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Library and Information Management
LIBRARY SERVICES IN WIRELESS
ENVIRONMENT AND IMPACTS ON USERS:
A USERS VIEW POINTS
Jitu Mani Das
Tezpur University, Tezpur
Abstract : Library is a growing organism is the 5th
Law of Library Science. Libraries
are growing without obstacle of any concrete wall or geographical boundaries. Now a
day’s library is available anywhere at any time without any restriction to printed formats.
Libraries are in the palm of users or in the fingertips of users. Libraries of 21st
century
are transformed with the implications of information and communication technology.
Easy accessible of internet or data pack with smart phone technology is playing an
influential role in the library services, which helps in creating a digital environment. In
this paper, I would like to emphasis on the wireless communication technology in availing
the library services. In this paper I am trying to study the impact of wireless technology
among the users of Central Library, Tezpur University.
INTRODUCTION
Library is one of the major organ of academic institutions, a rich public library
system also an important part of our society. Library plays a very crucial role in composing
a literary society of the nation. As stated by Librarian of J.N.U. New Delhi Dr. Ramesh
Gaur “Digital India cannot move forward without libraries” Digital India is the Dream
of our Prime Minister ‘Narendra Modi’. With telecommunication development and
growth of information, technology has changed the scenario of the today’s library services.
With the advancement of the ICT, library users are getting much more benefit, following
the 4th
Law of Library Science ‘Save the time of the users’. Digital and ICT has created
the environment of right information to the right users at the right time.
The fast moving picture of smart phone and tablet with 3G & 4G internet services
in student community, helps them to access the library services and resources in the IP
based close campus of an institution or public domain accesses of the resources.
Anticipating the changing trends of library users, libraries are trying to change their
102

Library Services in Wireless Environment...
services in online mode, for example Reference Services to Digital Reference Services.
Wireless technology has made the environment more easily accessible and comfortable
for users with hand based smart phone having 3G or 4G high speed internet. World is
changed along with that library system and services are also changed, print resources to
e-resources, librarian to information manager etc. Library webpage is the mirror of the
library accepts the print resource full text maximum information that is available in the
library. That is why library went to users first; users are not gone to library, as library is
now in the hand of users.
AREA OF STUDY
Mobile devices are almost like a small portable personal computer with
processors, RAM, with hotspot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth facilities along with today’s 3G & 4G
internet connectivity, as like as smart phones, PDAs and tablets. Various types of devices
are available and the ability of users to adopt them to their daily need have let to rapid
growth in their use. Now a day’s smart phones and high speed internet connectivity has
changed the society as well as the methods of virtual library users. Library in digital
form with e-format of resources and users behaviour on them. Impact of smart phone
and internet of the library users and their level of satisfaction.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
l To check weather smart phone with internet are used to access of library services.
l Evaluate the services used by the users.
l Satisfaction level of services access to user in wireless environment.
l User’s views on library services over mobile devices.
METHODOLGY USED
For this paper simple online survey method is done for collecting the data. Online
questionnaire through Google form was mailed to 118 users with some of the basic
questions of library services, net connectivity and devices used. Out of 118 users only
92 users has responded to the online survey.
LIBRARY SERVICES AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Library is considered as one of the major organs of an academic or research
institutions or society. Library is traditionally called the store house of printed materials
but in modern sense library is the hub of various kinds of information for users both in
printed and e-format that is why most of the libraries are hybrid in nature. Library is an
academic institution whose motive is to serve group of community i.e. students, scholars,
teachers and staffs. Library serves these groups of user with following kinds of common
services :
103

l Issue/return of printed materials (circulation)
l Reference services
l Reading facility
l Renewal/reservation of document.
l OPAC/Web OPAC
l Periodical/journals sections
l Reprography
l E-resource access facility
l News daily reading services
l Internet access facility
l Knowledge/institutional repository.
l Checking of Plagiarism
l New arrivals etc., etc.
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Wireless technology is a Wide Area Network (WAN) form that covers a broad
area, for example crossing metropolitan, regional or national boundaries. Example like
internet and intranet. Wireless technologies are HSDPA, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, Wi-Fi
etc.
Wireless network : The basic difference between wired and wireless is the
physical layer and the data link layer. Data transmission in wireless networks takes
place using electromagnetic waves which propagates through space (scattered, reflected,
and attenuated). Data are modulated onto carrier frequencies (amplitude, frequency).
The data link layer (accessing the medium, multiplexing, error connection,
synchronization) requires more complex mechanisms.
Wi-Fi : Wi-Fi is a technology for WLAN based on the IEEE 802.11 (a,b,g)
specifications, originally developed for PC in WLAN. An access point (AP) broadcasts
its SSID (Service Set Identifier, ‘Network name’) via packets beacons broadcasted every
100 ms at 1 ms. Wi-Fi transmission being a non-circuit switched wired Ethernet network,
can generate collisions.
Mobile wireless overview : Originally one set of frequencies across a metro,
limited numbers of simultaneous conversations, allowed to re-use of frequency sets as
long as not adjacent, vastly increased capacity, shrink cell sizes to add even more mobility
(call hand off) required and roaming facility. Increasing numbers of mobile radio-
communication systems are used in everyday life. However, the cost, complexity,
performance and types of services offered by each of these mobile systems are decreasing.
The term wireless communication refers to the transfer of information using
104

electromagnetic (EM) or acoustic waves over the atmosphere rather than using any
propagation medium that employs wires and permitting communication while on the
move.
LIBRARY SEVICES ACCESSIBLE IN WIRELESS ENVIROMENT OF
TEZPUR UNIVERSITY
With the growing concept of digital library or virtual library, the users are
expecting maximum accessibility of information. Because, library is in the hand of users
and they can have various kinds information just in their fingertips. Following are the
some of the common library services available in wireless environment :
l Web OPAC : Online PublicAccess Catalogue is one of the most important and
basic services given by libraries. Users can search bibliographic information of
any books, availability of the particular title, print journals etc., by using different
kinds of filters like title, author name, ISBN, publisher or by key words.
l Renewal of books : Users can renew a books issued by him/her on the due date
from anywhere through web OPAC. Users are need not came to library physically
for renewal of books.
l Reservation of document :Auser can reserve a document from anywhere which
he/she likes to reserve.
l E-resources : e-books, e-journals, online database is accessible from anywhere
from the university IP. User can use smart phone, tablet or laptops for access of
these e-resources.
l InfoGranth : This is a service of new arrivals of books in the library; month
wise list is distributed to the university community through hr mass mail.
l InfoJ : This is another services to the university community issues and volumes
with the contents of the issues with the hyper link of the particular issued.
l Online article request : Users can request an article which is neither available
nor subscribed by the university. Which is further processed by information
scientist for acquiring the article from the different sources for the users.
l Announcement : Announcements, notification, news of the library were
available in the library webpage for users.
l ETD (Electronic theses and dissertations) : All the theses and dissertation of
the university is in the E-format. A user can access the required theses or
dissertation from any part of geographical location.
l Plagiarism check : UrkundAnti-plagiarism software for checking the plagiarism
of theses, dissertations or research papers.
l Reference services : Digital form for reply to some of the reference from the
library staff to information seekers.
105

