the anchorage does not impress the stranger with a very favourable idea of the industry or enterprise of its inhabitants;—on the left bank of a small rapid river is a madreporic rock of some elevation, whereon is built Fort Concordia, which commands the town, and may thereby keep it, and the various aboriginal tribes, in awe ”

“ Promis, p. 140; his plan has no proper scale. There seems no decisive evidence and the modern streets of Aosta do not help us.
[80] The town of Concordia in north-east Italy, where Augustus planted a 'colonia', doubtless of discharged soldiers, is said to have possessed a ground-plan of oblong blocks very like that of Augusta Praetoria. But this plan rests mainly on the authority of a workman who apparently did not know how to read or write (he is described as 'analfabeta') and I therefore omit it here. ”

“ It is a sign of plenty: the warm spot of colour against the rough masonry does good to eye and heart.
My hotel afforded me little amusement after the Concordia at Cotrone, yet it did not lack its characteristic features. I found, for instance, in my bedroom a printed notice, making appeal in remarkable terms to all who occupied the chamber. The proprietor—thus it ran—had learnt with extreme regret that certain travellers who slept under his roof were in the habit of taking their meals at other places of entertainment. ”

“ The town is situated principally on the east bank of the river; which, rising in the mountains, runs through a torrent-worn course until it reaches the valley in which the town is built; here the tide meets it, and at low water its bed is nearly dry: it communicates with the sea by a shoal bar immediately under a rocky eminence on which the Fort of Concordia is constructed. This fort, from its favourable situation, protects the harbour and outer anchorage, as well as commands the town.
From the anchorage, Coepang presents a very picturesque and lively appearance. ”

“ In December 1826, the workings were 112 varas in depth. At 120 varas, a first level was to be driven in the direction of the vein, which it will cut at the distance of thirty-seven varas, if the inclination be the same below, as in the shaft of La Cruz. The necessary buildings at Concordia were all complete, and excellent of their kind; and should fortune favour the enterprise, not a moment would be lost in turning the produce to account. ”

“ The rest of the forecastle hands now came stumbling up on deck, and were set by the mate to various tasks, pending the opening of the dock gates and the arrival of the tug which was to tow the Concordia down the river. At length the order was given to unmoor ship, the dock gates swung open, the vessel was warped through the opening to where the tug awaited her, the towrope was passed, and presently the Concordia was heading down the river toward Gravesend, from whence, having first shipped her passengers, she was to take her final departure for the southern hemisphere. ”

“ They then returned to the town, but their companions who had been left upon the road were missing, having, as it was supposed, been kept among the Indians, either by persuasion or force; for they are very desirous of having Europeans among them, to instruct them in the art of war. After a stay of more than two months at Concordia, their number was diminished nearly one half by sickness, in consequence of the fatigue and hardship which they had suffered by the shipwreck, and the survivors were sent in a small vessel to Europe. ”

“ It has passed in population Paraná and now has 48,500 inhabitants according to the latest estimate. It is the largest and liveliest town in Argentina east of the Paraná River and is connected by a bridge over the Uruguay River to Salto in Uruguay, which was only contemplated at the time of my visit to these cities three years before. A street-car line has been recently built and with its beef-canning establishments and as the center of a wine producing region, Concordia has some future, although the soil is sandy. This soil is much better adapted for fruit than for grain. ”

“ Not long after, we saw a sloop coming about the point last mentioned, with Dutch colours; which I found, upon sending my boat aboard, belonged to a Dutch fort (the only one they have in Timor) about 5 leagues from hence, called Concordia. The governor of the fort was in the sloop, and about 40 soldiers with him. He appeared to be somewhat surprised at our coming this way; which it seems is a passage scarce known to any but themselves; as he told the men I sent to him in my boat. Neither did he seem willing that we should come near their fort for water. ”

“ Very likely. The privileged classes in Italy are slow to move, and may well believe in the boundless endurance of those below them. Some day, no doubt, they will have a disagreeable surprise. When Lombardy begins in earnest to shout "Abbasso!" it will be an uneasy moment for the heavy syndics of Calabria.
CHAPTER X CHILDREN OF THE SOIL
Any northern person who passed a day or two at the Concordia as an ordinary traveller would carry away a strong impression. ”

