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Brief Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
PART I 21st Century Human Resource Management Strategic Planning
and Legal Issues
Chapter 1. The New Human Resource Management Process
Chapter 2. Strategy-Driven Human Resource Management
Chapter 3. The Legal Environment and Diversity Management
PART II Staffing
Chapter 4. Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design
Chapter 5. Recruiting Job Candidates
Chapter 6. Selecting New Employees
PART III Developing and Managing
Chapter 7. Training, Learning, Talent Management, and Development
Chapter 8. Performance Management and Appraisal
Chapter 9. Employee Rights and Labor Relations
PART IV Compensating
Chapter 10. Compensation Management
Chapter 11. Employee Incentives and Benefits
PART V Protecting and Expanding Organizational Outreach
Chapter 12. Workplace Safety, Health, and Security
Chapter 13. Organizational Ethics, Sustainability, and Social
Responsibility
Chapter 14. Global Issues for Human Resource Managers
Appendix
Glossary
Notes
Index

8
9
10
Detailed Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
PART I 21st Century Human Resource Management Strategic Planning
and Legal Issues
Chapter 1. The New Human Resource Management Process
Why Study Human Resource Management (HRM)?
21st Century HRM
HRM Then and Now
HRM Challenges
Critical Dependent Variables
Technology and Knowledge
Labor Demographics
Disciplines Within HRM
The Legal Environment: EEO and Diversity Management
Staffing
Training and Development
Employee Relations
Labor and Industrial Relations
Compensation and Benefits
Safety and Security
Ethics and Sustainability
HRM Responsibilities
Line Versus Staff Management
Major HR Responsibilities of HR Staff and Line Management
HRM Skills
Technical Skills
Human Relations Skills
Conceptual and Design Skills
Business Skills
HRM Careers
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Other HR Organizations
Professional Liability
Practitioner’s Model for HRM
The Model
Trends and Issues in HRM
Creating an Engaged Workforce
Reverse Discrimination Rulings Continue to Evolve
Chapter Summary

11
 Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 1-1 Ba-Zynga! Zynga Faces Trouble in Farmville
Skill Builders
Chapter 2. Strategy-Driven Human Resource Management
Strategy and Strategic Planning in the 21st Century: The
Organization and the Environment
The External Environment
Strategy
What Is Strategy?
Visions, Missions, and Objectives
Types of Strategies
How Strategy Affects HRM
How HRM Promotes Strategy
Structure
Basics of Organizational Structure
How Does Structure Affect Employee Behavior?
How Does Structure Affect HRM?
Organizational Culture
What Is Organizational Culture?
How Culture Controls Employee Behavior in Organizations
Social Media and Culture Management
An Introduction to Data Analytics for HRM
A Brief on Data Analytics
HR Analytics
Desired Outcomes
Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
What Are HRIS?
How Do HRIS Assist in Making Decisions?
Measurement Tools for Strategic HRM
Economic Value Added (EVA)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Trends and Issues in HRM
Everything Old Is New Again: Managing Data for HRM
Decision Making
Continuing Globalization Increases the Need for Strategic and
HRM Planning
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 2-1 Strategy-Driven HR Management: Netflix, A Behind-The-
Scenes Look At Delivering Entertainment
Skill Builders

12
Chapter 3. The Legal Environment and Diversity Management
The Legal Environment for HRM: Protecting Your Organization
A User’s Guide to Managing People: The OUCH Test
Objective
Uniform in Application
Consistent in Effect
Has Job Relatedness
Major Employment Laws
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974
(VEVRAA)
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA)
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as Amended
in 2008
Civil Rights Act of 1991
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act of 1994 (USERRA)
Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 (VBIA)
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of
2008 (GINA)
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (LLFPA)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
What Does the EEOC Do?
Employee Rights Under the EEOC
Employer Rights and Prohibitions
EEO, Affirmative Action, and Diversity: What’s the Difference?
Affirmative Action (AA)
Diversity in the Workforce
Sexual Harassment: A Special Type of Discrimination
Types of Sexual Harassment
What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?
Reducing Organizational Risk From Sexual Harassment
Lawsuits
Religious Discrimination
Trends and Issues in HRM
Federal Agencies Are Becoming More Activist in Pursuing
Discrimination Claims
The ADA and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA)
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills

13
 Case 3-1 English-Only: One Hotel’s Dilemma
Skill Builders
PART II Staffing
Chapter 4. Matching Employees and Jobs: Job Analysis and Design
Employee and Job Matching
Workflow Analysis
Organizational Output
Tasks and Inputs
Job Analysis
Why Do We Need to Analyze Jobs?
Databases
Job Analysis Methods
Outcomes: Job Description and Job Specification
Job Design/Redesign
Organizational Structure and Job Design
Approaches to Job Design and Redesign
The Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
Designing Motivational Jobs
Job Simplification
Job Expansion
Job Design for Flexibility
HR Forecasting
Forecasting Methods
Reconciling Internal Labor Supply and Demand
Options for a Labor Surplus
Options for a Labor Shortage
Trends and Issues in HRM
O*Net as a Tool for Job Analysis
Workflows and Job Design for Sustainability
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 4-1 Gauging Employment at Honeywell
Skill Builders
Chapter 5. Recruiting Job Candidates
The Recruiting Process
External Forces Acting on Recruiting Efforts
Organizational Recruiting Considerations
What Policies to Set
When to Recruit
Alternatives to Recruitment
Reach of the Recruiting Effort
Social Media Recruiting

14
 Internal or External Recruiting?
Internal Recruiting
External Recruiting
Challenges and Constraints in Recruiting
Budgetary Constraints
Policy Constraints and Organizational Image
Job Characteristics and the Realistic Job Preview (RJP)
The Recruiter–Candidate Interaction
Evaluation of Recruiting Programs
Yield Ratio
Cost per Hire
Time Required to Hire
New Hire Turnover
New Hire Performance
Trends and Issues in HRM
Talent Wars
Global Knowledge Workers as an On-Demand Workforce
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 5-1 LINKEDIN: How Does the World’s Largest Professional
Network Network?
Skill Builders
Chapter 6. Selecting New Employees
The Selection Process
The Importance of the Selection Process
Steps in the Selection Process
Looking for “Fit”
Personality-Job Fit
Ability-Job Fit
Person-Organization Fit
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
What Qualifies as an Employment Test?
Valid and Reliable Measures
Applications and Preliminary Screening
Applications and Résumés
Pre-employment Inquiries
Testing and Legal Issues
The EEOC and Employment Testing
Polygraph and Genetic Testing
Written Testing
Physical Testing
Selection Interviews

