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a little, the same amount of silver was given for an article, but much fewer shillings. Every one, therefore, thought that he would continue to suffer, from what was only a temporary inconvenience; the evils of the age were attributed to the Revolution, and the change of rulers it had occasioned; and never, before or since, was England less inclined to enter on a new contest.

The Tories, or the party which inclined to France, were at that time in power. William the Third never interfered in the internal politics of England; he was content if his ministers allowed him to be his own Foreign Secretary. In truth, the taxes the war had occasioned, and the misfortunes for which his own government was blamed, had long before made him unpopular. The fiction, as it is now generally believed to have been, of the warming-pan plot, had been sedulously kept alive by the Whigs. No weapon had been so useful to them as this. It damaged the character of King James in a way that nothing could repair; it made the question of the succession much simpler. Therefore, when the royal exile d'ed at St. Germains, it was the worst policy in the world for Louis to acknowledge his son as king of England. It was, in the first place, a perfectly empty compliment; in the second, an insult to the whole English people, and a violation of the treaty of Ryswick. But the French monarch had recently added Spain and the Netherlands to his dominions, and he was so swollen with pride that he reckoned not the consequences. To a high-minded man, and to a high-minded nation, an insult is, perhaps, a greater provocation than an injury. Forgetting bad trade, low rents, funded debts, Dutch mercenaries -all the grievances entailed on the country by the Revolution-the whole English people sent up a cry for war. The king returned from Holland, dismissed the Tories, put in the Whigs, and died in the midst of preparations for the most extensive war which ever Europe had seen since the crusades.

And now that John Bull had been cured of his vapours, as by a shock from an electric battery, he was a new man. He suddenly discovered that he was not going to the dogs as fast as he bad thought; that his business was prospering, if he only paid proper attention to it; and that he had money enough,

and to spare, for his new and extraordinary expenses. But, after the most wonderful successes after fairly taking the breath from his proud enemy, and making him cry "peccavi”—he sunk into his usual easy-going disposition, and actually began to think that he had ill-used him. It is a most remarkable proof of the generosity of the English character, that the war, begun for such great objects as were at stake, when Europe fought over the dead carcase of the Spanish monarchy-and begun, too, to avenge such an insult as Louis the Fourteenth offered our ancestors, when he made them a present of a king -should be concluded by giving up the whole of Spain and the Indies to the house of Bourbon. More remarkable it is still, that the English should be conscious of this generous feature of their character, and should value themselves upon it. It is as trite as true a remark, that an Englishman never strikes a fallen man; but the self-knowledge which this popular maxim implies is more remarkable than the fact itself. The Romans, the only nation of antiquity who resembled the British in any great characteristics, imitated the Greeks, and other nations whom they conquered the English are not, and cannot be, imitators; they know themselves, and they know what would be incongruous too well to adopt any foreign customs or sentiments.

Another instance of that panic to which this country is liable, without just cause, is furnished by the state of popular opinion immediately previous to the breaking out of the Seven Years' War. In Macaulay's brilliant essay on the early part of the great Lord Chathan's life, he mentions a book, now out of print, called “ Brown's Estimate”a book, he says, universally read and believed-which informed the nation that it had miserably fallen off, both in courage and wealth; that the French were about to eat it up alive, and that it richly deserved its fate. Not long after the publication of the "Estimate," war broke out; and its predictions appeared verified by the loss of PortMahon and the defeat of Byng. But those events were followed by successes only inferior to the victories of Marlborough. Singular to say, too, the same leniency towards our enemies was shown at the peace of Paris, in 1762, as at the peace of Utrecht, in 1712.

Once again, and this time within the memory of man, England had resort to the quack doctors. Every one, except perhaps, William Pitt the younger, thought that the country was going to be ruined by the loss of America; and, therefore, the most extraordinary remedies were advised. The most sweeping of these, proposed annual parliaments and universal suffrage; a measure, or set of measures, which the then Duke of Richmond warmly advocated. But England recovered herself in time for the great struggle in which she became involved, ten years afterwards, with France.

