OCR Text |
Show 400 Bossuel and Robert llall. [A~;ousr, . · distant e- casion, the hand of him who Uringeth princes In which now e~velope ln_m, he wlilf at,notial visio~." nothing, who maketh the judges of the earth as riod, emerge mto the lmghtness 0 ce cs \':lllity; who s:1ys, they shall uot_ be planted; yea, t ·5 respectful and tender langnagc, they shall not be sown; yea, tiH•tr slnl'k shall not Contrast I 11 . . . . . ter with tal·e root in the earth; and he shall blow upon them, which so well becante a Chns_ttan nun~s '. f ,;nJ they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take t!Jat of Bossuet concerning Louts, who, ltl splle ~ them away as stuUble.~~ his showy qualities, deserved to be br:lnded as ,l • • debauchee and tyrant, :~nd soon aft~rwards s_how~d On poliric:ll topiC's. B~ssuet cerl:l111ly drsp!:lys a his judgment by revoking- the cdtct by_ wltrch h~s comprehensi \·e grasp of mtellecl,_ and~ _lofty power wise ancestor, Henry, extended toleralHlll to Ius uf description marred only by Ins sprnt of adula. Protestant subjects, ant.l b:~nis hed 500,000 of l~er tion; but the following passag? shows thatli~ll can best citizens from the sui! of },ranee. Of illm speak on this subject in a strarn as lofty as hrs pre· Dossuet says: decessor. "But why enl:uge on a m::~ttcr, (he had been "Preserved amidst the wreck of nations, and the speaking of the t_alents (lfthe Duchess ofOrl_eans_,) hurrrcane of re\'Olut\On\ \\Inch S\\Cpt for twenty in regard to \\hu:h I can exyress eve~y tlu.ng 111 yews o\er the face of Europe, \\ilh rum and deso· one word. The king, whose .r_udgrn_cnty~ ~h.tays a !atwn ltl rts tr.u_n, \\e_have not only b~en JlCrnntted sure rule, esteemed the capacrty ol _tlus I nnc~s~; to retain our sOJJ unvwlated, and our IFHlependence and bv his esteem abo\·e all our eulogtes has put Jt. unimpaired: but have come forth from _a cnntesl of Let• ''' no<v examine some passa!!es in both, unparalleled Jifliculty and extent, Wtth a.. more ~ sp!emlid rt'putation, and in a more comma ~tdrn g at· which are similar in suhject and conception, but in titudc, titan we possessed at any former penod. O~a which we can find no evtdence of servile imitation successes, bo1h by sea and land, have been so b~tl· in the modern 8peaker. Jiant and decisive, that it is not easy to dete_n_mne Dossuet thus descriUcs the death of 1Ienrie11a: whether we have acquired most glory as a mdnar_v . or maritime power; while our acltic\·~men 1s on u 0 disastrous, 0 clreadful night, in \~· h•c_h w~s both elements ha\'C Ueen such as to dtstance all heard like a clap of thunder the astouncllllg mtel!r· competition." gence: Maclam is dying-, l\lada_m is dead! . Which of us did not feel struck hy thts blow, as rf some Let us now see wltat spiritual impro,•ement each trarric accident had desolated his own family~ At makes of the occasion on which he is speaking. the"'first rumor of so unexpected a misfortune crowds This, from Dossuet1 is undoubtedly eloquence of has! en from all directions to S1. Cloud: tl~ey fi_nd every thing alarm ed except the l~eart of tltts Pnn- the highest ord er. cess: every where are heard cn~s: e\•ery where n Rut do I tell the truth! is man whom God are seen grief, despair a~d the rmage of death. created in his own image no1hing- but a shadow! The king-, the queen, Monsreur, the whol_e court,_all is rhat which Jesus Christ came from H e<Jvcn to t) e people, all are O\'erwhelmefl. :dl are 111 ~f'spatr: f:arth In seek, \l"hich he thought he could purchase and it seems to_ me that I see the ~~~ompl_tshment with his nwn blond without abasem~nt, a mere of that expresswn ?f the prophet- l he l~tng shall nnthino- 1 J .. ct us confess our error; wuhout doubt mourn, and the Pnuce shall be rloth_ed wnh de~o- this s:d spf'ctac!e uf human vani~y deceived liS; lation, and the hands of the people ol the land sl.all and the sudden frustration of pnblrc hope by the be troubled.'" death of this Princess, carried us tno far. _l\hn · · II Jl · · J must not be pcrmi1ted to despise himself cnurely, The corres~ondrng ~a~sage.Jn a . IS ccrlalll Y f4•r fear that bclicl'ing with :he impious, that our like this, but 111 my optnwn, far supcnor. tife is nolhing bm a game of c_hance, he _should, u H <rfferent the example of mortality pre· unregulated and unrestrainerl, yr~ld 1o the r1mpulr sen ted<~~ th~ present occ;siun ! \\~ithout the sltgh~· uf his blind desire~ .. rrlt ~s ;~01~1~~ ~~i:s~;~ i~t~a!,.