virtue; it is a positive excellence. Effect de- preferred to any other in our language. Its charpends not solely upon the amount of power em-acteristic excellence is its systematic arrangeployed, but also upon the number and character ment. The general plan is comprehensive, the of existing impediments. Practically it is the main divisions are natural, and the sub-divisions same thing in mechanics, to increase the moving are clear, and stand so related to one another, power or to diminish the friction. We know that and to the whole, as to secure admirable unity it may be said, that there have been many emi- in the management of a subject which presents nent orators and writers, who had no acquaint- many difficulties on this score. This causes every ance with Rhetoric as a science, and that on the student to see the development of the subject, other hand, many well-versed in its principles, and enables the instructor to recur, as frequently have been little profited by their knowledge. as he pleases, to ground previously gone over. This is true of Rhetoric, and it is equally true of We know of no text-book, of equal size, and any other branch of human knowledge, and the embracing as great a variety of topics, which a same objection has at different times been urged class will master as soon and as well. No other against every one. The absurdity of the objec-book in our language, except Blackstone's Comtion is best shown by allowing it as good against mentaries, is as good an example of the value of all at once, and then drawing the inevitable con- method. The opinions expressed in the work, clusion, that all instruction may safely be dis- are for the most part such as command the aspensed with. Find a General, as you may find sent of all critics, and the rules laid down are as many a one, who has been successful, though he practical as the nature of the subject permits. never had regular military training, and then say The style is pure and agreeable, and while it does that books upon the science of war are humbugs: not aim at the energy or the brilliancy which if an artist has excelled by force of natural ge- most modern writers seem to think indispensable, nius, ridicule those who think they can be profit- it is so satisfactory as to lead us to doubt whether ed by going to Rome: because many celebrated after all it is not the best for conveying instrucdivines have been their own teachers, pull down tion. The author is so candid and temperate, all theological seminaries, and finally assert that that we always feel safe; and so free from arroso far from a rule's being established by excep-gance, that when he speaks positively we feel tions, there can be no rule where there is an ex- almost sure that he is right. One of the most ception. Some are prejudiced against Rhetoric brilliant orators of the United States Senate once from an entire misapprehension of its true object. said to us, that after the lapse of thirty years, he They look upon it as professing either to teach a was reading Blair for the second time, and he sophistical mode of general reasoning, or to cul- was astonished to find what an amount of valutivate the power of florid declamation. This able practical instruction it contained. Still it is prejudice has its origin in a confused notion of not such a text-book as we need. It is too old. Logic and Rhetoric, and betrays ignorance of It was written nearly a hundred years ago, and both. Yet it must be allowed that the history it is strong testimony to the soundness of its of both Logic and Rhetoric, and the pretensions general principles, that it has been continued to of some of the ancient writers upon these sub- be used so long. The essential rules of good jects might readily occasion such a prejudice. writing and speaking are of course always the Whoever will take the trouble, however, to look same; but there are many supplemental ones into any of the modern authors upon Rhetoric, established by the experience of the last century will find that they take great pains to inculcate which are important. In criticism especially, we the principle that sound sense must be the basis seem to be almost wasting our time in the minute of all excellence in speaking and writing, while examination of a number of the Spectator or the they attack empty declamation with unsparing Rambler. We want a master to dissect the wriridicule. We cannot suppose that a prejudice tings of Chalmers, and Macaulay, and Foster, so illiterate, nor indeed a prejudice of any kind and Irving, and Coleridge, and Carlyle, and Emagainst Rhetoric is found within College walls; erson, and others good and bad. We would like nor can we suppose that experienced instructors to see some of the critiques of Jeffrey in the of youth are ignorant of the advantages of the Edinburgh brought to the form of canons. study when properly pursued. And yet, as we Kames' Elements of Criticism, never was inhave already intimated, we believe that even tended as a text-book, and as a whole could not College Professors speak of Rhetoric more slight-be used as such. It is however an excellent ingly than of any study in the course. Two cau-book for the student to refer to, as it contains ses perhaps contribute to produce this. In the some good philosophy, and more good taste. It first place, there is no good text-book upon Rhe- was published before Dr. Blair's work, and the toric. The one in most general use is Blair's Doctor made very free and judicious use of it. Lectures, and perhaps as a text-book, it is to be Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric is used in

