Wheeling above his head-owning no Lord, And do her suit as a subject, dutiful,
Knowing no fellowship; calling none friend, With early duty; awake, arise ; nor sell
But waging war with all.'-pp. 22–24.

The privilege, and first.born hope of the day,

For a foul mess of dreams—up and away He is softened : we presume that our To the heavenly inspiration of fresh air, author would have us suppose by study, Bove the weak taint of man; een as they did, and intercourse with nature ; he becomes Hermann and Hess, forth issuing that day a preacher.

From their hot beds into the natural air,

The garden's lively cool luxuriance, • He lit his torch from heaven, and with that torch There to drink in the morn; and in the light Kindled all hearts—the poor look gladly on high, And gentle countenance of the eastern sun Having no comfort here.

To pace their pleasant path ; communing things Faith, the gospel, and love ; That startled e'en the ear of privacy, These three he preached, leaving the mysteries They were so fearful.'—pp. 30, 31. Devised by man, for God's simplicity, And viewing in the earth one commonwealth And fearful indeed they are to every Level as is the ocean-so his word Waxed and took wings and flew forth wondrously,

intelligent ear! Hess first relates his An angel of good tidings; and he hoped

own history—that he cultivated his own To win all hearts with peace and gentleness.'—pp. patrimonial farm in a rich and very

beau27, 28.

tiful country; and was the happiest of We quote the opening of the second men till the rector of the parish bebook with unreserved praise--we could, thought him of turning a path to his own perhaps, wish here and there a word al convenience. He breaks down the gate

which the rector (we hear nothing of contered; but in interest and in execution we cannot but consider the passage of

sent of magistrates) had set up across the great beauty

path. The clergyman claims tithe of the

farm, which by old usage had been exThere is a loveliness in the young day

empt from it, and Hess is ruined by the Surpassing sense ; bright in its purity

lawsuit. From that time he vows eternal, As is an infant angel, yet deep-souled ;

unmitigable hatred to the Church. As nature from her rest had risen up In the refreshment of some heavenly dream

Oh yes, good church ! That she had dreamt, and waking streams from I'll give thee all thy due ; if I withhold

One curse of those I owe thee, may hell pains O’er earth and air that dreamy radiance.

Embrace me, body and soul.'
And can there be of all mankind one man
Would doze the prime of his young life away-
Never to be a youth ?—the freshening stir

And so he goes on ranting and raving, of the early stream knowing, nor feeling not ;

and gradually unfolds his plans for the But when its course is wearied, its full flow regeneration of mankind, and intimates Settled to the stagnation of a pool,

the existence of widely ramified and seThen to be flung in it, and struggle his way Through the důll scum of life -None would do cret plots for insurrection against the law this.

and the government. These are among But whoso flings away his morning pearl their generous and noble objects: Doth all as strange a thing, making a blotch Of that most beauteous gentle radiance

* Be it proclaimed, that whosu heretofore With self.engendered darkness ; lagging out Laboured the land but for a lord's behoof The freshness and the newborn fragrancy, Shall eat what he hath earned ; cramming the soil The silvery light and glistening dewiness,

Down the disnatured and most greedy throat The contemplative calm of the young dawn, Of whosoe'er dares to claim it for his own, Till its pure life be tainted a death taint

'Gainst the Creator's law; starving him so In dust, and heat, and din of the noon day, With the glut of his own will : and this achieved, When man is rife, and Nature all fordone,

Then shall the giant Aristocracy, Blent with his troubluus being, seems almost

Dissevered from the earth which bred him first, To lose her own. But thou, be not so foul, And feeds him to this hour, whereon indeed But spring up gladly, and look forth and breathe, Is his dependence and his very lise, And walk abroad in peaceful blessedness- Shall die perforce, clutched in the people's claws, Oh, 'tis most sad such bliss as all might have Cursing his soul away.'—pp. 54, 55. The many know not. What? think ye to see Visions of green fields, waters and deep woods

• Then shall this land, In the charnel.house, when death shall fling ye Discumbered of the parson and the squire, there

A kind of men kin to the cankerworm, For a nuisance, as ye are, out of the way,

Tramp down the accurst corn-law that bids the To lie and rot ? No; but your time is short,

poor And only provident use can lengthen it.

