men:-Without it life is but a dull, uninteresting drama! In the present state of morals and of mankind, however, a friend is almost as difficult to find, as a quarry of porphyry. In our search, let us remember the fate of the unfortunate peasant, who, when drawing a mountain brook into his garden, in summer, forgot that he was introducing a friend, who, in winter, would inundate and destroy every flower and shrub in his little territory. Many are the friendships recorded in history;-As to the friendships of men in general!-where is the calm, the innocent heart, and temperate appetite, which, springing from a pure mind, bespeak a man, capable of esteeming misfortune the greatest of all claims for respect and veneration? The Romans adopted a significative motto for the escutcheon of friendship :-" Near and far: summer and winter."-All friendships must begin in one virtue, and end in another-respect and gratitude a.

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LIBERTY.

If a love of Nature give additional force to the lover and the friend, it is no less productive of that high spirit of liberty, and that ardent love of true glory', which give such a decided impulse and dignity to the soul. For a love of the impressive and sublime, checking the more violent passions, subdue the natural arrogance of our nature, reduce ambition to humility, and place man and man upon a level with each other, by subduing the vanity of the proud, and exalting the hopes of the humble.

a "Gratitude," said Massieu, the pupil of Sicard, "is the memory of the heart." Milton's idea (book iv.) has been adopted by Rochefoucault: perhaps both may be traced to a sentiment in Phalaris' Epistles. xvii.

↳ Gloria nihil est in rebus humanis pulchrius, nihil amabilius, nihil cum virtutis altitudine copulatius. Nam et a splendore virtutis excitata est, et excellenti pulchritudine ad amorem dignitatis allicit, et homines ingenio præstantes ad virtutis studium inflammat. Omnes enim, qui maximo ingenio præditi sunt, stimulis gloriæ concitati, res præclaras aggrediuntur. Tolle gloriæ cupiditatem, et omne studium virtutis extingues.-OSORIUS de Gloriâ, p. 44. ed. 1580.

Of this opinion was Sir William Jones; who, bred in the school of Greece, and imbibing with his love of ancient literature the most elevated ideas of liberty, never permitted them to wither or decay! Hence it is, that those countries, remarkable for a combination of scenerial contrasts, have, at all times, made the greatest advances towards the cultivation of science and the arts; or, in their absence, have rendered themselves conspicuous for a detestation of despotism; for a strong and ardent desire of retaining their liberties, when in possession, and of recovering them, when lost. I need not call to your recollection, among other examples, those of Rome and early Greece; or of that lovely country, dear to all lovers of landscape, the seat of virtue, the abode of peace and content, and where the honest face of poverty was never seen to blush. Switzerland! thou art a country, that my heart does doat upon!

In that country was born the celebrated ALOYS REDING. This celebrated person learned the art of war in the service of the King of Spain. After some time, he became disgusted with that regime; retired to his native country, and devoted himself to science and agriculture. In this occupation he was engaged, when the French revolution electrified all Europe. The liberty of the Swiss was uncongenial to his taste; for it was a liberty rather in name than in substance. The change, that he desired, was an amelioration of the federal system; but he desired such amelioration to be effected by the Swiss French themselves; not by the aid of French bayonets, or counsels. Animated by these sentiments, he resumed the sword; and with a small force performed many splendid actions. But the armies of his enemies were too numerous, and treachery and cowardice diminished his numbers. At length the time arrived, which was to decide the issue of the contest. Certain death appeared to await the whole of the heroic band. On the sublime heights of Morgarten, Reding appeared at the head of his troops. Morgarten had been a theatre for