15
 Interviewing
Types of Interviews and Questions
Preparing for and Conducting the Interview
Background Checks
Credit Checks
Criminal Background Checks
Reference Checks
Web Searches
Selecting the Candidate and Offering the Job
Hiring
Trends and Issues in HRM
Selection With a Global Workforce
HRIS and the Selection Process
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 6-1 Not Getting Face Time at Facebook—and Getting the Last
Laugh!
Skill Builders
PART III Developing and Managing
Chapter 7. Training, Learning, Talent Management, and Development
The Need for Training and Development
Training and Development
When Is Training Needed?
The Training Process and Needs Assessment
Steps in the Training Process
Needs Assessment
Employee Readiness
Learning and Shaping Behavior
Learning
Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement
Shaping Behavior
Design and Delivery of Training
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
Classroom Training
Distance or E-Learning
Assessing Training
Assessment Methods
Choosing Assessment Methods
Talent Management and Development
Careers
Common Methods of Employee Development
A Model of Career Development Consequences

16
 Trends and Issues in HRM
The Gamification of Training and Development
Outsourcing Employee Training and Development
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 7-1 Google Search: Building the Program that Writes the Code
to Find Female Talent
Skill Builders
Chapter 8. Performance Management and Appraisal
Performance Management Systems
Performance Management Versus Performance Appraisal
The Performance Appraisal Process
Accurate Performance Measures
Why Do We Conduct Performance Appraisals?
Communication (Informing)
Decision Making (Evaluating)
Motivation (Engaging)
What Do We Assess?
Trait Appraisals
Behavioral Appraisals
Results Appraisals
How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?
Critical Incidents Method
Management by Objectives (MBO) Method
Narrative Method or Form
Graphic Rating Scale Form
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) Form
Ranking Method
Which Option Is Best?
Who Should Assess Performance?
Supervisor
Peers
Subordinates
Self
Customers
360-Degree Evaluations
Performance Appraisal Problems
Common Problems Within the Performance Appraisal Process
Avoiding Performance Appraisal Process Problems
Debriefing the Appraisal
The Evaluative Performance Appraisal Interview
The Developmental Performance Appraisal Interview

17
 Trends and Issues in HRM
Is It Time to Do Continuous Appraisals?
Competency-Based Performance Management
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 8-1 Amazon.com: Selling Employee Performance With
Organization and Leadership Review
Skill Builders
Chapter 9. Employee Rights and Labor Relations
Managing and Leading Your Workforce
Trust and Communication
Job Satisfaction
Measuring Job Satisfaction
Determinants of Job Satisfaction
Commonly Accepted Employee Rights
Right of Free Consent
Right to Due Process
Right to Life and Safety
Right of Freedom of Conscience (Limited)
Right to Privacy (Limited)
Right to Free Speech (Limited)
Management Rights
Codes of Conduct
Employment-at-Will
Coaching, Counseling, and Discipline
Coaching
Counseling
Disciplining
Legal Issues in Labor Relations
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 (Wagner
Act)
The Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) of 1947 (Taft-
Hartley Act)
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of
1988 (WARN Act)
Unions and Labor Rights
Union Organizing
Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining
Grievances
Decertification Elections
Trends and Issues in HRM

18
 Facebook, Twitter, etc. @ Work: Are They Out of Control?
Nonunion Worker Protection and the NLRB
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 9-1 Off-Duty Misconduct
Skill Builders
PART IV Compensating
Chapter 10. Compensation Management
Compensation Management
The Compensation System
Motivation and Compensation Planning
Organizational Philosophy
Ability to Pay
What Types of Compensation?
Pay for Performance or Pay for Longevity?
Skill-Based or Competency-Based Pay?
At, Above, or Below the Market?
Wage Compression
Pay Secrecy
Legal and Fairness Issues in Compensation
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (Amended)
Pay Equity and Comparable Worth
Other Legal Issues
Job Evaluation
External Method
Job Ranking Method
Point-Factor Method
Factor Comparison Method
Developing a Pay System
Job Structure and Pay Levels
Pay Structure
Trends and Issues in HRM
A Shift From Base Pay to Variable Pay
The Technology of Compensation
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 10-1 Employee Red-Lining at CVS: The Have and the Have
Not
Skill Builders
Chapter 11. Employee Incentives and Benefits
The Value of Incentives and Benefits

19
 Individual Incentives
Advantages and Disadvantages of Individual Incentives
Individual Incentive Options
Group Incentives
Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Incentives
Group Incentive Options
Executive Compensation
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act of 2010
Executive Incentives
Statutory Benefits
Social Security and Medicare
Workers’ Compensation
Unemployment Insurance
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
(ACA)
Statutory Requirements When Providing Certain Voluntary Benefits
Voluntary Benefits
Paid Time Off
Group Health Insurance
Retirement Benefits
Other Employee Benefits
Flexible Benefit (Cafeteria) Plans
Trends and Issues in HRM
Incentives to Act Unethically?
Personalization of Health Care
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 11-1 Google Searches SAS for the Business Solution to How
to Create an Award-Winning Culture
Skill Builders
PART V Protecting and Expanding Organizational Outreach
Chapter 12. Workplace Safety, Health, and Security
Workplace Safety and OSHA
The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
What Does OSHA Do?
Employer and Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under
OSA
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Employee Health

20
 Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Employee
Wellness Programs (EWPs)
Ergonomics and Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)
Safety and Health Management and Training
Stress
Functional and Dysfunctional Stress
Stress Management
The Stress Tug-of-War
Workplace Security
Cyber Security
General Security Policies, Including Business Continuity and
Recovery
Workplace Violence
Social Media for Workplace Safety and Security
Employee Selection and Screening
Trends and Issues in HRM
Employee Wellness
Bullying in the Workplace
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 12-1 Nike: Taking a Run at Fixing Outsourced Worker Safety
Skill Builders
Chapter 13. Organizational Ethics, Sustainability, and Social
Responsibility
Ethical Organizations
Ethics Defined
Contributing Factors to Unethical Behavior
Ethical Approaches
Codes of Ethics
Creating and Maintaining Ethical Organizations
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR Defined
Stakeholders and CSR
Levels of Corporate Social Responsibility
Sustainability
HR and Organizational Sustainability
Sustainability Training
The Sustainable 21st Century Organization
Trends and Issues in HRM
Sustainability-Based Benefits
Does Diversity Training Work?
Chapter Summary

21
 Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 13-1 Microsoft, Nokia, and the Finnish Government: A
Promise Made, A Promise Broken?
Skill Builders
Chapter 14. Global Issues for Human Resource Managers
Globalization of Business and HRM
Reasons for Business Globalization
Is HRM Different in Global Firms?
Legal, Ethical, and Cultural Issues
International Labor Laws
US Law
National Culture
Global Staffing
Skills and Traits for Global Managers
Staffing Choice: Home-, Host-, or Third-Country Employees
Outsourcing as an Alternative to International Expansion
Developing and Managing Global Human Resources
Recruiting and Selection
Expatriate Training and Preparation
Repatriation After Foreign Assignments
Compensating Your Global Workforce
Pay
Incentives in Global Firms
Benefit Programs Around the World
Trends and Issues in HRM
Globalization of Business Is a Trend!
The Worldwide Labor Environment
Chapter Summary
Key Terms Review
Communication Skills
Case 14-1 IBM (I’ve Been Moved) at HSBC: Keeping
Compensation Competitive With ECA International
Skill Builders
Appendix
Glossary
Notes
Index

