THERE is nothing so much talked of, and so little understood in this country, as THE CONSTITUTION. It is a word in the mouth of every man; and yet when we come to discourse of the matter, there is no subject on which our ideas are more confused and perplexed. Some, when they speak of the Constitution, confine their notions to the law; others to the legislature; others again, to the governing and executive part; and many there are, who jumble all these together in one idea. One error, however, is common to them all; for all seem to have the conception of something uniform and permanent, as if the Constitution of England partook rather of the nature of the soil than of the climate, and was as fixed and constant as the former, not as changing and variable as the latter.

FIELDING.

THE Gods are just.

But how can finite measure infinite?

Reason! alas, it does not know itself!

Yet man, vain man, would with this short-lived plummet

Fathom the vast abyss of Heavenly justice.

Whatever is, is in its causes just ;

Since all things are by Fate. But purblind man

Sees but a part o' th' chain, the nearest links ;
His eyes not carrying to that equal beam,
That poises all above.

DRYDEN.

WHY wanders Fancy down the lapse of years,
Shedding o'er imaged woes untimely tears?
Fond, moody power, as hopes or fears prevail,
She longs, or dreads to lift the awful veil :

On visions of delight, now loves to dwell,

Now hears the shriek of woe and freedom's funeral

knell.

Perhaps she says, long ages past away,

And set in western waves our closing day,

Night, Gothic night, again may shade the plains
Where power is seated, and where science reigns:
England, the seat of arms, be only known,
By the grey ruin, and the mouldering stone :
That Time may tear the Garland from her brow,
And Europe sit in dust as Asia now.

MRS. BARBAULD.

THE wisdom that cometh from above' is gentle,' the fruit of the Spirit is meekness. As the sun, although he regulates the seasons, leads on the year, and dispenses light and life to all the planetary worlds, yet disdains not to raise, and to beautify the flower which opens in its beam, so the Christian religion, though chiefly intended to teach us the knowledge of salvation, and be our guide to happiness on high, yet also regulates our conversation in the world, extends its benign influence to the circle of society, and diffuses its blessed fruits on the path of domestic life.

LOGAN.

TO THE NIGHTINGALE.

SWEET bird, that sing'st away the early hours
Of winters past, or coming void of care,
Well pleased with delights that present are,
Fair seasons, budding spray, sweet smelling flowers;
To rocks, to springs, to rills, from leafy bowers,
Thou thy Creator's goodness dost declare,
And what dear gifts on thee he did not spare,
A stain to human sense, in sin that lowers.
What soul can be so sick, which by thy songs
(Attired in sweetness) sweetly is not driven
Quite to forget earth's turmoils, spites and wrongs,
And lift a reverend eye, and thought to Heaven?
Sweet artless songster, thou my mind dost raise
To airs of spheres, yes, and to Angels' lays.

DRUMMOND.

To the intelligent and virtuous, old age presents a scene of tranquil enjoyments, of obedient appetite, of well regulated affections, of maturity in knowledge, and of calm preparation for immortality. In this serene and dignified state, placed as it were on the confines of two worlds, the mind of a good man reviews what is past with the complacency of an approving conscience; and looks forward, with humble confidence in the mercy of God, and with devout aspirations towards his eternal and ever-increasing favour.

PERCIVAL.

A YEAR ago, a year ago,

I thought my heart so cold and still,
That Love it never more could know :

That withering Time, and Sorrow's chill,
Had frozen all its earlier glow.

A year ago, a year ago,

I said, "I ne'er shall love again”—
But I had not seen Thee then!

A year ago, a year ago,

My soul was wrapt in grief and gloom, And sighs would swell, and tears would flow, As, bending o'er the lost one's tomb,

I thought of her who slept below!

A year ago, a year ago,

I felt I ne'er could love again-
But I had not known Thee then!

A year ago, a year ago,

All vain were Beauty's witching wiles,
And eye of light, and breast of snow,
And raven tress, and lip of smiles,
They could not chase a rooted woe!
A year ago, a year ago,

I never wished to love again,

But I had not kiss'd Thee then!

LORD STRANGFORD.

OUR own heart, and not other men's opinions,

Forms our true honour.

COLERIDGE.

A STUDY of the natural world teaches not the truths of revealed religion, nor do the truths of religion inform us of the inductions of physical science. Hence it is, that men whose studies are too much confined to one branch, often learn to overrate themselves, and so become narrow-minded. Bigotry is a besetting sin of our nature. Too often it has been the attendant of religious zeal, but it is perhaps most bitter and unsparing when found with the irreligious. A philosopher not understanding one atom of their spirit, will sometimes scoff at the labours of religious men; and one who calls himself religious will perhaps return a like harsh judgment, and thank God that he is not as the philosophers-forgetting all the while, that man can attain to no knowledge except by faculties given to him by his Creator's hand, and that all natural knowledge is but a reflection of the will of God. In harsh judgments such as these there is not only much folly, but much sin. True wisdom consists in seeing how all the faculties of the mind, all parts of knowledge bear upon each other, so as to work together to a common end; ministering at once to the happiness of man and his Maker's glory.

SEDGWICK.

FULL many a glorious morning have I seen,
Flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with Heavenly alchemy.

SHAKESPEARE.