PREFACE。
ThekindwayinwhichthisseriesofpapershasbeenreceivedhasbeenapleasuregreaterthanIdaredtoanticipate。IfeltthatI
wasalatecomerinthemidstofacrowdofardentandeagercandidatesforpublicattention,thatIhadalreadyhadmyday,andthatif,liketheunfortunateFrenchmanweusedreadabout,Ihad\"comeagain,\"IoughtnottosurprisedifIreceivedthewelcomeof\"MonsieurTonson。\"
Ithasnotprovedso。Myoldreadershavecomeforwardinthepleasantestpossiblewayandassuredmethattheyweregladtoseemeagain。Thereisnoneed,therefore,ofapologiesorexplanations。I
thoughtIhadsomethinglefttosayandIhavefoundlisteners。InwritingthesepapersIhavehadoccupationandkeptmyselfinrelationwithmyfellow—beings。Newsympathies,newsourcesofencouragement,ifnotofinspiration,haveopenedthemselvesbeforemeandcheatedtheleastpromisingseasonoflifeofmuchthatseemedtorenderitdrearyanddepressing。WhatparticularlypleasedmehasbeenthefreedomofcriticismswhichIhaveseenfromdisadvantageouscomparisonsofmylaterwithmyearlierwritings。
Ishouldlikealittlerestfromliteraryworkbeforetherequiescatensuresmyreposefromearthlylabors,butIwillnotberashenoughtopromisethatIwillnotevenonceagaingreetmyoldandnewreadersiftheimpulsebecomesirresistibletorenewacompanionshipwhichhasbeentomesuchasourceofhappiness。
BEVERLYFARM,Mass。,August,1891。
O。W。H。
OVERTHETEACUPS。
I
INTRODUCTION。
ThisseriesofpaperswasbeguninMarch,1888。Asinglenumberwasprinted,whenitwasinterruptedthecourseofevents,andnotresumeduntilnearlyyearslater,inJanuary,1890。TheplanoftheserieswasnotformedinmymindwhenIwrotethenumber。InreturningtomytaskIfoundthatmyoriginalplanhadshapeditselfintheundergroundlaboratoryofmythoughtsothatsomechangeshadtobemadeinwhatIhadwritten。AsIproceeded,theslightstorywhichformedapartofmyprogrammeelopeditselfwithoutanyneedofmuchcontrivanceonmy,part。Givencertaincharactersinawriter\'sconception,iftheyarerealtohim,astheyoughttobetheywillactinsuchorsuchaway,accordingtothelawoftheirnature。Itwasprettysafetoassumethatintimaterelationswouldspringupbetweensomemembersofourmixedcompany;anditwasnotrashconjecturethatsomeoftheseintimaciesmightendinsuchattachmentaswouldfurnishushints,atleast,ofalove—story。
Astothecourseoftheconversationswhichwouldtakeplace,verylittlecouldbeguessedbeforehand。Varioussubjectsofinterestwouldbelikelytopresentthemselves,withoutdefiniteorder,oftentimesabruptlyand,asitwouldseem,capriciously。
Conversationinsuchamixedcompanyasthatof\"TheTeacups\"islikelytobesuggestiveratherthanexhaustive。Continuousdiscourseisbetteradaptedtothelecture—roomthantothetea—table。Thereisquiteenoughofit,Ifeartoomuch,——inthesepages。Butthereadermusttakethereportsofourtalksastheywerejotteddown。
ApatchworkquiltisnotlikeapieceofGobelintapestry;butithasitsplaceanditsuse。
Somewillfeelatemptationtocomparetheseconversationswiththoseearlierones,andremarkunamiablyupontheirdifference。Thisishardlyfair,andiscertainlynotwise。Theyareproducedunderverydifferentconditions,andbetraythatfactineveryline。Itisbettertotakethembythemselves;and,ifmyreaderfindsanythingtopleaseorprofitfrom,Ishallbecontented,andhe,Ifeelsure,willnotbeungrateful。
