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come forth fingers of a man's hand and write its mystic characters upon the palace wall. What a change has suddenly come over the spirit of that dream of earthliness and sensuality! Is this banquet hall a tomb? This silence that of the grave? Are those motionless men, riveted and fascinated while gazing upon that mysterious hand? Where has fled the merry jest? Why, spell-bound, do the musicians. cease their strains? Have mirth, flattery, smiles-all so soon given place to the quivering lip, blanched cheek, and pallid brow upon which fear's agonized cold dew-drops rest? Where now is that smooth flatterer, to whose blandishments the king gave such ready heed? Has he no word of cheer and counsel? None! Then call in the soothsayers, and may they prove soothsayers indeed,-let the astrologers read auguries of hope in the stars, and then decipher these mystic words. Alas! Their efforts prove futile, and the king is overwhelmed with despair.

But a ray of hope, at length, shines into his clouded heart. He has been referred to a despised Jewish slave, who can give the sought-for relief through his excellent spirit and wisdom.

Daniel is called. He enters, and stands calmly before the trembling monarch. How!-does he not take advantage of the unexpected circumstance, and plead release from slavery? No, for he stands before one more enslaved—a slave whom sensuality with her strong bands hath bound hand and foot. 'Tis the king clad in scarlet robes that supplicates, and for him are interpreted the mystic symbols. Thus can God ever in a moment change the relative position of men, causing Belshazzar to plead with Daniel, or a Felix to tremble before some courageous Paul.

IN BEHALF OF EDUCATION.

S. S. RANDALL.

WE appeal, in behalf of the cause of education, to every individual of our flourishing and happy land, who feels an interest in its continued prosperity, who would promote its substantial greatness, who would preserve its noble institutions, and transmit its blessings, unimpaired, to future generations. We invoke the active, energetic, and spirited exertions of the friends of the human race, wherever they are to be found; of those who rightly appreciate the influence of intellectual supremacy, who would enlarge the borders of reason, and extend its sway over the material universe. We would

enlist the strongest and best feelings of the parent, the comprehensive benevolence of the philanthropist, the proud ambition of the patriot, the devoted energy of the statesman, and the most sincere ardor of the Christian, in an undertaking which promises to multiply the blessings of the social and domestic circle, widen the sphere of charity, cement the strong foundations of government, strengthen the bonds of our beloved Union, and promote the present and future happiness of mankind. While we cheerfully and gratefully concede the value of what has already been effected in our own and in foreign climes, we would not stop here; we would transfer the burden, which has been so nobly assumed and borne by the few, to the shoulders of the many. Where the highest and deepest interests of all are concerned, it is essential that every one should fully and clearly appreciate the nature and extent of the duty required at his hands. To drag out a few painful and unprofitable years of existence in a world crowded with misery is but a poor boon. To enjoy the luxuries of life, and to revel in the wealth which is always at the command of him who devotes to its acquisition his energies and his powers, can afford but an empty satisfaction to one who duly reflects on the instability of fortune and the vicissitudes of time. But to live for the benefit of the human race,- to be instrumental in adding to the cup of human happiness, in diminishing the amount of human wretchedness, in diffusing the beneficial influences of a sound and pure morality, in contributing to the stock of valuable knowledge, in bringing it home to thousands who would otherwise never have participated in its blessings, and in elevating the affections, strengthening the virtue, and refining the character of our fellow-beings, this is an ambition worthy of our high nature. The proudest monuments of enterprise, and the most finished specimens of the arts, cannot entitle their projectors and authors to the high meed of commendation which those deserve who are thus prepared to overlook the perishable enjoyments which surround them, for the nobler and imperishable fruits of a comprehensive and enlightened benevolence. The age in which we live, with all its vast and gigantic undertakings, if destined to survive in the remembrance of posterity to all coming time, must be distinguished, not for the influence which it has exerted on material substances alone, or chiefly, but for that which has been brought to bear on intellect, on morals, on refinement and civilization. The part we are to act in determining this character rests with ourselves-its consequences with posterity. The responsibility is a fearful one; may it be nobly, conscientiously, and efficiently met.

IGNORANCE IN OUR COUNTRY A CRIME.

H. MANN.

IN all the dungeons of the old world, where the strong champions of freedom are now pining in captivity beneath the remorseless power of the tyrant, the morning sun does not send a glimmering ray into their cells, nor does night draw a thicker veil of darkness between them and the world, but the lone prisoner lifts his iron-laden arms to heaven in prayer, that we, the depositaries of freedom, and of human hopes, may be faithful to our sacred trust;—while, on the other hand, the pensioned advocates of despotism stand, with listening ear, to catch the first sound of lawless violence that is wafted from our shores, to note the first breach of faith or act of perfidy amongst us, and to convert them into arguments against liberty and the rights of man.