~:~ ~st \\'j~.ning, witho~~t th~~~f1~~~~:~~~t( ;/ t~1~1 ~;:;:s~ ~;e~1~!1 ~~~;~f~c~.:1\:\hllh1:v~ read, after hav_ing filled Hnme .r,lte prepara 10n, . 1 d . tl al! its patTeS with contempt for human affatrs.' chootranqmllity, at l~lid~iglll, a vo r;;e _w:rs lCar •t ~-~ ses at l~s~ to show m:rn something more solid_. and p~lacc, dnot .o;l SIL1~,';l~h~c~r;n '~~~\~~~~· ~l~~~ obr:~e- concludes his whore discour_se hy sayin!J tu ht~·~:~: Jo~ncomr:'t;L~· 'I' he mother.'in the b!~o~n of youth, _'''.Fear ~od and kce~ h~~ comman ments · or spared just I on!! enough to I~ car the tt_dmgs of her tin,~ .ts ,the \d~nl:h~{;'~>Ti~~n ev~ry work into judg-· infant's death, almost w•medrately, a~ tf !':>tllnmo.ncd F 0 .r 1°0 • t lhinrr whether iL be "oud by \tis spirit follows him into eternrty. ' It IS a men!, wit l ~very s~c~e c' ., night much 'to be rememhcr_ed.'. Who foretold or,;'.~~~t~~~e:~~~Ue ~~~1\1~ is \•ain in man, if we rep:ard this event, who conjectured 11, \\ ho detected ~1 a . Y. es ~ 0 the world. but on the r:on< listance the faintest presage of irs approach, wh :~ h, that winch h~ _grv.~ 'mportant if ~,-e consider what when it arrived. mocked the emtrts of human sktl_J, trary _every 1 Gn~ 1 ~ •• 'cv~ry thinrr is \'a in in as much by their i~capac·i1y to pre\·ent, as tlterr_ he g'.\;.es . 10 •rro d thcg-·~::urse uf his ~nortal life; inability to foresee u 1 Unmuved by the tears()! man, 1 \\e ~e,..a~s ccious e\'Cr" thinrr is imporc ·onjuga! affec1ion, una wed by the presence of gran- hut e~~ry thmg I pr.IC tl ~ goal to \\1liCh he is deur, and the prerogatives o_f power. inex_or~b(e taut._ 1 we ~~~:• 1 e 11~1~ ·~\· hi ch1 he must render. Let (Ieath hastened tu execute Ius stern commrsswn, tendrng, _the_.lfcmf 1. It anti this 111mb medilea, ·ing nothing tn royalty itself !.Jut t_o retire and 118 then, 111 s1g,' t_o d 1 ;rs 1- ~r, \' rcls 0 j· t!tc p'~ophel, weep. \\"ho can fail to discern ou thts :t\\ fuf oc· tate ou the fin;t all t 1e .1::. \ o 1845.] Lays of CuuraJ?e, No. 4. Siars of Glory. 491 the former of which_ sho\~ the nothin g ness of man, glory which you admired formed Iter peril in tltis and the la.ller establish Ius greatness." life, and that in the otlter she has become the sub· In th~ foll~wing pass~gc of H all we find the ~~~~t Zt~e:r r~~eorrob:~t ~~~~n~~~~i:;~ ~~s~~~~:~lnn~~~:~~~ sa m_e tralll _of_rdeas, but wrth the peculiarity of true she felt to the or<lers of God, and the holy bumili· gen1us, asstmrlated and made his own. at ions of penitence. " • "The vani_t.y which adheres to the world in ev<>ry H all titus: form, when 1ts pleasur~s and occup;ltions are re· "\Ve presume there are none who can survey garded as ultun_ale ob!ecls, is at once corrected !his s ignal interposition of Providcuce with ind_if· when the~ are v1ewecl Ut connection with a boutul- ference, or refrain from 'laying it to heart.' No, less etcrmly ;. an? wha_tev_cr may be their intrinsic illustrious Princess, it will be lon g e re !he na~e of valu~, they nse mto drgn.ny ~nd importance when Charlotte Augusta is mentioned by Britons wrthout consrdered as the seed nl a 1uture harvest, as the tears; remote posterity also, which shall peruse thy path whi?h, however obs_curc, leads to honor and melancholy story, will 'lay it to heart,' and will immortali ty , as the provmce of labor allotted us, Ue tempted to ask, why no milder expedient con it! in order to 'work out our salvation with fear and suffice to correct our levitv