kites to draw cars, and a hundred other | wonderful things. Now, if your fine geniuses could hit upon a plan for sinking the national debt, for stimulating industry by holding out plenty as its reward, and for increasing the produce of the land, we should thank them, and the only patent they would want, should be given without one dissenting voice-the applause and approval of their fellow-creatures." "But turn your eyes for a moment to education, Sir Andrew, and then, at least, you will see that inventions and improvements have been profitable."

"Worse still. A mind's a mind; and a child is not a whit the better educated now than it was a century ago. Whether a boy is made to drudge upon the defect of the whole system, or to spend hours of ease and idleness, in acquiring superficial knowledge, the present generation is not much wiser than the last. Locke and Milton saw the error and folly of unnecessary drudgery, and suggested some excellent remarks, which had as much effect upon the schools of their times, as a musket-charge upon a hippopotamus. And now some have started up in our days, to teach with the same velocity as their great predecessors would have done, only they have vitiated the plans they have copied after."

"But is not the system of the author of "developments" original? Does he not display great genius in felicitously comprehending his subject, and overcoming almost herculean difficulties ?"

"One of the luminaries of the nineteenth century and we wanted enlightening on the subject of education bad enough. Here we may go from the "associated and known, through the progressively less associated and known, to the wholly unassociated and unknown," and there I presume we shall be left."

"Your obstinacy is perfectly incurable, but there is one point more I wish to press, before I have done. Yet here I will not be so opinionated as to speak for myself, but would rather take the judgment of persons more capable of deciding upon true merit." "Here we are again; still endeavouring to reason by proxy." "You do not understand me, Sir Andrew. However you may choose to cry down the talents and genius of the world as it now is, it will be useless. Invention and discovery, in the arts and sciences, have but one source, and therefore they speak for themselves. The other point I would have pressed, as further evidence that the torch of learning and genius is not totally

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extinguished, is this-the late poetical publications."

"You might as well prove a fool is not a fool, because he has a cap on his head; the last fact corroborates all. The fashion

able world may sneer at Milton, and wonder how he could ever have been acceptable. But it requires a Milton to conceive and enjoy a Milton. Where shall we find the energy, beauty, sublimity, and classic richness of the author of Paradise Lost? He has been a fountain from which many a dull-brained quilldriver has not disdained to draw and thicken with his own blundering fancies. The poets of our age, my lady, seem to be personified in the jackdaw, that strutted about in peacock's plumes among the feathered tribes, till he was discarded from their society. Like this silly bird, they will continue to be at once the ridicule of their own companions, and the scorn of those whom they have affected to imitate, till they pine away, a wretched sacrifice to vanity and ambition."

"What then are to be our conclusions? Am I to believe that the present generation is in every respect inferior to all that are past, and that the opinion of the world is always founded on error?"

"Not so, my lady. We may generally mistake upon two points, and these points are called extremes. Est modus in rebus. My grandfather thought there was nothing like the good old times; Lady Wilmot prefers the present. The arts and sciences do not now improve by the gigantic inventions of one man, but by the united efforts of a number of individuals. We have all the advantages of past experience, in the pursuit of knowledge, but they are too little profited by. Men of genius invent for the sake of invention, instead of utility. Though the opinions of the world are said to spring from experience, they are often fatally erroneous. sometimes use them, like glasses, to assist our reason, but we should never be so absurd as entirely to substitute such assistance in the place of our own mental vision."

We may

Reasoning does not appear to be the mark of this generation more than of those which are past, however it may make pretensions to the march of intellect. If a man dares to think for himself, and custom, that bane of the mind, stands in opposition, he is called a visionary. He is required to conform to the worldto eat, drink, and sleep-and to leave reason for a set of philosophic fools. Or should he, even in religious points, feel

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J. A. B.

CURE OF HYDROPHOBIA. (From Hardy's Travels in Mexico.) ONE of the patients was tied up to a post with strong cords; a priest was administering the last offices of religion. At the approach of a paroxysm, the unfortunate sufferer, with infuriated looks, desired the priest to get out of the way, as he felt a desire to bite every body he could catch hold of. An old woman who was present said she would undertake his cure; and although there were none who believed it possible that she could effect it, yet the hope that she might do so, and the certainty of the patient's death if nothing were attempted, bore down all opposition, and her services were accepted. She poured a powder into half a pint of water, observing, that when taken, if it succeeded, the fluid to be discharged from the stomach would be as black as charcoal, and offensive to the smell.

