"On my attempt though Providence did frown, Shall raise the remnant, bruise the serpent's head.' "For constancy and equanimity under the severest trials, few men have equalled, none ever surpassed the Earl of Argyle. The most powerful of all tempters, hope, was not held out to him; so that he had not, in addition to his other hard tasks, that of resisting her seductive influence; but the passions of a different class had the fullest scope for their attacks. These however would make no impression on his well-disciplined mind. Anger could not exasperate, fear could not appal him; and if disappointment and indignation at the misbehaviour of his followers and the supineness of the country, occasionally did cause uneasy sensations, they had not the power to extort from him one unbecoming, or even querulous expression. Let him be weighed ever so scrupulously, and in the nicest scales, he will not be found, in a single instance, wanting in the charity of a Christian, the firmness and benevolence of a patriot, the integrity and fidelity of a man of hon our. "In order that the triumph of injustice might be complete, it was determined that without any new trial the Earl should suffer upon the iniquitous sentence of 1682. Accordingly on the thirtieth day of June, 1685, he was brought from the Castle to the Laigh Council House, and thence to the place of execution. Before he left the Castle he had his dinner at the usual hour, at which he discoursed not only calmly but even cheerfully. After dinner he retired to his bed-chamber, where he slept quietly for about a quarter of an hour. While he was asleep, one of the members of the Council came and intimated a desire to speak with him. Upon being told that he was asleep, the manager disbelieved the account. To satisfy him the door was half opened, and he then beheld in a sweet and tranquil slumber the man who, by the doom of him and his fellows, was to die within the space of two hours. Struck with the sight, he hurried from the room, quitted the Castle with the utmost precipitation, and hid himself in the lodgings of an acquaintance, flung himself upon the first bed that presented itself, and had every appearance of a man suffering the most excruciating torture. His friend offered him some wine. He refused, saying—No, that will not help me; I have been with Argyle, and saw him sleeping as pleasantly as ever man did, within an hour of eternity. But as for me'- What a satisfactory spectacle to a philosophical mind, to see the oppressor in the zenith of his power envying his victim! What an acknowledgment of the superiority of virtue! What an affecting and forcible testimony to the value of that peace of mind which innocence alone can confer! When we reflect that the guilt which agonized that man was probably incurred for the sake of some vain title, or at least of some increase of wealth, which he did not want and possibly knew not how to enjoy, our disgust is turned into compassion for that very foolish class of men, whom the world calls wise in their generation. "Soon after his short repose, Argyle was brought to the Council-House, from which place is dated the letter to his wife, and thence to execution. On the scaffold he had some discourse with the two ministers, Mr. Annan and Mr. Charteus. He desired both of them to pray for him, and prayed himself with much fervency and devotion. The same mixture of firmness and mildness is conspicuous in every part of the speech which he then made to the people. He said- We ought not to despise our afflictions, nor to faint under them. We must not suffer ourselves to be exasperated against the instruments of our troubles, nor by fraudulent, nor pusillanimous compliances, bring guilt upon ourselves. Faint hearts ordinarily, are false hearts, choosing sin rather than suffering.' Having then asked pardon for his own failings both of God and man, he would have concluded; but being reminded that he had said nothing of the Royal family-he adds, that he prayed, that there might never be wanting one of the Royal family to support the Protestant religion; and if any of them had swerved from the true faith, he prayed God to turn their hearts, but at any rate to save his people from their machinations. He then turned to the south side of the scaffold, and said-'I pray you do not misconstruct my behaviour this day! I freely forgive all men their wrongs and injuries done against me, as I hope to be forgiven of God.' Mr. Annan repeated those words louder to the people. The Earl then went to the north side of the scaffold, and used the same or like expressions. Mr. Annan repeated them again, and said-' This nobleman dies a Protestant.'-The Earl stepped forward again, and said-'I die not only a Protestant, but with a heart hatred of Popery, Prelacy, and all superstition whatsomever.' He then embraced his friends, gave some tokens of his remembrance to his son-in-law, Lord Maitland, for his daughter and grand-children, stripped himself of part of his apparel, of which he likewise made presents, and laid his head upon the block. Having uttered a short prayer, he gave the signal to the executioner, which was instantly obeyed, and his head was severed from his body.