l Dynamic library webpage : Central Library has a dynamic library webpage
with maximum information that available in the library.
l Reminder : Online reminder to users on reservation of documents and call back
a document for emergency
LIBRARY SERVICES AND USERS OF TEZPUR UNIVERSITY:
Central Library Tezpur University holds 4500 membership of students, scholars,
teachers, staff and project fellows. Central Library have 77289 no of print documents,
180 print journals, 7848 nos of bound volumes, 11956 e-journals, 46 online databases,
489 theses, 1132 dissertations, 2232 CDs/DVDs and 10 magazines and daily news.
The questionnaire Google form link was mailed to 118 users and 92 has responded
i.e., 77.97 % .
Table 1 : User’s Response
Diagram 1: User’s response
GENDER STUDENTS SCHOLARS TEACHERS STAFF/PF TOTAL
MALE 36 14 5 3 58
FEMALE 23 9 1 1 34
TOTAL 59 23 6 4 92
106

From the above diagram it is seen that 62% response from the students and 24%, 9% ,
5% from the scholars, teachers and staff / PF respectively.
Most of the users have use smart phones with 3G/4G data pack out of which
maximum use Jio-Reliance 4G with 4G support smart phone, sometime used Wi-Fi in
hostels or in library. 79 users’ use laptops with Wi-Fi connectivity. 21 users share 4G
hotspot and 43 are using Jio-Reliance in laptops also.
Table 2 : Devices used and Internet sources
Diagram 2 : Devices used and internet sources
DEVICES DATA PACK WI-FI 4G-HOTSPOT JIO
SMART PHONE 88 65 34 72
TABLET 9 1 1 2
LAPTOP 23 6 4 43
DESKTOP 0 3 0 4
107

From the above diagram it is clear that most of the users use smart phones with
data pack, 4G-hotspot, Jio-Reliance and Wi-Fi is use in laptop more than that of smart
phone.
Diagram 3 : Wireless library services
Table 3 : Library Wireless Services Used By Users
From Table 3 it is very clear that wireless services are used by all in different
mode. In case of books search 100% users are using the WebOPAC. For online renewal
of document 85.87% (79) users are using Web OPAC, the least one is e-book access i.e.,
7.60% (7) users. Basically all these services can be accessed in wireless environment.
108
Sl. No. SERVICES STUDENTS SCHOLARS TEACHERS STAFF/PF TOTAL
1 BOOKS SEARCH 59 23 6 4 92
2. JOURNALS SEARCH 34 15 6 1 56
3. RENEWAL OF BOOKS 59 17 0 3 79
4. RESERVATION OF BOOKS 51 11 1 1 64
5. E-JOURNALS ACCESS 9 21 6 1 37
6. E-BOOKS ACCESS 5 2 0 0 29
7. ETD 7 19 2 21 29
8. KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY 5 12 2 1 20
9. INFOGRANTH 52 9 1 2 64
10. INFOJ 23 7 2 3 35
11. CAS 27 15 1 2 45
12. ANNOUNCEMENT/NEWS/
NOTICE
47 14 1 2 64
13. ARTICLES REQUEST 1 14 4 1 20
14. ILL 4 9 3 1 17
15. E-REFERENCE SERVICES 6 11 2 2 21

From Diagram 4. it can be noticed that above 60% users are utilizing the services
like book search, renewal of books, library announcement, InfoGranth and reservation
of books. 30% to 60% users are using services of journals searching, CAS, e-journals,
InfoJ and ETD, advantages from the last 5 services are being taken by less than 30%
only.
OPAC is playing a much important role for e-services to users; users are mainly
seeking for information in print format available in the library. Searching of books,
journals, renewal of books and reservation of books are the basic services that avail
through OPAC. OPAC is the showcase of print documents, its helps in saving the time
of users, staffs, helps to curtail the late dues. More over physically users need not bring
the bulky book for re-use to library. InfoGranth is the current arrival of books in the
library; users can go through the InfoGranth to get the information of their requested
titles in the library. InfoJ, on the other hand helps to get the current contents of journal
issues which helps in getting the contents of the journals available in the library.
Article request (DDS-Document Delivery Services) and Inter Library Loan (ILL)
(Delnet/American Centre) are some of the important services of which advantages are
taken mainly by research scholars. ETD is another service mainly available for scholars
and teachers of the institute and one ETD Lab is also established specially for the scholars.
With the growth and development of ICT and high speed internet facility with
affordable price, the world has changed to global village. The Library Services are also
become very easy to get access from any part of the world, services are also changed to
e-services which are available in wireless mode or one can say in cloud system. Even
one can store large amount of information in a mobile device that can be shared at any
moment with other person or group of persons.
Diagram 4 : Ranking of services according to used.
109

CONCLUSION
Library is a growing organism with increasing numbers of information in raw,
processed and in organized manner. On the other hand user’s demand for information is
also growing in exponential manner. Library services are also changed to e-Library
Services, with the growing development of ICT and high speed internet facility; it is
easy to access the library services from any places. Tezpur University with its Wi-Fi
campus helps the users in getting information, browsing information of library. Web-
OPAC is another important feature for the users to avail the services of the library like
searching of books, renewal of books and reservation of books. Library services is not
only restricted to Wi-Fi IP, but it is available in open net also. With the affordability of
3G or 4G it is also easy to use through smartphone, each and every services provided by
library can be accessed in the palm of every hand. With the emergence of the concepts of
cloud storage and mobile storage devices user can download and accessed information
which is multiusing in nature.
With the growth of wireless internet access the sharing and access of information
become very easy for the users. This is available 24x7, going beyond geographical arena.
Only technical, high speed internet and most importantly electricity (24x7 power backup
campus) is very much essential to provide and to get access of services of the Central
Library.
REFERENCES
1. Gallimore, A. (1996). A public library IT strategy for the millennium. Journal of
Librarianship and Information Science, 28 (3), PP.149-57.
2. Hayden, M. (1998). Teach yourself Networking in 24 Hours. Carmel, IN: Sams
Publishing,
3. Hayes, Robert M. & Becker, J. (1974). Handbook of Data Processing for
Libraries. 2nd Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, P. 118
4. Makulova, S. (1992). “Education and Training for Online at the Department of
Library and Information Science of Comenius University, Bratislava,
Czecho-Slovakia,” in Online Information 92: Proceedings of the 16th
International Online Information Meeting, London, 8--10 December: Oxford:
Learned Information Ltd, . PP. 209 --214.
5. Mc.Garry, K. J. (1981). Changing context of information: An introductory
analysis. London, Bingley, PP. 13.
110

