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dramatic writer less eminent, for several of his pieces continue to be acted with much approbation, and will secure a place among the "stock productions" of the English stage, as long as there shall exist a taste for genuine humour and for the faithful exhibition of human life.

His greatest merits, however, consisted in the composition of songs, of which he wrote no fewer than 1200; and it may be asserted that, though many of them are in praise of love and festivity, not one passage can be found in the whole number of a loose or licentious nature. On the contrary, all his effusions were calculated to support the interests of virtue, to exercise the best affections of the heart, and to recommend the duties of loyalty and patriotism.

The influence of his songs upon our gallant tars has become generally known; and it probably contributed, in no small degree, to stimulate their heroism, and to inculcate submission to the hardships of their profession. There was even a tincture of pious feeling spread over some of his songs, which was as likely to reach the hearts of sailors, and to carry their minds to trust in Providence, as more formal essays on divine superintendence and direction. His labours in the cause of loyalty and virtue were rewarded by government with a pension.

1. Who died on this day, in 1814?

2. For what was Dibdin long and universally known? 3. What did his greatest merit consist in ?

LESSON CCVII.-JULY THE TWENTY-SIXTH.

Restraint, the Parent of true and salutary Liberty. SUCH, alas! is the wide extent of vice and folly, of ignorance and error, that the majority of mankind must be subject to perpetual control. Restraint, therefore, is the first and most essential quality of government. It is inseparable from its nature. It is government itself.

In a system, well constructed, this control of government operates so insensibly that it is sometimes overlooked, and sometimes attributed to the power of human reason over human conduct. But, alter the systemabolish the government—and the necessity of exterior restraint becomes fearfully apparent. All wise and

good men, therefore, look up to government with an eye of reverence and awe. They consider it, in some respects, as a sacred subject; and they fear rashly to lay their hands on the ark of venerable authority.

But, if restraint be thus requisite for man, what becomes of the fair form of Freedom, who lately has presented herself to our sight, and claimed a precedence among the principles of government? Is not her image banished? Is not her nature annihilated by the presence of restraint? No; her serene and virtuous power rises from the midst of fetters with unencumbered dignity, and converts the chains of control into the wreaths of pleasure: nay, paradoxical as it may appear, the freedom which conduces to happiness regards restraint as her parent, companion, and friend. If restraint be directed to the attainment of its proper object (the public good) it will stay the hand of oppression, defeat the designs of fraud, destroy the combination of tyranny, and check the numerous evils of life: but, will it not, in so doing, give freedom of action, and security of possession, to the just, the peaceable, and the innocent? and can such freedom be enjoyed without such restraint? The answer is obvious: under the protection of a good government, the virtuous man walks through the prison of the world unmolested and unhurt; but liberate the captives of vice, and he would be assaulted, plundered, and abused.

Liberty, then, must be considered as the consequence of restraint. General liberty is the effect of restraint upon every individual; particular liberty is the consequence of general restraint; it looks up to government as its author, to law as its guardian. Independent of a system of law, the liberty of a nation is an empty sound.

1. Why is restraint the first and most essential quality of govern

ment?

2. In what way does restraint operate for the public good? 3. What is general restraint? —what particular?

LESSON CCVIII. JULY THE TWENTY-SEVENTH.
Metropolis of Turkey.

CONSTANTINOPLE, the capital of Turkey, is finely situated on the European side of the Bosphorus. It was built upon the ruins of the ancient Byzantium, by the Roman

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emperor, Constantine the Great, as a more inviting situation than Rome for the seat of empire. It is at this day one of the finest cities in the world, on account of its port.

The most regular part is the Besestin, enclosed with walls and gates, where the merchants have their shops excellently ranged. In another part of the city is the Hippodrome, an oblong square of 400 paces by 100, where they exercise on horseback. The Meidan, or parade, is a large spacious square, the general resort of all ranks. On the opposite side of the port are four towns, but considered as a part of the suburbs, their distance being so small that a person may easily be heard on the other side. They are named Pera, Galata, Scutari, and Tophana. In Pera the foreign ambassadors, and all the Franks, or strangers, reside, not being permitted to live in the city. Galata, also, is mostly inhabited by Franks, or Jews, and is a place of great trade.

The tomb of Constantine the Great is still preserved. The mosque of St. Sophia, once a Christian church, is thought in some respects to exceed, in grandeur and architecture, St. Peter's at Rome. The city is built in a triangular form, with the seraglio standing on a point of one of the angles, whence there is a prospect of the delightful coast of Lesser Asia, which is not to be equalled.