some Colleges, but it must be with very great | cially towards teaching them to avoid the faults expenditure of labor on the part of the Profes- which are opposed to the qualities of good style. sor and the student. Dr. Campbell was a man, Upon this branch of Rhetoric, in our view the as every one knows, of great powers and of great main one, viz: style or the expression of our learning; but he was better suited to answer thoughts, Archbishop Whately has comparatively Hume than to write upon Belles Lettres. He little; that little however is so valuable, and for loved argument, and his Rhetoric is a bundle of the most part so original, that it makes us regret argumentative essays very roughly put up. The but the more, the point of view from which he arguments are ingenious, but not unfrequently has chosen to look at the whole subject. unseasonable, fine-spun and tedious. If he pro- The want of a suitable text-book we regard ceeds upon any pre-arranged system, it is one then as one reason why the study of Rhetoric which it is not easy to discover. He takes up meets with less favor than it should. We wish questions which seem to the reader to be irrele- that Macaulay would not think it beneath him to vant, and dismisses topics before they are fully write upon the subject such a book as no other treated. Add to this, that his style labors, until man could write. In the mean time, a writer the reader is fatigued through sympathy. Be- of far inferior capabilities might do good service sides these special objections to Dr. Campbell's if he would resolutely apply himself to the task work, it is to be remarked that it does not go of making a book for the use of students. If he over the whole ground covered by Rhetoric, as would content himself with the work and the the term is commonly understood. Nevertheless fame of a compiler, and would take the textevery reader will be well repaid for the labor books we have mentioned, Lectures on Elowhich a perusal of this book will cost him. He quence by the late President Adams, and the will find some of the principles of criticism thoroughly investigated, many hints of much value, a number of admirable illustrations, and a great deal of disquisition and miscellaneous matter, entertaining and instructive.

Edinburgh and some other Reviews, and put together properly in a neat style what is to be found in these works of principles, illustrations, and criticism, he might furnish a book which would entitle him to the thanks of those who feel that that they could do better work if they had better tools.

Of more modern works upon Rhetoric, that by Dr. Whately, Archbishop of Dublin, is facile princeps. The ability, scholarship, and high rep- The other cause which we think operates against utation of the author, together with the practical the study of Rhetoric is the labor of teaching it. tendencies of his mind, seemed to fit him well We have said that it is an easy subject for the for giving forth a canonical book upon the sub- student, but it does not follow that it is an easy ject. But he was encumbered, we think, by one one for the Professor. Some things which cost thing, which he evidently regarded as his highest us the most labor to acquire, are the easiest to qualification, viz: his thorough acquaintance impart. Mathematics, for example, is usually with the science of Logic, and his unusually held to be the toughest subject in the course, high estimate of its practical value. Hence he while it is well known to be the easiest chair in has taken up the greater portion of his work, (a the Faculty. Mathematics is a homogeneous small one altogether,) with what cannot be re-science. The instructor has one thing to impart, garded as much else than a practical application and but one. He need not be learned in philoof scholastic logic-most excellent it is, and logy, or criticism, or history, or moral, or mental doubtless very instructive, but surely out of place. philosophy, or any thing else besides mathematDr. Whately avowedly treats Rhetoric as an off-ics. He cannot even make use of any associated shoot of Logic. Now in a scientific classifica- learning that he possesses. He is rarely called tion this may be correct, but still there is much upon for anything original or illustrative. Some of Rhetoric which bears but little affinity to Logic, teachers of mathematics are certainly superior and it is precisely this portion of it which in our to others, but their superiority is to be attributed judgment is most valuable as part of a College rather to their greater fidelity and vivacity as course. The invention of such arguments as teachers, than to the depth and variety of their will convince and persuade, is certainly the great attainments. The case is different in the physithing to be aimed at by the speaker and the wri-cal sciences, in mental and moral philosophy, in ter, but we doubt if all the instruction upon this political economy, in history and in Belles Lethead, which can be given in College, is of much tres. Each of these subjects has so many variservice to young men. But it is likewise a mat- ous aspects, and is connected by so many relater of great importance to all, to learn to present tions to other departments of knowledge, that a their thoughts with perspicuity, energy and ele- professor of any of them has often to answer gance, and much can be effected, we know, to-questions upon matters which though not foreign wards teaching young men to do this, and espe- to his subject, lie in such an out of the way spot

