maid, in order to have enjoyment without being disturbed by a little girl who was entrusted to her care, and who would not remain in bed by herself, determined upon frightening her into being quiet. For this purpose she dressed up a figure, and placed it at the foot of the bed, and told the child that if she moved or cried the figure would take her away. When the lady returned, and went to the child's bed-room, she found the figure at the foot of the bed, where it had been placed by the servant, and her child with its eyes intently fixed upon it, but, to her inexpressible horror, quite dead!

Thus the system went on spreading by degrees, | family to have a party at the house. The nurseuntil there were seventy savings banks in England by the year 1817. The government then took up the matter, in order that depositors should have due security for their deposits; and under this protection the amount of money deposited in savings banks has become so enormous, that were there not official vouchers for the fact, it would be almost incredible. On the 19th of November, 1839, there were in the savings banks of England alone, deposits to the amount of 19,246,221. Now the reason why we mention this fact here is, that domestic servants are known to form a very large proportion of the depositors in these banks; and we have thus the best evidence of the growth of provident habits among this important class. It was stated in the "Household Year Book" for 1835, that at that time there were, in the savings banks of Devonshire, deposits from female servants alone exceeding one hundred thousand pounds! Such statements as these are most cheering; for they show that while one class of philanthropists has been aiding the religious and moral culture of servants, another has been aiding to instil provident habits, without which success in life is impossible.

Moral Influence.-Is it necessary to prove that domestic servants exert great influence on society? Is there a doubt that the well-being of society would be advanced by the improvement of this important class. Let the head of every family examine the mode in which this influence is exerted, and it will be found that religion, moral conduct, general intelligence, and practical good sense, all produce the most positive benefits, not only to the servants who possess them, but to the families of the employers. The faithful discharge of daily duties the honest care of property, whether of large or small amount-the existence of faithful attachment and confidence, superadded to the mere sale of personal service on the one part, and purchase on the other,-all affect greatly the machinery of social life. Besides this, the superintendance of children, which often forms part of servants' duties, makes them powerful instruments of good or evil. Whatever be the state of feeling in the servant, it is liable to be mirrored in the child; if moral probity be lax, the laxity becomes a contagion; if coarse tastes and habits exist in the one, they are likely to be communicated to the other. It is now well known how powerful an influence an ignorant or superstitious servant may have on the welfare of a child. The custom of repeating ghoststories, or of threatening the arrival of some mysterious being if the child be not good, produces incalculable mischief. An affecting circumstanee has been related by Sir W. C. Ellis, medical superintendant of Hanwell Lunatic Asylum, on this subject. A lady had gone out to pay an evening visit, at which she was expected to stay late. The servants took advantage of the absence of the

The influence of attachment and regard between mistress and servant has been so beautifully described by Mrs. Ellis, in her "Women of England,” that we cannot do better than quote her words :"The situation of living unloved by their domestics is one which I should hope there are few women capable of enduring with indifference. The cold attentions, rendered without affection, and curtailed by every allowable means-the short unqualified reply to every question, the averted look, the privilege stolen rather than solicited, the secret murmur that is able to make itself understood without the use of words-all these are parts of a system of behaviour that chills the very soul, and forces upon the mind the unwelcome conviction, that a stranger who partakes not in our common lot is within our domestic circle; or that an alien who enters not within the sphere of our home-associations, attends upon our social board. How dif ferent is the impression produced by a manner calculated both to win their confidence and inspire their respect! The kind welcome after absence, the watchful eye, the anticipation of every wish, the thousand little attentions and acts of service beyond what are noted in the bond,-who can resist the influence of these upon the heart, and not desire to pay them back-not certainly in their own kind and measure, but in the only way they can be returned consistently with the relative duties of both parties in kindness and consideration?"

Instruction in their Duties.-With respect to religious culture, less attention has been paid to servants than to children, or cottagers. The exer tions of our Bible Societies, our Home Missions, and of pious individuals, have as yet been directed in a limited degree to the first-named class, and have consequently produced but little fruit. We are disposed to attribute this in a great degree to the peculiar position of servants. Inhabiting for the most part respectable mansions, which cannot be visited without the consent of the principals, servants are in a great measure cut off from intercourse with the active agents of civilization; while attendance at any institutions, or establishments founded for their moral welfare, is equally dependent on the will of those whom they serve. If this be so, the truth forces itself on the mind, that

DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

on the employers themselves rests the main responsibility of their servants' moral culture. We do not here allude to the mere permission to visit a place of worship on Sundays; for the whole range

329

of religious, moral, and social duties of servants, forms part of the legitimate care of the employers. No institutions, however admirable they may be, will spread the effects of Christian civilization

ALTHFUL SERVANT OF LOUIS XVI.

