allured by verbal niceties, but always deliberately and carefully avoided them." The essays of Bacor and of Lamb afford a And also in their matter; those of Lamb being, the abbreviation of many words, and the substitution of shorter for longer forms of speech. Thus of words used in the essays, declination has become declension or decline; discontent-notable contrast not only in their manner but ment, discontent; heroical, heroic; disreputation, disrepute. In like manner such words as indifferency, impertinency, have in general lost the last syllable. So the termination of the third person singular of the verb in -eth, which imparts so much gravity to early writings, has been changed for the briefer and more colloquial form in -s, which in the es-bers. Mr. Henry Taylor, in the "Statessays, and in several of the other works of Francis Bacon, is used indifferently with the older form. In the first book of Hooker's "Ecclesiastical Polity" it occurs but once. By these changes our language has possibly gained as much in ease and fluency as it has It would be a task involving more labor, if lost in weight and dignity. But in other not requiring greater talents, to approach as changes that have been made, such as the sub-nearly to the " Essays of Elia." Most of stitution in many cases of the words "more" the attempts that have been made discover and "most" for the inflecton of the adjective a want of the assiduous toil and fastidious in order to form the degrees of comparison, care which alone can give to essays of this there has been no gain which can be set off description any real and permanent value. against our loss. Although we have used the essays of Francis Bacon as illustrative of the styles which were in vogue, and the state of the English language at the times when they were composed and revised, it must not be inferred that we regard them as belonging to that class of writings-represented by the "Essays of Elia "—of which the chief value and excellency consist in their style, the exquisite choice of words, and the careful measurement of cadences. In Bacon's Essays the words are always selected with care, and used with precision; the cadence of the sentences in the later essays is well arranged and musical; but Bacon employs words as tools or weapons, and is satisfied with their usefulness: Lamb rejoices in their polish and glitter. Bacon regards a sentence as a mean for the expression of a thought; Lamb plays and dallies with it, and lingers to listen to its music. Of Bacon's manner of composition Dr. Rawley says,— "He chiefly aimed at vigor and perspicuity of expression, not elegancy or neatness of language and in writing or dictating often paused to inquire whether his meaning had been rendered with sufficient clearness and perspicuity; since he knew it to be right that words should be the servants of things and not things of words. He was never man," showed himself worthy to supply a deficiency in our literature which had been only indicated by Bacon. Mr. Helps, too, seems to have been inspired by Bacon's essays, without being a servile copyist. Lord Macaulay has remarked that "in eloquence, and sweetness and variety of expression, and in richness of illustration,' "the later writings of Francis Bacon are far superior to those of his youth, and has noticed how in this respect he is resembled by Edmund Burke. Another parallel is furnished by one of the greatest of our modern English painters. The first essays of Bacon do not differ in style from those added in the third edition, more widely than do the pale gray and green of the early drawings of Turner from the opaline splendor of his later paintings. But there is ground for the belief that the abruptness and severe simplicity of Bacon's first essays were the result not of immaturity, but of deliberate choice. They are not less finished than the later ones, but are finished in a different manner. That he could in 1597 as well as in 1625 frame the most elaborate periods, and employ at pleasure the happiest metaphors and illustrations, is proved by his answer to the Jesuit Parsons, published in 1592, and by the "Epistle Dedicatory" of his "Maxims of the Law," written in 1596. In the former of these occurs the following passage: "The benefits of Almighty God upon this. land since the time that in his singular providence he led as it were by the hand, and placed in the kingdom, his servant, our Queen. 66 Elizabeth, are such, as not in boasting or in | "I have often observed that if perchance confidence of ourselves, but in praise of his in conversation an opportunity occurred of holy name, are worthy to be both considered quoting another person's opinion, by the and confessed, yea, and registered in perpet-power with which his mind was gifted he ual memory. -Observations on a Libel. brought it forth arrayed in new and better dress, so that the author himself would see Let this be compared with a passage from that his own opinion was more elegantly exthe first edition of the Essays:pressed, and yet not the least injured in meaning or matter. Bible and from the Latin writers, especially Bacon quoted most frequently from the Tacitus, Lucretius, and Cicero. In the third edition of the essays, are forty-nine quotations from the Bible, of which fifteen are from the books of Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and twen "He that questioneth much, shall learn much, and content much, especially if he ap ply his questions to the skill of the party of whom he asketh for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge: if sometimes you dissemble your knowledge of that you are thought to know, you shall ty from the New Testament. The greater be thought another time to know that which you know not."