Beat! Beat! Drums by Walt Whitman

SEPTEMBER 28, 1861.]

HARPER'S WEEKLY.

623

(Previous Page) the engagement and rivals are warned off."

" I fear no rivals."

"Do you not ? Bold man! I suppose you will write to Lilian ?"

"Certainly."

" Do so, and constantly. By-the-way, Mrs. Ashleigh, before she went, asked me to send her back Lady Haughton's letter of invitation. What for? to show to you ?"

" Very likely. Have you the letter still? May I see it ?"

" Not just at present. When Lilian or Mrs. Ashleigh write to you, come and tell me how they like their visit, and what other guests form the party."

Therewith she turned away and conversed apart with the traveler.

Her words disquieted me, and I felt that they were meant to do so. Wherefore, I could not guess. But there is no language on earth which has more words with a double meaning than that spoken by the clever woman, who is never so guarded as when she appears to be frank.

As I walked home thoughtfully I was accosted by a young man, the son of one of the wealthiest merchants in the town. I had attended him with success, some months before, in a rheumatic fever ; he and his family were much attached to me.

"Ah, my dear Fenwick, I am so glad to see you ; I owe you an obligation of which you are not aware—an exceedingly pleasant traveling companion. I came with him to-day from London, where I have been sight-seeing and holiday-making for the last fortnight."

" I suppose you mean that you kindly bring me a patient?"

"No, only an admirer. I was staying at Fenton's Hotel. It so happened one day that I had left in the coffee-room your last work on the Vital Principle, which, by-the-by, the bookseller assured me was selling immensely among readers as non-professional as myself. Coming into the coffee-room again I found a gentleman reading it. I claimed it politely ; he as politely tendered his excuse for taking it. We made acquaintance on the spot. The next day we were intimate. He expressed great interest and curiosity about your theory and your experiments. I told him I knew you. You may guess if I described you as less clever in your practice than you are in your writings. And, in short, he came with me to L-, partly to see our flourishing town, principally on my promise to introduce him to you. My mother, you know, has what she calls a dejeuner to-morrow ; dejeuner and dance. You will be there ?"

" Thank you for reminding me of her invitation. I will avail myself of it if I can. Your new friend will be present? Who and what is he ? A medical student ?"

" No, a mere gentleman at ease ; but seems to have a good deal of general information. Very young ; apparently very rich ; wonderfully good-looking. I am sure you will like him ; every body must."

"It is quite enough to prepare me to like him, that he is a friend of yours." And so we shook hands and parted.

CHAPTER XXIII.

IT was late in the afternoon of the following day before I was able to join the party assembled at the merchant's house ; it was a villa about two miles out of the town, pleasantly situated, amidst flower-gardens celebrated in the neighborhood for their beauty. The breakfast had been long over ; the company was scattered over the lawn ; some formed into a dance on the smooth lawn ; some seated under shady awnings ; others gliding amidst parterres, in which all the glow of color took a glory yet more vivid under the flush of a brilliant sunshine, and the ripple of a soft western breeze. Music, loud and lively, mingled with the laughter of happy children, who formed much the larger number of the party.

Standing at the entrance of an arched trellis, that led from the hardier flowers of the lawn to a rare collection of tropical plants under a lofty glass dome (connecting, as it were, the familiar vegetation of the North with that of the remotest East), was a form that instantaneously caught and fixed my gaze. The entrance of the arcade was covered with parasite creepers in prodigal luxuriance, of variegated gorgeous tints—scarlet, golden, purple—and the form, an idealized picture of man's youth fresh from the hand of Nature, stood literally in a frame of blooms. Never have I seen human face so radiant as that young man's.

There was in the aspect an indescribable something that literally dazzled. As one continued to gaze, it was with surprise one was forced to acknowledge that in the features themselves there was no faultless regularity; nor was the young man's stature imposing—about the middle height. But the effect of the whole was not less transcendent. Large eyes, unspeakably lustrous ; a most harmonious coloring ; an expression of contagious animation and joyousness; and the form itself so critically fine that the welded strength of its sinews was best shown in the lightness and grace of its movements.

He was resting one hand carelessly on the golden locks of a child that had nestled itself against his knees, and was looking up in his face in that silent loving wonder with which children regard something too strangely beautiful for noisy admiration ; he himself was conversing with the host, an old gray-haired, gouty man, propped on his crutch-stick, and listening with a look of mournful envy. To the wealth of the old man all the flowers in that garden owed their renewed delight in the summer air and sun. Oh that his wealth could renew to himself one hour of the youth that stood beside

him, lord, indeed, of Creation ; its splendor woven into his crown of beauty, its enjoyments subject to his sceptre of hope and gladness !

