so many centuries, shows how great the failure has been. In America, on the contrary, the attempt is to govern through intelligence. It will succeed. From the American principle, it follows that whoever seeks the improvement of his fellow-men, the ennobling of the community among whom he lives, or the true glory of the nation, can best accomplish his purpose by spreading forth the light of knowledge, and strengthening and developing the public understanding. For more than a thousand years the moral system has been tried in Europe. Its agent, the ecclesiastic, was animated by intentions that were good, by perseverance unwearied, by a vigorous energy. The failure is attributable, not to shortcomings in him, but to intrinsic defects in his method; though on that continent, in a very imperfect manner, in later times the other method has spontaneously and with much resistance made itself felt; a wonderful result is beginning to be apparent. The apprehension entertained by many good men in former times, that if the mind be instructed the morals may be injured, has proved to be unfounded. Men are better in proportion as they are wiser. In whatever direction we look, we see the improvement. The physical man is more powerful, the intellectual man more perfect, the moral man more pure. For the poor, in the midst of all this social activity, this business energy, charity is none the less overflowing; for him who wishes to improve his life there is certain to be encouragement. Whoever in America desires to better his fellow-men must act by influencing their intellect. If he wishes to see no idle man and no poor man in the land, he must take care that there shall be no ignorant man. Ignorance is not, as in the old times they used to say, the mother of devotion; she is the mother of superstition and misery. If we wish to know how we may best clear from this continent the superabundant forests that encumber it-how we may best lay the iron rail and put the locomotive upon it--how we may most profitably dig the abounding metals from their veins-how we may instantaneously communicate with our most distant towns-how we may cover the ocean with our ships-how we may produce a sober, industrious, healthy, moral population, we shall find our answer in providing universal instruction. That spontaneously provides occupation. The morality of a nation is the aggregate of the morality of individuals. A lazy man is necessarily a bad man; an idle is necessarily a demoralized. population. VOL. VII.-9 But no! a quick and eager ear Caught up the little, meaning sound; And so it wandered round From ear to lip, from lip to ear, That throbbed from all the world apart, SONG. OUR heart is a music-box, dearest! YOUR With exquisite tunes at command, Of melody sweetest and clearest, If tried by a delicate hand; But its workmanship, love, is so fine, At a single rude touch it would break; Its fairy-like whispers to wake. That I fancy all others above You learned it of Cupid one day It begins with and ends with "I love!" "I love!" HE MAY GO-IF HE CAN. ET me see him once more for a moment or two, Let me see him once more, let me give him one smile, "BOIS TON SANG, BEAUMANOIR!" FIER IERCE raged the combat-the foeman pressed nigh, Beaumanoir, mid them all, bravest and first, "Give me to drink, for I perish of thirst!" |