Among the events which have recently passed in review before us of Pennsylvania, although we disclaim the character of politicians, the recent general election could not have been entirely a matter of indifference. But whether the election of a Governor, conducted as it is here with an inordinate excitement of all the angry passions, be promotive of the great moral interests of society, is at least questionable. Peaceable citizens very naturally keep aloof from such a conflict; and from this circumstance alone, the commonwealth sustains great loss. Whether the immense patronage and influence of that important office could not be so lessened, by a partial distribution among other public functionaries, without impairing its essential dignity and usefulness; and in this way the constant recurrence of such disreputable spectacles be obviated as that we have recently witnessed, is certainly a question of great moment to the tranquillity and character of the state.
Belonging as we do to the great family of man, we cannot glance across the Atlantic at the important transactions of that region, without feeling an interest of no ordinary kind. Reference is here particularly made to the bloodless revolutions of Spain, Naples, and Portugal. We are hostile to the spirit of revolution, as such, but the character of these is well fitted to excite our "special wonder." And it is anxiously to be desired, that the welfare of the people of those countries may have been substantially promoted by them; for it ought to be remembered, that governments are instituted for the good of the whole, and not exclusively for the benefit of priests and kings. As Christians and patriots, we may on this subject be permitted to entertain such wishes as these.
With regard to Great Britain, few of us can advert to what is there transpiring at present, in relation to royalty, without blushing for the land of our fathers;—the land of Newton and Locke, of Milton, of Young, and of Cowper. The drama referred to, disgraceful as it is, is nevertheless fruitful of salutary lessons. Of these it may be observed, this is not the least striking and important, that however elevated station may be, it is still accessible to the consequences of guilt; and its occupant may be made to tremble at their approach. We may also derive from its incidents, an argument in favour of our own form of government, comparatively simple and unimposing as it is in its structure; but not less efficient with respect to the legitimate objects of government, without which, properly administered, the fabric of society would crumble into ruins, and lawless violence usurp the seat of order and justice. ☞
FOR THE RURAL MAGAZINE.
THE VILLAGE TEACHER.
One morning during the present autumn, I made an early excursion through the fields. The sky was unclouded, and the eastern horizon was in a glow with those saffron hues that usher in the day. The stream before me, unruffled by a breath of air, gave back the shape and colour of the landscape as distinctly as in a mirror. A few chirping insects, and now and then a warble, sometimes half heard from a distant grove, and sometimes bursting full upon the ear, were all that broke the silence.
Captivated and riveted by the scene, I sat down under a favourite beech-tree, to enjoy it at my leisure. In such situations, the mind naturally falls into that train of musing which is most habitual; and I was soon lost in meditations upon the inexhaustible beauty and magnificence of Nature, and those lessons of deep philosophy which are to be learned in its school. From one thought I passed to another, till insensibly I fell into the following revery.
Methought that beside me was a hill, whose rocky sides seemed almost inaccessible. The ascent was somewhat easier near the top, which glowed as if it were on fire. Before the hill was a fertile and beautiful plain, which was terminated by a barren heath, and that, by the waters of a vast lake. A path, the beginning of which I could not discover, seemed to wind round the foot of the hill, till it came to where there was somewhat of an opening in rocks, and divided. One part took the direction of the plain, and was soon lost in innumerable avenues. The other ascended the hill, in nearly a straight direction to the summit.
Where the path divided, there were stationed two beings of a celestial appearance. One of them, who guarded the ascent to the hill, was a youth of severe but manly beauty.