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and foolish men respecting the education of women. class of pedants who would be cut short in the estimation of the world a whole cubit, if it were generally known that a young lady of eighteen could be taught to decline the tenses of the middle voice, or acquaint herself with the Æolic varieties of that celebrated language. Then women have, of course, all ignorant men for enemies to their instruction, who being bound (as they think), in point of sex, to know more, are not well pleased, in point of fact, to know less. But, among men of sense and liberal politeness, a woman who has successfully cultivated her mind, without diminishing the gentleness and propriety of her manners, is always sure to meet with a respect and attention bordering upon enthusiasm.

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The most beautiful possession which a country can have is a noble and rich man, who loves virtue and knowledge; who, without being feeble or fanatical, is pious-and who, without being factious, is firm and independent; who is a firm promoter of all which can shed a lustre upon his country, or promote the peace and order of the world. But if these objects are of the importance which we attribute to them, the education of women must be important, as the formation of character for the first seven or eight years of life seems to depend almost entirely upon them. It is certainly in the power of a sensible and well-educated mother to inspire, within that period, such tastes and propensities as shall nearly decide the destiny of the future man; and this is done, not only by the intentional exertions of the mother, but by the gradual and insensible imitation of the child; for there is something extremely contagious in greatness and rectitude of thinking, even at that age; and the character of the mother with whom he passes his early infancy is always an event of the utmost importance to the child. A merely accomplished woman cannot infuse her tastes into the minds of her sons; and, if she could, nothing could be more unfortunate than her success. Besides, when her accomplishments are given up, she has nothing left for it but to amuse herself in the best way she can; and, becoming entirely frivolous, either declines altogether the fatigue of attending to her children, or, attending to them, has neither talents nor knowledge to succeed; and, therefore, here is a plain and fair answer to those who ask so triumphantly, why should a woman dedicate herself to this branch of knowledge? or why should she be attached to such science? Because, by having gained information on these points, she may inspire her son with valuable tastes, which may abide by him through life, and carry him up to all the sublimities of knowledge; because she cannot lay the foundation of a great character, if she is absorbed

in frivolous amusements, nor inspire her child with noble desires, when a long course of trifling has destroyed the little talents which were left by a bad education.

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One of the greatest pleasures of life is conversation; and the pleasures of conversation are of course enhanced by every increase of knowledge: not that we should meet together to talk of alkalies and angles, or to add to our stock of history and philology-though a little of these things is no bad ingredient in conversation; but let the subject be what it may, there is always a prodigious difference between the conversation of those who have been well educated and of those who have not enjoyed this advantage. Education gives fecundity of thought, copiousness of illustration, quickness, vigor, fancy, words, images, and illustrations; it decorates every common thing, and gives the power of trifling without being undignified and absurd. The subjects themselves may not be wanted, upon which the talents of an educated man have been exercised; but there is always a demand for those talents which his education has rendered strong and quick. Now, really, nothing can be further from our intention than to say anything rude and unpleasant; but we must be excused for observing that it is not now a very common thing to be interested by the variety and extent of female knowledge, but it is a very common thing to lament that the finest faculties in the world have been confined to trifles utterly unworthy of their richness and their strength.

If, therefore, you educate women to attend to dignified and important subjects, you are multiplying beyond measure the chances of human improvement, by preparing and medicating those early impressions which always come from the mother; and which, in a great majority of instances, are quite decisive of character and genius. Nor is it only in the business of education that women would influence the destiny of men. If women knew more, men must learn more-for ignorance would then be shameful-and it would become the fashion to be instructed. The instruction of women improves the stock of national talents, and employs more minds for the instruction and amusement of the world; it increases the pleasures of society, by multiplying the topics upon which the two sexes take a common interest; and makes marriage an intercourse of understanding as well as of affection, by giving dignity and importance to the female character. The education of women favors public morals; it provides for every season of life, as well as for the brightest and the best and leaves a woman, when she is stricken by the hand of time, not as she now is, destitute of everything, and neglected by all; but with the full power and the splendid attractions of knowledge-diffusing the elegant pleasures

of polite literature, and receiving the just homage of learned and accomplished men.

THE COST OF MILITARY GLORY.1

We can inform Brother Jonathan what are the inevitable consequences of being too fond of glory-Taxes upon every article which enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot-taxes upon everything which it is pleasant to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste-taxes upon warmth, light, and locomotiontaxes on everything on earth, and the waters under the earthon everything that comes from abroad, or is grown at home-taxes on the raw material-taxes on every fresh value that is added to it by the industry of man-taxes on the sauce which pampers man's appetite, and the drug that restores him to health-on the ermine which decorates the judge, and the rope which hangs the criminal-on the poor man's salt, and the rich man's spice-on the brass nails of the coffin, and the ribbons of the bride-at bed or board, couchant or levant, we must pay. The schoolboy whips his taxed top-the beardless youth manages his taxed horse, with a taxed bridle, on a taxed road :—and the dying Englishman, pour

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This lesson cannot be too deeply impressed on the minds of American youth. We are following the footsteps of European despots so fast that, unless the people arise and send to Congress men whose Christian obligations are stronger than their party ties, we shall overtake them in a much less time than they have accumulated war debts to the amount of ten thousand millions of dollars. The whole expenses of our army and navy during the eight years of Washington's administration were less than eleven millions; now they are twenty-two millions in one year!!! The whole expenses of our most wicked Mexican war-a war waged to extend the curse of slavery-will not be less, from first to last, than two hundred millions of dollars.

