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CÆSAR'S COLUMN
CÆSAR'S COLUMN
A Story of the Twentieth Century. BY IGNATIUS DONNELLY. writing as EDMUND BOISGILBERT, M.D. Chicago, F.J. Shulte & Co. [1890] TABLE OF CONTENTS "The true poet is only a masked father-confessor, whose special function it is to exhibit what is dangerous in sentiment and pernicious in action, by a vivid picture of the consequences."--Goethe....
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To the Public
To the Public
It is to you, O thoughtful and considerate public, that I dedicate this book. May it, under the providence of God, do good to this generation and posterity! I earnestly hope my meaning, in the writing thereof, may not be misapprehended. It must not be thought, because I am constrained to describe the overthrow of civilization, that I desire it. The prophet is not responsible for the event he foretells. He may contemplate it with profoundest sorrow. Christ wept over the doom of Jerusalem. Neither
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CHAPTER I THE GREAT CITY
CHAPTER I THE GREAT CITY
[This book is a series of letters, from Gabriel Weltstein, in New York, to his brother, Heinrich Weltstein, in the State of Uganda, Africa.] NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 1988 My Dear Brother: Here I am, at last, in the great city. My eyes are weary with gazing, and my mouth speechless with admiration; but in my brain rings perpetually the thought: Wonderful!--wonderful!--most wonderful! What an infinite thing is man, as revealed in the tremendous civilization he has built up! These swarming, laborious, a
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CHAPTER II. MY ADVENTURE
CHAPTER II. MY ADVENTURE
My Dear Heinrich: I little supposed when I wrote you yesterday that twenty four hours could so completely change my circumstances. Then I was a dweller in the palatial Darwin Hotel, luxuriating in all its magnificence. Now I am hiding in a strange house and trembling for my liberty;--but I will tell you all. Yesterday morning, after I had disposed by sample of our wool, and had called upon the assayer of ores, but without finding him, to show him the specimens of our mineral discoveries, I retur
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CHAPTER III. THE BEGGAR'S HOME
CHAPTER III. THE BEGGAR'S HOME
The house we entered was furnished with a degree of splendor of which the external appearance gave no prophecy. We passed up the stairs and into a handsome room, hung around with pictures, and adorned with book-cases. The beggar left me. I sat for some time looking at my surroundings, and wondering over the strange course of events which had brought me there, and still more at the actions of my mysterious companion. I felt assured now that his rags were simply a disguise, for he entered the hous
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CHAPTER IV. THE UNDER-WORLD
CHAPTER IV. THE UNDER-WORLD
My Dear Heinrich: Since I wrote you last night I have been through dreadful scenes. I have traversed death in life. I have looked with my very eyes on Hell. I am sick at heart. My soul sorrows for humanity. Max (for so I have come to call my new-found friend) woke me very early, and we breakfasted by lamp-light. Yesterday he had himself dyed my fair locks of a dark brown, almost black hue, and had cut off some of my hair's superfluous length. Then he sent for a tailor, who soon arrayed me in gar
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CHAPTER V. ESTELLA WASHINGTON
CHAPTER V. ESTELLA WASHINGTON
My Dear Heinrich: One morning after breakfast, Max and I were seated in the library, enjoying our matutinal cigars, when, the conversation flagging, I asked Maximilian whether he had noticed the two young ladies who were in the Prince of Cabano's carriage the morning I whipped the driver. He replied that he had not observed them particularly, as he was too much excited and alarmed for my safety to pay especial attention to anything else; but he had seen that there were two young women in the bar
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CHAPTER VI. THE INTERVIEW
CHAPTER VI. THE INTERVIEW
Mounting to one of the electrical railroads, we were soon at the house of the Prince. Passing around to the servants' entrance of the palace, Maximilian sent in his card to the Master of the Servants, who soon appeared, bowing deferentially to my friend. We were ushered into his private room. Maximilian first locked the door; he then examined the room carefully, to see if there was any one hidden behind the tapestry or furniture; for the room, like every part of the palace, was furnished in the
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CHAPTER VII. THE HIDING-PLACE
CHAPTER VII. THE HIDING-PLACE
I had seen something of the magnificence of this age, and of the splendor of its lordly habitations; but I was not prepared for the grandeur of the rooms through which Rudolph led me. It would be impossible to adequately describe them. We moved noiselessly over carpets soft and deep as a rich sward, but tinted with colors and designs, from the great looms of the world, beside which the comparison of nature's carpets seemed insignificant. We passed up great winding stairs, over which, it seemed t
