the imitations of the stage. There the historian of the Roman empire thought of the days when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against Verres, and when, before a senate which had still some show of freedom, Tacitus 5 thundered against the oppressor of Africa. There were seen, side by side, the greatest painter and the greatest scholar of the age. The spectacle had allured Reynolds from that easel which has preserved to us the thoughtful foreheads of so many writers and statesmen, 10 and the sweet smiles of so many noble matrons. It had induced Parr† to suspend his labors in that dark and profound mine from which he had extracted a vast treasure of erudition, a treasure too often buried in the earth, too often paraded with injudicious and inelegant ostentation, 15 but still precious, massive, and splendid. There appeared the voluptuous charms of her to whom the heir of the throne had in secret plighted his faith. There, too, was she,§ the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the St. Cecilia, whose delicate features, lighted up 20 by love and music, art has rescued from the common decay. There were the members of that brilliant society which quoted, criticized, and exchanged repartees, under the rich peacock hangings of Mrs. Montague. And there the ladies, whose lips, more persuasive than those of Fox 25 himself, had carried the Westminster election against palace and treasury, shone round Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The sergeants made proclamation. to the bar, and bent his knee. not unworthy of that great presence. * Gibbon. Hastings advanced The culprit was indeed He had ruled an † Samuel Parr, a clergyman and man of learning, but hardly the "greatest scholar of the age." Mrs. Fitzherbert whom the Prince of Wales was supposed to have secretly married. § The first wife of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, a woman remarkable for beauty and musical genius, whom Sir Joshua Reynolds had painted as St. Cecilia 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, 5 and that hatred itself could deny him no title to glory, except virtue. He looked like a great man, and not like a bad man. A person small and emaciated, yet deriving dignity from a carriage which, while it indicated deference to the court, 10 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 serene, such was the aspect with which the great proconsul presented himself to his judges. 1.5 20 The charges and the answers of Hastings were first read. The ceremony occupied two whole days, and was rendered less tedious than it would otherwise have been, by the silver voice and just emphasis of Cowper, the clerk of the court, a near relation of the amiable poet. On the third day, Burke rose. Four sittings 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 expectation of the audience, he 25 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. Having thus attempted to communicate to his hearers 30 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 extorted expressions of unwonted admiration from the stern and hostile chancellor, and, for a moment. * Lord Thurlow, a stern, rough mar, and friendly to Hastings. 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 occasion, and perhaps not unwilling to display their taste and sensi5 bility, were in a state of uncontrollable emotion. Handkerchiefs were pulled out; smelling bottles were handed round; hysterical sobs and screams were heard; and Mrs. Sheridan was carried out in a fit. At length the orator concluded. Raising his voice, till 10 the old arches of Irish oak resounded, "Therefore,” said he, "hath it with 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 15 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 20 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." ÈVII. — LINES TO A CHILD, ON HIS VOYAGE TÔ FRANCE, TO MEET HIS FATHER. WARE. [HENRY WARE, JR., was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, April 21, 1794, ind died September 25, 1843. He was a settled clergyman in Boston from 1817 to 1829, and afterwards professor in the theological school at Cambridge. He published many essays and discourses on moral and religious subjects, and a few pieces of poetry. He was a man of ardent piety, an earnest and excellent preacher, and always controlled by the highest sense of duty. His prose writings are marked by simplicity, directness, and strong religious feeling; and the few poems he wrote show poetical powers of no common order. The following lines originally appeared in the "Christian Disciple."] 1 Lo! how impatiently upon the tide Her flag streams wildly, and her fluttering sails 2 0, 't is a thought sublime, that man can force To lend their untamed wings, and bear him on As 't were a common thing - thy soul unawed, Thy childish sports unchecked; while thinking mar Mid things so vast- and, rapt in deepest awe, 'Tis wonderful!-and yet, my boy, just such 4 5 And thou must sail upon this sea, a long, Eventful voyage. The wise may suffer wreck, Learn from the mariner his skilful art To ride upon the waves, and catch the breeze, To station quick-eyed Prudence at the helm, Farewell-Heaven smile propitious on thy course And favoring breezes waft thee to the arms Of love paternal. - Yes, and more than this- CVIII.—THE DEATH OF HAMILTON. NOTT. [ELIPHALET NOTT was born in Ashford, Connecticut, June 25, 1773, and died January 29, 1866. He was chosen president of Union College in 1804, and was previously pastor of a church in Albany. It was there that he preached the sermon, of which the following is a portion. It produced a great effect, as the whole nation was deeply moved at the death of Alexander Hamilton, an eminent statesman and soldier, who was killed in a duel by Aaron Burr, July 11, 1804. Dr. Nott published "Lectures on Temperance," and "Counsels to Young Men," and spent much time in experiments and researches connected with the application of the laws of heat to the arts of life.] A SHORT time since, and he, who is the occasion of our sorrows, was the ornament of his country. He stood on |