With regard to his unfortunate admiration of Lady Hamilton, we may safely say, that neither Dr. Scott, nor his other most intimate friends, believed in its criminality. Lord St. Vincent used to call them "a pair of sentimental fools;" and it is a fact that Lady Hamilton never was a mother. Certainly, therefore, she had no connection with Lord Nelson's adopted daughter; as to whose parentage Dr. Scott never gave any clue, whatever he may have known on the subject. But it has been thought by some, who witnessed Nelson's intimacy with royalty at Naples, and who were aware that he had been warned of even the danger of assassination in consequence of it, that Horatia Nelson might lay claim to a far more illustrious origin than has been supposed. This solution, if a true one, accounts equally as well for the miserable state of mind which Lord Nelson's letters written from Naples betray, and which his biographers have attributed to his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton. It may be feared that this misery was the consequence of guilt; but if so, such uneasiness was the conscientious compunction of an habitually upright mind. On the death of Nelson, Dr. Scott, notwithstanding powerful interest, had to rusticate on a small living in the gift of the Charterhouse. At length Lady Liverpool was enabled to present him to Catterick, a parish in Yorkshire, where he was pastor to the hour of his death, which occurred in 1840. He married Miss Ryder in 1807, but was left a widower a few years after, with several children. A portrait of Nelson is prefixed to the Recollections, which was engraved from a miniature by Jackson, formerly in the possession of Sir Thomas Lawrence. Dr. Scott, it appears, deemed it a happy likeness. ART. IX.-Lectures on Paley; or, the Principles of Morality. Designed for the Use of Students in the University. Cadell. WE may commence a notice of this volume with a characteristic anecdote of the great moral philosopher. A certain enthusiastic fox-hunter having been loud in his praises of his favourite sport in the hearing of Paley, the moralist at once let loose and affirmed that it was a cruel pastime; "that it was opposed alike to reason and humanity; that it was a degradation of man's powers to spend morning after morning at the tail of a pack of hounds; that man was born for higher and nobler purposes than that of devoting a large portion of existence to killing vermin; that it was an indefensible waste of time; that one of its sure results was that of inducing first a toleration, and then a distinct preference for low company; that it was the forerunner of excess; debased a man's manners, and brutalized his intellect." The fox-hunter starting on his legs, exclaimed, "Sir, I can't imagine where you have been bred; where you have passed your time. I can't form any idea what has been your resort. Mine," added he proudly, "mine is well known."-" And well shown," added Paley, "The Kennel." These sentiments were not unworthy of the author of the "Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy;" the first part of which celebrated and standard work has been used as the text-book of the present Lectures; forming a fitting and indeed necessary sequel to Lectures on Locke on the Principles of Logic, by the same hand, which we noticed with merited praise nearly two years ago. We have seen Epitomes or Analyses of Paley's Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy heretofore, and thrown into a catechetical shape; professing to give the substance of the original work, both more briefly and simply than had been done by the Archdeacon. The author of one of these publications talked of directing the "mind of the student to the aim and scope of the several arguments" in Paley's Principles; and another proposed "to adapt his (Paley's) reasoning to the use of some who might hesitate to peruse the elaborate investigations of the original work." Now, we heartily object to such attempts as those now mentioned. The catechetical form must at least interfere with the principle of brevity, unless the process be one of the crudest and most mangling nature; while Paley, above all philosophical writers, is removed from obscurity, dryness, and unattractive speculation. The most juvenile student of his Principles cannot wish to be freed from the perusal of one doctrine, one distinction, one illustration. He will never dream of saying that a single paragraph is superfluous; for every sentence that is abbreviated or lopped off by means of the scissors, is just so much withdrawn from the deep interest of the original performance; and from which no one can rise without clearer and deeper impressions of his own respective rights and duties as a man, a subject, and a Christian. No, no; we wish for none of your abridgements of the great practical moralist,-for none of your Catechetical Paleys. But the work before us belongs to no such flimsy and marring attempts as those to whose preposterous doings we have been referring. In the Lectures, Paley's Moral Philosophy is used as a text-book; and in so far as his principles and arrangement are concerned, our author is a distiller; he makes whatever the great master set forth his own by a patient yet anxious process of digestion; and thus, in a single instance, often in a single line, gives the essence of the master's elaborated speculation. But the work contains much more, accomplishes much more, than a mere analysis; although even in this respect we hesitate not to pronounce the performance to be one of ability and ingenuity. Indeed we look upon the work as being chiefly remarkable, in respect of originality; and this not only as relates to plan but matter. That plan will be best understood from the specimen or two which we copy out; but the matter may be thus fairly characterized: it consists of the fruits of much reading and of scholarly learning, skilfully applied to Paley's Principles; so as not merely to buttress them with new arguments, and elucidate them with apt illustrations, derived from many and even the most recent sources, but to draw out to their legitimate sweep the doctrine couched in the enunciated principle. Hence it happens, that the Lectures, although brief, the comment, although of limited extent, presents striking arrays of prime and also of subordinated ideas, in their proper classes, at the same time that many learned and also homely or practical truths or facts are pressed upon the attention. We therefore unhesitatingly recommend the work to every student of morals as well as of moral philosophy; and also affirm, that at no stage of academical education, or even of life, can it be perused without benefit; although, of course, its abundance of matter, and its succinct, lucid, and ingenious method, will be particularly appreciated by persons in the course of preparation for University examinings. The suggestiveness of the plan matter of these Lectures ought not to escape remark. It is not what they communicate directly in the way of philosophy or of information, that they will alone prove useful. The inquisitive and the imitative mind, will fall into the habit of pursuing a similar course both of investigation and comment, and be led to