Thereaderswhotakeupthisvolumemayrecollectaseriesofconversationsheldmanyyearsagooverthebreakfast—table,andreportedfortheirmoreorlessprofitableentertainment。Thosewerenotveryearlybreakfastsatwhichthetalkstookplace,butatanyratethesunwasrising,andtheguestshadnotasyettiredthemselveswiththelaborsoftheday。Themorningcupofcoffeehasanexhilarationaboutitwhichthecheeringinfluenceoftheafternoonoreveningcupofteacannotbeexpectedtoreproduce。Thetoilsoftheforenoon,theheatsofmidday,inthewarmseason,theslantinglightofthedescendingsun,orthesoberedtranslucencyoftwilighthavesubduedthevivacityoftheearlyday。Yetundertheinfluenceofthebenignstimulantmanytrainsofthoughtwhichwillbearrecalling,maysuggestthemselvestosomeofourquietcircleandprovenotuninterestingtoacertainnumberofreaders。
Howearlymanyofmyoldbreakfastcompanionswentofftobed！Iamthinkingnotmerelyofthosewhosatroundourtable,butofthatlargercompanyoffriendswholistenedtoourconversationsasreported。Deargirlwiththesilkenringlets,dearboywiththedown—shadowedcheek,yourgrandfather,yourgrandmother,turnedoverthefreshlyprintedleavesthattoldthestoryofthoseearliermeetingsaroundtheplainboardwheresomanythingsweresaidandsung,notallofwhichhavequitefadedfrommemoryofthisoverburdenedandforgetfultime。Yourfather,yourmother,foundthescatteredleavesgatheredinavolume,andsmileduponthemasnotuncompanionableacquaintances。Mytea—tablemakesnopromises。
Thereisnoprogrammeofexercisestostudiedbeforehand。WhatifI
shouldcontentmyselfwithasinglereportofwhatwassaidanddoneoverourteacups？Perhapsmyyoungreaderwouldbegladtoletmeoff,fortherearetalkersenoughwhohavenotyetlefttheirbreakfast—tables;andnobodycanblametheyoungpeopleforpreferringthethoughtsandthelanguageoftheirowngeneration,withallitsfuturebeforeit,tothoseoftheirgrandfatherscontemporaries。
Myreader,youngorold,willpleasetoobservethatIhaveleftmyselfentirefreedomastothesourcesofwhatmaybesaidovertheteacups。Ihavenottoldhowmanycupsarecommonlyontheboard,butbyusingthepluralIhaveimpliedthatthereisatleastoneothertalkerorlistenerbesidemyself,andforallthatappearstheremaybeadozen。Therewillbenoregulationlengthtomyreports,—noattempttomakeoutacertainnumberofpages。Ihavenocontracttofillsomanycolumns,nopledgetocontributesomanynumbers。IcanstoponthisfirstpageifIdonotcaretosayanythingmore,andletthisarticlestandbyitselfifsominded。
Whatasenseoffreedomitgivesnottowritebytheyardorthecolumn！
WhenonewritesforanEnglishreviewormagazineatsomanyguineasasheet,thetemptationisverygreattomakeone\'scontributioncoverasmanysheetsaspossible。Weallknowthemetallictasteofarticleswrittenunderthispowerfulstimulus。IfBacon\'sEssayshadbeenfurnishedbyamodernhandtothe\"QuarterlyReview\"atfiftyguineasasheet,whatagreatbookitwouldhavetakentoholdthem！
Thefirstthingwhichsuggestsitselftome,asIcontemplatemyslightproject,istheliabilityofrepeatingintheeveningwhatI