Starve mid the plenty piled by their own hands Oh then Aing wide the portals of your sight;

To a full heap But first, open your souls and learn to love.

and then for the end of all 'Tis the best learning ; for the love you pay

And glorious consummation, this our Church
To nature, she requites a thousand fold

The monument of Christianity,
With joy and blessedness: look to her then, That stands but to commemorate the death

her eyes

Of the thing whose name it bears, and the spirit | As being arrayed in that pure lustre of light,

That puts the false to shame. And so he stood,
Scorning the far-fetched memory of names,
And usurpation of another's praise,
A simple man, great in simplicity,
Prouder without his plume; true he had felt
Erewhile the gripe of penury, and they
Whose duty then was friendliness of aid,
Left him to fight against her iron claws
With his bare hand, as though their common blood
Were but the water of the common pool,
To blow away and care no more of it.
So they were naught to him, nor he to them.
And in his bitterness oft his heart yearned
To make nobility through all the world
The blank it bore in his eyes; but hate and scorn,
Though well they nurse themselves in the inmost

And kindred but a name for their cold breath

Then all trooped on,

The young o'erbrimming with their natural glee,
The old rejoicing in their children's joy,
Since their own source was spent; sweet was the

scene

As they passed onward o'er the russet hills,
Those hills that smiled in sunshine a warm smile
To welcome them. All looked and all were pleased;
Some that they felt sorrow more soothingly,
And other some, pleasure more pleasingly,
For Nature, like a holy mother, looks
Upon her children with a tempering look,
Calming all passion; and whate'er they feel,
Subduing it to take a gentler tone,
Whether of joy or grief: still doth she wear
Some touch of sadness in her sweetest smile;
As knowing all must fade, how bright soe'er,
'That she brings forth to life; and what she knows
Others do feel, who feel her influence,
And so partake her mood.'-p. 108.

Was it in the face of day,
Was it in the front of men?
Alas, I could have borne it then.
There is a majesty and might

In the high-swaying vengeful sword;
But poison'd shaft, and traitorous sleight,
E'en by the tempter is abhorr'd.
The rebel may be bold and true,

And he may bear a glorious name :
But such as thou! what doom's thy due ?
'Tis shameful death, and deathless shame.
Oh 'tis indeed a fortune most forlorn,

Where fain we would love well,

To feel our love disnatured into scorn,

Till the severance of our tie:

They are joined by an old harper, and others deeply imbued with the new many opinions, and while the less initiate are merrily and innocently amusing themthe conselves by a dance on the green, spirators withdraw to discuss their griev-See, it is done! ances, their hopes, and their plans of in- Alas! vain fool, thou'rt still thy father's son— surrection and revenge. They are inter-Oh! who will be my friend,

Our heart, our home, turned to a very hell.
But no! thou art my father still,
And I must love thee 'gainst my will—
Then thou art free, and so am I.
Aye, be it so; and so be each as free
As is the branch I tear from this lone tree :
Tear it off, and fling it far,
To lie wide sever'd, as we are :

Een to the utmost end?

See here I bare mine arm; come, bare thy knife
And coldly drain
Each shrinking vein

rupted by an old shepherd with the intel-
ligence that they are denounced to the
magistracy by the father of Hermann. At
this the youth seems suddenly convinced
of the full justice of their cause, plunges
headlong into the very depths of the plot,
and becomes, in fact, the leader of the
enterprise :-

Of its rich flood of crimson life,
That my sire's blood may pour its hideous blot
There on that heather, and I own it not.

•

Curse on ye all, ye dreams of idleness, know ye not,-back to your nothingness. No; I will redeem the shame

I

And we are met, and never shall we part-
I and despair.