6. Ostrow, M. (1998). Perceptions andAttitude of Students in Relation to Vandalism
in University Libraries in South-South Zone of Nigeria. International
Journal of Digital Library Systems, 2 (3), 13-18, July-September 1998,
PP. 23-25.
7. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Part I. On the Horizon 9
(5), PP. 1-6.
8. Recker, M. and Walker,A. (2000). “Collaboratively filtering learning objects,”
in Designing Instruction with Learning Objects. D. A. Wiley, Ed.
9. Recker, M., Dorward, J., and Nelson, L. M. (2004). Discovery and Use of Online
Learning Resources : Case Study Findings. Educational Technology and Society,
7 (2), PP. 93-104.
10. Reeves,T. C. (1998).The Impact of Media and Technology in Schools:AResearch
Report prepared for The Bertelsmann Foundation.
11. Sharma, N. (2005).Availability, use and barriers to ICT in the R&D institutions:
A case study of the libraries and information centres in Noida. DESIDOC Journal
of Library & Information Technology, 29 (6), PP. 21-31.
12. Stueart, R. D. and Techamanee, Y. (1992). “Overcoming technophobia through
educational pro-grams of information studies,” in Proceedings of NIT ’92, The
5th International Conference New Information Technology, Hong Kong,
December 1-3, 1992. West Newton, MA: Micro Use Information, 1992. PP. 325
-334.
13. Sun, Hao-Chang, Chen, Kuan-nien, Tseng, Chishu &Tsai,Wen-Hui (2010).”Role
Changing for Librarians in the New Information Technology Era.” New Library
World, 112 (7/8), PP. 321-333.
14. Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital: How the net generation is changing your
world. New York: McGraw-Hill.
15. Wikipedia. “Information and Communications Technology.” Available at http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_communications_technology.
111

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that was unusual to it; but suppressing his feelings, he replied in his
accustomed tone,
“I was up all night, Master Charles, helping to reef top-sails, and
lending a hand to get up the new fore-sail in place of the old one
that was blown out of the bolt-ropes in the mid-watch. This morning
I could not sleep, for you know I was playing with you until mess-
time.”
“Well, Tom, come into the cabin and let’s play, and I wont say
any thing about it this time,” said Charles, as he walked in, followed
by his companion.
What a difference there was between the apartment in which the
lads now were, and the one which Tom had left but a few moments
before. It was the difference between wealth and poverty.
The vessel, on board of which our scene is laid, was a new and
magnificently-finished barque of seven hundred and fifty tons,
named the Josephine. The craft had been built to order, and was
owned and commanded by Lewis Barney Andrews—a gentleman of
education and extensive fortune, who had been for many years an
officer in the United States navy. Getting married, however, and his
wife’s objecting to the long cruises he was obliged to take in the
service, whilst she was compelled to remain at home, he effected a
compromise between his better half’s desire that he should
relinquish his profession, and his own disinclination to give up going
to sea entirely, by resigning his commission in the navy, and
purchasing a ship for himself. The Josephine belonged to Baltimore—
of which city Captain A. was a native, and was bound to the East
Indies. She was freighted with a valuable cargo, which also belonged
to the captain, and had on board besides the captain, his wife, son
and servant-girl, a crew consisting of two mates, and a boatswain,
fourteen seamen, a cook, steward, and one boy.
Her cabin—a poop one—was fitted up in the most luxurious style.
Every thing that the skill of the upholsterer and the art of the
painter, aided by the taste and experience of the captain, could do to
make it elegant, beautiful and comfortable, had been done.
Extending nearly to the main-mast the distance from the cabin-door
to the transom was full fifty feet. This space was divided into two

apartments of unequal size, one of twenty, the other thirty feet, by a
sliding bulkhead of highly polished rosewood and superbly-stained
glass.
The after-cabin was fitted up as a sleeping-room, with two
mahogany bedsteads and all the appurtenances found in the
chambers of the wealthy on shore. The forward-cabin was used as a
sitting and eating-room. On the floor was a carpet, of whose fabric
the looms of Persia might be proud—so rich, so thick, so magnificent
was it, and deep-cushioned ottomans, lounges and rocking-chairs
were scattered along the sides and were placed in the corners of the
apartment.
Not far from the door, reclining on a lounge, with a book in her
hand, was the wife of the captain, and the mother of Master Charles.
She was a handsome woman, but one who had ever permitted her
fancies and her feelings to be the guides of her actions.
Consequently her heart, which by nature was a kind one, was often
severely wrung by the pangs of remorse, caused by the recollection
of deeds committed from impulse, which her pride would not permit
her to apologize or atone for, even after she was convinced of her
error.
As the two boys entered the cabin she looked at them, but
without making any remark, continued the perusal of her book,
whilst they proceeded to the after-cabin, and getting behind the
bulkhead were out of her sight. For some fifteen minutes the
stillness of the cabin was undisturbed; but then, the mother’s
attention was attracted by the loud, angry tones of her son’s voice,
abusing apparently his play-fellow. Hardly had she commenced
listening, to ascertain what was the matter, ere the sound of a blow,
followed by a shriek, and the fall of something heavy upon the floor,
reached her ear. Alarmed, she rushed into the after-cabin, and there,
upon the floor, his face covered with blood, she saw the idol of her
heart, the one absorbing object of her affection, her only son, and
standing over him, with flashing eyes, swelling chest, and clenched
fists, the sailor-boy.
So strong was the struggle between the emotions of love and
revenge—a desire to assist her child, a disposition to punish his

antagonist—that the mother for a moment stood as if paralyzed.
Love, however, assumed the mastery; and raising her son and
pressing him to her bosom, she asked in most tender tones, “Where
he was hurt?”
“I ain’t hurt, only my nose is bleeding because Tom knocked me
down, just for nothing at all,” blubbered out Charles.
The mother’s anxiety for her son relieved, the tiger in her
disposition resumed the sway; letting go of Charles, she caught hold
of Tom, and shaking him violently, demanded, in shrill, fierce tones,
how he, the outcast, dared to strike her child!
Unabashed and unterrified, the sailor-boy looked in the angry
woman’s face without replying.
“Why don’t you answer me, you cub! you wretch! you little
pirate!—speak! speak! or I’ll shake you to death!” continued the
lady, incensed more than ever by the boy’s silence.
“I struck him because he called my mother a hussy, if you will
make me tell you,” replied Tom, in a quiet voice, though his eye was
bright with anger and insulted pride.
“Your mother a hussy! Well, what else was she? But you shall be
taught how to strike your master for speaking the truth to you, you
good for nothing vagabond. Run and call your father,” she continued,
turning to Charles, “and I’ll have this impertinent little rascal
whipped until he can’t stand.”
In a moment Captain Andrews entered; and being as much
incensed as his wife, that a sailor-boy, a thing he had always looked
upon as little better than a block or rope’s end, had had the audacity
to strike his son, he was furious. Taking hold of Tom with a rough
grasp, he pushed him out on deck, and called for the boatswain.
That functionary, however, was slow in making his appearance; and
again, in louder and more angry tones, the captain called for him.
Still he came not; and, spite of his passion, the captain could but
gather from the lowering expressions of the sailors’ countenances,
that he was at the commencement of an emeute.

