selves,

closes Its inward speaks;

But they must prattle like an eastern parrot,

And prove their minds are like a lumber garret,

Or like a giblet-pie,-fine simile,

For there is found, if with discernment sought,

(At least it generally the case will be,) Legs of ideas, plumeless wings of thought;

For they, no doubt, have been a while at college,

And pluck'd the apples from the tree of knowledge.

And so did Eve, and prov'd herself a fool;

And so do they, and prove themselves

no better;

Is this not like a steeple-bell, that tolls Husbands and lovers to the land of souls?

plied

To all that class of animals call'd Beaux; During a season though they brightly glide,

quette

Is of all creatures the most vain and

selfish ;

close;

Or, like a butterfly, when they are caught, They and their brilliant hues are turn'd to nought.

Nay, I am wrong; for they have mouths

and noses,

And heads, and hair, and brows, and eyes, and cheeks;

• Lord Byron.

met,

Her fascination is completely elfish ; Her eye-beam, like a fiery sun-ray shed+ From Indian skies, turns a poor fellow's head.

And what cares she? for if he be not rich Or titled, he may rage, and rave, and rant,

+ Coup de soleil.

In bedlam chains, till wrought pitch

frenzy's high.

Droops to despondency,-till, gone and gaunt,

He sinks unpitied to a timeless grave,— She will not give the hand that but could save;

Because she is incapable of love

To any creature, but herself, on earth; She is no innocent and beauteous dove, Timid and mild, that seldom ventures forth

To public gaze,-but like a cat on watch, To catch the prey that she would fainly catch.

Good Heav'n! and is this woman ?. woman, whom

Thou gavest unto solitary man, When eastern Eden spread her flow'rs of bloom

Along the banks where Gihon's waters

ran;

When hearts of innocence were taught to

prove

The holy luxury of confiding love?

And is this woman? No, it is not woman

Its adoration in a moment,—and She pass'd me like a form from fairyland.

One moment's gaze was quite enough,— it left

Her image deeply grav'd upon my

brain,

Enshrin'd within my bosom,-it bereft My heart-pulse of its calmness,-and each vein

Felt from the fountain the impetuous

stream

Of blood, that made existence like a dream.

Her form was tall and sylph-like,—such as rises

Upon our visions of untroubled sleep, When heav'n-born Fancy on her throne despises

All worldly cares, all grovelling

thoughts, that keep

The spirit bound to this degrading earth, All woes inherited by human birth.

Her raven hair was braided o'er her brow Of lily whiteness, and her deep dark eyes,

seen;

And I ran forward, like a carriage-wheel When ardent lovers drive to Gretna. Green;

When heads are peeping out, amid their fear,

To see if no pursuing friend be near.

Onward she went, and onward I pursued, Through streets, and lanes, and squares, perhaps a score,

Until, at last, she for a moment stood

Beside the railing of a splendid door; Then stept she lightly up, then rung the bell,

And went into the house of Master Gell.

"By Jove I have her!"-in my heart I cried

So I rejoiced as many a poacher hath, When through the snowy mountains waste and wide,

He tracks the timorous hare's deceitful path,

And finds her couch'd, she that, as soon as shot,

Shall lose her skin, and fill the poor man's pot.

O shocking simile!—it will not do

So I rejoiced, even like a frenzied bard When some fair image to his mental view Stands half reveal'd-when he has run it hard

Through all the windings of the brainuntil

He gives it name and being with his quill.

"Pray," said I to a ragged porter, "pray, Has Mr Gell a pretty wife, Sir ?" "No."

"A sister, then, as lovely as the day Of flower-crown'd June, as spotless as

arise

Within the breast like flowers of Paradise.

I vent in song, for future generations :"O fair unknown! whose radiant eye

Came like a sun-beam to my heart,
And made the feelings there that lie
To life and admiration start;
O could I know but who thou art,

The name thou among mortals bearest, The home to which thou wilt impart The light of pleasure which thou sharest!

"O fair unknown! could I behold

Again the form that I adore, Thou never, till my heart was cold, Should'st vanish from my presence

If we consider that (to use the words of a right honourable Baronet,) "the Scots have been always a martial people, high in spirit, and fond of warlike achievement,"-that their success in the cultivation of science has been commensurate with their renown in arms,—and that one of the proud distinctions of their country consists in the general diffusion and cheapness of elementary instruction,-it must appear not a lit tle surprising, that, amidst the number and variety of our institutions and seminaries of education, we should have been unable, till within little more than a twelvemonth past, to reckon a Military School, and that it should have been reserved for an enterprising individual to supply so obvious a defect in our system of public instruction. Most states organize their general scheme of instruction with reference to the predominating national characteristics. In Scotland, however, where the people, few in number, and inferior to the inhabitants of many countries in one of the great elements of political power, (wealth,) have, nevertheless, made themselves always respected, often formidable, by a courage at once daring and obstinate, no at tempts have been made to form and guide into the proper channel this invaluable quality; and the military reputation of the country, even in an age when war has become a science, and many of its operations problems in transcendental geometry, has been committed, in a great measure, to chance, and the irrepressible but untutored bravery of her children.