All this literally took place at the end of about twenty-six hours; and the patient was liberated from one of the most horrible and affecting deaths to which mortality is subject. She had her own way of accounting for the effects of this disease. She termed it a local complaint attacking the mouth, which by degrees it irritates and inflames; this ripens the virus, which is conveyed to the brain by means of the nerves, and is received also into the stomach with the saliva. The poison thus matured in the mouth and at the root of the tongue, converts the whole of the fluids of the stomach into a poisonous bile, which if not quickly removed, communicates with the blood, and shortly destroys life.

The receipt is as singular as the cure is extraordinary. We give it as the Lieutenant received it:

"Method of curing hydrophobia.-The person under the influence of this disease must be well secured, that he may do no mischief either to himself or others.

"Soak a rennet in a little more than half a tumbler of water (for about five minutes.) When this has been done, add of pulverized sevadilla as much as may be taken up with the thumb and three fingers. Mix it tho

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roughly, and give it to the patient, (that is, force it down his throat in an interval between the paroxysms.) The patient is then to be put into the sunshine if possible (or placed near the fire) and well warmed. `If the first dose tranquillize him, after a short interval, no more is to be given, but if he continue furious, another dose must be administered, which will infallibly quiet him. A profound sleep will succeed, which will last twenty-four or forty-eight hours (according to the strength of the patient's constitution,) at the expiration of which time he will be attacked with severe purging and vomiting, which will continue till the poison be entirely ejected. He will then be restored to his senses, will ask for food, and be perfectly cured."

There is an Indian living in Tubutama, who is known to have an antidote to the poison, injected into the wound occasioned by the bite of a mad dog, &c.; and it is superior to the sevadilla, which will only cure the disease when it has been formed. Two thousand dollars have been offered to him to disclose the secret, but he has constantly refused to accede to the terms. His charge is ten dollars for each patient, and he makes a comfortable livelihood by his practice. I made diligent inquiries while I remained in Sonora, whether there were any instance known of the Indian's antidote having failed, but I could hear of no one case where it had been unsuccessful.

HISTORICAL

ANECDOTES AND SKETCHES CONNECTED WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

Memoir of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia.

An elegant writer has said, that "History is Philosophy teaching by example." However true this may be, it would be more correct to say, that the history of nations exhibits the footsteps of Providence. For the proof of this, we need not go beyond the annals of our own country, in which we shall find abundant evidence, that nothing cometh by chance.

The accession of the reigning family, for instance, was introduced by a wonderful train of circumstances, over which human wisdom had no control, because no foresight of man could have anticipated such an event. It will, therefore, not be amiss to trace the prominent features of this part of our national history, and that more especially, as all the writers on this great subject have failed to notice the marvellous concurrence of incidents which led to the

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Elizabeth, the only daughter of James the First, was not seven years old when her father came to England; soon after which she was placed under the private care of Lord and Lady Harrington, two of the most exemplary characters, and confirmed Protestants, in the kingdom. When the foul conspiracy was planned by the Papists, to destroy the king and parliament, part of the scheme was, to get possession of the young Princess, for the purpose of training her up in the Romish faith, and marrying her to one of the same communion. To effect their object, the conspirators appointed a grand hunting match to be held near Combe Abbey, in Warwickshire, Lord Harrington's seat, thinking that thereby they should find it easy to seize the royal victim in the park. Thus the instrument pitched upon by the Romish faction, to reduce England again under the papal bondage, proved in the end the means of securing the Protestant succession. But the danger did not end with the discovery of the diabolical plot to destroy the three estates of the realm. Such was the fatuity that hung like a spell over the councils of King James, he continued after this deliverance to evince a strong predilection for Romish alliances, in preference to those in which his true interest lay.

When the princess had attained her fourteenth year, overtures were made for a marriage between her and the son of the Duke of Savoy, one of the firmest adherents to the Pope, and nearly related to the throne of Spain. This proposition justly excited great anxiety in England, and even still more alarm among the foreign Protestants. While, however, this negociation was pending, a new cause for the most fearful apprehension arose, in a proposal of espousal between the Princess royal of England, and Philip the Third of Spain, who had recently become a widower.

That the court of Madrid was sincere in this negociation, may, perhaps, be doubted; but that it was actually carried on, and favourably indulged by the English monarch, is certain: for Sir Edward Conway, then resident in Holland, wrote thus upon it to Sir Adam Newton, who was the confidential servant of the Prince of Wales: "If it shall be possible, and found good by his Majesty, the defender of the faith, to give his blessed and gracious daughter unto Spain, and her children to be bred up in that religion; and for the Catholic King to be dispensed with, to match with a blessed Christian princess; the dangers his Ma

from the Spanish and Jesuitical practices, are such as I tremble to think of them." Sir Edward then earnestly intreats his friend to make use of all his interest with the Prince, to prevent the proposed union.