[1] Colt.—A rope with a knot on the end. Used as an
instrument of punishment in place of the cat-o’-
nine-tails.
——

CHAPTER II.
The deepest ice that ever froze
Can only o’er the surface close;
The living stream lies quick below,
And flows, and cannot cease to flow.
Byron.
Accustomed to have his commands always promptly obeyed, the
wrath of Captain Andrews waxed high and furious at the dilatoriness
of the boatswain. Without any other exciting cause, this apparent
insubordination on the part of one of his officers, was enough to
arouse all the evil passions of his heart. Educated under the strict
discipline of the United States service, he had been taught that the
first and most important duty of a seaman was obedience. “Obey
orders, if you break owners,” was the doctrine he inculcated; and to
be thus, as it were, bearded on his own quarter-deck, by one of his
own men, was something entirely new, and most insulting to his
pride. Three times had he called for the boatswain without receiving
any reply, or causing that functionary to appear.
When the captain first came out of the cabin, his only thought
was to punish the sailor-boy for striking his son; but his anger now
took another course, and his desire to visit the boatswain’s
contumacy with a heavy penalty was so great, that he forgot entirely
the object for which he had first wished him. Relinquishing his hold
on Tom’s shoulder, the captain hailed his first officer in a quick, stern
voice,
“Mr. Hart, bring aft Mr. Wilson, the boatswain.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” responded the mate, as he started toward the
forecastle-scuttle to hunt up the delinquent. “Hillo, below there!” he
hailed, when he reached the scuttle, “You’re wanted on deck, Mr.
Wilson!”
“Who wants me?” was the reply that resounded, seemingly, from
one of the bunks close up the ship’s eyes.

“Captain Andrews is waiting for you on the quarter-deck; and if
you are not fond of tornadoes, you had better be in a hurry,”
answered the mate.
Notwithstanding the chief dickey’s hint, the boatswain seemed to
entertain no apprehensions about the reception he would meet at
the hands of the enraged skipper; for several minutes elapsed before
he made himself visible on deck.
As soon as the captain saw the boatswain, his anger increased,
and he became deadly pale from excess of passion. Waiting until
Wilson came within a few feet of him, he addressed him in that low,
husky voice, that more than any other proves the depth of a
person’s feeling, with,
“Why have you so long delayed obeying my summons, Mr.
Wilson?”
“I was asleep in the forecastle, sir, and came as soon as I heard
Mr. Hart call,” replied Wilson.
But the tone in which he spoke, the look of his eye, the
expression of his countenance, would at once have convinced a less
observant person than Captain Andrews, that the excuse offered was
one vamped up for the occasion, and not the real cause of the man’s
delay.
“Asleep, sir! Attend now to the duty I wish you to perform—and
be awake, sir, about it! And you may, perhaps, get off easier for your
own dereliction afterward—for your conduct shall not remain
unpunished,” answered the captain.
“Captain Andrews, boy and man, I have been going to sea now
these twenty-five years, and no one ever charged Bob Wilson with
not knowing or not doing his duty before, sir!” rejoined the
boatswain, evidently laboring under as much mental excitement as
the captain.
“None of your impertinence, sir! Not a word more, or I will learn
you a lesson of duty you ought to have been taught when a boy.
Where’s your cat,[2]
sir?” continued the captain.
“In the razor-bag,”[3]
replied the boatswain.

“Curse you!” ejaculated the captain, almost beside himself at this
reply, yet striving to maintain his self-possession; “one more insolent
word, and I will have you triced up. Strip that boy and make a
spread-eagle of him; then get your cat and give him forty.”
During this conversation between the captain and the boatswain,
the crew had been quietly gathering on the lee-side of the quarter-
deck, until at this juncture every seaman in the ship, except the man
at the wheel, was within twenty feet of the excited speakers. Not a
word had been spoken amongst them; but it was evident from the
determination imprinted upon their countenances, from their
attitudes, and from the extraordinary interest they took in the scene
then transpiring, that there was something more in the boatswain’s
insubordination than appeared on the surface; and whatever it was,
the crew were all under the influence of the same motive.
Mr. Wilson, the boatswain of the Josephine, was a first-rate and
thorough-bred seaman. No part of his duty was unfamiliar to him;
and never did he shrink from performing any portion of it on account
of danger or fatigue. Like many other simple-minded, honest-
hearted sons of Neptune, he troubled himself but little about
abstruse questions on morals; but he abhorred a liar, despised a
thief, and perfectly detested a tyrant. And though he could bear a
goodly quantity of tyrannical treatment himself, without heeding it, it
made his blood boil, and his hand clench, to see a helpless object
maltreated.
Ever since the Josephine had left port, there had been growing
amongst the crew a disposition to prevent their favorite, Tom, the
sailor-boy, from being imposed upon and punished, as he had been,
for no other reason than the willfulness of the captain’s son, and the
caprice of the captain’s wife. Not a man on board liked the spoiled
child of the cabin. No fancy, either, had they for his mother;
because, right or wrong, she always took her son’s part, and
oftentimes brought the sailors into trouble. The last time Tom had
been punished a grand consultation had been held in the forecastle,
at which the boatswain presided; and he, with the rest of the crew,
had solemnly pledged themselves not to let their little messmate be
whipped again unless, in their opinion, he deserved it.