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CHAPTER VIII. THE BROTHERHOOD
CHAPTER VIII. THE BROTHERHOOD
I cannot give you, my dear brother, a detailed account of every day's occurrences, although I know that your love for me would make every incident of interest to you. I shall, however, jot down my reflections on sheets, and send them to you as occasion serves. The more I have seen, and the more I have conversed with Maximilian, the more clearly I perceive that the civilized world is in a desperate extremity. This Brotherhood of Destruction, with its terrible purposes and its vast numbers, is a r
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CHAPTER IX. THE POISONED KNIFE
CHAPTER IX. THE POISONED KNIFE
When we returned home, on Sunday evening, Max found the receptacle in the wall which communicated with the pneumatic-tube system standing open. In it he found a long communication in cipher. He read a few lines with a startled look and then said: "Here is important news, Gabriel. It is written in one of the ciphers of the Brotherhood, which I will translate to you. The number is that of Rudolph--the number it is addressed to is my own. We know each other in the Brotherhood, not by our names, but
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CHAPTER X. PREPARATIONS FOR TO-NIGHT
CHAPTER X. PREPARATIONS FOR TO-NIGHT
The next morning I found Maximilian in conference with a stranger; a heavily-built, large-jawed, uncommunicative man. As I was about to withdraw my friend insisted that I should sit down. "We have been making the necessary arrangements for next Monday night," he said. "The probabilities are great that we may be followed when we leave the house, and traced. It will not do to go, as Rudolph suggested, to the residence of any friend, and pass through it to another carriage. The Oligarchy would visi
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CHAPTER XI. HOW THE WORLD CAME TO BE RUINED
CHAPTER XI. HOW THE WORLD CAME TO BE RUINED
We were uneasy, restless, longing for the night to come. To while away the time we conversed upon subjects that were near our hearts. I said to Maximilian while he paced the room: "How did this dreadful state of affairs, in which the world now finds itself, arise? Were there no warnings uttered by any intelligent men? Did the world drift blindly and unconsciously into this condition?" "No," said Maximilian, going to his library; "no; even a hundred years ago the air was full of prophecies. Here,
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CHAPTER XII. GABRIEL'S UTOPIA
CHAPTER XII. GABRIEL'S UTOPIA
"But what would you do, my good Gabriel," said Maximilian, smiling, "if the reformation of the world were placed in your hands? Every man has an Utopia in his head. Give me some idea of yours." "First," I said, "I should do away with all interest on money. Interest on money is the root and ground of the world's troubles. It puts one man in a position of safety, while another is in a condition of insecurity, and thereby it at once creates a radical distinction in human society." "How do you make
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CHAPTER XIII. THE COUNCIL OF THE OLIGARCHY
CHAPTER XIII. THE COUNCIL OF THE OLIGARCHY
Precisely as Rudolph had forecast, things came to pass. I arrived at the palace of the Prince at half past six; at half past seven, my ordinary suit was covered with a braided livery, and I accompanied Rudolph to the council-chamber. We placed the table, chairs, pens, ink, paper, etc., in order. Watching our opportunity, we drew aside a heavy box in which grew a noble specimen of the cactus grandiflorus in full bloom, the gorgeous flowers just opening with the sunset, and filling the chamber wit
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CHAPTER XIV. THE SPY'S STORY
CHAPTER XIV. THE SPY'S STORY
"Andrews," said the Prince, "tell these gentlemen what you have found out about the extent of this organization and the personality of its leaders?" "My lord," replied the man, "I can speak only by hearsay--from whispers which I have heard in a thousand places, and by piecing together scraps of information which I have gathered in a great many ways. I do not yet speak positively. After to-morrow night I hope to be able to tell you everything." "I understand the difficulties you have to contend w
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CHAPTER XV. THE MASTER OF "THE DEMONS"
CHAPTER XV. THE MASTER OF "THE DEMONS"
The door, in a few minutes, opened, and closed behind a tall, handsome, military-looking man, in a bright uniform, with the insignia of a brigadier-general of the United States army on his shoulders. The Prince greeted him respectfully and invited him to a seat. "General Quincy," said the Prince, "I need not introduce you to these gentlemen; you have met them all before. I have told them that you desired to speak to them about matters relating to your command; and they are ready to hear you." "G
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CHAPTER XVI. GABRIEL'S FOLLY
CHAPTER XVI. GABRIEL'S FOLLY
