(1)

But now with sudden qualms possest,
He wrings his hands, he beats his breast;
By conscience stung he wildly stares,
And thus his guilty soul declares:

"Had the deep earth her stores confined,
This heart had known sweet peace of mind.
But virtue's sold. Good gods! what price
Can recompense the pangs of vice!

O bane of good! seducing cheat!
Can man, weak man, thy power defeat?
Gold banish'd honour from the mind,
And only left the name behind;
Gold sow'd the world with every ill;
Gold taught the murderer's sword to kill:
'Twas gold instructed coward hearts
In treachery's more pernicious arts.
Who can recount the mischiefs o'er?1
Virtue resides on earth no more!"-
He spoke, and sigh'd.-In angry mood
Plutus, his god, before him stood.
The Miser, trembling, lock'd his chest ;
The Vision frown'd, and thus address'd :-
"Whence is this vile ungrateful rant,
Each sordid rascal's daily cant?
Did I, base wretch! corrupt mankind?-
The fault's in thy rapacious mind.
Because my blessings are abused,
Must I be censured, cursed, accused?

"This yellow slave

Will knit and break religions; bless th' accurs'd:

Make the hoar leprosy ador'd; place thieves,

And give them title, knee, and approbation,

With senators on the bench."-SHAKSPEARE, Timon of Athens.

Ev'n virtue's self by knaves is made
A cloak to carry on the trade;

And power (when lodged in their possession)
Grows tyranny, and rank oppression.

Thus, when the villain crams his chest,
Gold is the canker of the breast;
'Tis avarice, insolence, and pride,
And every shocking vice beside;
But when to virtuous hands 'tis given,
It blesses, like the dews of Heaven;
Like Heaven, it hears the orphan's cries,
And wipes the tears from widows' eyes.
Their crimes on gold shall misers lay,
Who pawn'd their sordid souls for pay?
Let bravos, then, when blood is spilt,

Upbraid the passive sword with guilt."1

(1) There is no man so ignorant who cannot frame an excuse for the sin that he loves. Riches, if properly employed, are a blessing; if abused, are a curse: in fact, in proportion as they are faithfully dispensed, they increase, and the good steward is entrusted with more. A rich merchant who had lost 1,500/. immediately distributed 1007. among poor ministers and people. "For," said he, "if my fortune is going by 1,5007. in a lump, it is high time to secure some part of it before it is gone." Contrast the wretched state of the miser Elwes, who would not have his shoes cleaned for fear of wearing them out; of his mother, who starved herself to death when worth 100,000l.; of Marlborough, who to save sixpence (when he possessed a million and a half), walked, at the last stage of life, in a cold night, to his lodgings; with the benevolence of Colston, the Bristol merchant, or of Dr. Warneford, or Jenny Lind in our day, -and who would blame fortune, and not man's nature? One of the most affecting incidents in the life of Louis XVI. occurred during the mock trial which preceded his judicial murder. He was asked what he had done with a few thousand pounds. His voice failed him, the tears came into his eyes, and he touchingly said, "I had pleasure in making other people happy!"-He had given the money away in charity.

D

A LION, tired with state affairs,

Quite sick of

pomp,

and worn with cares,

Resolv'd (remote from noise and strife)
peace to pass his latter life.1

In

It was proclaim'd; the day was set:-
Behold the general council met.

(1) The indolence of increasing years is frequently mistaken for resignation, and the apathy of age often passes for the self-denial of philosophy. Men conceal he real nature of vice and virtue, as they do the powers of certain half-known s-by fine names.

The Fox was viceroy named; the crowd
To the new regent humbly bow'd.

Wolves, bears, and mighty tigers bend,
And strive who most shall condescend.
He straight assumes a solemn grace,
Collects his wisdom in his face:

The crowd admire his wit, his sense;
Each word hath weight and consequence.
The flatterer all his art displays:

He who hath power is sure of praise!
A Fox stept forth before the rest,
And thus the servile throng addrest:

"How vast his talents, born to rule,
And train'd in Virtue's honest school!
What clemency his temper sways!
How uncorrupt are all his ways!
Beneath his conduct and command
Rapine shall cease to waste the land.
His brain hath stratagem and art;
Prudence and mercy rule his heart.
What blessings must attend the nation
Under this good administration!"

He said. A Goose, who distant stood, Harangued apart the cackling brood: "Whene'er I hear a knave commend, He bids me shun his worthy friend. What praise, what mighty commendation ! But 'twas a Fox who spoke th' oration. Foxes this government may prize As gentle, plentiful, and wise; If they enjoy the sweets, 'tis plain We Geese must feel a tyrant-reign.

What havoc now shall thin our race,
When every petty clerk in place,

To prove his taste, and seem polite,

Will feed on Geese both noon and night!"1

(1) The observation of Lear admirably portrays the sycophancy of satellites to men in power:

"Lear. Thou hast seen a farmer's dog bark at a beggar?

Glo. Ay, Sir.

Lear. And the creature run from the cur? There thou mightst behold the great image of authority: a dog's obeyed in office!"

The real moral, however, is, that those praise the thief who share in the spoil, and that in flattering the vices of a Tiberius, a Sejanus ensures the gratification of his own. Thus it was with Empson and Dudley, the ministers to Henry the Seventh's cupidity.