There is not a shout sent up by an insane mob, on this side of the Atlantic, but it is echoed by a thousand presses and by ten thousand tongues, along every mountain and valley, on the other. There is not a conflagration kindled here by the ruthless hand of violence, but its flame glares over all Europe, from horizon to zenith. On each occurrence of a flagitious scene, whether it be an act of turbulence and devastation, or a deed of perfidy or breach of faith, monarchs point them out as fruits of the growth and omens of the fate of republics, and claim for themselves and their heirs a further extension of the lease of despotism.

The experience of the ages that are past, the hopes of the ages that are yet to come, unite their voices in an appeal to us;-they implore us to think more of the character of our people than of its numbers; to look upon our vast natural resources, not as tempters to ostentation and pride, but as a means to be converted, by the refining alchemy of education, into mental and spiritual treasures; they supplicate us to seek for whatever complacency or self-satisfaction we are disposed to indulge, not in the extent of our territory, or in the products of our soil, but in the expansion and perpetuation of the means of human happiness; they beseech us to exchange the luxuries of sense for the joys of charity, and thus give to the world the example of a nation whose wisdom increases with its prosperity, and whose virtues are equal to its power. these ends they enjoin upon us a more earnest, a more universal, a more religious devotion to our exertions and resources, to the culture of the youthful mind and heart of the nation. Their gathered voices assert the eternal truth, that,

For

IN A REPUBLIC, IGNORANCE IS A CRIME; AND THAT PRIVATE IMMORALITY IS NOT LESS AN OPPROBRIUM TO THE STATE THAN IT IS GUILT IN THE PERPETRATOR.

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT TO THE PEOPLE.

A. DE LAMARTINE.

CITIZENS In all the great acts of the life of a people, it becomes the duty of the government to make its voice be heard by the people.

You are about to accomplish the greatest act of the life of a people to choose the representatives of the country; to produce from your consciences and your suffrages, not a mere government, but an entire constitution. You are going to organize the republic.

For our part, we have only proclaimed it. Carried by acclamation to power during the interregnum of the people, we did not wish, and do not now wish, for any other dictatorship but that of absolute necessity. If we had refused the post of peril, we should have been cowards. If we should remain in it one hour more than necessity commands, we should be usurpators. You alone are strong. We count the days. We hasten to give back the republic to the nation.

The provisional election law which we have made is the widest that in any nation of the earth has ever convoked a people to the exercise of the supreme right of man, his own sovereignty. The election belongs to all, without exception. From the date of this law there are no more subjects in France. Every Frenchman of age is a political citizen. Every citizen is an elector. Every elector is sovereign. The law is equal and absolute for all. There is no citizen who can say to another, "You are more sovereign than I." Contemplate your power. Prepare to exercise it, and be worthy of entering into possession of your reign. The reign of the people is called the republic.

Citizens, France is attempting, at this moment - in the midst of some financial difficulties, bequeathed to her by royalty, but under providential auspices the greatest work of modern times, the foundation of the government of the entire people; the organization of the democracy-the republic of all rights, of all interests, of all the interests, of all the intelligences, and of all the virtues! Circumstances are propitious. Peace is possible. The new idea may be able to take its place in Europe, without any perturbation but that of the prejudices

which people have against it. There is no anger in the minds of the people. If the fugitive royalty has not carried away with it all the enemies of the republic, it has left them powerless; and although they are invested with all the rights which the republic guarantees to minorities, their interest and their prudence insure to us that they will not themselves trouble the peaceable foundation of the popular constitution.

In three days that work which it was thought was postponed to distant times had been accomplished, without a drop of blood being spilt in France, without any other cry but that of admiration being heard in our departments or on our frontiers. Let us not lose this unique occasion in history. Let us not abdicate the greatest force of the new idea- the security which it inspires in citizens, the astonishment which it inspires in the world.

Yet a few days of magnanimity, of devotion, of patience, and the National Assembly will receive from our hands the new-born republic. From that day all will be saved. When the nation, by the hands of its representatives, shall have seized the republic, the republic will be strong and great, like the nation; holy, like the idea of the people; imperishable, like the country.

THE DISHONEST POLITICIAN.

H. W. BEECHER.

If there be a man on earth whose character should be framed of the most sterling honesty, and whose conduct should conform to the most scrupulous morality, it is the man who administers public affairs. The most romantic notions of integrity are here not extravagant. As, under our institutions, public men will be, upon the whole, fair exponents of the character of their constituents, the plainest way to secure honest public men is to inspire those who make them with a right understanding of what political character ought to be.

The lowest of politicians is that man who seeks to gratify an invariable selfishness by pretending to seek the public good. For a profitable popularity, he accommodates himself to all opinions, to all dispositions, to every side, and to each prejudice. He is a mirror, with no face of its own, but a smooth surface from which each man of ten thousand may see himself reflected. He glides from man to man, coinciding with their views, pretending their feelings, simulating their tastes; with this one, he hates a man; with that one, he loves the same man; he favors a law, and he dislikes it; he approves,

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