feeble to excuse their weakness. By the doctrine of a hopeless perdition by nature, man is kept everlastingly in a state of tutelage; by the notion that atonement for the past is to occupy the whole life, man can never look forward to enterprises for the future, and his whole strength and resources are applied under direction to the removal of an imaginary evil. No one can believe what he has not seen, except by the force of imagination; and in proportion to the vigour of that faculty will be the fulness of his faith. The evils of religion, then, I charge directly upon the culture, developement, and indulgence of imagination; for without the visionary faculty, no scheme of religion could exist." "You forget," I answered, "that Christianity was framed for this very purpose, to withdraw men from this world and to lead them to another: if then by the practical workings of the scheme men are unfitted for life, the result but forcibly conspires with the design." 66 “I cannot understand,” replied he, “the justice of that view which overlooks the duties of one great portion of our eternal existence; which expunges all the natural and necessary obligations of our human condition. God who works never without design, surely intended great results from our mortal state, planned a great and independent system of worldly destiny to join and fit in with the whole continuous scheme of everlasting human action, and meant our noisy years' to be a distinct and important element in 'the being of the eternal silence.' That system of which one of the particulars is that the world and all that it inherits is a zero in value, a ruin to the soul, and a blemish in creation, is nothing else than a system of practical blasphemy." 66 "What permanent, external obligations," said I, can reasonably exist in a world so fleeting as this? Or what settled plan of present and isolated performance can possibly be intended for a life which we hold by so precarious a tenure? Talk you of the value of worldly schemes when the proudest schemers are dropping constantly around you in the very centre and crisis of momentous action? When the planter in one field is struck down with the seeds in his hand, and the reaper in another lies dead with the sickle at his feet? Shall man whose breath is in his nostrils,' build himself the habitation of a god? His palace shall be his sepulchre, and his hopes his winding-sheet. Before you ask me why we are placed here, answer me why we are taken bence; the death of a single infant confutes your theory. When Ferdinand visited Ximenes at his new University, he objected to the frailty of the structure, that it was built but of wood and plaister: Thus, O king!' replied the prelate, does it become man to labour, who lives in continual expectation of death, and may be covered with marble hereafter.' The world was made for man: Man and the world were made for God. Sir, you have a wisdom which is not wise." 66 You, I perceive," said Tyler, after a pause, "are a Christian. "I believe in Christianity," said I, "as I believe in my own existence: with the same certainty, and on the same ground-consciousness. But the course of the modern professors, in attempting to establish it by arguments has been so monstrously absurd, that I am not surprised that infidelity is every where abounding: I am only astonished that any Christians are left on the earth. The Gospel will never triumph until the whole rubbish of evidences' be swept away, and until the great truth be recognised in action, that with the heart the man believeth.' A revelation that needs to be proved is no revelation at all. Let the truth which Christ told of our nature and destiny, be separated from the accidental concomitancy of miracles, and the superfluous appendage of precepts; let that naked truth be stated, and, my life upon it, not a soul beneath the cope of heaven shall reject." 66 By what new and extravagant theories," replied Tyler, "you may in your own mind, reconcile Christianity with truth, I know not. Taking the matter, however, as it is received; and the general gloss is as likely to be divinely suggested as the particular text to be divinely ⚫uttered; I reject the facts which support it, and scorn the doctrines which attach to it. I cannot brook the accent of reproof:' God made me so, and I must be so. I will not cast off my manliness now and put on the vestures of a god hereafter: I am contented to be a MAN. Give me free room, with hand unbound and hair unshorn; 'tis all I ask. Energy will never but be blessed, for it brings us nearest to the source of all energy. I will meet the humming drones of religion, at the throne of God, and there debate my claims, and receive my reward, Pardon from Him, who calls me to Himself To teach me better and exalt me higher! But I interrupt your meditations; and for myself, it is time to retire." He left me, and I remained alone upon the shore. I followed him with my eye till I saw him enter the door and close it behind him. Short as was the period for which I had known this person, and our acquaintance was not a day old, I had seen enough to excite in my mind respecting him, the most intense interest. There was in his manner, his voice, his language, a power which awed the listener, and seemed to proclaim a mighty spirit within. There is a magnetic quality in genius which influences those who approach its possessor, rather by an impression on the consciousness than on the understanding. Intellect slowly vindicates its due respect by the exhibition of irrefragable proofs and we bow the knee but not the heart; but genius