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every opportunity, however trifling, for self-improvement, will undoubtedly, with few advantages, make much greater progress both in culture and acquisition, will drink more copious and invigorating draughts, than he who sits listlessly down beside the gushing fountains of science, truth and refinement. The diligent and studious mechanic, who can steal but a few moments from his daily toil to devote to the culture of his mind, if he improve those few moments, will infallibly become a better educated, bet ter disciplined, more civilized as well as more respectable and useful man, than the college fopling, dunce or drone. But such a comparison is a comparison of extremes, and though often made to the manifest disadvantage of colleges, is as manifestly unfair. Good were it for colleges as well as for society, if dunces and drones received their deserts a silent dismission instead of an honorary degree -or by some means or other were abolished. They bring more discredit upon colleges than all other causes combined. But are the classics or mathematics to blame for it?

But we dismiss this subject, content with protesting against the utilitarian, uncivilizing tendency, which would pervert or destroy our higher institutions of learning; and with insisting on these two points, that discipline and not acquisition is the fundamental idea of a liberal education, and that public institutions can only furnish the means, but each individual must perform the work for himself. We readily admit that, without the aid of any public institution of learning, a man may, though at great disadvantage, acquire all that is essential in a liberal education. We readily admit, also, that without any thorough education a man may not only get a livelihood, but may make no little sensation in the world. The modesty and refinement that ought to grow out of such an education may even unfit a man for successful competition with audacity and coarseness. In political life is this especially true. The rude and reckless demagogue may secure more popular votes than his refined and cultivated rival. A man of tolerable original capacity will naturally busy his mind about something, and for want of a higher and more generous discipline, he may direct all his efforts to acquiring the mastery of that craft and management, that system of little arts and low cunning, by which to insure a triumph over

his opponents who have been accustomed to employ their minds on more elevated and humanizing subjects.

We are for cheap manufactures: and a demagogue is an article of much cheaper manufacture than a Statesman. But the process does not end here. When all Statesmen have been thrown quite off the course, and their competitors are left in exclusive possession, these will not be able quietly to divide the prizes among themselves. What is cheap is abundant; and now he will succeed best among them who can descend lowest. The problem now is, "beneath the lowest deep to find a lower deep." But when he who is most skillful in solving this problem has got himself into high office, he may be brought into contact with the highly cultivated and refined minds who act as the representatives of other countries. And if he has any discernment or sensibility left-which indeed is hardly to be supposed-how must he quail before them! how keenly must he feel his inferiority! Or if-as must too often be the case he is utterly callous and unable to appreciate anything above his accustomed habits; though he and even the less informed and cultivated portion of his countrymen may exult in his republican superiority to all the forms of refinement and rules of propriety; yet what must be the judgment, the just judgment, of other nations in regard to our progress in civilization, when they see such men acting as our organs and representatives?

We may be proud of coarseness, vulgarity and ignorance, if we please. We may affect to consider them as signs manual of true democracy. We may despise, or if we cannot despise, denounce and renounce, all refinement and taste and learning as useless, pedantic, or worst of all, aristocratic. We have a right-a sort of right-so to do, if we please. Nobody has a right to interfere, but let us not then enter the lists in the race of civilization. Let us rather be consistent, and despise and denounce civilization itself as a badge of slavery. Let us rejoice and exult that we are free

savages. If we are not ready to do this-and assuredly we are not-there is but one other way of being consistent: seeking after civilization to seek those things which constitute it.

The first step should be to ascertain our true position, to recognize our deficiencies, and look our dangers full in the

face. Let us make a brief recapitulation of some of some of our comparative disadvantages.

Want of the refining and uniting influences of national antiquity, and with a disposition to reject the experience and authority of others; want of a highly educated and cultivated class; overshadowing and oppressive incubus of popular opinion; excessive absorption in thrift and money-getting; a habit of change; an anticipative millenium; an impatience and restiveness under the transient or accidental evils on which the final and permanent good is conditioned; the general preponderance of the centrifugal over the centripetal, of the disorganizing over the conservative, of the leveling over the elevating tendencies; of selfishness over humanity, of partisanship over patriotism, of sectarianism over catholicity; in a word, of the negative, the immediate, the tangible, the useful, the practical, over the positive, the distant, the ideal, the general, the humanizing. We are in danger of being all carpenters without an architect-tinkers and coblers without a master-workman.

