803 Essay on Patriotism. 804 sent to our astonished view. Whe- every nation which strove for her own ther ever the pious Hervey visited advancement. In some kingdoms the this instructive scene or not, I cannot robust and uncorrupted feelings of tell, but I should think it highly cal-nature, would not permit the slightest culated to put in motion the mind and shrinking from the front of battle, and pen of such a rich and contemplative eternal disgrace awaited all those who genius. Could any of your numerous proved cowards in the dreadful day. readers, who are acquainted with the Such was the case with the Spartans; ancient and topographical history of all of whom, women as well as men, were that neighbourhood, throw any light accustomed to manly exercises, and upon the time, cause, &c. of this conceived nothing but manly purposes. "place of sculls and valley of dry After the battle of Leuctra, the parents bones," they would oblige, respected of those Spartans who fell in action, went to the temples to thank the gods sir, yours truly, that their sons had done their duty; while those, whose children survived that dreadful day, were overwhelmed with grief. Gilstead, near Bingley, 9th June, 1821. T. G. ESSAY ON PATRIOTISM,-BY A. H. If we would inquire the cause of this boldness in defence of one's country, we must naturally refer it to the extreme affection which men feel towards the place of their birth, and their anxiety to preserve it secure. "Vel pace, vel bello clarum fieri licet." Sallust. ARNOLD de Winkelrid, the Swiss hero, perceiving, at the battle of Sempach, the difficulty of penetrating the Austrians, because the latter, armed cap-a-pie, having dismounted, formed a close battalion; conceived the noble design of sacrificing his own life, to give the advantage to his countrymen. My friends," said he to the Swiss, "I will this day give my life to procure you the victory; I only recommend to you my family follow me, and act in consequence of what you see me do." At these words he ranged them in the form of a cuneus, and placing himself at the point of the triangle, marched to the centre of the enemy; when, embracing between his arms as many of the enemy's pikes as he could compass, he threw himself to the ground, thus opening for his followers a passage to penetrate into the midst of this thick battalion. The Austrians, once broken, were conquered, as the weight of their armour then became fatal to them; and the Swiss obtained a complete victory. Vattel remarks, that this exploit would have deserved to be transmitted to posterity by the pen of a Livy. The esteem in which the Swiss hold the memory of this courageous individual, fully illustrates the observation, pulchrum est bene facere reipublicæ." In this example, that noble disinterestedness, so rarely found in very modern times, appears Cedant arma togæ, concedat laurea linguæ. to crown the possessor with immortal honour and well-earned glory. To pre-"There are," says Bacon, "counselserve this honourable and natural spirit lors and governors which may be held of patriotism, was an object with sufficient, negotiis pares, able to ma Sed cum omnia ratione animoque lustraris, omnium societatem nulla est gravior, nulla carior, quam ea, quæ cum republica est unicuique nostrum. Cari sunt parentes, cari liberi, propinqui, familiares: sed omnes omnium caritates patria una complexa est: pro qua quis bonus dubitet mortem oppetere, si ei sit profuturus?" "Such is the patriot's boast; where'er we roam, His first, best country, ever is at home." It is certain that those who thus sacrificed themselves, were always honoured by posterity, and held in high estimation. A festival was instituted among the Greeks in remembrance of their deceased heroes, which doubtless tended to increase in men's minds a thirst for fame, and sensations of attachment to their country. 66 We come now to consider the merit of civil services, which promote the prosperity of a nation: the consideration of these will better suit Britons of the present day. War has happily disappeared, and the nation at present enjoys both foreign and domestic peace. He who succeeds in prospering the state in respect of its government, is certainly worthy of the greatest commendation. And, when comparing the merit of a skilful legislator, with that of a skilful general, I should determine 805 Essay on Patriotism.-Poetry. 806 nage affairs, and to keep them from pre- | Individual interest is often aimed at cipices and manifest inconveniences; under the mask of liberty, and people which, nevertheless, are far from the are deceived by appearances and outability to raise and amplify an estate ward professions: the generality opin power, means, and fortune." Now, pressed by a party, fly into the arms of "power, means, and fortune," do not the opposite one, only to discover the entirely depend on the external valour deceit. of a nation. The judgment of proper occasions for war, and the regulation of the most important business, depend on the "workmen" at home. The internal state of the kingdom is in the management of those who are concerned in its government; to enact or propose to be enacted, salutary laws; to make great exertions in order to preserve peace already established; to crush evils in the bud; to save from "precipices," and to amplify the estate in "power, means, and fortune," are the peculiar cases which fall on the shoulders of governors. It is clear, that internal prosperity in itself, is