the performance of great actions; and calling to mind the heroic achievements of ancient times, the brave general thus addressed his soldiers." Comrades and fellow-citizens! The decisive moment is arrived. Surrounded by enemies, and deserted by our friends, it only remains to know, if we will courageously imitate the example, formerly set by our ancestors among these magnificent mountains ;-indeed, upon the spot, on which we now stand. An almost instant death awaits us. If any one fear it, let him retire: we will not reproach him but let us not impose upon each other at this solemn hour. I would rather have an hundred men, firm and stedfast to their duty, than a large army, which by flight might occasion confusion, or by a precipitous retreat, immolate the brave men, who would still defend themselves. As to myself,—I promise not to abandon you, even in the greatest danger. Death and no retreat! If you participate in my resolution, let two men come out of your ranks, and swear to me, in your name, that you will be faithful to your promises." When the chieftain had finished his address, his soldiers, who had been leaning on their arms, and listening in reverential silence, instantly hailed its conclusion, with loud shouts, of "We will never desert you; we will never abandon "we will share your fate, whatever it may be !" Two men then moved out of each rank, as Reding had desired; and, giving their hands to their chief, confirmed the oath their comrades had taken. This treaty of alliance between the chief and his soldiers was sworn in open day, and in one of the sublimest scenes in all Switzerland. A treaty, which, as Zschockke, the historian, observes, "bears marks of patriarchal manners, worthy the simplicity of the golden age." These brave men fought and bled with the resolution of heroes, and the enthusiasm of patriots; but fate having, for a time, decreed the subjugation of their country, they fought therefore in vain.

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you;

As you are a friend to social order and to uniformity of

government, my Lelius, perhaps you may start at the now unfashionable name of liberty;—the mother of the arts, of science, and philosophy; the friend of virtue, and the surest guardian of a people's happiness. Where liberty languishes, happiness never fails to wither away. Like the best of Indian rubies, it requires no polish: glowing with its own fire, the brilliancy, it emits, is native in the quarry.

The revolution in a neighbouring state,-which resembled a beautiful symphony to a wretched concerto, and the crimes, perpetrated during which, not all the waters of the Loire, the Seine, or the Rhone, can ever wash from the historic page,has weakened your national attachment to those greatest of all heaven's benefits, freedom of action and liberty of speech. You resemble the herb, called by the ancient naturalists, Zaclon; which being bruised and cast into wine, turned the wine into water, preserving the colour, but losing the strength and virtue of wine. But, my Lelius, Liberty, (the loss of which necessarily involves the ruin of the mind), is not to be despised, because few have any fixed regard for her. Nor is her character to be libelled, because vicious men, in all the wantonness of license, have formed so many schemes, and committed so many crimes, under the assumed privilege of her honourable name. How many an act of treachery has been perpetrated under the name of friendship: and how many a virtuous woman has fallen a sacrifice, at the fascinating shrine of love! In spite of all this, friendship is still the most exalted of the virtues; love is still the most delightful feeling of the heart and since justice is the peculiar attribute of heaven, let liberty,-pure, unadulterated liberty,-be the idol of the good.

Nobly, justly, and honourably, was it observed by one of the Jewish rabbins, that were the sea ink, and the land parchment, the former would not be able to describe, nor the latter to comprise, all the praises of Liberty. It is the rich prerogative of man! The mother of every virtue, the truest

friend, and the best nurse of genius :-and so natural is it to the human breast, that it is almost as difficult to eradicate, as it is to convert a circle into a square.

Shout, hiss, and abhor license, my Lelius, as much as you will: there is not an honest man in the country, who will not echo her disgrace. She is a harlot and the worst and most execrable of harlots! But if you despise the character of a slanderer; if you respect the honour of your sister, and the chastity of your wife; if you would secure the uninterrupted possession of your property; and if you regard the interests of your children, and the purity of your name: despising the caution of the worthless, and disdaining to shelter yourself under the despicable garment of neutrality, you will honour the character of Liberty in all times, and in all places, and claim its exercise, as an unalienable RIGHT. The mendicant, who begs from door to door, has as clear, and as indisputable a title to this inheritance, as the proudest aristocrat, that, in his admiration of tyranny, ever disgraced the honours of ancestry. Nature implanted the desire; Nature prompts us to command the exercise: and may he, who seeks to deprive us of this invaluable inheritance, be the scorn and outcast of the world! All other sins may be forgiven.—But the sin of ruining a whole people, for the sake of crawling, like a spider, on the mantle of an unworthy sovereign,—it is an offence, that should kneel for mercy, even a thousand years!

Dion Cassius expressly marks the comparative characters of despotism and anarchy. “The times are certainly bad," says he, "when men are not permitted to do what they please : —but they are much worse, when they are permitted to do every thing they please." The abuse of liberty produces anarchy, as naturally as despotism tends to the production of liberty. "We are content with alarms,” said an Afghaun to Mr. Elphinstone ; we are content with discord; but we will not be content with a tyrant."

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It was the opinion of Machiavel, that the froth and the