88 one accord, and shew the Radicals that at this game, above all others, they have not the shadow of a chance. Let every man look around, before the 31st of January has passed, and do his best, among his kinsmen and friends, to create as great a strength for the next contest, as his opportunities and means will afford. We repeat then, once more, that, as respects the registration of the present - it is, in year, it is beyond a doubt fact, sufficiently admitted, even by our antagonists themselves that the Conservatives have achieved a decided victory. But we are distinctly warned, that the enemy means to try another fall with us; and that he even entertains hopes of being able, in the registration of 1836, to repair the losses he has sustained in that of 1835. By every motive, then, whether of pride in what we have already done, or of hope as to the still greater triumphs which it is in our power to achieve, we are urged to perseverance in that course on which we have so auspiciously entered. Nor ought we to forget, whether in treating of this or any kindred subject, the great encouragement which naturally flows from the present position of affairs. The Conservatives are not in possession of the government, it is true; but they are in the nearest possible proximity to it. Having, there is no doubt, the best wishes of the sovereign, and having also the support of three-fourths of the House of Peers, they were foiled, in their last effort, by the merest fraction of the House of Commons. That fraction, a miserable dozen or two of votes, is rapidly melting away; and once gone, the unanimous voice of monarch, peers, and commons, calls the Conservatives again to the helm of power. And does not this position of affairs furnish the strongest possible inducement to a vigorous and continuous effort? Surely it does! The general election in January last partook somewhat of the character of the "dead lift." Though cause enough existed, on the part of the cabinet, why a dissolution should be resorted to, there was scarcely sufficient motive supplied to the people to rouse them to exertion. What little feeling was aroused was all on the side of the Whigs for it was pleaded that "Lord that "his ministry had been broken Yet, even under these circumstances, Yet, even during that session, when- Men of honour and of conscience, Downing Street have taken one very Shortly after the prorogation, no Two of these seats were last occupied by Tories. The Marquis of Worcester sat for West Gloucestershire, and Lord R. Manners for North Leicestershire. The other two vacancies were caused by the death of Mr. Locke, member for Devizes, and of Lord Milton, member for Northamptonshire, both staunch On the announcement of the first two of these vacancies, several of the Radical prints, who evidently were not in the secret, began to cry out, "What a famous opportunity to shew how greatly the Liberals have gained on this year's registration! Let candidates be immediately started for Gloucestershire and for Leicestershire." It happened, however, unfortunately for these gentry, that there is more in a county election than mere swagger and talk; and country gentlemen, though they may be staunch Whigs, do not relish the idea of throwing away some three or four thousand pounds on an election, except they can see some little chance of success at the end. This chance did not appear to them to exist, either in Gloucester or Leicester. Therefore, in the latter county, the "Liberals" did not think it wise even to propose a candidate; while in the former, though they started a man, and a very respectable and worthy one, they found it expedient, in less than eight-and-forty hours afterwards, to withdraw his name, having first ascertained that if he went to a poll he would be beaten by a certain majority of more than two to one! These were the vacancies caused by the deaths of two Tories. But there were other two, caused by the decease of two Whigs. What became of these? Both of them have been filled up by Tories! and that not by surprise, or accident, or any other mischance, but after fair and open contests, in both of which the Whigs had, rather unusually, a great preponderance of local interest. Mr. Locke, member for Devizes, had been returned by a majority of nearly one hundred above his Tory colleague, he, Mr. Locke, being a staunch Whig, or rather Radical. He died, and the electors proceed to choose a suceessor; and they fix upon Mr. Estcourt, a Conservative, in preference to Capt. Dundas, a Whig, by a majority of 157 against 145, after the influence of the Whig lord-lieutenant, and of every leading Whig in the county, had been racked to the utmost to coerce the electors. Had the choice been left to the constituency, without the least influence