always been naval, and commerce the principal occupation, there must necessarily be more knowledge than where the national defence is confided to troops of the line; and where industry is almost entirely directed to the cultivation of the ground.

Commerce, placing men in relation with the interests of the world, extends the ideas, exercises the judgment, and, from the multiplicity and diversity of transactions, makes the necessity of justice continually to be felt.In countries where the only pursuit is agriculture, the mass of the population may be composed of serfs attached to the soil, and devoid of all information. But what can be done with slavery and ignorance in a mercantile capacity? A maritime and commercial country is, therefore, necessarily more enlightened than any other; yet there remains much to be done to give the English people a sufficient education. A considerable portion of the lowest class can as yet neither read nor write; and it is, doubtless, to remedy this evil that the new methods of Bell and Lancaster are so warmly encouraged, because they are calculated to bring education within the reach of the indigent. The lower orders are perhaps better informed in Switzerland, Sweden, and in some parts of the north of Germany; but in none of these countries is found that vigour of liberty which will preserve England, it is to be hoped, from the reaction occasioned by the French revolution.

It being impossible in England to be minister without sitting in one of the houses of parliament, and discussing the affairs of state with the representatives of the nation, it unavoidably follows that such ministers bear, in general, no resemblance to the class of governors in an absolute monarchy. The esteem of the public is, in England, the first aim of men in power; they scarcely ever make a fortune in the ministry.

Ministers cannot favour their partizans unless the latter be sufficiently distinguished not to provoke the discontent of parliament. It is not enough to have the favour of the master to remain in place; it is necessary to have the esteem of the representatives of the nation;

and this can only be obtained by real ability. Ministers appointed by court intrigues, as we have seen continually in France, would not support themselves twentyfour hours in the House of Commons.

The science of liberty (if we may use that expression), at the point at which it is cultivated in England, supposes in itself a very high degree of information. Nothing can be more simple than that doctrine, when once the principles on which it reposes have been adopted; but it is nevertheless certain, that on the continent we seldom meet with any person who, in heart and mind, understands England. It would seem as if there were moral truths, amidst which we must be born, and which the sensations of the heart inculcate better than all the discussions of theory. Nevertheless, to enjoy and practise that liberty, which unites all the advantages of republican virtues, of philosophical knowledge, of religious sentiments, and monarchical dignity, a great share of understanding is requisite in the people, and a high degree of study and virtue in men of the first class. An English minister must unite with the qualities of a statesman the art of expressing himself with eloquence. It thence follows, that literature and philosophy are much more appreciated, because they contribute efficaciously to the success of the highest ambition.

The emulation which such a prospect naturally excites is one of the principal causes of the incredible extent of information diffused in England.

Thanks to toleration, to political institutions, and the liberty of the press, there is a greater respect for religion and for morals in England than in any other country in Europe.

English literature is certainly that in which there are the greatest number of philosophic works.

In what empire is Christianity more respected than in England? Where are greater pains taken to propagate it? Whence do missionaries proceed in so great numbers to every part of the world?

In a religious country good morals also necessarily

exist, and yet the passions of the English are very strong; for it is a great error to believe them of a calm disposition, because they have habitually cold manners. No men are more impetuous in great things; but they -resemble the dogs sent by Porus to Alexander, who disdained to fight against any other adversary than the lion. The English abandon their apparent tranquillity, and give themselves up to extremes of all kinds. They go in quest of danger; they wish to attempt extraordinary things; they desire strong emotions.-Activity of imagination and restraint of their habits render such emotions necessary to them; but these habits themselves are founded on a great respect for morality.

The freedom of the newspapers, which some persons would represent to us as contrary to delicacy of morals, is one of the most efficacious causes of that delicacy: every thing in England is so well known, and so often discussed, that truth in all matters is unavoidable.

In England all is constituted in such a way that the interest of each class, of each sex, of each individual, lies in conforming themselves to morality. Political liberty is the supreme instrument of this admirable combination. Madame de Stael.

APRIL STANZAS,

WRITTEN IN NOVEMBER, 1813.

LET the great and the wealthy with offerings of duty For their station and fortune to Providence kneel; And let her who exults in the trophies of beauty, From her glory one hour for her gratitude steal.

I thank thee, my God, that the sanguine complexion Still marks me as man, which once mark'd me as boy; And my heart, yet unknown to despair and dejection, With rapture bounds forth to anticipate joy.

Such, alas! are the turns in this world of rotation,

From their mountains of treasure the rich often fall; And the star, which late blazedo'er the helm of the nation, Now lost in eclipse is lamented by all.

While it still has been thine, my dark fortune, to dizen To-morrow, when sable to-day was my doom : Clouds ne'er hung so mirky upon my horizon,

But a sun beam'd beyond them to scatter the gloom.
Are you poor? you escape the vexations of riches;
In obscurity's valley no tempests assail:

You are affluent-what ignorance your charity teaches!
You cheer the lone cottage, you thin the full jail.
O! then mine be the bosom still buoyant and sprightly,
If I err, 'tis an error which makes the heart glad:
Sure 'tis wiser 'mid woes to think less, and run lightly,
Than with fatal precision think much and run mad.
Who, indeed, with his Maker would hardily quarrel,
Because with life's pleasure its pang he combines !
The cypress itself to the Christian's a laurel,

Which round his meek brow stern Adversity twines.
He knows, while on earth he is destined to wander,
That labour precedes, and enhances repose;
That not always through meads 'tis the stream's to
meander,

And that thorns aye invest the green stem of the rose.

Yet the rose may be cropp'd with a finger unwounded; Yet the wild may be traversed, though bleak and

forlorn :

And when on Toil's ear his late curfew has sounded,
At the eve he forgets the fatigue of the morn.

Oh! think then, beloved, 'tis thus with life's sorrow-
December's chill train flee the warm breath of May:
And while thou look'st on to the sun of to-morrow,
Be cheerful amidst-e'en the storm of to-day.

Rev. F. Wrangham.

THE LYING SERVANT.

THERE lived in Swabia a certain lord, pious, just, and wise; to whose lot it fell to have a serving man, a great rogue, and, above all, addicted to the vice of lying. The name of the lord is not in the story, therefore the reader need not trouble himself about it.

The knave was given to boast of his wondrous travels. He had visited countries which are nowhere to be found in the map, and seen things which mortal eye never beheld. He would lie through the twenty-four hours of the clock, for he dreamt falsehoods in his sleep, to the truth of which he swore when he was awake. His lord was a cunning as well as a virtuous man, and used to see the lies in the valet's mouth, so that he was often caught,-hung as it were in his own untruths, as in a trap. Nevertheless, he persisted still the more in his lies; and when any one said-"How can that be?" he would answer, with fierce oaths and protestations, that so it was. He swore, stone and bone, and might the devil have his soul, and so forth! Yet was the knave useful in the household-quick and handy; therefore he was not disliked of his lord, though verily a great liar.

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It chanced, one pleasant day in spring, after the rains had fallen heavily, and swollen much the floods, that the lord and the knave rode out together, and their way passed through a shady and silent forest. Suddenly appeared an old and well-grown fox.-" Look!" exclaimed the master of the knave; look, what a huge beast! never before have I seen a reynard so large!" "Doth this beast surprise thee by its hugeness?" replieth straight the serving-groom, casting his eye slightingly on the animal, as he fled for fear away into the cover of the brakes; "by stone and bone, I have been in a kingdom where the foxes are big as are the bulls in this!" Whereupon, hearing so vast a lie, the lord answered calmly-but with mockery in his heart,—“ In that kingdom there must be excellent lining for the cloaks,