John Bowring

“ Single-minded devotion to the less commercially remunerative languages has now become respectable and even estimable. Students of the Scandinavian languages, and of the Celtic, abound in our midst. Borrow was a forerunner with Bowring of much of this 'useless' learning. Borrow came to consider Bowring's apparent neglect of him to be unforgivable. But that time had not arrived, when in 1842 he wrote to him as follows:
To Dr. John Bowring
Oulton, Lowestoft, Suffolk, July 14th, 1842. ”

“ I only hope that if the volunteers ever have to act indeed, they may behave better than at Naples, where they left the worst impression of English morals and discipline. They embarked to return home dead drunk all of them, and the drunkenness was not the worst. Sir John Bowring has been ill since he came, so perhaps he may go before I see him again. Then Madame Swab [Schwabe] , whom I slightly knew in Paris, has been with me to-day, talking on Italian affairs. There is room for anxiety about the Neapolitans; but don't believe in exaggerations: we shall do better than our enemies desire. ”

“ The re-appearances of Jasper are natural enough, except at the ford when Borrow is about to pass into Wales: those of Ardry p. 230less so. But when Borrow contrives to hear more of the old china collector and of Isopel also from the jockey, and shuffles about the postillion, Murtagh, the Man in Black, and Platitude, and introduces Sir John Bowring for punishment, he makes “The Romany Rye” much inferior to “Lavengro.” ”

“ Though virtue smile—he sees her not;
His cup of vanity is full;
And all besides forgone—forgot.
These “memorabilia” are from a three-shilling volume, entitled “Hymns, by John Bowring,” intended as a sequel to the “Matins and Vespers.” Mr. Bowring does not claim that his “little book” shall supply the place of similar productions. “If it be allowed,” he says, “to add any thing to the treasures of our devotional poetry; if any of its pages should be hereafter blended with the exercises of domestic and social worship ”

“ Bowring, Cobden, and China, a Memoir, by L. Moor, 1857; the various Works of Bowring; Annual Reg. 1857 and 1872; Times, 25 Nov. 1872; Autobiographical Recollections of Sir John Bowring, with a brief Memoir by Lewin Bowring, 1877; Western Times, Exeter, 26 Nov. 1872; Men of the Time, 8th ed. ”

“ Bowring's writers turned out well. On the whole, however, the conduct of the Review was never satisfactory to any of the persons strongly interested in its principles, with whom I came in contact. Hardly ever did a number come out without containing several things extremely offensive to us, either in point of opinion, of taste, or by mere want of ability. The unfavourable judgments passed by my father, Grote, the two Austins, and others, were re-echoed with exaggeration by us younger people ”

“ It is a dignified letter, which will be found in one of Dr. Knapp’s appendices—so presumably Borrow made two copies of it. The offer was in any case declined, and so Borrow passed from disappointment to disappointment during these eight years, which no wonder he desired, in the coming years of fame and prosperity, to veil as much as possible. The lean years in the lives of any of us are not those upon which we delight to dwell, or upon which we most cheerfully look back. [80c]
p. 81CHAPTER XIII
Sir John Bowring
“Poor George. . . . I wish he were making money. ”

“ The thick and many-tinted foliage of the mango—the tall bamboos shaking their feathery heads aloft—the cocoa-nut loftier still—the areca and the nipa palms—the plantains, whose huge green leaves give such richness to a tropical landscape—the bread-fruit, the papaya, and the bright-coloured wild-flowers, which stray at will over banks and branches—the river every now and then visible, with its canoes and cottages, and Indian men, women, and children scattered along its banks. ”

“ Our great ones live—how beautiful and bright
Their course, and thus the wandering thoughts of day
Roll into steady shapes in dreams at night;
But let the years roll on, our fate controlling
They will bring peace at last, while onward rolling ”

“ The seasons bring their floods, and the mountain torrents create their gullies; but the water escapes into the sea, and the labourer brings his produce, as best he may, amidst the rocks and sand and mud which the cataracts have left behind them. ”

“ The fire-flies illuminate the forests at night. There are some trees to which they attach themselves in preference to others. Few objects are more beautiful than a bush or tree lighted by these bright and glancing stars. ”

