The Eulogies of Howard Part 1

The Eulogies of Howard.

by William Hayley.

It was my chance to be conversing with a Friend of the benevolent and indefatigable HOWARD, when our country was first afflicted with the public intelligence of his death. After our first expression of surprize and sorrow, we naturally fell into serious and affectionate reflections on the gentle character and sublime pursuits of the deceased. On these articles we had no difference of opinion; but in the course of our conversation a point arose, on which our sentiments were directly opposite, though we were equally sincere and ardent in our regret and veneration for the departed Worthy, to whom it related. I happened to speak of the public honours that, I hoped, a grateful, a generous, a magnificent Nation would render to his memory. My companion immediately exclaimed, "that every ostentatious memorial, to commemorate the virtues of his friend, would be inconsistent with the meekness and simplicity of the man; that all, who had the happiness of knowing HOWARD, must recollect with what genuine modesty he had ever retired from the enthusiastic admiration of those, who had hoped to gratify his ambition by undeserved applause; that he had really sought no reward but in the approbation of his conscience and his G.o.d; that the British Nation, however eminent for genius and munificence, could not devise any posthumous honours, or raise any monument, truly worthy of HOWARD, except in adopting and accomplishing those benevolent projects which his philanthropy and experience had recommended to public attention for the benefit of mankind."

I readily admitted the singular and unquestionable modesty of the deceased.--I allowed that the n.o.blest tribute of respect, which the world could render to so pure a spirit, would be to realize his ideas; but I contended, that other honours are still due to his name; that it is the duty and the interest of mankind to commemorate his character with the fondest veneration. I reminded my companion, that although we were sincerely convinced that no human mind, engaged in great designs, could be more truly modest than that of HOWARD; yet we had particular reason to recollect, that he was not insensible to praise. He had once imparted to us his feelings on that subject with a frank and tender simplicity, highly graceful in an upright and magnanimous being, conscious of no sentiment that he could wish to conceal. Indeed, a sincere and ardent pa.s.sion for virtue could hardly subsist with a disdain of true glory, which is nothing more than the proper testimony of intelligent and honed admiration to the existence of merit: nor is it reasonable to suppose that the fondest expressions of remembrance from a world, which he has served and enlightened, can be displeasing to the spirit of "a just man made perfect;" since we are taught by Religion, that the grat.i.tude of mankind is acceptable even to G.o.d. I endeavoured to convince my companion, that, as the Publick had seen in HOWARD a person who reflected more genuine honour on our country than any of her Philosophers, her Poets, her Orators, her Heroes, or Divines, it is inc.u.mbent on the Nation to consult her own glory by commemorating, in the fullest manner, his beneficent exertions, and by establishing the dignity of his unrivaled virtue.

My arguments, and my zeal, made some impression on the mind of my antagonist; and sunk so deeply into my own, that on my retiring to rest they gave rise to the following vision.

I was suddenly transported to the confines of a region, which astonished me by its loveliness and extent; it was called, The Paradise of true Glory. As I approached the entrance, my eyes were delightfully fascinated by two beings of human form, who presided over the portal.

Their names were Genius and Sensibility:--it was their office to gratify with a view of this Paradise every mortal that revered them sincerely; and to reject only such intruders as presumed to treat either the one or the other with the insolence of disdain, or the coldness of contempt: an incident that I should have thought impossible, from the transcendent beauty which is visible in each; but, to my surprize, they informed me it very frequently happened.

As I readily paid them the unsuspected homage of my soul, I was graciously permitted to pa.s.s the gate.--Immediately as I entered, I was saluted with a seraphic smile, by two benignant and inseparable Spirits: these were Grat.i.tude and Admiration, the joint rulers of the dominion--"You are welcome," said the first, in a tone of angelic tenderness--"You are welcome to a scene utterly new to your senses, and in harmony with your heart: you delight in the praises of the deserving: and you are now wafted to a spot, where those who have merited highly of mankind are praised in proportion to their desert, and where the praise of exalted merit is fondly listened to by an extensive human audience, here purified by our supernatural agency from all the low and little jealousies of the earth."

