"of Parnassus; I pluck the laurels of Delphos ; "I breathe the sweets of Tempé.

"When shall the blood of the Turks lie mingled "with the blood of the Persians, on the plains of Marathon, and leave Greece to religion, to philosophy, and to the fine arts, which regard her as "their natural soil?

"Petamus Arva, divites et insulas !

"O island! consecrated by the heavenly visions "of the beloved disciple; never shall I forget thee! "On your soil, I will kiss the footsteps of the evan

gelist, and fancy I behold the heavens open. Then "shall I be seized with indignation against the false "prophet, who attempted to unfold the oracles of "the true prophet; and return thanks to God, who "did not destroy his church, as he destroyed Baby“lon; but chained up the dragon and crowned his "church with victory. The schism disappears ;"the east and west are re-united ;-and Asia, after "a long night, sees the day return to her. The "land consecrated by the cross of Christ, and watered

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by his blood, is delivered from those who profaned "her, and is invested with new glories.-Finally, "the children of Abraham, scattered over the earth, " and more numerous than the stars of the heavens, "are collected from the four winds, and come in "crowds to adore the Christ, whose side they pierced on the cross.

"This is sufficient: you will rejoice to hear this is "the last of my letters; and the last of my enthu"siastic flights, with which you will be importuned.

"FR. DE FENELON.

When the negotiations of Lisle seemed to promise peace, a friend of the Reminiscent offered to Mr. Burke his congratulations upon this circumstance, as the probable termination of the revolution. "The termination of the revolution! to be sure!" exclaimed Mr. Burke: "The revolution over! Why, "sir, it is not begun! As yet, you have only heard "the first music; you'll see the actors presently; "but neither you nor I shall see the close of the "drama."

The late Mrs. Boscawen asked Lord Mansfield, "when he thought the French revolution would "end ?"-" Madam," he replied, "I don't know "that it has yet begun; it is an event without pre"cedent, and therefore without prognostic."

XII. 7.

Lord Thurlow.

We return to a view of the parliamentary oratory of our times.

Mr. Hume's Essay on Eloquence has been deservedly praised: but it appears to contain some passages which are open to observation.

He mentions that "there were about half a dozen "speakers in the two houses, who, in the judgment "of the public, had very near the same pitch of "eloquence; and that no man pretended to give "any one the preference above the rest." This might be true when Mr. Hume wrote; but certainly has never been the case in our time. Beside Mr. Pitt

and Mr. Fox, we had about a dozen speakers, as lord Mansfield, lord Camden, lord Thurlow, lord Rosslyn, lord Ashburton, and lord Littleton, in the house of lords; and Mr. Dundas, colonel Barré, governor Johnson, Mr. Grey, Mr. Windham, Mr. Whitbread, and Mr. Sheridan, in the house of commons: all were eminent and distinguished speakers, -but no one thought of comparing any with Mr. Pitt or Mr. Fox. Those great rivals were allowed, bythe universal voice of the British public, a splendid pre-eminence.

Perhaps the speakers next in eminence to these, were lord Thurlow, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Dundas, afterwards created lord Melville, and Mr. Grattan.

At times, lord Thurlow was superlatively great. It was the good fortune of the Reminiscent, to hear his celebrated reply to the duke of Grafton, during the inquiry into lord Sandwich's administration of Greenwich hospital. His grace's action and delivery, when he addressed the house, were singularly dignified and graceful; but his matter was not equal to his manner. He reproached lord Thurlow with his plebeian extraction, and his recent admission into the peerage.-Particular circumstances caused lord Thurlow's reply to make a deep impression on the Reminiscent. His lordship had spoken too often, and began to be heard with a civil but visible impatience. Under these circumstances, he was attacked in the manner we have mentioned. He rose from the woolsack, and advanced slowly to the place, from which the chancellor generally addresses the house; then, fixing on the duke the look of

Jove, when he has grasped the thunder ; " I am "amazed," he said, in a level tone of voice, 66 at "the attack which the noble duke has made on me.

Yes, my lords," considerably raising his voice, "I am amazed at his grace's speech. The noble "duke cannot look before him, behind him, or on ❝either side of him, without seeing some noble peer, "who owes his seat in this house to his successful

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exertions in the profession to which I belong. "Does he not feel that it is as honourable to owe it "to these, as to being the accident of an accident?--"To all these noble lords, the language of the noble "duke is as applicable and as insulting as it is to myself. But I don't fear to meet it single and alone. No one venerates the peerage more than "I do, but, my lords, I must say that the peerage "solicited me,-not I the peerage. Nay more,"I can say and will say, that, as a peer of parlic"ment, as speaker of this right honourable house, "as keeper of the great seal,-as guardian of his majesty's conscience, as lord high chancellor of England,-nay, even in that character alone, in "which the noble duke would think it an affront "to be considered,- but which character none can deny me, -as a MAN, I am at this moment as respectable; I beg leave to add,—I am at this “time, as much respected, as the proudest peer "I now look down upon." The effect of this speech, both within the walls of parliament and out of them, was prodigious. It gave lord Thurlow an ascendancy in the house, which no chancellor had ever possessed; it invested him, in public opinion,

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with a character of independence and honour; and this, although he was ever on the unpopular side of politics, made him always popular with the people *.

He

On many other occasions, his lordship appeared to advantage; but, speaking generally, it was only on great occasions that he signalized himself. was a kind of a guarda costa vessel, which cannot meet every turning and winding of a frigate that assails her, but, when the opportunity offers, pours a broadside which seldom fails of sinking the assailant.

His lordship, however, possessed a weapon which he often brought into action with great skill and effect. He would appear to be ignorant upon the subject in debate, and, with affected respect, but visible derision, to seek for information upon it, pointing out with a kind of dry solemn humour, contradictions and absurdities, which he professed his own inability to explain, and calling on his adversaries for their explanation. It was a kind of masked battery, of the most searching questions and distressing observations; it often discomfited his adversary, and seldom failed to force him into a very embarrassing position of defence: it was the more effective, as, while he was playing it off, his lordship showed he had the command of much more formidable artillery.

It was often mentioned, that, at the council board, he showed an equal mixture of waywardness and timidity. Mr. Pitt is reported to have said of him, " that he proposed "nothing, objected to every thing, and acquiesced in any "thing.”