“ Their court—that silver bell in deep repose
⁠Lies cold and voiceless ages without number;
The ancient woman in the water throws
⁠Her flaxen threads—and wakes it from its slumber.
'Twas the last time its awful accents broke—
⁠"John, John—is for the greyhound gone," it mutter'd,
And never more to mortal can it spoke,
⁠Nor noise, nor word, nor whisper has it utter'd.
The neighbours seek the well—their pitchers fill,
⁠They wash their flax—and fear pursues them never;
They know the bell's mysterious tongue is still. ”

“ Disease curtails the gathering years of some, Some fall a rival's enmity beneath,
Sharp steel, or pinion'd-lead sends others home—
Poison and thunder fill the nets of death:
Some are o'erpower'd by wasting pestilence—
The murderer's bloody stroke is some men's doom,
The headsman summons others to the tomb,
But I—am called by love to speed me hence. ”

“ Happily the period of hostile rivalry appears passing away. The history of by-gone centuries is not the history of friends and brethren. We have met in bloody bravery, to exchange hatred for hatred and injury for injury. ”

“ And tarry not a moment night or day.
"Speed thee—I bid thee speed; and say the prince—
The prince himself will wed th' unparallel'd:
Fly for the god-like child—fly swiftly—since
Till thou return I am in misery held.
Take thou this ring—I charge thee not to linger—
This princely ring, and place it on her finger;
And bring her swiftly to the castle gates,
Where welcome, with her marriage song, awaits."
He springs—he spurs—he speeds—he flies along, O'er plains, and changing fields, for many a day,
And sometimes he is followed by a throng
Of peasants thro' the dark and doubtful way ”

“ They care nothing for dog, cat, horse nor cow; the game-cock is their great concern; him they visit at dawn; him they caress through the day; they will contemplate him with eyes fixed for half an hour at a time: the passion never decays; many of them think of nothing else. ”

“ The flowers are mirrors, made by dewdrops' ray,
The bolts and bars of human dwellings fly,
And noise rolls o'er the lately silent way:
The darkness and the weariness are past
Of yesternight—and now the morning breaks
In light and beauty undisturb'd—a vast
And glorious renovation; but for me
No morn of hope—no day of brightness wakes—
'Tis an eternal night of misery.
Sonnet 110.
Dunagi, ty i wšech toků knjže.
Duna! [9] thou queen of many rivers—thou Of all Slavonia, venerable mother!
Why to a foreign ocean dost thou flow,
Why leave thy native home to seek another? ”

“ But we return to our journey towards Khan Shekune, and on our way thither we heard much of the extraordinary beauty of the old Sheikh’s young wife, who had the fame of being the most lovely woman that had ever been spoken of in those regions, and who was—jealous and distrustful as Oriental husbands frequently are—the object of special jealousy, but, at the same time, of the most affectionate admiration, on the part of her husband. ”

“ They were the stamina whose seed is gone forth to the ends of the earth, subduing and creating magnificent nations, and planting the Gothic family in every quarter of the globe. Wherever they have gone, they have carried civiliaation with them; wherever they have rested, they have laid the foundation of freedom and of happiness. ”

“ There is nothing to disturb their silence but the hum of insects, the song of birds, the noises of wild animals, the rustling of the leaves, or the fall of decayed branches. It seems as if vegetation revelled in undisturbed and uncontrolled luxuriance. Creeping plants wander from tree to tree ”

“ Where bravery scarce dares stay alone,
O what a woeful page they are,
Of man in passion's fierce career:
The very winds that whistle thro',
Seem shuddering midst the gloomy pile:
There spectra meet—and sigh awhile ”

“ Confined as is the population of Manila within the fortification walls, the neighbouring country is full of attractions. To me the villages, the beautiful tropical vegetation, the banks of the rivers, and the streams adorned with scenery so picturesque and pleasing, were more inviting than the gaiety of the public parade. Every day afforded some variety, and most of the pueblos have their characteristic distinctions. ”

“ And many, many ages pass'd away, ⁠Their gloomy shades o'er our Bohemia flinging,
That church in melancholy ruins lay,
⁠The tower o'erturn'd—thebell had ceas'd its ringing:
Yet when that church and tower in fragments fell,
⁠A heavenly angel, clad in light, appearing,
Convey'd the silver relic to the well—
⁠Žizkians! that bell will toll not in your hearing. ”