M. CLERY, the faithful Servant of Louis XVI. From the popular French Picture by DANTOUX.

among servants, unless those who are served aid in the attempt.

That the appreciation of this important truth is spreading, we sincerely and gladly believe, and

hail it as one of the instruments of social improvement. Several benevolent clergymen, also, have devoted a portion of their labours expressly to the class of society under consideration, by writing for,

and disseminating among them, little works suited | lofty style for the purpose of bringing her remarks

to their station in life. Among these we may mention the name of the Rev. H. G. Watkins, the Rector of St. Swithin's, London Stone. For a long series of years this gentleman has supported and advocated every plan which seems to lead to the | improvement of domestic servants. He has thought it no loss of dignity (nor can it be so) to descend from his standard as a scholar, and adapt his language to the class whom he addressed. He has written, from time to time, nearly a hundred and fifty tracts, all addressed to domestic servants, and adapted to form three or four volumes of a "Kitchen Library." These tracts consist not only of exhortations of a religious character, but of sound and simple advice on almost every subject which can tend to the welfare of servants. All the denominations of the Christian world contain ministers who have laboured, and are labouring, in the same good path; and if we pass them over unnamed it is only from want of space.

As the general welfare of servants is much injured by frequent change from place to place, it has been thought that any mode by which permanency of situation could be induced, would be a source of benefit. To work out such a plan is one of the objects of the society mentioned a page or two back, viz., the "London Society, for the improvement and encouragement of female servants." The subscribers, who are mostly heads of families, are allowed, as a return for the sum subscribed by them, to register one or more of their servants in the books of the society; and these servants receive from the society an annual gratuity according to the length of time that they have remained with unimpeached characters in one situation. For instance, after having been two years in service, since the nomination on the society's books, they receive one guinea each; at the end of the third year, a guinea and a half, and every year after that two guineas, as long as they remain in the same situation, together with an additional guinea every seventh year. In the year ending at April last, the society had distributed more than five hundred pounds in this way; and it is pleasing to see, among the objects of their liberality, the names of females who have lived in the same situation 20, 24, 28, 36, and even as many as 40 years; every one of whom has also received a Bible from the society.

home to the feelings and understandings of her humble readers. The little books, under such titles as the "House-Maid," the "Maid of AllWork," the "Lady's-Maid," the "Nursery-Maid,” &c., contain familiar directions on all subjects pertaining to these several occupations, interspersed with maxims for general conduct. As an example of the mode in which the subjects are treated, we may make a short extract from the book addressed to the "Maid of All-Work ;" in which, while speaking of the household operation of sweeping, the writer says, "This sweeping-time is that which idle girls choose for wasting in looking out of the window. I rather think that ladies formerly indulged themselves in this practice much more than they do now. If they did, they could not reasonably complain of their maids for doing the same thing. But the truth is, it is a bad practice for everybody; and no one whose heart is in her business (as every woman's ought to be, whether her business is of one sort or another) will ever be seen staring into the street. No girl of good manners will choose to be seen at an up-stairs window, flapping her duster for a pretence, while her eyes are wandering up and down the street, seeing at what doors the postman is leaving his letters, and how long people are in answering the baker's knock, and what sorts of joints and chops are going on the butcher's tray to the houses in the neighbourhood. I have observed that servants who look out of upper windows when they ought to be sweeping, rarely seem to be of the most respectable class. They usually have a staring or dirty cap, or a gown patched with pieces of a different pattern, or torn and not mended at all; and their faces are not brisk and cheerful, but listless and dull.”

We cannot, while alluding to books written for the benefit of servants, avoid mention of the important fact, that women generally, in their social position and social duties, are becoming more and more the objects of careful study. Several works, similar in their broad outlines to that of Mrs. Ellis, referred to in a former page, have been written by ladies, within the last few years, on these important subjects; and in all of these many valuable reflections and observations will be found on the influence, the duties, and the improvement of

servants.

