THE SURETY.

FROM SCHILLER.

"Non certes, la Vie n'est pas si aride que l'Egoïsme nous l'a faite. Tout n'y est pas prudence, tout n'y est pas calcul.". Mad. de Stäel.

-

"HERE, guards!"-pale with fears, DIONYSIUS cries, -
"Here, guards, yon intruder arrest;

'Tis DAMON - but hah! speak, what means that disguise?
And the dagger which gleams in thy vest?"

""Twas to free," says the youth, "this dear land from its chains!"
"Free the land! wretched fool, thou shalt die for thy pains."

"I am ready to die - I ask not to live;

Yet three days of respite, perhaps, thou may'st give,

For to-morrow my sister will wed,

And 't would damp all her joy, were her brother not there;
Then let me, I pray, to her nuptials repair,

Whilst a friend remains here in my stead."

With a sneer on his brow and a curse in his breast,

"Thou shalt have," cries the tyrant "shalt have thy request;

To thy sister's repair, on her nuptials attend,

Enjoy thy three days, but mark well what I say -
Return on the third; if beyond that fix'd day,
There be but one hour's, but one moment's delay,
That delay shall be death to thy friend!"

Then to PHINTIAS he went, and told him his case;
That true friend answer'd not, but, with instant embrace
Consenting, rush'd forth to be bound in his room.
And now, as if wing'd with new life from above,

To his sister's he flew, did his errand of love,
And, ere a third morning had brighten'd the grove,
Was returning with joy to his doom.

But the Heavens interpose,

Stern the tempest arose,

And, when the poor pilgrim arrived at the shore,

Swoll'n to torrents, the rills

Rush'd in foam from the hills,

And crash went the bridge in the whirlpool's wild roar.

Wildly gazing, despairing, half phrenzied, he stood;
Dark, dark were the skies, and dark was the flood;
And darker his lorn heart's emotion;

And he shouted for aid, but no aid was at hand,

No boat ventur'd forth from the surf-ridden strand,

And the waves sprang, like woods, o'er the lessening land,
And the stream was becoming an ocean.

Now with knees low to earth and with hands to the skies,
"Still the storm, God of might, God of mercy," he cries;
"Oh, hush with thy breath the loud sea;

The hours hurry by; the sun glows on high ;
And should he go down, and I reach not the town,
My friend he must perish for me!"

Yet the wrath of the torrent still went on increasing,
And wave upon wave still dissolv'd without ceasing,
And hour after hour hurried on ;

Then, by anguish impell'd, - hope and fear alike o'er,
He, reckless, rush'd into the waters' deep roar;

Rose, sunk, struggled on, till at length the wish'd shore-
Thanks to Heaven's outstretch'd hand!—it is won.

But new perils await him. Scarce 'scaped from the flood,
And intent on redeeming each moment's delay,
As onward he sped, lo ! from out a dark wood,

A band of fierce robbers encompass'd his way. "What would ye?" he cried; "save my life, I have naught, Nay, that is the king's!" Then swift, having caught

A club from the nearest, and swinging it round,

With might more than man's, he laid three on the ground,
Whilst the rest hurried off in dismay.

But the noon's scorching flame

Soon shoots through his frame,

And he turns, faint and way-worn, to Heaven with a sigh: "From the flood and the foe

Thou 'st redeem'd me - and oh !

-

Thus, by thirst overcome, must I effortless lie,
And leave him, the belov'd of my bosom, to die?"

Scarce utter'd the word,

When, startled, he heard

Purling sounds, sweet as silver's, fall fresh on his ear;
And he sees a small rill

Trickle down from the hill!

He hears, and he sees, and, with joy drawing near,
Laves his limbs, slakes his thirst, and renews his career.

And now the sun's beams through the deep boughs are glowing,
And tree, rock, and mountain, their shadows are throwing,
Huge and grim o'er the meadow's bright bloom;
And two travellers are seen going forth on their way,
And, just as they pass, he hears one of them say,
""Tis the hour that was fix'd for his doom."

Still anguish gives strength to his wavering flight; -
On he speeds; and lo now! in eve's reddening light
The domes of dark SYRACUSE blend;

There PHILOSTRATUS meets him - (a servant grown gray
In his house) crying "Back, not an instant delay;
No cares will avail for thy friend.

No-nothing can save his dear head from the tomb;
So think of preserving thine own.

Myself, I beheld him led forth to his doom;

Ere this his brave spirit has flown.

With confident soul he stood hour after hour,
Thy return never doubting to see;

No sneers of the tyrant that faith could o'erpower,
Or shake his assurance in thee!"

"And is it too late? And cannot I save

His dear life? Then, at least, let me share in his grave!
Yes, death shall unite us. No tyrant shall say

That friend to his friend prov'd untrue; he may slay,
May torture, may mock at all mercy and ruth;
But ne'er shall he doubt of our friendship and truth."

'Tis sunset, and DAMON arrives at the gate,

Sees the scaffold and multitudes gazing below; Already the victim is bared for his fate,

Already the deathsman stands arm'd for the blow; When, hark! a wild voice, which is echoed around, "Stay! 'Tis I- it is DAMON, for whom he was bound!"

And now they sink into each other's embrace,

And are weeping for joy and despair.

Not a soul amongst thousands, but melts at their case,
Which swift to the monarch they bear :

Even he, too, is moved - feels, for once, as he ought,

And commands that they both to his throne shall be brought.

"Ye have conquer'd," he cries "Yes, I see now that truth, That friendship, is not a mere name.

Go, y 'are free; but, whilst life's dearest blessings you prove,
Let one prayer of your monarch be heard,

For the original story, see Cic. Offic. iii. 10.; Valer. Max. iv. 7.; and Lactant. v. 17.

