第18章
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  ThematterwasfinallyreferredtotheProvincialCouncilattheHague,anditwasconfidentlyexpectedthatthewisdomofthisbodywouldinventsomemeasurebywhichcreditshouldberestored。

  Expectationwasonthestretchforitsdecision,butitnevercame。

  Thememberscontinuedtodeliberateweekafterweek,andatlast,afterthinkingaboutitforthreemonths,declaredthattheycouldoffernofinaldecisionuntiltheyhadmoreinformation。Theyadvised,however,that,inthemeantime,everyvendorshould,inthepresenceofwitnesses,offerthetulipsinnaturatothepurchaserforthesumsagreedupon。Ifthelatterrefusedtotakethem,theymightbeputupforsalebypublicauction,andtheoriginalcontractorheldresponsibleforthedifferencebetweentheactualandthestipulatedprice。Thiswasexactlytheplanrecommendedbythedeputies,andwhichwasalreadyshowntobeofnoavail。TherewasnocourtinHollandwhichwouldenforcepayment。ThequestionwasraisedinAmsterdam,butthejudgesunanimouslyrefusedtointerfere,onthegroundthatdebtscontractedingamblingwerenodebtsinlaw。

  Thusthematterrested。Tofindaremedywasbeyondthepowerofthegovernment。Thosewhowereunluckyenoughtohavehadstoresoftulipsonhandatthetimeofthesuddenreactionwerelefttobeartheirruinasphilosophicallyastheycould;thosewhohadmadeprofitswereallowedtokeepthem;butthecommerceofthecountrysufferedasevereshock,fromwhichitwasmanyyearsereitrecovered。

  TheexampleoftheDutchwasimitatedtosomeextentinEngland。

  Intheyear1636tulipswerepubliclysoldintheExchangeofLondon,andthejobbersexertedthemselvestotheutmosttoraisethemtothefictitiousvaluetheyhadacquiredinAmsterdam。InParisalsothejobbersstrovetocreateatulipomania。Inbothcitiestheyonlypartiallysucceeded。However,theforceofexamplebroughttheflowersintogreatfavour,andamongstacertainclassofpeopletulipshaveeversincebeenprizedmorehighlythananyotherflowersofthefield。TheDutcharestillnotoriousfortheirpartialitytothem,andcontinuetopayhigherpricesforthemthananyotherpeople。AstherichEnglishmanboastsofhisfinerace-horsesorhisoldpictures,sodoesthewealthyDutchmanvaunthimofhistulips。

  InEngland,inourday,strangeasitmayappear,atulipwillproducemoremoneythananoak。Ifonecouldbefound,raraintetris,andblackastheblackswanalludedtobyJuvenal,itspricewouldequalthatofadozenacresofstandingcorn。InScotland,towardsthecloseoftheseventeenthcentury,thehighestpricefortulips,accordingtotheauthorityofawriterinthesupplementtothethirdeditionofthe“EncyclopediaBritannica,“wastenguineas。Theirvalueappearstohavediminishedfromthattimetilltheyear1769,whenthetwomostvaluablespeciesinEnglandweretheDonQuevedoandtheValentinier,theformerofwhichwasworthtwoguineasandthelattertwoguineasandahalf。Thesepricesappeartohavebeentheminimum。

  Intheyear1800,acommonpricewasfifteenguineasforasinglebulb。In1835,sofoolishwerethefanciers,thatabulbofthespeciescalledtheMissFannyKemblewassoldbypublicauctioninLondonforseventy-fivepounds。StillmoreastonishingwasthepriceofatulipinthepossessionofagardenerintheKing’sRoad,Chelsea。Inhiscatalogues,itwaslabelledattwohundredguineas!

  Thusaflower,whichforbeautyandperfumewassurpassedbytheabundantrosesofthegarden,——anosegayofwhichmightbepurchasedforapenny,——waspricedatasumwhichwouldhaveprovidedanindustriouslabourerandhisfamilywithfood,andclothes,andlodgingforsixyears!Shouldchickweedandgroundselevercomeintofashion,thewealthywould,nodoubt,viewitheachotherinadorningtheirgardenswiththem,andpayingthemostextravagantpricesforthem。Insodoing,theywouldhardlybemorefoolishthantheadmirersoftulips。Thecommonpricesfortheseflowersatthepresenttimevaryfromfivetofifteenguineas,accordingtotherarityofthespecies。

  Afoutho’auldknick-knackets,Rustyairncapsandjinglin’jackets,WadhaudtheLothiansthree,intackets,Atowmondguid;

  An’parritchpats,andauldsautbackets,Aforetheflood。

  Burns。

  Theloveforrelicsisonewhichwillneverbeeradicatedaslongasfeelingandaffectionaredenizensoftheheart。Itisalovewhichismosteasilyexcitedinthebestandkindliestnatures,andwhichfewarecallousenoughtoscoffat。Whowouldnottreasurethelockofhairthatonceadornedthebrowofthefaithfulwife,nowcoldindeath,orthathungdowntheneckofabelovedinfant,nowsleepingunderthesward?Notone。Theyarehome-relics,whosesacredworthisintelligibletoall;spoilsrescuedfromthedevouringgrave,which,totheaffectionate,arebeyondallprice。Howdeartoaforlornsurvivorthebookoverwhosepageshehasporedwithonedeparted!

