seriously to fix the attention of the House and the nation." Mr. Dundas declared that Lord Mornington had illustrated the propriety of the war " in a manner not soon to be forgotten." Mr. Fox, in the debate which ensued, concentrated his attention upon Lord Mornington's speech: "I hope that the Noble Earl," said he, "will not deem me guilty of any incivility if I say that, on this point, the last few sentences of his speech, long and eloquent as it was, were much more to the purpose and afforded more valuable information than all the rest. The Noble Lord has declared, in explicit terms, That while the present, or any other Jacobin Government exists in France, no propositions for peace can be made or received by us.' Such are his remarkable words, from which we learn that while the present Government exists in France peace is impossible." Mr. Fox, contrasting the conduct of the Americans with that of the British Government, exclaimed, Happy Americans! while the whirlwind spreads desolation over one quarter of the globe you remain protected from its baneful effects by your own virtues and the wisdom of your Government! Separated from Europe by an immense ocean, you feel not the effects of those prejudices and passions which convert the boasted seats of civilization into scenes of horror and bloodshed! You profit by the folly and madness of contending nations, and afford in your more congenial clime an asylum to those blessings and virtues which they wantonly contemn or wickedly exclude from their bosom! Cultivating the arts of peace under the influence of freedom, you advance by rapid strides to opulence and distinction; and, if by any accident, you

should be compelled to take part in the present unhappy contest; if you should find it necessary to avenge insult or repel injury, the world will bear witness to the equity of your sentiments and the moderation of your views, and the success of your arms will no doubt be proportioned to the justice of your

Mr. Pitt warmly defended Lord Mornington's arguments. He said, "The speech of his noble friend had been styled declamatory; upon what principle he knew not, except that every effort of eloquence in which the most forcible reasoning was adorned and supported by all the powers of language, was to be branded with the epithet of declamation." The division which followed the debate was decisive: but fiftyseven members were found in favour of the amendment to the address moved by Mr. Fox; two hundred and seventy-seveň voted for the vigorous prosecution of the war!

In looking at the French Revolution historically, we must not permit our minds to dwell too exclusively upon the atrocities and dark scenes which accompanied that grand and awful event. It was a terrific hurricane, it is true, which ruined many a fair edifice and spread terror and disaster far around; but it purified the moral and political atmosphere; and, though we may stand appalled at the marks of its fury, and look with sympathetic concern on the places and objects scathed by its "sulphurous bolts," we, of the nineteenth century, breathe the freer for it. M. Guizot, in speaking of the burst of mind, the spirit of free inquiry which formed the paramount feature of this era, has for

cibly depicted the instructive fact' which was prominently displayed at that great conjuncture. "I allude," observes the philosophic statesman, "to the proof of

THE DANGER, THE EVIL, THE INVETERATE VICE OF ABSOLUTE POWER, WHATEVER THAT POWER MAY BE, WHATEVER NAME IT MAY BEAR, OR TO WHATEVER END DI

RECTED. We have already seen the government of Louis XVI. perish from this single cause. The power which succeeded it, the human understanding, which was the veritable ruler of the eighteenth century, underwent the same fate; it possessed an almost absolute power in its turn, and thence derived an overweening confidence in itself. Its outbreak was glorious and useful and if I were called upon to give an opinion upon the general operation, I should not hesitate to declare that the eighteenth century is to me one of the greatest eras of history that, perhaps, which has rendered the most important services to humanity, which has given to it its greatest stimulus, resulting in the most universal advancement;- so that, pronouncing upon it as a public administration, if I may be allowed to use that expression, my judgment should certainly be given in its favour. Still, it is not the less true that the absolute power possessed at that epoch by the human mind, corrupted it and led it to hold contemporary facts and opinions different from those that were in chief respect, in an illegitimate disdain and aversion, which brought it into error and tyranny. So much of error and tyranny, in fact, as mingled with the triumph of human reason towards the end of the century, which we cannot conceal from ourselves nor ought to deny, was very considerable, mainly re

sulted from the extravagance into which the human mind was thrown by the extent of its power. It is the province and will form, I believe," adds M. Guizot, "the peculiar merit of our times, to proclaim that all human power, be it intellectual or material, vested in governments or people, in philosophers or ministers of state, and exerted in any cause whatever, bears inhe rently a natural viciousness and a principle of weakness and abuse which call imperatively for the prescribing fixed limits to its exercise. Thus it is only a system of general freedom for all rights, interests, and opinions, their unfettered manifestation and legalised co-existence, that can restrain each individual power or influence within its proper limits, prevent it from infringing upon others, and make the spirit of free inquiry an actual and general enjoyment. The conflict between Material Absolute Power and Intellectual Power which occurred at the close of the eighteenth century, has impressed upon our minds this great truth."

CHAPTER V.

Earl of Mornington's Marriage.-Lady Mornington's Parentage.-Madame Roland the French Heroine. -Allusions to Lady Mornington in the Earl's Correspondence while in India.-Their Separation.-Her Ladyship's Death.-Her Children.-Lord Mornington's Specch on the Seditious Meetings Bill, 1795.-Mr. Sheridan replies.-Business of the India Board.-Lord Mornington composes a Song at the desire of Mr. Pitt for the Dinner given by the East India Company to Lord Duncan.-Camperdown.-Copy of Latin Verses descriptive of France, written by Lord Mornington for Mr. Pitt, published in the AntiJacobin.-Translated by Lord Morpeth in the same publication.

On the 29th of November, 1794, the Earl of Mornington was married, at St. George's Church, Hanover Square, to Mademoiselle Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland, a native of France, and only daughter of Pierre Roland 'and of Hyacinthe Gabrielle Daris, of the city of Paris. This lady, whose beauty and accomplishments had for some years exercised a powerful influence over the heart of the noble Lord, seems to have possessed many of the fascinating qualities of her distinguished synonyme, Madame Roland, who was guillotined by the French Jacobins in the previous year, exclaiming on the scaffold,—“O Liberty! what crimes are committed in thy name!" Some have supposed that the Countess of Mornington was the daughter of the revolutionary heroine, and that she was the child to whom the most pathetic and affecting of farewells ever penned was addressed. This, however, was not the case the name