When we speak of the seraglio, we do not mean the apartments in which the grand seignior's women are confined, as is commonly imagined; but the whole inclosure of the Ottoman palace, which might well suffice for a moderate town. The wall which surrounds the seraglio is thirty feet high, having battlements, embrasures, and towers, in the style of ancient fortifications. There are in it nine gates, but only two of them magnificent; and from one of these, the Baba Hoomajun, or sublime gate, the Ottoman court takes the name of the Porte, or the Sublime Porte, in all public transactions and records.

Both the magnitude and population of Constantinople have been greatly exaggerated by credulous travellers. It is surrounded by a high and thick wall, with battlements after the oriental manner; and towers defended by a lined but shallow ditch, the works of which are double on the land side.

The inhabitants, according to the best accounts, do not exceed 400,000, including the suburbs of Galata, Pera, Tophana, and Scutari. Of these, 200,000 are Turks,

100,000 Greeks, and the remainder Jews, Armenians, and Franks of all the European nations.

The seraglio, or palace of the emperor, is so extensive that it is said to occupy the whole of the ground on which the ancient city of Byzantium stood. The treasures contained within his imperial residence are prodigious; and its furniture is distinguished, not by its variety, but the richness of the materials of which it is composed. Silk and cloth of gold are here substituted for cotton and woollen stuffs; fringes are strung with pearl and inferior jewels; and the walls are wainscoted with jasper, motherof-pearl, and veneered ivory. In the audience-chamber, where the ambassadors are received by the Sultan in person, is a throne as resplendent as the mines of the East can make it.

1. Where is Constantinople situated? and upon the ruins of what city was it built?

2. What edifice is the mosque of Sophia said to exceed in grandeur ? 3. What is said of the seraglio, or imperial palace ?

Ir was on the 28th of July, 1809, after a sharp combat on the previous day with portions of the hostile armies, that the conflict of Talavera took place. From 9 o'clock in the morning until mid-day the field of battle offered no appearance of hostility; the weather was intensely hot; and the troops, on both sides, descended and mingled, without fear or suspicion, to quench their thirst at the little brook which divided the positions; but at one o'clock in the afternoon, the French soldiers were seen to gather round their eagles, and the rolling of drums was heard along the whole line.

The arrangements of the Duke of Belluno being completed, he gave the signal for battle; and eighty pieces of artillery immediately sent a tempest of bullets before the light troops, who, coming on swiftly, and with the violence of a hail-storm, were closely followed by the broad, black columns, in all the majesty of war.

Sir Arthur Wellesley, from the summit of the hill, had a clear view of the whole field of battle; and first he saw the fourth corps rush forwards, with the usual impetuosity of French soldiers, and, clearing the intersected

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ground in their front, fall upon Campbell's division with infinite fury; but that general, assisted by Mackenzie's brigade, and by two Spanish battalions, withstood their utmost efforts. The English regiments, putting the French skirmishers aside, met the advancing columns with loud shouts; and, breaking in on their front, and lapping their flanks with fire, and giving no respite, pushed them back with a terrible carnage. Ten guns were taken; but, as General Campbell prudently forbore pursuit, the French rallied on their supports, and made a show of attacking again: but the attempt was in vain. The British artillery and musketry played too vehemently upon their masses, and a Spanish regiment of cavalry charging on their flank at the same time, the whole retired in disorder, and the victory was secured in that quarter.

Vilatte's division was now seen advancing up the valley against the left; and, beyond Vilatte's, Ruffin was discovered marching against the mountain. Sir Arthur Wellesley immediately ordered Anson's brigade of cavalry, composed of the 23d Light Dragoons and the 1st German Hussars, to charge the head of these columns; and this brigade, while in full gallop, came upon the brink of a hollow cleft, which was not perceptible at a distance. The German Hussars, seeing the perilous nature of their position, suddenly halted; but the English blood was hotter. The 23d, under Colonel Seymour, rode wildly down into the hollow, and men and horses fell over each other in dreadful confusion; and, though the survivors fought with determined and desperate bravery, the numbers against whom they had to contend rendered all their efforts useless.

During this time the hill, the key of the position, was again attacked, and the French general Lapisse, crossing the ravine, pressed hard upon the English centre; his own artillery, aided by the great battery on his right, opened large gaps in Sherbrooke's ranks, and the French columns came close up to the British line in the resolution to win but they were received with a general discharge of all arms, and so vigorously encountered that they gave back in disorder; and, in the excitement of the moment, the brigade of English guards, quitting the line, followed up their success with inconsiderate ardour. The enemy's supporting columns and dragoons advanced; the men who had been repulsed turned again, and the French batteries pounded the flank and front of the guards.