The projected alliance had the effect of rousing the jealousy of some of the principal states of Europe, particularly France and the United Provinces, both of whom had reason to dread the ascendancy of Spain. While these powers, from motives of policy, co-operated to defeat a scheme, which, if carried into effect, would have been injurious to their interests; the Princes of the reformed communion in Germany were concerned for their religion, knowing how much it would be endangered by the influence of Popery over the councils of England. These considerations produced that combination of different cabinets which succeeded in diverting the English monarch from the design of marrying his daughter into a Romish family.

At the period in question, James happened to stand in need of money, and luckily the States of Holland were in a capacity to supply his wants. The only thing, therefore, that remained to be accomplished was, to provide a Prince of an illustrious line, and firmly attached to the Protestant religion, proper to be recommended as a busband for the Princess Elizabeth. At first there was some talk of proposing the young Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, but this idea was soon set aside in favour of the elector palatine of the Rhine, Frederic the Fifth. This Prince was only three days older than Elizabeth, being born August 16th, 1596. He was a lineal descendant of the ancient family of the Guelphs, one of whom, Henry the Lion, married, in 1179, Matilda, the daughter of our Henry the Second, who procured for him the princely domain of Brunswick and Lunenburg. Thus the blood of our Sovereign flows in a stream issuing from the earliest period of the monarchy, being before the union of the Tudors and the Stuarts.

It deserves notice, that at the time when the gunpowder treason was frustrated, Frederic was a student in the Protestant college of Sedan, from whence, though only nine years old, he wrote a letter in French, to Henry, Prince of Wales, congratulating him on his providential escape, little thinking how nearly he was himself concerned in that event.

In his fourteenth year he succeeded to the electoral title and estates, and such was his character for integrity in religion and purity of morals, that it was conceived no objection

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could be alleged against him on the part of the English court. Obstacles, however, were thrown in his way when the overture was made, owing to the secret inclination which Anne of Denmark, the wife of James the First, had to Popery; and to the pride of her husband, who wished to marry his children into the first monarchical families of Europe. But the distribution of presents among the courtiers, the firmness of Prince Henry, and the influence of gold over the King, to say nothing of the zeal manifested by the best of the English nobility, gave Frederic the most favourable reception in England, where he landed October 16th, 1612, to the great satisfaction of the people. This joy, however, was turned into mourning by the death of the gallant Prince Henry three weeks afterwards; in consequence of which, the nuptials were deferred till the fourteenth of February, when the ceremony was performed with great solemnity at Whitehall. On this occasion the ancient custom of giving aid-money to the King was revived after the lapse of a century, but the whole of this contribution was expended in public spectacles; besides which, the Elector Palatine himself laid out above one hundred thousand crowns in entertainments. The city of London gave a magnificent feast in honour of the popular marriage, and, amidst the splendid banquet, the aldermen presented to the royal bride a necklace of orient pearl, valued at two thousand pounds.

On the 25th of April, the Prince and Princess left England, accompanied by several persons of distinction, amongst whom was the venerable Lord Harrington, who could not debar himself the pleasure of seeing his beloved pupil safe to the place of her destination; but this good old nobleman died at Worms, on his return home from Heidelberg.

For the space of six years, the Elector and his amiable partner enjoyed uninterrupted tranquillity; but at the end of that period, a cloud arose, which overwhelmed them and their family in complete ruin. In 1610, the throne of Bohemia becoming vacant, the Protestant states of that kingdom, after refusing to receive Ferdinand of Austria for their king, at the dictation of the emperor, offered it to the Elector Palatine, by whom it was accepted,_through the advice, as it was said, of the Princess. This is not improbable, for the English, who were at the Palatine court, were strongly in favour of the measure; and so was the greater part of the people at home, as well as those of Holland.

Frederic was also encouraged to receive

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the proffered crown by Maurice, Prince of Nassau, and the Catholic Duke of Bouillon, both of whom wished to see a check put to the ambitious designs of Austria and Spain, the joint supporters of Ferdinand. These princes, naturally enough, thought that the cause of Frederic would have been espoused with energy by his father-in-law, particularly as it was well known that the great body of his subjects, of all degrees, were warmly attached to the Elector and his family. In this, however, they were grossly mistaken, for James was not only extremely adverse to war, but had a rooted dislike to elective monarchy. Besides this, he was displeased with Frederic for not consulting him previous to his acceptance of the Bohemian sceptre; and so far, no doubt, he was justified in refusing to recognize him in his regal character.

