alleging that they were cooler, more convenient, and more private. This Lord Amherst declined. The Koong-yay, having failed in his attempt to persuade him, left the room for the purpose of taking the emperor's pleasure upon the subject. A message arrived soon after the Koongyay's quitting the room, to say that the emperor dispensed with the ambassador's attendance; that he had further been pleased to direct his physician to afford to His Excellency every medical assistance that his illness might require. The Koong-yay himself soon followed, and His Excellency proceeded to the carriage. The Koong-yay not disdaining to clear away the crowd, the whip was used by him to all persons indiscriminately; buttons were no protection. And however indecorous, according to our notions, the employment might be for a man of his rank, it could not have been in better hands.

ON POVERTY IN MARRIAGE.

Thrice wretched he, that's poor, and takes a wife,

pressed; the previous arrangement for the eighth of the Chinese month, a period certainly much too early for comfort, was adverted to, and the utter impossibility of His Excellency appearing in his present state of fatigue and deficiency of every necessary equipment was strongly urged. During this time the room had filled with spectators, who rudely pressed upon us to gratify their curiosity. Some other messages were interchanged between the Koong-yay and Lord Amherst, who, in addition to the reasons already given, | stated the indecorum and irregularity of his appearing without his credentials. In his reply to this, it was said that in the proposed audience the emperor merely wished to see the ambassador, and had no intention of entering upon business. Lord Amherst having persisted in expressing the inadmissibility of the proposition, and in transmitting through the Koong-yay a humble request to his imperial majesty that he would be graciously pleased to wait till to-morrow, Chang and another mandarin finally proposed that His Excellency should go over to the Koongyay's apartments, from whence a reference might be made to the emperor. Lord Amherst, having alleged bodily illness as one of the reasons for declining the And doth engender children!—Oh fool, fool! audience, readily saw that if he went to Who, undefended, bare of necessaries, the Koong-yay this plea would cease to Soon as ill fortune comes, that comes to all, avail him, positively declined compliance. Can't wrap his miseries in affluence; This produced a visit from the Koong-But in a naked, wretched poverty, yay, who used every argument to induce him to obey the emperor's commands. All proving ineffectual, with some roughness, but under pretext of friendly violence, he laid hands upon Lord Amherst to take him from the room; another mandarin followed his example. shook them off, declaring that nothing but the extremest violence should induce him to quit that room for any other place but the residence assigned to him; he further pointed out the gross insult he had already received in having been exposed to the intrusion and indecent curiosity of crowds, who appeared to view him rather as a wild beast than the representative of a powerful Sovereign. At all events, he entreated the Koong-yay to submit his request to his imperial majesty, who, he felt confident, would, in consideration of his illness and fatigue, dispense with his immediate appearance. The Koong-yay then pressed Lord Amherst to come to his apartments,

He

Freezes, like winter;-misery his portion;
Too amply dealt, and every good denied.

MENANDER.

ON COVETOUSNESS.

The man, who sacrifices, Pamphilus,
A multitude of bulls, or goats, or sheep;
Or prepares golden vestments, purple raiment,
Thinking,

Figures of ivory, or precious gems;

Thinking to render God propitious to him,
Most grossly errs, and bears an empty mind.

Let him be good and charitable rather,
No doer of uncleanness, no corrupter
Of virgin innocence, no murderer, robber,
In quest of gain. Covet not, Pamphilus,
Even a needleful of thread; for God,
Who, always near thee, always sees thy deeds.

MENANDER.

The war-pipes are pealing 'The Campbells There was one of us, a corporal's wife,

214
She slept like a child on her father's floor,
In the flecking of woodbine-shade,
When the house-dog sprawls by the open door,
And the mother's wheel is stayed.

THE ORATION AGAINST THE CROWNING OF DEMOSTHENES.

It was smoke and roar and powder-stench,
And hopeless waiting for death;

And the soldier's wife, like a full-tired child,
Seemed scarce to draw her breath.

I sank to sleep; and I had my dream
Of an English village-lane,

And wall and garden; but one wild scream
Brought me back to the roar again.

There Jessie Brown stood listening

Till a sudden gladness broke

All over her face; and she caught my hand
And drew me near as she spoke:-
"The Hielanders! O, dinna ye hear
The slogan far awa?
The McGregors',-O, I ken it weel;
It's the grandest o' them a'!

"God bless the bonny Hielanders!

We're saved! we're saved!" she cried; And fell on her knees; and thanks to God Flowed forth like a full flood-tide.

Along the battery-line her cry

Had fallen among the men,

And they started back;-they were there to die;

But was life so near them, then?

They listened for life; the rattling fire

Far off, and the far-off roar,
Were all; and the colonel shook his head,
And they turned to their guns once more.

But Jessie said, "The slogan's done;
But winna ye hear it noo,

The Campbells are comin'? It's no a dream;
Our succors hae broken through!"

We heard the roar and the rattle afar,
But the pipes we could not hear:

So the men plied their work of hopeless war,
And knew that the end was near.

It was not long ere it made its way,-
A thrilling, ceaseless sound:

It was no noise from the strife afar,
Or the sappers under ground.

