Roman war from its interior fastnesses, when Rome was at the mightiest !—a nation, that shall yet once freed from the soul-galling yoke of monarchy, the spirit-killing sway of prelatists and peers and papists-send forth her arms, her laws, her language, and above all, the lights of her religion, to the remotest corners of the habitable earth, securely throned on her seacircled pinnacle of glory, o'ershadowing the lands with her dominion, sweeping the oceanwaves with her renown!""

"Dreams! dreams!" replied Ardenne, shaking his head mournfully. "Beautiful! beautiful dreams, but baseless!-Methought that you had studied history more narrowly. There never has been, from the world's birth till nowthere never shall be, henceforth to the day when the great trump shall sound-a true republic! Rome, when her kings were banished was an aristocracy—a wise, poor, frugal, brave, paternal aristocracy;-foot after foot her nobles yielded to the flood of what her demagogues styled

freedom

-the moment when she became re

publican or democratic, which you will, that moment held her up a prize to the successful soldier. Her history thenceforth-corruption, anarchy, bloodshed, proscription, Cæsar! And what was Athens?—If for a little while she stood cemented by external wars which forced her to be single and united-what was her government, but a succession of bright usurpations-of aggressions on the people's rights, abuses of the people's power; till at the last democracy prevailed, and then-the thirty tyrants! Sparta, from first to last, was the most close and austere oligarchy earth has ever witnesseday, oligarchy within oligarchy-an irresponsible and high-born senate, holding their sway for life over an oligarchy of six thousand Dorian warriors; who in turn domineered with a most iron sceptre over their myriads of subordinate Laconians, myriads of scourged and tortured Helots!-These! these are your bright examples-these the republics of the universe!

For you will hardly quote me Venice-Genoa

Florence wherein not all a Petrarch's or an Ariosto's glory can veil the degradation of the slavish mob―the tyrannic insolence of the brute nobles. Dreams!-I say once again-beautiful-but still dreams! Alas! for human nature! how can we look to see republics stand, unless we hope for wisdom and for virtue in the councils and the actions of the mass-how hope for these, when human reason and divine authority tell us alike, and tell us truly, that the majority of men are ignorant and prone to evil! But now, truce to discussion-you have relieved my mind at all events from one great dreadof having been in truth-while I supposed myself in some degree a champion of my country's weal-the mere tool of one man's ambition. This was the point, on which I chiefly sought your counsel, and I am satisfied. And now, let us to lighter and more pleasing matters.-I heard your voice, as I approached the arbour, composing as I fancied some new poem."

"A trifle! a mere trifle !" answered the other, as if half-reluctant to descant on such a subject; but Ardenne's end was gained-the thread of their original discourse was broken, and, turning thence to poetry and the chief literary topics of the day, a conversation followed, which, though of interest enough to those who held it, was scarce of such importance as to warrant its transmission to posterity.

CHAPTER II.

Nay, be thou sure I'll well requite thy kindness,
For that it made my imprisonment a pleasure:

Ay, such a pleasure as incaged birds
Conceive, when, after many moody thoughts,
At last, by notes of household harmony,

They quite forget their loss of liberty.

But, Warwick, after God, thou set'st me free,
And chiefly therefore I thank God and thee.
King Henry VI.—Part III.

It was a lovely summer morning, with a soft west wind just ruffling the bosom of the silver Thames, and wantoning among the graceful foliage of tall trees, and slender, though not less