There is, perhaps, no word in our language more generally understood
than the term HOPE. The idea represented by this word is so well known
from its pleasing effects on the mind, and so indiscriminately
experienced in one or other of its degrees, that any explanation of it
seems to be unnecessary. All know that Hope signifies an expectation
indulged with pleasure.
In all the works of Nature we can find no two objects exactly similar.
The surprising diversity proceeds from a degree almost imperceptible, by
a slow gradation, down to direct opposition in the minutest
circumstances; so that in the amazing variety, we can find no object,
whether of sense or imagination, which has not its direct reverse.
With respect to the sensations of the mind, I know none more directly
contrasted than that expressed by the word Hope. Its reverse is Fear.
And though Love and Hatred--Joy and Sorrow--Light and Darkness are not
more opposed to each other than those two passions; yet it will appear a
little remarkable, that they not only spring from the same source, but
are _really_ and _identically_ the same in some of the original steps or
gradations. The same passion or power of the mind varies its name in the
different stages of its advancement. Every thing has its state of
infancy. In their pristine state, Hope and Fear are both called Esteem.
This may be termed the _infant state_ of attachment to any object.
Esteem soon advances to its second stage, in which it takes the name of
Love. In a third gradation it is called Desire; Love ever produces the
desire of enjoyment. Those are the original and _common_ steps of Hope
and fear; nor is there yet any sort of distinction either with respect
to _object_ or _sensation_: but here the difference begins.--They are no
longer the same. The strong dissimilarity of different minds may render
the subsequent stages of operation as different as contradiction itself.
Mark the progression of Desire in two minds of different textures. Let
us suppose the object the same. Let us suppose it Riches; or (if that
will animate the idea) a person of a different sex. In the one mind
Desire improves to Hope; in the other it degenerates to fear. In the one
instance, Hope advances to a state of superior sensation, which we term
Joy; in the other, fear sinks down the rugged declivity to that dreary
region called despair.
Thus one man looks with pleasure and fortitude beyond his present
difficulties; and though his hopes, in some instances, may be decidedly
blasted, what then? he never anticipated the disappointment, nor will
the happy turn of his mind permit him to indulge its vexations. His
active passions soon find another object of exercise and pursuit. Very
frequently he gains the summit of felicity in the enjoyment of his
favourite object; and still he has the _independent_ happiness arising
from the constant exercise of Hope. A person of the above description is
never heard to complain of this _troublesome, woeful, sinful world_; he
has no such bad opinion of life in general, as promotes a desire of
quitting it; or of going to another, to avoid the disappointments of
this---the common source of all such wishes. No: he acts his part as a
man; enjoys life as man was designed to do; contributes to the happiness
of all around him, and secures his own.
Let us now take a slight view of the other side of the picture---the man
of an opposite cast. We left him in despair of possession; he yields his
cowardly heart a victim to the vulture; and, if his distress is not
somewhat alleviated by transferring his attention to some other object,
he either abridges his life with a pistol or halter, or drags along a
miserable existence indeed. These are no exaggerated or imaginary
ideas.---This is reason, truth, fact---Human Nature.
The above simple remarks may convince us, that the same passions are
very different (in point of degree) in different persons. What
predominates in one, is counteracted and overpowered in another; and men
are happy or otherwise, as Hope or Fear happens to be the most powerful
passion.
Those to whom the important charge of education is committed, may
perhaps draw some useful inferences from the above observations. It is
much in their power (if calculated for the serious business) to
suppress, to a proper degree, any abstract passion of an unhappy
tendency, whether in itself or its consequences.
* * * * *
* * * *
THE VICTIM OF MAGICAL DELUSION;
_OR, INTERESTING MEMOIRS OF MIGUEL, DUKE DE CA*I*A._
Unfolding Many Curious Unknown Historical Facts.
_Translated from the German of Tschink._
(Continued from page 139)
“How am I to understand this?”