And thou hast done all this, my sire, e'en thou!
Oh how could thou fall off, oh tell me how?
Was it in the battle fray,

stood

Like to a lion bayed by many hounds,
Doubtful which first; then did his vehemence,
Frantic awhile, collect itself in strength,
To be hurled at once, forcefully, all in all
Upon his destined point: so grew his thoughts
To issue, and flashed forth in fiery words.
"Yes, 'tis e'en so-

The deed is done, and stricken is the blow;
Come then, I know thee well, thou fatal hour--

Come to thine own;

But Hermann there,
Struck with the palsy of his wonderment,
Stood fixed to the spot-passion oft speeds the soul Soon it shall be pure and bright,
To energy of act by its swift stream;
But there it came in such a rushing flood
should drive on,
As quite o'erwhelmed the wheels
Clashing them each 'gainst each. Long time he

Written in a sunbeam's light,
Uttered in the thunder's voice-

Hear it and quake, my foes, and ye, my friends,
rejoice;

Of our vile, dishonoured name:
Now that name throughout the land
Is charactered in felon brand;

E'en as a reed before thy stormy power

I bow me down;

'Tis thy stern shadow that I see,
It deepens still; all hail to thee!
Hark! I hear thy rushing pinion!
I bend me to thy dark dominion :
Come, and sweep me hence away,
In thy full, resistless sway.
I am thine, both sense and soul,
Take thy slave to thy control.
Once I strove, but strive no longer,

For I am weak, and thou confess'd the stronger.
But tell me, wherefore art thou so
Trick'd in Hope's delusive show?
Ah no! I see thee, truly, what thou art!
And lo! my breast I bare;
VOL. LXV.

13

For there shall live a spirit in that name,
Who breathes it forth shall breathe a fiery flame :
Evermore proclaim'd aloud

In the council and the crowd:
Strong to comfort and to save,

To cheer the faint, to steel the brave:
Soul of the battle shout,

Rallying here and scattering there in rout.
-But what strange cloud o'erhung my brow,
That I was blind till even now?

I saw it not, yet was it there,

That precious truth so heavenly fair.
All in vain did Love and Hope
Point me to this glorious scope,
Till another counsel came,
Muttered in my ear by shame.
Yes, Honour, unto thee
I bow my knee,

To redeem the foul disgrace
Lowering o'er my name and race :
Thy bidding have I done,

So be the Sire forgotten in the Son!

-Oh! yes, a thousand thanks, my sire, to thee,
'Tis all thy gift the glory that I see;

Not now a vision, but a truth indeed,
For fate's own hand hath written what I read.
I see it all, I see the opening sky :-

Oh! yet a moment, ere the scene pass by-
All is one blazing truth before my eyes,

Then for the surplus of such payment made,
They who have toiled the ground, 'tis theirs of right

Cleansed from old custom, purg'd of priestly lies; To share it, and enjoy it, and thank God;
The giant people, the all-sovereign sun
Waked up in glory, his glad course to run;
Quenching the chilly lustre of each star
That ruled the sky while yet he was afar;
Claiming our homage, though they shine but so
Their own vain glory 'mid the night to show,
Their glory and the general gloom of man ;
But who shall chase that gloom ?-they neither

Sharing by rule of elders, duly ordained
To make apportionment of labourers,
And judge all controversies in each farm.
But for the landlord-'tis an impious pame,
By man usurped from God-so be it resolved,
To make no further mention of that name,
Paying them compensation lest they starve ;
But let the state take their dominion,
Our bread, long time, and now must quit the ac-
So much the less as they have taxed the more

count.

care nor can:

Nor light nor warmth is theirs, and earth and sky
Must bide in darkness while they sit on high-
Bide darkling still that they may shine more bright;
Then come, thou Sovereign Sun, and re-assert thy
right,

Give the warm grace those lordly things deny,
And bid them fade before thy fiery eye-
Fade in avoidance like a fumy dream:
They know thy power, they tremble as they gleam;
See, darkness faints in day-the pitchy night
Bursts into brilliance at one touch of light:
And mid that light doth Truth ascend her throne,
And points to man, and man asserts his own.
Wondering to see where erst he was so blind,
A clayey mass enlightened to a mind.
And what he wills, that will is now the Lord,
And what he says, the act obeys the word;
Kings tremble and crouch down, for he hath
drawn his sword.

