In Memoriam.

is a life without real aim or true bias , —a life not a life in itself to us , and Avorthless to mankind . To use the words of the Great Duke , " Isolation is bad for individuals as well as nations . " We may fancy , indeed—as the old hermits iu Egypt seem erroneously to haA'e fancied ,- —that the Avorld is too bad and dangerous a world to live in , and that therefore AA' 6 must exist out of it ; but then , Ave should also bear in mind carefully that the strong mind of Dr . Johnson has disposed of the fallacy of tins unreal argument , asAvhen

he said at Paris to the Abbess of some female Benedictines , about a hundred years ago , " Madam , you are not here from love of virtue , but from fear of A'ice . " Leaving , then , the fanatical view of the case out of the question , let us begin by laying doAvn the proposition that gregariousness is not only advisable but needful for man , —qua the homo . And in that essential and happy condition of " gregariousness , " moreover , Ave form acquaintanceships Avhich are amiable , and friendships which are firm ; just as Ave gh'e full play to all those emotions of tenderness , and sympathy , and personal attachment Avhich constitute the charm of life , and are such affecting eA'idences , to the thoughtf id and the reverent , of an after life , of a better life , of a life eternal and perfect , be 3 ond the

giwe . Indeed A \ 'e have often thought that , AA'ere it not for this persuasion , nothing more dreary could AA'ell be coneeiA'ed than the " outcome " of this earthly life of ours , AA'ith all its fond associations , enjoyable companionships , gentle links , and engaging sympathies . Aud for this reason , that all is so precarious and so shortlived . . The best gifts and graces of earth are only for a little season ; and hoAV often , in a moment AA'hen Ave least expect it , the voice of friendship is hushed , the heart of affection beats no more , the loving smile fades away in that sad hour AA'hen

" decays effacing fingers Have SAvept the lines where beauty lingers , " and Ave miss from amongst us , for eA'er here , the friend , the attraction , the companion of years . Iu A'ain , then , are the gifts and graces of earth ; in vain the scholar ' s mind or the statesman's power ; passed aAA'ay as a shadoAV never to return are the beauty AA'hich entranced , the wit which delighted , and the nobility Avhich graced ; and as no

rank of men is exempt from these mournful changes of life , the palace of kings , just as the house of the professional man , or the cottage of the poor , is equally visited , is equally affected . All our common life is permeated by this great controlling laAV of humanit 3 ' , and hardly a clay passes OA'er our heads but Ave haA'e to lament the sudden death , or the premature decay , the mysterious visitations of " an inscrutable Piwidence ; the end of hope , and loA'e , and friendship , and tenderness ; the close of domestic happiness and personal attachment ; the conclusion , in Time , of a companionship AA'hich has been endearing , of an affection AA'hich has been fragrant , and of au intimacy AA'hich has been most intimate .

Supposing that all did end here—AA'hat then ? What more coidd life be or do for any of us ? Nothing—positively nothing ! What Avoidd remain for us of hope or expectation ? Still more indisputably—nothing ! Like the Soman of old , we should haA'e to say , to the dearest and best of earth , " Valeas in asternum "—for eA'er farewell There Avould be no more of possible hope , trust , or gladness for any of us . A few short years had AAdtnessed the birth and the death of A'ain emotions and A'ainer

attachments . A feAV shortlived horns had listened to voices , and songs , and utterances AA'hich Avere hushed—and hushed for eA'er . What , then , Avould be left for man ? What would man be ? Nothing but the dreariest outlook that the mind is capable of conceiving ; nothing but a destiny alike hopeless and sad beyond all measure to record or realize ! For " annihilation " must then be the " Ultima Thide" of man ' s hopes and fears , and life and pilgrimage . With the giwe all would sink into utter oblivion , sdence , and darkness .

Man , himself an atom among atoms , Avould pass away unnoticed and unnkown , to be absorbed in that Infinity which is left for that " Atomism " of humanity of Avhich some like to write .