I had hardly answered this pleasing information by a grateful obeisance to my radiant informer, when I perceived, in a gorgeous prospect that now opened before us, three structures of stupendous size and superior magnificence. The first was situated in a grove of olives, and appeared to me like an ancient temple of Attica, remarkable for ma.s.sive strength, and a sober dignity--the second was less solid, but richer in decoration; and seemed to be almost surrounded by every tree and plant on which Nature has bestowed any salutary virtue: the third was shaded only by palms; the form of it was so wonderfully grand and aweful, that it struck me as a sanctuary for every pure and devout spirit from all the nations of the globe.

"These structures, that you survey with astonishment," said one of my benevolent conductors, "are devoted to what you mortals denominate the three liberal professions, Law, Medicine, and Theology. Whoever has a claim to distinguished honour from any one of the three, has a just encomium p.r.o.nounced upon his services by the temporary President of that particular fabrick, in which he is ent.i.tled to such grateful remembrance." "Alas!" I replied, with a murmur that I could not suppress, "the Man whose well-deserved praises I most anxiously expected to hear in this region, belonged not to any one of these eminent cla.s.ses in human life--he had no profession but that of Humanity."

"Be patient," said the sweetest of my aetherial guides, with a rebuke that was softened by a smile of indulgence! "Let not your zeal for the honour of an individual, however meritorious, make you unjust, or insensible, to the merit of others! a.s.sume the temper of this region, where praise is distributed by equity and affection, but where prejudice and partiality are not allowed to intrude!--Let us advance," continued my monitor, with an encouraging movement of her hand; "it is time that I should lead you to the nearest a.s.sembly."

I obeyed with reverential silence; and as I pa.s.sed the vestibule of the majestic edifice, my heart panted with an aweful expectation of beholding the shades of Solon, Lycurgus, and other departed Legislators, from the various nations of the world. I was chearfully surprized by a very different spectacle.

The capacious structure was filled with a concourse of living mortals, lively, yet respectable in their appearance, evidently belonging to many countries; but all, as I perceived by their habits, connected with the Law. Throughout all the mult.i.tude I heard no sound of dissention or debate: but over all there reigned an air of intelligence and sympathy, while all were hushed in silent expectance, and eager attention, with their eyes directed to an elevated tribunal:--On this a personage was sitting, whose majestic figure I immediately recollected. His countenance is marked with that austerity and grandeur, which are the external characteristicks of Law herself. His heart, as those who know it ultimately declare, expresses the tender and beneficent influence of that Power, who is the acknowledged parent of security and comfort. With a voice that pervaded the most distant recesses of the extensive dome, and in tones that sunk deep into the bosom of every auditor, he p.r.o.nounced the following oration:

"After pa.s.sing many years of life in the painful investigation of human offences, it is with peculiar satisfaction that I find myself commissioned to commemorate, in this a.s.sembly, a character of virtue without example--a character, at once so meek and so sublime, that, if a feeling spirit had been poisoned with misanthropy from too close a contemplation of mortal crimes, this character alone might serve as an antidote to the word of mental distempers, and awaken the most callous and sarcastic mind to confess the dignity of our Nature, and the beneficence of our G.o.d. In stating to you the merits of HOWARD, I might expatiate with delight on the various qualities of this incomparable man; I might trace his progress through the different periods of a life always singular and always instructive. I could not be checked by any fear of overstepping the modesty of Truth in the celebration of Virtue, so solid and so extensive, that the malevolence of Envy could not diminish its weight, the fondness of Enthusiasm could not amplify its effects. But I must not forget that there are professional limits to my discourse. It is inc.u.mbent on me to confine myself to a single object, and to dwell only on those public services, that peculiarly endear the name of Howard to the liberal and enlightened community in which I have the honour to preside.