22
23
Preface

In his book Power Tools, John Nirenberg asks, “Why are so many well-intended
students learning so much and yet able to apply so little in their personal and
professional lives?” The world of business and human resource management
(HRM) has changed, and so should how it is taught. Increasing numbers of students
want more than lectures to gain an understanding of the concepts of HRM. They
want their courses to be relevant and to apply what they learn, and they want to
develop skills they can use in their everyday life and at work. It’s not enough to
learn about HRM; they want to learn how to be HR managers. This is why we
wrote the book. After reviewing and using a variety of HRM books for more than a
decade, we didn’t find any that (1) could be easily read and understood by students
and (2) effectively taught students how to be HR managers. We wrote this text out
of our desire to prepare students to be successful HR managers and/or to use HRM
skills as line managers or employees. As the subtitle states, this book not only
presents the important HRM concepts and functions, but also takes students to the
next level by actually engaging them by teaching them to apply the concepts through
critical thinking and to develop HRM skills they can use in their personal and
professional lives.

24
Market and Course
This book is for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in human resource
management (HRM) including personnel management. It is appropriate for a first
course in an HRM major, as well as required and elective courses found in
business schools. This textbook is also appropriate for HRM courses taught in
other disciplines such as education and psychology, particularly Industrial
Psychology and Organizational Psychology, and can be utilized for training courses
in Supervision. The level of the text assumes no prior background in business or
HRM. This book is an excellent choice for online and hybrid courses in HRM.

25
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 A Parody on Constance's Song in Marmion.

Where shall the student rest

Whom the fates destine
Old law-books to digest,
That baffle all digesting?
Where through tomes deep and dry
Spreads the black letter,
Where endless pages lie
Genius to fetter.
Eleu loro,
Eleu loro,
Toil "sans remitter."
There, while the sun shines bright,
In law-fogs he's buried;
There too by candle light,
On law points he's worried:
There must he sit and read,
Puzzled forever—
When shall his mind be freed?
Never-more, never.

Where shall the lawyer rest?

He the hors-pleader?
With brass and blunders drest—
His client's misleader:
In the lost lawsuit,
Borne down by demurrer,
Or forced to withdraw suit,
Or quaking with terror.
Eleu loro,
Eleu loro,
Fearing writ of error.
His sham-pleas the court shall chide,
 Disgusted to see them;
His warm blush the crowd deride
Ere he can flee them;
Blund'ring from bad to worse,
Disgraced forever—
Clients shall fill his purse,
Never! oh, never!

For the Southern Literary Messenger.

THE AGE OF REPTILES.

Poets affect, that when the Earth was young

All Nature's works were beautiful and bright,
That Planets in their spheres harmonious sung
Like Seraphs—joining in celestial flight;
That flowers bloomed in one eternal spring,
Scenting with luscious sweets the ambient air,
That life was luxury, and pain a thing
Not meant for man, but spirits of despair.

Lady! it was not so—the world was rude—

Behold the proof in Mantell's strange narration:1
Its form, and elements, and fabric crude,
And REPTILES were the "Lords of the Creation:"
O! ingrate man! bethink thee of thy fate,
Had thy Creator called thee then to being
And left thee to the chances of a fate
Beyond all bearing—hearing—feeling—seeing!
 Then lumbered o'er the rugged Earth strange forms,
Misshapen—huge—gigantic—living wonders—
Howling fit chorus to discordant storms,
That, like a thousand Ætnas, crashed in thunders.
Cleaving the dismal sky, with rushing sound
Appalling monsters hurl their cumbrous length,
And through the murky sea, in depths profound,
Gambolled Leviathans in mighty strength.

What thinks Philoclea of the pristine Earth?

Believ'st thou Nature smiled at such beginning?
If those huge occupants inclined to mirth,
Their's was an age of awful ugly grinning!
The seaman's figure of a seventy-four
Showing her teeth—her guns in triple tiers—
Were no hyperbole in days of yore,
Howe'er extravagant it now appears.
1 See the Edinburg Philosophical Journal and the 21st No. of Silliman's Journal, for
some account of the Geological Age of Reptiles, by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F.R.S. &c. &c.

For the Southern Literary Messenger.

ANSWER

To Willis's "They may talk of your Love in a Cottage."

You may talk of your sly flirtation

By the light of a chandelier;
With music to play in the pauses,
And nobody over near:
Or boast of your seat on the sofa,
With a glass of especial wine,
And Mamma too blind to discover
The small white hand in thine.

Give me the green turf and the river—

The soul-shine of love-lit eyes—
A breeze and the aspen leaf's quiver,
A sunset and GEORGIAN skies!
Or give me the moon for an astral,
The stars for a chandelier,
And a maiden to warble a past'ral,
With a musical voice in my ear.

Your vision with wine being doubled,

You take twice the liberties due,
And early next morning are troubled
With "Parson or pistols for two!"
Unfit for this world or another,
You're forced to be married or killed—
The lady you choose—or her brother—
And a grave—or a paragraph's filled.

True Love is at home among flowers,

And if he would dine at his ease,
A capon's as good in his bowers
As in rooms heated ninety degrees:
On sighs intermingled he hovers,
He foots it as light as he flies,
His arrows, the glances of lovers,
Are shot to the heart from the eyes!
 For the Southern Literary Messenger.

EPIGRAM.

Said a Judge to a culprit he'd known in his youth,

"Well Sandy! What's come of the rest of the fry?"
"Please your worship," said Sandy, "to tell you the truth,
They're every one hanged but your Honor and I."

For the Southern Literary Messenger.

VISIT TO THE VIRGINIA SPRINGS,

During the Summer of 1834.

NO. III.

Whilst at the Salt Sulphur, I found it necessary, for a time, to

exchange that for a water of a somewhat different character; and as
the Blue Sulphur had begun to attract considerable attention, I
determined to resort thither. Accordingly, I took the stage for
Lewisburg, twenty-five miles distant from the Salt Sulphur, and
within thirteen miles of the Blue. We travelled over the White
Sulphur road as far as the splendid Greenbrier bridge on this
turnpike, where we were landed at a hotel, to await the arrival of
the Fincastle stage, to carry us on to Lewisburg. It was already dark
before the stage came up, and although but three miles of our road
lay before us, yet the whole distance was ascending, so that we
could not travel out of the slowest walk. We however reached
Lewisburg in time to discuss the merits of an excellent supper, and
get into comfortable lodgings by a very reasonable bed time.

