This anti-natural spirit, however, did not always lead him astray from the right path. In the Excursion, were promulgated, for the first time, these views respecting the embruting tendency of the unintermitting toil of our factory labourers, the necessity of universal education by the State, and the vocation of the English race to colonise the earth, which have been so many zealous missionaries. We cannot better conclude these desultory remarks,—an imperfect prelude to the lip of a truly good and great man—than by quoting part of his weighty words in the Excursion, respecting National Education:— ‘Oh! for the coming of that glorious time When, prizing Knowledge as her noblest wealth And best protection, this Imperial Realm, While she exacts allegiance, shall admit An obligation, on her part, to _teach_ Them who are born to serve her and obey; Binding herself by statute to secure To all her children whom her soil maintains, The rudiments of Letters, and to inform The mind with moral and religious truth, Both understood and practised—so that none, However destitute, be left to droop By timely culture unsustained; or run Into a wild disorder; or be forced To drudge through weary life without the aid Of intellectual implements and tools; A savage horde among the civilised, A servile band among the lordly free! · · · · · ‘The discipline of slavery is unknown Amongst us—hence the more do we require The discipline of virtue; order else Cannot subsist, nor confidence, nor peace. Thus duties rising out of good possess’d, And prudent caution, needful to avert Impending evil, do alike require That permanent provision should be made For the whole people to be taught and trained. So shall licentiousness and black resolve Be rooted out, and virtuous habits take Their place; and genuine piety descend, Like an inheritance, from age to age.’ These are indeed worthy to become Household words. FATHER AND SON. One evening in the month of March, 1798,—that dark time in Ireland’s annals whose memory (overlooking all minor subsequent _émeutes_) is still preserved among us, as ‘the year of the rebellion’—a lady and gentleman were seated near a blazing fire in the old-fashioned dining-room of a large lonely mansion. They had just dined; wine and fruit were on the table, both untouched, while Mr. Hewson and his wife sat silently gazing at the fire, watching its flickering light becoming gradually more vivid as the short Spring twilight faded into darkness.