"It was in the capacity of a Minister to Justice, that the pure spirit, whom it is my glory to praise, first conceived the idea of those unrivaled labours that have rendered his memory a treasure to mankind.

In discharging a temporary office, that exposed to him the condition of criminals, he was led to meditate on the evils which had grievously contaminated the operations of Justice. He perceived that Law herself, like one of her most ill.u.s.trious Delegates (I mean the immortal Bacon), was grossly injured by the secret and sordid enormities of her menial servants: that Captivity and Coercion, those necessary supporters of her power, instead of producing good, often gave birth to mischiefs more flagrant, and more fatal, than those which they were employed to correct. He found, even in the prisons of his own humane and enlightened country, an acc.u.mulation of the most hideous abuses: he found them not nurseries of penitence and amendment, but schools of vice and impiety; or dens of filth, famine, and disease: not the seats of just and salutary correction and punishment, but the strong holds of cruelty and extortion. The irons of the prisoner, which he only beheld, entered into his soul, and awakened unextinguishable energy in a spirit, of which companion and fort.i.tude were the divine characteristicks. In the n.o.ble emotions of pity for the oppressed, and of zeal for the honour and interest of civilized society, he conceived perhaps the sublimest design that ever occupied and exalted the mind of man, the design to search and to purify the polluted stream of Penal Justice, not only throughout his own country, but through the various nations of the world. How low, how little, are the grandest enterprizes of Heroic Ambition, when compared with this magnanimous pursuit! How frivolous and vain are the highest aims of Fancy and Science, when contrasted with a purpose so beneficently great! But, marvellous as the magnitude of HOWARD'S enterprise appears, on the slightest view that magnitude becomes doubly striking, when we contemplate at the same time the many circ.u.mstances that might either allure or deter him from the prosecution of his idea.

Consider him as a private gentleman, possessed of ease and independence, accustomed to employ and amuse his mind in retired study and philosophical speculation; arrived at that period of life, when the springs of activity and enterprize in the human frame have begun to lose their force! consider that his health, even in youth, had appeared unequal to common fatigue! his stature low! his deportment humble! his voice almost effeminate! Such was the wonderful being, who relinquished the retirement, the tranquillity, the comforts, that he loved and enjoyed, to embark in labours at which the most hardy might tremble; to plunge in perils from which the most resolute might recede without a diminution of honour. Under all these apparent disadvantages, unsummoned, unauthorized by any Prince, unexcited by any popular invitation, he resolved to investigate all the abuses of imprisonment; to visit the abodes of wretchedness and infection; and to prove himself the friend of the friendless, in every country that the limits of his advanced life would allow him to examine. Against such an enterprize, projected by such an individual, what forcible arguments might be urged, not only by every selfish pa.s.sion, but even by that prudence, and that reason, which are allowed to regulate an elevated mind! How plausibly did Friendship exclaim to Howard, 'Your projects are unquestionably n.o.ble; but they are above the execution of any individual: you are unarmed with authority; you have the wish to do great good, but the power of doing little! Consider the probable issue of the undertaking!--You will see a few hapless wretches, and tell their condition to the inattentive world; perhaps perish yourself from contagion, before you have time to tell it; and leave your afflicted friends to lament your untimely fate, and the ungrateful Publick to deride your temerity!' What force of intellect, what dignity of soul were required to prevent a mortal from yielding to remonstrances so engaging! The divine energy of Genius and of Virtue enabled HOWARD to foresee, that the sanct.i.ty of his pursuit would supply him with strength and powers far superior to all human authority:--His piercing mind comprehended that there are enormities of such a nature, that to survey and to reveal them is to effect their correction.--He felt that his sincere compa.s.sion for the oppressed, and his ardent desire to promote perfect justice, would serve him as a perpetual antidote against the poison of fear.--He felt that in the darkness of dungeons he should want no a.s.sociates, no guards to defend him against the outrages of detected extortion, or suspicious brutality.--He felt, that as his purpose was heavenly, the powers of Heaven would be displayed in his support; that iniquity and oppression would not dare to lift a hand against him, though they knew it was the business of his life to annihilate their sway in their most secret dominion. How admirably did the progress of his travels evince and justify the pure and enlightened confidence of his spirit! All dangers, all difficulties, vanish before his gentleness, his regularity, his perseverance. Insolence and ferocity seem to turn, at his approach, into docility and respect. Every hardship he endures, every step he advances, in his wide and laborious career of Beneficence, instead of impairing his strength, invigorates his frame; instead of diminishing his influence, increases the utility of his conduct, by making the world acquainted with the sanct.i.ty of his character. Witness, ye various regions of the earth! with what surprize, delight, and veneration, ye beheld an unarmed, and una.s.suming traveller instructing you in the sublime science of mitigating human misery, and giving you a matchless example of tenderness and magnanimity! O, England! thou generous country! ever enamoured of glory, contemplate in this, the most perfect of thy ill.u.s.trious sons; contemplate those virtues, and that honour, in which thy parental spirit may most happily exult!--What spectacle can be more flattering to thy native, thy honest pride, than to behold the proudest potentates of distant nations listening with pleasure to a private Englishman; and learning, from his researches, how to relieve the most injured of their subjects! how to abolish the enormities of perverted Justice! To form a complete account of the good arising to the world from the life and labours of Howard, would be a task beyond the limits of any human mind: an exact statement of the benefits he has conferred upon society, could be rendered only by the attendant Spirit whom Providence commissioned to watch over him, and who might discern, by the powers of supernatural vision, what pregnant sources of public calamity he crushed in the seed, and what future virtues, in various individuals, he may draw into the service of mankind by the attraction of his example.