THE WAR WITH CHINA.

THE Chinese question, like every other of public importance, has no sooner begun to excite an interest in the public mind than it has been seized hold of by the tools of party, to serve their factious purposes, and studiously misrepresented, with a view to disguise the truth, and promote that one great object to which, constant as the needle to the north, toryism ever turns — the recovery of place and power. After the lengthened debate and decisive defeat of the Tories, on their motion of want of confidence in Ministers, at the beginning of the session, the country was in hopes, notwithstanding the ominous threats of obstruction held out by Lord Stanley, that a period of comparative tranquillity would ensue, and that the course of public business would not be soon again interrupted by another pitched party battle. However, the prospect of catching a few stray votes, and striking a fatal blow at the government, before public opinion had time to form itself upon the subject of their Chinese policy, was a temptation too strong to be resisted.

The conduct of the Tories, throughout this affair, has afforded a finished specimen of the most undisguised and unmitigated factiousness. Down to the very eve of Sir James Graham's motion, sympathy with the Chinese, and indignation against the iniquities of the opium trade, were scouted and ridiculed by every tory publication. Their cry was all for war, and their attacks against the government furious, for not having had a fleet ready to batter Canton about the ears of the insolent barbarians who had insulted the British flag and plundered British property. All at once a change came over the spirit of their dream. Intelligence arrived from India which showed that Ministers, instead of slumbering at their posts, had been directing formidable preparations for an expedition against China. Lord John Russell declared in the House of Commons, to the great satisfaction of the mercantile community, the East India interest, and the public at large, that the object of these warlike preparations was to demand redress from the Chinese government for the injuries sustained at their hands by British subjects, and to place our commerce with that country, for the future, on a secure and honourable basis. After this declaration it was impossible to persist any longer in accusing Ministers of neglect of the national interests and honour: one course only remained for the Tories, if they wished to make the Chinese question a tool for attacking the government, and that was to fall back upon the moral feeling against the opium trade, which they themselves had been the first to ridicule and denounce. This, to their eternal disgrace, they did not hesitate to do. More suddenly than ever the wind shifted from north to south, the journals of the faction veered round, from one extremity of the compass to the other, and began to open their batteries of abuse against the government for conniving at smugglers, confederating with buccaneers, and plunging the country into a disgraceful and immoral "opium war." This was the substance of the attack on the ministerial policy, this the real issue between the government and their opponents, namely, whether the war was an 66 opium war," or a war forced upon us by the violence, perfidy, and unprovoked aggressions of the Chinese.

Sir James Graham, however, knew too well what he was about to bring forward his motion in terms which should directly convey the charge insinuated against Ministers of having plunged the nation into an unnecessary

and unjustifiable war. He knew too well that, although the immorality of the opium trade might do well enough for popular declamation, he should lose the votes of several of his supporters if his motion conveyed any censure, express or implied, of a traffic to which the East India Company was indebted for such a large portion of its revenue. He knew, also, that the war was altogether inevitable; and that if he and his party were, by any accident, to succeed to power the next day, they would be compelled, by the force of circumstances, to adopt the very line of policy for which they were about to pass a vote of censure on Lord Melbourne's government. Amidst these difficulties, Sir James Graham, to do him justice, steered with the skill of a practised tactician. He framed a long, involved, confused, clumsy motion, conveying, with many tortuous involutions of bad grammar and worse sense, pretty much this meaning, "Let us vote the Whigs out and ourselves in, and take advantage of the China question as a pretext for doing so." In this form there was no great fear of the elastic consciences of any of his party refusing to vote for the motion.

The debate was pretty much what might have been expected, where the speakers on one side were almost all speaking against their own known and avowed sentiments, and were, moreover, afraid of speaking out, for fear of committing themselves and creating a schism in their own party. Sir Robert Peel's speech, to his credit, was singularly flat and ineffective. To his credit, we say, for he evidently felt ill at ease in the part which he was compelled to act, and spoke like a man arguing reluctantly in support of a cause which he disapproves. Sir Robert Peel's position is any thing but enviable, since his party have broken through those restraints of moderation and decency which his prudent and decorous temper imposed upon them, and launched forth in a course of open undisguised factiousness, and hard, impudent disregard of public opinion, under the congenial guidance of the petulant and irritable Stanley, and his coarse-minded and vindictive associate and fellow-deserter, Sir James Graham.

Afraid to enter upon the discussion of principles and general measures, the gist of the attack against Ministers lay altogether in paltry, unimportant, and often ridiculous details. The "Blue Book" was ransacked with all the diligence of perverse ingenuity to make out a case, or the shadow of a case, to justify the vote which the Opposition were one and all determined to give. Some curious discoveries were made. Sir William Follett, for instance, brought to light the novel axiom in diplomatic science, that the instructions of a person entrusted with the management of difficult affairs requiring immediate decision, ought always to be long in proportion to the length of the journey they have to make; in other words, that the instructions of an officer 15,000 miles off, at Canton, ought to be 15,000 times as minute and prolix as those of an agent working for you across the street. Mr. Gladstone made the equally felicitous discovery in moral science, that the poisoning of their wells by the Chinese was an exceedingly proper and praiseworthy mode of conducting hostilities; and that we were not justified in going to war with China for imprisoning innocent British subjects and confiscating their property, since the innocent were very few. One tory member thought the war was occasioned by giving the superintendant too great powers, another by giving him too little; one that more ships of war should have been sent, another that too many had been sent; one that Captain Elliot had behaved admirably, another that he had behaved like a madman -and so on; but on one point they all agreed, namely, that it was an exceedingly desirable thing to turn Ministers out, by hook or by crook, and