On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
their prejudices unnecessarily . The wbrld is wide enough for all ; and even as soft water wears the rock , so will the gentleness of a loving spirit soften the rugged harshness begotten by long habits of worldly calculation . Let us away , boy , when thou art ready , and remember , that thy somewhat nimble tongue has full license to ask what questions thou wilt as we advance . Ix > ok on that beautiful green slope , father !
It is called the Green Park , boy . It is but a small patch , but it is a treasury of health . Look at the children sporting in it . How glorious looks the old abbey yonder , towering * up over the tree tops , and glittering in the bright sun ' s rays , with the clear blue sky for a back ground . It seems as though we could leap through the balmy air from this crowded noisy street , and perch upon the summit . Ha ! boy , thy impatient , wandering eye has roved around the horizon and
rests upon yon mishapen pile of hewn stone . Thou art wondering how it has happened that yon ancient abbey has so much of beauty , and that this modern pile is less beautiful than a stone quarry . Thou art pondering how it is , that while the world has advanced in other arts it has retrograded in architecture . It is the fruit of misrule , boy . Tyrants and fools and sycophants possessed the irresponsible control of the funds of a great nation , while the nation was asleep . Waste
has been the consequence , but heed it not . Capital is made by human labour , and human labour is each day increasing its results by improved processes , and the pile of stone is left to be used up for other purposes . The Guelph , who delighted in costly follies , and with whom yon pile originated , is no more . He died , and a nation could only afford him contempt to wait upon his memory . He was cruel , he was selfish , he was mean , and basely vindictive . No one good
quality was his attribute , but yet the nation could not hate him ; they could but despise him . It is a mark of the advancement of the national intellect . Time was , that such beings were to be feared , and as a consequence they were hated . They are now only ridiculous , and reap only contempt . They are powerless , and therefore mischiefless . Look at that enclosed garden , with a large piece of water , and artificial islands , and shrubs , amidst avenues of trees , which is spread
out in front of the mishapen stone pile . It was once a sort of cowfield , with a long pond in the centre . The Guelph who died , ordered it to be laid out and planted . It could not well be spoiled . Vegetation will grow after its own beautiful fashion when once planted . The Guelph wished to build upon a portion of the park , and promised the public admission to the new garden by way of stopping the mouths of complainants . He meant to have cheated them , but he died in the interval , and was cheated himself . The Guelph who came
after him affected popularity , and liked to hear the little boys shouting ' hurra ! ' He was ever fond of noises , and has wasted much gunpowder in salutes and rejoicings ; but , however , better thus than in human slaughterings . What a propensity there is in boys and kings to play with cannons , gunpowder , crackers , and fireworks ! Thou art beyond such tastes , boy . I did not mean to reproach thee . Thou likest not the noise , but the skill of the fire-weapons , and I do not prohibit them to thee . He who knows how to kill , i » least likely to be
Untitled Article
Juventie £ es * 6 n *» 079
Untitled Article
3 C 2
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1833, page 679, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2624/page/19/
-