Immagini della pagina
PDF
ePub

pleased as myself at the sight of something edible. We commenced with little ceremony, and happening to sit near the master of the house, I attempted some conversation with him. He was affable, communicative, and sententious, as tavern keepers usually are. The provision, of which there were three courses, appeared well, but had, I thought, somewhat of a peculiar taste. I called for pepper, and for salt, but still it did not do; and, I believe, the landlord himself perceived that my taste was not well suited. At length he said, " give me leave, sir, to help you to a relish which I think you will like, for I have never had one at my table who did not admire it."

"This, sir," continued he, " is, perhaps, the most famous root in the world; its botanical name is amor sui ; it is a very fine root for the table, and is beginning to be cultivated in these parts, particularly in two large botanic gardens, whence it is sent all over the country, and they find it very profitable." And perceiving he had some knowledge in botany, while he was putting some of it on my plate, I asked him if he knew to which of the Linnæan classes it belonged. He said, he believed it was to the Pantandria. Whilst I was recollecting whether Linnæus had such a class, he said, smiling," the name of this root sounds better in Latin than in English; it would hardly do to give it a translation.

I perceived they ate of it, round the table, by spoonfuls; and the landlord said, for his part, he could, at any time, make a meal of it; in fact, wanted nothing else.

For the first moment, I thought the taste of the amor sui very agreeable. It had a racy and aromatic gusto, highly grateful to the palate; but, after a while, it began to bite my tongue, burn my lips, draw up my mouth, contract my œsophagus; and, in short, the more I tasted it the worse it was. It put me in mind of Allen's attempt to eat the olive. A gentleman, near me, seeing my embarrassment, observed that, liké most high-flavoured things, at first, it seemed rather pungent and harsh; "but," said he, " sir, I have no doubt you will soon be fond of it.' A sour looking robust fellow, whose eyes were almost wrong side outwards, declared it was now used at every genteel table, and he never saw a gentleman but what liked it.

4 Why," said he, "in Scotland, my native country, some call it the ministerial root, because so very convenient to cultivate on their glebes; it succeeds well on lands which will produce nothing else, and will, in this country, soon be thought more valuable than the potato; and a man that does not like it must be a fool." He further added, that he had recommended it, with great success, in this country; that he, and several others, were determined to bring it into general cultivation and use.

[ocr errors]

In a region in all respects so perfectly trigonal, the effect was wonderful. I could not repress my curiosity, and I feared I should give offence by appearing to inspect the various little articles which lay about my plate, not to say that a three-square spoon did not very well suit my mouth. As the landlord seemed willing to converse, I at last summoned sufficient confidence to inform him, that my curiosity and admiration had been not a little excited at the very singular form of his house and furniture; and I hoped he would not think me impertinent, in wishing to know the motive for adopting this figure.

After a little pause, with a serious look, he replied, that I was right in wishing an explanation, and that no offence would be taken.

"This mode of building, sir,” said he, "I have received from my ancestors, as they did from their's; and you must know it is the true primitive form. Our first and grandest maxim is, never to admit of innovation. This maxim is founded in the fact, that although a little good may come, yet a world of evil does actually come from innovations. Why sir," continued he, with increasing earnestness, "all the bad practices in the whole world are but innovations. Satan was the first innovator, and his first innovation was made in heaven itself. Then, our mother Eve made a sad innovation on the tree of knowledge, and drew Adam, our father, into it. All human knowledge, sir, is but innovation upon man's primitive state, which was pure iguorance; and ignorance is the mother of devotion.'

"With regard to this house, sir, it is of the true original, uncorrupted Tuscan order. Three posts were first set on the ground, and their tops fastened together: some say four, but, sir, I say three, which I can demonstrate from the composition

and resolution of forces; besides, three is the simplest form, and three denotes union, strength, and perfection; it is a mysterious number, as every body knows. When four-square buildings came in fashion, this primitive form was forced to flee into the wilderness, just as the true church did, when the great whore of Babylon usurped her place; and they will remain there, and emerge together." He paused here, and waited for my reply.