on either side, the majority in favour of Mr. Estcourt would have been more than fifty, as the Whigs and Radicals very well was that of Northamptonshire. The northern division of this county had been divided, since the passing of the Reform-bill, between a Whig and a Tory-the property and influence of Lord Fitzwilliam, the chief resident nobleman in the district, being too great to leave any apparent chance of depriving the Whigs of at least a share in the representation. In 1832 the Conservatives were bold enough to make the attempt, but Lord Milton polled 1562 votes, and came in at the head of the poll, while his antagonist, the second Conservative candidate, stood at the foot, with only 1269. However, Lord Milton died, and the Whigs assumed, as a matter of course, and almost of right, that they would be allowed to name his successor. They had no intention, they said, of disturbing Lord Brudenell's seat (the Conservative member), and they took for granted that their right to a share in the representation would not be denied. It is sufficiently clear that this way of putting the question gave them a considerable advantage. Added to which they had, of the two, the preferable candidate. The ministerial prints observed, "Mr. Hanbury has every qualification to be desired in a county member. He is of an old and honourable family, and possesses a large property in the county; whereas Mr. Maunsell (the Conservative candidate) is an Irish gentleman, only lately become known to the county of Northampton, and having only a small property in it." The preponderance of influence, too, was on the side of the Whigs. Their journals assured us, with the greatest delight, that "Mr. Hanbury had the support of the Dukes of Bedford and Cleveland, of the Marquis of Northampton, of Lords Fitzwilliam, Spencer, and Sondes; and that Lord Strathaven, Sir Culling Smith, Stafford O'Brien, Esq., Mr. Vernon Smith, M.P., and Sir J. Hanbury, accompanied him on his canvass ! Despite, however, all these advantages, Mr. Maunsell persevered, relying on the private gentry and substantial yeomanry of the county; and on the second day of polling the final found numbers were to be, Maunsell, 1841; for Hanbury, 1247! leaving a majority of 594. Now, as Lord Milton had defeated his compe - for titor by a majority of 293, it was obvious that a majority of 594 on the opposite side was equivalent to a change of not fewer than 887 votes ! And this out of a constituency of about 3700! Say we not truly, then, that our prospects daily brighten, and that it only requires a little longer perseverance in exertion to insure the righting of the vessel of the state, and her future course of safety and honour? A still further motive, however, may be found in the fearful predicament in which the country remains, amidst all these hopes, so long as the firm of Russell, O'Connell, and Co. continue to conduct its affairs. And this cannot be better described than in the words of the Liberals themselves. The very last number of the Edinburgh Review thus characterises that predicament: "A state of things in which this very worst of mischiefs must oftentimes befall us, posed themselves to some ridicule by supposing that a man who has so many motives for resenting the treatment he has experienced could cordially coalesce with them in any plan for the pacification of Ireland. His tactics were those of the devil in the old legends, he usually deludes his victims with the hope of relief from their embarrassments; and when his bait has been swallowed, he suddenly turns round on them, and shews that he was all the time deceiving them." This, then, is the sort of government we are now under,-one whose policy, according to the Edinburgh Review, is "dictated by an individual;" which very individual, according to the Morning Chronicle, is " an agitator from necessity," and one "whose policy is that of the devil in the old legends." Such is the present predicament of once happy England! Yet from this condition she may be delivered,- nay! assuredly will be delivered, if the friends of the king, of the church, and of the constitution, do but continue a little longer the efforts they are now making. Can we leave this subject without referring to one more feature of the present moment, namely, the splendid that small knots of men, or even single individuals, rising into an unnatural and most inauspicious importance, are enabled to dictate to the government what line shall be pursued; and thus to become the arbiters upon measures of 66 As long as the the greatest moment. parties that divide parliament are so equally balanced, every individual-certainly every half-dozen individualsmay exert an influence on the affairs of the country, which no good citizen can contemplate