While the applause that followed this diabolical scheme rang loud and long around the council-chamber, I stood there paralyzed. My eyes dilated and my heartbeat furiously. I was overwhelmed with the dreadful, the awful prospect, so coolly presented by that impassive, terrible man. My imagination was always vivid, and I saw the whole horrid reality unrolled before me like a panorama. The swarming streets filled with the oppressed people; the dark shadows of the Demons floating over them; the firs
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CHAPTER XVII. THE FLIGHT AND PURSUIT
CHAPTER XVII. THE FLIGHT AND PURSUIT
He opened the door of a room and pushed me into it. "Wait," he whispered, "for my orders." I looked around me. It was Rudolph's room--the one I had been in before. I was not alone. There was a young gentleman standing at a window, looking out into the garden. He turned around and advanced toward me, with his hand extended and a smile on his face. It was Estella! looking more charming than ever in her masculine dress. I took her hand. Then my heart smote me; and I fell upon my knees before her. "
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXECUTION
CHAPTER XVIII. THE EXECUTION
"Now, Gabriel," said Max, "I will have to blindfold you--not that I mistrust you, but that I have to satisfy the laws of our society and the scruples of others." This was said just before we opened the door. He folded a silk handkerchief over my face, and led me down the steps and seated me in a carriage. He gave some whispered directions to the driver, and away we rolled. It was a long drive. At last I observed that peculiar salty and limy smell in the air, which told me we were approaching the
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CHAPTER XIX. THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR
CHAPTER XIX. THE MAMELUKES OF THE AIR
The vice-president of the Brotherhood leaned forward and whispered to one of the secretaries, who, taking two men with him, left the room. A seat was given me. There was a pause of perhaps ten minutes. Not a whisper broke the silence. Then there came a rap at the door. The other secretary went to it. There was whispering and consultation; then the door opened and the secretary and his two companions entered, leading a large man, blindfolded. He wore a military uniform. They stopped in the middle
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CHAPTER XX. THE WORKINGMEN'S MEETING
CHAPTER XX. THE WORKINGMEN'S MEETING
I have told you, my dear Heinrich, that I have latterly attended, and even spoken at, a number of meetings of the workingmen of this city. I have just returned from one of the largest I have seen. It was held in a great underground chamber, or series of cellars, connected with each other, under an ancient warehouse. Before I retire to my couch I will give you some description of the meeting, not only because it will enable you to form some idea of the state of feeling among the mechanics and wor
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CHAPTER XXI. A SERMON OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
CHAPTER XXI. A SERMON OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Max and I entered the church together. It is a magnificent structure--palatial, cathedral-like, in its proportions--a gorgeous temple of fashion, built with exquisite taste, of different-colored marbles, and surrounded by graceful columns. Ushers, who looked like guards in uniform, stood at the doors, to keep out the poorly-dressed people, if any such presented themselves; for it was evident that this so-called church was exclusively a club-house of the rich. As we entered we passed several marb
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CHAPTER XXII. ESTELLA AND I
CHAPTER XXII. ESTELLA AND I
I need not say to you, my dear Heinrich, how greatly I love Estella. It is not alone for her beauty, although that is as perfect and as graceful as the dream of some Greek artist hewn in immortal marble. That alone would have elicited merely my admiration. But there is that in her which wins my profoundest respect and love--I had almost said my veneration. Her frame is but the crystal-clear covering of a bright and pure soul, without stain or shadow or blemish. It does not seem possible for her
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CHAPTER XXIII. MAX'S STORY-THE SONGSTRESS
CHAPTER XXIII. MAX'S STORY-THE SONGSTRESS
When Max came home the next evening I observed that his face wore a very joyous expression--it was indeed radiant. He smiled without cause; he moved as if on air. At the supper table his mother noticed these significant appearances also, and remarked upon them, smiling. Max laughed and said: "Yes, I am very happy; I will tell you something surprising after supper." When the evening meal was finished we adjourned to the library. Max closed the doors carefully, and we all sat. down in a group toge
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CHAPTER XXIV. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE JOURNEYMAN PRINTER
CHAPTER XXIV. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE JOURNEYMAN PRINTER
"You may be sure that that night the public took the variety theater by storm; every seat was filled; the very aisles were crowded with men standing; the beer flowed in streams and the tobacco-smoke rose in clouds; the establishment was doing a splendid business. Christina was down on the bills for three solos. Each one was a triumph--encore followed encore--and when the performance closed the little singer was called before the curtain and another Danaë shower of silver and gold, and some bouqu