It was the pipes of the Highlanders!

And now they played Auld Lang Syne !
It came to our men like the voice of God,
And they shouted along the line.

And they wept, and shook one another's hands,
And the women sobbed in a crowd;
And every one knelt down where he stood,
And we all thanked God aloud.

That happy time, when we welcomed them,
Our men put Jessie first;

And the general gave her his hand, and cheers
Like a storm from the soldiers burst.

And the pipers' ribbons and tartan streamed,
Marching round and round our line;
And our joyful cheers were broken with tears,
As the pipes played Auld Lang Syne.

THE ORATION AGAINST THE
CROWNING OF DEMOSTHENES.'
[schines, next to Demosthenes, the greatest
orator of antiquity (b. 398 B. c., d. 314 B. c.), is handed
down to posterity as a great master of reasoning aud a
noble speaker. His style was full, diffusive, and sono-
rous, yet he was a stranger to the glowing expressions
and daring figures of his great rival Demosthenes. His
writings cousist of some epistles and three orations,
which are excellent in their kind, and worthy the pe-
rusal of the politest scholar. But if we would view his
abilities to the greatest advantage, we must not com-
pare him with the immortal Demosthenes. Then will
his figures appear to want neither beauty nor grandeur;
then will his easy and natural manner be seen in its
proper point of view; and a just attention will discover
no small degree of force and energy in his diction,
which at first appears only flowing and harmonious.

Eschines and Demosthenes had ever been distinguished by their weight and influence in the assemblies of their state. They had adopted different systems of politics, and stood at the head of two opposite parties, each so powerful as to prevail by turns, and to defeat the schemes of their antagonist. The leaders had, on several occasions, avowed their mutual opposition and animosity. Demosthenes, in particular, had brought an impeachment against his rival, and obliged him to enter into a formal defence of his conduct during an embassy at the Macedonian court. His resentment was confirmed by his oration against Ctesiphon, who had proposed a decree in the senate that Demosthenes should be crowned in full theatre for his distinguished virtue and eminent services to the republic. He there

1 See The Oration of Demosthenes in Reply to Eschines, page 36, Vol. IX.

cumstances.

THE ORATION AGAINST THE CROWNING OF DEMOSTHENES.

attempts to prove it illegal in itself and in all its cirHe then takes an occasion of calling in question his conduct in public life, and inveighs against him with the utmost acrimony.]

215

in the presence of all the Grecian states convict the Athenian people of such exceeding folly. Do not oblige the unhappy Thebans to recollect this incurable, this irreparable misfortune-whom this De

country, and whom you have received into your city; whose temples, houses, and sepulchres his avarice and the Persian gold have totally destroyed.

"But since you were not personally present, now with the eye of indignation behold them in their affliction: Imagine you see their city taken, their walls in ruins, their houses in flames, their wives and children dragged into slavery, their aged men and women, venerably old, thus late unlearning the happy lesson of liberty, weeping, imploring your companion, not angry with their oppressors, but with the authors of their calamities; conjuring you never to crown this pest of Greece, but studiously to avoid the genius and illfortune inseparably attending upon his person.

"Indulge me, for a moment, and imag-mosthenes hath driven out of their native ine that you are now not in this tribunal, but in the theatre; imagine that you see the herald approaching, and the proclamation prescribed in the decree on the point of being delivered, and then consider whether will the friends of the deceased shed more tears at the tragedies, at the pathetic stories of the great characters to be presented on the stage, or at the insensibility of their country? What inhabitant of Greece, what human creature, who hath imbibed the least share of liberal sentiments, must not feel the deepest sorrow when he reflects on one transaction which he must have seen in the theatre; when he remembers-if he remembers nothing else that on festivals like these, when the tragedies were to be presented, in those times, when the state was well governed and directed by faithful ministers, a herald appeared, and introducing those orphans whose fathers had died in battle, now arrived at maturity, and dressed in complete armor, pronounced this noble proclamation, and highest incentive to valor and glorious achievements. 'These orphans, whose fathers lost their lives in defence of their country, the people of Athens have educated to this age, and having now armed them, with all good wishes of success, invite them to contend for the first honors of state.'

"Thus did the herald at that time address the people; but very different this present proclamation. For having presented to them the person who deprived those orphans of their fathers, what can he say? what shall he proclaim? Altho' he pronounce the stated terms of your decree, yet the turpitude arising from truth will not be silent, but will seem to proclaim in direct opposition to the herald's voice: The people of Athens crown this worst bad man" (if, indeed, he deserves the name of man) for his virtue: this coward, this deserter of his post in battle, for his courage.'

"Do not, in the name of Jupiter, and all our other gods, I conjure you, oh, Athenians do not erect a trophy over yourselves in the theatre of Bacchus; nor

"When the Thessalians resolved to invade the republic, and the young monarch in the first transports of his anger had invested Thebes, Demosthenes, being appointed your ambassador to intercede for the besieged, betook himself to flight from the middle of Mount Citheron, and returned to Athens: proving himself, neither in peace nor war, a valuable, useful citizen.