you

of its wide domain, that he has never before had
his attention specially directed to them. Teach-
ing mathematics may be compared the greater
to the less-to pointing out the position of places
on a map. Every thing is defined by lines, and
when you have found the intersection of the me-
ridian of longitude and the parallel of latitude of
a particular place, you have ascertained its posi-
tion with absolute certainty. To instruct in the
other subjects above mentioned, is more like ex-
plaining a historical picture. Here are figures,
colors, shade, perspective, proportion and so on,
and all is to be understood; but moreover, and
chiefly, the whole is surrounded by a wide sea of
historical fact and allusion, and
feel that you
may perhaps, by a bold questioner, be pushed off
somewhere beyond your depth. An additional
demand upon the Rhetorical Professor, is occa-
sioned by the expectation that he shall in some
degree exemplify his precepts by his practice,
and be prepared with a critical opinion as to the
merits of the current as well as the standard lit-
erature of the language. To meet these de-
mands fully, would require a union of high
talents and rare erudition, only to be found
among the most eloquent speakers and most bril-
liant writers of the day. To discharge the du-
ties of the chair with any good degree of suc-
cess, imposes upon those not more highly gifted
than ordinary, an amount of labor not required of
those who give instruction in departments usu-
ally considered much more important.

S. L. C.

THE EVENING TWILIGHT.

There is a sadness in the twilight hour,
When busy life is lulled into repose,
When Twilight holds us by its gentle pow'r,
And o'er the heart a softened shadow throws.

The sunlight from our hearts as slowly fades
As the last streaks along the western sky,
And evening's silent, melancholy shades
Blend with our thoughts to charm and purify.

Morn is all bustle in the City's mart-
And though we stroll along the dewy hills,
To share the solemn silence they impart,
And rob the breast of all its rising ills:

Yet will the wild bird's merry matin song,
The yeoman's laugh, the ploughboy's simple strain,
And every sound the zephyrs bear along,
Bring back the world's obtrusive thoughts again.

But when the weary work of day is o'er,

And every warbler's mellow throat is still;

"The clouds threaten a tempest," said Mrs. Mason, approaching Charles, who was standing at a window; "had you not better defer your ride for an hour or two longer?"

"The message was so urgent, that I think there is no time for delay; the man who expresses such an anxiety to see me has, I fear, not more than a few hours to live, but there is no cause for uneasiness; Bayard is as gentle as he is spirited, and I shall be at Dermot's house, in all probability, before the storm comes up. Good evening," added Charles, turning with a bright and encouraging smile towards Mrs. Mason, who was still watching the clouds with an expression of great anxiety on her countenance. "Will you be so good as to keep my promise to Frank, of reading to him in Anson's Voyages this evening? You will find the book on the table in my study."

Mrs. Mason nodded her head in token of assent, but maintained her station as watcher of the clouds. Dark masses were rolling heavily together, and there was a lurid look about the edges of some of these black "sailors of the air," as the greatest of German poets has termed them, which foreboded an awful storm. Low, growling thunder was now heard, and the close and oppressive atmosphere betokened the war that was brooding in the elements. Mrs. Mason stood

When ycoman's laugh and ploughboy's song no more, pale and silent, with a look of anxiety, which

In mingled cadence, echo from the hill:

awakened the apprehension of the boys, who

drew close to her side, and inquired eagerly is still hope of life even in this world, Dermot : whether she thought cousin Charles could reach your pulse is good, your hand is warm, and this Dermot's house before the storm came up.

