they would hear of no compromise. Nothing less than the deposition of their enemy would content them. Nor can it be disputed that herein they were perfectly consistent. They had exerted themselves nine years earlier to exclude James from the throne, because they thought it probable that he would be a bad king. It could therefore scarcely be expected that they would willingly leave him on the throne, now that he had turned out a far worse king than any reasonable man could have anticipated. Upon the intellectual and moral qualities of the Hindoos a very few words will suffice. The more educated classes (and it is from a consideration of the character of these only that any fair conclusion can be drawn), may be pronounced without hesitation to be a shrewd, wary, and acute people. Subtlety, perhaps, more than strength, is the prominent character of their intellect. Though good imitators, they have hitherto discovered no original powers of invention, and little imagination. In practical good sense they are decidedly below the Chinese. In vigour and manliness of mind they are below the Arabs, the Persians, and the other nations which have at various times invaded and conquered them. We make no comparison with European nations, because the contrast is too great to admit of any parallel. The departments of industry in which their intellectual faculties appear to most advantage, and for which they seem best fitted, are the administration of justice and finances, and such branches of trade as do not imply the possession of comprehensive knowledge and bold enterprise. The house occupied by Gibbon, and in which he wrote the last half of his immortal work, is still in good preservation, and is the grand object of attraction to all travellers. "It was here"-to quote the beautiful passage in which Gibbon has perpetuated the memory of the event-"it was here, on "the day or rather the night of the *27th of June, 1787, that I wrote the last "lines of the last page of my history in a summer-house in my garden. After "laying down my pen, I took several turns in a covered walk which com"mands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains. The air was temperate, the sky was serene, the silver orb of the moon was reflected "from the waters, and all nature was silent. I will not dissemble the first "emotions of joy on recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was "spread over my mind, by the idea that I had taken an everlasting leave of "an old and agreeable companion, and that, whatsoever might be the future "date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious." 66 66 It shall suffice in this place to say that a weak judgment, and some vanity and much pride, will hurry a man into as unwarrantable and as violent attempts as the greatest and most unlimited and insatiable ambition will do. He had no ambition of title, or office, or preferment, but only to be kindly looked upon, and kindly spoken to, and quietly to enjoy his own fortune, and, without doubt, no man in his nature more abhorred rebellion than he did; nor could he have been led into it by any open or transparent temptation, but by a thousand disguises and cozenages. His pride supplied his want of ambition, and he was angry to see any other man more respected than himself, because he thought he deserved more, and did better requite it. For he was in his friendships just and constant, and would not have practised foully against those he took to be enemies. No man had credit enough with him to *The numbers should be written in letters, not in figures. corrupt him, in point of loyalty to the king, whilst he thought himself wise enough to know what treason was; but the new doctrine and distinction of allegiance, and of the king's power, in and out of parliament, and the new notion of ordinances, were too hard for him, and it did really intoxicate his understanding, and made him quit his own to follow theirs, who he thought wished as well and judged better than himself. Though Bacon did not arm his philosophy with the weapons of logic, he adorned her profusely with all the richest decorations of rhetoric; his eloquence, though not untainted with the vicious taste of his age, would alone have entitled him to a rank in literature. His mind was wonderfully quick in perceiving analogies of all sorts; but, like several eminent men we could mention, he sometimes appeared exceedingly deficient in the power of distinguishing rational from fanciful analogies. This want of accurate discrimination has led to many strange political speculations. One author deduced a theory of government from the properties of the pyramid. Mr. Southey's whole system of finance is chiefly grounded on the phenomena of evaporation and rain. In theology this perverted ingenuity has made still wilder work. Great divines have frequently been led into expositions of Scripture of inconceivable absurdity, by mere incapacity to distinguish analogies proper (to use the scholastic phrase) from analogies metaphorical; and especially the separate treatise on the sublime and beautiful, though written on a subject which the coldest metaphysician could hardly treat without being occasionally betrayed into florid writing, is the most unadorned of all the works of Burke. ORTHOGRAPHICAL EXERCISES. Copy the following passages clearly and legibly, correcting mistakes of spelling and grammar, but not otherwise altering either the words or their order. The grate leeding feeture of that sistem of internel adminestration which owes its orrigin to the Marques Cornwallis, consists in the totall seperation of the too dipartments of justice and revinue, by dipriving the collecter of all authorety as judge and majestrate, and vesting it in the hands of a destinct functionery. To this may be added the intire