"Of good, more immediately visible, which his exertions produced, there is abundant evidence in his own country. In the wide circle of his foreign excursion, what nation, what city, does not bear some conspicuous traces of his intrepid and indefatigable beneficence! Of the astonishing length to which his zeal and perseverance extended, we have the most ingenuous and satisfactory narration in those singularly meritorious volumes which he has given to the world. In these we behold the minute detail of labours to which there is nothing similar, or second, in the history of public virtue; and for which there could be no adequate reward but in the beat.i.tude of Heaven. An eloquent Enthusiast, whose genius was nearly allied to frenzy, has expressed a desire to present himself before the tribunal of the Almighty Judge, with a volume in his hand, in which he had recorded his own thoughts and actions: if such an idea could be suitable to the littleness of man, if it could become any mortal of faculties so limited to make such an offering to the great Fountain of all intelligence, that mortal must a.s.suredly be Howard: for where could we find another individual, not professedly inspired, who might present to his Maker a record of labours so eminently directed by Piety and Virtue! a book, addressed to mankind, without insulting their weakness, or flattering their pa.s.sions! a book, whose great object was to benefit the world, without seeking from it any kind of reward! a book, in which the genuine modesty of the Writer is equal to his unexampled beneficence! The mind of Howard was singularly and sublimely free from the common and dangerous pa.s.sion for applause: that pa.s.sion which, though taken altogether, it is certainly beneficial to the interests of mankind, yet frequently communicates inquietude and unsteadiness to the pursuits of Genius and Virtue. As human praise was never the object of his ambition, so he has n.o.bly soared above it. There appear, in different ages upon the Earth, certain elevated spirits, who, by the sublimity of their conceptions, and the magnanimity of their conduct, attain a degree of glory which can never be reached by the keenest followers of Fame--They seek not panegyricks; and panegyricks can add nothing to their honour. The Eulogies have perished which were devoted by the luxuriant genius of Tully, and by the laconic spirit of Brutus, to the public virtue of Cato; yet the name of that ill.u.s.trious Roman is still powerful in the world, and excites in every cultivated mind, an animating idea of independent integrity. The name of Howard has superior force, and a happier effect. It is a sound, at which the strings of humanity will vibrate with exultation in many millions of hearts. Through the various nations that he visited, the mere echo of his name will be sufficient to awaken that n.o.blest sensibility, which at once softens and elevates the soul. Every warm hearted and worthy individual who mentions Howard will glow with an honest, a generous satisfaction, in feeling himself the fellow-creature of such a man.