trace or to follow through many a beautiful ramification each truth and thought that has here been set up like a finger-post; and this too, without being in any case servilely bound to adopt the application which the Lecturer may have made of an idea or a main principle. One word more, ere coming to some examples of the work: the Lecturer, whatever be his years or his vocation in life, has made himself well acquainted with the world, and has a goodly store of general knowledge always ready at hand. But that which cannot be dispensed with in the case of any teacher, whatever be his learning and information, is prominent in those pages, viz. a constant recognition and an earnest application of religion and Christianity. Indeed, he appears to be imbued with piety as well as with theological and philosophical lore. Warmly attached to the Church of England he undoubtedly is: perhaps he is an ornament amongst those who minister at its altars. But why does an author withhold his name, who by two works addressed to the higher orders of students, teaches them not only, as we think, in a felicitious manner, how to reason, but how to live well? This however is a matter not of our concernment. We therefore hasten to let him appear as his books set him before us; and take for our first example a subject which falls within Moral Obligations; viz. Taxation. Our author seems uniformly to have had an eye to passing circumstances, and t truths particularly needed, at the moment of his writing in his classifications and illustrations. We now quote : Def. Public Revenue is that part of the nation's wealth allotted to the purposes of state. There are two ways of raising this revenue: 1st. By demesnes-which are forests and crown lands. 2nd. Assessment. 3rd. Customs. 4th. Excise. In the 1st and 2nd the person or property of the consumer is taxed. In the 3rd and 4th the commodity in the hands of the tradesman is taxed, but the burden is increased on the consumer, because the tradesman paying the duty on the reception of the goods, must add the interest of his money, but it is less felt, being confounded with the price. The 1st falls heavy upon the poor, since they pay equally with their superiors. The 2nd is more equal, as it is imposed on the value of goods, &c. This is the best tax for landed estates, but it is improper in merchandize, as it lets improper persons into an insight of particular trades. There are some rules to be observed in imposing taxes: 1st. To seek out some object of the measure of people's circumstances. 2nd. To take care this be notorious. 3rd. Not to tax luxuries too high, for two reasons. A. Because the consumption would be less. B. There would be a greater temptation to smuggle. Taxes were first imposed in Egypt, whence they were conveyed into Greece, which was universally taxed, to oppose the expedition of Xerxes. The first general tax of the Roman world was under Augustus. The lecturer, as we have already intimated, loses no opportunity of illustrating principles by means of facts and lessons that have a direct practical bearing upon the interests of society, instead of contenting himself with hairbreadth speculations about right and wrong, which might perplex the student's head, but never impress his heart. For example, we find that some of his most striking rules and comments contain references to the grosser vices of mankind, and the unblushing licentiousness of the day. He does not even flinch from instancing the female prostitution which abounds in the capital of England; where, he says, 80,000 prostitutes exist; of whom 8,000 die yearly. We are not in a condition to correct or test the calculation, which we observe is taken from other writers. But we fain hope it is extravagant: nay, are led by consulting what is to be found in M. Parent-Duchattelet's "Prostitution in the City of Paris," published in 1836, to believe that it rests upon mere conjecture, or at least upon imperfect and false data. Let us for a little digress, in order to introduce several of the results of the Frenchman's investigation. The work mentioned, which professes to be "founded on Official Documents," is the production of a person who has attached him self with the zeal of a remarkable philanthropist to the investigation of the effects upon society of many moral and many physical nuisances. In the book now named he lifts up the veil, which usually conceals from the well regulated portion of a community, the mode of life of the abandoned and profligate, and discloses scenes of vice, and concomitant wretchedness, most painful to all, but from the contemplation of which none should affectedly turn away. The statements contained in the work (we gather the particulars from the British and Foreign Medical Review), are founded on facts sought out with infinite research in the public offices, especially the Bureau des Mœurs, and from public functionaries, physicians, surgeons, students, and nurses of hospitals, the keepers of prisons, and the humane visitors of those sad abodes; and from the inhabitants of brothels, which for this reason the author visited both by day and night, always accompanied by a medical officer or a peace officer. Nor was he content to note down the circumstances observed in any vague or uncertain style; for he spared no pains to reduce them to figures by exact numerical calculation. One result of this exactness is to correct popular errors. For about seventy years previous to the date of the book, the city of Paris was represented to contain 20,000 prostitutes; whereas, the actual number in 1836 was not quite 4,000; and the number twenty years before was not 1,300. It is probable that a similar error has attached to London; while the calculations regarding the "Great Metropolis" must be more vague than those of Paris, in consequence of the system of registration in the French capital. Instead of loose accusations of Paris or the provinces, as regards the number of depraved women proceeding from different parts of France, M. Parent-Duchattelet gives an exact account of the proportion of prostitutes furnished to Paris from all the departments of France, and from foreign countries, since the year 1816; and he accompanies his account with a map of France, in which the districts from whence the greatest number of common women have proceeded are shaded more darkly than the rest. The results appear to amount to this, that in the vicinity of the larger cities and towns, and especially of sea-ports, the number is always the greatest. A most interesting inquiry is that which regards the condition in life from which the greatest number of these women spring. Such an inquiry is evidently difficult, on account of the numerous deceptions incidental to it; but much of this difficulty was obviated by a decree, enjoining that, to the registration of each prostitute, should be added a register of the condition of the parents, attested by two witnesses; the second witness, however, being generally no other than one of the mayor's officers, those functionaries acquiring, apparently, a faculty in making attestations by dint of witnessing the women in the daily rounds of their calling. It would appear that VOL. II. (1842.) NO. III F F |