For examples of the generosity of England, what more need we mention than the treatment of Bonaparte after his first abdication ?-and the manner in which every petty state in India is dealt with by the Company? Bonaparte had to be put down twice before the English were convinced he was not to be trusted. The Sultans of Mysore had to learn two lessons before their territory was annexed to the Company's dominions. The Sikhs had to be conquered twice, before they were subdued. And it now appears that we were too lenient with the King of Ava, five-and-twenty years ago.

But the English are not more generous than they are resolute in defending their rights. Not forty years ago, an action at law brought against a celebrated member of a great aristocratic connexion, for stopping up a field-path,

created as general and intense a sensation as the news of a battle fought in Spain. In small matters, as well as great, they are punctilious. Indeed, the very insignificance of a right appears to the English a reason for insisting on it more rigorously. A great matter can defend itself on its own merits; principles, more than interests, are involved in the defence of small rights. Few readers of history forget that the case of John Hampden against the king was for three and sixpence.

This is public spirit; and it is manifested in the maintenance of public as well as of private rights. The English love their parks, their field-pathseverything that speaks of the old forgotten party-cry of Wilkes's time"Liberty and Property." We believe that this feeling has very much reconciled the nation to the demolition of the Crystal Palace. The public is jealous of any intrusion on its property, even for a public object.

Now, what John Bull was once, he is still; and we ought not to be surprised if he is afflicted with his old fits of vapours and fancies now and then. It is said that modern invention has deprived Britain of the advantages which her insular situation used to afford her. But, is it not reasonable to suppose, that the power which has the greatest command of all kinds of mechanical appliances will profit most by them, whether defended by wooden walls or stone-faced entrenchments?

Sonnet to Melancholy.

WRITTEN AT THE GRAVE OF A SUICIDE,

BENEATH the hanging cliff, which throws a gloom
Of solemn awe athwart this lonely glen,

I love to feel thy strange, mysterious power,
And hold sad converse o'er his grassy tomb,
Who, maddened by the scorn and crimes of men,
Laid down his wretched life in evil hour,

And sought that happiness-which Fate
Denied to his existence-in the deep repose

Of Death's long sleep; hoping that, when he rose,
A better world might be his dwelling-place.

Or, if eternal the cold grave's embrace,
Then Feeling-which already too well tried,

And found but suffering-should extinguished be,
And all be lost in dark Oblivion's sea.

Black-Mountain, May 20, 1852.

C

THE HERMIT.

OUR AMERICAN EMPIRE.

PART III.

[We conclude our consideration of this subject from page 90.]

WE have already expressed our opinion that the Hudson's Bay Company's territory, as far as the Rocky Mountains, ought to be annexed to Canada, and that the Imperial Government ought to sanction whatever treaty of union among themselves may be agreed on by our North American colonies.

When these questions are settled, it will be time to arrange, on a just and permanent basis, the relation between the mother country and the colonies. We believe the only just arrangement to be, the erection of British America into an independent kingdom, under the British crown.

The despotism of the Colonial Office, which has produced such disastrous results in Australia and South Africa, is unknown in North America. Our American colonies are self-governed, and therefore well governed. Their people could gain nothing whatever by separation from the British crown, except the dignity of an independent nation, and this is what we propose to grant them. But this, it will be said, would be throwing our colonies away. No: it would be retaining them for ever, so far as we can hope that any work of man's will last for ever. We hold the American colonies only so long as the colonists please. If any ministry violates their rights, as the ministers of George the Third attacked the rights of what are now the United States, or as the ministers of the present Sovereign have disregarded the rights of Australia and South Africa, the duty of the colonists is perfectly clear-to hoist the standard of independence, and request the aid of the United States. The people of the United States will give their aid, whether the Government does or not; and against the people of the States and of the Colonies combined, the force of all the kingdoms in Europe could not permanently retain a foot of land in America.*

