The Book Of The Bush, George Dunderdale [thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

Bushes,

Whins,  Sweetbriar,  And Thistles.  Any Quantity Of Labour Might Be

Spent On It With Advantage To The Owner,  So The Following

Advertisement Appeared In The Public Journals:

 

To Capi My Brother,  Bore Me Always Lovingly In

His Thoughts,  Had Lately Died. Even On His Deathbed He Thought Of Me,

And Charged My Brother To Do All He Could To Find Me Some Settled

Occupation For Life,  And At Any Rate To Prevent Me From Leaving The Post

I Held At The Moment Before I Had Some Reasonable Prospect Of A Secure

And Better Engagement Elsewhere. Providence Willed It Otherwise. His

Death,  Through The Small Inheritance Which Thereby Came To Me,  Gave Me

The Means Of Fulfilling The Dearest Wish Of My Heart. So Wonderfully

Does God Direct The Fate Of Men.

 

I Must Mention One Circumstance Before I Part For Ever In This Account

Of My Life From My Gentle,  Loving Second-Father. On My Journey To

Mecklenburg,  When I Saw My Uncle (At Stadt-Ilm) For The Last Time,  I Had

The Deep Joy Of A Talk With Him,  Such As A Trusting Father Might Hold

With His Grown-Up Son,  Bound To Him By Every Tie Of Affection. He Freely

Pointed Out The Faults Which Had Shown Themselves In My Boyhood,  And

Told Me Of The Anxiety They Had At One Time Caused Him,  And In This Way

He Went Back To The Time When I Was Taken Into His Family,  And To The

Causes Of That. "I Loved Your Mother Very Dearly," Said He; "Indeed,  She

Was My Favourite Out Of All My Brothers And Sisters. In You I Seemed To

See My Sister Once More,  And For Her Love I Took Charge Of You And

Bestowed On You That Affection Which Hitherto Had Been Hers Alone." And

Dear As My Own Mother Had Become To Me Already Through The Many Kind

Things I Had Heard Said Of Her,  So That I Had Even Formed A Distinct

Conception Of What She Was Like,  And Seemed Actually To Remember Her,

She Became Even Dearer To Me After These Reminiscences Of My Uncle Than

Before,  For Did I Not Owe To Her This Noble And High-Minded

Second-Father? My Conversation With My Uncle First Made Clear To Me What

In Later Life I Have Found Repeatedly Confirmed--That The Sources,

Springs Or Motives Of One's Present Actions Often Lie Far Away Beyond

The Present Time,  Outside The Present Circumstances,  And Altogether

Disconnected With The Persons With Whom One Is Concerned At The Moment

Then Passing. I Have Also Repeatedly Observed In The Course Of My Life

That Ties Are The Faster,  The More Enduring And The Truer The More They

Spring From Higher,  Universal,  And Impersonal Sources.

 

The Person Who In Mecklenburg Stood Next Above Me In Position In The

House And In The Family Was The Private Tutor,  Whom I Found Already

There--A Young Doctor Of Philosophy Of Goettingen University. We Did Not

Come Much Into Contact On The Whole Since He As A University Graduate

Took A Far Higher Stand Than I; But Through I Came Into Some Connection

With The Clergymen Of The District,  And This Was Of Benefit To Me. As

For The Farmers The Bailiffs,  Etc.,  Their Hospitable Nature Was Quite

Sufficient Of Itself To Afford Me A Hearty Welcome. Thus I Lived In A

Way I Had For A Long Time Felt I Much Needed,  Amidst Many-Sided

Companionable Good-Fellowship,  Cheerful And Free. Healthy As I Was In

Body And Soul,  In Head And Heart,  My Thoughts Full Of Brightness And

Cheerfulness,  It Was Not Long Before My Mind Again Felt An Eager Desire

For Higher Culture. The Young Tutor Went Away,  And After His Departure

Story 13 (Two Special Surveys.) Pg 184

My Craving For Culture Grew Keener And Keener,  For I Missed The

Intellectual Converse I Had Been Able To Hold With Him. But I Was Soon

Again To Receive Succour.

 

The President,[29] Besides The Family At Home,  Had Two Sons At The

Paedagogium In Halle.[30] They Came To Visit Their Parents,  Accompanied

By Their Special Tutor,  A Gentleman Destined To Become Famous Later On

As The Renowned Scholar,  Dr. Wollweide.

 

Dr. Wollweide Was A Mathematician And A Physicist,  And I Found Him

Freely Communicative. He Was So Kind As To Mention And Explain To Me The

Many Various Problems He Had Set Before Himself To Work Out. This Caused

My Long Slumbering And Suppressed Love For Mathematics As A Science,  And

For Physics,  To Spring Up Again,  Fully Awake. For Some Time Past My

Tendency Had Leaned More And More Towards Archi,  Indeed,  I

Had Now Firmly Determined To Choose That As My Profession,  And To Study

It Henceforth With All Earnestness. My Intellectual Cravings And The

Choice Of A Profession Seemed At Last To Run Together,  And I Felt

Continually Bright And Happy At The Thought. I Seized The Opportunity Of

The Presence Of The Scholar Whom I Have Named To Learn From Him What

Were The Best Books On Those Subjects Which Promised To Be Useful To Me,

And My First Care Was To Become Possessed Of Them. Architecture Was Now

Vigorously Studied,  And Other Books,  Too,  Were Not Suffered To Lie Idle.

