From the Examiner, 30 May. ACQUITTAL OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON.

not a little remarkable as a proof, if of nothing else, that moral courage is not an extinct quality in our transatlantic kinsmen. ESCAPED by a single vote? Not so: that We fail to recall any other notable instance would have been a sorry ending of a great of the kind where, upon pleas of illness or constitutional struggle. It suits the malign- affliction, members of a high political tribuers of democratic institutions thus to de-nal so numerously constituted have not scribe the decisions of the American Senate stayed away. The whole of the fifty-two sitting judicially upon the grave issues laid voted; and a glance at the disproportionate before them. But history will not so read numbers is enough to satisfy the most inthe facts, or interpret the governing mo- credulous that, had but half-a-dozen or half tives. History will tell how amid the fierce that number absented themselves on any of struggle of parties competing for ascenden- the pleas that timid or shifty men are fond cy, where freedom of discussion was abso- of resorting to, the condemnation of the lutely uncontrolled, where the influences President would have ensued. Corresmoral and material of great communities pondence and articles duly prepared the were steadily and deliberately brought to minds of all in this country who wish ill to bear, and where administrative supremacy their neighbours, for such a development in the government of a vast Federal empire of the truculent and base persecution, as it was at stake, a preponderant majority ab- was termed at Washington. All the restained from abusing their power to crush sources of bullying and hocussing would be the chief of their opponents, and to secure resorted to without stint to enforce the for themselves popularity and dominion. discipline of faction; and if these in some In the Senate of the United States as now rare instances should fail to compel active constituted, there are but ten political sup- co-operation at the last, it would only be porters of the President, while the remain- because, out of consideration for some ing forty-two have long been his consistent "weak-kneed brethren," their superfluous party opponents. The dice of fate have presence might be dispensed with. Things seldom been more heavily loaded; and have turned out very differently. Not those who in this country are fond of repre- merely one upright and learned man like senting democratic action as at best but a Mr. Fessenden pronounced gravely and matter of accident, impulse, or whim, have carefully his judgment that an adequate for many weeks been chuckling at the exhi- case for removal had not been made against bition they anticipated of irrestrainable ve- the President; but in all, seven members of hemence, if not actual violence, in the the majority, or one-sixth of their entire course of the impeachment of Mr. John- number, not only declined to serve their son. They could not understand, and they party at the cost of conscience, but manfully would not believe, that "a faction of recorded their votes for acquittal. forty-two," as the Republican Senators were called, would suffer themselves to be baulked in their purpose. However they might parley or palter during the proceedings, about the admission of this or that mode of proof, in the end it would be seen that they were not free agents or independent judges, and that all the tedious formalities were but a solemn farce to dignify with the name of justice the remorseless predetermination of party. It was in vain that we and others who hate international envy, malice, and uncharitableness, and who disbelieve to the last in the pessimist view of human action, pointed to the fact that on nearly every occasion where the Court of Fifty-two differed in opinion during the trial, many of the majority were found voting with the minority, as the counsel for the President contended they should vote. This was only the straying of the hounds during the chase; but they would all be in at the death. They were all in at the close, not a man was absent. This in itself is

We have never expressed any opinion, nor do we feel called upon to do so now, upon the specific merits of the accusation. We can quite understand upright and intelligent men taking opposite views thereon. Had the result been different, we should not have ventured rashly to question it, remote as we are from the scene, and incapacitated as we frankly own and feel ourselves to be, for weighing accurately a multitude of conflicting considerations. But now that the crisis is over, and the constitution of the American Commonwealth has escaped a shock that must have been, under any circumstances, long and severely felt, we rejoice to think that in the recent strain so much of moral health and strength has been exhibited, and that the end has not been brought about by the laying down of any hard dividing line of party. The belief in political honour, and national justice, and individual independency which the recent decisions of the Senate are fitted to renew in the popular mind, is worth more to

the people of the United States for the time | Theodore organised anything like opposito come than any change of administration, tion to our progress, had he defended two or any legislative triumph, or the winning of or three of the many difficult approaches, any hard-fought field. Faulty or faultless, right or wrong, guilty or innocent, it is well, we believe, for the cause of public liberty and law that Mr. Johnson should not have 'been condemned. The precedent once set of criminal indictment for political error, who shall say to what disastrous consequences it might not have led hereafter? Mr. Johnson's friends are not blind to his shortcomings, and they are not likely to forget, in their exultation at his escape, that the sentence amounts practically to the Scotch judgment of not proven, and to no more. We earnestly hope that he may use his present advantage with forbearance and temper. The English people have reason to be glad that his place is not to be taken by one who had already announced his resolution to inaugurate the triumph of his party by proposing a new protection tariff. Mr. Johnson, whatever be his faults, has always been a freetrader; and, we are bound to add, a steady friend to peace with this country.