mayhavesaidinthemorninginoneformoranother,andprintedintheseorotherpages。Whenitsuddenlyflashesintotheconsciousnessofawriterwhohadbeenlongbeforethepublic,\"Why,Ihavesaidallthatonceoroftenerinmybooksoressays,andhereitisagain;thesameoldthought,thesameoldimage,thesameoldstory！\"itirritateshim,andislikelytostirupthemonosyllablesofhisunsanctifiedvocabulary。Heseesinimaginationathousandreaders,smilingoryawningastheysaytothemselves,\"Wehavehadallthatbefore,\"andturntoanotherwriter\'sperformanceforsomethingnotquitesostaleandsuperfluous。Thisiswhatthewritersaystohimselfaboutthereader。
Theidiot！Doesthesimpletonreallythinkthateverybodyhasreadallhehaswritten？Doeshereallybelievethateverybodyremembersallofhis,writer\'s,wordshemayhappentohaveread？AtoneofthosefamousdinnersofthePhiBetaKappaSociety;wherenoreporterwaseveradmitted,andwhichnothingeverleaksoutaboutwhatissaidanddone,Mr。EdwardEverett,inhisafter—dinnerspeech,quotedtheselinesfromtheAEneid,givingaliberalEnglishversionofthem,whichheappliedtotheOrationjustdeliveredbyMr。Emerson:
Tresimbristortiradios,tresnubisaquosaeAddiderant,rutilitresignis,etalitisAustri。
Hisnephew,theingenious,inventive,andinexhaustible。EdwardEverettHale,tellsthestoryofthisquotation,andofthevarioususestowhichitmightpliedinafter—dinnerspeeches。HowoftenheventuredtorepeatitatthePhiBetaKappadinnersIamnotsure;
butashereproduceditwithhislivelyembellishmentsandfreshversionsandartfulcircumlocutions,notonepersonintenrememberedthathehadlistenedtothosesamewordsinthosesameaccentsonlyatwelvemonthago。Thepoordeludedcreatureswhotakeitforgrantedthatalltheworldrememberswhattheyhavesaid,andlaughatthemwhentheysayitoveragain,mayprofitbythisrecollection。Butwhatifonedoessaythesamethings,——ofcourseinalittledifferentformeachtime,——overher？Ifhehasanythingtosayworthsaying,thatisjustwhatbeoughttodo。Whetherheoughttoornot,itisverycertainthatthisiswhatallwhowritemuchorspeakmuchnecessarilymustandwilldo。Thinkoftheclergymanwhopreachesfiftyorahundredormoresermonseveryyearforfiftyyears！Thinkofthestumpspeakerwhoshoutsbeforeahundredaudiencesduringthesamepoliticalcampaign,alwaysusingthesamearguments,illustrations,andcatchwords！Thinkoftheeditor,asCarlylehaspicturedhim,threshingthesamestraweverymorning,untilweknowwhatiscomingwhenweseethefirstline,aswedowhenwereadthelargecapitalsattheheadofathrillingstory,whichendsinanadvertisementofanall—cleansingsoaporanall—
curingremedy！
Thelatch—keywhichopensintotheinnerchambersofmyconsciousnessfits,asIhavesufficientreasontobelieve,theprivateapartmentsofagoodmanyotherpeople\'sthoughts。Thelongerwelive,themorewefindwearelikeotherpersons。WhenImeetwithanyfactsinmyownmentalexperience,IfeelalmostsurethatIshallfindthemrepeatedoranticipatedinthewritingsortheconversationofothers。Thisfeelinggivesoneafreedomintellinghisownpersonalhistoryhecouldnothaveenjoyedwithoutit。Mystorybelongstoyouasmuchastome。Detefabulanarratur。Changethepersonalpronoun,——thatisall。Itgivesmanyreadersasingularpleasuretofindawritertellingthemsomethingtheyhavelongknownorfelt,butwhichtheyhaveneverbeforefoundanyonetoputinwordsforthem。AnauthordoesnotalwaysknowwhenheisdoingtheserviceoftheangelwhostirredthewatersofthepoolofBethesda。Manyareaderisdelightedtofindhissolitarythoughthasacompanion,andisgratefultothebenefactorwhohasstrengthenedhim。Thisistheadvantageofthehumblereaderovertheambitiousandself—