It would be of little service to inquire to what combination of prejudice and folly this strange neglect is to be ascribed; the object which we have at present in view, is rather to point out a few of the advantages resulting from a military education, even in time of peace, and the expediency of introducing part of that peculiar system of instruction into all our great public schools.

It is a fact known to every military

man, that not only at the commencement, but during a very considerable portion of the late long war with France, the great body of our officers were immeasurably inferior in science and skill to those of the enemy. Skill is, no doubt, acquired by experience in the field, and in this respect the superiority of our rivals, in the first instance, was the result of circumstances which no previous education could counterbalance; but science can only be learned in the schools, and, in the present state of the art of war, mere experience without science is as unavailing as mere science without experience. We had no schools where military science could be acquired. Young men were transformed into officers by the co-operation of the army-clothier and the drill-serjeant, without the slightest previous acquaintance with the principles of a profession which, to be pursued with advantage to the individual or the public, demands an extent and variety of acquirement, equal to, or perhaps greater than, those requisite for any other. qualify them for civil employments, our youth were compelled to undergo a course of previous study and preparation; for the military profession, on which the very existence of the country might come to depend, none was judged necessary. army was filled with half-educated, idle, and dissipated young men, incapable of steady and continued application,-destitute of every military accomplishment, except the courage which they shared in common with the meanest soldier in the ranks,—and proud of their scarlet and gold uniforms more for the grace and favour they procured them with silly, lightheaded girls, than as the badge of an honourable profession, distinction in which was only to be attained by a happy combination of physical and intellectual qualities. The consequences inseparable from such a state of things were soon felt deeply. In how many instances was the unequalled courage of our troops ren

Το

The

dered unavailing, by the ignorance or incapacity of their officers! and how frequently were the blunders of officers accompanied by an unprofitable waste of human life-by the sacrifice of those gallant fellows, who, when properly commanded and led on, were capable of achieving any thing short of absolute impossibility! It would be invidious to condescend upon specific examples ;-the recollection of every reader who is conversant with the military history of the last thirty years will supply them in abundance.

But it may be said, that England has several Academies expressly appropriated to the purpose of military education. True; but must Scotsmen repair to England for instruction in a profession which they have so often and so freely shed their blood to adorn? There is no other branch of knowledge which a Scots man may not acquire in his own country, in as much perfection, and to as great an extent, as in any other country; and there can surely be no good reason why, if his inclination lead him to the army, instead of the law, the church, or physic, he should not have the benefit of instruction at home. Every nation and state on the continent has its military schools, where the youth, ambitious to signalize themselves in arms, are regularly and fully instructed in all the branches useful for their profession, and where they acquire the rudiments of the science, which is afterwards to be perfected in the field, and to fit them for the command of armies. What we desire is, that the youth of Scotland may have the same advantage; that, in short, whatever profession they may chuse to select, their own country shall afford them the means of adequate instruction. But even supposing it perfectly expedient and proper, in a general way, for our martial youth to repair to England, it is well known that, from the constitution of the military schools of that country, and particularly the interest required in order to obtain admission, the benefits to be derived from these establishments must necessarily be of very limited extent. It is not, therefore, among the monopolizing aristocrats of England that our youth are to be sent a-begging

for instruction; we require a military school of our own, which, like all our other establishments for education, shall be open to the whole world, and dispense freely to every one who can afford to enter it, the benefit of scientific education in the profession and practice of arms.

There cannot be a doubt, we think, that such an establishment is eminently requisite and necessary in this country; and the circumstances of our being at peace with all the world (the Birmans excepted) is only another argument in its favour. It is in peace that nations strengthen themselves, and provide for the exigencies of war; it is in peace that whatever has been found defective in our military system can be corrected and amended; it is in peace that the greatest improvements are brought forward, examined, and applied; it is in peace that every legitimate means ought to be employed in sustaining the military spirit of the people, and, above all, in encouraging the upper classes to devote their attention to a profession which is, in general, congenial to their habits and feelings, and in which they ought always to be ambitious to excel. The cant of pseudo-philanthropists and fanatical divines, who labour to proscribe the profession of arms, will not surely be listened to by those who, having looked into human affairs, are convinced that war is frequently as inevitable as the plague; and that, while neighbouring states maintain large standing armies, and neglect no means of fostering the military spirit of their people, the principle of selfpreservation imposes a similar duty upon us. These arguments will not, we presume, be weakened by reference to the actual state of Europe at the present moment,-exhibiting a conflict between the revolutionary and the despotic principle; in which, though the latter be for the present successful, it is impossible to foresee how soon the apple of discord may be thrown down, the oppressed armed against their oppressors, and the nations of the world once more convulsed with the struggle.

We would only further remark here, that, were greater care and attention directed to the education of young men previous to their enter