That is the dark side of the picture. But, courage! there is also a bright side. Our first hope is in a "Divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will." God has given us a great work to do, and we trust he will secure its accomplishment, though it may be by such methods as to save us from all occasion of glorying in ourselves. Faith is the first element of success. Besides we have still an open field; no insuperable obstacle has yet been thrown in our way. Our body social has certain bad habits and tendencies, but no deep-seated, fatal disease, no old, festering wounds, no shriveled limbs, no exhausted spirits. We have evils, but they are far from remediless. Will and wisdom are all we want. After all that we have said, and that some may be ready to condemn as unpatriotic and undemocratic-though we would warn all such beforehand that the only proper way to manage an argument is to reason and not to revile-after all that we have said, we would not exchange our whole situation, opportunities, prospects, with those of any other people on earth. We would not exchange our boisterous, changeful, rude, impatient, but active and energetic democracy, for the vegetable life, the lethargic tranquillity, the silence and slavery, of Russian or Austrian despotism, or any of the

boasted paternal governments on earth; nor yet for the shocking contrasts between the thousands of English aristocrats and the millions of English menials and paupers. We would not exchange our church institutions, fragmentary, illdigested and unsettled as they are, with the organism of death, the galvanized corpse of the Romish hierarchy; nor yet with a corrupting and degrading dependence on the civil government.

In respect to intellectual cultivation, too, America need not be ashamed of her position and prospects; and the American mind possesses many excellent points. It is generally true of Americans abroad that they have more sensibility to objects of taste, more susceptibility of culture, more apreciation of what is foreign, less of national narrow-mindedness, than their English brethren. We can learn. Besides the English can claim little superiority over us either for great useful inventions or for taste and genius in the fine arts. In painting and sculpture, in poetry and eloquence, we are already their rivals.

We

But as a nation we are yet in our youth. We achieved our independence before we had passed our non-age. have the characteristic faults, follies, extravagancies, dangers and defects of youth; but we have also its vigor and freshness, its buoyancy and hope. It is indeed time for us to begin to cherish the sober thoughts of manhood. Wild sallies and boyish excesses must have an end.

In developing a manlier and maturer state, our men of education and culture have a most important and noble office to perform. If they put themselves in the right spirit and with due energy to the work, they will yet perform it. Their first step must be to cherish and advance their own culture. Their next step must be to renounce distinctly and resolutely all pursuit and expectancy of wealth and political station. They must set their faces as a flint against such temptations. Called to act as judges on subjects of the highest import, they must not be bribed. They must above all things studiously preserve their mental independence.

Let them remember that those who figure most largely in their generation are not ordinarily those who survive it longest. Poets and artists are proverbially poor and despised; and this is as it should be. If poets could be idle and honored, all would be poets, hence Providence has appointed a needful remedy. For all real greatness

the present is the time of outlay, of seedsowing; its harvest lies in the future. What was poor, blind, puritanic Milton, to Charles II. and his licentious cavaliers? What was the incarcerated and half-maddened Tasso to the noble and haughty Duke of Ferrara ? Inspired men, with a still holier mission-when not endued with miraculous powers formed no exception. What was Jeremiah in his dungeon to a Jehoiachim? the imprisoned John Baptist to a Herod and his merry-making Court, or Paul to an Agrippa or a Nero? Nay, what was Jesus of Nazareth to the kings that set themselves and the rulers that took counsel together against him? But how stand their memories now? And what is the comparative measure of their present in

fluence? Truly a prophet is not accepted in his own country.

Let then our men of intelligence and virtue of true culture and refinementset about their task with singleness of eye and simplicity of heart; and let them pursue it with a noble disinterestedness, with an earnest and undaunted boldness, with energy, prudence and perseverance; and our American civilization, under the blessing of God, is safe; and good Bishop Berkeley's prophetic lines will yet be fulfilled:

"Westward the star of empire takes its way;

The four first acts already past, The fifth shall close the drama with the day;

Time's noblest offspring is the last."

A FATHER'S REVERIE.

BY MISS ANNA BLACKWELL.

WHEN float light clouds on heaven's azure sea,

When through the trees low breathes the whispering wind, While clustering roses, in sweet canopy,

Hang overhead, in fragrant wreaths entwined,
And small glad voices ringing through the air,
Speak of the innocent, the good, the fair,
Then, my beloved! then do I think of thee!
Then seem thy soft blue eyes to rest on me!

And when the sorrowing and gentle eve

Follows, with dewy tears, the dying sun,
And all the shining clouds, as he doth leave,
Wrap them in mourning garb and mantle dun,
I think of thee-for thou, like him, in light,
Didst pass from earth and my too-loving sight,
And my soul wrapped herself in shroud of night!

My best beloved! my beautiful! my child!
Still, still I press thee to my throbbing breast;
Still yearns, by thy sweet memories beguiled,

My heart toward thee, brightest thou and best
Of all God's gifts to me! Fame, wealth and friends,
And all the bounties that kind Heaven lends,

Were but as dust, my child! to me, the while
My life was gladdened by thy voice and smile!

The earliest bird that welcomes in the day
Recalls thy morning greeting to my ear,
And how the sunshine fell with brighter ray
When thy light footstep told that thou wert near:

And when, at night, 'mid pleasant household sounds,
The blazing hearth a kindred group surrounds,
I pause and listen, feeling sudden lone,
The music of thy ne'er forgotten tone!

I miss thee, dearest! when the hour of prayer
Gathers heart-incense on the holy shrine,
For angels ever, through the solemn air,

Bore thy pure worship unto Heaven with mine;
And now, while reverent at His throne I kneel,
'Tis joy to me, mine own loved child, to feel,
Though nobler raptures now thy bosom thrill,
We worship the same great All-Father still!