-Essay of Discourse. It would be hard to select from the latest works of the Lord St. Alban a more finished period than that which we have quoted from the "Observations on a Libel;" and there are in the same pamphlet many of equal if not superior beauty. The second quotation is a fair specimen of the style of the essays printed in the first edition; and we think that a comparison of the two passages can leave no doubt that the style of the second was voluntarily adopted by a practised and skilful writer. number of the quotations do not correspond with any printed texts; and it is probable that in these instances, as in many others, Bacon quoted from memory. In some cases he may have himself translated from the Latin of the Vulgate; for his English quotations generally resemble the Rhemish version more nearly than any other. Bacon repeated favorite quotations or illustrations in many of his works, sometimes using them more than once in the same tract or book. The fable of Atlanta and the golden apples, which is related and explained in the "Wisdom of the Ancients," is used also in the " Advancement of Learning," twice in the first book of the "Novum Organum," twice in the tract on the "Interpretation of Nature," and in several other places. In the essay “Of the Unity of the Church," Bacon quotes from St. Bernard the expression, "In veste ecclesiæ varietas sit, scissura non sit." Mr. Wright enumerates seven other instances in which this quotation is used or alluded to, and there are two or three more not mentioned by him. It is impossible by means of the ordinary editions to judge of the difference in style between the earlier and later essays, because the new matter added from time to time was so interlaced with the original text that it cannot be distinguished without careful comparison of the different editions published by the author. But in Mr. Wright's edition all the information may be found which could be obtained by such comparison. Examination of the early editions enables us to bear witness not only to the general skill and For the essays, as we have already said, care with which Mr. Wright has performed Francis Bacon gathered from his other works his task, but also to the accuracy with which his wisest thoughts and happiest illustrations. he has noted the most minute particulars In them he displays a keenness and accutending to illustrate the history of the essays. He has collected much information concerning the sources of Bacon's quotations and his manner of quoting. In the ten original essays there are but three quotations, all of which are proverbs. Many quotations, were inserted in the edition of 1612, and a yet larger number in that of 1625. Strict verbal accuracy is found in very few of Bacon's quotations, a fact which is alluded to by Dr. Rawley, who says,— racy of observation, a soundness of judgment, equalling, and very frequently surpassing, that shown in his philosophical works. For, although upon his natural philosophy the fame of "this great prince of knowledge" is chiefly based, his political and moral observations and speculations are marked by little or none of that credulity, inconsiderateness, and hastiness of conclusion, which render worthless the "Centuries of Natural History," and make the second book of the Novum Organum " a piece of ingenious tri- | from the stumbling-blocks of habit. Francis fling. It is the union in himself of the active | Bacon alone, pursuing these studies in hours and the contemplative life which gives to stolen from the wrangle of the law and the Francis Bacon a position singular and un- toils of statecraft, attained an excellency for rivalled amomg the most illustrious philos- which many who gave to them an entire deophers. Aristotle had labored before him votion never dared to hope, and at the same in the collection of materials for a great nat- time spoke and wrote of the work of daily ural history. Plato had reasoned inductively life, the business of the market and the shop, of the functions of the mind. Schoolmen the passions and joys of common men, with had taught that the foundations of knowl- as much shrewdness and precision as if his edge must be laid by investigation and ex- only book had been a ledger and his heart periment. The monk, his namesake, had had never wandered out of the round of ordistriven to purge the human mind from the il-nary duties. lusions of the market-place, and to deliver it THE TENTS OF KEDAR.-The goats of the East | bered, give an almost prismatic effect to every are commonly black, and a species of cloth is object. made from their skins, having the same color. I add, for the sake of explanation, that Kedar This is the article commonly used by the Arabs was the name of an Arabian or Ishmaelitish for covering their tents. In approaching Bethle-tribe, who, like nomadic wanderers in general, hem from the direction of the desert, I passed an appear to have dwelt in different places at differencampment of this people, whose tents were all ent times. They are mentioned repeatedly in made of this black cloth, and which presented a the Old Testament. The Psalmist, for instance striking appearance, especially as contrasted with (120, 5), alludes to them in the expression, the white canvas tents to which I had been ac- "Woe is me that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!" customed hitherto, and which travellers so gener-They seem to have had a bad pre-eminence above ally employ in that country. At Tekoa, Amos's others of their race as a quarrelsome, belligerent birth-place, six miles south of Bethlehem, I be- people.