I told the landlord, he had satisfied me with the account he had given of his house. He acknowledged, that there were some inconveniences attending this figure of things; but, then, he said, that the beauty and charm of uniformity carried every thing before it; and, for his part, his object was to have but one standard: every thing must be alike. "But, sir," said he, "we carry this point farther than you imagine; for soon after our children are born, we have a triangular box, or hat, if you please, made for their heads, which they wear till the head grows in the box into the shape we wish; and, as they grow larger, we enlarge those helmets according to their years, till at lengththe head becomes settled in the shape you see mine, which form we consider as highly favourable to acuteness of intellect. I then noticed, that the os frontis and os occipitis of his head formed the upper angles, and his chin the lower; so that the top of the head formed the base, and the chin the apex. In the course of the evening, I had opportunity to see that all his numerous children had heads of the same form as their father:* indeed, Lavater admits, that straight lines in the skull indicate strength and decision.

I perceived that this innkeeper was a mystic, had studied in the occult sciences, and was even acquainted with the cabalistic doctrines. "Sir," said he, "the form of all things about me, is founded in much deeper reasons than you probably imagine. You know, doubtless, that infinite perfection can only subsist in a triune, being. Among intellectual creatures, there are but three grand orders, angels, men, and devils: there are, in all existence, but three kinds, spirit, matter, and mixed. The

"What do the old divines say about it?"

heavenly regions are divided into three provinces, the first, second, and third heavens: duration has three modifications, present, past, and future. Adam's race are all in one of three habitations, earth, heaven, or hell: every man has three important states, in the body, out of the body, and again in the resurrection state. Every solid substance in nature has three dimensions, length, breadth, and height. But," continued he, one side of a line, on

"to come near to the point, you must be the other side, or else exactly on it; and, as for the properties of the triangle, philosophers, from the days of Euclid, and long before, until now, have never been able to explore them. By the triangle, the mariner guides his ship across the ocean, the surveyor measures the earth, and the astronomer the heavens. In a word, I take the triangle to be the symbol of strength, wisdom, and perfection; and I am strongly inclined to believe, that the soul of man is a perfect spiritual triangle."

Perceiving his enthusiasm, equal to that of Dr. Primrose for monogamy, or Don Quixote for chivalry, I nodded assent to his arguments, and presently desired I might be shown my lodgings. The landlord here informed me, that his beds, which were numerous, were all pre-occupied; and, unless I could accept of a fellow lodger, he could make no arrangement that would be convenient. In fact, he said, his usual custom was to put three in each bed, corresponding to the three sides of the triangle; when, in order to avoid mixing head and feet, each one must bend himself into the true figure. I assented, however, to take one, and a gentleman present ascended with me to the chamber, of which, I understood, there were about 20 or 30 in the house. But here, a difficulty arose: the bed was a perfect triangle, and so scanty, that even the sides of it were not as long as its intended occupants; however, each of us took an angle for our heads, and let our feet contend in the remaining angle; and they were antipodes, with a witness. A query arose, whether these were not the beds spoken of in scripture, where it says, "their bed is shorter than that one may stretch himself upon it, and their covering narrower than that he can wrap himself therein."

My fellow lodger told me that the landlord was invincible in

this whim, that he would have every bed in his house of the same size and shape; that it happened, not long since, that some gentlemen travelling, who had portable bedsteads with them of the usual form, had put up there, and, for their own convenience, had erected and prepared their own beds. The landlord, finding it out, went up to their chamber in a rage, and by the aid of his servants, drew them out of bed, threw their furniture out of the window, and expelled them from his house.*

Our situation was such as promised little comfort; but being weary, I soon fell asleep, and had the following very extraordinary dream, which may be called a dream two stories high, or Somnium in Somnio.

I fancied myself in a region of great darkness, saving what dubious light arose from distant fires, whose pale and curling flames immediately brought to my mind the Tartarean lake. Before I could look round me a second time, a peal of thunder shook all the region, and a glare of light showed me thousands of beings seated round a vast amphitheatre facing a central throne. The lofty arches of Pandamonium, sustained on pillars of gold, and illuminated by corruscations of flame, from the burning lake, resembled a structure of solid fire. The perpetual noise of distant thunders and tempests, which shook the fabric, prevented my hearing the debates and consultations. At length, however, a voice more shrill than the loudest trumpet reached my ear. Repair to your stations, and discharge your duties, or the city is lost to my kingdom. Show yourselves worthy of your prince, and, since it is the will of fate that you contend against a superior foe, acquire fame by boldness and perseverance. Address yourselves to every individual, and yield to nothing but almighty power. Be off, and let us see

[ocr errors]

What reinforcement we can gain from hope

If not, what resolution from despair."

The session was closed in a manner not very agreeable to spectators in the gallery, for no sooner was the last word pro

* He would not endure them, "no, not for an hour.”

« IndietroContinua »