Wherever the elegant arts are established, they will contend in raising memorials to his honour. Indeed, the globe itself may be considered as his Mausoleum; and the inhabitants of every prison it contains, as groups of living statues that commemorate his virtue. There is no cla.s.s of mankind by whom his memory ought not to be cherished, because all are interested in those evils (so pernicious to society! so dangerous to life!) which he was ever labouring to lessen or exterminate. It might be wished, that different communities should separately devise some different tribute of respect to him whose character and conduct is so interesting to all: not for the sake of multiplying vain and useless offerings to the dead, but to impress with more energy and extent his enn.o.bling remembrance on the heart and soul of the living. It is hardly possible to present too frequently to the human mind the image of a man who lived only to do good. I mean not merely such a resemblance of his form as Art may execute with materials almost as perishable as the image of human clay, but such an impression of his soul as may have a more lasting influence on the life and conduct of his admirers, such as, diffusing among them a portion of his spirit, may in some measure perpetuate his existence.

"By this community, I am confident, such public honours will be paid to HOWARD, as may be most suitable to the peculiar interest which it becomes us to take in his glory. What these honours shall be is a point to be settled by this liberal and enlightened a.s.sembly, which a.s.suredly will not fail to remember that he suggested to Legal Authority her omissions and defects with the modest and endearing tenderness of a Friend; that he laboured in the service of Justice with that intelligence, fort.i.tude, and zeal, which her votaries cannot too warmly admire, or too gratefully acknowledge."

The President arose as he thus ended his speech; and the members of the a.s.sembly seemed beginning to confer among themselves; but what debates ensued, or what measure was adopted, I am unable to tell, as my visionary Guides immediately hurried me to the adjoining Temple.

This second structure, though less extensive and less solid than the first, was more attractive to the eye, as it abounded with scientifical and diversified decorations. The a.s.sembly consisted of men, who appeared to me equally remarkable for keenness of intellect and elegance of manners. The seat of pre eminence among them was filled by a person who possessed in a very uncommon degree these two valuable qualities, so happily conducive to medical utility and medical distinction. Though left a young orphan, without patrimony, and obliged to struggle with early disadvantages, he raised himself by meritorious exertion to the head of a profession in which opulence is generally the just attendant on knowledge and reputation. But neither opulence, nor his long intercourse with sickness and death, have hardened the native tenderness of his heart; and I had lately known him shed tears of regret on the untimely fate of an amiable patient, whom his consummate skill and attention were unable to save.

Thus strongly prepossessed in his favour, I was delighted to observe that he was preparing to address the a.s.sembly in the moment we entered.

My celestial Guides smiled on each other in perceiving my satisfaction; and being placed by them instantaneously in a commodious situation, I heard the following discourse; which the character I have described delivered with an ease and refined acuteness peculiar to himself, never raising his voice above the pitch of polite and spirited conversation:

"I am persuaded, that every individual to whom I have now the happiness of speaking, will readily agree with me in this sentiment, that we cannot possibly do ourselves more honour as a Fraternity than by considering HOWARD as an a.s.sociate: a.s.suredly, there is no cla.s.s of men who may more justly presume to cherish his name and character with a fraternal affection. In proportion as we are accustomed to contemplate, to pity, and to counteract, the sufferings of Nature, the more are we enabled and inclined to estimate, to love, and to revere, a being so compa.s.sionate and beneficent. If Physicians are, what I once heard them called by a lively friend, the Soldiers of Humanity, engaged in a perpetual, and too often, alas! unsuccessful conflict against the enemies of life; HOWARD is not only ent.i.tled to high rank in our corps, but he is the very Caesar of this hard, this perilous, and, let me add, this most honourable warfare. Perhaps the ambition of the great Roman Commander, insatiate and sanguinary as it was, did not contribute more to the torment and destruction of the human race, than the charity of the English Philanthropist has contributed to its relief and preservation. Of this we are very certain, the splendid and indefatigable Hero of Slaughter and Vain-glory did not traverse a more extensive field, nor expose himself more courageously to personal danger, than our meek and unostentatious Hero of Medical Benevolence. In point of true magnanimity, I apprehend the spirit of Caesar would very willingly confess, that his own celebrated attempts to reduce Gaul and Britain were low and little achievements, when compared to the unexampled efforts by which Howard endeavoured to exterminate or subdue (those enemies more terrific) the Gaol Fever, and the Plague.

"But leaving it to more able and eloquent panegyrists to celebrate the originality, the boldness, and all the various merit of his philanthropic exertions, I shall confine myself to a few remarks, and chiefly professional ones, on his invaluable character. It appears to me highly worthy of observation, that Howard, before he entered on his grand projects of Public Benevolence, was subject to those little, but depressive variations of health which have betrayed many a valetudinarian into habits of inaction and inutility. Happily for himself, and for mankind, this excellent person surmounted a const.i.tutional bias to indolence and retirement. The consequence sequence was, he became a singular example of activity and vigour. His powers, and enjoyments of bodily and mental health, augmented in proportion to the extensive utility of his pursuits.

"Beneficial as his life has been to the world, his memory may be still more so. It may prove a perpetual blessing to mankind, if it dissipates, as it ought to do, a weak and common prejudice, which often operates as a palsy upon the first idea of a great and generous undertaking. The prejudice I mean is a hasty persuasion, frequently found in the most amiable minds, that some peculiar strength of nerve, some rare mechanism of frame, and extraordinary a.s.semblage of mental powers, are absolutely requisite for the execution of any n.o.ble design. How greatly does it redound to the true glory of Howard to have given in his successful labours the fullest refutation of a prejudice, so inimical to the interest and the honour of human-nature! a prejudice, by whose influence, to use the words of our great Poet,

"--The native hue of Resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of Fear, And enterprizes of great pith and moment, With this regard, their currents turn awry And lose the name of action."

"The life and character of Howard, if they are justly considered, may not only annihilate this pernicious prejudice, but tend to establish an opposite and consolatory truth. His example may shew us, that some degrees of bodily weakness and mental depression may be most happily cured by active exertion in the service of mankind. Perhaps there never existed a more striking proof how far a n.o.ble impulse, communicated to the mind by a project of extensive Benevolence, may invigorate a frame not equal in health, strength, and stature, to the common standard of men. It is a prudential maxim of the celebrated Raleigh, that 'Whosoever will live altogether out of himself, and study other men's humours, shall never be unfortunate;' a maxim, which the example of Howard might almost teach us to convert into a medical aphorism by saying, 'Whosoever will live altogether out of himself, and consult other men's wants, and calamities, shall never be unhealthy.' It is delightful to those, who detest the debasing tenets of a selfish philosophy, to see the happy influence of opposite ideas; to observe (what Physicians have frequent opportunities of observing), that as a selfish turn of mind often attracts and encreases the malignity of sickness, so an unselfish, a compa.s.sionate spirit has a natural tendency to escape or subdue it. What can be more pleasing to those, who a.s.sert and esteem the dignity of human-nature, than to see, that the having lost all thoughts of self, and having acted in direct opposition to selfish principles, has promoted even the personal advantage of a generous individual? From such a series of philanthropic labour and peril, as a selfish and timid mind might esteem it frenzy to encounter, Howard derived not only his unrivalled and immortal reputation, but the perfect restoration of enfeebled health; not to mention those high gratifications of the heart and conscience, which are superior to all the enjoyments both of health and glory. With such temperance in diet, that his daily food would appear to most people not sufficient to support the common functions of life, he chearfully sustained the hardships of long travel, through regions where travelling is most difficult and dangerous. With a figure, voice, and deportment, that seemed to preclude him from all personal influence and authority; and with no mental acquisitions, except those which are common to every cultivated mind, he secured to himself not only universal admiration, but, I may venture to say, the just and moral idolatry of the world. So invigorating are projects of extensive Beneficence! so powerful is the energy of Public Virtue!