I was startled by the hearty voice of the merchant's son : " All, my dear Fenwick, I was afraid you would not come—you are late. There is the new friend of whom I spoke to you last night ; let me now make you acquainted with him." He drew my arm in his and led me up to the young man, where he stood under the arching flowers, and whom he then introduced to me by the name of Margrave.

Nothing could be more frankly cordial than Mr. Margrave's manner. In a few minutes I found myself conversing with him with familiar ease, as if we had been reared in the same home, and sported together in the same play-ground. His vein of talk was peculiar, off hand, careless, shifting from topic to topic, with a bright rapidity.

He said that he liked the place ; proposed to stay in it some weeks ; asked my address, which I gave to him ; promised to call soon at an early hour, while my time was yet free from professional visits. I endeavored, when I went away, to analyze to myself the fascination which this young stranger so notably exercised over all who approached him; and it seemed to me, ever seeking to find material causes for all moral effects, that it arose from the contagious vitality of that rarest of all rare gifts in highly civilized circles—perfect health ; that health which is in itself the most exquisite luxury, which, finding happiness in the mere sense of existence, diffuses round it, like an atmosphere, the harmless hilarity of its bright animal being. Health, to the utmost perfection, is seldom known after childhood ; health to the utmost can not be enjoyed by those who overwork the brain, or admit the sure wear and tear of the passions. The creature I had just seen gave me the notion of youth in the golden age of the poets—the youth of the careless Arcadian, before nymph or shepherdess had vexed his heart with a sigh.

BEAT ! BEAT ! DRUMS !
BY WALT WHITMAN.

BEAT ! beat ! drums!—Blow ! bugles ! blow !

Through the windows—through doors—burst like a force of armed men,

Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation; Into the school where the scholar is studying;

Leave not the bridegroom quiet—no happiness must he have now with his bride;

Nor the peaceful farmer any peace plowing his field or gathering his grain ;

So fierce you whirr and pound, you drums—so shrill you bugles blow.

Beat ! beat ! drums ! Blow ! bugles ! blow !

Over the traffic of cities—over the rumble of wheels in the streets;

Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses? No sleepers must sleep in those beds;

No bargainers' bargains by day—no brokers or speculators. Would they continue ?

Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?

Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?

Then rattle quicker, heavier drums-and bugles wilder blow.

Beat ! beat! drums ! Blow ! bugles! blow!

Make no parley—stop for no expostulation;

Mind not the timid—mind not the weeper or prayer; Mind not the old man beseeching the young man;

Let not the child's voice be heard, nor the mother's entreaties. Recruit! recruit!

Make the very trestles shake under the dead, where they lie in their shrouds awaiting the hearses.

So strong you thump, O terrible drums—so loud you bugles blow.

FORT PORTER.

ON page 619 we publish, from a sketch by Mr. A. R. Barton, a View of FORT PORTER, showing a part of Lake Erie on the left, Niagara River, and the Canada shore. The following description of the work we condense from a Buffalo paper :

About the year 1839 surveys were begun for barracks and defensive works at this point.

In 1839, by order of Chief-Engineer Colonel J. G. Totten, now Brevet Brigadier-General and Colonel of Engineers, propositions for the purchase of the property upon which the fort is constructed were published, and in the following year the site was finally located, the contracts for the work issued, and the work began in 1841.

The work, in the Government catalogue, is set down as a block-house., or redoubt, and occupied three years in construction, being finished in 1844. The original plans intended the construction of a fortification on the south side of the creek, and the Government now owns some thirty-five acres of land, near the pier, for the purpose. The fort is formed by a glacis and breast-work, the latter 300 feet in diameter, in which is the ditch, counter-scarp, and block-house.

The exterior battery is arranged with traverse circles and pintle blocks complete for 28 guns, and the terra plane upon the block-house is similarly arranged for four barbette guns. The armament has a sweep of fire of about 110 degrees.

The block-house is situated in a square excavation, or ditch as it is technically styled in fortification, and is 62 feet square and about 70 feet in height. It is bomb-proof, with one tier of casemates over the kitchens and barracks, above which is an earth-work many feet in depth, with one stratum of 1000 barrels of asphaltum and mineral tar, and a breast-work, about five feet high, on to the terra plane, to protect the guns worked there. The height of the external breast-work from pintle block to crest of glacis is five feet nine inches. The distance from the outer work of the block-house to the crest of the glacis is 84 feet, with a plane inside of the breast-work and extending to the crest of the counter-scarp, about 30 feet in width.

The armament of the fort includes two kinds of gun-carriages, one for the embrasures, which are intended to receive a part of the carriages when traversed. These are upon the land side only. The others differ only in that there are no embrasures in the wall of the breast-work. The total armament of the fort consists of 28 guns for the exterior works, and four barbette guns. The latter are intended to be of the largest class.