The young King had scarcely entered upon his new dominions, when he found himself surrounded by enemies of the most powerful and inveterate description, who were animated by the papal bulls that were circulated throughout all the Catholic states of Germany with the utmost industry, stimulating the people to rise in defence of the Church. Thus, in fact, a new crusade was preached up in Germany, and this unholy war was carried on for the space of thirty years, during which the most horrible ravages were committed, particularly by the Count Tilly, who commanded the imperial armies. The Protestant potentates, great and small, on the continent, acted nobly in support of the common cause; but the battle of Prague, November 20th, 1620, was fatal to Frederic and his family, who were obliged to quit that capital, leaving behind them all their treasures. a dreadful blow to the religious liberties of Germany, as well as to the private interest of the Electoral family, whose misfortune did not end here, for the victors, without paying any regard to justice, or the remonstrances of the English monarch, proceeded to take possession of the Palatinate.

This was

King James made some shew of resentment at this, and he even went so far as to obtain parliamentary grants to enable him to send aid to his son-in-law, but, instead of applying the money vigorously in providing men and arms, he wasted most of it in idle negotiations, which only made him the laughing-stock of all Europe, and aggravated the miseries of those whom he professed to serve. The English people, however, felt most acutely the injury done to the national honour, and several publicspirited individuals raised supplies of troops, arms, and money, for the relief of

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placing it on his helmet, swore that it should never be removed till her husband was restored to his hereditary dominion. To fulfil this pledge, Christian raised a number of troops, at the head of whom he spread terror through the circle of Westphalia, levelling his fury chiefly on the seminaries of the Jesuits, as the prime agents of the afflicted state of Germany.

The king, it is true, was shocked at the proposal, but he wanted resolution to prevent it; and the nation was thrown into the greatest distress, when the departure and destination of the prince became known. Fortunately, the Spanish court, notwithstanding its bigotry, behaved in this instance with a moderation that excited general surprise; and when the Prince returned from his romantic adventure without a wife, every one wondered that no attempt had been made to detain his person, or to remove him out of the way.

:

That no advantage was taken of this imprudent step by the zealots of popery, arose from motives of policy, and not from liberality they well knew, that if any thing occurred disastrous to the Prince of Wales, the English crown would devolve, at the death of James, to the Queen of Bohemia and her issue; and this was so much dreaded by the Romanists, that rather than such an event should take place, the heir apparent experienced nothing but kindness throughout the journey. Thus, as Spanheim observes, never was a brother under greater obligations to a sister, than Charles was to Elizabeth of Bohemia, whose succession to the throne, they were aware, would have proved of the greatest service to the Protestant interest throughout Europe.

In the mean time the Palatinate was lost, and Heidelberg fell into the hands of Tilly, whose soldiers committed the most horrible outrages upon the inhabitants. The Queen of Bohemia, in this distress, took refuge at the Hague, whither she travelled for the most part of the way on foot, through by-roads, with a young infant at her breast.

But while the Imperialists overran most of the Protestant States, and the Pope caused Te Deum to be sung for their massacres; Frederic kept up his spirits, and acted as long as he could with great vigour. His steadiest friend in all his troubles, was Christian of Brunswick, Prince Bishop of Halberstadt, who fought desperately at the battle of Prague, after

On the 19th of August, 1622, the Prince of Brunswick and the Count of Mansfeldt gained the victory of Fleurus, but the former had his left arm shattered so dreadfully, that he was obliged to have it amputated, and while the operation was performing in his tent, he ordered the trumpets to sound a charge, and the musicians to play martial airs to inspirit his soldiers. On his recovery, he had an arm of silver made, which he wore constantly, and used with great facility. After defeating the Spanish general Spinola in the Low Countries, Christian received overtures from the Emperor, which he refused to accept on any other condition, than that of the restoration of his friend, the Elector Palatine, to his family estates.

In August, 1623, this gallant prince lost the battle of Studloh, but, instead of being dismayed, he began to raise fresh forces, and with the same view came to England. Having partly succeeded in this mission, the prince went to Denmark, and by the succours received there, he was enabled to take the field against Tilly, whom he compelled to make a precipitate retreat from before Nordheim.

The year 1625, was remarkably eventful in mortality to the family of the Queen of Bohemia, for, on the 7th of January, her eldest son was drowned by the oversetting of the passage-boat on the lake of Haerlem; and while his mother was lamenting this calamity, the Duke of Buckingham arrived at the Hague, with the intelligence of the death of her father, who just before his demise began to make preparations for war. Encouraged by this change, Count Mansfeldt, then in London, raised twelve thousand men, but unfortunately, not being allowed to land in France, a great number of them perished by disease, on board the transports. Thus, as fast as new hopes arose in favour of Elizabeth, they were broken, and, to add to her affliction, she, the same year, lost her son Louis, a promising child of three or four years old.

Nor did the next year improve her prospects, for though Mansfeldt opened the campaign with some success, his fortune was soon reversed, by his total defeat