footing of equality with us?" exclaimed Mrs. Dombey, somewhat angrily, as she pointed to a bunch of roses, thrown into the window for her by Henry Sommers, while passing it, and which the young lady was about to pick up, as a token of her acceptance of the present. "The arrogance and impudence of the poorer classes," continued Mrs. Dombey, in the same reproachful strain, "is increasing daily to an alarming extent. Agrarian notions of republican equality are turning the heads of nine-tenths of the world's population.

"It has come to that pass, that I should not be much surprised if this Henry Sommers, who, poor and penniless as the upstart is, has, in accordance with the prevailing insolence of the day, had the audacity to presume to throw that bunch of roses at your feet, Lucilla, should, actually, soon kneel there himself and solicit your hand in marriage."

"Dear mother," replied the young lady, meekly but resolutely, "you speak of Henry Sommers, as though his poverty was a crime, excluding him entirely from the pale of the commonest human sympathies a crime, too, which could not be counterbalanced by a thousand excellencies. That young gentleman, although poor as to parentage, possesses, nevertheless, a sound and discriminating mind an intellect highly cultivated and well stored with useful knowledge, and a sterling integrity of moral character. Just such young men have frequently risen to the highest stations of usefulness, honor, and emolument, by native energy, in spite of untoward circumstances of indigence. Now, are all these considerations nothing to weigh against his present poverty? Is there no wealth in these inestimable jewels of the mind, and heart, and character, that they should be spoken of with such lightness? In them there is treasured up a wealth which shall exist in undimmed and increasing brightness, when even gold itself shall have decayed and been forgotten.

"The act of Henry Sommers, in presenting this little bouquet, is doubtless the impulse of a pure friendship, which we have entertained for each other from childhood, and which I cannot but highly prize, considering the source of moral and virtuous excellence from which it comes.

"Be not alarmed, dear mother, about any proposition of marriage

from that quarter. But, should it even come, so far from regarding myself or my family as disgraced by it, I should not consider that I stooped at all from any position which I occupy to accept it; for I regard the sterling and durable wealth of that young man's mind and heart and character, as more valuable far, than all the gold of the millionaire's coffers; and if I had any idea of marriage at present, I must frankly own, that I know of no one in this wide world, whose hand and heart I would sooner accept, were they offered, than those of Henry Sommers. I should regard the boon as richer than the mines of Golconda - an offering which, I am satisfied, mere gold is not worth enough to purchase."

meanness

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"Why, daughter!" exclaimed Mrs. Dombey, with ill-suppressed fury, "you talk like a fool or a maniac. If you dare harbor such degrading sentiments, child—if you dare stoop from your position of independent wealth to an alliance with such abject and penniless if you ever dare to accept an offer of marriage from Henry Sommers, or any other penniless upstart like him, no matter what be his boasted wealth of intellect and learning, you shall be expelled, like a miserable outcast, forever from your father's house, child-be forever disowned and disinherited - never have a single cent for your marriage portion."

66

Expulsion from my paternal home I should greatly dread," meekly replied Lucilla. Coarse, brutal, and unfeeling reproaches from father or mother, either now or hereafter, I should certainly dread still worse. But, as for disinheritance, I should care but little. Wealth is no idol of mine, however much others may regard it. Far richer should I be, in my estimation, if I enjoyed the pleasures of a happy home with one who regarded the value of a character as I do. And now, if Henry Sommers ever seeks this hand, he shall have it, as he now has my affection. If he does it, I am confident he will not seek mine, but me. He is too noble to stoop to the meanness of seeking me for any supposed dowry I may bring him. And with the resources of his mind at our disposal, I shall not want,

if I am disinherited and rudely expelled from my father's house." Saying this,

she wiped an unbidden tear from her eye, and left the haughty presence of the enraged Mrs. Dombey.

DELIVERED BEFORE

THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE OF LONDON, C. W.,

AND FIRST PUBLISHED AT THEIR REQUEST.

BY THE EDITOR.

GENTLEMEN OF THE MECHANICS' INSTITUTE As announced in the call for the meeting, this evening, the subject of the lecture upon the present occasion, will be, "The Profession of Teaching," contrasted with the other three Professions of Law, Medicine, and Divinity, in its influence upon the welfare and destiny of man.

To make such a contrast truthfully and impartially, I shall first consider those professions, and concede to them all the merit and importance which belong to them.

The occupation of the Lawyer had its origin far back in the remote ages of antiquity, and is a time-honored vocation. It is a vocation which cannot, without detriment, be dispensed with. The exigencies of human condition demanded it almost from the very organization of society, and it is therefore, the offspring of an imperative necessity.