We do not anticipate such a result. The British nation is wiser now than when it suffered the ignorant and reckless ministers of George the Third to lose the United States, and add 120 millions to the national debt. But the course which we advocate would tend, more than any other that could be adopted, to make such a catastrophe impossible. The connexion between ourselves and our American colonies, though mutually advantageous, is one of inferiority on their part; were they annexed to the United States, it would be on terms of equality. It is in our power, and it is our duty, to concede to them peacefully all that they could gain by a revolution, retaining at the same time all that is valuable in the colonial bond; for this bond ought not to be one of supremacy on the one side and subjection on the other, but of interest and affection on the part of both. And, in order the more closely to cement this union, we ought to stipulate, in the treaty by which we recognise the independence of British America, for perfect freedom of trade on both sides, and cheap postage.

We doubt not that our enemies on the Continent and in the United States would hail such a treaty as the com. mencement of the dissolution of our empire; and parallels would be drawn, in lengthy newspaper articles, between the abandonment of Britain by the Romans and the abandonment of Canada by the British. But to all such talk we could reply-" Well, gentlemen, try to complete the parallel, by conquering Canada, as the Saxons conquered Britain." And the Americans would have too much sense to accept the challenge. They are ambitious, but calculating withal; they love glory, but dislike danger; their wars of aggression have all been against the weak. So long as the colonies are loyal to the British crown they will strike no blow against

Had the Canadian rebellion been carried on by the British instead of the French colonists, the Americans would probably have given it much more assistance than they did. It is fortunate that the French Canadians, who are the least likely of all the colonists to be loyal to the British crown, are also the least likely to command the sympathies of the United States.

us there. It is often said that Canada must ultimately be annexed to the United States: that it is only “a question of time." But this cowardly fatalism is unworthy of Britons. Why should our authority be ever hated or our power be ever despised? We believe that the suppression of the rebellion of the French Canadians, and the subsequent union of Upper with Lower Canada in 1841, formed the crisis of Canadian history; and that now every loyal emigrant who makes his home in British America, every reduction of the duties that hampered our colonial trade, and every step in the direction of rapid and cheap mail communication, tends to bind the mother country and the colonies more firmly together.

The possession of Canada adds nothing to our power; it is rather a source of weakness, for there the Americans may strike a blow at our empire. But the possession of Nova Scotia is important to our maritime supremacy, in consequence of its excellent naval position and its supplies of ship-timber.For these reasons, it was once proposed by the Times (the same journal, recollect, which proposed to get rid of the Irish difficulty by repealing the Irish union), that we should abandon Canada, but retain Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Such a course, however, is impossible; for in that case Canada would be annexed to the United States, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, fiuding that we retained them for mere convenience, would demand to be annexed also, and call in the Americans. Then we must choose between a peaceful but inglorious abandonment of our colonies, and a second American Revolution as disastrous as the first.

The annexation of our colonies to the United States would not only be humbling to our dignity and injurious to our

trade, but it would be a fearful accession of power to the only maritime rival we have. It would be the addition of not only almost three millious of population, but of a territory capable of supporting many times that number; and the acquisition of that least assailable of all frontiers, the Frozen Ocean. And it would deprive us of the important naval station of Halifax in Nova Scotia. But the establishment of the kingdom of British America would keep our colonies from ever joining the United States, at least so long as a shred of the timehonoured flag of Britain holds together; and their harbours would be ours for all naval purposes, as much as they are now.

If such an arrangement be made, our sovereign should add to her titles that of Queen of the Canadas, or whatever name is fixed on for the new kingdom. The governor of British America should take the title and rank of Viceroy; and, when possible, it would be desirable to appoint one of the royal family to that post.

Then, being relieved for ever of the expense and annoyance of governing a colony, we should introduce a young but full-grown state to the fraternity of nations; a state bound to us not by subjection, but by cheap postage and free trade, by identity of interest, of blood, of language, and of religion; by attachment to ourselves, and loyalty to a common sovereign. The tranquillity and peace of all North America would receive an additional guarantee; and should the despots of the Old World ever menace our national existence, the people of the new kingdom beyond the Atlantic would count their gold as clay and their blood as water, when spent in the defence of their mother country.

