just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she just began to move in-glittering like the morning star, full of life, and splendour and joy. Oh, what a revolution! and what a heart must I have, to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall! Little did I dream when she added titles of veneration to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace concealed in that bosom; little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honour and of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone! that of sophisters, economists and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished for ever! Never, never more shall we behold that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom. The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise is gone! It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honour, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness."

We also subjoin a passage in the speech made by Daniel O'Connell in favour of the "Repeal of the Union of England and Ireland:”—

"Who, in 1795, thought a union possible? Pitt dared to attempt it, and he succeeded. It only requires the resolution to attempt its repeal; in fact, it requires only to entertain the hope of repealing it to make it impossible that the union should continue; but that pleasing hope could never exist whilst the infernal dissensions on the score of religion were kept up. The Protestant alone could not expect to liberate his country, the Roman Catholic alone could not do it, neither could the Presbyterian; but amalgamate the three into the Irishman, and the union is repealed. Learn discretion from your enemies - they have crushed your country by fomenting religious discord-serve her by abandoning it for ever. Let each man give up his share of the mischief-let each man forsake every feeling of rancour. But I say not this to barter with you, my countrymen. I require no equivalent from you. Whatever course you shall take, my mind is fixed. I trample under foot the Catholic claims if they can interfere with the repeal-I abandon all wish for emancipation if it delays that repeal. Nay, were Mr. Perceval, to-morrow, to offer me the repeal of the union, upon the terms of re-enacting the entire penal code-I declare it from my heart and in the presence of my God-that I would most cheerfully embrace his offer. Let us then, my beloved countrymen, sacrifice our wicked and groundless animosities on the altar of our country. Let that spirit which, heretofore emanating from Dungannon, spread all over the island and gave light and liberty to the land, be again cherished amongst us. Let us rally round the standard of old Ireland, and we shall easily procure that greatest of political blessings, an Irish king, an Irish house of lords and an Irish house of commons."

The following is an extract from a fiery and pathetic speech made by O'Connell to recover Catholic rights :

"Great and good God, in what a cruel situation are the Catholics of

Ireland placed! If they have the manliness to talk of their oppressors as the paltry bigots deserve; if they have the honesty to express, even in measured language, a small portion of the sentiments of abhorrence which peculating bigotry ought naturally to inspire; if they condemn the principle which established the inquisition in Spain and Orange lodges in Ireland, they are assailed by the combined clamour of those parliamentary friends, and title-seeking, place-hunting seceders. The war-whoop of 'intemperance' is sounded, and a persecution is instituted by our advocates and our seceders against the Catholic who dares to be honest, and fearless, and independent! "Let us never tolerate the slightest inroad on the discipline of our ancient, our holy Church. Let us never consent that she should be made the hireling of the ministry. Our forefathers would have died, nay, they perished in hopeless slavery, rather than consent to such degradation.

"Let us rest upon the barrier where they expired, or go back into slavery, rather than forward into irreligion and disgrace! Let us also advocate our cause on the two great principles-first, that of an eternal separation in spirituals between our Church and the State; secondly, that of the eternal right to freedom of conscience-a right which, I repeat it with pride and pleasure, would exterminate the inquisition in Spain, and bury in oblivion the bloody Orange flag of dissension in Ireland!"

Notwithstanding Lord Brougham's denunciation of Sheridan's style, we append the following:

"Filial piety! It is the primeval bond of society, it is that instinctive principle which, panting for its proper good, soothes unbidden each sense and sensibility of man! It now quivers on every lip! it now beams from every eye! It is an emanation of that gratitude which, softening under the sense of recollected good, is eager to own the vast, countless debt it never, alas! can pay, for so many long years of unceasing solicitudes, honourable selfdenials, life-preserving cares! It is that part of our practice where duty drops its awe! where reverence refines into love!—it asks no aid of memory! it needs not the deductions of reason!—pre-existing, paramount over all whether law or human rule, few arguments can increase-and none can diminish it! it is the sacrament of our nature! not only the duty, but the indulgence of man; it is his first great privilege, it is amongst his last most endearing delights! it causes the bosom to glow with reverberated love! it requites the visitations of nature, and retains the blessings that have been received! it fires emotion into vital principle, it renders habituated instinct into a master-passion-sways all the sweetest energies of man, hangs over each vicissitude of all that must pass away; aids the melancholy virtues, in their last sad tasks of life, to cheer the languors of decrepitude and age; explores the thought, elucidates the aching eye, and breathes sweet consolation even in the awful moment of dissolution."