worshippingwriter。Itisnotwithhimpereantilli,butbeatisuntilliquipronobisnostradixerunt,—Blessedarethosewhohavesaidourgoodthingsforus。
WhatIhavebeensayingofrepetitionsleadsmeintoatrainofreflectionslikewhichIthinkmanyreaderswillfindsomethingintheirownmentalhistory。Theareaofconsciousnessiscoveredbylayersofhabitualthoughts,asasea—beachiscoveredwithwave—
worn,roundedpebbles,shaped,smoothed,andpolishedbylongattritionagainsteachother。Thesethoughtsremainverymuchthesamefromdaytoday,fromweektoweek;andaswegrowolder,frommonthtomonth,andfromyeartoyear。Thetidesofwakeningconsciousnessrollinuponthemdailyasweuncloseoureyelids,andkeepupthegentlemovementandmurmurofordinarymentalrespirationuntilweclosethemagaininslumber。Whenwethinkwearethinking,weareforthemostpartonlylisteningtosoundofattritionbetweentheseinertelementsofintelligence。Theyshifttheirplacesalittle,theychangetheirrelationstoeachother,theyrolloverandturnupnewsurfaces。Nowandthenanewfragmentiscastinamongthem,tobewornandroundedandtakesitsplacewiththeothers,butthepebbledfloorofconsciousnessisalmostasstationaryasthepavementofacitythoroughfare。
ItsohappensthatatthisparticulartineIhavesomethingtotellwhichIamquitesureisnotoneofrolledpebbleswhichmyreaderhasseenbeforeinanyofmypages,or,asIfeelconfident,inthoseofanyotherwriter。
IfmyreaderaskswhyIdonotsendthestatementIamgoingtomaketosomeoneofthespecialperiodicalsthatdealwithsuchsubjects,myansweris,thatIliketotellmyownstoriesatmyowntime,inownchosencolumns,wheretheywillbereadbyaclassofreaderswithwhomIliketotalk。
Allmenoflettersorofscience,allwriterswellknowntothepublic,areconstantlytamperedwith,inthesedays,byaclassofpredaceousandhungryfellow—laborerswhomaybecollectivelyspokenofasthebrain—tappers。Theywantanauthor\'sideasonthesubjectswhichinterestthem,theinquirers,fromthegravestreligiousandmoralquestionstothemosttrivialmattersofhishabitsandhiswhimsandfancies。Someoftheirquestionshecannotanswer;somehedoesnotchoosetoanswer;someheisnotyetreadytoanswer,andwhenheisreadyhepreferstoselecthisownorganofpublication。
Idonotfindfaultwithallthebrain—tappers。Someofthemaredoingexcellentservicebyaccumulatingfactswhichcouldnototherwisebeattained。Rutonegetstiredofthestringsofquestionssenthim,towhichheisexpectedtoreturnananswer,plucked,ripeorunripe,fromhisprivatetreeofknowledge。Thebraintappersareliketheownerofthegoosethatlaidthegoldeneggs。Theywouldhavetheembryosandgermsofone\'sthoughtsoutofthementaloviducts,andcannotwaitfortheirspontaneousevolutionandextrusion。
ThestoryIhavepromisedis,onthewhole,themostremarkableofaserieswhichImayhavetoldinpartatsomepreviousdate,butwhich,ifIhavenottold,maybeworthrecallingatafuturetime。
SomefewofmyreadersmayrememberthatinaformerpaperI
suggestedthepossibilityoftheexistenceofanidioticareainthehumanmind,correspondingtotheblindspotinthehumanretina。I
trustthatIshallnotbethoughttohaveletmywitsgowanderinginthatregionofmyownintellectualdomain,whenIrelateasingularcoincidencewhichverylatelyoccurredinmyexperience,andaddafewremarksmadebyoneofourcompanyonthedelicateanddifficultbutfascinatingsubjectwhichitforcesuponourattention。Iwillfirstcopythememorandummadeatthetime:
\"Remarkablecoincidence。OnMonday,April18th,beingattablefrom6。30P。M。to7。30,with________and________thetwoladiesofmyhousehold,Itoldthemofthecaseof\'trialbybattel\'offeredbyAbrahamThorntonin1817。Imentionedhisthrowingdownhisglove,whichwasnottakenupbythebrotherofhisvictim,andsohehadtobeletoff,fortheoldlawwasstillinforce。ImentionedthatAbrahamThorntonwassaidtohavecometothiscountry,\'and[Iaddedhemaybelivingnearus,foraughtthatIknow。\'Irosefromthetable,andfoundanEnglishletterwaitingforme,leftwhileIsatatdinner。dcopythefirstportionofthisletter:
\'20ALFREDPLACE,West（nearMuseum）
SouthKensington,LONDON,S。W。
April7,1887。
DR。O。W。HOLMES:
DEARSIR,——Intravelling,theotherday,ImetwithareprintoftheveryinterestingcaseofThorntonformurder,1817。TheprisonerpleadedsuccessfullytheoldWagerofBattel。Ithoughtyouwouldliketoreadtheaccount,andsenditwiththis……
Yoursfaithfully,FRED。RATHBONE。\'\"
Mr。Rathboneisawell—knowndealerinoldWedgwoodandeighteenth—
centuryart。Asafriendofmyhospitableentertainer,Mr。Willett,hehadshownmemanyattentionsinEngland,butIwasnotexpectinganycommunicationfromhim;andwhen,freshfrommyconversation,I
foundthisletterjustarrivedbymail,andleftwhileIwasattable,andonbreakingthesealreadwhatIhadafewmomentsbeforebeen;telling,Iwasgreatlysurprised,andimmediatelymadeanoteoftheoccurrence,asgivenabove。
Ihadlongbeenfamiliarwithallthedetailsofthiscelebratedcase,,buthadnotreferredtoit,sofarasIcanremember,formonthsoryears。Iknowofnotrainofthoughtwhichledmetospeakofitonthatparticularday。Ihadneveralludedtoitbeforeinthatcompany,norhadIeverspokenofitwithMr。Rathbone。
Itoldthisstoryoverourteacups。AmongthecompanyatthetableisayoungEnglishgirl。Sheseemedtobeamusedbythestory。
\"Fancy！\"shesaid,——\"howveryveryodd！\"\"Itwasastrikingandcuriouscoincidence,\"saidtheprofessorwhowaswithusatthetable。\"Asremarkableastwoteaspoonsinonesaucer,\"wasthecommentofacollegeyouthwhohappenedtobeoneofthecompany。
ButthememberofourcirclewhomthereaderwillhereafterknowasNumberSeven,beganstirringhisteainanervoussortofway,andI
knewthathewasgettingreadytosaysomethingaboutthecase。Aningeniousmanheis,withabrainlikeatinder—box,itscontentscatchingatanysparkthatisflyingabout。Ialwaysliketohearwhathesayswhenhistinderbrainhasasparkfallintoit。Itdoesnotfollowthatbecauseheisoftenwronghemaynotsometimesberight,forheisnofool。Hetreatedmynarrativeveryseriously。
Thereaderneednotbestartledatthenewtermsheintroduces。
Indeed,Iamnotquitesurethatsomethinkingpeoplewillnotadopthisviewofthematter,whichseemstohaveadegreeofplausibilityashestatesandillustratesit。
\"Theimpulsewhichledyoutotellthatstorypasseddirectlyfromtheletter,whichcamechargedfromthecellsofthecerebralbatteryofyourcorrespondent。Thedistanceatwhichtheactiontookplace[theletterwasleftonashelftwenty—fourfeetfromtheplacewhereIwassitting]showsthischargetohavebeenofnotableintensity。
\"Brainactionthroughspacewithoutmaterialsymbolism,suchasspeech,expression,etc。,isanalogoustoelectricalinduction。