-Hacket. held a similar scene. The settlement there con ONE most striking instance of the imperial benefits derivable from a colony-a colony, too, which could, under no circumstances, adequately defend itself—is furnished by the now noted Bahamas. We believe we may justly estimate at millions of pounds sterling the value of the com sisted of two separate groups of tents, one larger than the other; they were covered with the black cloth before mentioned, supported on several poles, and turned up in part on one side, so that a person from without could look into the interior. The Arab tents which I saw on the Phoenician plain, between Tyre and Sidon, were covered with the same material. In crossing the mountains of Lebanon, the path of the traveller leads him often along the brow of lofty summits, overlook-merce which, through this medium, has been ing deep valleys, at the bottom of which may be seen the long, black tents of migratory shepherds. It is this aspect of Bedouin encampment that supplies the comparison in Solomon's song (1, 5): "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.' It is the just remark of a certain traveller that "It would be often difficult to ascribe the epithet comely' to the tents of the orientals, viewed singly; but as forming part of a prospect they are a very beautiful object." Being pitched often in the midst of verdant meadows, watered by a running brook, their appearance, as beheld by the distant observer, is the more pleasing, from the contrast of colors which strikes the eye. The pure atmosphere and brilliant sunshine of the East, it will be remem carried on within the last two years between England and the Southern States. Nassau has, in fact, supplemented the ports of Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, and Glasgow. The vigilance of a belligerent force has been in a great degree neutralized by the convenient contiguity of this obscure little harbor to the Blockaded harbors of Charleston and Savannah. Half the advantages of the existing trade between England and the Confederate States, England owes to this little community of Bahamian wreckers and storekeepers. Without its aid the English goods shipped to the South, and Southern cotton shipped to England, could in no instance have escaped capture. No cost of military defence could be considered as too great for the maintenance of a colony enjoying so advantageous a position. -Quarterly Review. From Once a Week. THE FISHERMAN OF LAKE SUNAPEE. SOME years ago I had occasion to leave Cincinnati, which had been my temporary residence during some months, in order to meet a friend at Steubenville, a busy thriving town on the eastern side of the State of Ohio, and standing on the river from which the State takes its name. Apparently the distance between these two places would not be much more than two hundred miles, but the tortuous course of the river makes it at least three hundred, when the journey is performed by water, as indeed it of necessity must be. I had no business whatever of my own at Steubenville, but in compliance with my friend's request that I should accompany him in a visit to some of the salt-works in the neighborhood, in which he was largely concerned, I had agreed to meet him on a certain day, at a certain hotel in this town. I reached Steubenville about noon, and proceeded at once to the hotel where I expected to find my friend. He was not there, but, in his stead, I found a letter from him, in which he told me that he had met with an accident which would render his leaving home impossible for another week. This was rather annoying. I deliberated for a few minutes, uncertain whether to take the next Cincinnati boat and return immediately, or to wait patiently a whole week in a place in which I had no acquaintances and no occupation. I wanted recreation, the hotel seemed comfortable, and I soon decided to make it my head-quarters till my friend's arrival, and to spend my leisure time in rambling about the neighboring country. though much might be told of it that is marvellous, when we consider that it is no longer ago than in 1788 that its first white settlers were a little party of emigrants from New England, and that, forty years after their arrival, towns and villages had sprung up amongst the smiling valleys and rich plains, while the growth of the population, now considerably more than a million and a half, is such as has never been paralleled. I was always fond of fishing, and after having spent two or three days on horseback, leaving the choice of road very much to my horse's discretion, as, the country was all new to me, and apparently equally beautiful whichever way I roamed, I borrowed a rod and line from my host, and set out towards a little stream, from which I had observed a man catching fish at a great rate the day before. My way lay through the edge of a forest-one of those magnificent forests of gigantic trees that stretch back from the river for miles, and which are now and then broken by a fertile prairie, or, as we should call it, a natural meadow. I soon found the place I was in quest of― a narrow opening in the forest, through which ran a clear, rippling stream, not more than thirty or forty feet in breadth. Almost at the same spot in which I had seen him the preceding day, stood the same figure, with his rod in hand, and the rest of his tackle lying by his side on the short smooth turf. I also noticed that a book, which from its appearance I felt almost