Before the French despotism was established over the German States bordering on the Rhine, only one of these States could be said to possess a good constitution. This was Wurtemberg-the constitution of which, Mr Pitt once said, was the best in the world next to that of England. With the assistance of Napoleon, the representatives of the nobility and people were deprived, by the sovereign family, of the share which they had always had in the government of their country, and a pure monarchy was established. In other words, Wurtemberg became a mere department of France. After Louis XVIII. had re-ascended the throne of his fathers, the people of this German State saw no reason why the tyranny established by Bonaparte among them should survive the other institutions of his despotism; since that period, a perpetual struggle has subsisted between them and their king; and, notwithstanding all the alliances by which he has fortified himself, I have very little doubt as to the mode in which it will terminate. The Prussians, the Bavarians, the Wurtembergers, and the people of Baden, have all been promised representative constitutions by their princes. The fulfilment of these promises has been deferred from year to year; and, in some instances, this has been accompanied with measures of royal violence, and testifications of popular displeasure, which leave but too much reason to doubt, whether the result of the approaching Congress at Dusselsdorf, will be more soothing to the general mind than those of the similar meetings which have already been held at Frankfort and Vienna. The plans which have as yet been suggested by the political writers in Germany, are, I think, all alike visionary and impracticable. The best of all these authors, Scheffer, whose book you should certainly read, proposes, very seriously, the establishment of a great national confederacy, to consist of all the German States, excepting Austria and Bavaria. The princes of these countries, he observes, should not be permitted to join the confederacy, for several reasons-Their subjects are not all Germans; and the greater part of their territories have always been accustomed to a mere military government. But has Mr Scheffer forgotten the difficulties which must, in any case, attend the establishment of a confederacy of Independent States? or does he conceal from himself how greatly these difficulties must, in the present instance, be increased by the determined opposition of the first and third power in Germany? to say nothing of the insuperable objections which all Saxons and Hanoverians will feel to the erection of a system which could not fail to add new weight to the already odious superiority of Prussia. The thing is quite impossible-I do not hesitate to say so, although I am quite sensible that I have no better plan to suggest. Something, however, must be done. If Frederick-William, and Prince Hardenberg, and the petty Princes of Wurtemberg and Baden, do not hasten to do what they have promised, the work will very soon be taken out of their hands. The national independence of Germany is an object of much concern to every enlightened German,—but civil rights, and internal repose, are yet dearer to him. The privileges of the nobility must, in the first place, be lessened,commerce must be rendered honourable,-and every part of the educated and enlightened people must somehow find its organ in the deliberative assembly of the State. All this has been solemnly promised and patiently waited for. The silence which at present prevails, is the best proof that the public of Germany are firm, resolved, and confident. Let the Congress of Dusselsdorf do their duty, and all is well. If not, the time shall soon have gone by, when restitution might have prevented the necessity of revenge. If the Germans have a Revolution, it will, I hope and trust, be calm and rational, when compared with that of the French. Its precursors have not been, as in France, ridicule, raillery, derision, impiety; but sober reflection, Christian confidence, and manly resolutions, gathered and confirmed by the experience of many sorrowful years. The sentiment is so universally diffused-so seriously establishedso irresistible in its unity,-that I confess I should be greatly delighted, but not very much astonished, to hear of the mighty work being accomplished almost without resistance, and entirely without outrage. From the silent heart of a hollow Yew, They pulled at his horns, and with many a tweak, Around and around they skrewed his beak; Thro' the depth of Ivy on the wall What feats the Fairy Creatures played! Now hanging like the fearless flowers Then they dropt at once into the Pool- Slid the stream without a sound! Mountain Fairy. "Soon as the lingering Sun was gone, O beauteous sight!' the Shepherd cried, And in dark ravines, and creviced rocks, And the happy Creatures lay down together And with mellower lustre bade them spring The Raven sat upon Langdale-Peak And the Eaglets couched warm beneath her breast, But the Shepherd shall miss her cry at morn, My Tale is told-nor strange nor newNow, sweet Lady Bright-Eyes! what say you ?" As some wild Night-Flower thro' the dew, Till, like a breath breathed clear from To her at once a voice was given, Cottage Fairy. His little wondering Sister said, A wreath not half so bright and gay I skimmed away, and with deligh Sailed down the calm stream of the night, "Sweet Cot! that on the mountain-side tongue, Sweet Fairy!' the glad Mother said, And down she knelt as if she prayedWhile glad was I to hear our name Bestowed on such a beauteous frame, And with my wings I hid mine eyes, Till I saw the weeping kneeler rise From her prayer in holy extacies!" The COTTAGE FAIRY ceased; and Night, That seem'd to feel a calm delight In the breath of that sweet-warbling Was sad at closing of the song, And all her starry eyne look'd dull, Of late so brightly beautiful; Till on the Fox-glove's topmost cup The FAIRY OF THE LAKE leapt up, And with that gorgeous column swinging, By fits a low wild prelude singing, And gracefully on tip-toe standing, With outstretched arm, as if commanding, The beauty of the Night again Revived beneath her heavenly strain.