Having spoken in very favourable terms of Mr. Disraeli's style, we append the following extract from his speech delivered at Manchester last month:

"I have not come down to Manchester to deliver an essay on the English constitution; but when the banner of Republicanism is unfurled-when the fundamental principles of our institutions are controverted, I think, perhaps, it may not be inconvenient that I should make some few practical remarks upon the character of our constitution, upon that monarchy, limited by the co-ordinate authority of estates of the realm, which, under the title of

Queen, Lords and Commons, has contributed so greatly to the prosperity of this country, and with the maintenance of which I believe that prosperity is bound up. Gentlemen, since the settlement of that constitution, now nearly two centuries ago, England has never experienced a revolution, though there is no country in which there has been so continuous and such considerable change. How is this? Because the wisdom of your forefathers placed the prize of supreme power without the sphere of human passions. Whatever the struggle of parties, whatever the strife of factions, whatever the excitement and exaltation of the public mind, there has always been something in this country round which all classes and parties could rally, representing the majesty of the law, the administration of justice, and involving, at the same time, the security for every man's rights and the fountain of honour. Now, gentlemen, it is well clearly to comprehend what is meant by a country not having a revolution for two centuries. It means for that space, an unbroken exercise and enjoyment of the ingenuity of man. It means for that space, the continuous application of the discoveries of science to his comfort and convenience. It means the accumulation of capital, the elevation of labour, the establishment of those admirable factories which cover your district; the unwearied improvement of the cultivation of the land, which has extracted from a somewhat churlish soil harvests more exuberant than those furnished by lands nearer to the sun. It means the continuous order which is the only parent of personal liberty and political right. And you owe all these, gentlemen, to the Throne!"

We give the concluding portion of the speech delivered by Lord Brougham in favour of Queen Caroline in the House of Lords :—

"Such, my lords, is the case now before you. Such is the evidence in support of this measure-evidence inadequate to prove a debt, impotent to deprive of a civil right, ridiculous to convict of the lowest offence, scandalous if brought forward to support a charge of the highest nature which the law knows, monstrous to ruin the honour, to blast the name of an English Queen! What shall I say, then, if this is the proof by which an act of judicial legislation, a parliamentary sentence, an ex post facto law, is sought to be passed against this defenceless woman? My lords, I pray you to pause, I do earnestly beseech you to take heed! You are standing upon the brink of a precipice-then beware! It will go forth your judgment, if sentence shall go against the Queen. But it will be the only judgment you ever pronounced, which, instead of reaching its object, will return and bound back upon those who give it. Save the country, my lords, from the horrors of this catastrophe; save yourselves from this peril; rescue that country, of which you are the ornaments, but in which you can flourish no longer, when severed from the people, than the blossom when cut off from the roots and the stem of the tree. Save that country, that you may continue to adorn it; save the crown, which is in jeopardy; the aristocracy, which is shaken; save the altar, which must stagger with the blow that rends its kindred throne! You have said, my lords, you have willed the church and the king have willed-that the queen should be deprived of its solemn service. She has, instead of that solemnity, the heartfelt prayers of the people. She wants no prayers of mine. But I do here pour forth my humble supplications at the Throne of Mercy, that that mercy may be poured down

upon the people, in a larger measure than the merits of their rulers may deserve, and that your hearts may be turned to justice!"

Orators, like singers, are very fond of crowning their efforts with a grand flourish. In just the same way as an orator ends his speech with a peroration, so does a singer, if possible, end the song with a very high note; and we are not inclined to say we dislike this, nor, indeed, that the majority of persons dislike it, for nothing works better than a brilliant finishing stroke! We desire to speak plainly on the subject.