There are unhappily some persons who, as if influenced by the circumstance that “servat,” from which "servant" is derived, was, among the Romans, a "slave"-think that servants are an inferior order of beings, and never dream of showing

The plan just spoken of is to give a kind of premium for good behaviour. There are other places which have for their object the instruction of servants in their domestic duties. This can hardly be done by institutions or societies, but may be effected in a considerable degree by familiarly-respect toward them. But this is a sad mistake, written books. Among such we may mention the "Guides to Service," now in course of publication. Many of these, although the circumstance is not mentioned on the title-pages, are written by a lady of distinguished reputation, who has laid aside all

and must be eradicated before the fruits of civilization can be fully enjoyed. In France, notwithstanding the volatility of the people, there is a strong tendency to treat faithful servants with respect and esteem. M. Cléry, who was valet-de

chambre to the unfortunate Louis XVI., earned, | bounded prosperity fail to excite general envy, by his fidelity and attachment to his master throughout his troubles, the respect of all classes. During the indignities which were shown to Louis and his family just before their execution, Cléry never swerved from the path of an attached and devoted servant; and long afterwards he suffered greatly on their account. The consequence is, that his name has become a symbol for all that is honourable and faithful in a servant,-not because the master whom he served was a king,-but because that master, throughout a scene of miseries almost unequalled in modern times, never lost the unbounded and untiring attentions of, his servant. Such conduct is remembered long after the circumstances which gave rise to it have passed away; and the name of Cléry receives in France a share of that honour and respect which is awarded to the good and great.

COMMERCE OF INDIA.

THE steady advancement of general society in the West created an extending demand for the varied products of the East; but such increasing demand could no longer be supplied by the precarious importations of disabled warriors, or wandering pilgrims from the Holy Land. There must now be some regular European channel of communication with the East. And where could such channel, with a view to the best local and maritime advantages, be more appropriately opened than in the central peninsula of Italy? Hence the rise of Genoa, Venice, and other cities which strove for the trident, that might command an exclusive monopoly of eastern trade. At length

Venice out-peered all her rivals. And was not the historic law, expressive of the aggrandising influence of Indian commerce, true to itself? How was it that Venice, poor and mean, feeble and obscure, came to sit in state, throned on her hundred isles, a ruler of the waters and their powers? How came she, with her proud tiara of proud battlements, to have so many a subject-land looking to her winged lion's marble piles? How came she to be robed in purple, and so luxuriously magnificent that of

Her feast

Monarchs partook, and deem'd their dignity increased?
It was, to draw still from the same poetic but
unhappy genius,—it was, because the exhaustless
East had

Pour'd into her lap all gems in sparkling showers. When the monopoly of Indian and other eastern commerce had made Venice thus to start, as by the wand of enchantment, in beauty and brightness, from the bosom of the Adriatic, challenging the admiration of Europe,-how could her un

too? Naturally and necessarily were other communities incited to sue for some share in her allenriching trade. But how could this be secured? Hitherto, the great routes for the transference of Indian produce lay along the Red Sea, the Euphrates, or the Caspian. The principal intermediate marts were Alexandria, St. Jean d'Acre, or Constantinople. Over these emporia Venice had acquired an almost unlimited command. What, then, was to be done? Why, there seemed no alternative but to attempt to establish some new line of communication with India. To compass this end a hundred schemes were now propounded, | entertained, and forsaken in swift and bewildering succession. Traveller after traveller issued forth to reconnoitre and survey the avenues to the eastern world. And the marvellous reports carried back and circulated by some of them on their return, tended still more to inflame the rage for discovery by sea and land.

This new spirit of discovery-affecting alike prince and peasant, merchant and mariner-found, about the beginning of the fifteenth century, its most chivalrous head and champion in Henry of Portugal. Deeply imbued with the characteristic zealotism of his age, and eminently distinguished for those attainments in general science which enabled him at once to project and superintend the most daring enterprizes, he summoned around him all the most skilful and adventurous spirits in Christendom. The grand object of his ambition was, to find out some new passage to India, that might supersede all the old routes already preoccupied. To the prosecution of this object he unweariedly devoted the labour of his life, and on it prodigally lavished the resources of his kingdom; and, though he lived not to witness its accomplishment, the valuable discoveries made by his commanders along the coast of Africa encouraged his successors to follow with unabated ardour

in his romantic career.

