moment the trophies were laid upon the table, the organ burst forth with inconceivable grandeur. After playing for some time, the girls and boys sang singly and together, alternately, and occasionally with a few of the adults; the ceremony concluded with a full chorus. There appeared to be no distinction between those who had been on the expedition and those who had not, as all sympathized in the calamities of the Batavians, and would have been equally desirous of contributing their aid had it been requisite. The visit to the temple being over, they repassed the lake, and then departed to their respective communities. Even Orpheus now began to think that the co-operative arrangements were not altogether so objectionable as he had supposed even for mankind; and Emilius was delighted to behold his rejected principles so incontestably and beautifully illustrated. Poeticus acknowledged that he had at last found an admirable subject for an epic; and that vice, misery, and folly, were no longer essential to his muse : "But where," said he, "are the bards? where are we to look for the Tyrtæus of Loch Lomond ?" "Whether," said the Spirit, "poetry implies an enthusiastic admiration and love of nature, or an extended acquaintance with the works of the creation, united with a felicity of description, and a skill and taste in forming new combinations of ideas, you have beheld none to-day who are not more or less in possession of these constituents of genuine poetry: it is true that some are gifted with such powers in a higher degree than others, but they are all imbued with the poetry of thought.* By the influence of * Justly has it been remarked by Locke, " that all those sublime thoughts which tower above the clouds, and reach as high as heaven itself, take their rise and footing here: in all that this wand you have been able, and will continue, to hear and see whatever passes in the communities that may be essential for you to know. You observed among the spectators of this day's ceremonies, an individual richly attired in the Oriental costume: he is the son of a Persian satrap of considerable eminence in his own country, and travels in search of information. He is a most accomplished scholar, and has devoted so much attention to English literature, that there are few of our authors with whose works he is not familiar; he is passionately fond of the Greek and Roman classics. On his route he visited the ruins of Athens and of Rome. His name is Saadi. He is descended from the Persian poet and philosopher of that name, and "who was born at Shiraz, the capital of Persia Proper, about the beginning of the twelfth century. Of Saadi's ancestor it is related, that he was driven from his country by the ravages of the Turks; that he wandered good extent wherein the mind wanders, in those remote speculations it may seem to be elevated with, it stirs not one jot beyond those ideas which sense or reflection have offered for its contemplation." The variety and intensity of intellectual pleasures must in a great degree depend upon the number of truths with which the individual is acquainted; for by such means only, combined with reflection, the consequence of knowledge, can the powers of judgment be improved. Now all men whose organization is not imperfect, are capable of acquiring knowledge to an extent of which we can at present form but an inadequate idea. What so calculated to enlarge and fill the mind with admiration as astronomy? and yet some of the truths in this science, once deemed so abstruse, and comprehended only by a Newton, are now within the reach of every capacity. When the minds of the great mass of mankind are no longer permitted to lie waste, but shall be properly cultivated, and under the genial influence of equitable institutions, a taste for intellectual enjoyments and for the pleasures of the imagination, will become as general as the desire for bodily nutriment. through various scenes during a period of forty years, and was at length taken prisoner by the Franks in the Holy Land, and condemned to work on the fortifications of Tripoli. A merchant of Aleppo redeemed him from slavery, and gave him his daughter's hand, with a hundred sequins as a marriage portion. Her petulance and ill-humour rendered him more miserable than he had ever been during his long and painful captivity. One day she asked him whether he was not the slave her father had redeemed for ten sequins. Yes,' replied Saadi, 'but he sold me again for one hundred.' This ingenious philosopher had a friend, who being suddenly elevated to an important post, was resorted to and complimented by all the citizens. These people, said he, 'crowd around him merely on account of his dignity; but I shall go when his office has expired, and then I am sure I shall go alone.' A man who had quitted the society of Dervises for that of the Philosophers, asked Saadi what difference he thought there was between their characters. Both of them,' replied he, 'swim across a turbulent stream with their respective brethren. The dervise separates himself from the rest to swim with greater safety, and arrives in solitude on shore; but the true philosopher continues in society, ready to lend a helping hand to his brethren in distress.'"* I repeat these anecdotes as illustrative of his character, because Saadi partakes much of the disposition and intellectual endowments of his ancestor. Several of the community where he has taken up his residence are appointed to attend upon this illustrious stranger. Among his attendants is an intelligent youth named Douglas, for whom he has conceived a * Zimmerman.. sincere friendship. For the sake of retirement, and also to afford Saadi a view of the fine scenery by moonlight, Douglas has invited him to a promenade at a late hour this evening, upon the second terrace of the small mountain, rising immediately above Tarbert; you will thus most probably have an opportunity of hearing some arguments in favour of each system, the Co-operative and the Competitive."* CHAPTER III. "Here now the human being stands adorning Shelley. THE moon was rising with great beauty over the magnificent mountains towards the north, and her beams were mildly reflected by the trembling waters of the lake, when Douglas, true to his appointment, appeared upon the terrace of Tarbert Hill. In Douglas there was a graceful and manly dignity; his eye beamed with intelligence, and a noble ingenuousness in his countenance at once evinced that all disguise was foreign to his nature: but its most distinguishing characteristic was that of sincere and ardent benevolence. He wore the Highland bonnet * We are indebted for this expressive adjective to the author of the most able work upon Political Economy that has appeared since the "Wealth of Nations." In acute analytical investigation, in just and comprehensive views of society, and in bold uncompromising exposition of error the " Distribution of Wealth," by Mr. William Thompson, is perhaps unrivalled. surmounted with two black feathers, fastened with a silver buckle; and he still retained the ancient dress of his country, over which was thrown a large tartan cloak his appearance altogether was that of a Highland chieftain. As he was looking over the balustrade for the approach of Saadi, he heard the gate of one of the landing-places open, and he hastened to receive his friend. The person of Saadi was tall and finely proportioned: in his deportment there was considerable majesty tempered with mildness; his complexion was a dark olive, the contour of his face inclined to the Grecian; and his eyes beamed with that fixed and placid expression, which so peculiarly distinguishes the Eastern character. His dress consisted of white cloth trowsers, a blue cloak trimmed with gold and lined with white silk ; in his hat he wore a brilliant diamond crescent, and the hilt of his sabre was embossed with jewels and precious stones. "Pardon," exclaimed Saadi, "my delay, but I could not forbear pausing to admire the sublimity of this scene. Yet how much is the interest heightened by the reflection, that in that beautiful valley the inhabitants are enjoying a repose in harmony with the heavenly tranquillity that reigns around them; that, undisturbed by angry passions or by a spirit of rivalry, they will awake in the morning to the sound of music, and go forth to the enjoyment of healthful and useful exercise, of intelligent and affectionate intercourse." The sensibility of Saadi was strongly excited, and he averted his head as if to conceal his feelings. "Is it possible," said Douglas, "that you should wish to disguise those sympathies which are so grateful to yourself, so pleasing to others, and which it must be the general interest to encourage!" "Such sentiments," re |