“You think this measure would be too harsh and violent, however it is
not a mere arbitrary artifice, but adapted to the situation in which the
Duke of Bra***za is at present. The minister of Sp**n is not ignorant of
the fermentations in Po****al, and suspecting the Duke to be the chief
source of them, his principal attention is directed to him.--But what
could Oliva*ez have attempted against him as yet? Open force would have
been fruitless, and not only forwarded the general revolt, but also
justified the actions of the Duke. He was therefore forced to have
recourse to art. At first he conferred the government of Mi*an upon the
Duke, in order to have an opportunity of getting him in his power;
however that keen-sighted nobleman declined that honour, pretending not
to have sufficient knowledge of the country to acquit himself honourably
of a trust of so much importance. Soon after the minister found another
opportunity of laying a new snare. The King of Sp**n having resolved to
chastise the rebellious Catal*nians in person, the Duke was very civilly
invited to accompany him in the field; but he begged to be excused,
alledging that this would be attended with great expences, and that his
finances were very low. However Oliva**z was not discouraged by this
refusal, and has lately made a third attempt. A rumour having been
spread all over the country, that a Fren*h fleet was approaching the
coasts of Po****al, probably with a view to make a descent, Oliva**z
conferred upon the Duke an almost unlimited power to make the requisite
preparations against the impending invasion, and particularly to review
all the ports, to fortify and to garrison them. Meanwhile the Sp**ish
Admiral, Don Lopez Oz**co had received secret orders to carry his fleet
to a port where the Duke should be, to invite him to review it, and when
he should have seized him, to sail with his prisoner to Sp**n. This plan
was however rendered abortive by a dreadful storm which dispersed the
fleet, and forced the Admiral to desist from his design of visiting the
Port****ze ports. No new attempt has been made since, and the minister
is silently hatching other artifices. Yet this calm is, without
comparison, more dreadful than all the attempts which have been made.
I know that he has an emissary in Por***al, who watches secretly every
step of the Duke,* whose liberty and life are in imminent danger. The
ruin of the head of the conspiracy would be a mortal blow to the whole
revolutionary society; even the imprisonment of the Duke would unnerve
the hands of the conspirators. If, therefore, the revolution is to take
place, the Duke must be secured against the secret machinations of the
minister; I say the _secret_ machinations, for if they should be carried
on publicly, as it has been the case as yet, his snares may easily be
evaded. For which reason it will be matter of great importance to
persuade the minister to carry on his attempts in the usual way, and to
effect this will be in your power. Nay, you yourself must frame and
direct the designs upon the Duke.”
[* This emissary will soon be introduced to the reader.]
“I fear,” said I to the Irishman, “you expect more from my feeble
exertions than I shall be able to perform.”
“Hear first my plan! You are to go, the day after tomorrow, to Oliva*ez,
and to inform him that you have received intelligence of the commotions
in Por***al--”
“Besides,” I interrupted him, “Oliva*ez has told me to-day that he has
received an account of these commotions from a certain Marchese Ricieri,
who is returned from his travels through Por***al.”
“So much the better!” he replied, without returning my inquisitive look,
or changing his countenance at the name of Ricieri, “so much the better!
then you have a prefacer to whose introduction you can link your
discourse. Tell, therefore, the minister, that the letter which you have
received from Por***al makes it very plain to you, why the Duke had
declined all the invitations which the court had given him. Oliva*ez
will request you to explain these words, and then you must reply, that
you suspect the Duke of Brag**za to avoid the neighbourhood of the
Court, because he is sensible he has deserved the resentment of the King
by his disloyalty. At the same time you must add, that you are very
sorry to be obliged to declare against so near a relation as the Duke;
that, however, the voice of your conscience has more weight with you
than that of consanguinity, and that your allegiance to the King of
Sp**n and your country, which has been reduced to the greatest distress
by the constant internal commotions, does not suffer you any longer to
regard as a friend, the man who was the chief cause of all these
troubles. Thus you will gain the confidence of the minister, and he will
ask you what measures for seizing the Duke you think would be most
proper and safe. Take hold of that opportunity to convince the minister
that, and for what reason, violent measures of any kind, would produce
the worst consequences. Approve of the means which the wisdom of his
policy has already adopted as the safest, by which the Duke ought to be
persecuted till no farther evasion should be left for him. Oliva*ez will
desire you to give him your opinion more at large, and then you must
address him to the following purpose:--‘I am of opinion that you ought
to inform the Duke of the misfortune which has befallen the fleet, and
to charge him, under the pretext that this had rendered the situation of
the empire very perilous, with the commission to inspect all the strong
places of the kingdom, and to fortify them where he shall think it
requisite. At the same time you will do well to order all the commanders
of the fortified towns to seize the Duke as secretly as possible. In
order to prevent any evasions under the pretext of want of money, you
must send him, at the same time, a sum sufficient for defraying the
expences of his journey.”
“But suppose,” said I, “this proposal should be accepted, how could the
Duke of Brag**za escape the snare?”
“Can we not apprize him of his danger? If he cannot find means to escape
the snare by dint of art, he must have recourse to open force, and call
to arms. Thus the revolution will begin, and our chief aim be attained.”