Her fears were not unfounded; the storm set in with terrific violence, when Charles was still two or three miles from Dermot's habitation, and there was no place of refuge. Trees bent before the violence of the wind, and the crashing of limbs was heard amidst awful and almost continued peals of thunder, which seemed accompanied, rather than followed, by the most vivid lightning. An oak tree was shivered at a few yards distance from Charles' path, and Bayard, for the first time becoming frightened, it was with difficulty Charles controlled him until they arrived at their place of destination.

death-like languor and depression is a part of your disease. You may recover, Dermot; but now, while you are brought to the very valley and shadow of death, do you not feel that you want a rod and staff to comfort you? Do you not feel, that after the few, fleeting years of life are past, which are the most to which any of us can look forward, how delightful would be the hope that our good Shepherd would lead us through the green pastures and by the still waters of our heavenly home?"

66

Ah, Mr. Selden," said Dermot, with an almost despairing look of supplication, "if you could give me any true hope of peace hereafter, I would give ten thousand worlds. It is a dread

The fury of the storm had, by this time, in some measure subsided. Judy met Charles Sel-ful thing to see death as I do now, hovering round den at the door with many thanks for his safety, me to take me away from this world, with all my for she said she knew he would come after get- sins upon my head, to stand before the judgment ting Dermot's message, and she had been "the seat. And if we are to be judged by our works, miserablest cretur in the world; but thank God," where, oh where, my dear Mr. Selden, shall I she added, in a lower tone, 66 you have got here before the breath was out of his body, for I don't think he'll ever see the sun rise, and he has been asking mighty often whether I thought you would get here before he died. But take off your over-trine of the Atonement; and as he listened, the coat, sir, it is dripping wet."

appear?"

With the utmost gentleness, in the simplest, clearest, and yet most pathetic language, Charles explained to the almost dying man, the great doc

expression of his countenance softened, and tears

As Charles turned to hang the overcoat against from his heart, flowed gently down his cheeks, the wall, he perceived to his utter amazement as he hung upon Charles' words as if fearful to a female form sitting near the hearth, with a lose a syllable he uttered. shawl drawn closely around her, which he re- Charles was careful not to confuse or oppress cognized at once to be that of Edith Fitzgerald. the mind of Dermot by saying too much; he enShe arose with that simple dignity and self-pos-deavored to present this great doctrine of the session which always characterized her slightest Gospel in its most forcible and consoling light, he actions, and held out her hand to Charles, but not at all with the air of an embarrassed heroine, surprised in a cottage in some graceful act of benevolence, and receiving the admiring homage of beholder, for no expression was visible on her face which showed the most transient thought of herself. There were traces of tears perceptible, mortal, perhaps even now passing away through and an expression of blended awe and sympathy appeared in her countenance as her glance turned frankly and fully upon Charles.

After returning her greeting, Charles gently approached the sick man and kindly took the offered hand which the poor fellow stretched languidly forward, while something like a gleam of pleasure passed over his face.

"I thank you, Mr. Selden," he said, in a faint voice, "for coming out this dreadful evening, to see such a poor creature as I am, but I'm afraid it is all of no use, I am going very fast."

repeated a few of the most striking texts of Scripture, and then kneeling by the bedside, offered up a prayer for the sufferer, from the very depths of his heart, and the tears of his hearers flowed fast, as they joined their supplications with his. Death was before them, with them; here lay a fellow

the deep waters, and with thankfulness and awe they looked to that Redeemer, whom Charles pointed out as alone able to bear him through the flood so that it should not overwhelm him.

Edith had often before stood by the bed of sickness and death, but the awful reality of eternal things had never before been so deeply impressed upon her heart, and when the prayer was concluded, she sat pale and motionless as a statue with thoughts too deep for words.

The clouds were now rolling away, and Charles opened the door to admit the reviving influence As he pronounced these words with difficulty, of the fresh air. He then took a kind leave of he fixed a wild and earnest glance of terror and Dermot, after a few words of encouragement and inquiry upon Charles, which touched him deeply. sympathy, and a promise to visit him the ensuHe made no immediate reply, but after feeling ing day. After urging on Judy the necessity of Dermot's pulse for some minutes, said, "There keeping Dermot as quiet as possible, he told her

in a lone tone that he entertained some hopes of his recovery; but in order that this should take place, it would be absolutely necessary that she should observe the directions given her by the doctor. He added that he should go by Dr. Wilson's house on his return home, as he thought it very important that he should see Dermot in his present state. Judy felt new hope and strength and promised implicit obedience.

