the oppressor of Africa; and there too, were seen, side by side, the greatest painter and the greatest scholar of the age; for the spectacle had allured Reynolds from his easel, and Parr, from his study.

4. The sergeants made proclamation. Hastings advanced to the bar, and bent his knee. The culprit was indeed not unworthy of that great presence. He had ruled an extensive and populous country; had made laws and treaties; had sent forth armies; had set up, and pulled down princes; and in his high place he had so borne himself, that all had feared him, that most had loved him, and that hatred itself could deny him no title to glory, except virtue. A person, small and temaciated, yet deriving dignity from a carriage which, while it indicated +deference to the court, indicated, also, habitual self-possession and self-respect; a high and intellectual forehead; a brow, pensive, but not gloomy; a mouth of *inflexible decision; a face, pale and worn, but on which a great and well-balanced mind was legibly written: such formed the aspect with which the great pro-consul presented himself to his judges.

5. The charges, and the answers of Hastings, were first read. This ceremony occupied two whole days. On the third, Burke rose. Four sittings of the court were occupied by his opening speech, which was intended to be a general introduction to all the charges. With an exuberance of thought and a splendor of diction, which more than satisfied the highly-raised expectations of the audience, he described the character and institutions of the natives of India; recounted the circumstances in which the Asiatic Empire of Britain had originated; and set forth the Constitution of the Company and of the English Presidencies.

6. Having thus attempted to communicate to his hearers. an idea of eastern society, as vivid as that which existed in his own mind, he proceeded to "arraign the administration of Hastings, as systematically conducted in defiance of morality and public law. The energy and pathos of the great orator textorted expressions of unwonted admiration from all; and, for a moment, seemed to pierce even the resolute heart of the defendant. The ladies in the galleries, unaccustomed to such displays of eloquence, excited by the solemnity of the occa

sion, and perhaps not unwilling to display their taste and sensibility, were in a state of incontrollable emotion. Handkerchiefs were pulled out; smelling-bottles were handed round; hysterical sobs and screams were heard, and some were even carried out in fits.

7. At length, the orator concluded. Raising his voice, till the old arches of Irish oak resounded-" Therefore," said he, "hath it in all confidence been ordered by the Commons of Great Britain, that I impeach Warren Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors. I impeach him in the name of the Commons House of Parliament, whose trust he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honor he has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of human nature itself, in the name of both sexes, in the name of every age, in the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and oppressor of all."

CXLVIII. THE MURDER OF PRINCE ARTHUR.

FROM SHAKSPEARE.

King John. Come hither, Hubert, O, my gentle Hubert!
We owe thee much; within this wall of flesh
There is a soul counts thee her creditor,
And with advantage means to pay thy love:
And my good friend, thy voluntary oath
Lives in this bosom, dearly cherish'd.
Give me thy hand. I had a thing to say-
But I will fit it with some better time.
In truth, good Hubert, I am almost ashamed
To say what great respect I have for thee.

Hubert. I am much bounden to your majesty.

K. John. Good friend, thou hast no cause to say so yet;
But thou shalt have; and, creep time ne'er so slow,

Yet it shall come for me to do thee good.

I had a thing to say,-but let it go:

The sun is in the heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
Is all too wanton, and too full of +gauds,
To give me +audience. If the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,

Sound one unto the drowsy race of night;
If this same were a church-yard where we stand,
And thou possess-ed with a thousand wrongs:
Or if that surly spirit, melancholy,

Had baked thy blood and made it heavy, thick;
(Which, else, runs trickling up and down the veins,
Making that idiot, laughter, keep men's eyes,
And strain their cheeks to idle merriment,
A passion hateful to my purposes;)

Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using *conceit alone,
Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words;
Then, in despite of +brooded, watchful day,
I would into this bosom pour my thought.
But, ah, I will not. Yet I love thee well;
And, by my +troth, I think thou lov'st me well.
Hub. So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Though that my death were adjunct to my act,
I'd do it.

K. John. Do I not know thou wouldst?

Good Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye

On yon young boy. I'll tell thee what, my friend,
He is a very serpent in my way;

And, wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth trace,
He lies before me. Dost thou understand me?
Thou art his keeper.

Hub. And I will keep him so

That he shall not offend your majesty.

K. John. Death.

Hub. My lord?

K. John. A grave.

Hub. He shall not live.

K. John. Enough.

I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee.
Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee:
Remember.

Hubert. My lord, they say five moons were seen to-night: Four fix'd; and the fifth did whirl about

The other four, in wonderous motion.

King John. Five moons?

Hub. Old men and +beldams in the streets
Do prophesy on it +dangerously:

Young Arthur's death is common in their mouths:
And when they talk of him, they shake their heads,
And whisper one another in the ear;

And he that speaks, doth gripe the hearer's wrist,
While he, that hears, makes fearful action
With wrinkled brows, with nods, with rolling eyes.
I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
The while his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news;
Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,
Standing on slippers, (which his nimble haste
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,)
Told of many thousand warlike French,
That were tembattled and rank'd in Kent;
Another lean, unwash'd +artificer,

Cuts off his tale, and talks of Arthur's death.

K. John. Why seek'st thou to possess me with these fears? Why urgest thou so oft young Arthur's death?

Thy hand hath murder'd him. I had mighty cause

To wish him dead, but thou hadst none to kill him.

Hub. Had none, my lord? Why, did you not provoke me?

K. John. It is the curse of Kings, to be attended

By slaves that take their humors for a warrant
To break within the bloody house of life;

And on the winking of authority,

To understand a law; to know the meaning

Of dangerous majesty, when, perchance, it frowns

More upon humor than advised respect.

Hub. Here is your hand and seal for what I did.

K. John. Oh, when the last account 'twixt heaven and earth Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal

Witness against us to damnation !

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds,

Makes ill deeds done! Hadst not thou been by,

A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd,

+Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame,
This murder had not come into my mind:
But, taking note of thy +abhorr-ed aspect,
Finding thee fit for bloody +villainy,
Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger,
I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death,

And thou, to be endear-ed to a king,

Made it no conscience to destroy a prince.

Hub. My lord.

K. John. Hadst thou but shook thy head, or made a pause, When I spoke darkly of what I proposed;

Or turn'd an eye of doubt upon my face,

And bid me tell my tale in express words;

Deep shame had made me dumb, made me break off,

And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me.
But thou didst understand me by my signs,
And didst in signs again *parley with sin;
Yea, without stop didst let thy heart consent,
And, consequently, thy rude hand to act

The deed, which both our tongues hold vile to name:
Out of my sight, and never see me more!

My nobles leave me; and my state is braved,
Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign powers;
Nay, in the body of this fleshly land,

This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath,
Hostility and civil tumult reign

Between my conscience and my cousin's death.

Hub. Arm you against your other enemies,
I'll make a peace between your soul and you.
Young Arthur is alive: this hand of mine
Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand,
Not painted with the crimson spots of blood.
Within this bosom never enter'd yet

The dreadful notion of a murderous thought,
And you have slander'd nature in my form;
Which, however rude texteriorly,

Is yet the cover of a fairer mind

Than to be butcher of an innocent child.

K. John. Doth Arthur live? Oh, haste thee to the peers, Throw this report on their incensed rage, And make them tame to their obedience! Forgive the comment that my passion made Upon thy feature; for my rage was blind, And foul, timaginary eyes of blood Presented thee more thideous than thou art. O, answer not; but to my closet bring The angry lords, with all expedient haste; I conjure thee but slowly: run more fast.