-Such were the last hours, and such the final close of that great man's life. MAY THE LIKE HAPPY SERENITY IN SUCH DREADFUL CIRCUMSTANCES, AND A DEATH EQUALLY GLORIOUS, BE THE LOT OF ALL WHOM TYRANNY, OF WHATEVER DENOMINATION OR DESCRIPTION, IN ANY AGE, OR IN ANY COUNTRY, SHALL CALL TO EXPIATE THEIR VIRTUES ON THE SCAFFOLD !"-History, Chapter III., year 1685. V. EDGEWORTH'S PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. Essays on Professional Education. By R. L. EDGEWORTH, Esq., F. R. S., M. R. I. A. In literary partnership with a female relative, this author has become sufficiently well known to the public, to enable it to prejudge with tolerable confidence the general qualities of any work he might write, especially on the subject of education. His book will be opened with the expectation of a very good share of valuable instruction, the result of a long and careful exercise of sound sense on the habits of society, on the experience of education, and on a great multitude of books. There will be no hope of convicting the author of enthusiasm for a system, or servility to any distinguished authority. It will be expected that good use will be made of the opinions of the most opposite speculatists, and that most of the opinions that are approved will be supported by some reference to experiments by which they have been verified. It will be expected that, while a philosophic manner and diction are avoided, and all speculations are constantly applied to a practical purpose, full advantage will yet be taken of those explanations which the laws of our nature have received from the best modern philosophers. The reader will reckon on finding it constantly maintained, that the influence of facts has fully as efficient an operation as instruction by words, in forming the human character; and he will not be surprised at a tone of somewhat more positive confidence than himself is happy enough to entertain, of the complete and necessary success of the process, when it unites the proper facts and the proper instructions. As a moralist, it will perhaps raise no wonder if the author should be found so much a man of the world, as to admit various convenient compromises between the pure principles of virtue, and the customs and prejudices of society; and as to religion, no man will expect bigotry, or ascetic and incommodious piety, or any sort of doctrinal theology. There will be an agreeable and confident expectation of a great variety of pertinent anecdotes, supplied from history and observation, at once to relieve and illustrate the reasonings. The reader will be prepared to accept this mode of infusing both vivacity and instructive force into the composition, instead of brilliance of imagination; comprehensive knowledge instead of argumentative subtlety; and perspicuity of language instead of elegance. The first essay, or chapter, proposes principles and plans for those stages of education, which, preceding the direct training for a particular profession, admit of a discipline in many points common to the children destined to all the professions. And yet, as parents are urged to fix at a very early period the future profession of each of their sons, they are properly recommended to introduce at an early stage of this general discipline a specific modification of it, prospective to the profession selected. In advising parents to this early choice, the author explodes, in a great measure, the popular notion of a natural inherent determination toward some one pursuit more than another, commonly called "peculiar genius," "impulse of genius," "bent of mind," "natural turn," &c. In attacking this notion, he calls in the powerful aid of Johnson, who always manifested an extreme antipathy to it. "I hate," said he, "to hear people ask children whether they will be bishops, or chancellors, or generals, or what profession their genius leads them to: do not they know, that a boy of seven years old has a genius for nothing but spinning a top and eating apple-pie ?" Mr. Edgeworth condemns the folly of waiting in expectation that the supposed natural genius will disclose itself, or be drawn forth by some accident; during all which time the general discipline of education will probably be very remiss, the specific training preparatory to professional studies will be systematically avoided, and the youth is either growing up to be fit for nothing, or is perhaps determined at last by a casual event, or unfortunate acquaintance, to the very worst selection that he could have made in the whole catalogue of employments. It is insisted, that methods which will generally prove effectual may be adopted by parents, to give the child a preference for any department of learning or action they choose, and to make him |