more conducive to happiness than mere outward splendour; when evil commotions disturb the state, when "much poverty and much discontentment" dwell among the people, foreign enemies will take the utmost advantage of their situation. The man then who excels in regulating the nation in these particulars, thereby contributing to the prosperity of the state, both external and internal, is worthy of praise, and richly merits the approbation of the people. One of the greatest patriot kings that ever lived, was Alfred the Great; who delivered his people out of the greatest extremity from a foreign invasion, and afterwards regulated the internal policy of the kingdom in a manner calculated to ensure the happiness of his subjects. Solon, of ancient times, is a name of which no one is ignorant. He united prudence with zeal, and thereby rendered his fame more solid in the eyes of all wise men. His own declaration was," he gave his countrymen not the best of all possible laws, but the best they were capable of receiving." All have given the name of patriots to such as have come forward to assert the liberties of their country, when endangered by its rulers. Such have doubtless great claim to merit, if they would not transgress proper limits. The feelings of many who would be called patriots, are rather too much expressive of that line,— "Rebellion is my theme all day." To the spirit of generosity which courts liberty, the English owe their happiness: if a shameful acquiescence in tyranny had suited the feelings of our ancestors, Magna Charta would never have been enacted and confirmed. To conclude: Patriotism arises from a noble and natural attachment; it is that which alone forms good citizens; it is that which should be felt in the hearts of all orders of the state, from the heads of the nation, through the several gradations of men. Poetry. ODE FOR THE CORONATION, 19th JULY, 1821. Recited at a Public Festival, held on that day in the town of Penzance, Cornwall; dedicated to all Loyal Subjects, and to the Inhabitants of that Town in particular. "In those days there was no king in Israel :every man did that which was right in his own eyes."-JUDGES xvii. 6. DIRE was their fate, when Israel's hosts Could aught assuage When the fatal tocsin bell, But echoed the demoniac yell And only heard the din of war Say whence of such great bliss the spring?- And when the Sire resign'd his sway, In joyful shouts, that rend the skies; While Fame resounds from shore to shore, Our much-lov'd King is crown'd They see the Monarch of these happy isles, High on th' imperial Throne of State, 'Mid princes, nobles, chiefs of ancient name, And heroes bold, of deathless fame, And countless crowds with joy elate:~ 'Mid dazzling throngs, where beauty's bloom Mingles with the sparkling ray, Golconda's costliest gems display; And all their charms employ But oh! what glorious visions high The spirits of the mighty dead, By Edwards, Henrys, Brunswicks, led, That animate and teach To guide the helm, or point the spear, The souls whom noblest deeds inspire See among The shining throng, Those chiefs of old, And warriors bold, Who forc'd proud Gallia's kings to yield Or bled at Waterloo!!! These with celestial fervour glow, They bend benignant o'er the scene, Who 'erewhile on the watch were found, Our heav'n protected isles! They joy to see the rage of war, With dark sedition, banish'd far, While peaceful joys prevail : 808 They seem to bid our Sov'reign hail! 'Tis great to guide the hostile shock of arms; His name shall raise, Whose royal smile fair Science cheers; That chill th' aspiring mind :- High and splendid is the throne, Ön which our Sov'reign sits; Mighty chiefs his sceptre own, Shields unnumber'd guard the crown, As well his state befits: But our much-lov'd Monarch fills A throne more proudly high; Bears a surer shield from ills, A sword for ever nigh. Whence the charm, Or what the arm, Which can such matchless power impart? "His shield, the laws that guard the land! "His sword, each Briton's ready hand! "His throne, each Briton's heart!" Happy Britons, did we know, How blest beyond compare! To that we Britons share. And see throughout this mighty empire round, Stretch'd forth to earth's remotest bound, How all the universal throng, The sacred temples crowd; And swells the anthem loud :- Glory to thee, of kings the King! And banish all his fears :- B. ON AUTUMN.—By B. Hopkins. THE Sweets of spring no more the sense regales, Nor summer's glories captivate the eye; Nor balmy odours breathe along the vale, But sylphs and zephyrs droop their wings, and die. The gaudy colour, emblem of the beau, No longer now excites the florist's boast; High on the stem no mantling colours glow, Their leaves are wither'd, and their glory lost. The trees, that erst in verdant colours gay, Afforded umbrage from the solar heat, Must now submit to autumn's powerful sway, And strew their fading honours at his feet. See all around one desolated scene, 'Tis now the faded, not the flowery lawn; Yet still the humble daisy smiles serene, Though Flora has the gayer tribes withdrawn. Short is the spring, and short the summer's hour, And short the time that fruitful autumn reigns; Bat tedious roll the days when winter's power Asserts its empire o'er our wasted plains. As swiftly wears our spring of life away; As swiftly will our transient summers go; But, ah! when winter clouds our cheerless day, Again the vernal breezes never blow. 10 The glories which encircle