LESSON XCVIII.

PLEA IN BEHALF OF MR. PELTIER. — MACKINTOSH.*

1. Believing as I do, that we are on the eve of a great struggle; that this is only the first battle between reason and power; that you have now in your hands, committed to your trust, the only remains of free discussion in Europe, now confined to this kingdom, addressing you, therefore, as the guardians of the most important interests of mankind; convinced that the unfettered exercise of reason depends more on your present verdict than on any other that was ever delivered by a jury, I cannot conclude, without bringing before you the sentiments and examples of our ancestors, in some of those awful and perilous situations by which Divine Providence has, in former ages, tried the virtue of the English nation. We are fallen upon times in which it behooves us to strengthen our spirits by the contemplation of great examples of constancy. Let us seek for them in the annals of our forefathers.

2. The reign of Queen Elizabeth may be considered as the opening of the modern history of England, especially in its connection with the modern system of Europe, which began about that time to assume the form that it preserved till the French Revolution. It was a very memorable period, of which the maxims ought to be engraven on the head and heart of every Englishman.

3. Philip† II., at the head of the greatest empire then in he world, was openly aiming at universal domination. To the most extensive and opulent dominions, the most numer

• Mack ́în-tosh, (James,) was born in Scotland, 1765, and died in 1832. He was Iman of much learning, and an able advocate. This extract is the close of his peech in defense of Mr. Peltier, for a libel on Napoleon Bonaparte, and was de ivered in the court of King's Bench in 1803.

+ Phil‍î; II., king of Spain, and son of Charles V., was born in 1527.

ous and well-disciplined armies, the most renowned captains, the greatest revenue, he added, also, the most formidable power over opinion.

4. Elizabeth was among the first objects of his hostility. That wise and magnanimous princess placed herself in the front of the battle for the liberties of Europe. Her only effectual ally was the spirit of her people, and her policy dowed from that magnanimous nature, which, in the hour of peril, teaches better lessons than those of cold reason.

5. Her great heart inspired her with a higher and a nobler wisdom, which disdained to appeal to the low and sordid passions of her people, even for the protection of their low and sordid interests; because she knew, or rather she felt, that these are effeminate, creeping, cowardly, shortsighted passions, which shrink from conflict, even in defense of their own mean objects.

6. In a righteous cause, she roused those generous affections of her people, which alone teach boldness, constancy, and foresight, and which are, therefore, the only safe guardians of the lowest as well as the highest interests of a nation. In her memorable address to her army, when the invasion of the kingdom was threatened by Spain, this woman of heroic spirit disdained to speak to them of their ease, and their commerce, and their wealth, and their safety.

or

7. No! she touched another chord. She spoke of their dignity as Englishmen, of "the foul scorn, that Parma Spain should dare to invade the borders of her realms." She breathed into them those grand and powerful sentiments which exalt vulgar men into heroes, which lead them into the battle of their country, armed with holy and irresistible enthusiasm, which even cover with their shield all the ignoble interests, that base calculation and cowardly selfishness tremble to hazard, but shrink from defending.

Parʼma, a duchy in upper Italy,

LESSON XCIX.

SALADIN, MALEK ADHEL,† AND ATTENDANT.-ANON.

Attendant. A stranger craves admittance to your highness. Saladin. Whence comes he?

Atten. That I know not.

Enveloped in a vestment of strange form,
His countenance is hidden; but his step,
His lofty port, his voice in vain disguised,
Proclaim if that I dared pronounce it, -
Sal. Whom?

Atten. Thy royal brother.

Sal. Bring him instantly. [Exit Attendant.]
Now, with his specious, smooth, persuasive tongue,
Fraught with some wily subterfuge, he thinks

To dissipate my anger.

He shall die!

[Enter Attendant and Malek Adhel.]

Sal. Leave us together.

know that form.

[Exit Attendant.] [Aside.] I should

Now summon all thy fortitude, my soul,

Nor, though thy blood cry for him, spare the guilty.
[Aloud.] Well, stranger, speak; but first unvail thyself,
For Saladin must view the form that fronts him.

Malek Adhel. Behold it, then!

Sal. I see a traitor's visage.

Mal. Ad. A brother's!

Sal. No!

Saladin owns no kindred with a villain

Mal. Ad. Oh, patience, Heaven! Had any tongue but

thine

Uttered that word, it ne'er should speak another.

* Salʼa-din, one of the Sultans of Egypt and Syria; celebrated for his valor dur ing the Crusades. He was born in A. D. 1137, and died in 1193.

+ Mä ́lek Ad hel, a brother of Saladin.

Sal. And why not now? Can this heart be more pierced

By Malek Adhel's sword than by his deeds?

Oh, thou hast made a desert of this bosom !
For open candor, planted sly disguise;
For confidence, suspicion: and the glow
Of generous friendship, tenderness, and love,
Forever banished. Whither can I turn,
When he, by blood, by gratitude, by faith,
By every tie bound to support, forsakes me?
Who, who can stand, when Malek Adhel falls?
Henceforth I turn me from the sweets of love:
The smiles of friendship, and this glorious world
In which all find some heart to rest upon,
Shall be to Saladin a cheerless void, —
His brother has betrayed him!

Mal. Ad. Thou art softened;

I am thy brother, then; but late thou saidst
My tongue can never utter the base title.
Sal. Was it traitor? True!

Thou hast betrayed me in my fondest hopes
Villain? 'Tis just; the title is appropriate.
Dissembler? 'Tis not written in thy face;
No, nor imprinted on that specious brow;
But on this breaking heart the name is stamped,
Forever stamped, with that of Malek Adhel.

Thinkest thou I'm softened? By Mohammed! these hands
Should crush these aching eyeballs, ere a tear

Fall from them at thy fate! - O monster, monster.
The brute that tears the infant from its nurse

Is excellent to thee, - for in his form
The impulse of his nature may be read;
But thou, so beautiful, so proud, so noble,

Oh, what a wretch art thou! Oh! can a term
In all the various tongues of man be found
To match thy infamy?

Mal. Ad. Go on, go on ;

"T is but a little while to hear thee, Saladin,

And, bursting at thy feet, this heart will prove
Its penitence, at least.

Sal. That were an end

Too noble for a traitor; the bowstring is

A more appropriate finish! Thou shalt die!

Mal. Ad. And death were welcome at another's mandate

What, what have I to live for? Be it so,

If that in all thy armies can be found
An executing hand.

Sal. Oh, doubt it not!

They 're. eager for the office. Perfidy,

So black as thine, effaces from their minds
All memory of thy former excellence.

Mal. Ad. Defer not then their wishes. Saladin,

If e'er this form was joyful to thy sight,

This voice seemed grateful to thine ear, accede
To my last prayer: — Oh, lengthen not this scene,
To which the agonies of death were pleasing! —
Let me die speedily!

Sal. This very hour!

[Aside.] For, oh! the more I look upon that face.
The more I hear the accents of that voice,
The monarch softens, and the judge is lost
In all the brother's weakness; yet such guilt,
Such vile ingratitude, it calls for vengeance;

And vengeance it shall have! - What, ho! who waits there'

[Enter Attendant.]

Atten. Did your highness call?

Sal. Assemble quickly

My forces in the court! Tell them they come

To view the death of yonder bosom-traitor;
And bid them mark, that he who will not spare
His brother when he errs, expects obedience,
Silent obedience from his followers. [Rait Attendant.]