subversion of evry native instetution, the transfer of the propperty in the soile to a distinct class of pursons, dignefied with the apelation of Zemindars; tha ovarthrow of all hereddetary, jurissdictions, the abbolition of all hereddetary ofices, and the remooval as much as posible out of the hands of the natives of evry species of powar and influance. Acording to the anchient custems of this country, as they prevaled under the rule of the Mogul dynasty, the oficer to whom was commited the charge of adminestering the revinue in evry distrect, was (by whatever title recognised) vested with extencive judicial authorety. It was his business, in an espescial maner, to hear and to ditermine all desputes arrising out of the colection of the land-tax: to defend the rayets or cultevaters against the tyrany of his own oficers, and to cause restetution to be made whenever he saw reeson to bilieve that more than the established ammount had been exacted from them. Both the titles of these functionaries, and the extent of there jurissdiction, necessarilly varied in diffirent parts of India; but there powar, whether it extended over a provvince, a portion of provvince, or a singal vilage, was evry were in effect the same. But the most remarkeble of all the native instetutions was perhapps the Punchayet. This was an asembly of a certain number of the inhabbitents, bifore whom parties maintaining a despute with one another pleeded there own cause, and who, like an English juery, herd both sides paciently, and then gave a decision acording to there own views of the case. (N.B.-The words printed in Italics do not require correction.) Time allowed, 1 hours. The fact that the sum razed in Ingland by taxsation has, in a peariod not exceding two long lives, been multeplyed therty fold, is stranje, and may at first site seam appaling. But those who are allarmed by the increese of the pubblic burdens, may perhaps be reashurred when they have considderd the increese of the pubblic ressorces. In the yeare sixten hunderd and eigty five, the valew of the prodduce of the soyle far exceded the valew of all the othar frutes of uman indusstry. Yet aggreculture was in what would now be con. sidderd a verry rood and impurfect stait. The arrable land and passture land were not suposed by the best polliticle arithmatecians of that age to ammount to much more than half the aria of the kingdom: the rimainder was bileived to consest of moore, forrest, and fenn. These compewtasions are strongly confermed by the rodebooks and mapps of the seventhtenth centuary: from wich it is clere that meny roots which now pass threw an endless succession of orcherds, heyfeilds, and beenfeilds, then rann threw nothink but heeth, swomp, and warren. In some drawings of Inglish landscaps made at that peariod for a foreign nobelman, scarsely a hedjerow is to be sean, numarous trackts, now ryche with cultevation appeare as bare as Saulsbery Plane. Hardly out of site of the smoake of the capitol, was a region of five and twenty miles in sercumfarence, which contaned onley three howses and scarsely enny enclosed fealds. Dear, as free as in an Amerriccen forrest, wandered their by thousends. The last wild bores, indeed, which had been priserved for the royel divversion, had been slautered by the exasparated russtics dureing the licence of the civvil war. The last woulf that has romed our island had been slane in Scotlaud a short time before the close of the rein of Charles the Second. But menny breedes, now exstint or raire, both of quodruppeds and berds, were still commun. Time allowed, 14 hours. The revolushun, by alterring the rellative posishun of the prinse and the parliamant, had allterred allso the relletive posishon of the armey and the nation. The king and the comuns was now at unety: and both were menassed by the greatest millitarey power which had existed in Europ sinse the dounfall of the Romen empire. In a few weaks thirty thousend vetterens, accostomed to conquor, and led by able and expeereensed captins, might cross from the portes of France to our shores. It was nesesarey then that there should be reglar soljers: and if so, it was indespensable, both to there efisiensey, and to the security of evry othar class, that they should be kepped under a strikt desciplin. An ill desceplined armey has ever been a more costley and a more lisencious miilitia, impotant against a forrin ennimy, and formedable honley to the countrey which it payed to diffend. A strong line of destinetion must theirfor be drawne between the soljers and the rest of the comunety For the sake of publik freedum, they must, in the midste of free dum, be plased under a dispottik rool. They must be subjikt to a sharper peenal coad, and to a more strinjant coad of procedur, then are admenesterd by the hordinerey tribunels. Sum acts wich in the citisan is inosant, must in the soljer be crimes; and sum acts wich in the citisan are puneshed with fein or emprisonment must in the soljer be puneshed with deth. The masheenary by which coorts of law assertane the guilte or innosense of an acusid citisan are too slow and too entrecate to be applyed to an acusid soljer. For of hall the malledies, insidant to the body politic, millitarey hinsubbordinashun is that wich requires the most prompte and the most serching remmidies. If the evel be not stopt has soon has it appears, it is certaine to spred: and it cannot spred far without danjer to the verry vitels of the comunwelth. Time allowed, 14 hours. All these dificultys was increesed by the condukte of Shrewsberry. The charaktar of this man is a cureus studdey. He seemed to be the petted favorit bothe of natur and of fortun. Ilustrous berth, exalted ranke, hampel possessions, fein parts, extencif acquirmants, an aggreable person, manars singlarley graseful