From The Examiner, 5 May.

had he harassed the line of march, and interrupted communications, had he destroyed all supplies as we advanced, had he retired carrying his captives with him, or even had he cut their throats and vigorously defended his stronghold, not only must the main object of the expedition have failed, but the campaign would have been protracted, its cost doubled or trebled, the casualties from sickness and death would have been heavy, and our prestige, instead of being greatly raised, would have been irrecoverably weakened. Why not one of these obvious expedients was resorted to, remains a mystery. Under what impulse Theodore spared his prisoners, and even saved us the embarrassment of holding him as a prisoner, can never be known. His whole life, as well as his death, forbids us to believe that he was actuated by fear; it equally excludes the motive of humanity. He might even after the defeat of his soldiers before Magdala have dictated terms to the English General, who must have paid any ransom short of dishonour for the lives of the captives; but had he been an ally instead of an enemy, he could not have played more completely into our hands. While giving full credit then to Sir Robert Napier and his troops, let us also be thankful to King Theodore, to whom the completeness of our success is so greatly due.

KING THEODORE'S LESSON. THE Abyssinian war has proved a success in more ways than one. It has shown us that we have a skilful General, and that our Bloodless as on our side the campaign troops have lost none of their fortitude or has been, it is not without useful lessons. discipline, under circumstances peculiarly There appears to be complete unanimity as trying to both. Not one man has fallen by to the bad practice of the Artillery, the the hand of the enemy; the captives are reckless expenditure of ammunition by the restored to us unhurt; the captor is dead; Infantry, and the failure of the Engineers and his stronghold is destroyed. The mili- to be provided with the implements necestary representatives of Foreign Powers sary for the performance of their work in speak in complimentary terms of our prow-storming. The break-down of the Land ess, and Eastern races will be duly im- Transport is equally corroborated from all pressed with our power, our moderation, and our liberality. The idea of forming a colony in Abyssinia, if it ever was entertained, has been abandoned; the Army is marching home, and it only remains for the country to thank General and soldiers for their services and to pay the bill.

We have the more reason to congratulate ourselves on this happy issue of a hazardous undertaking, since only a very strange combination of fortunate circumstances could have brought it about. With all Sir Robert Napier's skill and caution, we owe a great deal more to the forbearance, the folly, and the rashness of the enemy than to the dispositions of our General or the conduct of our own troops. Had King

66

quarters, and it was probably only in the
elation of victory that the Commissariat
was forgiven for its inability to supply some
of the most important portions of the sol-
dier's ration, and among others so valued a
component as rum. The Times correspond-
ent, moreover, dubs one of the principal offi-
cers of the staff a brilliant blunderer."
Unless all the "correspondents
"have
entered into a conspiracy to defame the
Army, we must therefore conclude that the
combatants failed to display that supremacy
in their respective arms of which we hear
so much, and that Staff and Departments
proved as little trustworthy as in the days
of Balaclava.

The danger of a wanton expenditure of

66

ammunition used to be quoted as an argu- it is not agreeable to reflect upon what a ment against the introduction of breech- very different turn might have been given loaders; and it is of the utmost importance to events, had only ordinary advantage been that stringent rules should be adopted to taken of our shortcomings. check the temptation to indiscriminate blazing away." In a battue of naked and comparatively unarmed savages, such as preceded the capture of Magdala, or in the attack upon an undefended stronghold, military blunders affect the result but little; there was quite enough slaughter, and probably more than enough, to allow us to ex'cuse the inaccurate fire of our Armstrong guns; and as the walls of Magdała were not manned, the absence of powder-bags to blow open the gates mattered not. But we cannot always reckon upon such complaisant foes as King Theodore's soldiery, and

Sir Robert Napier's still missing despatches will probably throw light on these points; but a General is not prone to be critical in the hour of triumph, and the most valuable material for the history of modern warfare is now to be sought, not in the archives of the Horse Guards, but in the graphic, and, as a rule, accurate letters of those newspaper correspondents who have come to be looked upon as a necessary adjunct to an army in the field, and who, sharing the privations and often the dangers of a campaign, can sympathise with the soldier without being blind to his errors.