“ We have been rendering to each other evil passions and evil deeds; we, who ought to have been refreshing and invigorating and exciting one another by the interchange of high and holy thoughts, of generous purposes, of warm affections, of beneficent doings. The debt of justice is due from England to the North. Our men of science and of song have found their way over all Scandinavia, while Scandinavian genius has not received its merited welcome here. ”

“ With a poor maiden, are the proud and mighty:
O how my cheeks were burning, when he said,
'Time may tell other tales, thou lovely maid!"
And then his voice was silent—but her cheeks
Crimson'd—aye! crimson'd like an early rose:
Her heart beat high—she bids it rest—she speaks
In vain—its beating loud and louder grows.
The prince mov'd slowly o'er the fields—moved only
In erring steps, but sorrowful and lonely—
While every eye but his was gay and bright,
And every, every heart but his was light. ”

“ The morn is blushing thro' the orient gates, ⁠The witch is, with the hound, the castle nigh,
The sleepless youth his wretched sentence waits,
⁠He slept not—but prepar'd his soul to die.
Yet once again he sought the knight, and pour'd
⁠His prayer for mercy—"Hear the wretched one;
Give not thy servant to the witch, kind lord!
⁠From life and sunshine banish not thy John."
'Twas vain—the greyhound's bark had reach'd that ear,
⁠Where voice of human sorrow idly fell:
He hugg'd the witch, he hugg'd his greyhound dear,
⁠And order'd a rejoicing festival. ”

“ They enter houses, and even convents, without leave, and seem to make themselves at home in a manner to excite wonderment and anger; even when the padre is asleep, they make a great noise in trampling the floor, though in their own houses they walk with as much care as if treading among eggs. ”

“ In the last generation a wonderful sensation was produced by the propagation of the great Malthusian discovery—the irresistible, indisputable, inexorable truth—that the productive powers of the soil were less and less able to compete with the consuming demands of the human race; that while population was increasing with the rapidity of a swift geometrical progression, the means of providing food lagged with the feebleness of a slow arithmetical advance more and more behind ”

“ These violent outbreaks are generally announced in the morning by a light smoky mist which appears on the mountains; it gathers, and darkens, and thickens into heavy clouds, and before day closes breaks out with its fearful and destroying violence, raging from an hour and a half to two hours. ”

“ Sonnet 37.
Negen že ge kinene slowanského.
'Tis not alone that of Slavonia's stem, She is a simple and a smiling flower;
Tho' the obdurate frank and saxon's power
Have sought to rose the impress of the gem.
Oh! many erring sons of Slawa know
Too little of her glories—they conspire,
Her language—their sire's fame—to overthrow,
Nor heed the frownings of celestial ire.
A heart as pure as are the pearls of dew—
An english spirit in a child-like guise—
A magic on the lips and in the eyes,
And friendship's strength, and beauty's sparkling hue.
Ye fame-full tribes and tongues! ”

“ We talk to the mother—that is invariably our practice. We hear from her the symptoms of the complaint, and we prescribe only after getting all possible information—information which the mother alone is able to give. ”

“ Like other great men, and especially like those greatest of men, who have devoted themselves, and sacrificed themselves to an unsuccessful popular cause, he has been delivered over to ages of calumny, from which some after and more enduring ages of glorious fame will rescue his memory. To the name of Žižka, rebel attaches—to that of John Hus, heretic—to that of George Poděbrad, usurper. Time will tear away the scrolls which falsehood has attached to their histories—and write Patriot—Reformer—Hero:—and the words will be indelible. ”

“ Traveler, ages are its own;
See, it bursts o'er all the earth.
Watchman, tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Traveler, darkness takes its flight,
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveler, lo! the Prince of Peace,
Lo! the Son of God is come!
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ Žižka! Bohemia's chief—arise!
Of murdered [1] Hus th' avenger thou!
Thou hast o'erwhelm'd thine enemies
In the fierce battle-field, and now
They perish in the dust below.
And the whole world has seen how great
A patriot's victory may be;
When arm'd, Bohemia!—arm'd for thee. ”