The conclusion of his oration is nervous, spirited, and pathetic:

"When he calls upon his partners and associates of his corruptions to be his advocates, imagine you behold upon this very tribunal where I stand the persons who have eminently well deserved of the republic, ranged in opposition to their arrogance: Solon, who adorned your democracy with the wisest laws; Solon, equally eminent as a philosopher and a legislator-imagine you behold him imploring you with that modest dignity so befitting his character, never to suffer the eloquence of Demosthenes to have a greater influence over you than the religion of your oath and the obligation of your laws. Imagine Aristides, who regulated with so much equity the general contributions of the people portioned after his death; imagine him in anguish and

LUXURY AND POVERTY.

[Plautus, the excellent Roman poet, may be called the prince of comic writers. Was born at Sarsina about 254, died 184 B. C., and is highly commended by Pliny

the younger and Gellius for his learning. Quintilian tells us that Ælius Stolo made no scruple of affirming that if the muses were to speak in Latin they would make use of the language of Plautus.

He appeared when very young upon the stage as an

sorrow deploring the contumely with which justice is treated, and asking if your ancestors almost put to death the Zelite Arthmius, an inhabitant of Athens, and received by her people with the public rites of hospitality, because he brought gold from Persia into Greece; if they banished him by proclamation, not from Athens only, but from all her dominions, will you not blush to crown Demosthenes with a golden crown, who did not indeed bring gold from Persia, but hath amassed it by every kind of corruption, and who is now in the possession of his ill-gotten treasures? Will not Themistocles and they who died at Marathon and Platea? will not the very sepulchres of your ancestors burst forth into groans if he, who confesses he conspired against Greece with born in Sursina, a town in Umbria. 'Tis certain that the barbarians, should be crowned by your decree?

66

actor and author, and although the son of a slave, nature was so bountiful to this celebrated wit that, following the natural bent of his inclinations, he became the wonder and admiration of his age. The ancients were more zealous in treasuring up for posterity the writings of great men than in the recital of their actions; they are, in a manner, silent respecting the private character of this famous writer. If, however, we may credit Crinitus, a Florentine, our poet was

he was living in Rome, and in great reputation, in the time of P. Scipio, Fulvius, and M. Cato.

The Latin language no doubt owed its first charms

to the masterly fertile pen of Plautus. He carried comedy to the highest degree of perfection. Between

him and Terence, says Thornton, there is not perhaps so much difference but that we may apply to them the words in the Prologue of Adrian:

"Know one, and you know both; in argument Less different than in sentiment and stile."

Hear, therefore, O Earth, and Sun, and Virtue, and Intelligence, and Erudition, by which we distinguish between things beautiful and deformed; be witness I have endeavored to support your influence, and have pleaded the cause of the republic. If I have spoken with that force and dignity befitting this impeachment, I have spoken to the utmost of my wishes; if not, to the utmost of my abilities. May you, both from the arguments I have enforced and those I have passed over in silence, pronounce such a sentence as in itself may be most agreeable to justice and conducive to the prosperity Epicharmus, the Sicilian, was his principal model, and of the republic."

[This extraordinary contest raised so much the curiosity of the Athenians that they flocked from all parts to hear these famous orators who had such personal enmity to each other. However, Demosthenes' superior eloquence prevailed; and, notwithstanding schines was condemned to pay a small fine, yet he preferred perpetual banishment rather than live at Athens under the character of an informer. He retired to Rhodes, where he opened a school for eloquence. He began his lectures with his and his adversary's orations. Great applause was given his; but when that of Demosthenes was read, the acclamations were redoubled; on which Eschines addressed himself to his auditors:

"If you are so delighted with the bare rehearsal of this oration, what would you have been had you heard him deliver it himself, with all his fire and force?"

History relates that, as our unhappy orator was retiring from Athens, Demosthenes followed him, and forced him to accept of a large present of money in his then distressed state of finances.]

-Colman.

Plautus knew the human heart, and was a perfect master of the follies, crimes, and virtues of his countrymen. The plan, indeed, of his pieces was not his own; he always worked upon the canvas of others, as he took the Greeks, Philemon, Menander, etc., for his guide.

he carefully studied every line of that great master; from this source he drew the grace, attic salt, brilliant sallies, and warm coloring of his dialogue.

Plautus has been honored with the appellation of the Tenth Muse, the Roman Syren, etc. Horace, however, blames him for his conforming too much to the manners of his age, by frequently adopting their coarsest jokes and vulgarisms.

The interval between the last comedy of Plautus and the first of Terence was but twenty years, yet the revolution in tastes and manners was astonishing; we can, therefore, easily account for the superiority of the latter in point of style and delicacy; nevertheless Plautus was to Terence what Homer was to Virgil.

His Amphitryon has been imitated by several moderns, particularly Molière and Dryden. This piece had the celebrity of being represented 500 years after the poet's death in the feasts consecrated to Jupiter. Ilorace also says:

"Make the Greek authors your supreme delight,
Read them by day, and study them by night.
And yet our sires with joy could Plautus hear;
Gay were his jests, his numbers charm'd their ear."]