tude of France, and at the caprices of fortune. But the change was too great to be borne by any of the resources that are to be found in French philosophy. His spirit was broken by his fall; and in a short time this proud, powerful, and brilliant statesman, general, and sovereign, died, and with him died the dominion of his country in the "Golden Peninsula!"

CHAPTER IX.

Character of Burke by the Bishop of Rochester-Trial of HastingsTwelve Maxims of Genghiz Khan.

BURKE had been charged with personal motives in the impeachment of Hastings. The charge was shown to be groundless; his determination to Indian affairs was the work of his nature, his circumstances, and his opportunities. He had been charged with the personal ambition of figuring as the great assailant of a criminal supported by great influence; but this ambition found no place in his character. No man was more clear-sighted in perceiving the obstacles to final success; no man more habitually declined rash resistance to authority, to harmless prejudice, or to the natural impressions of old attachment, or vigorous service. Burke saw the Crown, the Ministers, and the whole Indian interest, abroad and at home, forming an entrenchment round Hastings. No man better knew the difficulty of forcing that powerful circumvallation. If he attempted it, he knew that he must be prepared to encounter long opposition, to hazard the total loss of popularity, to commit himself and his friends to a cause which might overwhelm their whole public buoy

ancy, and finally, after years of labour, personal obloquy, and perhaps individual hazard, find such comfort as was to be found in the consciousness that he had volunteered the ruin of his party. The true cause was, that he was urged to this anxious undertaking by the motive which has given birth to the most arduous, and most illustrious, successes of man,- -a sense of duty extinguishing all sense of danger. And this was the acknowledged opinion of those most conversant with his mind. "In the mind of Mr Burke," says King, Bishop of Rochester, forcibly and truly, "political principles were not objects of barren speculation. Wisdom in him was always practical. Whatever his understanding adopted as truth, made its way to his heart, and sank deep into it; and his ardent and generous feelings seized with promptitude every occasion of applying it to the use of mankind. Where shall we find recorded exertions of active benevolence at once so numerous, so varied, and so important, made by one man? Among those, the redress of wrongs, and the protection of weakness from the oppression of power, were most conspicuous. And of this the impeachment of Mr Hastings was considered by Mr Burke as, beyond all comparison, the most momentous.

"The assumption of arbitrary power, in whatever shape it appeared, whether under the veil of legitimacy, or skulking in the disguise of state necessity, or presenting the shameless front of usurpation-whether the prescriptive claim of ascendency, or the brief career of official authority, or the newly acquired domi

nion of a mob, was the pure object of his detestation and hostility; and this is not a fanciful enumeration of possible cases. In the history of Mr Burke, examples will be found referable to each case. His endeavours to stifle it in its birth, or to obstruct its progress, or to redress its oppressions, will be found to have occupied no small portion of his life. The scale upon which oppressions of this kind had been exercised in our East Indian possessions was of such a magnitude, that it required a mind like his to grapple with them. His ardent zeal and unwearied perseverance were not more than equal to the task. He well knew that the impunity of Indian delinquency was demanded by interest too weighty and extensive, and was secured by influence and protection too powerful, to be resisted. The event accordingly did not correspond with his wishes; but the eclat of a triumph was neither necessary to his fame, nor the triumph itself to the satisfaction of his mind. The real cause which he advocated did not depend upon the decision of the Court of Judicature, before which the impeachment was tried From the moment it was voted by the House of Commons, the attainment of its main object was placed out of the power of his opponents. The existence of the enormities with the commission of which the Governor-General was charged, required only to be known; and Mr Burke was firmly persuaded that, by the investigation of the affairs of this Government resulting from the trial, and by the public exposure of the crimes which had been perpetrated, he had not only discharged

a sacred and imperative duty, but had at the same time interposed a powerful check to the future commission of such enormities."

The Bishop concludes by stating, that it was the intention of his memorable friend himself to write a "History of the Impeachment," had he not been prevented by illness. A work of this order would have been among the finest treasures of literature. It is not difficult to conceive, with what lessons of wisdom such a performance from such an authority would have enriched the future generations. The subject might be local, and the occasion tempora, but eloquence, polity, and justice would have found in it a great storehouse of their noblest examples. The monument raised to preserve the memory of the passing transactions of India, would, like the pyramid over the dust of forgotten monarchs, have been an imperishable testimonial to the power of the hand that raised it, and to the advance of the country in which it was raised ;the casual purpose extinguished in its lasting evidence of the knowledge, the vigour, and the grandeur of the past to posterity.

The trial of Hastings was the most august form in which English justice had ever appeared. The state had put on its whole majesty: the King, with the Prelates and the lay Peers, sat on the tribunal-the Commons of England stood at the bar. The great functionaries of State and justice were all present in their respective departments. The accused was worthy of this solemnity of preparation. The chief sus