What is law, of which this profession is the authorized exponent? According to Blackstone, "It is the rule of human action," and if it be a correct law, it is infallible, being founded in the inherent and unalterable fitness of things. No other law is in equity binding.

What are some of its legitimate objects? The vigilant guardianship of right, and stern and unbending opposition to wrong. It is wisely enacted to foster and encourage virtue, and to restrain and discountenance vice-to protect the good against the aggressions and encroachments of the bad to interpose its potent ægis between the bosom of innocence and the envenomed shafts of calumny-to reward with its approving smile the meritorious, and carry dismay in the haunts of infamy — to offer, in short, a responsible guarantee against the ruthless violation of right, and property, and life.

As these are some of the legitimate objects of the law, and as it is necessary, in the present condition of things, that there should be a

class of the community, whose sole business it should be to become thoroughly versed in its technicalities, and deeply skilled in the multitudinous varieties of its application; those, therefore, who assume the office of its exponents, certainly assume an honorable, as well as a responsible position, and no one is more ready than I, to award to that profession its full share of merit and importance.

Some of the brightest ornaments of society, some of the most brilliant lights of the world, have shone in that sphere. Some of the deepest fountains of sensibility in the human soul have been opened, while listening to the eloquence which has been, at times, poured forth at the bar, by the Grattons, the Erskines, the Currans, the Sheridans, the Burkes, the Broughams, and the Websters-in favor of right and against wrong—to defend innocence and overwhelm the guilty; and the soul has been delightfully borne along upon the tide, when they have summoned all the majesty and strength of their mighty minds, and have thundered upon the deep-toned chords of passion, and made their vibrations carry terror to the heart of the quaking culprit, and made the impure stand aghast, as the lightning flashes of indignant genius have blazed upon the darkness of their evil deeds.

I am aware that there is a reverse to this picture. Some there are who enter the profession of law for no other purpose under heaven than to become the more thorough adepts in chicanery, intrigue, cunning, and sophistry. They obtain the knowledge of law in order the more successfully to violate it with impunity, and evade its deserved penalties. These are the persons who designedly promote and foster the quarrels of neighborhoods for gain, stoop to the meanest arts for pelf—are ready at all times to oppress the poor and the friendless, and shark-like, and with capacious maw, to devour the substance of the widow and the orphan.

But few such, it is to be hoped, for the honor of human nature, are to be found, scattered here and there around the pathway of life, like the prowling Arab of the desert,-ready to rush upon the defenceless, and wrench away his last pittance, and carry unpitying desolation to the aching heart, and that, too, under the semblance of lawfulness.

By such, however, I judge not the profession. They are only disgraceful and contemptible exceptions to a general rule, upon whom should be concentrated, with withering scorn, the darkest frowns of the community. For the legitimate representatives of the profession, I look to the honorable, the high-minded, and the worthy, and judge of its relative importance by their acts.

The Profession of Medicine, like that of Law, had its origin in the imperative exigencies of human condition, and like that, too, commenced far back in the remote ages of antiquity. Indeed, the necessity for its existence was coeval with all those ills that flesh is heir to, and it is, therefore, another time-honored vocation.

to regard

What are its legitimate objects? To study the book of nature intently, to examine her whole vegetable kingdom for the sanitary virtues of her trees, and herbs, and plants, and roots, and flowers — to descend into the bosom of the earth, and analyze her metallic and mineral resources, for the healing remedies which are imprisoned in their arcana to scrutinize closely the human frame - to understand thoroughly its construction, and to comprehend the nice arrangement and operation of its wondrous and complicated machinery attentively the phenomena of disease-to watch the varying phases of its symptoms, and be able to trace it to its cause, and apply appropriate remedies. And he who does this faithfully, is a benefactor of his race. To gain this knowledge, and thus befriend mankind, many noble spirits have daringly periled even health and life amid the virulent contagions of the crowded hospital, and the impure and nauseating atmosphere of the dissecting room, and from the deathbed of self-sacrifice, for the good of their survivors, have bequeathed to the world information of incalculable value.

The Profession of Medicine, as well as that of Law, has been honored by some of the most precious jewels of the earth. Perhaps they may not have shone so brilliantly, nor so dazzled the gaze of their admirers, but yet none the less valuable and important have been their services in promoting the welfare of man. Hippocrates, and Galen, and Harvey, and a host of other celebrated names, will be remembered in that department for their achievements in the healing art, and the benefits they conferred upon man, as long as