without feelings of alarm." Such is the opinion of one whose means of judging no one will dispute, -for by common consent this article is attributed to Lord Brougham. In his view, the circumstance of a single individual, or a knot of individuals, being enabled, by holding the balance in the House of Commons, to "dictate the policy of the government," is one which ought to "fill every good citizen with feelings of alarm." That O'Connell and his tail are here aimed at is beyond a doubt; though the position is stated generally, and without reference to any indicated individual. But how far does the character of this powerful demagogue allay or heighten this alarm? Let the Morning Chronicle reply to this question. In October 1834, it thus described him : "Mr. O'Connell is an agitator from necessity. He must be an agitator, or he is nothing; and the government have ex gatherings" of Conservatives which have lately taken place, even in towns where, three years ago, the very name of "Tory" would have almost caused a man to be hooted through the streets! Especially we must remark the festival at Bath, the seat of Mr. Roebuck's popularity; that at Sheffield, blessed with Mr. Buckingham as its representative; and that at Birmingham, which has, up to this period, returned Mr. Thomas Attwood. In each of these towns, the number of persons who attended these dinners amounted to very nearly one thousand. By what possible means could the half, or the fifth of this number, have been collected together, two or three years back, under the Conservative standard? The last--that at Birmingham-was also rendered remarkable by the production of two political songs, of a description far above the ordinary run of such effusions. To us they appear both so intrinsically good, and also so well calculated to be useful on similar occasions, that we shall offer no apology for introducing them, without further preface, as the best possible conclusion of our present article. f country from shore unto shore It bids us arouse, ere our birthright be gone, Too long, oh! too long has a Faction held sway, That would take from her King and her Nobles their own, But it shall not avail them; the voice is gone forth Here we stand for Old England, her rights and her laws "The sea-girt isle! the sea-girt isle! Where native freedom loves to smile, There let the baffled rage of Faction cease There live the arts of commerce and of peace! There shall that patriot spirit reign In war the foeman's withering bane, Dauntless as stand the cliffs that guard her shore, That sea-girt isle! say, shall it yield To fraud or tyranny; For which a Wellesley braved the field, No! let her gallant sons their powers unite, Her threefold banner nobly waves, Which breathes not o'er a land of slaves, King, Lords, and Commons, shall the watchword be, That wish, which sees their country blest, Her peasant sons shall share; It fires with zeal the manly breast, The bosoms of the fair:" The laws, the faith, their conquering fathers gave, Isle of our birth! thy destinies Go! bid united hearts our bulwark be, 92 THE GREEK PASTORAL POETS THEOCRITUS, BION, AND MOSCHUs. MOSCHUS. Moscпus was a contemporary and friend of Bion, whose school he is supposed to have attende in Italy, whence he styles himself his disciple, and the heir of the Doric Muse; adding, that his master had bequeathed his riches to others, his poetry to him. been replied, that grief has no universal language; and that, when the first overwhelming paroxysm of sorrow is past away, every man will write such verses (if he write them at all) as the ordinary turn of his mind may dictate. Thus the sweeping declaration of Johnson, that where there is leisure for fiction there is little grief, receives a signal defeat. Milton, when he shadowed his lost friend, Mr. King, under the person of Lycidas, was won by the charm of that mythology in which he took so much delight; and when Bishop Andrews prayed for his daily bread in Greek, the fervour of the Christian was not less sincere or intense because it was tinged by the Every enthusiasm of the scholar. - held Αλλοις μεν τεον ολβον, εμοί δ' απελειφας αοιδαν. I. composition must necessarily be the Having already presented the reader with a version of the Elegy on Adonis, we are now about to take up the lyre in praise of Bion. The great resemblance between them will be apparent to every reader. Cry aloud with me, dark groves! thou Dorian river, weep! Let a voice of sorrow rush from all the forest-bowers, And odorous sighs creep out from the sweet lips of the flowers. And thou, fair hyacinth, unfold thy weeping leaves with me. II. Sicilian muses, weep! Begin, begin the mournful hymn! The shepherd Bion is gone hence; the poet's eyes are dim: III. -FI bump! Sicilian muses, weep! |