I thought the spirit of the dawn Before me to the greenwood flew. That spotless soul from earth to sever; That twang'd and sealed thy doom for ever. I saw thee late the emblem fair Of beauty, innocence, and truth, Start tiptoe on the verge of air, "Twixt childhood and unstable youth. But now I see thee stretch'd at rest, To break that rest shall wake no morrow; Pale as the grave-flower on thy breast! Shall shed its earliest tear o'er thee. 222 THE MISSISSIPPI SCHEME. THE projector of this celebrated scheme was one John Law, the son of a goldsmith in Edinburgh, where he was born about the year 1681. Having a natural turn for calculation, he soon made himself a proficient in numbers, and while very young obtained the confidence of the king's minister for Scotland, so far as to be employed to arrange the revenue accounts, which were in great disorder before the union of the two kingdoms. In order to remedy the want of a circulating medium in Scotland, he proposed the establishment of a bank, which might issue paper money to the value of all lands in the kingdom; this scheme was, however, too bold for adoption. In 1704, Law's father died and left him a small estate near Edinburgh. He soon imbibed a love of gaming, and thus endeavoured to supply the deficiencies of his income by his skill at the table. In one of his gaming broils he killed Beau Wilson, whom he had challenged to a duel; soon after which he fled the country. He now visited Venice and Genoa; but here his superior dexterity and numerical skill caused him to be shunned as a sharper. He, however, contrived to support himself by these means in his rambles through Italy, and at Turin he endeavoured to entrap the Duke of Savoy, with a new financial system but the duke prudently declined his services, assert ing that his dominions were too small for the plans of so extensive a genius. He next visited Paris, where his schemes were rejected by the ministers of Louis XIV. but the regency of the duke of Orleans was much more favourable to him. He first established a bank of 1200 shares of 3000 livres each, by royal authority in 1716, and so firmly was its credit established that the shares soon bore a premium. Annexed to it was a Mississippi company which had grants of land in Lousiana, and was expected to realise an immense sum by planting and commerce. In 1718 it was declared a royal bank, and by a number of advantages arbitrarily conferred on it, so great was the extent of its business and funds that its shares rose to twenty times their original value. All France was now seized with the rage for gambling in its funds, and thousands of adventurers poured hourly into the grand field of enterprise. In 1720 Law was made comptroller of the finances, and he now imagined that the golden dreams of his youth were realized. His vanity rose with his circumstances to a most disgusting enormity. Pub lic confidence appeared to be established,and the Parisians dreamed of nothing short of their national debt being swept away. In the midst of this delusion the fabric tottered, and the bubble burst: the shares sunk hourly in value, and the hoax could no longer be disguised. Law did not enrich himself by the scheme, but was compelled to resign his post after holding it five months. Thousands were now reduced to beggary, and the projector had nearly fallen a victim to public execration. He spent the remainder of his life in comparative obscurity and after visiting England, Holland, and Germany, died at Venice in 1729, in distressed circumstances. Such is the outline of the career of one of the most enterprising speculators of the last century. Short as it was it was sufficient to enforce a valuable lesson to mankind in all ages, by illustrating the superior satisfaction and enjoyment which result from regular habits and industrious inclinations. It is a common error of mankind to confound what may be called the speedily earned splendour of public life with diligence and undivided perseverance. The one builds castles in the air, while the other realizes little by little the most solid comforts for the wintry quarter of life. Plodding industry is therefore preferable to that restless spirit of speculation and enterprise which proved the rock on which the fortunes of Law may be said to have foundered. All happiness is dependent on equanimity of mind which regulates our pursuits, and thus leads us progressively to the highest enjoyment. 222 GINEVRA. FROM 'ITALY,' A POEM. BY S. ROGERS, ESQ. (Where, among other relics, you may see Its noble gardens, terrace above terrace, As though she said 'Beware! Her vest of gold And on her brow, fairer than alabaster, A coronet of pearls. But then her face, Alone it hangs She was an only child-her name Ginevra, Her pranks the favourite theme of every tongue. Great was the joy; but at the nuptial feast, Andfilled his glass to all; but his hand shook, Weary of his life, That mouldering chest was noticed; and 'twas said, With here and there a pearl, an emerald-stone, D Engraven with a name, the name of both, 31121 LOVE OF BURIAL PLACES, MANY of the wisest and best of men have signalized their love of gardens and shrubberies, by causing themselves to be buried in them. Plato was buried in the groves of Academus; Sir William Temple gave orders for his heart to be enclosed in a silver casket, and then placed under a sun-dial, opposite his library window. Dercennus, one of the kings of Latium, was buried in a thick wood, on the top of a high mountain: Rousseau was buried in the island of Poplars, in the gardens of Ermenonville: Horne Took cwas buried in his own garden and Napoleon Bonaparte often walked to a fountain in the island of St. Helena, and said to his confidential companions, If it is destined that I die on this rock, let me be buried in this place,' pointing to some willows near the fountain he so frequently visited. ut quilts. HATRED. THE greatest flood has the soonest ebb; the sorest tempest the most sudden calm; the hottest love the coldest end; and from the deepest desire oftentimes ensues the deadliest hate.-A wise man had rather be envied for Providence, than pitied for prodigality.-Revenge barketh only at the stars, and spite spurns at that she cannot reach. An envious man waxeth lean with the fatness of his neighbours.-Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the beginner of secret sedition, and the perpetual tormentor of virtue.-Envy is the filthy slime of the soul; a venom, a poison, or quicksilver which consumeth the flesh, and drieth up the marrow of the bones.-Socrates. |