-}|

Then doth resistance vainly faint away,
E'en as those darksome clouds dissolv'd in day;
Threatening the eye, and thundering on the ear,
But to the touch a foolish empty fear-
So right is 'stablished, and old wrongs redrest,
The few abated, and the many blest.
But oh! the joy, the tumult, the surprise,
One voice, one will, one world in ecstasies,
Oh swell not so my heart; oh veil ye my fond eyes.
Yes, 'tis decreed-

I've seen the sight, and now to do the deed!"
pp. 126-130.

Hermann is not merely to be the leader but the lawgiver of the new social institution; he expounds at length the views of these political regenerators. Let us hear the principles of the new philosophical and religious republic :

''Tis just and fitting that the commonalty,
In virtue of its sovereign majesty,
Seeing it hath entrusted its estate

To certain men who have abused that trust-
Should exercise itself the care of its own,
And order all things for its interest,
By its proper voice, and will immediate :
And be resolved, all laws should be for use
Of the main, and not for 'vantage of some few ;
Therefore for furtherance of such main good
The rule of property should be redrest
From its wrong bias unto its right scope,
Which was indeed to comfort industry;
As sure it doth where reason limits it:
Though oft of late, selfishness most perverse
Hath wrested it to ends of idleness.
Then be it resolved, only the labourer,
Or they who do provide labour its means,
Have right and title to the land's increase.
Hence that the farmer's stock upon each farm
Be rated; and a yearly usury
Be paid him on that rate, from the land's growth;
And for his management and master-skill,
A further portion of the yearly increase:

But that which each man's skill hath made for him,
Procured, or earned, as money, and house, and
goods,

And what he hath by gift of the like kind,
Be it all his own to hold and to enjoy.
Befits not man, being brute drudgery;
And be it resolved, that labour respiteless
Changing to beastliness his nature, born
A little lower than the angels are :
And in this rule the labourer hath right
Of leisure and appliance to enjoy
His life, nor only toil for means to live,-
As was his old compulsion, and is now :
Barring all spiritual exercise,

Stunting all holy growth, and robbing so
His soul of its immortal privilege,
Its means of grace, and faculty for heaven.
Then to forfend that evil, and gain this good,
Be there provided recreative means,
Both for refreshment of man's weekly toil,
And holy comfort after worldliness.
But since vice ever grows from vacancy,
Therefore, 'tis need all aids be ministered,
To further blameless action to its end,
The space that else the evil one would fill.
And occupy in sport or seriousness
And be those aids varied for various needs→→→

Gardens and spacious shades, where the weary

sense

And contemplative leisure study God
In their cool freedom may refresh itself;
By Nature's help-his best interpreter :
Besides, what ground for pastime may seem fit,
For lusty games, and proof of manliness.
Next, since man sins only in ignorance,
In frequency of popular resort,
And as he learns, e'en so he practises,
Practising only what he first hath learnt;
Therefore it is the common good of all,
And common right, that each man be taught well,
Lest evil discipline lead to ill deeds;
And then the law rising up wrathfully-
Albeit itself worthier far of blame

In its default, than was the man in his act
Do bloody vengeance on the deed foredone;
Making much evil in its slothfulness,
And mending it with more in its hastiness:
To punish eager, as careless to prevent;
A hangman's office-'stead of the kind grace
Of a loving teacher and good governor-
Rule most irregular and mischievous.
Therefore be there provided public schools,
Industrial, labour and art with letters joined,
Where each shall send his own, save on proof made
Of homely discipline as sure and good-
From tender infancy even to youth,
And next, when liberty in riper years
Shall grow beyond constraint; then let free-will
By discipline foregone at her due time.
Be kindly aided to take up the aim,
And to that end be furnished treasuries
Of various knowledge, books and liberal arts