It was to the furtherance of the same design that the celebrated Columbus dedicated his life. The desire of discovering a new passage to India supplied the ruling motive: an implicit belief in a geographical error chalked out his course. By studying, as we are credibly informed, Aristotle's description of the world, and the tables of Ptolemy who extends the eastern parts of the continent of Asia so enormously as to bring it almost round to the western parts of Europe and Africa, he very properly concluded (supposing their descriptions to be correct, and they were then universally received as such) that instead of a long and tedious voyage round the extremity of Africa, a much shorter passage to India might be made by sailing directly west from Europe. In undoubting confidence as to the practicability of this scheme, he eventually did set sail to the West, and stumbled

unexpectedly on those islands which he fondly | spectator. The spirit of industry and improvement,

concluded to be the long-wished for land of promise, and which, from that erroneous impression, were designated, and still bear the name of the West Indies.

already partially awakened, received from the long and peaceful reign of Elizabeth an accelerated impetus, which opened for itself outlets from Spitzbergen to the Canary Isles, in the old world,

and from Newfoundland to Brazil, in the new. In the case of a nation thus predisposed for maritime discovery and bold enterprize, the early bril

At length the perseverance of the Portuguese monarchs overcame all difficulties. In 1486, Díaz reached the most southern extremity of Africa, giving it the significant appellation of "The Capeliant successes of the Portuguese were enough to of Storms;" a name which his sovereign, overjoyed at the good hope which it held out of ultimate success, changed it into the more auspicious one of "The Cape of Good Hope."

In 1498 Vasco de Gama doubled the Cape, and made good his landing at Calicut, the principal city on the Malabar or western shore of the Indian | peninsula.

Next to the voyage which terminated in the discovery of the American continent-if second even to that in its influence over the destinies of man-this was, beyond all debate, the most important one that had ever been accomplished since the world began. Of its successful issue, it has, without the slightest exaggeration, been remarked, that it effected a complete revolution in the commerce and policy of all civilized nations. The doom of Venice and other flourishing cities was at once sealed: the trade of India, being now diverted into a new channel, all their power and glory evanished along with it; and as these fell the new monopolist cities and nations must rise.

Gama's safe return to Lisbon was hailed as the harbinger of a new and glorious era. The city rung with transports of joy. The inhabitants conIcluded that the rich commerce of India and the East was now secured to them, and proposed nothing less than to become immediately the first commercial and maritime power in the world. And to crown all with the inviolable sanction and ratification of Heaven itself, a bull from "God's vicegerent" conferred on the Portuguese monarch the proud title of "Lord of the Navigation, Conquests, and Trade of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India."

So long as Lisbon enjoyed the exclusive monopoly of Indian commerce, she sat as queen among the cities of the nations; but her days of glory were numbered too. One century had scarcely run its course, when the emporium of eastern trade was transferred from Lisbon to Amsterdam. Forthwith the law of co-existent prosperity came into full operation. The former sank in proportion as the latter rose. When Portugal might almost be blotted out from the map of independent sovereignties, Holland was enabled to assume the rank of a first-rate power in the balance of Europe.

Meanwhile, that nation which was destined one day to reap the largest harvest of fruit from India, and destined also, we trust, to confer the largest amount of benefit in return, was no unconcerned

set all into ferment and combustion, inflaming at once the cupidity and the fancy of a mercantile and imaginative people. Over the trade of India all history and tradition had united in throwing the glare of a strange and undefined magnificence. And all, from the monarch on the throne down to the humblest citizen, were now suddenly seized with a new and unwonted ardour,-a restless, boundless, insatiable ambition to share in the gorgeous commerce of diamonds and pearls, embroideries and perfume.

But how could this be obtained? From priority of discovery and settlement, the Portuguese claimed an exclusive right to the passage of the Cape, and were determined, by an appeal to arms, to vindicate and enforce their pretended claim. What, then, was to be done? Proclaim war against Portugal? No. England was not then prepared to provoke and defy so formidable a foe. What then? Abandon the pursuit of the golden prize? No. The spirit that had been raised was not partial, local, or isolated: it was not the moving pulse of an individual or of a company; it was not the animating breath of one particular rank or class. It pervaded all classes, all ranks, and all districts of the land. It had been so cherished and fed, that no obstructions could arrest its flow, and no blighting disappointments extinguish its vitality. Pent up for a season, it only gathered fresh materials for ignition and explosion. Impatient of control, it at last broke forth. Is it asked in what direction? Let the narration of the wondrous series of voyages that figure so conspicuously in the annals of the sixteenth century furnish the reply-voyages which all must have read with the thrilling interest of romance-voyages which added more to our knowledge of the surface of the globe than all that have since been undertakenvoyages which threw fresh lustre round the name of Britain, and helped to train and discipline her sons for afterwards wielding the sceptre of the ocean! For what was the leading and the most prominent object of them all? Is it not memorable— is it not worthy of everlasting remembrance, that they all had for their grand and almost exclusire object the discovery of some new passage to India· some new channel through which the stream of wealth from that never-failing fountain might, without let or hindrance from the crown of Portugal, flow in direct upon the British Isles ?

Why, in the time of Henry VIII., (1527,) were