Semitone

“ The Transpositeur being an independent false keyboard can be applied to any pianoforte by any maker. It has therefore the great merits of adaptability and convenience. It can be placed upon the proper keyboard of an instrument, and by touching a spring to the right hand of the player and a button which permits the keyboard to be shifted through all the semitones of an octave, the transposition desired is effected. ”

“ Such is the law of the Seminoles. No Indian maiden must speak to a white man; but I never saw such as you before."
"But, how happens it," said he, in astonishment, "that you speak my language?"
"My father taught me," was the reply, "he is a scholar; we all speak some American."
"May I know your name?" asked our hero.
"I am Sunbeam, daughter of the Seminole chief."
"And mine is Henry Lee," he replied to her inquiring look. "You are well named," he continued. "I have seen many daughters of the pale-faces; but none so fair and bright as you. ”

“ Thick and fleshy lips, arched nose, black hair and eyes, and white complexion, distinguish the pure-blooded Semite. Intellectually he is clever and able, quick to learn and remember, with an innate capacity for trade [pg 37] and finance. Morally he is intense but sensuous, strong in his hate and in his affections, full of a profound belief in a personal God as well as in himself. ”

“ What is the meaning of zemiodes?- let me remark, Hermogenes, how right I was in saying that great changes are made in the meaning of words by putting in and pulling out letters; even a very slight permutation will sometimes give an entirely opposite sense; I may instance the word deon, which occurs to me at the moment, and reminds me of what I was going to say to you, that the fine fashionable language of modern times has twisted and disguised and entirely altered the original meaning both of deon, and also of zemiodes, which in the old language is clearly indicated. ”

“ There was a “head chief”—king he could not be called—for “Mico,” his Indian title, has not that signification. The proud spirit of the Seminole had never sold itself to so absurd a condition; they had not yet surrendered up the natural rights of man. It is only after the state of nature has been perverted and abased, that the “kingly” element becomes strong among a people.
The head “mico” of the Seminoles was only a head in name. His authority was purely personal: he had no power over life or property. Though occasionally the wealthiest, he was often one of the poorest of his people. ”

“ The Semitic Baal was a lord or king of human shape and passions. He thus stood in marked contrast to the Sumerian ghost or spirit; and, as we have seen, the gulf between them is too deep and broad to be spanned by the doctrine of evolution. For the Sumerian the world outside man was peopled with spirits and demons; for the [pg 496] Semite it was a human world, since man was made in the image of the gods. The triumph of the gods of light and order over the monsters of chaos symbolised not only the birth of the present creation, but also the theological victory of the Semite over the Sumerian. ”

“ Although a prisoner, I could not refrain, during the first few days, from admiring my enemies. The Muscogulge, and especially his ally, the Seminole, is full of gaiety, love and contentment. His walk is light, his mien calm and open. He speaks much, and with volubility. His language is harmonious and flowing. Even age does not deprive the sachems of this joyous simplicity: like the old birds of our forests, they mingle their ancient songs with the fresh notes of their young posterity. ”

“ The restless energy and domineering mind of the man wearied Semingham's indolent and dilettante spirit, and he hailed the end of the season as an excellent excuse for putting himself beyond the reach of his colleague for a few weeks. Yet, the more he quailed, the more he trusted; and when a very great man, holding a very great office, met him in the House of [pg 111] Lords, and expressed the opinion that when the Company and Mr. Ruston went to Omofaga they would find themselves in a pretty hornets' nest, Lord Semingham only said that he should be sorry for the hornets. ”

“ Like the people of Southern Europe, the Semite is easily managed by a jest: though grave and thoughtful, he is by no means deficient in the sly wit which we call humour, and the solemn gravity of his words contrasts amusingly with his ideas. ”

“ In their intercourse with one another, they are, as a rule, voluble, vivacious, showing the possession of relatively active brains and mental fertility. Certainly, most of the Seminole I met cannot justly be called either stupid or intellectually sluggish, and I observed that, when invited to think of matters with which they are not familiar or which are beyond the verge of the domain which their intellectual faculties have mastered, they nevertheless bravely endeavored to satisfy me before they were willing to acknowledge themselves powerless. ”