“One can predict,” the Irishman continued, “with some degree of
certainty, that Oliva*ez will not reject that proposal, which is nothing
but a continuation of his former plan, and of course, will flatter his
conceit. As soon as you shall have carried this point, you must
endeavour to effect the promulgation of the edict against the nobility;
which will be no difficult task, if you pretend to have been informed by
letters from Por***al, that the major part of the nobility is entirely
devoted to the Duke, and will support him if a revolt should break
out.--Hence you may draw the conclusion that the fermentation in
Por***al will never cease, and the wisest measures against him, though
ever so successful, will not have the desired effect, while the nobility
shall not be employed somewhere else, and forced to submit to the edict
by which they are ordered to enter into the service of Sp**n. I advise
you, at the same time, to add, that the indulgence which has been shewn
to those who have refused to obey the proclamation of the Court, will
render the nobility more daring, and the Duke of Brag**za more
dangerous. In short, you must exert every power of persuasion to incite
the minister to renew and to enforce that edict.”
After a short pause the Irishman added:--“This advice would appear
suspicious, if proposed by any other person but yourself. You have
gained, already, his confidence to such a degree, that it will derive
additional strength from your apparent zeal. And indeed every thing that
can contribute to remove all traces of suspicion from you concurs in
your person! The proposals which you are to make have not only the
appearance of destroying the design of the Duke and the conspirators,
but you have also been on your travels when they were fabricated, and of
course, cannot be suspected of having the least share in them. While you
have been here your time has been spent in amusements and diversions,
how could you, therefore, be supposed to have been capable of paying any
attention to deep laid intrigues of state? On the contrary, the minister
is no stranger to your father’s fidelity to the King of Sp**n, and to
the secret hatred which your family harbours against the Duke of
Brag**za; how could, therefore, your proposal appear to him otherwise
than natural and sincere? Your friendship for Velas*os alone would be
sufficient to make him believe so.”
“I need not remind you,” added the Irishman, when he was going to leave
me, “not to forget to interest the Secretary of State, Suma*ez, for your
transactions.”
“But suppose,” I replied, “I should acquit myself of my charge to your
satisfaction, how am I to conceal the matter from my father?”
The Irishman replied after a momentary consideration: “If the minister
should approve your proposals, you must request him frankly not to
mention any thing to the Marquis, pretending to intend to surprise him
in an agreeable manner, by an oral account, when the whole affair shall
be happily concluded.”
Before he took leave, he enjoined me to be circumspect, courageous, and
active.
I cannot say whether it was owing to the execution of this advice, to
the facility of the task, or to favourable accidents, that I carried my
point without difficulty. The minister approved my plan; the Duke of
B----a received the above mentioned order along with 40,000 ducats, and
the edict concerning the nobility was renewed. However, the Duke of
B----a again escaped the snare. He did, indeed, execute the orders of
the Sp***sh court, travelled all over P****l, and observed every where
how the people were devoted to him; the money he had received, and the
power that was entrusted to him, enabled him to gain many friends, and
he entered the fortified towns so well escorted, that none of the
Sp***sh governors dared seize him.
The Irishman who gave me this information, provided me at the same time
with instructions how to act if the minister should complain of the
miscarriage of my plan, which soon happened. Oliva*ez acquainted me very
peevishly, with the bad success of our undertaking. “We may yet carry
our point,” I replied, after some reflection, with seeming unconcern.
“If you wish to pursue your plan, you may easily lay a new snare for
him, from which the Duke will not be able to extricate himself. You have
the best opportunity of sending him an order to repair to Mad**d, and to
make to his Majesty an oral report of the state of Port**l.”
The minister approved of this advice, and carried it into execution
without delay. The Duke of B----a, who was well aware that the order
from the Sp***sh court could not be declined any longer, sent his
Chamberlain to Mad**d in order to hire a palace, to engage a number of
servants, and to make every preparation for his pretended arrival, but
nevertheless did not come. One time he pleaded ill health, at another
time want of money; and at last, wished to know what rank he was to hold
at Mad**d. However, I was so fortunate as to guide the minister in such
a manner that every obstacle was removed at last, and the Duke received
6000 ducats for defraying the expences of his journey.
“Now,” said the Irishman to me, “the Duke will find it impossible to
shift any longer, and either must repair to Mad**d, which he will take
care not to do, or give the signal for the revolution. Your business, my
Lord, is finished, and nothing further will be required of you than the
strictest secrecy. When your country will be free, we shall meet again,
and then you may expect to see all my promises accomplished.”
(_To be continued._)
* * * * *
* * * *