  Howmuchgreateritsvalue,ifthathand,nowcold,hadwrittenathought,anopinion,oraname,upontheleaf!Besidesthesesweet,domesticrelics,thereareothers,whichnoonecancondemn;relicssanctifiedbythatadmirationofgreatnessandgoodnesswhichisakintolove;suchasthecopyofMontaigne’sFlorio,withthenameofShakspeareupontheleaf,writtenbythepoetofalltimehimself;thechairpreservedatAntwerp,inwhichRubenssatwhenhepaintedtheimmortal“DescentfromtheCross;“orthetelescope,preservedintheMuseumofFlorence,whichaidedGalileoinhissublimediscoveries。

  WhowouldnotlookwithvenerationupontheundoubtedarrowofWilliamTell——theswordsofWallaceorofHampden——ortheBiblewhoseleaveswereturnedbysomesternoldfatherofthefaith?

  Thustheprincipleofreliquismishallowedandenshrinedbylove。

  Butfromthisgermofpurityhownumeroustheprogenyoferrorsandsuperstitions!Men,intheiradmirationofthegreat,andofallthatappertainedtothem,haveforgottenthatgoodnessisacomponentpartoftruegreatness,andhavemadefoolsofthemselvesforthejaw-boneofasaint,thetoe-nailofanapostle,thehandkerchiefakingblewhisnosein,ortheropethathangedacriminal。Desiringtorescuesomeslighttokenfromthegravesoftheirpredecessors,theyhaveconfoundedthefamousandtheinfamous,therenownedandthenotorious。Greatsaints,greatsinners;greatphilosophers,greatquacks;greatconquerors,greatmurderers;greatministers,greatthieves;eachandallhavehadtheiradmirers,readytoransackearth,fromtheequatortoeitherpole,tofindarelicofthem。

  ThereliquismofmoderntimesdatesitsoriginfromthecenturiesimmediatelyprecedingtheCrusades。ThefirstpilgrimstotheHolyLandbroughtbacktoEuropethousandsofapocryphalrelics,inthepurchaseofwhichtheyhadexpendedalltheirstore。Thegreatestfavouritewasthewoodofthetruecross,which,liketheoilofthewidow,neverdiminished。Itisgenerallyasserted,inthetraditionsoftheRomishChurch,thattheEmpressHelen,themotherofConstantinetheGreat,firstdiscoveredtheveritable“truecross“inherpilgrimagetoJerusalem。TheEmperorTheodosiusmadeapresentofthegreaterpartofittoSt。Ambrose,BishopofMilan,bywhomitwasstuddedwithpreciousstones,anddepositedintheprincipalchurchofthatcity。ItwascarriedawaybytheHuns,bywhomitwasburnt,aftertheyhadextractedthevaluablejewelsitcontained。Fragments,purportingtohavebeencutfromitwere,intheeleventhandtwelfthcenturies,tobefoundinalmosteverychurchinEurope,andwould,ifcollectedtogetherinoneplace,havebeenalmostsufficienttohavebuiltacathedral。Happywasthesinnerwhocouldgetasightofoneofthem;happierhewhopossessedone!Toobtainthemthegreatestdangerswerecheerfullybraved。Theywerethoughttopreservefromallevils,andtocurethemostinveteratediseases。Annualpilgrimagesweremadetotheshrinesthatcontainedthem,andconsiderablerevenuescollectedfromthedevotees。

