THE OCCASIONAL.

By LEIGH HUNT.

No. XIV. Sulu= or " Yomeo OLD erAnismeir " commie:um. Perseverance in spite of failures—Tutors themselves not always discerning—Robert Bruce, the spider, and the laundress—Plutarch's advocacy of the right of old men to be statesmen—Instances adduced by him to that efect—einecdote of Montesquieu in las seventieth year.

The inculcation of a love of general knowledge, as a help as well as ornament to knowledge, particular and professional, was mentioned in our remarks of last week* as the main leading point, next to perse- verance, in Lord Palmerston's address to the students of the London Uni- versity. Another important one remains to be noticed, in the quotation which he made from the great, good-natured statesman, Charles James Fox, to the effect, that failures in first instances, if followed up by un- flagging endeavour, often afford better auguries of eventual success, than

• Now two weeks back. The appearance of the article has been twice delayed by the pressure of more immediate topics.

those attending success at once. The success at once (though it hardly might have been thought prudent, or even just, to Bey so) is indeed sometimes owing to the absence of qualities that retard viatery by the multiplicity and anxiety of their number. It might have been thought still less proper to add, that immediate success is not seldom perilous to the modesty and perseverance of the succeeder, by inducting him to

suppose that he has nothing further to acquire. And most imprudent and indelicate, indeed impossible it would have been on such an veoasion to

observe, that the arbiters and bestowers of college laurels are not always qualified to estimate the heads that most deserve them. Every tutor is not possessed of the self-knowledge or magnanimity of Johnson's Dr.

Adams, who considered the future lexicographer as "above his mark."

Swift obtained his degree at college, not as a right, but as a favour. And in the certificate of character and qualifications given to the funt Napoleon, on his leaving the military college in which he was educated, he was described as a docile good sort of person, who would make an "excellent seaman."

The good of associating general with particular knowledge,—of histo- rical and biographical reading, for instance, with mechanics or mathema- ties,—might have been illustrated in connexion with perseverance, by the well-known but always welcome anecdote of Robert Bruce, who was en- couraged to maintain his almost despairing efforts against the English by the sight of the spider, who, notwithstanding downfalls that seemed as if they would never end, persisted in climbing up again towards his point, till he gained it. (If the Chinese, who are great believers in ancestral influences, had been aware of this anecdote of the Scottish hero, perhaps they would not have been so astonished the other day as they wore, in seeing his descendant, Lord Elgin, persist in sailing up their rivers, and bearding their forts.) We are tempted to add a leas famous anecdote of

the same prince, because it deserves to be equally popular, and because it shows, after its fashion, the same determination to let no obstacles pre- vent a man's doing what he thinks right ; not even conventionalism, or

usages of fashionable worlds. Furthermore we hold the anecdote emi- nently becoming "a prince and a gentleman." King Robert had just gained one of his victories, and was resuming his progress in triumph round a conquered country, when he heard the cry of a woman in dis- tress.

"What is that ? " said the King, drawing bridle.

"Oh, nothing, sir," answered an attendant, smiling.

"What is your nothing, sir ? " returned the King, a little angrily.

"May it please your Majesty," (we substitute modern parlance for ancient, in order to hinder spirit from being disturbed by letter,) "may it please your Majesty, it is nothing but a soldier's wife,—in fact, the laundress of a regiment,—who is about to be confined, and whom the moving of the army perplexes, because she is not quite settled to the matter."

" Halt !" cried King Robert to his army. The army halted, boot, saddle, trumpets, triumph, and all ; and King Robert saw the poor woman comfortably-bedded and waited on, before it stirred again.

"Nothing but a soldier's wife !" said the King. "What are we all here but soldiers ? and who shall talk of any wife of ours, and call her ' nothing ' ? "

The trumpets resumed their victorious progress ; and tender were the strong hearts of the soldiers towards King Robert.

But to return to the other portion of our subject—the question, whe- ther men in years ought to be administrators of Government. There is an essay on this question in the " Morals " of Plutarch ; and very angry is the good heathen statesman and clergyman—(for such was Plutarch, holder of various offices under Trajan, chief magistrate in Cheronasa, priest of Apollo at Delphi, and protester, equally liberal and devout, against the unworthy fables told of the gods by the poets)—very angry is Plutarch at the notion that age was to prevent a man from retaining one of the best habits of life, for which experience itself had served to qualify him, and which was at once his business, his glory, and his enjoy- ment. He looks upon that state as the best governed, which has young men for its hands, and old men for its brains. He insists that the soul

does not of necessity decay like the body ; nay, that age does not always imply even bodily incapacity for work ; that the desire of honour never

grows old ; that for a man to be expected to retire to a country life after

governing a state is like requiring him to rnake a clown of himself, or to lead the life of an old horse ; and that, for his part, ho shall do no snch thing, but continue to serve his country and his fellow-creatures, and to do all the good he could, as long as he could prove his right to do so by the retention of the power to do it.

