Thoughts, whither have ye led me! with what sweet
Compulsion thus transported to forget
What hither brought us! hate, not love.”
Of such sweet compulsion the Turks are and must remain ignorant. Their whole system of religion and domestic life renders them hopelessly incurable, and they would evidently sink if let alone under the weight of their own crimes.
The domestic life of Turkey is still best illustrated by “Bluebeard and his Wives;” the great curved scimitar, somewhat stained, is nowadays hung overhead, suspended by a thread. Sister Ann is silent, for she sees nobody coming, and the whilom gallant knight St. George is amissing.
It is well England is rousing herself at last, and avoiding party recrimination, seems resolved that this Christian nation shall no longer act, not merely as the guide, philosopher, and friend, but the patron of this monstrous system of evil. Omitting political leaders, our best and wisest have spoken out nobly and well on this subject. Who have a better right to be heard on such a subject than Earl Russell, Earl of Shaftesbury, and the Baroness Burdett Coutts? The Bishops of the Church, the Nonconformist ministers, and the men best known of all parties for their good deeds have taken the lead, and surely no Government will refuse to give ear to opinions so publicly expressed. The difficulty of getting out of a wrong course is sometimes very great, and may in this case involve us in serious consequences; but we may be assured that if we proceed in a wrong course our punishment will be still more serious. Let us have the wisest counsel—let us have clean hands in the matter—and remember that “to the upright light will arise in the darkness.” The death of Prince Albert we mourn over yet, and perhaps never till now has the country fully felt the magnitude of that loss. Just now her Majesty must miss from her side more than ever the counsels of that great and wise Prince!