“ Andreae immediately acted on this suggestion and the result was what is known as the Swabian Concordia (Schwaebische Konkordie) —the first draft of the Formula of Concord. This document, also called the Tuebingen Book, was submitted to, and approved by, the theologians of Tuebingen and by the Stuttgart Consistory. In substance it was an elaboration of the Six Sermons with the addition of the last two articles. It contains eleven articles, treating 1. Original Sin; 2. Free Will; 3. The Righteousness of Faith before God; 4. Good Works; 5. Law and Gospel; 6. The Third Use of the Law; 7. ”

“ In this bay there is any depth of water from thirty to three fathom, very good oazy holding ground. This affords the best shelter against all winds of any place about the island Timor. But from March to October, while either the southerly winds or only land and seabreezes hold, the Concordia side is best to ride in; but when the more violent northerly winds come then the best riding is between the two rocky islands in nineteen or twenty fathom. ”

“ It is a lover's leap, however, and love is beyond the hopes or arrangements of wisdom.
The Concordians are all well. I feel a pang in going to-night to take leave of Elizabeth Hoar, who is going away for several weeks, and who will not return until after I have left Concord. She seems to me one who may at any moment become invisible, like a pure flame. Almira is well, and sends love to you. She hopes you will come and make her a visit during the summer, and I hope it may be made in June, as I shall go away by the 1st of July, and move by slow stages towards New York. ”

“ My address till the end of April will be as given above—or else (and at all times while I continue in Italy) San Concordia, Lucca. When I write next & hope to be able to say more of the promise of the summer here, as well as of the plan of journey for the midsummer chase among the mountains I have begun to exercise myself a little in climbing small & gentle activities, but am not yet in good training for such work—believe me
Lucca My dear Dr Loew 1862.3.7 I was delighted to receive your letter, this evening, on my return from a day’s sailing & exploring on the seashore near Pisa . ”

“ ADDRESS TO KOSSUTH
Sir,—The fatigue of your many public visits, in such unbroken succession as may compare with the toils of a campaign, forbid us to detain you long. The people of this town share with their countrymen the admiration of valor and perseverance; they, like their compatriots, have been hungry to see the man whose extraordinary eloquence is seconded by the splendor and the solidity of his actions. But, as it is the privilege of the people of this town to keep a hallowed mound which has a place in the story of the country; as Concord is one of the monuments of freedom ”

“ Thus we find Concord to-day an historical and literary Mecca, a fine example of what has always been best in a New England town, holding firmly to the old, choosing, one believes, the best in the new, brooding the past in dreamy persistency, biding its time for the good that the future is to bring. Some day out of its lush meadows and the rich mold of its hillsides will flow again into the veins of men that subtle fluid of flame that makes heroes and poets. ”

“ On the morning of April Nineteenth, 1775, while the British held this bridge, the minutemen and militia of Concord and neighboring towns gathered on the hill across the river. There the Concord Adjutant, Joseph Hosmer, demanded, ‘Will you let them burn the town down?’ There the Lincoln captain, William Smith, offered to dislodge the British, the Acton captain, Isaac Davis, said, ‘I haven’t a man that’s afraid to go!’ and the Concord colonel, James Barrett, ordered the attack upon the regulars. ”

“ The real architecture of Concord was not in private or public edifices, but in its magnificent elms, whose branches spanned the streets like the arches of a Gothic cathedral. The largest of them stands in front of the town hall, and its trunk measures just sixteen feet in circumference; though Doctor Holmes has failed to enumerate it in his list of the great trees of the State. Another on the road to Lexington is remarkable for its straight stem and perfect wineglass form. In autumn the scarlet maples set between the elms are no bad substitute for stained-glass windows. ”

“ Concord is like no other place in New England. There may be other places as beautiful in their way, there are others, perhaps, of more importance in the Commonwealth and we know there are hundreds of places where there is more active life to the square foot, but with all these admissions Concord still remains a place of special charm, the result and consequence of more causes than we care to analyze. ”

“ Like it they stand firm. Yet here is but the bony structure of the man in the Concord fight. Something more must go in to the making of a hero. It has been justly said that at the narrow bridge stood [94] men born in direct descent from heroes of a stubborn stand, a stricken field, of seven hundred years before, and I dare say it is true. Planted among the Concord meadows and fertile uplands, grown lusty upon the richness of her soil, were men of Kent, that sturdiest county in all England ”