manhood, his idolized Alice was borne to the tomb. He could not again rally his wasted energies, but sank, without apparent disease, and in a few weeks his remains were deposited in the same tomb with the bride of his old age, the idol of his life.

Vinton remained with him till the last, sustaining his sometimes wavering hope, and pointing him to the Lamb of God that taketh away all sin, even that of the most abandoned.

On opening his will, which it appeared he had tarried in London to execute, his vast wealth was all devised in trust to Vinton, for the purpose of carrying out his schemes for the amelioration of the sufferings of the lower classes. A clause in it stated, with characteristic emphasis, "My titles I return to my sovereign, trusting that no one will again be so weak as to assume them, for the coronet is composed of thorns that will sorely lacerate the manhood that borrows it."

Vinton was now fully prepared to enter upon the great duties to which he had dedicated his life. His experience, his knowledge of all the secret springs of power, his hostility to wrong, free from all animosity to the persons of those who had been so long accustomed to evil that they did not look for its removal, gave him the power of using his vast wealth and mighty energies to such purpose, that every stroke from the hammer of truth that he wielded, should tell upon the crumbling fabrics of time-honored but oppressive institutions.

There was now a noble band of England's mightiest hearts, leagued together for the overthrow of the Corn-Laws, and co-operating with such men as Cobden and Bright and a multitude of others, aided by such spirits as Elliot, the Anti-corn-law Ryhmer, who labored on with unfaltering purpose; the men whom we first met as boyish Castle Builders.

There was Robert Tremain, proud, as well he might be, of the station won by his master energies, but prouder still to dedicate them to the cause of human advancement. He had by no means forgotten that he, in boyhood, dreamed of being Lord-Chancellor, on the wool-sack; a vision that he or some kindred spirit will in a few years realize; for there are myriads of mighty spirits there, who have learned that

"Progress is the law of loving."

In the same corps, too, struggled George Hamilton; who, wearied with wrongs that his single arm was too powerless to redress, quitted the Established Church, and connected himself with a humble band of dissenters, where he could speak with more boldness in the name of his Master. His poetic genius, too, long fettered by the traditions of the Church, now took wings, and lent its inspiration to the cause of progress.

The tide of popular favor, rapidly advancing toward this class of spirits, was triumphantly manifested when Cobden and Vincent were elected to Parliament by overwhelming majorities. But a prouder distinction awaited them, when, after long struggles, their measures were crowned with success, and a monster mass-meeting was called to take into contemplation the propriety of disbanding the Anti-Corn-Law League, since its objects had been accomplished and its existence was no longer demanded. O, it was a grand sight! when those true patriots that had struggled most heroically, yet most discreetly, for the reformation of one of the great abuses of a government whose power is, perhaps, equalled by no other on the globe, met to receive from the poor, whom they had served without hope of earthly reward, the tribute of their swelling hearts.

This success, proud though it was justly regarded, these men looked upon as the prelude to their labors. They knew of millions who were sitting in the dark shadows of ignorance, in dens of poverty, surrounded by physical and moral death, and this triumphant dissolution of the League was really a pledge to all the suffering interests of humanity. A few years more, and the dismantled arsenals, the war-ships converted into merchantmen, the soldiers turned farmers and artizans, will bear noble testimony to the purpose then formed, to wrest from the Government the weapons that have so long destroyed millions. The taxation that has hitherto ground the poor into the dust, the sacrifice demanded by that Moloch of the nations, War, they pledged their mighty energies to suppress.

Pardon the manner we have taken to write an essay upon the causes that have aided, and are now at work for the peaceful revolution of a mighty nation. Human passions, even those that relate most directly

to self, are often made signally instrumental in the accomplishment of these great ends; and we believe, in such changes, they are among the most powerful. There was much philosophy in the suggestions of the Tempter in the case of Job: "Touch his own flesh and bone." Thus it is, that oppressive institutions contain in themselves the seeds of their own decay.

Ir is a mistake that a lust for power is the mark of a great mind; for even the weakest have been captivated by it, and for minds of the highest order it has no charms. They seek a nobler empire within their own breast; and He that best knew what was in man, would have no earthly crown, but one that was platted with thorns! Cincinnatus and Washington were greater in their retirement, than Cesar and Napoleon at the summit of their ambition: since it requires less magnanimity to win the conquest, than to refuse the spoil. Lord Bacon has compared those who move in the higher spheres, to those heavenly bodies in the firmament, which have much admiration but little rest. And it is not necessary to invest a wise man with power, to convince him that it is a garment bedizened with gold, which dazzles the beholder with its splendor, but oppresses the wearer with its weight. Besides, those who aspire to govern others rather than themselves, must descend to meanness, which the truly noble cannot brook; nor will such kiss the earth, although it were, like Brutus, for dominion.

NEUTRALITY is no favorite with Providence, for we are so formed that it is scarcely possible for us to stand neuter in our hearts, although we may deem it prudent to appear so in our actions.

NOT ALL ALONE

Selected.

BY ALARIC A. WATTS.

Not all alone; for thou canst hold

Communion sweet with saint and sage;
And gather gems, of price untold,
From many a consecrated page:

Youth's dreams, the golden lights of age,
The poet's lore, are still thine own;
Then, while such themes thy thoughts engage
Oh, how canst thou be all alone?

Not all alone; the lark's rich note,
As mounting up to heaven, she sings;
The thousand silvery sounds that float
Above, below, on morning's wings;
The softer murmurs twilight brings

The cricket's chirp, cicada's glee;
All earth, that lyre of myriad strings,
Is jubilant with life for thee!

Not all alone; the whispering trees,
The rippling brook, the starry sky,
Have each peculiar harmonies

To soothe, subdue, and sanctify:

The low, sweet breath of evening's sigh,
For thee hath oft a friendly tone,
To lift thy grateful thoughts on high,
And say thou art not all alone!

Not all alone; a watchful Eye,

That notes the wandering sparrow's fall,

A saving Hand is ever nigh,

A gracious Power attends thy callWhen sadness holds the heart in thrall, Oft is His tenderest mercy shown; Seek, then, the balm vouchsafed to all, And thou canst never be alone!

Not in my chamber's gloom,

In the holy hush of night,

When sleep cometh down to earth's weary and worn

With the pale star's pensive light —

For the beautiful spirits of life,

'Round my wakeful pillow spring,

And I wander with Mem'ry the scenes of the past,

Or am soaring on Fancy's wing,

And visions flit 'round me, fair and bright

Oh! I'm not alone in the hush of night.

And my weary heart pines like a dove for its nest, Oh! then am I saddest and loneliest.