and engajeing, cumbined to make him a hobjict of addmeiration and henvy. But with hall these addvantajies, he had some morrel and intellectuel pecularetys wich made him a tormant to hisself an to all conectid with him. Is condukt at the time of the Revolushun had gave the worlde an high hoppiniun, not mearly of his patriatisme, but of his curraje, ennergey and discision. It would seam, howivar, that yoothful enthooseasme, and the exillarashun proddused by publik simpethey and aplaus, had on that ocasiun raased him above hisself. Scarseley any othar parte of his life was of a peace with that splended commensement. He had hardley becum Secratery of Stait when it appeard that his nurves were too week for such a poste. The dayley toile, the hevvey responsabilletey, the faylyours, the mortefecations, the obliquey, which are insepereble from power, had broke his sperrit, sowrd his tempar, and impared his health. To such naturs has his the sustaning power of high rellijius princepals seem to be pecularley necesarey: and unfortunatley Shrewsberry had, in the act of shakeing off the yolk of that superstition in which he had been eddukated, libberated himselfe allso from more salutory bandes wich might peraps have braiced his two delikatly constetuted mind into steddfestnes and upritenes. Destetut of such suporte, he was, with great abeletys a week man, and though indowed with maney amiable and attraktif qualletys, could not be called a honist man. For his own apiness, he should either have bin much bettar or much worser. 1 Time allowed, 14 hours. It is evedent that Charles had fallin into such a sittuation that, which ever side he embrased, his erors must be dangerous: no wonder therefor he was in great purplexety. But he did worse than embrase the worser side: for, propperley speaking, he embrased no side at tall. He concleuded a suddain peacification, in which it was stippulated, that he should withdraw his fleat and armey; that withhin eight-and-fortey hours the Scotts should dismis there forces; that the king's orthority should be acknowledged ; and a general assembly and a parliment be imediatley summoned, in order to compose all diferences. What was the reasons which ingaged the king to admitt such strenge artikles of peace, it is in vein to inquire; for their scarsely could be any. The causes of that evvent reppresenting to the Engleesh the griefances under which Scottland labored, and the evill councils which had been sugested to their soveran. Their libbertys, they said, was envaded; the prerrogatives of the crown extinded beyond all former presedent; illegeal courts was errected; the hiererarchy exalted at the expence of nationall privileges; and so many new supperstiteons introdduced by the haughtey tyrranical prelates, as create a just suspision that a projict was seriusly formed for the ristoreation of popery. The king's conduct, surely, in Scottland, had been in evry thing excipt in estabblishing ecleseastical cannons, more legal than in England; yet was their such a general resimblance in the complants of both kingdoms that the Engleesh redily assinted to all the reppresintations of the Scottish mallcontents, and beleived that nation to have been drivven by opression into the violant councils which they had embrased. So far, therefor, from being willing to second the king in subdueing the free spirrits of the Scotts, they rather pityed that unhapy people, who had been pushed to those extrimities; and they thought that the exampel of such nabours, as well as there assistance, might be usefull to England. Time allowed, 1 hours. Has I wauked the othar day in a fyne gardin, and obsarved the great variaty of improvmants in plants and flours, beond what they otharwise would have been, I was naturaly lead into a reflextion uppon the advantiges of edduceation, or modarn culture, how manney good qualleties in the miend is lost, for want of the like dew care in nursin and skillfully managin them; how manny virtues are choked by the multetud of weads wich is sufered to gro among them; how hexcellant abilleties are offen starvd and useles, by been planted in a rong soile; and how verry seldum does these morrel seads prodduce the nobil fruites wich might be egspected from them, howing to the neglict of proppar menureing, neecesary pruneing, and a artfull managemant of hour tendar hinclenations and furst spring of life. These hoboeous specculeations made me at lenth cunclude, that there his a sort of vegitabel principal in the meind of evry man when he furst cums into the world. In hinfants, the seads ly burryed and undescovered til after a while they sproute forthe in a keind of nattionel leafs, which is words; and in dew season the flours begin to appeer in variaty of beatifull colours, and all the gay picturs of yoothfull fansey and immagenation; at last the fruite nits and is formd, which is grean perhaps, at first, sower, and unpleasent to the taste, and not fitt to be gatherd, till ripenned by dew care and aplication it descovvers itself in hall the nobil prodducteons of phylosiphy, mathewmatics, slose reasonin, and loggikal argumantasion. These fruites when the arrive at just meturety, and is of a good kind, aforde the most vigorous nurushmant to the meinds of man. I reflicted farther on the intelectuall leafs beformensioned, and found almost as great a variaty among them as in the vegitabel wurld. I could easely obsarve the smoothe shineing Ittalien leafs, the nimbel French aspen evver in motion, the Greeke and Latten evvergreans, the Spannesh mirtle, the Engleesh oke, the Scotch thestle, the pricley German and Dutch holley, the Poleish and Roussien nettel, besides a vast number of exottiks emported from Asear, Afrecar, and Amiricar. [In competitive examinations a lithographed manuscript has commonly been used.] |