"Who that winter night

Flashed back from lustrous eyes the light.
Unmarked by time, and yet not young,
The honeyed music of her tongue,
And words of meekness scarcely told
A nature passionate and bold,
Strong, self-concentred, spurning guide,
Its milder features dwarfed beside
Her unbent will's majestic pride."

Many years ago she began to display eccentricities which attracted attention, and her voice was heard swelling the" social battle-cry" in New England before she began her remarkable adventures in the Old World, of which a writer in the New York Evening Post speaks as follows:

At length her friends missed her, and after months they heard of her in Europe and Asia and Africa.

"Since then, what old cathedral town
Has missed her pilgrim staff and gown?
What convent door has held its lock
Against the challenge of her knock?"

| Hester had a magnificent collection of Arabian horses, for it is well known that Lady Hester, amongst her other oddities, married a Sheik of the mountains, and thus had a fine opportunity for securing the choicest steeds of the Orient. Lady Hester pointed to Harriet Livermore two very fine horses with peculiar marks, but differing from each other in color.. "That one," said Lady Hester," the Great King, when he comes, will ride, and the other I will ride in company with him." Thereupon Harriet Livermore gave a most emphatic "No," and declared with foreknowledge and aplomb, that "the Great King will ride this horse, and it is I who, as his bride, will, at his second coming, ride the other horse." It is said that she carried her point with Lady Hester, overpowering her with superior fluency and assertion. No wonder Whittier speaks of her as

Between two and three years ago she returned to America, and since that time has resided in Philadelphia. To the end of her life, though more impatient than when younger, she exhibited those qualities which Whittier has so well At one time we find her in Egypt giving our described. The poet throws the mantle of pity late consul, Mr. Thayer, a world of trouble, aris-over her, and we all can join in the conclusion ing from her peculiar notions. At another time we see her amid the gray olive slopes of Jerusalem, demanding-not begging-money for the "Great King;" and once when an American, fresh from home during the late rebellion, offered her in Palestine a handful of greenbacks," she flung them back to him with disdain, saying,

The Great King will only have gold!'" At one time, years ago, she climbed the sides of Mount Libanus and visited Lady Hester Stanhope, that eccentric sister of the younger Pitt.

One day they went to the stables, where Lady

of his admirable sketch of Harriet Livermore:

"It is not ours to separate
The tangled skein of will and fate.

To show what metes and bounds should stand
Upon the soul's debatable land,
And between choice and Providence
Divide the circle of events.

But He who knows our frame is just,
Merciful, and compassionate,
And full of sweet assurances,
And hope for all the language is,
That He remembereth we are dust."

Daily Advertiser.

JUST PUBLISHED AT THIS OFFICE:

LINDA TRESSEL, by the Author of Nina Balatka. Price 38 cts.
ALL FOR GREED, by the BARONESS BLAZE DE BURY. Price 38 cts.

PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION AT THIS OFFICE:

GRACE OWEN'S ENGAGEMENT.

THE BRAMLEIGHS OF BISHOP'S FOLLY, by CHARLES LEVER.
OCCUPATIONS OF A RETIRED LIFE, by EDWARD GARRETT.
PHINEAS FINN, THE IRISH MEMBER, by MR. TROLLOPE.

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY

LITTELL & GAY, BOSTON.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

FOR EIGHT DOLLARS, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded for a year, free of postage. But we do not prepay postage on less than a year, nor where we have to pay commission for forwarding the money.

Price of the First Series, in Cloth, 36 volumes, 90 dollars.

Second "
Third

The Complete Work,

Any Volume Bound, 3 dollars; Unbound, 2 dollars. The sets, or volumes, will be sent at the expense of the publishers.

PREMIUMS FOR CLUBS.

For 5 new subscribers ($40.), a sixth copy; or a set of HORNE'S INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE, unabridged, in 4 large volumes, cloth, price $10; or any 5 of the back volumes of the LIVING AGE, in nambers, price $10.