— Low, sad, and wild, were the tones I heard, Like the opening song of the hidden Bird, E'er music steeps th' Italian vales From the heart of a thousand Nightingales; But words were none; the balmy air Grew vocal round that Elfin fair, And, like her fragrant breath, the song Dropp'd dewily from that sweet tongue, But 'twas a language of her own, To grosser human sense unknown; And while in blissful reverie My soul lived on that melody, In a moment all as death was still : And as the blackening rain-cloud broke, It seems as if colonies had always been the chief means by which civilization is extended and improved. civilized states carry with them the The colonies which proceed from experience and acquirements of the mother country; and the nature of their situation enables them to cut themselves off from the influence of its prejudices. The Phenicians and Egyptians, who established themselves on the coast of Greece, and from whom that country derived all its civilization, had observed in their native land the bad effects of a priesthood-monopolizers at once of knowledge and power; and they took care that no similar establishment should find room in their new possessions. Hence, most probably, the immense superiority of the Greeks in science and in art, over those more ancient nations which were their first instructors in both. In Egypt all knowledge was the privileged possession of one profession, and applied solely to its purposes. In Greece, education and knowledge were left free to all. Ambition and love of fame, those most powerful of all incentives, the only ones which lead to truly great things in science and art, had no influence in Egypt, but were allowed free scope in Greece, and long exerted their rightful sway over the reason and imagination of all men. Whether the Anglo-American colonies shall ever surpass the European mother-country in civilization and culture of intellect, as much as the Greeks did their oriental ancestors; and whether the future advantages of America (if such she have) shall owe their origin to bold departure from the institutions, opinions, prejudices, and manners of Europe,-these are questions which cannot be answered till after the lapse of more centuries than one. It is possible, nay it is probable, that some thousand years hence, the inhabitants of those newly-peopled countries may surpass the Europeans of our time, as much as these do their ancestors-the Franks and Saxons of the days of Charlemagne. In their turn the Americans may be surpassed in the same proportion by colonies of their own. There is no end to the improvement of intellect. Our species may yet be only in the infancy of its acquirements. SIR MACROSCOPO N. No III. Facilis descensus Averni. THAT the rude man of nature should be able, without example or instruction, and by his own efforts alone, to lift himself from a condition nearly resembling that of the brutes, into one of elegance and refinement; that, without aid from above or from abroad, Centaurs and Lapithae could ever fashion themselves into Athenians, I have no capacity to believe. If any one will shew me by what possible means the Iroquese and Guaranis could bring themselves even into the lowest state of European civilization and cultivation, I shall give up my scepticism. That a people at once moral and refined may degrade themselves into a horde of barbarians or brutes, I have no difficulty in conceiving. The civilized and virtuous Spartans have sunk into savage banditti and become Mainots. The active and intellectual EVOL. III. gyptians have been succeeded by the Kopts. So possible, nay so easy, does the ruere in pegus appear to me, that I see nothing improbable in an opinion which some consider as blasphemous. After a few centuries have gone over their heads, the inhabitants of England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, may be robbers, pirates, spiritless hordes,-devoid of science, art, commerce, or industry, or, what is as bad, they may become creatures tame, unproductive, unenergetic. They may retain the externals of refinement, with the vicious torpor of the Chinese. SIR AGELASTUS. ON THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT SEA SERPENT. THIS animal, like the Kraken (of which in our last Number we traced the history), is said to shew itself on the surface of the ocean only during calm weather. It appears at times extended like a vast beam; at other times only shewing different portions of its body, and resembling a long chain of casks or floats. According to the old histories, it is a strange and terrible sea monster, which greatly deserves to be taken notice of by those who are curious to look into the ex-, traordinary works of nature. The first mention which we find made of this animal, is in the sacred writings. No doubt the Leviathan of Scripture is by many commentators considered as the whale, but a careful perusal of those passages in which it is mentioned, appears to us to lead to a different conclusion. Thus, in the 27th chap. of Isaiah, verse 1st, it is said, "In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." The same animal is alluded to in Job, chap. 27. "He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." The appellation of "crooked" is very characteristic of the appearance of the animal, as described by some modern writers. It can scarcely be said to apply to the whale, which is, moreover, frequently E |