whose names and fame, associated in life, death has not been able to sever, illustrious men who,

in their generation, sometimes divided, sometimes led, and sometimes resisted public opinion; for they were of that higher class of statesmen who 5 seek the right and follow their convictions.

There sat Calhoun, the senator, inflexible, austere, oppressed, but not overwhelmed by his deep sense of the importance of his public functions; seeking the truth, then fearlessly following it, a man 10 whose unsparing intellect compelled all his emotions to harmonize with the deductions of his rigorous logic, and whose noble countenance habitually wore the expression of one engaged in the performance of high public duties.

15

This was Webster's seat. He, too, was every inch a senator. Conscious of his own vast powers, he reposed with confidence on himself; and, scorning the contrivances of smaller men, he stood among his peers all the greater for the simple 20 dignity of his demeanor. Type of his northern home, he rises before the imagination, in the grand and granite outline of his form and intellect, like a great New England rock repelling a New England wave. As a writer his productions will be cherished 25 by statesmen and scholars while the English tongue

5

is spoken. As an orator his great efforts are historically associated with this chamber, whose very air seems to vibrate beneath the strokes of his deep tones and his weighty words.

On the outer circle sat Henry Clay, with his impetuous and ardent nature untamed by age, and exhibiting in the Senate the same vehement patriotism and passionate eloquence that of yore electrified the House of Representatives and the country. 10 His extraordinary personal endowments, his courage, all his noble qualities, invested him with an individuality and a charm of character which in any age would have made him a favorite of history. He loved his country above all earthly objects. 15 He loved liberty in all countries. Illustrious man -orator, patriot, philanthropist - whose light, at its meridian, was seen and felt in the remotest parts of the civilized world; and whose declining sun, as it hastened down the west, threw back its 20 level beams in hues of mellowed splendor, to illuminate and to cheer the land he loved and served so well!

austere stern. - deduction: a truth drawn from another truth or set of truths. peers: equals.

THE BROOM MERCHANT

JOHN RUSKIN

NOTE. John Ruskin was so much pleased with this Swiss story that he himself translated it into English for his magazine.

Brooms are, as we know, among the necessities of the epoch; and in every household there are many needful articles of the kind which must be 5 provided from week to week, and which one accordingly finds, everywhere, persons glad to supply. But we pay daily less and less attention to these kindly disposed persons, since we have been able to get the articles at their lowest possible price.

10

Formerly it was not thus. The broom merchant, the egg merchant, the sand and rotten-stone merchant, were, so to speak, part of the family; one was connected with them by very close links; one knew the day on which each would arrive; and 15 according to the degree of favor they were in, one kept something nice for their dinner; and if by. any chance they did not come to their day, they excused themselves next time, as for a very grave fault indeed. They considered the houses which 20 they supplied regularly as the stars of their heaven, took all the pains in the world to serve

them well, and, on quitting their trade for anything more dignified, did all they could to be replaced by either their children, or by some cousin. There was thus a reciprocal bond of fidelity on one side, 5 and of trust on the other, which unhappily relaxes itself more and more every day, in the measure that family spirit also disappears.

The broom merchant of Rychiswyl was a servant of this sort. The Saturday might sooner have been 10 left out of the almanac than the broom man not appear on the Saturday. His father, who had been a soldier, died early in life; the lad was then very young and his mother ailing. His elder sister had started in life many a day before, barefoot, and 15 had found a place in helping a woman who carried pine cones and turpentine to Berne. When she had won her spurs, that is to say, shoes and stockings, she obtained advancement in a large farm near the town. Hansli could not leave his mother, who had 20 need of his help to fetch her wood and the like.

25

One day the farmer they lodged with said to Hansli: "My lad, it seems to me you might try and earn something now; you are big enough and sharp enough."

"I wish I could," said Hansli; "but I don't know how."

"I know something you could do," said the farmer. "Set to work to make brooms; there are plenty of twigs on my willows. I only get them stolen as it is; so they shall not cost you much. You shall make me two brooms a year of 5 them."

"Yes, that would be very fine and good," said Hansli; "but where shall I learn to make brooms?"

"Well, well, there's no such sorcery in the matter," said the farmer. "I'll teach you; many a 10 year now I've made all the brooms we use on the farm, and I'll back myself to make as good as are made; you'll want few tools, and may use mine at first."

All which was accordingly done; and God's 15 blessing came on the doing of it. Hansli took a fancy to the work, and the farmer was enchanted with Hansli.

"Do the thing well, so as to show people they may put confidence in you. Once get their trust 20 and your business is done," said the farmer, and Hansli obeyed him.

In the beginning, naturally, things did not go very fast; nevertheless, he sold what he could make, and as he became quicker in the making 25 the sale increased in proportion. Soon everybody