Chargetheprimeconductorofanelectricalmachine,andagold—leafelectrometer,farofffromit,willatoncebedisturbed。
Electricity,asweallknow,canbestoredandtransportedasifitwereameasurablefluid。
\"Yourincidentisatypicalexampleofcerebralinductionfromasourcecontainingstoredcerebricity。Iusethisword,nottobefoundinmydictionaries,asexpressingthebrain—cellpowercorrespondingtoelectricity。Thinkhowlongitwasbeforewehadattainedanyrealconceptionofthelawsthatgovernthewonderfulagent,whichnowworksinharnesswiththeothertrainedandsubduedforces！Itisnaturalthatcerebricityshouldbethelastoftheunweighableagenciestobeunderstood。Thehumaneyehadseenheavenandearthandallthatinthemisbeforeitsawitselfasourinstrumentsenableustoseeit。Thisfactofyours,whichseemssostrangetoyou,belongstoagreatseriesofsimilarfactsfamiliarlyknownnowtomanypersons,andbeforelongtoberecognizedasgenerallyasthoserelatingtotheelectrictelegraphandtheslaving`dynamo。\'
\"What！youcannotconceiveofachargeofcerebricityfasteningitselfonaletter—sheetandclingingtoitforweeks,whileitwasshufflingaboutinmail—bags,rollingovertheocean,andshakenupinrailroadcars？Andyettheodorofagrainofmuskwillhangroundanoteoradressforalifetime。DoyounotrememberwhatProfessorSillimansays,inthatpleasantjournalofhis,aboutthelittleebonycabinetwhichMary,QueenofScots,broughtwithherfromFrance,——how\'itsdrawersstillexhalethesweetestperfumes\'？
Iftheycouldholdtheirsweetnessformorethantwohundredyears,whyshouldnotawrittenpageretainforaweekoramonththeequallymysteriouseffluencepouredoveritfromthethinkingmarrow,anddiffuseitsvibrationstoanotherexcitablenervouscentre？\"
Ihavesaidthatalthoughourimaginativefriendisgiventowildspeculations,heisnotalwaysnecessarilywrong。Weknowtoolittleaboutthelawsofbrain—forcetobedogmaticwithreferencetoit。I
am,myself,therefore,fullyinsympathywiththepsychologicalinvestigators。Whenitcomestothevariouspretendedsciencesbywhichmenandwomenmakelargeprofits,attemptsatinvestigationareveryapttobeusedaslucrativeadvertisementsforthecharlatans。
Butaseriesofinvestigationsofthesignificanceofcertainpopularbeliefsandsuperstitions,acarefulstudyoftherelationsofcertainfactstoeachother,——whetherthatofcauseandeffect,ormerelyofcoincidence,——isatasknotunworthyofsober—mindedandwell—trainedstudentsofnature。Suchaseriesofinvestigationshasbeenrecentlyinstituted,andwasreportedatalatemeetingheldintheroomsoftheBostonNaturalHistorySociety。Theresultswere,mostlynegative,andinonesenseadisappointment。Asinglecase,relatedbyProfessorRoyce,attractedagooddealofattention。Itwasreportedinthenextmorning\'snewspapers,andwillbegivenatfulllength,doubtless,inthenextnumberofthePsychologicalJournal。Theleadingfactswere,briefly,these:AladyinHamburg,Germany,wrote,onthe22dofJunelast,thatshehadwhatshesupposedtobenightmareonthenightofthe17th,fivedaysbefore。
\"Itseemed,\"shewrote,\"tobelongtoyou;tobeahorridpaininyourhead,asifitwerebeingforciblyjammedintoanironcasque,orsomesuchpleasantinstrumentoftorture。\"Itprovedthatonthatsame17thofJunehersisterwasundergoingapainfuloperationatthehandsofadentist。\"Nosinglecase,\"addsProfessorRoyce,\"proves,orevenmakesprobable,theexistenceoftelepathictoothaches;butifthereareanymorecasesofthissort,wewanttohearofthem,andthatallthemorebecausenofolk—loreandnosupernaturalhorrorshaveasyetmingledwiththenaturalandwell—
