"White and Tudor's Selection of Leading Cases in Equity." He also devoted much time to scientific study; produced "Stanley," a novel; and published a number of articles anonymously in various periodicals. He sailed for Europe in April, 1849, and passed a year in England, Germany, France, and Italy. On his return he resumed with increased energy, his literary pursuits. His eye-sight became impaired in the spring of 1852, owing to the incipient stages of congestion of the brain, caused by undue mental exertion. By the advice of physicians, he embarked for England in November. Finding no improvement in his condition, on his arrival, he went to Paris for medical advice, where his cerebral disease increased, and led to his death suddenly, on the 16th of December following. In 1855 appeared in Philadelphia a volume of his writings, entitled "Art, Scenery, and Philosophy in Europe." These essays on the principles of art, descriptions of cathedrals, traveling sketches, and papers on distinguished artists, though not designed for publication, and mostly in an unfinished state, display great depth of thought, command of language, knowledge of the history and æsthetic principles of art, and a finely cultivated taste. A second volume of his writings, "Literary Criticisms and other Papers," appeared in 1856. These two works form but a small part of Mr. Wallace's literary productions. Α SECTION XXI. I. 116. BLENNERHASSETT'S TEMPTATION. PLAIN man, who knew nothing of the curious transmuta Ations which the wit of man can work, would be very apt to wonder by what kind of legerdemain Aaron Burr had contrived to shuffle himself down to the bottom of the pack, as an ac'cessory, and turn up poor Blennerhasset as principal, in this treason. Who, then, is Aaron Burr, and what the part which he has borne in this transaction? He is its author, its projector, its active ex'ecuter. Bold, ardent, restlèss, and aspiring, his brain conceived it, his hand brought it into action. he was made attorney-general in 1789. He was a member of the Uni 1 Trănș`mu ta'tion, a change into another substance or form. 'Leg er demãin', sleight of hand; ted States Senate from 1791 to 1797, an artful trick. 'Aaron Burr was born in Newark, N. J., February 5, 1756. His military talents secured for him the high position of lieutenant-colonel in the army of the Revolution; after which he acquired a prominent position as a great lawyer in New York, where and the leader of the republican party. He was made vice-president in 1800; killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804; was tried on a charge of treasonable designs against Mexico, at Richmond, Va., in 1807, of which he was finally acquitted; and died on Staten Island, Sept. 14, 1836. 2. Who is Blennerhasset? A native of Ireland, a man of letters, who fled from the storms of his own country, to find quiet in ours. On his arrival in America, he retired, even from the population of the Atlantic States, and sought quiet and solitude in the bosom of our western forests. But he brought with him taste, and science, and wealth; and "lo, the desert smiled!" Possessing himself of a beautiful island in the Ohio, he rears upon it a palace, and decorates it with every romantic embellishment of fancy. A shrubbery that Shenstone' might have envied, blooms around him. Music that might have charmed Calypso' and her nymphs, is his. An extensive library spreads its treasures before him. A philosophical apparātus offers to him all the secrets and mysteries of nature. Peace, tranquillity, and innocence, shed their mingled delights around him. And, to crown the enchantment of the scene, a wife, who is said to be lovely even beyond her sex, and graced with every accomplishment that can render it irresistible, had blessed him with her love, and made him the father of several children. 3. The evidence would convince you, Sir, that this is but a faint picture of the real life. In the midst of all this peace, this innocence, and this tranquillity,-this feast of the mind, this pure banquet (băngk'wet) of the heart,-the destroyer comes. He comes to turn this paradise into a hell. Yet the flowers do not wither at his approach, and no monitory shuddering through the bosom of their unfortunate possessor warns him of the ruin that is coming upon him. A stranger presents himself. It is Aaron Burr. Introduced to their civilities by the high rank which he had lately held in his country, he soon finds his way to their hearts, by the dignity and elegance of his demeanor, the light and beauty of his conversation, and the seductive and fascinating power of his address. 4. The conquest (kongk'west) was not difficult. Innocence is ever simple and credulous. Conscious of no designs itself, it suspects none in others. It wears no guards before its breast. Every door and portal and avenue of the heart is thrown open, and all who choose it enter. Such was the state of Eden when 1 William Shenstone, a pleasing writer both of prose and verse, noted for his taste in landscape-gardening, was born in Shropshire, England, in 1714, and died in 1763. 2 Calypso, a fabled nymph, who inhabited the island of Ogygia, on which Ulysses was shipwrecked. the serpent entered its bowers! The prisoner, in a more engaging form, winding himself into the open and unpracticed heart of the unfortunate Blennerhasset, found but little difficulty in changing the native character of that heart, and the objects of its affections. By degrees he infuses into it the poison of his own ambition. He breathes into it the fire of his own courage; -a daring and desperate thirst for glory; an ardor, panting for all the storm, and bustle, and hurricane of life. 5. In a short time, the whole man is changed and every object of his former delight relinquished. No more he enjoys the tranquil scene: it has become flat and insipid to his taste. His books are abandoned. His retort and crucible are thrown ǎside. His shrubbery blooms and breathes its fragrance upon the air in vain -he likes it not. His ear no longer drinks the rich melody of music: it longs for the trumpet's clangor, and the cannon's roar. Even the prattle of his babes, once so sweet, no longer affects him; and the angel smile of his wife, which