 

The Following Books Took Great Hold Upon Me: Proeschke's "Fragments On

Anthropology" (A Small Unpretending Book),  Novalis' Works,  And Arndt's

"Germany" And "Europe."[31] The First Of These At One Stroke Drew

Together,  So That I Could Recognise In Them Myself As A Connected Whole,

My Outer Existence,  My Inner Character,  My Disposition,  And The Course

Of My Life. I For The First Time Realised Myself And My Life As A Single

Entity In Contrast To The Whole World Outside Of Me.[32] The Second Book

Lay Before Me The Most Secret Emotions,  Perceptions,  And Intentions Of

My Inmost Soul,  Clear,  Open,  And Vivid. If I Parted With That Book It

Seemed As If I Had Parted With Myself; If Anything Happened To The Book

I Felt As Though It Had Happened To Me,  Only More Deeply And With

Greater Pain. The Third Book Taught Me Of Man In His Broad Historical

Relations,  Set Before Me The General Life Of My Kind As One Great Whole,

And Showed Me How I Was Bound To My Own Nation,  Both To My Ancestors And

My Contemporaries. Yet The Service This Last Book Had Done Me Was Hardly

Recognised At This Time; For My Thoughts Were Bent On A Definite Outward

Aim,  That Of Becoming An Architect. But I Could At All Events Recognise

The New Eager Life Which Had Seized Me,  And To Mark This Change To

Myself,  I Now Began To Use As A Christian Name The Last Instead Of The

First Of My Baptismal Names.[33] Other Circumstances Also Impelled Me To

Make This Change; And,  Further,  It Freed Me From The Memory Of The Many

Disagreeable Impressions Of My Boyhood Which Clustered Round The Name I

Was Then Called.

 

The Time Had Come When I Could No Longer Remain Satisfied With My

Present Occupation; And I Therefore Sent In My Resignation. The

Immediate Outward Circumstance Which Decided Me Was This. I Had Kept Up

A Correspondence With The Young Man Whom I Had Known As A Private Tutor

When I Held A Government Clerkship In Bamberg,  And Who Left His

Story 13 (Two Special Surveys.) Pg 185

Situation To Go To Frankfurt,  And Then On Into France.[34] He Had

Afterwards Lived Some Time In Frankfurt,  Occupying Himself With

Teaching,  And Now Was Again A Private Tutor In A Merchant's House In The

Netherlands. I Imparted To Him My Desire To Leave My Present Post,  And

To Seek A Situation With An Architect; And Asked His Opinion Whether I

Should Not Be Most Likely To Effect My Object At Frankfurt,  Where So

Many Streams Of Diverse Life And Of Men Intermingle. And As My Friend

Was Accurately Acquainted With The Ins And Outs Of Frankfurt Life,  I

Asked Him To Give Me Such Indications As He Could Of The Best Road To

Take Towards The Fulfilment Of My Designs. My Friend Entered Heartily

Into My Project,  And Wrote To Me That He Intended Himself To Spend Some

Time In Frankfurt Again In The Early Summer; And He Suggested That If I

Could Manage To Be There At The Same Time,  A Mutual Consideration Of The

Whole Matter On The Spot Would Be The Best Way Of Going To Work. In

Consequence Of This I At Once Firmly Decided To Leave My Situation In

The Following Spring,  And To Join My Friend At Frankfurt. But Where Was

I To Find The Money Necessary For Such A Journey? I Had Required The

Whole Of My Salary Up Till Now To Cover My Personal Expenses And The

Settlement Of Some Debts I Had Run Up At Bamberg.

 

In This Perplexity I Wrote Again To My Eldest Brother,  Who Had Up Till

Now Understood Me So Well,  And I Asked Him For Assistance. I Was At This

Time In A Peculiar Dilemma. On The One Hand,  I Felt Very Kei Did

Not Understand.  I Was Not A Friend Of Little Tommy.  I Was Not

Afraid Of The Port Fairy Tribe.  I Am Sometimes Friend With Jacky

Jacky's Tribe.  If I Met Him At Yass I Can't Say Whether I Should

Spear Him Or Not; They Would Kill Him At The Goulburn River If He

Went There.  Blackfellow Not Let Man Live Who Committed Murder."

 

Are The Aboriginals Amenable To British Law?  Question Argued By

Learned Counsel,  Messrs. Stawell And Barry.

 

His Honor The Resident Judge Said:  "The Aboriginals Are Amenable To

British Law,  And It Is A Mercy To Them To Be Under That Control,

Instead Of Being Left To Seek Vengeance In The Death Of Each Other;

It Is A Mercy To Them To Be Under The Protection Of British Law,

Instead Of Slaughtering Each Other."

 

Jacky Jacky Was Found Guilty Of "Aiding And Abetting."  The

Principals In The Murder Were Not Prosecuted,  Probably Could Not Be

Found.  Before Leaving The Court,  He Turned To The Judge And Said,

"You Hang Me This Time?"

 

He Only Knew Two Maxims Of British Law Applicable To His Race,  And

These He Had Learned By Experience.  One Maxim Was "Shoot 'Em" And

The Other Was "Hang Him."

 

There Is Abundant Evidence To Prove That An Aboriginal Legal Maxim

Was,  "The Stranger Is An Enemy,  Kill Him."  It Was For That Reason

Jacky Jacky Killed Little Tommy,  Who Was A Stranger,  Belonging To The

Hostile Port Fairy Tribe.

 

Joshua And Neddy Carried On The Boiling Down Business Successfully

For Some Time,  Regularly Shipping Tallow To Melbourne In Casks,  Until

Story 13 (Two Special Surveys.) Pg 186