This was the reason why the boatswain, one of the best men in
the ship, had skulked when he heard the captain’s call: he had seen
him come out of the cabin with Tom, and rightly anticipated the duty
he was expected to perform. Such great control does the habit of
obedience exercise over seamen, that although he was resolved to
die before he would suffer Tom to be whipped for nothing, much less
inflict the punishment himself, the boatswain felt a great
disinclination to have an open rupture with his commanding officer.
The peremptory order last issued by the captain, however, brought
affairs to a crisis there was no avoiding; he either had to fly in the
face of quarter-deck authority, or break his pledge to his messmates
and his conscience. This, Wilson could not think of doing; and
looking his captain straight in the face, in a quiet tone, and with a
civil manner, he thus addressed his superior:
“It does not become me, Captain Andrews, so be as how, for to
go, for to teach my betters—and—and—” here the worthy boatswain
broke down, in what he designed should be a speech, intended to
convince the captain of his error; but feeling unable to continue, he
ended abruptly, changing his voice and manner, with “Blast my eyes!
if you want the boy whipped, you can do it yourself.”
Hardly had the words escaped the speaker’s lips, before the
captain, snatching up an iron belaying-pin, rushed at the boatswain,
intending to knock him down; but Wilson nimbly leaped aside, and
the captain’s foot catching in a rope, he came down sprawling on the
deck. Instantly regaining his feet, he rushed toward the cabin, wild
with rage, for the purpose of obtaining his pistols. Several minutes
elapsed before he returned on deck; when he did he was much
more calm, although in each hand he held a cocked pistol.
The quarter deck he found bare; the crew, with little Tom in their
midst, having retired to the forecastle, where they were engaged in
earnest conversation. The second mate was at the wheel, the
seaman who had been at the helm having joined his comrades, so
that the only disposable force at the captain’s command was the
chief mate, the steward and himself, the cook being fastened up in
his galley by the seamen. On the forecastle were fifteen men. The
odds were great; but Captain Andrews did not pause to calculate

chances—his only thought was to punish the mutinous conduct of
his crew, never thinking of the possibility of failure.
Giving one of his pistols to Mr. Hart, and telling the steward to
take a capstan bar, the captain and his two assistants boldly
advanced to compel fifteen sailors to return to their duty.
[2] An instrument used for punishment.
[3] The technical name of the bag in which the cats are
kept.
——

CHAPTER III.
They were met, as the rock meets the wave,
And dashes its fury to air;
They were met, as the foe should be met by the brave,
With hearts for the conflict, but not for despair.
Whilst the captain, mate and steward, were making their brief
preparation for a most hazardous undertaking, the men of the
Josephine, with that promptness and resolution so common amongst
seamen when they think at all, had determined upon the course
they would adopt in the impending struggle.
Although the numerical discrepancy between the two parties
seemed so great, the actual difference in their relative strength was
not so considerable as it appeared. The sailors, it is true, had the
physical force—they were five to one; but the captain’s small band
felt more confidence from the moral influence that they knew was
on their side, than if their numbers had been trebled, without it.
Habit ever exercises a controlling influence, unless overcome by
some powerful exciting principle, and men never fly in the face of
authority to which they have always been accustomed to yield
implicit obedience, but from one of two causes—either a hasty
impulse, conceived in a moment, and abandoned by actors
frightened at their own audacity; or, a sense of wrong and injustice
so keen and poignant, as to make death preferable to further
submission.
Aware of custom’s nearly invincible power, having often seen
seamen rebel, and then at the first warning gladly skulk back to their
duty, the captain unhesitatingly advanced up the weather-gangway
to the break of the forecastle, and confronted his mutinous crew.
The men, who were huddled around the end of the windlass, some
sitting, others standing, talking together in low tones, only showed
they were aware of the captain’s presence by suddenly ceasing their
conversation—but not a man of them moved.

Captain Andrews, though quick tempered, was a man of
judgment and experience; and he saw by the calmness and
quietness of his men, that their insubordination was the result of
premeditation—a thing he had not before thought—and he became
aware of the difficulties of his position. He could not, for his life,
think of yielding; to give up to a sailor would, in his estimation, be
the deepest degradation. And moral influence was all he could rely
upon with which to compel obedience—feeling that if an actual strife
commenced, it could but result in his discomfiture. His tone,
therefore, was low and determined, as with cocked pistol in hand he
addressed his crew:
“Men, do you know that you are, every one of you, guilty of
mutiny? Do you know that the punishment for mutiny on the high
seas is death? Do you know this? Have you thought of it?” Here the
captain paused for an instant, as if waiting for a reply; and a voice
from the group around the windlass answered—
“We have!”
Rather surprised at the boldness of the reply, but still retaining
his presence of mind, the captain continued:
“What is it then that has induced you to brave this penalty? Have
you been maltreated? Do you not have plenty of provisions? Your
regular watches below? Step out, one of you, and state your
grievances. You know I am not a tyrant, and I wish from you nothing
more than you promised in the shipping articles!”
At this call, the eyes of the men were all turned toward Wilson,
the boatswain, who, seeing it was expected from him, stepped out
to act as spokesman. Respectfully touching his tarpaulin, he waited
for the captain to question him. Observing this, the captain said,
“Well, Wilson, your messmates have put you forth as their
speaker; and it strikes me that you are the ringleader of this
misguided movement. I am certain you have sense enough to
understand the risk you are running, and desire you to inform me
what great wrong it is that you complain of. For assuredly you must
feel grievously imposed upon, to make you all so far forget what is
due to yourselves as seamen, to me as your captain, and to the laws
of your country!”

“I ain’t much of a yarn-spinner, Captain Andrews, and I can turn
in the plies of a splice smoother and more ship-shape than the ends
of a speech; and it may be as how I’ll ruffle your temper more nor it
is now, by what I have to say—” commenced the boatswain.
“Never mind my temper, sir,” interrupted the captain, “proceed!”
“We all get plenty of grub, Captain Andrews, and that of the
best,” continued Wilson; his equanimity not in the least disturbed by
the skipper’s interruption. “We have our regular watches, and don’t
complain of our work, for we shipped as seamen, and can all do
seamen’s duty. But sailors have feelings, Captain Andrews, though
they are not often treated as if they had; and it hurts us worse to
see those worked double-tides who can’t take their own part, than if
we were mistreated ourselves; and to come to the short of it, all this
row’s about little Tom, there, and nothing else.”
“Is he not treated just as well as the rest of you? Has he not the
same quarters, and the same rations, that the men are content
with? Who works him double-tides?” answered the captain, his
anger evidently increasing at the mention of Tom’s name; and the
effort to restrain himself, being almost too great for the choleric
officer to compass.
“You can’t beat to wind’ard against a head-sea, Captain Andrews,
without a ship’s pitching, no more than you can reef a to’s-sail
without going aloft.” Wilson went on without change in manner,
though his voice became more concise and firm in its tone. “And I
can’t tell you, like some of them shore chaps, what you don’t want
to hear, without heaving you aback. We ain’t got any thing agin you,
if you was let alone; all we wants is for you to give your own orders,
and to keep Mrs. Andrews from bedeviling Tom. The boy’s as good a
boy as ever furled a royal, and never skulks below when he’s wanted
on deck; but he stands his regular watches, and then, when he
ought to sleep, he’s everlastingly kept in the cabin, and whipped and
knocked about for the amusement of young master, and that’s just
the whole of it. We’ve stood it long enough, and wont return to duty
until you promise—”
“Silence, sir!” roared the captain, perfectly furious, and unable
longer to remain quiet. “Not another word! I’ve listened to insolence