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CHAPTER XXV. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE DARK SHADOW
CHAPTER XXV. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE DARK SHADOW
"But a cloud was moving up to cover the fair face of this pleasant prospect; and yet the sun was shining and the birds singing. "Christina was very busy during the day with her teachers. She loved music and was anxious to excel. She had her lessons on the piano; she improved her mind by a judicious course of reading, in which I helped her somewhat; she went twice a week to a grand Italian maestro, who perfected her in her singing. And she took long walks to the poor neighborhood where she had fo
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CHAPTER XXVI. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE WIDOW AND HER SON
CHAPTER XXVI. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE WIDOW AND HER SON
"The next day, about ten in the morning, I went out to procure some medicine for Christina. I was gone but a few minutes, and on my return, as I mounted the stairs, I was surprised to hear a strange voice in the sick-room. I entered and was introduced by Mrs. Jansen to 'Mrs. Brederhagan,' the rich widow, the mother of the little wretch who had assaulted Christina. She was a large, florid woman, extravagantly dressed, with one of those shallow, unsympathetic voices which betoken a small and flipp
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CHAPTER XXVII. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE BLACKSMITH SHOP
CHAPTER XXVII. MAX'S STORY CONTINUED--THE BLACKSMITH SHOP
"I need not describe the joy there was in the Jansen family when I brought home Mrs. Brederhagan's deed of gift and the money. Christina did not yet know that her voice was destroyed, and hence was disposed to refuse what she called 'the good lady's great generosity.' But we reminded her that the widow was rich, and that her son had inflicted great and painful wounds upon her, which had caused her weeks of weary sickness, to say nothing of the doctor's bills and the other expenses they had been
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CHAPTER XXVIII. MAX'S STORY CONCLUDED--THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS
CHAPTER XXVIII. MAX'S STORY CONCLUDED--THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS
"I used to run out every other day, and I was as welcome as if I had been really a member of the family. The day before yesterday I found the whole household in a state of joyous excitement. Christina had been enjoined to put the baby to sleep; and while rocking it in its cradle she had, all unconsciously, begun to sing a little nursery song. Suddenly she sprang to her feet, and, running to her mother, cried out: "'Oh, mother! I can sing! Listen.' "She found, however, that the voice was still qu
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CHAPTER XXIX. ELYSIUM
CHAPTER XXIX. ELYSIUM
It was a bright and sunny autumn day. We were a very happy party. Estella was disguised with gold spectacles, a black wig and a veil, and she looked like some middle-aged school-teacher out for a holiday. We took the electric motor to a station one mile and a half from Mr. Jansen's, and walked the rest of the way. The air was pure and sweet and light; it seemed to be breathed right out of heaven. The breezes touched us and dallied with us and delighted us, like ministering angels. The whole pano
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CHAPTER XXX. UPON THE HOUSE-TOP
CHAPTER XXX. UPON THE HOUSE-TOP
A few days after our joint wedding Max came running in one day, and said: "It is to be to-morrow." He gave each of us a red cross to sew upon our clothes. He was very much excited, and hurried out again. I had said to him, the morning of our marriage, that I desired to return home before the outbreak came, for I was now responsible for Estella's life and safety; and I feared that all communication of one part of the world with another would be cut off by the threatened revolution. He had begged
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CHAPTER XXXI. "SHEOL"
CHAPTER XXXI. "SHEOL"
I looked down into the dark street. I could see nothing; but immediately a confused buzz and murmur, of motion everywhere, arose from the depths below me. As it grew louder and clearer I could hear the march of thousands of feet, moving rapidly; and then a number of wagons, heavily loaded, creaked and groaned over the pavements. I surmised that these wagons were loaded with stones, and were to be used in the construction of the barricades. There was no music, no shouting, not even the sound of v
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CHAPTER XXXII. THE RAT-TRAP
CHAPTER XXXII. THE RAT-TRAP
Some of the troops advanced toward the barricade. Instantly the long line of its top bristled with fire; the fire was returned; the rattle was continuous and terrible, mingled with the rapid, grinding noise of the machine guns. The sound spread in every direction. The barricades were all attacked. Suddenly the noise began to decrease. It was as if some noble orator had begun to speak in the midst of a tumultuous assembly. Those nearest him catch his utterances first, and become quiet; the wave o