The number of men required for an actual garrison is only 300, although about 1000 men could be employed within the breast-works for defense. At present the fort is without any armament, though there are a number of guns belonging to the Naval Department stored on the grounds. These guns were placed there about ten years ago. They number twenty 32-pounders, and ten 64-pound Columbiads,,

for either shot or shell. There is also stored at the fort 143 64-pound shells, 100 64-pound solid shot, and 2473 32-pound solid shot.

Fort Porter is now one of the recruiting stations in the northern part of the State. Some 700 men are encamped there, mostly of the 2d Buffalo regiment.

SHOCKING OCCURRENCE AT
PHILADELPHIA.

WE illustrate on page 612 one of the most shocking occurrences we ever heard of—the burning of several ballet girls at the Continental Theatre, in Walnut Street, Philadelphia. The Herald correspondent thus tells the story :

PHILADELPHIA, September 15, 1861. An unfortunate accident occurred at the Continental Theatre, in Walnut Street, on Saturday night, by which the building was for a time imperiled, and a number of dancing girls so badly burned that some have since died. The theatre had been leased by William Wheatley, an old Philadelphia actor, whose long association with John Drew and J. S. Clarke, at the Arch Street Theatre, made him known among the profession throughout the country. Being succeeded in the management of the Arch by Mrs. Drew, Wheatley leased and refitted the "Continental" (formerly General Welch's National Circus), and produced the " Tempest" on Monday night in splendid style. Randall, formerly of Covent Garden, London, prepared the machinery, and an immense ballet corps was engaged to represent the abode of Ariel and other show-scenes.

On Saturday night more than fifteen hundred people were present. The first act had gone forward uninterruptedly, and the dancers were busily preparing in the dressing-room to appear in the ballet at the opening of act second. Prospero (Wheatley) was about retiring from the stage, when the audience perceived several men, apparently stage carpenters, running backward and forward in their shirt-sleeves. Directly those adjacent to the stage saw a young lady, all on fire, run hurriedly to the side scenes, and at the same time a succession of piercing screams from imperceptible localities disturbed the repose of the audience, and brought half the people to their feet. The cry of " fire" was started from the galleries, and the flitting lights and confusion upon the stage left no doubt that some awful actuality was transpiring. Manager Wheatley directed the people to be quieted while he retired to learn the extent of the accident.

It appears that Miss Cecilia Gale, one of four talented and handsome sisters, was about robing herself in ballet costume. She stood upon a settee to reach her dress, and somehow flirted it into a jet of gas, when it was instantly ignited. Before the young lady could recover from her fright her clothing was all ablaze, and her sisters and several of the ballet girls from an adjoining dressing-room, rushing up to assist her, were in turn set on fire. About a dozen of these helpless girls were thus burning at once, and the fire ran over their gauze and among their under-clothes, making fast to the close leggins or "tights," and literally burning to the bone. Their screams were thrilling, and no scene of horrors that the stage ever witnessed may be compared to the terrible picture behind the scenes, where the fire from the burning dresses blazed up to the ceiling, and singed the lashes and hair of the affrighted women.

Miss Cecilia Gale, writhing and still in flames, darted down the stairs as stated, and was caught by Mr. Bayard, a stage carpenter, who at once tore up the sea cloth, a sheet of canvas used to make waves, and wrapped it around her. He was much burned while doing this. The young lady was removed to the hospital soon afterward.

Several girls leaped into the street through the second story windows.

The scene in the rear of the theatre, on Samson Street, was most piteous and agonizing in its character. Half-dressed ballet girls ran up and down, and poor women, whose daughters took part in the processions and show-scenes, were screaming their names amidst confused sobbing, execration, and fear. Carriages and cabs were driven up and down, and as each sufferer was placed upon the cushions and taken away, the crowd pressed up and touched her sores. A number of petty taverns on Samson Street were thrown open to the sufferers, and a few were so badly burned that they have not since been removed. There was a great deal of delay before help could be obtained; but after a time physicians and lotions were summoned. Some of the burned were taken to the Pennsylvania Hospital, and others to their homes in remote parts of the town.

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HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE For October, 1861.
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BOQUET'S EXPEDITION. By J. T. HEADLEY.

ILLUSTRATIONS.—Fugitives to Fort Pitt.—Attack on the Fort.—Bouquet's March.—Highland Charge.—March through the Woods.—The Child's Skull.—Rest at Tuscaroras.—Settlement at Muskingum.—Recovery of Prisoners.—The Old Song.—The Mingo Chief.

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ORLEY FARM. By ANTHONY TROLLOPE. —Illustrated by J. E. MILLAIS.

CHAPTER XXI. Christmas in Harley Street.

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CHATTER XXIII. Christmas at Groby Park.

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"MARRYING A BABY."

HOW I MADE A FORTUNE.

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TOO SENSITIVE.

EDWIN OF DEIRA. By ALEXANDER SMITH.

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