I was detained at this place for want of a conveyance to the Blue

Sulphur, there being as yet no regular stage. The time, however,
passed off pleasantly. Lewisburg contains about seven or eight
hundred inhabitants; its situation is elevated—the scenery around
quite picturesque; and, if the improvements progress as they have
done for the past few years, it will soon become a very pretty
village. This place is much frequented, during the spring season, by
visiters at the White Sulphur—the distance being only nine miles,
over a smooth, and for the most part, beautiful road.

After two days, I succeeded in obtaining a horse, and on the

following morning set off, in company with a gentleman of the
neighborhood, on the remaining thirteen miles to the Blue Sulphur.
The way usually travelled by carriages is circuitous; consequently,
we struck across through the country, on the most direct route to
the Springs. Our road was exceedingly rough and hilly, without
anything peculiarly interesting. Indeed, we were so completely
imbosomed among the hills and forests, that nothing could be seen
except the long ridge of the Muddy Creek Mountain, which lay
before us. Before reaching the base, the road had dwindled into a
blind bridle path, winding amongst the spurs of the mountain; and
on ascending, it became so precipitious, and so covered with loose
and rolling stones, as to render it almost impassable. We at length
succeeded in reaching the summit—not however without having
been obliged to dismount occasionally, and allow our horses to
clamber after us over the worst parts of the way. We then travelled
for two miles along the top of the mountain, over a level and
beautiful road; after which we descended by a rough and rocky
path, similar to that on the opposite side. A few miles more, over a
fertile and cultivated country, brought us into the vicinity of the Blue
Sulphur, or in the language of the country, to the Muddy Creek
settlement.

As the accommodations at the Spring were already occupied, we

rode up to an old fashioned log house, with a long piazza in front,
surrounded by lombardy poplars and apple trees, and screened from
the road by an intervening hill, and obtained accommodations with
its kind and pleasant occupants. No part of my time among the
mountains, was attended with more peculiar or deeper interest than
that passed in the Muddy Creek settlement. Every thing about this
region is calculated to bring one back to the early days of our
country. The habits and customs are all after the unpretending
fashion of the pioneers; and human character is here seen in its
native simplicity. Refinement, with its luxuries and follies, has not yet
penetrated this secluded region, to corrupt the plain and simple
customs of its generous, open-hearted and upright yeomanry. Here
too, as a friend remarked, we realize, to some extent, the amazing
and almost startling rapidity with which our nation has sprung into
existence. But a few years ago this was the undisputed home of the
Indian. This identical house was once the last house on the frontier
of civilized America; and one of the family now alive, was among the
little band who first ventured across the Alleghany mountains, and
carried the sounds of civilized life into these desolate wilds. Hers was
the last family on the western frontier. Not a civilized being stood on
the wide waste of wilderness which stretched far away to the shores
of the Pacific. But, with unexampled rapidity, civilization has
transformed the whole face of the country; and this old lady, who
thought she "had gotten to the end of the world when she got to
Greenbrier," has, within her own recollection, seen a nation springing
up west of her, already putting on the vigor and energy of mature
years, and outstripping the nations of the eastern world.

This interesting old lady, is indeed a complete "chronicler of the

olden time." Her attire is in perfect keeping with her character. She
still preserves the simple style of the by-gone century, uncorrupted
by the supposed improvement of a later generation. The close cut
cap, scarcely concealing the silvered locks of age—the muslin
handkerchief, drawn neatly over the shoulders, covering a part of
the plain tight sleeves, and confined under the girdle of a long-
waisted tea-colored gown, were admirably suited to the bending, yet
dignified and venerable figure which they adorned. Then to sit
during the pensive hours of evening in the old piazza, overlooking
the garden a few feet before us, which was the site of one of the
earliest forts, the fields and the peaks, the scenes of frightful Indian
massacres, and listen to her narratives of the perils and trials of the
pioneers of Greenbrier, is a treat which a few years will probably put
it out of the power of any to enjoy. Her graphic delineations of the
horrors of a frontier life, sometimes excited our imagination to such
a pitch, as to render it difficult to compose the body to repose at the
accustomed time of retirement, or to restrain the mind from frightful
dreams during the sleeping hours. The whole Muddy Creek
settlement abounds with Indian tales. Every mountain, knob and
hollow, is notorious as having been the scene of some bloody deed
or memorable exploit of the red men of the forest, as they made the
last struggle, before giving way to the invaders, and leaving forever
their native wilds.

But our present destination is the Blue Sulphur. The distance thither
from our house is rather more than a mile. The intermediate region
is level low ground, bounded on each side, at some distance, by a
ridge of mountain. These two ridges gradually converge, until they
pass the Spring about one hundred yards, where a third ridge brings
a sweep immediately across the line of their direction, and closes
that end of the valley. The space about the Spring is a perfect level,
amply extensive, and admirably adapted for improvements on a
large and handsome scale.

The Blue Sulphur, like many of the valuable mineral springs of this
state, has heretofore been known only as a place of neighborhood
resort. A few diminutive log cabins had been erected by the farmers
of the adjacent country, who, after the labors of harvest, were
accustomed to bring their families, with a wagon load of goods and
chattels, and take up their residence here during one or two of the
summer months. The virtues of the Muddy Creek Springs have long
been known and esteemed by these visiters. A year or two since the
property was purchased by a company, who are now providing
extensive and most inviting accommodations. I do not know that I
can be charged with disloyalty to my native state, in rejoicing that
these Springs have partly fallen into the hands of northern men. Our
own citizens have generally shown such an astonishing want of
energy in carrying on these valuable watering places, that we
believe it to be better that one of them has come into the possession
of those, who are willing, at any expense, to do it and the public
justice; and who, in proportion to the time they have owned the
property, have shown a spirit of improvement greatly surpassing that
of the proprietors of most of the other Springs. One of the first
changes under the auspices of the new administration, was the
substitution of the title of Blue Sulphur for the more ignoble
appellation of Muddy Creek Springs.

The company, immediately after the purchase of the property,

commenced their improvements, and at the period of our visit, were
prosecuting them with a spirit worthy of admiration. These
improvements consist of a long and imposing brick hotel, three
stories in height, at the upper extremity of the valley, and facing the
entrance to the Springs. This is flanked on each side by a row of
brick cottages, which at their outward extremities, unite with similar
ranges, running parallel with the bases of the mountains and each
other, until they nearly reach the Spring, forming together three
sides of a hollow square. The intermediate lawn, can by a little
cultivation and exercise of taste, be rendered very beautiful. A
temple, surpassing in appearance that of any of the other watering
places, is to be erected over the Spring, and the reservoir, &c. to be
fitted up in corresponding style. The Spring is large, discharging a
quantity of water nearly equal to the White Sulphur. The sediment
from which the establishment has derived its modern name, is of a
blue or rich dark purple color.

At the time I visited the Blue Sulphur, some of the new buildings
were partly finished, and a tavern keeper from the neighborhood
had opened a boarding house on the ground; and although the
accommodations were quite rough, there were at one time as many
as seventy-five visiters. Most of these were citizens of Charlestown,
who had fled from the cholera, which was then raging on the
Kanawha.