Those persons who remember something of the great orators tell us that we have not the like amongst us, but that we have, as a rule, more learned men, who of course are inferior rhetoricians. Perhaps this is owing to the fact that pathetic and classic appeals are no more in fashion? No!-this is not so. In every age, in every country there has always been a lack of orators. They are more scarce than poets--who are even sometimes designated the commissioners of God-though they are said to take somewhat after them. Some persons despise grand efforts of oratory, but we sadly fear that their motives are based on grounds which would not bear minute examination. They cannot follow in the footsteps of men who have handed down to posterity such noble monuments of their greatness. However, as our space is limited, we can only hope in conclusion that there are some of the rising generation in whom are blended, not only the talents, but the qualities and inclinations to adorn the rhetorical art.

CHAPTER III.

SYNOPSIS OF LEADING AUTHORS, STATESMEN, POETS AND PHILOSOPHERS. [ARRANGED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.]

SPENCER PERCEVAL (RIGHT HON.): prime minister of England, second son of John, Earl of Egmont, Lord Lovel and Holland; was born in 1762 A.D.; he practised as a chancery barrister, and attached himself at the outset of his political life to Pitt, who in 1796 brought him into parliament for Northampton. He was appointed one of the counsel for the crown and soon became solicitor-general, and, in 1802, attorney-general. At the death of Fox in 1807 he obtained a place in the cabinet as chancellor of the exchequer and also that of chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. He was appointed first lord of the treasury at the death of the Duke of Portland (1809). It was generally considered that he held the office pro tempore until the Marquis of Wellesley should return from his embassy to Spain, but when the latter did return, Mr. Perceval still managed to retain his place. He kept his office only a short period, for on the 11th of May, 112, he was shot on entering the lobby of the House of Commons by a man named Bellingham, who avowed that his purpose was to kill Lord Leveson Gower, late ambassador to the court of St. Petersburgh.

SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY (DUKE OF WELLINGTON): third son of the Earl of Mornington; was born at Dangan Castle, or as some allege, in Merrion Square, Dublin, in the early spring of 1769, the same memorable year that gave birth to Napoleon Buonaparte, Marshal Soult, Chateaubriand and Alexander Humboldt. Before he was eighteen he was gazetted as ensign in the 73rd regiment of foot. The siege of Seringapatam in 1799 was the first great military operation in which he was engaged. His next military adventure was the chasing of Doondiah Waugh,-"the king of the two worlds," a robber chieftain, who had made himself formidable by his bravery and his strategic resources. His military genius was first fully established by the great battle of Assaye, fought September 23, 1803. After this great achievement Wellington became the hero of India. The British inhabitants of Calcutta and the army presented him with costly presents. He returned to England in September, 1805, and soon after married the Hon. Miss Pakenham. In 1806 he was elected M.P. for Rye; in 1807 for Midshall; the same year he was appointed secretary for Ireland, and privy councillor, and was elected M.P. for Newport, in the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile Napoleon had swept over Europe, dictating laws from the Vistula to the Po, and almost threatening the integrity of England. The British government determined upon a military expedition to resist this aggression. On the 1st of August, 1808, Sir A. Wellesley landed in Mandego Bay with 13,000 troops. A series of disasters, followed by the treaty of Cintra, ensued; and chagrined and indignant, Sir Arthur returned to England, after having gained two decisive battles, Roliça and Vimiera. He soon after submitted a plan for the defence of the Peninsula. Resigning his office of secretary for Ireland, and his seat in Parliament to take the command of the British army, on the 22nd of April, 1809, we find him on the Tagus. The famous passage of the Douro, and the defeat of Soult which followed, are among the most masterly exploits of this campaign. On the 28th July was fought the great battle of Talavera, when the British troops were opposed by double their number of picked French veterans under Victor and Jourdain, encouraged by the presence of King Joseph. For this victory the government raised the triumphant general to the peerage, and voted him a pension of £2,000 per annum for two generations. In 1810 he fought the battle of Busaco; after which he made his famous defence in the lines of Torres Vedras, where he maintained his position ten weeks in the face of a well-disciplined army of 50,000 men. In 1811 he advanced from Torres Vedras and defeated the French at Fuentes d'Onoro. In 1812 he took Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz by storm. In the same year Wellington fought the battle of Salamanca, one of his most splendid victories-French loss 14,000, British 5,200. On the 12th August, 1812, the victorious general entered Madrid. Honours continued to be showered upon him by both countries. He received the

thanks of parliament, was raised to the dignity of a marquis, and a sum of £100,000 was voted to purchase him an estate. He soon after fought the battle of Vittoria, in which the French lost their