Look, too, at the favoritism shown to military men. To have been a successful human butcher is a sure passport to the highest public honors; and all connected with the army are rewarded, down to the meanest soldier, in the shape of pensions, land-bounties, &c. &c. Who ever heard among us of such rewards being given to those who had really benefited the world by their writings or by useful inventions and discoveries? England is more consistent, in this respect, than we are, for she grants pensions to distinguished scholars when they are in a situation to require pecuniary aid.

Again: compare the cost and utility of the War and Peace departments. For instance, what good have the army and navy done to the country the last year compared with the post-office department? The latter cost but five millions, carrying, in the shape of newspapers, magazines, and letters, food for the mind, and joy for the heart, to the doors of millions every day in the year. Its expenses, too, were paid by individuals, and not by the government, for it would not risk even one million to confer the blessings of cheap postage, while it hesitated not to squander twenty-two millions upon the army and navy. The amount of money which a ship of the line costs every year would support five or six such colleges as Harvard, or Yale, or Dartmouth!!

ing his medicine, which has paid seven per cent., into a spoon that has paid fifteen per cent.-flings himself back upon his chintz bed, which has paid twenty-two per cent.—and expires in the arms of an apothecary, who has paid a license of a hundred pounds for the privilege of putting him to death. His whole property is then immediately taxed from two to ten per cent. Besides the probate, large fees are demanded for burying him in the chancel; his virtues are handed down to posterity on taxed marble; and he is then gathered to his fathers-to be taxed no more. In addition to all this, the habit of dealing with large sums will make the government avaricious and profuse; and the system itself will infallibly generate the base vermin of spies and informers, and a still more pestilent race of political tools and retainers of the meanest and most odious description; while the prodigious patronage which the collecting of this splendid revenue will throw into the hands of government will invest it with so vast an influence, and hold out such means and temptations to corruption, as all the virtue and public spirit, even of republicans, will be unable to resist.

CASTLEREAGH, CANNING, AND—GRATTAN.

There are two eminent Irishmen now in the House of Commons, Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning, who have it in their power, by making it the condition of their remaining in office, to liberate their native country and raise it to its just rank among the nations of the earth. Yet the court buys them over, year after year, by the pomp and perquisites of office, and year after year they come into the House of Commons, feeling deeply and describing powerfully the injuries of five millions of their countrymen-and continue members of a government that inflicts those evils, under the pitiful delusion that it is not a cabinet question-as if the scratchings and quarrellings of kings and queens could alone cement politicians together in indissoluble unity, while the fate and fortune of one-third of the empire might be complimented away from one minister to another, without the smallest breach in their cabinet alliance. Politicians, at least honest politicians, should be very flexible and accommodating in little things, very rigid and inflexible in great things. And is this not a great thing? Who has painted it in finer and more commanding eloquence than Mr. Canning? Who has taken a more sensible and statesmanlike view of our miserable and cruel policy than Lord Castlereagh? You would think, to hear them, that the same planet could not contain them

and the oppressors of their country-perhaps not the same solar system. Yet for money, claret, and patronage, they lend their countenance, assistance, and friendship to the ministers who are the stern and inflexible enemies to the emancipation of Ireland! Thank God that all is not profligacy and corruption in the history of that devoted people-and that the name of Irishman does not always carry with it the idea of the oppressor or the oppressed -the plunderer or the plundered-the tyrant or the slave. Great men hallow a whole people and lift up all who live in their time. What Irishman does not feel proud that he has lived in the days of Grattan? who has not turned to him for comfort, from the false friends and open enemies of Ireland? who did not remember him in the days of its burnings and wastings and murders? No government ever dismayed him-the world could not bribe him-he thought only of Ireland-lived for no other object-dedicated to her his beautiful fancy, his elegant wit, his manly courage, and all the splendor of his astonishing eloquence. He was so born and so gifted, that poetry, forensic skill, elegant literature, and all the highest attainments of human genius, were within his reach; but he thought the noblest occupation of a man was to make other men happy and free; and in that straight line he went on for fifty years, without one side-look, without one yielding thought, without one motive in his heart which he might not have laid open to the view of God and man. He is gone! but there is not a single day of his honest life of which every good Irishman would not be more proud than of the whole political existence of his countrymenthe annual deserters and betrayers of their native land.

CHARACTER OF SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH.

When I turn from living spectacles of stupidity, ignorance, and malice, and wish to think better of the world-I remember my great and benevolent friend Mackintosh.

The first points of character which everybody noticed in him were the total absence of envy, hatred, malice, and uncharitableness. He could not hate-he did not know how to set about it. The gall-bladder was omitted in his composition, and if he could have been persuaded into any scheme of revenging himself upon an enemy, I am sure (unless he had been narrowly watched) it would have ended in proclaiming the good qualities, and promoting the interests of his adversary. Truth had so much more power over him than anger, that (whatever might be the provocation) he

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