“ Semyon's wife passed the time of day with her neighbour, but neither did she say much.
On one occasion Semyon said to her: "Young woman, your husband is not very talkative."
The woman said nothing at first, then replied: "But what is there for him to talk about? Every one has his own business. Go your way, and God be with you."
However, after another month or so they became acquainted. Semyon would go with Vasily along the line, sit on the edge of a pipe, smoke, and talk of life. ”

“ The young Indian is shy and bashful in his courtships, and having resolved to marry, conceals his first overtures with all the Indian cunning. His intention is secretly conveyed to the girl’s parents, and should there be no objection the young woman is at liberty to accept or reject. No Seminole girl is forced into a marriage. The lover, with permission to woo, shows some token of affection; a [116] deer is killed, and laid at the door of the wigwam. If the present is received the lover is happy. ”

“ As such I will first attempt to describe the Seminole. Then we shall be able the better to look at him as he is in his relations with his fellows: in the family, in the community, or in any of the forms of the social life of his tribe.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. PHYSIQUE OF THE MEN.
Physically both men and women are remarkable. The men, as a rule, attract attention by their height, fullness and symmetry of development, and the regularity and agreeableness of their features. In muscular power and constitutional ability to endure they excel. ”

“ Micanopy, when told by the officers that he might choose between emigration and death, answered, “Kill me here then, kill me quickly.” The same spirit is manifested by the Seminole to-day when he says, “We have never done anything to disgrace the land of our birth, nor the honor of an Indian. For fifty years the pledge to our great father has been kept inviolate. Our tongues are not forked and our feet tread not in the white man’s path. We threw away the rifle and grasped hands with the white skin. We know the white man’s power, and though we love peace, we fear not death. ”

“ A Semo was a kind of inferior god, of an earthly character and office, so low as to unfit him for a place among the great gods of heaven, Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, &c., and was accordingly confined in his residence entirely to the earth; where the Semones received high honors and devout worship, and were commemorated in many places, both in city and country, by statues, before which the passer might pay his worship, if devoutly disposed. ”

“ Lord Semingham was rather short and rather stout; he hardly looked as if his ancestors had fought at Hastings—perhaps they had not, though the peerage said they had. He wore close-cut black whiskers, and the blue of his jowl witnessed a suppressed beard of great vitality. His single eye-glass reflected answering twinkles to Adela's pince-nez, and his mouth was puckered at the world's constant entertainment; men said that he found his wife alone a sufficient and inexhaustible amusement. [pg 16]
"The Heathers are coming," he said, "and Lady Val and Marjory, and young Haselden, and Ruston." ”

“ I ’ll tell thee all he said—thy Artavan,—
Ay, every word, and how his eyes grew soft
With dimness sweeter than their vanquished light
When thou wert his dear theme!
(They move to curtains. Semiramis stops and listens)
Go in. I ’ll come. (Sola goes in) Sem. (Listening) Is that a chariot? My father!... Nay!
He ’s safe with Artavan! Whatever comes
His son will be his heart and bear him up!
Safe, safe, Menones, and thy grizzled locks
Shall wear their laurels to an honored grave! ”

“ Nin. Well, well—
I ’ll choose a man!
(Exit moodily, right centre)
Sem. Strange ... but he is the king!
... Ah, Khosrove! Artavan!... Nay, I will think
Of nothing but my duty to the crown!...
... “And with a father and a brother lost—”
(Enter Sola, left, front. She sees that Semiramis is alone and advances)
Sem. “Though thou wert worshipped, thou couldst not be happy!”
Sol. Tell me! When does he come?
Sem. Who, child?
Sol. You ask?
My husband—Artavan!
Sem. He will not come.
Sol. Art thou not queen?
Sem. And Ninus king.
Sol. He will not save thy brother? ”

“ Smeaton tells me that this has now taken the form of imagining that some one is conspiring to poison him with copper, against which he takes the most extravagant precautions. It is the strangest sight, he says, to see Cullingworth at his meals; for he sits with an elaborate chemical apparatus and numerous retorts and bottles at his elbow, with which he tests samples of every course. I could not help laughing at Smeaton's description, and yet it was a laugh with a groan underlying it. Of all ruins, that of a fine man is the saddest. ”

“ Seldom, if ever, has a Seminole squaw stepped beyond the boundaries of her trackless Everglade home to visit the home of the white man; to study a Seminole woman at close range and yet far from her forest refuge, is a privilege seldom experienced. ”