hitherto touched his bosom with ecstacy so unspeakable, is now unfelt and unseen. Greater objects have taken possession of his soul. 6. His imagination has been dazzled by visions of diadems, and stars, and garters, and titles of nobility. He has been taught to burn with restlèss emulation at the names of great heroes and conquerors, of Cromwell,' and Cæsar, and Bonaparte. His enchanted island is destined soon to relapse into a wilderness; and, in a few months, we find the tender and beautiful partner of his bosom, whom he lately "permitted not the winds" of summer "to visit too roughly,"—we find her shivering, at midnight, on the wintry banks of the Ohio, and mingling her tears with the torrents that froze as they fell. 7. Yet this unfortunate man, thus deluded from his interest and his happiness-thus seduced from the paths of innocence and peace-thus confounded in the toils which were deliberately spread for him, and overwhelmed by the mastering spirit and genius of another, this man, thus ruined and undone, and made to play a subordinate part in this grand drama of guilt and treason—this man is to be called the principal offender; while he, by whom he was thus plunged in misery, is comparatively innocent, a mere ac'cessory! Is this reason? Is it law? Is it 1 Oliver Cromwell, a great warrior and statesman, Lord Protector of England, born April, 1599, and died September, 1659. humanity? Sir, neither the human heart nor the human understanding will bear a perversion so monstrous and absurd; so shocking to the soul; so revolting to reason! WIRT. WILLIAM WIRT, an able American lawyer and miscellaneous writer, was born in Bladensburg, Maryland, November 8th, 1772. He was a private tutor at fifteen; studied law; was admitted to the bar, in his twentieth year; removed to Richmond, Virginia, where he met with eminent success in his profession, and became chancellor and district-attorney. In 1817, in the presidency of Monroe, he became attorney-general of the United States, an office which he held for twelve years. His defense of Blennerhasset, in the famous trial of Aaron Burr fortreason, in 1807, from which the above extract is taken, won for him a great reputation for fervid eloquence. On his retirement from office, in 1859, he took up his permanent residence at Baltimore, where he became actively engaged in the practice of the law. He was the author of the "Old Bachelor," "The British Spy," ," "Life of Patrick Henry," etc. He died February 18, 1834. II. 117. ROGER ASCHAM1 AND LADY JANE GREY.' A SCHAM. Thou art going, my dear young lady, into a most awful state; thou art passing into matrimony and great wealth. God hath willed it: submit in thankfulness. Thy affections are rightly placed and well distributed. Love is a secondary passion in those who love most, a primary in those who love least. He who is inspired by it in a high degree, is inspired by honor in a higher; it never reaches its plentitude of growth and perfection but in the most exalted minds. Alas! alas! Jane. What ailèth my virtuous Ascham? what is amiss? why do I tremble? As. I remember a sort of prophecy, made three years ago: it is a prophecy of thy condition and of my feelings on it. Recollectèst thou who wrote, sitting upon the sea-beach the evening after an excursion to the Isle of Wight, these verses?— "Invisibly bright water! so like air, On looking down I feared thou couldst not bear Roger Ascham, (ăs ́ kăm), a man of great learning, the instructor of queen Elizabeth, was born in 1515, and died in 1568. 2 Lady Jane Grey, daughter of the Marquis of Dorset, descended from the royal family of England by both parents, was born in 1537. The Duke of Northumberland having prevailed on Edward VI. to name her his suc cessor, married his son, Lord Guilford Dudley, to her; and, the nation hav. ing declared in favor of Mary, they were both executed, after a phantom royalty of nine days, on the 12th of February, 1554. Lady Jane was only in her seventeenth year, and was remarkable for her skill in the classical, Oriental, and modern languages, and for the sweetness of her disposition. My little bark, of all light barks most light; And, hanging back, breathed each fresh gale aghast, Jane. I was very childish when I composed them; and, if I had thought any more about the matter, I should have hoped you had been too generous to keep them in your memory as witnesses against me. As. Nay, they are not much amiss for so young a girl, and there being so few of them, I did not reprove thee. Half an hour, I thought, might have been spent more unprofitably; and I now shall believe it firmly, if thou wilt but be led by them to meditate a little on the similarity of situation in which thou then wert to what thou art now in. Jane. I will do it, and whatever else you command; for I am weak by nature and věry timorous, unless where a strong sense of duty holdeth and supporteth me. There God acteth, and not his creature. Those were with me at sea who would have been attentive to me if I had seemed to be afraid, even though worshipful men and women were in the company; so that something more powerful threw my fear overboard. Yet I never will go again upon the water. As. Exercise that beauteous couple, that mind and body much and vāriously, but at home, at home, Jane! indoors, and about things indoors; for God is there, too. We have rocks and quicksands on the banks of our Thames (těmz), O lady! such as Ocean never heard of; and many (who knows how soon!) may be engulfed in the current under their garden walls. Jane. Thoroughly do I now understand you. Yes, indeed, I have read evil things of courts; but I think nobody can go out bad who entereth good, if timely and true warning shall have been given. As. I see perils on perils which thou dost not see, albeit thou art wiser than thy poor old master. And it is not because Love hath blinded thee, for that surpasseth his supposed omnipotence; but it is because thy tender heart, having always leant affectionately upon good, hath felt and known nothing of evil. I once persuaded thee to reflect much; let me now persuade thee to avoid the habitude of reflection, to lay aside books, and to gaze carefully and steadfastly on what is under and before thee. |