The mountains in this vicinity abound with game, and accordingly,

hunting is the favorite amusement of the visiters. Almost every
morning a company started, with hounds and horns, on a "deer
drive," and they seldom returned without bringing with them one of
these noble animals. On one morning, a fine buck was driven down,
and shot within a few feet of the Spring. Others of the visiters make
excursions through the mountains, to enjoy the attractions which
have been lavished with such profusion on this section of country.
Perhaps one of the most pleasant of these, is a ride of some ten or
fifteen miles to a spring which has lately come to light, and which for
a sulphur spring is rather sui generis. It was discovered by an old
farmer, who was engaged in boring for salt water. When he had sunk
his shaft to the depth of some fifty feet, the water bursted up, and
rushed from the opening of the well. But instead of salt, it was
sulphur water; and it has continued to run with unabated freedom to
the present time. Little is as yet known of its peculiar properties. It
deposits a white sediment. The proprietor, I understand, will neither
make improvements himself, nor allow others to do so. Perhaps,
however, we can dispense with his spring. There are enough already
improved, among these mountains, to meet the case of almost any
invalid. Among these, the Blue Sulphur is by no means the least
worthy of notice; and we must not therefore leave it, before we have
said something of its medicinal qualities.
Those who know most of the Blue Sulphur, say that it combines the
valuable properties of the White and Red Sulphur. This is probably
true to some extent. The Blue Sulphur operates upon the liver with
great energy, and at the same time acts as a tonic. These are,
respectively, qualities of the White and Red Sulphur. The White
Sulphur, although it scarcely ever fails to rectify derangements of the
liver, depletes, and generally to some extent, produces debility. The
latter effect, we believe, is never produced by the Blue Sulphur,
owing probably to its tonic properties. We do not know, however,
how far either has claim to preference. As to the similarity between
this Spring and the Red Sulphur, we suppose it ascertained that
wherever there is a derangement of the sanguiferous system, except
where the lungs are affected, the action of the Blue Sulphur is
equally, if not more salutary, than that of the Red. This water is,
however, very exciting; perhaps even more so than the White
Sulphur, and should consequently, like that Spring, be avoided by
pulmonary invalids. There is also an approximation in the action of
the Blue and Salt Sulphur waters. Both of these Springs are
efficacious in affections of the stomach. Where the invalid retains a
considerable degree of vigor, or where the system is irritable, the
Salt Sulphur would be decidedly preferable, as that water occasions
very little of the unpleasant, and in such cases, perhaps injurious
excitement caused by the Blue Sulphur water. Where dyspepsy has
advanced so far as to occasion extreme debility, probably the Blue
Sulphur should be resorted to, at least for a while, as that water
would sustain and strengthen the system, at the same time that it
removed the disease. These remarks are the result of the
observation of the practical effects of these waters, and of the
experience of others, without pretension to professional skill. We
believe, however, that they will be found strictly correct.

The similarity between these Springs to which we have alluded,

need not be injurious to either, whilst the probabilities in favor of the
restoration of an individual who comes to these mountains for
health, is increased by this circumstance. It is the opinion of those
who have been most at these watering places, that after two weeks
constant use of any water, it begins to lose its power on the system.1
If the use is discontinued for a few days, or if you resort to another
Spring for a short time, a return to the original Spring is attended
with the same effects as when first resorted to. A variety of waters,
therefore, even when their qualities are to some extent similar, is a
decided advantage. The invalid who has gotten his system charged
at one Spring, can resort to another of a sufficiently different
character to secure the object of a change, and yet resembling the
original water sufficiently to suit the necessities of his case. A
turnpike will soon be completed from Lewisburg to the Blue Sulphur,
and again connecting with the Kanawha turnpike, west of the
Springs, which will render this place easily accessible.
1 Perhaps the Red Sulphur is an exception.

After a sojourn of a week, I again turned my face towards the Salt

Sulphur. I had as a companion an intelligent gentleman, extensively
acquainted with the country; and in accordance with his proposition,
we determined to reach that place by a route somewhat different,
and offering more natural attractions than that by which I had come
over. In the course of the evening, we passed through some of the
finest farms in Western Virginia. I do not believe that the prairies of
the "far West" can exhibit more luxuriant fields of corn than some of
those in this section of Greenbrier. We passed the Muddy Creek
Mountain at a gap, and our way, although little more than an
indistinct bridle path, was more pleasant than that by which I had
before crossed. The view from the highest point on this gap, almost
defies description.

From the section of country which we had left behind us, rose
Keeny's Nob, a huge peak upon which the Indians used to light
signal fires, and which derived its name from some romantic
circumstance—rearing its summit far above the adjacent mountains,
and spreading out its swelling sides and the projections of its base
over the neighboring country; from this, and continuing round to the
right, before us, were alternate ridges and vallies, covered with
dense forest, as yet apparently untouched by the woodman's axe,
and only broken by the Greenbrier river, whose high and bleak naked
cliffs could be seen at the distance of some miles. Beyond, was
Peter's Mountain, coming down from the west, and running off to
the east, in a straight unbroken line. Immediately before us, were
the variegated fields of a few rich grazing farms. Farther on, the
mountain upon which Lewisburg is situated, excluding the White
Sulphur from the view; and in the distance, the "back bone" of the
Alleghany, which you cross five miles beyond the White Sulphur on
the turnpike, whose line could be occasionally discerned as it wound
among the spurs of the mountain. To the left lay some cultivated
country, terminated by ridges upon ridges of mountains. The sun
was in the last hour of his daily course, and with his evening rays
illumined the hills, giving the varied hues, from the brightest to the
deepest green, to the waste of "silent wilderness" which stretched
far away to that quarter of the horizon. We were soon, however,
obliged to relinquish this scene, combining so much of the grand,
beautiful and sublime, and hasten down the mountain, in order to
get as far as possible through the worst of the hills and hollows
before night should overtake us.

I took the stage at Lewisburg next morning, and by noon arrived at

the Salt Sulphur, which was now thronged, and exhibiting all the life,
and bustle, and fashion, which crowds of the gay and wealthy bring
with them. Every garret and domicil about the establishment,
capable of being slept in, had been called into requisition the night
before. We heard, before reaching the Springs, that the proprietors,
on the previous evening, had sent on to stop visiters bound thither,
in Union, until quarters should be vacated at the Salt Sulphur. All the
crowding, however, could not interfere with the perfect system of
this establishment. Every thing went on with as much regularity, and
in the same comfortable style, as when there were but fifty visiters.
After spending a few days very pleasantly at this place, I secured a
seat in Shank's fine line of coaches for the Sweet Springs, about
twenty-two miles southeast of the Salt Sulphur.
The road was generally good, and the country more beautiful and
picturesque, but less romantic, than any we had seen in this section
of country. Our driver was quite a rapid traveller, and by the aid of
fine teams, he carried us over the ground at very good speed, and
before dinner, had landed us in front of the old white tavern at the
Sweet Springs.