  Nextinrenownwerethosepreciousrelics,thetearsoftheSaviour。Bywhomandinwhatmannertheywerepreserved,thepilgrimsdidnotofteninquire。TheirgenuinenesswasvouchedbytheChristiansoftheHolyLand,andthatwassufficient。TearsoftheVirginMary,andtearsofSt。Peter,werealsotobehad,carefullyenclosedinlittlecaskets,whichthepiousmightwearintheirbosoms。AfterthetearsthenextmostpreciousrelicsweredropsofthebloodofJesusandthemartyrs。Hairandtoe-nailswerealsoingreatrepute,andweresoldatextravagantprices。ThousandsofpilgrimsannuallyvisitedPalestineintheeleventhandtwelfthcenturies,topurchasepretendedrelicsforthehomemarket。Themajorityofthemhadnoothermeansofsubsistencethantheprofitsthusobtained。Manyanail,cutfromthefilthyfootofsomeunscrupulousecclesiastic,wassoldatadiamond’sprice,withinsixmonthsafteritsseverancefromitsparenttoe,uponthesuppositionthatithadoncebelongedtoasaint。Peter’stoeswereuncommonlyprolific,fortherewerenailsenoughinEurope,atthetimeoftheCouncilofClermont,tohavefilledasack,allofwhichweredevoutlybelievedtohavegrownonthesacredfeetofthatgreatapostle。SomeofthemarestillshowninthecathedralofAix-la-Chapelle。ThepiouscomefromadistanceofahundredGermanmilestofeasttheireyesuponthem。

  AtPortRoyal,inParis,iskeptwithgreatcareathorn,whichthepriestsofthatseminaryasserttobeoneoftheidenticalthornsthatboundtheholyheadoftheSonofGod。Howitcamethere,andbywhomitwaspreserved,hasneverbeenexplained。Thisisthefamousthorn,celebratedinthelongdissensionsoftheJansenistsandtheMolenists,andwhichworkedthemiraculouscureuponMademoisellePerrier:bymerelykissingit,shewascuredofadiseaseoftheeyesoflongstanding。[Voltaire,SiecledeLouisXIV。]

  WhattravellerisunacquaintedwiththeSantaScala,orHolyStairs,atRome?TheywerebroughtfromJerusalemalongwiththetruecross,bytheEmpressHelen,andweretakenfromthehousewhich,accordingtopopulartradition,wasinhabitedbyPontiusPilate。TheyaresaidtobethestepswhichJesusascendedanddescendedwhenbroughtintothepresenceoftheRomangovernor。TheyareheldinthegreatestvenerationatRome:itissacrilegioustowalkuponthem。Thekneesofthefaithfulmustalonetouchtheminascendingordescending,andthatonlyaftertheyhavereverentiallykissedthem。

  Europestillswarmswiththesereligiousrelics。ThereishardlyaRomanCatholicchurchinSpain,Portugal,Italy,France,orBelgium,withoutoneormoreofthem。Eventhepoorlyendowedchurchesofthevillagesboastthepossessionofmiraculousthigh-bonesoftheinnumerablesaintsoftheRomishcalendar。Aix-la-Chapelleisproudoftheveritablechasse,orthigh-boneofCharlemagne,whichcureslameness。HallehasathighboneoftheVirginMary;Spainhassevenoreight,allsaidtobeundoubtedrelics。Brusselsatonetimepreserved,andperhapsdoesnow,theteethofSt。Gudule。Thefaithful,whosufferedfromthetooth-ache,hadonlytopray,lookatthem,andbecured。SomeoftheseholyboneshavebeenburiedindifferentpartsoftheContinent。Afteracertainlapseoftime,waterissaidtooozefromthem,whichsoonformsaspring,andcuresallthediseasesofthefaithful。AtachurchinHalle,thereisafamousthigh-bone,whichcuresbarrennessinwomen。Ofthisbone,whichisunderthespecialsuperintendenceoftheVirgin,apleasantstoryisrelatedbytheincredulous。ThereresidedatGhentacouplewhowereblessedwithalltherichesofthisworld,butwhosehappinesswassoretroubledbythewantofchildren。Greatwasthegriefofthelady,whowasbothbeautifulandloving,andmanyherlamentationstoherhusband。Thelatter,annoyedbyherunceasingsorrow,advisedhertomakeapilgrimagetothecelebratedchasseoftheVirgin。Shewent,wasabsentaweek,andreturnedwithafaceallradiantwithjoyandpleasure。Herlamentationsceased,and,inninemonthsafterwards,shebroughtforthason。But,oh!theinstabilityofhumanjoys!Thebabe,solongdesiredandsogreatlybeloved,survivedbutafewmonths。Twoyearspassedovertheheadsofthedisconsolatecouple,andnosecondchildappearedtocheertheirfire-side。Athirdyearpassedawaywiththesameresult,andtheladyoncemorebegantoweep。“Cheerup,mylove,“saidherhusband,“andgototheholychasse,atHalle;perhapstheVirginwillagainlistentoyourprayers。“Theladytookcourageatthethought,wipedawayhertears,andproceededonthemorrowtowardsHalle。Shewasabsentonlythreedays,andreturnedhomesad,weeping,andsorrow-stricken。“Whatisthematter?“saidherhusband;

点击下载App,搜索"Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions",免费读到尾