These arguments are accompanied by cases in point ; as that of Peri- cles, who was never more vigorous in governing than when he was

old, inducing the Athenians to fight or not fight, just as it pleased him ;

those of Phocion, Masinissa, and Cato, who themselves led armies to vie- toryin old age ; and that of Agesilaus, of whom Xenophon criers out in A

transport, "What youth ever existed that surpassed his old age) that was more terrible to his enemies, caused them greater joy when he died, or was more missed by his friends ? " Masinisaa, Plutarch info= us,

having been in a great battle when he was near ninety, was seen next day in front of his tent eating a piece of brown bread ; and though he died not long afterwards, he left a eon that was but four years o14: which beats fine old Sir Stephen Fox, the founder in age of the Hol- land and Ilehester families; and Coke of Norfolk, who not long since, at the age of eighty, gave us another noble family of Leicester.

See a number of the like examples of exoellent old statesmen and gene- rals in Oicero's treatise on "Old Age."

The truth is, as Plutarch observes, that the whole real point in this question about young and old governors is not a matter of age, but of individual strength and fitness; and that you might with as much rea- son take a simpleton for a leader merely because he was young, as re- fuse a wise man for one, on no other ground than that of his years. What have the Austrians just profited from having been led by an em- peror, young enough to be Louis Napoleon's son ?

We shall conclude this article with an anecdote of a septuagenarian, possessed of a profound legislative repute, not because it is most apposite or even most amusing, but because it is quite Palmerstonian, we conceive, both in the matter of life of mind, and the personal re- tention of youth and movement. It is of Montesquieu, author of the "Spirit of Laws," and is related in the "Life of Lord Charlemont," who during his travels about a century ago, and in company with another gentleman, visited the illustrious old Frenchman at his seat near Bour- deaux. They were so anxious to avail themselves of his willingness to see them, that they called before he was up, and were shown by the ser- vant into his library. "The first object of curiosity that presented itself was a table at which he had apparently been reading the night before, a book lying upon it open, turned down, and a lamp extinguished.

"Eager (says his Lordship) to know the nocturnal studies of this great philosopher, we immediately flew to the book. It was a volume of Ovid's Works, containing his Elegies, and open at one of the most gallant poems of that master of love. Before we could overcome our surprise, it was greatly increased by the entrance of the President (Montesquieu was Presi- dent of the Parliament of Bourdeaux), whose appearance and manner was totally opposite to the idea which we had formed to ourselves of him. In- stead of a grave, austere philosopher, whose presence might strike with awe such boys as we were, the person who now addressed us, was a gay, polite, sprightly Frenchman, who, after a thousand genteel compliments, and a thousand thanks for the honour we had done him, desired to know whether we would not breakfast ; and upon our declining the offer, having ahead) eaten at an inn not far from the house,Come, then,' says he, let us walk : the day is fine, and I long to show you my villa, as I have endeavoured to form it according to the English taste, and to cultivate and dress it in the English manner.' Following him into the farm, we soon arrived at the skirts of a beautiful wood, cut into walks, and paled round, the entrance to which was barricaded with a moveable bar about three feet high, fastened with a padlock. 'Come,' said he, searching in his pocket for the key ; it is not worth our while to wait for the key: you, I am sure, can leap as well as I can, and this bar shall not stop me., 'So saying, he ran at the bar, and fairly jumped over it ; while we followed him with amazement, though not without delight, to see the philosopher likely to become our playfellow."

Lord Charlcmont frequently afterwards met the philosopher in society, and was astonished with the inexhaustible grace and gaiety of his man- ners and conversation, particularly in the company of ladies : though he adds, that on reflection it was not surprising, considering that the pro- found author of the "Spirit of Laws" had written also the "Persian Letters" and the truly gallant "Temple de Gnide."

We do not imply by this extract, that Lord Palmerston's reading lies in the direction of" Ovid's Epistles." We know not what he reads, and should not expect it to lie much in any poetical direction. Neither should we look at his hands for another "Spirit of Laws." • But here is a proto- type of the eternally young old statesman ; of the able statesman too; of the man charming in company, ever ready of speech, and never failing in spirits ; and one who, though he beats Montesquieu's age at that time by five years, rides out a hunting with Emperors, and does not baulk, of muse, a five-barred gate.