The crowd here surpassed, if possible, that at the Salt Sulphur. On

our arrival, it seemed exceedingly doubtful whether we could remain
on the premises at all. Every room on the ground was full. Many of
the visiters lodged on the bar-room tables, and on the benches of an
old court-house, at present the Spring's church. By dint of
perseverance, and the aid of friends, I at length succeeded in
getting a cot squeezed between two of five or six others, in an old
log school-house on the outskirts of the premises. The
accommodations at the Sweet Springs are generally very good; the
fare excellent. The crowd was at this time so great, as to render it
impossible that every one should be comfortable. The usual dining-
room was nothing like large enough for the company. Two long
additional tables were set in the bar-room.

The "Sweet Springs" are considered by some equal in beauty to the

White Sulphur. Nature has perhaps done as much here as at any
watering place among the mountains; but I do not think the
improvements or the arrangement of the buildings at all equal to
those at the White Sulphur. The extensive undulating lawn, and
grove of noble oaks—the cottages on the open green, or peering
from amidst the trees, do indeed present a beautiful scene. But the
latter are scattered in rows or groups over the ground without any
regular order, and the lawn has never undergone any of the
operations of art. The Spring rises under the piazza of a low and
long house, at the foot of the hillock on which the tavern stands,
and in a hollow formed by this, with the small hill on which the
cabins are principally built. The reservoir is a circle of about five feet
diameter, surrounded by a railing two or three feet high. Great
quantities of carbonic acid gas are constantly emitted, which comes
bubbling up through the water, giving it somewhat the appearance
of boiling.

The "Sweet Springs" derived its name from the taste of the water. I
thought it, however, a complete misnomer. The taste of the water is
very singular, and at first rather unpleasant—but containing,
according to our perception, very little sweetness. The house
adjoining the Spring contains the baths; the finest cold medicinal
baths, probably, in the country. The water rises from a gravelled
bottom, over perhaps the whole extent of the baths, which are very
spacious.

The Sweet Spring water is a powerful tonic; and after the system
has been thoroughly cleansed at the other Springs, this is an
admirable place for recruiting flesh and strength before leaving the
mountains. The same precaution given to pulmonary invalids, is
even more necessary here than at the White and Blue Sulphur. The
water is highly exciting, and consequently very injurious to such
persons.

As soon as possible after arriving here, I obtained a seat in the stage

for Fincastle—and on a fine morning in the latter part of August,
rendered more balmy and delightful by the mountain breezes, we
set off, in company with two other coaches, for the Valley. The press
of passengers in that direction was so great, that notwithstanding
the two extras, our coach carried, including all sizes, fourteen
besides the driver. We commenced ascending the Sweet Spring
Mountain, soon after setting out, and enjoyed the beautiful view of
the Valley of the Springs and the surrounding country, which is
afforded from its summit. Two other mountains still lay in our way.
The second of the three if called the "Seven Mile Mountain," that
being the distance passed in crossing it. On reaching its base, we
chartered two additional horses, and drove "coach and six" to the
top, where we left them, and with the other coaches went rattling
and thundering down the mountain. We soon after passed the last of
this formidable trio, and after a pleasant drive through the
flourishing county of Botetourt, reached Fincastle. At this place we
intersected the "Valley Line," which carried us over the great Natural
Bridge and down the Valley of Virginia.

The writer did not visit the Warm and Hot Springs, and consequently
does not notice them.
Remark the use which Shakspeare always makes of his bold villains,
as vehicles for expressing opinions and conjectures of a nature too
hazardous for a wise man to put forth directly as his own, or from
any sustained character.—Coleridge's Table Talk.

For the Southern Literary Messenger.

Extracts from the Auto-biography of Pertinax Placid.

MY FIRST NIGHT IN A WATCHHOUSE.

CHAP. I.

The title of this narrative intimates to the reader by a natural

inference, that its writer has spent more nights than one in that
abode of the unruly—a watchhouse. I will be candid, and admit the
fact, that twice during a pretty long and not unadventurous life, it
has been my lot to enjoy the security afforded by that refuge of the
vagrant. Twice only—I confess to no more. The first of these
dilemmas I am about to speak of now—the second may form a
subject of future narration.

There are few of my readers who have not heard of the city of
Montreal, in the Province of Lower Canada, and fewer still who know
much of its peculiarities, social, political or architectural, on which it
is my design hereafter, supposing that I can keep on good terms
with Mr. White, to enlighten them—but not at present. Well, it was
my happiness, at an early period of my life, to reside in the good city
of Montreal. What carried me there, is my own affair, and I shall
merely say that I was neither a trader who cheated the poor Indians
out of their pelteries, a smuggler of teas and silks across the frontier,
a tin pedlar, nor a bank-note counterfeiter, all of which classes often
find it convenient to take up a temporary residence in Canada. I was
a wild ungovernable lad, with no parent or guardian to direct me,
left entirely to my own impulses, and unfortunately enjoying the
pecuniary means of assisting those impulses to bring me into all
manner of scrapes, from which it required much ingenuity to
extricate myself.

The long winters in Canada may convey to a southern reader an

idea of dreariness and discomfort, locked up as the people are in
enduring frosts—buried for months in continual snows—with one
unvaried monotony of dazzling white pervading the face of nature—
the streams fast sealed with "thick ribbed ice"—and a thermometer
at from twenty to thirty degrees below zero for weeks together. In
short, a southern fancy paints Old Winter, ruling with despotic sway,
unrestrained by the checks and balances which limit his authority in
our more moderate climate—usurping a portion of the nominal
domains of autumn and spring—and inflicting through his prime
minister, Jack Frost, the most rigorous exactions of a government of
force, on the unresisting people—penetrating into their dwellings at
all hours, interfering even in the mode of their dress, attending all
their movements in town or in country, and invariably assailing the
lonely traveller on the extended prairie or in the dreary forest. Such
is undoubtedly the picture which a southern imagination draws of a
Canadian winter. But social life can modify the worst extremes of
nature's inclemency, and find in the very evils of our condition
sources of delight and enjoyment. So far from suffering during the
winters I spent in Canada, I recall those joyous periods, when I was
engaged in the constant pursuit of gaiety and pleasure, and when
care had no control over my spirits as the brightest spots on the far
off waste of memory.

How different were those winters from the fickle, capricious season
through which we have just passed. Poets and tourists have
celebrated the beauty of Italian skies. I have never seen them—but I
can fancy nothing brighter than the heavens in Canada, on a clear
frosty night, when every breath of vapor is absorbed and rarefied by
the intensity of the cold. Never have I realized in other countries the
complete distinctness with which each star comes forth in the azure
vault—the palpable suspension of each body of light in the field of
air. In other skies the stars and planets seem delineated on a ground
of blue. In a Canadian winter night you realize that each orb is in
suspension, moving and twinkling through the surrounding ether.
This is difficult to describe, and some who have not seen and felt the
glories of the northern heavens as I have—aye, felt them in a double
sense, gazing upon them until my soul was wrapt into sublime
ecstasy, and my upturned nose frost bitten into the bargain—may
think that I am talking nonsense.