nature round, Become more bright by learning's splendid rays; Unnumber'd works on every side are found, Which loud proclaimGod's sempiternal praise. The man with wisdom's penetrating eye, Discovers beauties not by others seen; Praises the noble deeds which they decry; Sees not with their blind judgments, false and mean: What men think good, they oft despise,what base, they screen. April 24th, 1821. MR. EDITOR. SIR,-I should be glad to see a Translation of the following, from some of your Correspondents, preserving the Latin initials. D. B. H. IN JESUM CHRISTUM, SERVATOREM NOSTrum, Judicii in signum, tellus sudore madescet, Voce patens facinus, quod gessit quisque loquitur, S ubdoláque humani pandentur pectoris antra. D entùm stridor erit, gemitusque et luctus ubique; Et sol, astrorumque chorus, percurrere cœlum flammæ. At cuncti in terris homines mirabile signum Tunc cernent oculis, sanctis optabile signum; O mnibus id justis vitæ est melioris origo, Rursus vesani dolor atque offensio mundi. Thelford, May 10, 1821. VINDICATION OF LORD BYRON'S Mr. EDITOR. SIR, I am well aware of the adage, "De gustibus non est disputandum,” and therefore I should not have troubled you with any remarks on G. M.'s defence of Wordsworth, if he had confined himself to his subject. But 3 F 811 Vindication of Lord Byron's Poetry.—On Anger. as he traverses out of the record," in order to traduce the greatest poet of the age, silence would be criminal, as it might be mistaken for approbation. When G. M. assures us that "the name of Byron is losing ground," hope has told him a flattering tale, but which is any thing rather than truc. If G. M. will inquire of his lordship's bookseller, Mr. Murray, he will find that the reverse of his assertion is the fact. The enormous sums paid for Lord Byron's productions, the high price at which they are sold, the eagerness with which they are bought, and the avidity and interest with which they are read, demonstrate, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that his muse is very highly estimated, and his poetry justly appreciated. G. M.'s comparison of Lord Byron to "the fabled phoenix, kindling the flame that will consume him," is pretty; but unfortunately it has one trifling defect, it is not true. Surely G. M. knows that a comparison is no proof; and while facts are against him, his prediction of Lord Byron's declension resembles those of Baal's prophets,made only to be frustrated, and to recoil with ignominy on the seer. Admitting, however, that a dire eclipse should overspread the nations, and a worse than Gothic darkness return, so that even a Byron should feel a temporary obscuration, his muse would then (according to G. M.'s own comparison,) resemble the phoenix; but it would be to rise from its ashes in order to be viewed with yet greater rapture, and to be hailed with still increasing delight. For the brilliancy of Lord Byron's diction, for the corruscations of his genius, for the fire of his poetry, and occasionally for the flashes of his wit, as well as the mordacity of his sarcasm, his lordship has been justly termed by G. M's "master spirits of the times," the greatest poet of the present age, and of almost every other; and surely it is not in the power of any petty assailant to pluck the laurels from his brow. G. M. tells us that "much has been said to little purpose upon Wordsworth; and certainly G. M.'s letter forms an illustration of his remark, The character of Wordsworth was, some years ago, comprehensively summed up in the following line, 812 and he has not belied the description. His mind, like the swallow, always sweeps the ground, and All who view the idiot in his glory," Conceive the Bard the hero of the story." Should G. M. again write in favour of "This mild apostate from poetic rule, Who chimes his childish verse," I would remind him, that it is possible to defend a hovel, without attempting to storm a castle; while, for his consolation, I would assure him, that, though Britain "Feels a Homer's fire in Byron's strains," yet that Wordsworth will be read when Homer, and Virgil, and Byron, are forgotten-but not till then. ARISTARCHUS. ON ANGER. MR. EDITOR, remarks on Anger suitable for the In- London, August 9th, 1821. ANGER is a passion of the most vioof the worst effects on the individual lent and irregular kind, and productive sions, when released from the control and on society. Like the other pasof reason, it is fierce and impetuous, disturbing the quiet of the soul, deranging those parts which ought to harmonize together, and introducing into it universal disorder and confusion. does not always indicate so great a Although where it exists, it degree of mental depravity, as those feelings which are of a sterner and more vindictive nature, still, by a frequent submission to its impulses, within. It is a common remark, that it exerts a no less baneful influence the passionate man, inimical as he is in his social capacity, is still more an enemy to himself; for while he is inflicting pain on the breasts of others, he is doubly wounding his own. No one from whose mind right principles are not entirely obliterated, can give way to an irritable disposition, without at the very same time feeling uneasy; and subsequently, when the inward tumult has subsided, and reason resumes her proper position, being filled with shame and remorse. "The simple Wordsworth, pretty-spoken youth; ductions to evil, the power of the Besides, as is the case with all se |