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CHAPTER XXXIII. "THE OCEAN OVERPEERS ITS LIST"
CHAPTER XXXIII. "THE OCEAN OVERPEERS ITS LIST"
And then all avenues were open. And like a huge flood, long damned up, turbulent, turbid, muddy, loaded with wrecks and debris, the gigantic mass broke loose, full of foam and terror, and flowed in every direction. A foul and brutal and ravenous multitude it was, dark with dust and sweat, armed with the weapons of civilization, but possessing only the instincts of wild beasts. At first they were under the control of some species of discipline and moved toward the houses of the condemned, of whom
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CHAPTER XXXIV. THE PRINCE GIVES HIS LAST BRIBE
CHAPTER XXXIV. THE PRINCE GIVES HIS LAST BRIBE
But it was when the mob reached the wealthier parts of the city that the horrors of the devastation really began. Here almost every grand house was the abode of one of the condemned. True, many of them had fled. But the cunning cripple--the vice-president--had provided for this too. At the railroad stations, at the bridges and ferries, even on the yachts of the princes, men were stationed who would recognize and seize them; and if they even escaped the dangers of the suburbs, and reached the cou
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CHAPTER XXXV. THE LIBERATED PRISONER
CHAPTER XXXV. THE LIBERATED PRISONER
About two o'clock that day Maximilian returned home. He was covered with dust and powder-smoke, but there was no blood upon him. I did not see him return; but when I entered the drawing-room I started back. There was a stranger present. I could not long doubt as to who he was. He was locked in the arms of Max's mother. He was a pitiful sight. A tall, gaunt man; his short hair and stubby beard white as snow. He was prematurely aged--his back was stooped--his pallid complexion reminded one of plan
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CHAPTER XXXVI. CÆSAR ERECTS HIS MONUMENT
CHAPTER XXXVI. CÆSAR ERECTS HIS MONUMENT
"What other news have you?" I asked. "The strangest you ever heard," replied Max. "What is it?" "Cæsar," said Max, "has fallen upon a scheme of the most frenzied and extraordinary kind." "Are the members of the Executive Committee all going crazy together?" I asked. "Surely," replied Max, "the terrible events we are passing through would be our excuse if we did. But you shall hear. After I had avenged my father I proceeded to find Cæsar. I heard from members of the Brotherhood, whom I met on the
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CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SECOND DAY
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SECOND DAY
It was a dreadful night. Crowds of farmers from the surrounding country kept pouring into the city. They were no longer the honest yeomanry who had filled, in the old time, the armies of Washington, and Jackson, and Grant, and Sherman, with brave patriotic soldiers; but their brutalized descendants--fierce serfs--cruel and bloodthirsty peasants. Every man who owned anything was their enemy and their victim. They invaded the houses of friend and foe alike, and murdered men, women and children. Pl
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CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE FLIGHT
CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE FLIGHT
"Yes," I replied, "we cannot remain here another night. Think what would be the effect if a fire broke out anywhere in this block!" He looked at me in a startled way. "True," he said; "we must fly. I would cheerfully give my life if its sacrifice would arrest these horrors; but it would not." Christina came and stood beside him. He wrote a letter to General Quincy. He made three copies of it. Selecting three of his best men, he gave each a copy, and told them to make their way together, well arm
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CHAPTER XXXIX. EUROPE
CHAPTER XXXIX. EUROPE
The next day we were flying over the ocean. The fluctuous and changeable waves were beneath us, with their multitudinous hues and colors, as light and foam and billows mingled. Far as the eye could reach, they seemed to be climbing over each other forever, like the endless competitions of men in the arena of life. Above us was the panorama of the clouds--so often the harbingers of terror; for even in their gentlest forms they foretell the tempest, which is ever gathering the mists around it like
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CHAPTER XL. THE GARDEN IN THE MOUNTAINS
CHAPTER XL. THE GARDEN IN THE MOUNTAINS
[ These concluding lines are from the journal of Gabriel Weltstein .] Since my return home I have not been idle. In the first place, I collected and put together the letters I had written to my brother Heinrich, from New York. I did this because I thought they were important, as a picture of the destruction of civilization, and of the events which led up to it. I furthermore had them printed on our printing-press, believing that every succeeding century would make them more valuable to posterity
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