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charge。 It was only with the assistance of a servant; and by leaning

his hand heavily on the iron balustrade; that he could slowly and

painfully ascend the Custom…House steps; and; with a toilsome progress

across the floor; attain his customary chair beside the fireplace。

There he used to sit; gazing with a somewhat dim serenity of aspect at

the figures that came and went; amid the rustle of papers; the

administering of oaths; the discussion of business; and the casual

talk of the office; all which sounds and circumstances seemed but

indistinctly to impress his senses; and hardly to make their way

into his inner sphere of contemplation。 His countenance; in this

repose; was mild and kindly。 If his notice was sought; an expression

of courtesy and interest gleamed out upon his features; proving that

there was light within him; and that it was only the outward medium of

the intellectual lamp that obstructed the rays in their passage。 The

closer you penetrated to the substance of his mind; the sounder it

appeared。 When no longer called upon to speak; or listen; either of

which operations cost him an evident effort; his face would briefly

subside into its former not uncheerful quietude。 It was not painful to

behold this look; for though dim; it had not the imbecility of

decaying age。 The framework of his nature; originally strong and

massive; was not yet crumbled into ruin。

  To observe and define his character; however; under such

disadvantages; was as difficult a task as to trace out and build up

anew; in imagination; an old fortress; like Ticonderoga; from a view

of its grey and broken ruins。 Here and there; perchance; the walls may

remain almost complete; but elsewhere may be only a shapeless mound;

cumbrous with its very strength; and overgrown; through long years

of peace and neglect; with grass and alien weeds。

  Nevertheless; looking at the old warrior with affection… for; slight

as was the communication between us; my feeling towards him; like that

of all bipeds and quadrupeds who knew him; might not improperly be

termed so… I could discern the main points of his portrait。 It was

marked with the noble and heroic qualities which showed it to be not

by a mere accident; but of good right; that he had won a distinguished

name。 His spirit could never; I conceive; have been characterised by

an uneasy activity; it must; at any period of his life; have

required an impulse to set him in motion; but; once stirred up; with

obstacles to overcome; and an adequate object to be attained; it was

not in the man to give out or fail。 The beat that had formerly

pervaded his nature; and which was not yet extinct; was never of the

kind that flashes and flickers in a blaze; but; rather; a deep; red

glow; as of iron in a furnace。 Weight; solidity; firmness; this was

the expression of his repose; even in such decay as had crept untimely

over him; at the period of which I speak。 But I could imagine; even

then; that; under some excitement which should go deeply into his

consciousness… roused by a trumpet…peal; loud enough to awaken all

of his energies that were not dead; but only slumbering… he was yet

capable of flinging off his infirmities like a sick man's gown;

dropping the staff of age to seize a battle…sword; and starting up

once more a warrior。 And; in so intense a moment; his demeanour

would have still been calm。 Such an exhibition; however; was but to be

pictured in fancy; not to be anticipated; nor desired。 What I saw in

him… as evidently as the indestructible ramparts of; Old

Ticonderoga; already cited as the most appropriate simile… were the

features of stubborn and ponderous endurance; which might well have

amounted to obstinacy in his earlier days; of integrity; that; like

most of his other endowments; lay in a somewhat heavy mass; and was

just as unmalleable and unmanageable as a ton of iron ore; and of

benevolence; which; fiercely as he led the bayonets on at Chippewa

or Fort Erie; I take to be of quite as genuine a stamp as what

actuates any or all the polemical philanthropists of the age。 He had

slain men with his own hand; for aught I know… certainly; they had

fallen; like blades of grass at the sweep of the scythe; before the

charge to which his spirit imparted its triumphant energy… but; be

that as it might; there was never in his heart so much cruelty as

would have brushed the down off a butterfly's wing。 I have not known

the man; to whose innate kindliness I would more confidently make an

appeal。

  Many characteristics… and those; too; which contribute not the least

forcibly to impart resemblance in a sketch… must have vanished; or

been obscured; before I met the General。 All merely graceful

attributes are usually the most evanescent; nor does Nature adorn

the human ruin with blossoms of new beauty; that have their roots

and proper nutriment only in the chinks and crevices of decay; as

she sows wall…flowers over the ruined fortress of Ticonderoga。

Still; even in respect of grace and beauty; there were points well

worth noting。 A ray of humour; now and then; would make its way

through the veil of dim obstruction; and glimmer pleasantly upon our

faces。 A trait of native elegance; seldom seen in the masculine

character after childhood or early youth; was shown in the General's

fondness for the sight and fragrance of flowers。 An old soldier

might be supposed to prize only the bloody laurel on his brow; but

here was one; who seemed to have a young girl's appreciation of the

floral tribe。

  There; beside the fireplace; the brave old General used to sit;

while the Surveyor… though seldom; when it could be avoided; taking

upon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation… was

fond of standing at a distance; and watching his quiet and almost

slumberous countenance。 He seemed away from us; although we saw him

but a few yards off; remote; though we passed close beside his

chair; unattainable; though we might have stretched forth our hands

and touched his own。 It might be that he lived a more real life within

his thoughts; than amid the unappropriate environment of the

Collector's office。 The evolutions of the parade; the tumult of the

battle; the flourish of old; heroic music; heard thirty years before;…

such scenes and sounds; perhaps; were all alive before his

intellectual sense。 Meanwhile; the merchants and shipmasters; the

spruce clerks and uncouth sailors; entered and departed; the bustle of

this commercial and Custom…House life kept up its little murmur

round about him; and neither with the men nor their affairs did the

General appear to sustain the most distant relation。 He was as much

out of place as an old sword… now rusty; but which had flashed once in

the battle's front; and showed still a bright gleam along its blade…

would have been; among the inkstands; paper…folders; and mahogany

rulers; on the Deputy Collector's desk。

  There was one thing that much aided me in renewing and recreating

the stalwart soldier of the Niagara frontier… the man of true and

simple energy。 It was the recollection of those memorable words of

his… 〃I'll try; sir!〃… spoken on the very verge of a desperate and

heroic enterprise; and breathing the soul and spirit of New England

hardihood; comprehending all perils; and encountering all。 If; in

our country; valour were rewarded by heraldic honour; this phrase…

which it seems so easy to speak; but which only he; with such a task

of danger and glory before him; has ever spoken… would be the best and

fittest of all mottoes for the General's shield of arms。

  It contributes greatly towards a man's moral and intellectual

health; to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals

unlike himself; who care little for his pursuits; and whose sphere and

abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate。 The accidents of my

life have often afforded me this advantage; but never with more

fulness and variety than during my continuance in office。 There was

one man; especially; the observation of whose character gave me a

new idea of talent。 His gifts were emphatically those of a man of

business; prompt; acute; clear…minded; with an eye that saw through

all perplexities; and a faculty of arrangement that made them

vanish; as by the waving of an enchanter's wand。 Bred up from

boyhood in the Custom…House; it was his proper field of activity;

and the many intricacies of business; so harassing to the

interloper; presented themselves before him with the regularity of a

perfectly comprehended system。 In my contemplation; be stood as the

ideal of his class。 He was; indeed; the Custom…House in himself; or;

at all events; the mainspring that kept its variously revolving wheels

in motion; for; in an institution like this; where its officers are

appointed to subserve their own profit and convenience; and seldom

with a leading reference to their fitness for the duty to be

performed; they must perforce seek elsewhere the d

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