leaps at the foregone conclusion of triumph; its very presence rebukes the by-stander, and the instinct of submission anticipates the compulsion of defeat. It was a sensation of this kind, more than by any striking exhibition of superior mental power I recognised in Tyler an object of interest; and the apparent contradiction in his character increased my curiosity. He here professed bold and even coarse principles, and seemed to be a man of daring action; but when I call to mind the refinement of his manner in the drawing-room but a short time before; his gentle wit; his deep, digested, various learning; the thought-worn, meditative look that spake the man of study rather than of deeds, I was extremely puzzled. To me, though little experienced among men, and guided, as the young mostly are, by some inward conviction more than by any external observation, it seemed that an intelligence so strong, so refined, so calmly reigning in its masterdom, gave evidence of a life of serene meditation and sufficient assurance that its possessor did not struggle with the dominion of evil passions, and did not writhe under the memory of evil deeds. It was the union of ever-burning ardour of soul with never-shaken calmness of mind which made the marvel of this man's nature; for, with rare exceptions, the seething of a fiery spirit sends up fumes which dim the reason. To the mind of the ordinary man of action there may come grand suggestions of truth, strong apprehensions, and brilliant guesses, but the unimpulsive progress to a wary conclusion, the composed meditation of a just result, seem impossible in that nervous haste which the excitement of enterprise usually generates. The agitated waters may flash the light more bravely; but to reflect an undistorted image of the orb of day belongs only to the settled lake. The restless spirit argues; the peaceful mind judges. The strong arm may load the scales, but only the quiet hand can hold the balance. This cautious and qualified manner, as of one who coolly weighed his deductions and patiently reconsidered his opinions, I had noted strikingly in Mr. Tyler's conversation. Few could have even looked upon his clear, intellectual features, rigid, yet glowing with fervour, like a mask of animated steel, without inferring from his face that he was an extraordinary man. His large gray eye combined an iron strength with a gently-musing thoughtfulness; his compressed under-lip seemed the index of an inward energy that never relaxed; and every feature of his face was informed with a breathing meaning, and partook separately of that individual character and impressiveness which in an ordinary countenance belong only to the eye. I lingered long upon the shore pondering these and similar thoughts. Despite of myself I could not help saying of Tyler, "I fear thee, Ancient Mariner!" and yet reason as well as my experience assured me, that genius is ever essentially magnanimous, and that to highly-cultured and strongly-exercised intellect, generous and elevated feelings attach themselves as essential concomitants. The speculative daring of his doubts and the bold unmasking of his proud sentiments drove away suspicion before them; for though there be a diabolic majesty in the wickedness of a Carathis or a Lady Macbeth, yet common villany is inherently mean, and social vice is always cowardly. I could at least entertain no personal distrust of one who, by the studied exhibition of his scepticism, gave me notice of his principles, and put me on my guard in any intercourse I might have with him. The hour was late, but it had been a fruitless effort to attempt to sleep in the state of mind in which I then was. I was too much excited to be capable of repose, and the interest which I felt in unravelling some of the mysteries that lay around me, drove all thoughts of retiring out of my mind. The conversation of the persons whom I had seen upon the bank again occurred to me. The voice, the figure and the language of the one who spoke of me, were too striking not to be noted, and they seemed to be familiar to my mind. There was just enough peculiarity to suggest a doubt, but not to embody a distinct suspicion. "It seemed probable that the men had gone on directly to the gaming-house of which Tyler spoke to me, and I determined to go there at once with the hope of meeting them. I walked, therefore, along the shore in the direction in which they had passed. I had not gone far before it occurred to me, that it might not be prudent to walk in a place so entirely exposed; my movements might be observed, and the lowness of my path below the adjacent bank and the daylight-like light which the moon shed upon it, rendered it visible to a great distance. I looked round for some more circuitous and concealed way of approaching the spot. I must here explain more distinctly the situation of the ground, and the position in which I stood. At a small distance to the right of the lodging-house, between it and the opposite shore, there extended a double row of large shady trees, forming a complete interruption to the view, and a sufficient concealment to any one passing under them. Beyond these was a field enclosed on all sides by a high fence, which I had observed during the day, not to extend farther than the termination of the row of trees. At this time I was considerably beyond the trees and beyond the outer fence which ran near them; I walked back, therefore, with the intention of ascending the high bank and going under cover of the shade completely round the field, so as to approach the gaming-house on the rear. A |