prize; but since you come only as distressed mariners, humanity commands me, instead of injuring, to succour you. You are at liberty to repair your vessel in our port, and to traffic so far as shall be necessary to pay your charges, and then to depart as freely as any of our own vessels." The British captain accordingly refitted his ship, and when it was ready to sail, the magnanimous governor gave him a pass, which was to have the effect of protecting him from the war-vessels of Spain till he was beyond Bermuda. The Elizabeth then sailed in peace, and in a few weeks arrived safely with her cargo in the Thames. He who, being master of the fittest moment to crush his enemy, magnanimously neglects it, is born to be a conqueror.-LAVATER. HEROIS M. ONE who boldly faces danger is called a hero. It is proper to meet danger with boldness for any good end, as, for instance, to save a fellow-creature from hurt or death, to protect our lives and property from a robber, and to defend our native country from the attacks of enemies. But there is no merit in being bold for a bad end. A robber may be brave; one nation attacking another for the mere purpose of injuring it, may be very brave; but bravery in these cases is not heroism. Military commanders have often been called heroes, without deserving the name. They may have been successful in their wars; but if they have not fought for good ends, they are not truly heroes. GRACE DARLING. In the month of September, in the year 1838, the Forfarshire, a steam-vessel proceeding from Hull to Dundee, encountered some rough weather off the coast of Northumberland. The vessel not being strong, and the machinery of the steam-engine defective, she was wrecked on the rocks called the Great Harkars, at the extremity of one of the Ferne Islands. Many of the crew and passengers were washed off the deck, and drowned; and in a situation of such great peril, no one expected to escape. Early in the morning, the family who dwelt in the North Sunderland light-house, on looking abroad, beheld the vessel upon the rocks, with a powerful sea beating upon her, and which threatened her with complete destruction. Darling, the keeper of the light-house, would fain have gone in his boat to rescue a few of the distressed passengers, but he despaired of carrying his little bark through such a heavy sea. He was at length encouraged to make the attempt by his daughter Grace, a girl of twentytwo years of age, who offered to accompany him, and work one of the oars. They went; they reached the vessel; nine persons trusted their lives to the boat; and notwithstanding the raging of the sea, the whole party arrived safely at the light-house, where every necessary kindness was shown to the individuals who had been rescued. no other persons were saved from the wreck, it may be concluded that these would have perished, had it not been for the heroism of Grace Darling, who was willing to risk her own life rather than allow so many fellow-creatures to sink before her eyes, without an effort being made in their behalf. As The generous conduct of this young woman attracted much attention. Her praises were for a time in every mouth. Artists flocked to her lonely dwelling to take her portrait, and depict the scene in which she had been engaged. A sum exceeding six hundred pounds, collected by subscription, was presented to her; and some of the most eminent persons in the land wrote letters to her, containing warm expressions of regard. It is probable that her name and her heroic act will not soon be forgotten, for less admirable actions, which took place several thousand years ago, are still remembered. Yet this excellent girl, as modest as she was brave, was heard to remark, that she never would have supposed that she had done any thing extraordinary, if her conduct had not been so much spoken of by others. TOM, THE BRICKLAYER'S SON. 155 TOM, THE BRICKLAYER'S SON. Dr Aiken, of Manchester, relates the following circumstances as having fallen under his own observation : There was a journeyman bricklayer in this town-an able workman, but a very drunken fellow, who spent at the alehouse almost all he earned, and left his wife and children to shift for themselves as they best could. This is, unfortunately, a common case, and few kinds of wickedness are more detestable. The family might have starved but for his eldest son, whom, from a child, the father brought up to help him in his work, and who was so industrious and attentive, that when at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he was able to earn pretty good wages, every farthing of which, that he could keep out of his father's hands, he brought to his mother. And when his brutal father came home drunk, cursing and swearing, and in such an ill humour that his mother and the rest of the children durst not come near him for fear of a beating, this good lad (Tom was his name) kept near him, to pacify him and get him quietly to bed. His mother, therefore, justly looked upon Tom as the support of the family, and loved him dearly. It chanced that one day, Tom, in climbing up a high ladder with a load of mortar on his head, missed his hold, and fell down to the bottom, on a heap of bricks and rubbish. The bystanders hastened to him and found him all bloody, and with his thigh broken, and bent quite under him. They raised him up, and sprinkled water in his face to recover him from a swoon into which he had fallen. As soon as he could speak, looking round with a lamentable tone, he cried, "Oh, what will become of my poor mother!" He was carried home. I was present while the surgeon set his thigh. His mother was hanging over him half distracted. "Don't cry, mother!" said he, "I shall get well again in time." Not a word more, or a groan, escaped him, while the operation lasted. Tom was a ragged boy, who could not read or write-yet Tom has always stood on my list of heroes. LOVE OF OUR COUNTRY. A LOVE of the country in which we were born and brought up, is one of the affections of our nature. It is felt by the natives of almost every land, however rude they may be, or however worthless the country may appear to other people. There is a use in this affection, when it is kept within rational bounds. It gives the people of each country an interest in their common soil, prompting them to defend it from the attacks of other nations, to promote its general interests, and to feel kindly towards all who belong to it. Thus, for example, a Dutchman loves Holland and the Dutch better than any other country or any other people he would expose his life to defend Holland from a hostile attack; he wishes to see industry flourish in Holland, and to see all that is good befall his fellow-countrymen; he is well disposed to the government, because it is the government of his country; he likes the institutions for dispensing law, supporting religion, and regulating all matters of social policy, because they are the institutions of his countryhence he becomes an obedient subject and peaceable citizen, and the affairs of the country prosper in the union and mutual good will of its people, which could not be the case if Holland were under a foreign government and foreign institutions, however suitable these might be in the country to which they belonged. But the love of country, while thus good in moderation, becomes absurd and mischievous when carried to excess, or not governed by reason. We must not allow it to blind us to our defects as a nation, or to errors calling for correction in our social policy. We must not, because we love our own country, hate or despise other countries, and their inhabitants that would be as bad as if every man were to think so highly of himself, as to believe that no other person LOVE OF OUR COUNTRY. 157 had equal honour or virtue. While ready, also, to defend our country from unjust aggression, we must take care lest a disposition arise in us to use arms without sufficient provocation against neighbouring countries; for war is a tremendous evil, which should never be resorted to but under the strongest necessity. While seeking to promote the interests of our country in its manufactures and commerce, we must not allow ourselves to suppose that, by injuring other countries in these respects, our own country will be benefited. Every country has, on the contrary, an interest in the prosperity of all other countries; for when any one is prosperous, it becomes able to buy from others what those others have to sell. In short, all the rules for the conduct of individuals apply equally to nations. We are to love ourselves so far as to seek by all fair means to advance our own interests, but we are also to love our fellow-creatures, and do them all the good in our power. So a nation may love itself so far as to seek by all fair means to advance its own interests, but it is also to love its neighbours, and to do them all possible good, and certainly no evil. Such conduct, in both cases alike, is good for both parties; for the more comfortable, happy, and good our neighbours are, it is the pleasanter and more profitable for us to live in the midst of them; and the more prosperous, contented, and peaceable other countries are, it is the better for the prosperity and tranquillity of our own. NATIONAL ANTHEM. [TO BE SUNG TO THE TUNE OF "GOD SAVE THE KING."] God bless our native land, May peace her power extend, On war no more. |