THOMAS CAELYLE. 378 



splashed violently to and fro up the sides of the bottle ; 

 then the motion would subside, almost perfect stillness 

 setting in. In due time this would be again disturbed, 

 the oscillations setting in as before. Carlyle was well 

 acquainted with the effects of synchronism in periodic 

 motion, but he was charmed to recognise in the water- 

 bottle an analyst of the vibrations of the train. It 

 told us when vibrations of its own special period were 

 present in, and when they were absent from, the con- 

 fused and multitudinous rumble which appealed to our 

 ears. This was monotonous and permitted us to have 

 some sleep. On opening our eyes in the morning we 

 found a deep-blue sky above us, and a genial sun shin- 

 ing on the world. The change was surprising ; we had 

 obviously reached ' the Sunny South.' 



We rested at Marseilles, and walked through the 

 sunlit city. Carlyle seated himself on a bench in the 

 shade of trees, while I went back to our hotel. On 

 returning I found him in conversation with a paralysed 

 beggar boy, from whom he had extracted the sad story 

 of his life. 'The poor we have always with us,' may be 

 truly said of all kindreds and tongues. In Marseilles 

 we had them singing in the streets for eleemosynary 

 sous. Carlyle contributed liberally. At the proper 

 time we took our tickets for Nice. In his later years 

 the factory smoke which pollutes our air, the dyer's 

 chemistry which pollutes our rivers, the defacement ot 

 natural beauty which many of our industries have 

 brought in their train, were hateful to him. The rail- 

 way whistle, rather than the grand roar of the rushing 

 locomotive, was his abomination. Tumult and confu- 

 sion, especially when mixed with the stupidity of men 

 and women, he detested. Such confusion we found at 

 the Marseilles railway-station, and his disgust thereat 

 was registered in his voice and written on his counte- 