As Judy was engaged in changing Dermot's pillows, and giving him some medicine, Charles approached Edith, and said in a low tone, "You are perhaps not aware, Miss Fitzgerald, that Dr. Wilson considers Dermot's illness as a typhus

fever of an infectious character."

"No, I was not aware of this circumstance,

or I should, perhaps, not have considered myself as justifiable in coming here, as I might communicate the infection to others were I to take the

fever."

"You have then no personal fears?"

"None: more I believe from a sort of natural imprudent hardihood, which has protected me in most cases from all sorts of personal fear, than from the only sort of courage that deserves the name-moral courage. But it seems a pitiful

sort of selfishness to abandon our fellow-creatures in extremity from personal considerations." "Yes, I certainly would not advise any one to do so, if any human creature depended upon them solely for succor. But this is not the case here; others must expose themselves from considerations of sacred and professional duty, and from motives of natural duty and affection. Dr. Wilson is a very attentive physician, Judy has a sister who will assist her in nursing her husband, and I pledge my word that he shall not suffer for aid or attendance, so that farther exposure of yourself would be unnecessary. Had you not better go at once into the open air? The storm is now past."

Edith bowed her head in token of acquiescence. She did not feel personally indebted to him for his consideration, for she felt that his whole tone and manner would have been quite as appropriately addressed to her Aunt Travers as to herself. It was not to Edith Fitzgerald, but to a fellow-creature he spoke, and while a sense of this prevented any thing like embarrassment or gratitude on her part, it raised him in her estimation. The simple and earnest dignity of Charles Selden's manner, the singleness of his purposes always so apparent, excited at once her respect and admiration.

After taking leave of Judy and Dermot, Edith left the house, and turning to Charles Selden, who was standing near her, said in reply to his offer of walking home with her :

"The near way through the woods is a short walk from Travers Lodge, and as my way home lies directly by some of the negro cabins. I should not be able to get up a fear, even if I were so disposed, and as you intend going by for Dr. Wilson, it is best not to delay you, Mr. Selden."

This was so reasonable that Charles offered no remonstrance;-Edith thought he looked rather pleased at finding there was no necessity for his services, and they parted with a mutual increase of esteem.

Edith's mind was deeply affected by the scene through which she had just passed. Many thoughts had been presented to her with a force

and connection with which she had never before considered them. The great doctrines of the sinfulness of man-the fullness of redemption offered by an atoning Saviour-she had never fully received, or deeply considered. Slowly she pursued her way homewards, deeply wrapped in thoughts solemn, elevating and consoling. The ravages of the storm were every where visible in her path: immense boughs torn from their trunks were scattered on the ground; here too was a tree scathed by lightning, but before her the bow of promise threw its ethereal and magnificent arch across the heavens. Striking types! thought Edith; from earthly tears does the bright arch arise on which we must ascend to Heaven. There must be a deep meaning in human suffering a strong necessity for its existence. With such strong evidences in the works of nature, in the events of life, of the love of God, of his tender care over his creatures, it would be impossible to believe that he could wantonly afflict the children of men. How deep and fatal must be the malady from which such direful consequences spring!

Edith thought of what Charles had said of the necessity of an atonement, of the fullness of redemption wrought out for us by a Divine mediator, and though not prepared to embrace these doctrines in their full extent, light and joy sprung up within her soul as she reflected upon them. The deep earnestness with which Charles had spoken, left the almost irresistible conviction on the mind of his hearers that he knew he was speaking the truth, and Edith ceased to wonder that with such feelings and convictions he should have become a Minister of the Gospel. His sacred profession acquired in her eyes a new dignity and importance, since the grandeur and reality of eternal things had been placed before her in a brighter, nearer point of view, and she thought how much more reasonable it would be that he should wonder at the supreme importance which the children of the world attach to the fleeting and deceitful pleasures of earth, than they, that he should choose for his portion