Lectures mechanic, concerts musical,
And whate'er else quickens humanity-
That finer sentiment so to the soul
Attempered, may prevail o'er brutishness;
Subduing passion by its gentler sway.
And be it resolved again-the Church is naught;
A thing corrupt,-essence and ordinance :
No church indeed, but a foul den of thieves
And money changers, trafficking men's souls
With hire and sale, 'stead of salvation;
Being one half of them to their own flocks,
Foreigners, knowing nor regarding them-
Though feeding on their flesh-clothed with their the means which are accordant with their

that which is utterly crude and baseless-
there is much which the sober states.
man may consider worthy of serious con-
sideration; much which may occupy the
grave reflection of one whose deep and
conscientious study is to make the people
happy and virtuous; and, as far as is con-
sistent with the well-being of society, and
the fundamental principles of right, happy
in their own way, and virtuous through

fleece;

own desires. No one will doubt that there is much in our present social state to awaken the apprehension, the anxiety, the sorrow of all true lovers of their country. Our unexampled prosperity threatens us with a fearful reaction; a heavy payment appears likely to be exacted from us for our enormous wealth, for the unprecedented comfort, we will not say luxury, which is diffused through all the upper and middling classes of society. Our productive energies have created and concentred enormous masses of population, unsoftened by any of those feelings of kindliness. and charity which bind together, in some degree, the rich and poor in most of our rural districts.--(Among many even of these, it is true, the administration of the old poor-laws made much havoc—we are not at present to meddle again with the controversy as to the effects of the newbut here is not the dangerous part of our system-in this respect the author of Ernest has chosen the wrong ground; not, indeed, for his poetry, but for his political principles). It is the dense masses of our manufacturing population, who have no intercourse with any of the higher orders but their employers; with the most miserable want of salutary control, with habits of improvidence, fostered by occasional periods of great gain, succeeded by times. of indolence and total want of employ ment, uneducated, without churches, without schools-here is the part of our social state, to the improvement of which all our energies of wise philanthropy should be directed. Before this appalling scene political faction ought to be silent: here, the voice of the people declaring its own and dispassionate investigation; and no wants, should receive a patient hearing narrow jealousy should be allowed to stand in the way of any practicable ameli oration.

Truly, a sin to draw damnation down,
Not only on them, but us who suffer them;
As God will sure require it at our hands.
Therefore, that this huge scandal be pulled down,
And then reframed in frame Apostolic:
So shall each congregation rule itself,
Without all bias of authority

For things of faith, save of the bible alone;
Choosing its elders as it judgeth best ;
And they upon that choice, choosing again
The deacons and the preachers of the word;
Each of these last holding authority
To interpret Scripture by his conscience,
So he profess Christ's word for his rule of faith.
And that tithes cease; and each church bear its
charge;

They who own none being taxed for aid of all.
And be it resolved,-soldiership shall be called
No longer; but all men enured in arms.
Not to be helpless for defensive need.
And be it resolved,-'tis an unholy thing
To make a general dearth for gain of few;
Therefore be this land free what other lands
Can give without all hindrance to receive,
Saving the dues imposed to serve state needs.
And be it resolved-the law is much in fault;
Therefore behoves the counsel of men skilled
To settle a sure rule of right and wrong,
Bringing back error to simplicity.
Further, 'tis good the general voice should be
Arbitress of the general estate,
Since discipline hath given intelligence
Abroad, and with that gift the right of its use.
So be it resolved,-'twere fit that every man
(Saving the felon and taker of public alms)
Should give his suffrage for the choice of those
Proposed for rulers of the commonweal.
And that such suffrage be in secret-wise;
And that such chosen rulers rule alone,
Forbye all claim of birth and privilege.

Last, since these things-being our righteous due

Are, by our rulers, yet denied to us,
With whom nor right, nor reason, availeth aught;
And patience of their heavy oppression
Doth but provoke them to heap wrong on wrong,
As this poor land hath proved under their power
Groaning and travailing in pain till now :-
Therefore, be it resolved-there is strong need
That we rise up from our long passiveness
In arms, and so redress ourselves to right,

Manfully, as behooves good and true men.'-PP

men.'—pp.

145-150,

In all this wild confusion of the lofty and the puerile, the generous and the ferocious, the black misrepresentation of the past and present, and the vague, though brilliant, unreality of the future that which might be attainable under a wise, strong, and paternal legislature, and

"

But, when the writer of Ernest' proceeds to mingle up, not with these visions of social perfectibility alone, but with the bloody, brutal and atrocious scenes which, by his own showing, must prepare the