I on the threshold of the mighty fane,

Whose vast dimensions fill the infinite-
Whose forms, dim-looming, we but strive in vain
Fitly to apprehend with mortal sight:

But thou hast passed the shadowy portal through,
And Heaven's arcana open to thy view;
While round thy widening pathway daily shine
Glory and beauty ever more divine!

O wondrous spirit-world! that lies so near,
Yet seems so distant from our yearning thought,
Around, within, so real, during, clear,

And yet our earth-dimmed vision sees it not!
Would that thy loving voice, my gentle child!
Might whisper me in accents undefiled,

Some dulcet echo of that inner land

'Mid whose full harmonies thy young feet stand!

My child! my child! those sounds, how sweet they fall, Waking loved memories on thy father's ear;

But thou no more art mine, nor dare I call

Thee by the gentle name thou wearedst here!
No! thou art mine no longer! earthly ties
Melt into nobler kindred in the skies;

And all the glorious company of heaven

To thee, for parents, and for friends, are given!

My child! my glorious, translated child!
From the deep beauty of thine angel-home,
Would 1, with yearnings vain, or wishes mild,
Withdraw thy feet, o'er earth's rough ways to roam?

Wither the rose upon thy brow that lies,

And dim the light of heaven from thy dear eyes?

No! to my love for thee let power be given

To draw, not thee to earth, but me to heaven!

THREE CHAPTERS ON THE HISTORY OF POLAND.

CHAPTER III.

CHARACTER

REFLECTING upon the fate of Poland, one is surprised and pained at the melancholy issue of so many great sacrifices, so much bloodshed, heroic devotion and fervid patriotism! The love of country with the Poles cannot be said to be a sober virtue. It is rather a passion that never ceases to agitate their breasts; it is the enthusiastic devotion of a chevalier to the queen of his heart; being always foremost in his thoughts and feelings. True, there are some traitors among them; but what nation has them not? Still it will be found true that no modern nation, or any of the ancient, have produced so many instances of enthusiastic patriotism as they. Other nations have not suffered such calamities they were more or less prosperous; but it was not so with the Poles. If in prosperity man is not so much tempted to crime, his virtue at the same time is not so great, and does not stand out in bold relief. Misfortune has a contrary effect; it either plunges him into the abyss of iniquity, or hardens his virtue so that it will resist both time and change.

OF THE POLES.

The chivalry of modern nations succeeded to the patriotism of the ancients; but in this age of prudence and expediency we rather choose to keep aloof from the extremes of either, for they become rather uncomfortable virtues. Notwithstanding this general tendency, the Poles give us examples of patriotism which, if they do not surpass, certainly equal any to be found in antiquity-of patriotism that is not based on mere selfish feeling, but on the noblest sentiments of the human heart. Their history proves they were never the aggressors, but fought only to defend their own rights and their own territory. The saying "Ubi patria, ibi bene," became theirs. Zolkiewski's last breath when falling on the battle-field,dulce pro patria mori," is worthy the best Roman or Greek days. Their history and literature are replete with sayings and deeds whose exalted Source was love of country. What feelings they cherish towards their own

land may be gathered from the endearing appellation of our mother, which with them is synonymous with Poland. Their last revolution is but one grand display of the noblest self-devotion-every man was a patriot, and every woman a heroine.

We will introduce here a few instances which will give an idea of the spirit that animated this people when struggling for their liberty. Besides exposing their lives to the chances of battle, many contributed large sums to the national treasury. General Pac (Pats) was the first, who in the very beginning of the revolution laid on the altar of his country the sum of 100,000 florins, (equal to 12,400 dollars,) and though nearly sixty years old, fought bravely to the close. Prince Czartoryski, (Charto-ryskie,) whose yearly income was £80,000, has had his estates confiscated, and yet he prefers to live an exile in foreign countries, on scanty means, than sue for pardon though the emperor be glad to grant it.

As for personal devotion, we must only mention a few among the bravest of the brave, and the Generalissimo Skrzynecki deserves the first notice. It would be impossible to display more courage than he did at the battle of Ostrolenka. He conceived the idea of attacking the enemy at the nearest distance possible. He took twelve field-pieces, and two regiments of cavalry for their protection, and profiting from the dusk, led them in person, fixed the battery at three hundred paces from the enemy, and ordered it to open. At the same time he seated himself, with the utmost coolness, at the head of the battery, exposed to the incessant fire of the enemy's artillery. In vain did the officers beg him not to expose his life thus: he sat immovable as à marble statue till he saw the enemy shaking and finally forced back.

Nor is this a single instance of such intrepidity; Colonel Piernka, whose battery at the battle of Grochow was the most destructive to the enemy, and frequently the most exposed, kept up a fire,

* In the last number, on page 638, 1st line in 1st column should be transferred to the bottom of the 2d column.

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