But the social delights of a Canadian winter are more to my purpose,

in disabusing the fancy of those who shiver when they think of these
hyperborean regions. Such tremors may be justified when we fancy
a winter tramp across the steppe of Russia, or a visit to a Koureen of
Zapojoreskies. But Canada—dear, delightful Canada! The gaieties of
thy long winters—the dancing—the driving—the dining—the flirtation
—the lovemaking, with which thy frosty months abound, might keep
warm the heart of a dweller underneath the tropics.

It was during the winter of 18—, that after a long cessation of

theatrical representations in Montreal, a new theatre, which had
recently been built, was opened under the management of Mr. T——,
with a company principally picked up from the northern theatres of
the United States. Since the performances of Prigmore's old
company, previous to the declaration of war, in which, I believe,
George Barrett, since a favorite in high comedy, was the Roscius,
playing Romeo, Hamlet, &c. and in which Fennel played as a star,
there had been no regular theatrical establishment in Montreal—
although the officers of the garrison gave occasional dramatic
exhibitions, and the young citizens sometimes enacted a play or two
during a season. A regular theatre was a new thing, and excited
much attention. The manager was perhaps the finest specimen of
self-conceit that the world ever saw.1 He was a short stumpy kind of
man, with a face of most fixed character, which delineated all the
passions with the self-same expression. His smooth pert visage, lit
up by two bead-like black eyes, seemed so entirely contented with
its natural expression, as to render it unnecessary to assume any
other. His voice, shrill and guttural, emulated his face in its
uniformity. He had a game leg, about three inches shorter than its
brother, which gave him a halt of so decided a character as not to be
disguised. Yet he believed himself to be a most distinguished actor,
and fully competent to the representation of Richard III, (for which
his lameness was often quoted by him as a natural advantage) and
even the more youthful and well favored heroes of Shakspeare. The
vanity of this man might have been harmless, had he not been the
manager. But in that capacity it interfered most wofully with the well
ordering of affairs. The company was by no means strong. A Mr.
Baker played the high tragedy badly enough. Mc—— and Richards
shared the next grade, the former doing the seconds in tragedy and
the ruffians in melo-drama. Of this man I must say something, as he
is connected with my narrative. For some misconduct, the nature of
which I know not, he had been driven from the stage in England
several years before, and enlisted as a foot soldier in the 40th
regiment. As such, he served in Upper Canada during the war with
this country; and when he obtained his discharge in Montreal, the
theatre being about to open, he was engaged to personate the
Cassios, the Horatios, the Baron Steinforts, &c. If his temper was
ever amiable, it had gained nothing by his military service. He was
morose and troublesome; but as the company was composed, useful
and rather a favorite.
 1 He was not only an actor, but a dramatist. He was, or claimed to be, the author of
"Rudolph, or the Robbers of Calabria," a very tedious piece of Brigandism; and "One
o'clock, or the Wood Dæmon," almost a literal version of Monk Lewis's "Wood
Dæmon." He used to accuse Lewis of having stolen his melo-drama, and told a long
and rather incomprehensible story of the manner in which the theft was perpetrated.
He also wrote a play called "Valdemar, or the German Exiles," which was performed in
the new theatre, at the period alluded to in my story, and possessed, I think, soma
little merit. Besides being actor and play wright, he was a scene-painter, and kept a
tavern in the good city of Montreal.

Of the females I shall notice but one, as she is to be the heroine of

my story for the present, and as, but for her, (like Mr. Canning's
needy knife-grinder) I should have no story to tell. What shall I call
her? Not by her real name surely—for she has since held a high rank
among the heroines of the stage. I will call her Fenella; leaving the
curious to guess her real name, while I assure them that she is an
actual entity, whose performances I doubt not, many of my readers
have frequently admired. She was then an interesting woman of
about twenty. There was something a little mysterious in the
circumstances under which she made her first appearance in
Montreal, which rendered her the more attractive. She had with her
an infant child; and yet she was advertised as a Miss! Shocking
inferences were of course drawn among the censorious; and
sensations of a different description encouraged the loose and
licentious young men about town, to suppose that this living
indication of Fenella's frailty was a guarantee of the success of their
unhallowed addresses. Those who knew her, told a curious story of
her adventures in ——, the turn of which had driven her to a
temporary exile in Canada. The substance of the story was this: She
was the daughter of a poor widow, who earned her living by her
needle. Fenella was, when very young, remarkable for the beauty
and vivacity of her countenance, the grace of her figure, and an
intelligence beyond her advantages. An ambition to rise from her
humble condition, tempted her to resort to the stage. She appeared
and was applauded, for she exhibited true signs of talent of no
common order. She was engaged, but filled a subordinate station for
two or three years. The management of the —— theatre changed
during this period, and the old gentleman who had assumed the
duties of manager, was not long in perceiving the merits of Fenella
as an actress, while her personal attractions awakened within him
the remnant of amatory fire which time had not extinguished, and
subjected her to the unseasonable ecstatics of a sexagenary lover.
This part of her good fortune had few charms for a sprightly girl of
seventeen. But the ancient manager had a son, who, while he
equalled the old gentleman in the perception of female attractions,
had far greater charms in the eyes of the females themselves, being
a handsome well built fellow, and having had some practice in the
delicate task of making himself agreeable to the beau sexe. It so
turned out, that, while the old gentleman was making an inquiry into
the state of his feelings towards the pretty young actress, which
ultimately induced him to persecute her on all occasions with his
protestations of passion, the young man had actually made
successful advances to the discriminating fair one, and had so far
succeeded as to create a reciprocal sentiment in her breast. They
had betrothed themselves, (or as we tamely say, were engaged,) but
the old gentleman's passion for Fenella, was a serious obstacle to
their happiness. His temper was irascible, and he required
submission from all beneath him to his most unreasonable fancies.
His son was naturally desirous of avoiding his anger, and having
discovered the state of his father's feelings, he was desirous of
keeping secret the true state of affairs. In this dilemma, the young
couple decided upon a private marriage. Even after that event, her
husband thought it advisable to avoid a rupture with his father; but
when, in the natural course of things, Fenella was about to become
a mother, the secret could no longer be kept, unless by her
absenting herself from ——. She therefore left her husband, and
entered upon a temporary engagement in Montreal.

Such was the story then told, and believed by all the charitable
portion of Fenella's admirers. I believed it then, and have had some
reason since to think it true, as, after remaining two years in
Canada, she returned to —— and joined her reputed husband, lived
with him for several years, until his death, and bears his name to
this day.