knownimpressionsthatpeopleassociatewiththedentist\'schair。\"
ThecaseIhavegivenis,Iamconfident,absolutelyfreefromeverysourceoferror。IdonotrememberthatMr。RathbonehadcommunicatedwithmesincehesentmeaplentifulsupplyofmistletoeayearagolastChristmas。TheaccountIreceivedfromhimwascutoutof\"TheSportingTimes\"ofMarch5,1887。Myownknowledgeofthecasecamefrom\"Kirby\'sWonderfulMuseum,\"aworkpresentedtomeatleastthirtyyearsago。Ihadnotlookedattheaccount,spokenofit,northoughtofitforalongtime,whenitcametomebyakindofspontaneousgeneration,asitseemed,havingnoconnectionwithanyprevioustrainofthoughtthatIwasawareof。Iconsidertheevidenceofentireindependence,apartfrompossible\"telepathic\"
causation,completelywater—proof,airtight,incombustible,andunassailable。
Ireferred,whenfirstreportingthiscuriouscaseofcoincidence,withsuggestivecircumstances,totwoothers,oneofwhichIsaidwasthemostpicturesqueandtheotherthemostunlikely,asitwouldseem,tohappen。Thisisthefirstofthosetwocases:——
GrenvilleTudorPhillipswasayoungerbrotherofGeorgePhillips,mycollegeclassmate,andofWendellPhillips,thegreatorator。HelivedinEuropealargepartofhislife,butatlastreturned,and,intheyear1863,diedatthehouseofhisbrotherGeorge。Ireadhisdeathinthepaper;but,havingseenandheardverylittleofhimduringhislife,shouldnothavebeenmuchimpressedbythefact,butforthefollowingoccurrence:betweenthetimeofGrenvillePhillips\'sdeathandhisburial,Iwaslookinginuponmybrother,thenlivinginthehouseinwhichwewerebothborn。Somebookswhichhadbeenmyfather\'swerestoredinshelvesintheroomIusedtooccupywhenatCambridge。Passingmyeyeoverthem,anolddarkquartoattractedmyattention。ItmustbeaBible,Isaidtomyself,perhapsarareone,——the\"Breeches\"Bibleorsomeotherinterestingspecimen。Itookitfromtheshelves,and,asIdidso,anoldslipofpaperfelloutandflutteredtothefloor。OnliftingitIreadthesewords:
ThenameisGrenvilleTudor。
Whatwasthemeaningofthisslipofpapercomingtolightatthistime,afterreposingundisturbedsolong？Therewasonlyonewayofexplainingitspresenceinmyfather\'soldBible;——acopyoftheScriptureswhichIdidnotremembereverhavinghandledorlookedintobefore。Inchristeningachildtheministerisliabletoforgetthename,justatthemomentwhenheoughttorememberit。MyfatherpreachedoccasionallyattheBrattleStreetChurch。Itakethisforgranted,forIremembergoingwithhimononeoccasionwhenhedidso。Nothingwasmorelikelythanthatheshouldbeaskedtoofficiateatthebaptismoftheyoungersonofhiswife\'sfirstcousin,JudgePhillips。Thisslipwashandedhimtoremindhimofthename:Hebroughtithome,putitinthatoldBible,andthereitlayquietlyfornearlyhalfacentury,when,asifithadjustheardofMr。Phillips\'sdecease,itflewfromitshiding—placeandstartledtheeyesofthosewhohadjustreadhisnameinthedailycolumnofdeaths。Itwouldbehardtofindanythingmorethanamerecoincidencehere;butitseemscuriousenoughtobeworthtelling。
Thesecondofthesetwolaststoriesmustbetoldinprosaicdetailtoshowitswholevalueasacoincidence。