too long by half, already! Now, sir, I have a word to say to you, and
mind you heed it. Walk aft to the quarter-deck!”
The boatswain, though he heard the order plainly, and
understood it clearly, paid no attention to it.
“Do you hear me, sir?” asked the captain. “I give you whilst I
count ten, to start. I do not wish to shoot you, Wilson; but if you do
not move before I count ten, I’ll drive this ball through you—as I
hope to reach port, I will!”
Raising his pistol until it covered the boatswain’s breast, the
captain commenced counting in a clear and audible tone. Intense
excitement was depicted on the faces of the men; and some anxiety
was shown by the quick glances cast by the chief mate and steward,
first at the captain, and then at the crew. Wilson, with his eyes fixed
in the captain’s face, and his arms loosely folded across his breast,
stood perfectly quiet, as if he were an indifferent spectator.
“Eight! Nine!” said the captain, “there is but one left, Wilson; with
it I fire if you do not start.”
The boatswain remained motionless. “Te—” escaped the
commander’s lips; and as it did, the sharp edge of Wilson’s heavy
tarpaulin hat struck him a severe blow in the face. This was so
entirely unexpected, that the captain involuntarily threw back his
head, and by the same motion, without intending it, threw up his
arm and clenched his hand enough to fire off the pistol held in it;
the ball from which went through the flying-jib, full twenty feet
above Wilson’s head.
The charm that had held the men in check, was broken by the
first movement toward action, and they made a rush toward the
captain and his two supporters. Bravely, though, they stood their
ground; and Frank Adams, the sailor introduced with Tom in the
forecastle, received the ball from the mate’s pistol in the fleshy part
of his shoulder, as he was about to strike that worthy with a
handspike. Gallantly assisted by the steward, the captain and mate
made as much resistance as three men could against fifteen. The
odds were, however, too great; spite of their bravery, the three were
soon overpowered and the contest was nearly ended, when a
temporary change was made in favor of the weaker party by the

appearance in the fray of the second mate. He, during the whole
colloquy, had been at the wheel, forgotten by both parties. His
sudden arrival, therefore, as with lusty blows he laid about him,
astonished the seamen, who gave back for an instant, and allowed
their opponents to regain their feet. They did not allow them much
time, however, to profit by this respite, for in a few seconds,
understanding the source from whence assistance had come, they
renewed the attack with increased vigor, and soon again obtained
the mastery. But it was no easy matter to confine the three officers
and the steward, who resisted with their every power, particularly as
the men were anxious to do them no more bodily injury than they
were compelled to, in effecting their purpose.
So absorbed were all hands in the strife in which they were
engaged, that not one of them noticed the fact that what had been
the weather-side of the barque at the commencement of the affray,
was now the lee; nor did any of the men—all seamen as they were—
observe that the vessel was heeling over tremendously, her lee-
scuppers nearly level with the water. A report, loud as a cannon,
high in the air, first startled the combatants; then, with a rushing
sound, three large, heavy bodies, fell from aloft, one of which
striking the deck near the combatants, threatened all with instant
destruction, whilst the other two fell with a loud splash into the sea
to leeward.
In the new danger, both the victors and vanquished were equally
interested, and at the same instant looked aloft to discover the
cause. The first glance convinced every one of the necessity for
prompt and vigorous action. Their position was, indeed, one fraught
with imminent danger. Left without a helmsman, by the second mate
going to the assistance of the captain, the barque, close-hauled with
a stiff breeze blowing, had come up in the wind, and was now flat
aback; that is, the wind, instead of blowing against the sails from
behind, was before them. The fore and main-royal, and top-gallant
masts, with all their gear, had been carried away; and the ship was
gathering stern-way at a rate that would soon run her under.
The natural desire for self-preservation, combined with the
instincts and habits of both officers and men to cause them entirely

to forget the fierce contest in which they had just been engaged—
their thoughts were changed from each other, to the ship and its
situation—and the officers were at once permitted to regain their
feet.
No sooner did Captain Andrews find himself at liberty, than he at
once assumed command, and issued his orders as loud and clear as
if nothing had interrupted his authority.
“To the wheel! to the wheel! Mr. Hart! All hands ware ship!” were
his first words; and the men with alacrity hurried to their stations,
whilst the mate ran to the helm.
The captain’s wife and son had been in the cabin, anxiously
awaiting the result of the controversy on the forecastle, but alarmed
by the failing spars, they had hurried on deck and were now on the
poop. In the hurry and confusion consequent upon the ship’s
hazardous position, all hands were so busy that no one paid
attention to Charles and Mrs. Andrews; and they were too much
alarmed to take due care of themselves, else would they have
sought a less exposed situation. As the spanker jibed, Charles was
standing nearly amidships on the deck, and before he even had time
to shriek, the boom struck him and hurled him over the monkey-rail
into the sea. His mother, who was close to the mizzen-mast, saw
him just as he went over, and terror-stricken, sunk to the deck in a
swoon, without uttering a sound. Unable to swim, a puny child in the
angry waves of the rough Atlantic, the case of Charles seemed a
hopeless one; but rescue came from a source he could have least
expected. Tom, the sailor-boy, who was on the tafferel belaying the
spanker-sheet to windward, recognized the captain’s son as he
floated clear of the stern; and actuated by that generous, gallant
spirit that had so endeared him to his messmates, he shouted to the
mate that Charles was over-board! and fearlessly sprang into the sea
to his assistance. Tom was an excellent swimmer, and he found no
difficulty in supporting Charles’ delicate form until the barque hove
round, when they were both picked up and taken on board.
The joy of the mother at having restored to her the idol of her
heart; the grateful feelings she and the father felt toward the
deliverer of their child, we will not attempt to describe; only the

results will we give of this heroic action. Tom was treated by the
captain as a son; the crew were forgiven for their mutinous conduct,
and cheerfully returned to duty; and Tom, now a distinguished naval
officer, dates his first step upon the ladder that leads to eminence,
from the day he so narrowly escaped a severe whipping.
Laurensville, South Carolina.
THE LADY OF CASTLE WINDECK.
(FROM THE GERMAN OF CHAMISSO.)
———
BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
———

Rein in thy snorting charger!
That stag but cheats thy sight;
He is luring thee on to Windeck,
With his seeming fear and flight.
Now, where the mouldering turrets
Of the outer gate arise,
The knight gazed over the ruins
Where the stag was lost to his eyes.
The sun shone hot above him;
The castle was still as death;
He wiped the sweat from his forehead,
With a deep and weary breath.
“Who now will bring me a beaker
Of the rich old wine that here,
In the choked up vaults of Windeck,
Has lain for many a year?”
The careless words had scarcely
Time from his lips to fall,
When the Lady of Castle Windeck
Come round the ivy-wall.
He saw the glorious maiden
In her snow-white drapery stand,
The bunch of keys at her girdle,
The beaker high in her hand.
He quaffed that rich old vintage;
With an eager lip he quaffed;
But he took into his bosom
A fire with the grateful draught.
Her eyes unfathomed brightness!