Like other young men, I was fond of the theatre, and visited it
frequently. I was a great admirer of Fenella as an actress, but had
no acquaintance with her during her first season. Several of my
young friends were enlisted among her adorers, a numerous train,
embracing all ages, from the beardless boy to the bachelor of
threescore. As far as my observation extended, the managed this
retinue of lovers with great adroitness. To the young, she talked
sentimentally, and excited their fancy—with the old, she was
prudent, and went just far enough to retain their homage without
committing herself. I had often rallied Harry Selden, an inflammable
young friend of mine, upon his hopeless passion, for he was
desperately enamored of the bewitching actress. He confessed his
lamentable infatuation, but insisted that I was only secured from a
similar fate by the distance which I kept from the sphere of her
attractions. This opinion I combated, and one evening, when he
proposed to test my stoicism by taking me to Fenella's lodgings after
the play was ended, I was too confident that I could not be caught
by the same snare in which he was entangled, to refuse the
challenge, and readily agreed to his proposition. We went to the
theatre, and Selden having presented me to her in the green room,
we accepted Fenella's invitation to see her home, and partake of a
petit souper at her apartments.

It is proper perhaps, that I should here describe the lady, according

to the regular rules of tale writing, although as I have no great
talent in that line of description, I shall undoubtedly make a bungling
business of it. Fenella was rather above the middle height,
uncommonly well made, and her form fully developed that graceful
outline which denotes the full grown woman, in contradistinction to
the more angular symmetry of girlhood. Her face was oval, so much
so that there was something Chinese in its contour, although in
nothing else: her hair was a light chestnut, and so exuberant in its
growth as to contribute materially to her beauty. Her eyes were blue,
bright and sparkling when her fancy was excited, or languid and
voluptuous when at rest. But the mouth of this attractive creature
was the prime beauty of her countenance. It is difficult to imbody in
words the varied charms that played about her ripe and tempting
lips. Certainly I had better not attempt it. I will therefore leave my
gentleman readers to finish the sketch, by imagining the prettiest
and most attractive woman of their acquaintance—not absolutely a
beauty—and I think they will have a correct idea of Fenella.

I was too young to have known much of women, but I was sternly
resolved not to be overcome. Fancy me then téte à téte with Fenella
and my friend Selden, supping on cold tongue, and sipping white
sherry. At first I felt uneasy, but was still sure I should brave all
consequences. Gradually as I looked upon the animated
countenance of my hostess, the ice of my reserve was thawed, for
my apparent coldness seemed to have inspired her with the
determination to warm me into sentiments more complimentary at
least to her powers of fascination. I afterwards learned that Selden
had betrayed to her my ridicule of the devotion of her admirers. It
was therefore merely natural that she should have resolved to rank
me in the number. Nor had she misjudged her power, or the softness
of my nature. I melted beneath her smile, like wax before the flame
—and ere we rose from the table I had become aware of a new and
indefinable sensation towards her: all I can say of it is, that it was
not love, although it had a close affinity to that passion.

The freedom and ease of her conversation was new to me. She
spoke of her numerous lovers without embarrassment, and in some
instances with no little sarcasm; but she constantly qualified her
raillery by confessing that they were good souls, and alluded to the
presents which they made her in the most amiable terms.

Time rolled on, and a month or two found me a constant visiter at

the lodgings of Fenella. I then flattered myself that I was a favorite.
I gallanted her frequently to the theatre, and waiting in the green
room until she had changed her dress, attended her home, supped
with her, and often prolonged my stay to a late hour. I never talked
love to her—for I did not know how—and she had so much
experience in that matter that I feared I should make myself
ridiculous. Her power over me was complete, yet I cannot charge
her with having exerted it in a single instance unfairly. Her whole
design against me seemed to have been confined to the excitement
of a degree of admiration commensurate with her personal
attractions. At that point she appeared satisfied; but as I grew in
intimacy with her she shewed herself sincerely my friend, frequently
checking my fool hardy impetuosity, and giving me good advice,
which might have come with a better grace from the less lovely lips
of my aunt Deborah. I soon accommodated my sentiments and
conduct to those of Fenella, and while I became her most devoted
friend, I dropped entirely the character and feelings of a lover. A
tacit understanding soon became established between us; and I was
admitted to liberties in my new character, which I could have
enjoyed in no other. These familiarities were misunderstood by my
friends; but in spite of their firm belief, there was nothing amatory in
our intercourse.

About this time Fenella's benefit at the theatre was announced, an

event of some importance to her, as the second season of the
theatre had been particularly unproductive, and the limping manager
had failed almost entirely to pay the salaries of his performers. I
think Douglas was the play selected by her, in which she was to
personate Lady Randolph; and in order to the effective cast of the
piece, it was essential that Mc—— should perform Glenalvon. He had
frequently treated Fenella with rudeness, and evidently disliked her;
he objected to the part assigned him, and absented himself from the
rehearsals of the tragedy. But as he was notoriously a devotee of the
bottle, and frequently remiss in his duty, little was thought of his
absence. The benefit night arrived; the time came for the curtain to
rise; but no Glenalvon had appeared behind the scenes; and it was
soon made known that Mc—— had not studied the part, and would
not appear that night. The house was crowded; and to Fenella's
great mortification, it was necessary that some other performer
should read the part. This was done, and the play came off lamely
enough.

Fenella was not destitute of spirit, and she resented this affront in
the proper manner. Mc——'s benefit took place a few weeks after,
and she resolutely refused to play for him. As she was the only
actress in the company possessing any claim to talent, it was
impossible to cast a piece without her; and the consequence of her
name being absent from the bills for Mc——'s benefit was, that no
one attended, or so few as to render it a most irksome task to go
through the performances. The rage of the disappointed beneficiary
was boundless: he vowed that he would be revenged upon Fenella
for the injury she had done him, although in just resentment of an
affront for which he deserved no better treatment.

Mc—— was a good draughtsman, and frequently sketched figures

with great accuracy. He resorted to his pencil as the instrument of
his revenge, and caricatured Fenella with so much skill, that while no
one could mistake the original of the sketch, the incongruities of the
details were such as to render it highly ludicrous.

The chief quality of a caricature seems to be disproportion—an

unfitness of parts to each other. Simple exaggeration does not
suffice to produce the effect desired, for if all the details of the
picture be equally exaggerated, it may present a disagreeable
likeness, but it does not produce that deep sense of the ridiculous
which arises from an incongruous classification of the details. This
rule is perhaps better tested than any other, by the reductio ad
absurdum, and it is well illustrated by those extravagant French
prints, in which heads of enormous comparative dimensions are
placed upon bodies and limbs ridiculously diminutive, the effect of
the disproportion being heightened by the accessaries of dress, &c.
This is perhaps the most extravagant kind of caricature, but it
requires far less skill than those sketches in which the more minute
incongruities of features, form and costume, are resorted to. These
sometimes exhibit much graphic ability, and it is a curious fact, that
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