sure was the Bible, lay on a blue cotton handkerchief by the side of his fishing-basket. He looked up and took a scrutinizing survey of me from head to foot, Whoever has travelled in Ohio has seen as I approached, and was making my mental one of the most exuberantly fertile regions observations on him; his countenance was of the great American continent; there in-grave and even melancholy, but not forbiddeed does the earth bring forth abundantly, not only corn and fruits, but it is rich in some of the most useful minerals, iron and coal. There are no mountains in Ohio, but much high table land, rising to about a thousand feet above the level of the sea, and even these hills are covered with a fertile soil to their summits The whole country is watered by navigable rivers of great beauty, which bear on their gentle currents the products of this highly-cultivated region. But I am not about to give either a geographical or statistical account of this State, ding, or in any degree unpleasant, so I ventured to address him, and, English fashion, made some commonplace remark upon the state of the weather. ously admitted that we had not, either in summer or winter, anything like the bright, clear atmosphere of America. I had seen enough of New England and the New Englanders to enable me to recognize a Yankee as soon as I heard him speak, and I was well aware that this man was from one of the Eastern States; probably, thought 1, he is a settler, who has migrated from some bleak, rocky district, in hopes of bettering his fortunes in this land flowing with milk and honey. There is nothing like a community of tastes for furnishing subjects of conversation, even between strangers; so, in five minutes from the time of our first meeting, we were deep in the mysteries of fly-fishing. My companion who was evidently an experienced angler, caught at least two fish to my one, for he had greatly the advantage over me, inasmuch as he was thoroughly acquainted with the peculiarities of fish, of which I did not even know the names, for they, like the birds, the plants, and many other things pertaining to natural history, are different from those of England. Though very grave, I did not find my companion either taciturn or reserved; on the contrary, he seemed ready to converse on any subject that was started. Once or twice, indeed, he answered me in a strange, abrupt manner, and instantly turned the conversation, as if what I said had offended him, or in some way given him pain, though I could not imagine how that could be. frequently heard the epithet applied to young wives as to those who were really aged. We packed up our traps, and I saw the Bible carefully wrapped in the blue handkerchief, and deposited in one of my friend's capacious pockets. He then conducted me through a little opening on the outskirt of the forest-bush he always called it, which led to his humble dwelling. It was a log house of the best description, built entirely by himself he told me, and certainly not without considerable regard to taste, both as to situation, and as to external appearance. It stood in the midst, not of a clearance, but of a natural opening of about fifty acres in extent, which was surrounded by the most beautiful shrubs and forest trees. Kalmias and Rhododendrons, of dimensions such as are never seen in England, grew amongst the clean, straight stems of the oaks, hickory, sugarmaples, and I know not what besides, whilst in many places the wild grape-vines hung in graceful festoons from the branches of the forest trees which formed their support. On two sides of the house ran, what in England would be called a verandah, but what in New England, as well as in New York State, in which they were doubtless first introduced by the Dutch settlers, are known by no other name than the Stoup. In these pleasant, wide stoups, the floors of which are generally very nicely boarded and painted, the women of the family sit to sew or knit in warm weather, the children play in them when the sun is too hot, or the weather too wet for them to go out of doors; and the men not unfrequently solace themselves with a pipe. At the back of the house, the stoup "You must not go back to-night," said serves for larder, store-room, laundry, gardenhe. You must come home with me; the house, and a vast many other purposes. I old woman will find you a bed, and I will have seen joints of frozen meat hanging in the show you my little farm, out in the bush," back stoup" for weeks together, along with yonder. I guess you could not match it for frozen fowls, dry salt fish, and venison. At beauty in your country." After enjoying several hours' good sport, I thought it time to return to my inn, but my companion would not hear of it. other seasons, strings of apple chips, or peach chips, are hanging to dry, or the household linen, which would be injured by the great heat of the sun in summer, or covered with snow in the winter, if exposed without shelter. In short, the stoup is the most orna I felt no inclination to throw doubts on this point. Why should I? I like to see a man prefer his own country, as he would his own wife and his own children, to any other in the world; so I thanked him, and after making some apologies for the trouble an un- mental, agreeable, and useful addition to a expected guest might give his wife, I accept-country house. ed his friendly invitation. I had been in America long enough to understand what was meant by the old woman," having as 66 We went through the stoup into a goodsized, comfortable looking room: no one was in it, but the "women's litters," as my cɔm |