The flowing gold of her hair!
He folded his hands in homage,
And murmured a lover’s prayer.
She gave him a look of pity,
A gentle look of pain;
And quickly as he had seen her
She passed from his sight again.
And ever, from that moment,
He haunted the ruins there,
A sleepless, restless wanderer,
A watcher with despair.
Ghost-like and pale he wandered,
With a dreamy, haggard eye;
He seemed not one of the living,
And yet he could not die.
’Tis said that the lady met him,
When many years had past,
And kissing his lips, released him
From the burden of life at last.
THE YOUNG MOTHER’S LAMENT.
———
BY MRS. E. C. KINNEY.
———

Oh, what is all this world to me,
Now that my babe is gone—
From every thing I hear, or see,
The light of life has flown!
It is not summer to my eyes,
For summer’s sun is hid—
He, who made fair the earth and skies,
Sleeps ’neath a coffin-lid.
There is no verdure to be seen—
No flowers upon the lea;
For he, whose smile made all things green,
Hath no more smiles for me.
Now all things wear the sickly-hue
Of my own spirit sad,
And nothing can that charm renew
Which made the earth look glad.
Oh, he was such a lovely boy—
So innocent, so fair;
His every look so full of joy—
Such sunlight in his hair!
That when he nestled to my breast,
And looked up lovingly,
I thought no mother half so blest
In all the world as I.
But now, alas! since he has died,
All day and night I pine,
And never was a heart beside
So desolate as mine.
Here are the toys his little hands

So sportively did use,
And here his empty cradle stands,
And here his tiny shoes:
Oh, take them, take them from my sight!
Each sends a cruel dart—
Sharpened by fatal memories bright—
Into my bleeding heart.
Take all away, since he is gone—
Save one of his fair curls,
And that shall on my breast be worn,
Set round with costly pearls.
But, like the diamond glistening bright
Upon a withered wreath,
’Twill make more dreary by its light
The wasted heart beneath.

Engraved in London for Graham’s Magazine by W. H. Mote after the
original Painting by J. W. Wright
JENNY LIND.
———
BY HENRY T. TUCKERMAN.
———
[WITH A PORTRAIT.]
Sure something holy lodges in that breast,
And with mere rapture moves the vocal air,
To testify its hidden residence.
How sweetly did they float upon the wings
Of Silence, through the empty-vaulted night,
At every fall smoothing the raven down
Of darkness till it smiled. Comus.
The Life of the North is to us a fresh revelation; and, by a striking
coincidence, one after another of its phases have come upon our
transatlantic vision, in rapid succession. To many Americans
Thorwaldsen was the only name associated with art, but a few years
since; and to those who had visited Rome, the benign and venerable
man was a vivid and pleasing reminiscence, appropriate to the idea
of his grand apostolic figures, and the affectionate honor in which
his native Denmark held their noble sculptor. But with Ole Bull fairly
commenced our knowledge of the genius of Northern Europe. The
play of the wind through her forests of pines, the glint of her frozen
streams, the tenderness of her households, and the solemnity of her
faith, seemed to breathe in the wizard tones of his violin; while her
integrity was written in the form, the manners, and the very smile of
the musician. Then the spirit of her literature began slowly to win its

gentle but impressive way to the American heart. Longfellow’s
translation of Bishof’s Tegnér’s Children of the Lord’s Supper, with
the graphic introduction descriptive of moral life in Sweden, touched
the same chord in New England breasts, that had vibrated to the
religious pathos of Bryant, Dana, and Hawthorne; while not a few
readers became simultaneously aware of a brave Danish poet
recently followed to the tomb by the people of Copenhagen, with
every token of national grief. The dramas of Œhlenschläger, from
their union of familiar expression with the richest feeling, though but
partially known in this country, awakened both curiosity and interest.
Then, too, came to us the domestic novels of Miss Bremer,
portraying so heartily the life of home in Sweden, and appealing to
the most universal sympathies of our people. Finally, Hans
Andersen’s delicious story-books veiling such fine imaginative powers
under the guise of the utmost simplicity, raised up for him scores of
juvenile admirers, while children of a larger growth enjoyed the
originality of his fictions with equal zest, as the offspring of rare
human sympathy and original invention. The pictures wafted to our
shores by the late revolutionary exigencies of the Continent, have
often yielded glimpses of northern scenery. Norwegian forests, skies
and mountains, attracted the eye at the Dusseldorf gallery; and thus
through both art and literature, the simple, earnest, and poetic
features of life in the north, were brought within the range of our
consciousness. It developed unimagined affinities with our own; and
now, as it were, to complete and consecrate the revelation, we are
to hear the vocal genius of Northern Europe—the Swedish
nightingale, Jenny Lind, is coming!
From an unpretending edifice in one of the by-streets of the city
of Stockholm in Sweden, a quarter of a century ago, a troop of
children might have been seen to emerge, at noon, and break the
silence that at other hours invested the place, with the lively chat
and quick laughter natural to emancipated scholars. In a few
moments they dispersed to their several homes, and early the next
day were again visible, one by one, disappearing, with a more
subdued bearing, within the portal of the humble domicil.

