peculiar lustre in the most calamitous situations; and have displayed virtues that might have never been formed in prosperity.

Some anecdotes of the late duke of Montpensier have excited these remarks; and, as they afforded me pleasure and instruction, I persuade myself they will be an acceptable example to others, of virtue struggling with misfortune. This young prince was the second son of the duke of Orleans, who was nearly allied to Louis the Sixteenth by blood; and possessed of such immense wealth, that he might have been a powerful check to the spirit of faction, had he exerted his influence in favour of order and moderate reform, and have established a lasting fame for himself, as the true lover of his country and mankind. But, stimulated, as is supposed, at first, by revenge, for some affront he had received, and afterwards actuated by ambition and sinister views, he joined the popular party in all its wild excesses, took the name of Egalite, and, having squandered his vast property amongst his partizans, fell a victim to the cruelty and ingratitude of Robespierre ; leaving his family to seek protection and support amongst those who were willing to afford shelter to the unfortunate. The elder son, now duke of Orleans, fled to America; the two younger ones, less successful in escaping from the power of their enemies, were thrown into the dungeons of Fort St. John, at Marseilles, soon after the death of their father, which happened in 1793. Here they languished together during the tedious period of forty-three months, with scarcely a ray of hope

that any thing but a public execution would put a period to their confinement.

In this dismal situation, their principal solace was the sympathy and tenderness of each other. Some favourable circumstances encouraged them to attempt an escape. Count Beaujolois, the youngest, succeeded, and had reached a place of security and concealment, when he discovered that his brother, the duke of Montpensier, had fallen from the walls of his prison, as he was descending, and having broken his leg, was retaken, and again immersed in his former dreadful habitation. On hearing the fate of his unhappy brother, fraternal affection overcame all regard to personal safety: he determined to share his misfortunes, whatever they might be, and afford him that comfort that is found under all circumstances, in the society of an affectionate friend. He therefore surrendered himself, without delay, and they remained together in this horrid place of confinement, till one of the many changes in the French government opened their prison doors; when, after encountering great hardships and difficulties, they repaired to America, in order to join their eldest brother.

On leaving that country they came to England, where their youth, their misfortunes, and their virtues, ensured them protection. They were received into circles of the highest rank, and generously noticed by the royal family still they were exiles, driven from their country, separated from their kindred, stripped of their inheritance, and obliged to suffer many privation's, which called forth the frequent exercise of patient fortitude.

Amongst these brothers, the duke of Montpensier was distinguished for his talents, and the constancy with which he bore these vicissitudes; a virtue more difficult to support than the heroic courage which he displayed at the tender age of sixteen, in Champagne, particularly at the battle of Jemappe.

Having undergone a life of trial, and, in the short space of thirty-two years, experienced the extremes of prosperity and adversity, he was removed from his mortal career, and his remains were deposited amongst the illustrious dead in Westminster Abbey. His brother, the duke of Bourbon, attended as chief mourner; and every mark of respect due to his birth and character was observed at the funeral ceremony.

The early death of this young man; his extraordinary story, unmerited misfortunes, and eminent virtues, the growth of these afflictions; call forth our commiseration, and afford a striking lesson to the gay, the prosperous, and unthinking, that nothing but virtue and conscious rectitude are permanent in our present state of existence.

F

50

THE SLAVE-TRADE AND THOMAS CLARKSON.

"The crown of perseverance is success."

IT seems incumbent on every one who labours for the instruction of the rising generation, to display the steps by which the British nation has emerged from barbarism, and attained that pre-eminence in morals, science, and freedom, that she now enjoys. From a horde of savages she is become the arbitress of Europe, the guarclian of the weak, the scourge of the oppressor, and the powerful ally of those who struggle for independence.

This height has been gained by gradual means. The first seeds of civilisation were sown by the Romans. The Saxons improved the civil polity of the inhabitants; and laid the foundation for a free representation, the great bulwark of all our privileges. The augmentation of towns, and the increase of commerce, slowly, but with certainty, undermined the feudal system, and encouraged the love of liberty. The glorious reformation diffused light and learning amongst the people, and prepared them for obtaining and enjoying the blessings of a free constitution, under which every member of the empire, the slaves in the West Indies excepted, has an equal claim to protection.

The revolution in 1688 settled our government on fixed principles; but it did not put a boundary to the pro

gress of improvement. Many have been the advances in science and morals since that time; amongst which, as one of the most striking, noble, and effectual, in enlarging the happiness of mankind, must be classed the Abolition of the Slave-trade: an act of the legislature, that passed on the 25th of March, 1807: a day to be commemorated to the latest posterity, by the virtuous of all countries, as putting a termination to the greatest mass of enormous cruelty, injustice, and oppression, that ever disgraced a civilised nation.

Let the young, the generous, and uncorrupted, read attentively the histories of this diabolical trade, so long countenanced by the Christian kingdoms of Europe, that they may cherish an implacable hatred against the vices it occasioned, and be on their guard against any false reasonings that may be urged for its renewal. Let them trace the progress of a slave voyage, from leaving the British port to landing the wretched freight in the West Indies; the inhuman treatment of the sailors employed in this nefarious traffic; the dishonourable frauds practised to entrap the negroes; the wars that have been excited amongst them; the separation of husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, when torn from every dear connexion; their sufferings on board the vessel, from ill usage, want of room, disease, and despair. Accompany them on shore; see them sold like beasts of burden, in public markets, and consigned to slavery for the rest of their lives: a misery that descends to their children. Behold the multitudes that die either of broken hearts, hardships, or change