and make ns mindful trembling.' Nothin~ is li~tle wl~ich is related to of our latter em!; while they look back with tender such a system _; notl11ng varn or fnvolous which has pity on the amiable victim, \1 ho seems to have been the remotest wlluence on such prospects. Con. destined by the insl!rutab(e wisdom of Pro\·idence sidered as a st_ate _of probation, our present condi· to warn and edify that people by her death, which tion loses all tts 1nherent meanness; it <lf'rivcs a she was not permitted, to the extent of her amLimoral grandeur even frum the shortness of its du- tion, to benefit by her liiC. ration, when viewed as a. contest for an immortal •· Should her lamented ancl untimely end be the crown, in which the cand1dates are exhibited on a means of giving that impulse to the public mind, theatre, a spectacle to bPings of the highest order, which shall turn us to righteousness, the benefit who conscious nfthe tremendous importance oft he she will have conferred upon her country in both issue, of the map:nitude of the iute rest at stake, wurlds, will more than equal the glories of the most survey the combatants from on high, with bene\'0· extended and prosperous reign." lent and trembling solici tude." I have trespassed too long on your patience alAgain we have this passage of most surpassing ready, and I fear have given but a poor idea of eloquence. Bossuet, for who can translate eloquence~ llut I "The nation has certainly not been wanling in sh:L\.1 be satisfied it: I shall succeed_ i_n turn~n~. the at. the proper expression of its poignant regret at the te~llton of your re:td~rs to composrtrons \~Inch con· sudden removal of this lamented PriDcess, nor of tarn so much to grattfy the taste, to e!Jilgh ten the their sympathy with the royal family deprived by understanding, and imJlrO\'e the heart. this l'isitation of its briglltl:St ornament. Sorrow G. E. D. is painted itt every countenance, the pursuits of tJUsi· ness and of pleasure have been suspended, and the •1 am not sure that penitence, the original word, should kingdom is covered with the sigmds of distre$8. not Ue tran~;lated ~1U11~ee ;tccording to the Homan Catholic Dut what, my brethren, if it be lawful to indulge notion. such a thought, what would be the fun eral obse· qnies of a lost soul~ Where shall we find the tears fit lo be wept at such a spectacle; or could we realize the calamity, in all its extent, what tokens of commiseration and concern would Ue deemed equal to the occasion~ \Vou]d it suffice for the sun to 1•eil its tight, and the moon her brightness; to cover the ocean with sackcloth ; or were the whole fabric of nature to become animated aud vocal, would it be pos.sible for her to utter a g roan t~o deep, or a cry too piercing. to express the 1nag· mtude anJ extent of such a catastrophe." There is another portion of lla!Ps discourse, iu which he states and explains the great enigma, that man, so provitlcnt in all things else, is often so ex. cecdingly improvident in regard to his immortal interests. But I forUear and will only give the concluding paragraph of each discourse. llossuet ends his discourse thus: u Begin to day to despise the favors of the world; ?nd every time that you are in these aug-ust places, ln. t~ese proud palaces to which Madam gave a brrtlrancy which your eyes still look for, every time that looking at this great place which she filled so well, you feel that she is wanting, reflect that the LAYS OF COURAGE. n:r TlU: STRANOEIL IV. . STAllS OF GLOilY. Stare that have gone out in glory, Spirits of the olden age, Living ever in the story Of the poet and the sage. Are they not by heaven ano(nted Demonstrations unto man, How great things may be appointed To the issues of a sp::tn ! How vast deeds, the heart acltie\·ing, In the space of three-score years, PJciad.like, may pass, receiving Place above terrestrial spheres 1 Place, from whence celestial Ucaming Breaks upon these lower orbs, |