“ The answer is, that such medicines out of their own specific potencies and virtue help the speedy conversion of Rasa into semen and its profuse emission [on the desired occasion] like purgatives aiding the drastic evacuation of the bowels.
Again it may be asked, how is it, that semen is not found in an infant? Since perfume in a flower-bud is imperceptible to the organ of smell you may as well ask whether there is any perfume in it or not. But what does not exist in a thing can not be evoked in the subsequent course of its development. ”

“ The soldiers hail Semiramis their chief,
Call her a goddess, drag her chariot,
And shout and swear by Belus’ ruling star
To be her slaves forever!
Nin. So they shall.
Vas. Your majesty—
Nin. Peace, Vassin! Wait and see!
(Noise and cries without as Semiramis is drawn toward the tent in her chariot)
Nin. Ho! Guards!
(The king’s guards enter. Ninus passes to right centre, facing entrance opposite. Guards station themselves on each side of him and in his rear. Semiramis enters, followed by officers and soldiers. Her helmet is off, her hair falling)
Nin. Hail goddess! ”

“ Sem. Go! Leave me, Sola! Leave me! Go!
(Exit Sola, left, near front)
Sem. (Stands in silent horror, then speaks slowly)
... I ’ll keep my oath ... and crown. Still will I make
Assyria great. Assyria is the army,
And I ... am queen of arms ... not love! Not love!
(Re-enter Ninus)
Sem. (Softly, not seeing Ninus)
“Dost know what love is, daughter of Menones?”
Nin. (Advancing) My bride!
Sem. (Turning to him) My lord, I would see Sumbat. ”

“ Thus it can be seen that the seminal secretion a man loses, either during a wet dream or in sexual intercourse, is not a simple, but a composite fluid, consisting of secretions of the testicles, prostatic gland, seminal vesicles, and also numerous mucous glands of the urethral canal.
The most important element of the seminal fluid is the secretion produced by the testicles and containing spermatozoa. Spermatozoa, or human embryos, are microscopically small living cells, which resemble very much in appearance tadpoles. ”

“ A Seminole woman wears no head-dress of any description. Even when visiting the white settlements they go with their heads uncovered. Neither do they wear moccasins, at home or abroad, in winter or in summer. They are always bare-footed. ”

“ The ejaculatory ducts are about three quarters of an inch in length, extending upward from the base of the prostate.
The Seminal Fluid. The seminal secretion, or semen, is a whitish, albuminous fluid of characteristic odor. It contains a number of elements, the most important of which are the spermatozoa. These are small, pollywog-shaped bodies, about 1/500 of an inch in length, with triangular, flattened heads and whip-like tails, upon which they depend for their power to propel themselves. When alive and healthy, they are continually in rapid motion. ”

“ From great to small his influence ran; from the expulsion of Tom Loring to the christening of the Omofaga mantle. Semingham had an acute sense of the absurdity of it all, but he had seen absurd things happen too often to be much relieved by his intuition. And when absurd things happen, they have consequences just as other things have. And the most exasperating fact was the utter unconsciousness of the disturber. ”

“ The gods from the heavens shall even descend, And before thee their knees in deep homage shall bend, While mortals in silent submission abide The will of the giant-destroyer's loved bride; And when distant years shall see Thy last hour— SEMELE. (Springing up, and falling on her neck.) Oh, Beroe! JUNO. Then a tablet white shall bear This inscription graven there: Here is worshipped Semele! Who on earth so fair as she? She who from Olympus' throne Lured the thunder-hurler down! ”

“ It is a chariot! Can it be the king?
(Chariot stops without)
Armin, who is it comes?
Arm. (Appearing at entrance) The Lord Menones.
(Semiramis sways, steadies herself, and waits. Menones enters, livid and trembling. In form he is large and mighty, but is grey with age. He staggers over to couch and sits upon it, groaning heavily. Semiramis looks at him in silence. Then approaches and speaks in a low terrified tone)
Sem. You fled the battle!
Men. Oh!
Sem. You must go back!
Men. Too late!
Sem. (Gaining courage and putting her hands sternly on his shoulders)
No! Men. We must fly!
Sem. Fly! ”