Stockholm is justly regarded as the most elegant city of Northern
Europe. It is situated at the junction of the lake Mälar with an inlet
of the Baltic. Although usually described as founded on seven isles,
it is, in point of fact, mainly situated on three; the smallest and most
central having been the original site, and still constituting the most
populous and active section. The irregularity of its form, and the
blending of land and water, renders the appearance of the city
remarkably picturesque. From the elevated points, besides the
various buildings, craft of all kinds in motion and at anchor,
numerous bridges and a fine back-ground of mountains are
discernible, and combine to form a beautiful panorama. The royal
palace is exceeded in magnificence only by that of Versailles.
Through this busy and varied scene, on a pleasant day, there moved
rapidly the carriage of one of those useful, though unrecognized
beings, who seem born to appreciate the gifts which God so liberally
dispenses, but whom the insensibility and selfishness of mankind, in
general, permit to languish in obscurity until a fortunate
circumstance brings them to light. Some time previous, the good
lady, in passing the seminary to which we have alluded, had been
struck with the beauty of a child’s voice that rose blithely from the
dwelling. She was induced to alight and enter; and her astonishment
was only increased upon discovering that this cheerful song came
from a diminutive girl, busied in arranging the school-room, during a
temporary recess. She learned that this maiden was the daughter of
the school-mistress; and the somewhat restricted air of homely
comfort visible in the establishment, and the tinge of severity in the
manners of the mother, contrasted forcibly in the lady’s imagination
with the apparently instinctive soaring of the child’s spirit into the
atmosphere of song, from her dim and formal surroundings, as the
sky-lark lifts itself from a lowly nest among the dark weeds up to the
crystal heavens. It was a sweet illustration of the law of
compensation.
The air the child was singing, as she busied herself about the
room, was a simple, native strain, quite familiar and by no means
difficult of execution; it was the quality of the voice, the natural flow
of the notes, the apparent ease, grace and earnest sweetness of the

little songstress, that gained the visiter’s ear and heart; and now she
had come to urge upon the parents the duty of affording every
encouragement to develop a gift so rare and beautiful; she
expressed her conviction that the child was born for a musical artist,
and destined not only to redeem her parents from want, but to do
honor to her country. This impression was deepened when she
learned that this musical tendency manifested itself as early as the
age of three, and that the little girl had long awakened the wonder
of the family by repeating accurately even intricate airs, after having
heard them but once; that she had thus sung habitually,
spontaneously, and seemed to find of her own volition, a peculiar
consolation in the act for the dry routine of her life, though from
without, not a single circumstance gave any impulse or direction to
this vocal endowment.
She exhibited also to the just perception of Madame Lundberg,
herself a celebrated Swedish actress, as well as a benevolent
woman, the usual conditions of genius, in backward physical growth,
precocious mental vigor, and mature sensibilities. The latter, indeed,
were so active, that her mother, and even her kind adviser doubted
if she possessed sufficient energy of character for so trying a
profession as that of an artist; and this consideration added to the
prejudice of the parents against a public, and especially a theatrical
career, for a time, chilled the hopes of the enthusiastic patroness. At
length, however, their consent was obtained that the experiment
should be tried, and the diffident little girl, only accustomed to
domestic privacy, but with a new and strange hope wildly fluttering
in her bosom, was taken to Croelius—a veteran music-master of
Stockholm; who was so delighted with her rare promise that one day
he led her to the house of Count Pucke, then director of the court
theatre. Her reception, however, did not correspond with the old
man’s desires; for the nobleman coldly inquired what he was
expected to do with such a child? It must be confessed that the
absence of beauty and size did not, at the first glance, create any
high anticipations in behalf of the demure maiden. Croelius, though
disappointed, was quite undismayed; he entreated the director to
hear her sing, and declared his purpose to teach her gratuitously, if

he could in no other way secure the cultivation of her voice and
talents. This earnestness induced the count to listen with attention
and candor; and the instant she had finished, he exclaimed, “She
shall have all the advantages of the Stockholm Academy!” Such was
Jenny Lind’s initiation into the life of an artist.
She now began regularly to appear on the stage, and was soon
an adept in juvenile parts. She proved widely attractive in
vaudevilles, which were written expressly for her; and it is
remarkable that the charm did not lie so much in the precocious
intelligence, as in the singular geniality of the little actress. Nature
thus early asserted her dominion. There was an indefinable human
interest, a certain original vein that universally surprised and
fascinated, while it took from the child the eclat of a mere infant
phenomenon, by bringing her from the domain of vulgar wonder into
the range of that refined sympathy one touch of which “makes the
whole world kin.” In a year Croelius reluctantly gave up his pupil to
Berg, who to kindred zeal united far more energy; and by him she
was inducted thoroughly into the elements of her art.
Probation is quite as essential to the true development of art as
encouragement. The eager, impassioned, excitable temperament
needs to be chastened, the recklessness of self-confidence awed,
and that sublime patience induced through which reliable and
tranquil energy takes the place of casual and unsustained activity. By
nature Jenny Lind was thoughtful and earnest, disposed to silence,
and instinctively reserved; while the influence of her early home was
to subdue far more than to exhilarate. The change in her mode of
life and prospects was so unexpected, her success as a juvenile
prodigy so brilliant, and the universal social favor she enjoyed, on
account of the winsome amiability of her character, so fitted to elate
a youthful heart, that we cannot but regard it as one of the many
providential events of her career, that just at the critical moment
when the child was losing herself in the maiden, and nature and
education were ultimately shaping her artistic powers, an
unexpected impediment was allowed to check her already too rapid
advancement; and a pause, sad enough at the time, but fraught
with enduring benefit, gave her occasion to discipline and elevate

her soul, renew her overtasked energies, and plume her wings while
thus aware of the utility of her trial, we can easily imagine its
bitterness. The loss of a gift of nature through which a human being
has learned to find both the solace and the inspiration of existence,
upon which the dearest hopes were founded, and by which the most
glorious triumphs were achieved, is one of those griefs few can
realize. Raphael’s gentle heart bled when feebleness unnerved the
hand that guided the pencil to such lovely issues, and big tears
rolled down Scott’s manly cheek when he strove in vain to go on
with his latest composition. How desolate then must that young
aspirant for the honor, and the delights of the vocal art, have felt
when suddenly deprived of her voice! The dream of her youth was
broken in a moment. The charm of her being faded like a mist; and
the star of hope that had thus far beamed serenely on her path,
grew dim in the cold twilight of disappointment—keen, entire and
apparently irremediable. This painful condition was aggravated by
the fact that her age now rendered it out of the question to perform
childish parts, while it did not authorize those of a mature character.
The circumstances, too, of her failure were singularly trying. She
was announced to appear as Agatha in Weber’s Frieschutz—a
character she had long regarded as that in which her ability would
be genially tested. To it her young ambition had long pointed, and
with it her artistic sympathies were familiarly identified. The hour
came, and that wonderful and delicate instrument—that as a child
she had governed so adroitly, that it seemed the echo of her mind;—
that subtle medium through which her feelings had been wont to
find such ready and full vent, refused to obey her will, yielded not to
the pleadings of love or ambition; was hushed as by some cruel
magic—and Jenny Lind was mute, with anguish in her bosom; her
friends looking on in tearful regret, and her maestro chagrined
beyond description! Where had those silvery tones fled? What
catastrophe had all at once loosened those invisible harp strings?
The splendid vision of fame, of bounteous pleasure, of world-excited
sympathy, and of triumphant art, disappeared like the gorgeous
cities seen by the traveler, from the Straits of Messina, painted in
tinted vapor on the horizon. Jenny Lind ceased to sing, but her love

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