[NOTE.-In our first article on this subject, we said that the Halifax and Quebec railway was to run through a hundred miles of pine forest. We have since learned, however, that this line has been abandoned. The one the colonists have fixed on is to go from Halifax to St. John's, New Brunswick, and thence to pass through a settled country all the way. This route will give the trade of Quebec during the winter, when the St. Lawrence is frozen, to St. John's; but the advantage which Halifax possesses, of being the nearest important port to the old world, will of course be materially increased by railway communication with the interior. The bill for this line has passed the legislatures of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. We regret, however, to perceive that the present Government have decided against applying to Parliament to guarantee the necessary loan: so that this important undertaking must be postponed for some time longer.]

MOSES MENDELSSOHN.

THIS acute and elegant writer, as well as truly excellent man, was a Jew both by birth and conviction. He stands distinguished among the many eminent men who, in modern times, have contributed to shed a lustre over the gloomy ruins of the fallen house of Israel. German literature, as well as the degraded and despised Hebrew race, have been benefited by his 'life and labours. He stood as mediator and as mutual friend between the bigoted Christiau and the poor German Israelite. It was his darling object to raise his brethren of the seed of Abraham in the social scale, to improve their intellectual and moral condition, and to defend them from misrepresentation and calumny. Nor were his efforts unsuccessful. It is said that no Jewish writer since Maimonides has exerted a greater influence on the Jewish mind. His literary productions are a valuable gift to his country; but of far greater worth to his native land and his own race, were the high qualities of his moral nature, his magnanimity, his piety, and his pure and harm

less life.

Mendelssohn was born at Dessau in 1729. His father Mendel, who taught the Jews' school in that city, lived in great poverty, and was utterly unable to educate his son as he wished. The Mishna and the Gemarra were all he could afford to give him; and poor Mendelssohn speaks of being roused up at three o'clock in a winter morning, wrapped in a cloak, and carried to the "seminary," when only seven years old.

In his youth he happened to meet with the More Nebochim, or Guide of the Perplexed, a work of Maimonides, to the study of which he devoted himself with the most intense application. This book exercised a most important influence over his whole future life. It laid the foundation of his mental culture, and also of his bodily disease and suffering. "Maimonides," he said, " is the cause of my deformity; he spoiled my figure, and ruined my constitution; but still I doat on him for the many hours of dejection which he has converted into hours of rapture. And if he has unwittingly weakened my body, has he not made ample atonement by

invigorating my soul with his sublime instructions?"

Mendelssohn wandered through the streets of Berlin disconsolate and starving, at the age of fourteen years. But the spirit of genius and trust in Providence were strong within him ; poverty and solitude had no terrors for him, because his soul thirsted for truth and wisdom. In the midst of his difficulties and distress he applied to one who had been previously his instructor at Dessau, the rabbi, Frankel. He also happened to meet here a Mr. Hyam Bamberg, who had the reputation of being a kind and well-disposed man, and a great patron of young Jews who had a desire to advance themselves. This good man, at the earnest solicitation of the rabbi, allowed Mendelssohn "an attic to sleep in and two days' board weekly." The noble-minded boy was more anxious about procuring education for himself than of obtaining wealth and ease. To develope the faculties of his mind, to increase his store of knowledge, to get larger views of truth, he left his native place, and came to Berlin. Here he toiled year after year with an energy and devotedness seldom equalled, never excelled, in the prosecution of his favourite project, surrounded by difficulties of the most appalling kind, with no teachers, with no books, and frequently without the means of appeasing his hunger. As an instance of the ardour with which he engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, may be mentioned the manner in which he made himself acquainted with the Latin language. It is related of him, that having mastered the nouns and verbs, and procured an old second-hand dictionary, he set himself to translate into Latin, Locke's

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