"Never, indeed, was the astonishing influence of plain and simple goodness more strikingly displayed, than in the deference and respect which this private and meek individual received, not only from foreign and imperious Rulers of the Earth, but from hardened and atrocious wretches, on whom Justice herself could hardly make any mental impression, though armed with all the splendour, and all the violence of power. Two particular examples of the influence I am speaking of, I shall mention here, not only as honourable to the prime object of our regard, but as they may suggest to contemplative minds some useful ideas, by shewing how far the mere weight of an upright and benevolent character alone may give to the most callous nerves a trembling sensibility, and awaken the most ferocious spirit to self-correction.

"When our indefatigable Visitor of prisons was in Russia, he beheld, in public, the punishment of the knoot severely administered by a strong and stern executioner.

"On the following day he waited on this man, to request from him various information. The executioner attended him obsequiously; but this athletic savage, though trained to acts of cruelty, and conscious he had a legal sanction for the barbarous violence he had exerted, could not behold without shuddering the meek and gentle Missionary of Compa.s.sion.

"The second and more memorable example of his singular influence occurred in a prison of his own country, and relates to an outrageous female delinquent. A corrupt and ferocious woman is, perhaps, the most intractable fiend that human benevolence can attempt to reform; but even this difficulty the mild and powerful character of HOWARD accomplished.

"In one of our Western gaols, he found an unhappy female loaded with heavy irons: on his appearance she entreated him to obtain for her the removal of these galling fetters. Upon enquiry, he found that many endeavours had been made to keep this turbulent offender in proper subjection without the severity of chains; but, after repeated promises of amendment on milder treatment, she had obliged the keeper to have recourse to this extreme by relapsing into the most flagrant and insufferable contempt of decency and order. Upon this information, HOWARD said mildly to the unhappy criminal, 'I wish to relieve you, but you put it out of my power; for I should lose all the little credit I have, if I exerted it for offenders so hardened and so turbulent.' 'I know,' replied the intractable delinquent, 'I know that I have a proud and rebellious spirit; but if I give a promise to so good a man as you are, I can and I will command it.' On this firm a.s.surance of reformation, the benevolent HOWARD became a kind of surety for her future peaceable conduct on the removal of her irons; and he had the inexpressible delight to find, on his next visit to the prisoners of this gaol, that the outrageous and ungovernable culprit, for whom he had ventured to answer, was become the most orderly among them.

"I could wish, for the moral interest of mankind, that it were possible to obtain a minute account of the services rendered to the calamitous spirit of many a forsaken individual by the singular charity of HOWARD.

What could be more instructive than to observe how his Beneficence encreased by its exertion and success; while his desire of befriending the wretched became, as it were, the vital spirit that gave strength and duration to his own existence!

"If we contemplate with pleasure the singular re-establishment of bodily health, which HOWARD derived from his active philanthropy; it may be still more pleasing to recollect, that it also afforded him an efficacious medicine for an afflicted mind. Perhaps it was to shew the full efficacy of this virtue in all its l.u.s.tre, that Heaven allotted to this excellent personage a domestic calamity, which appears (to borrow an expression from a great writer) 'of an unconscionable size to human strength.'

"That capricious and detestable spirit of Detraction, which on Earth never fails to persecute superior Virtue, has not scrupled to a.s.sert that the affliction, to which I allude, was the mere consequence of paternal austerity. The Earth itself, though frequently accused of being eager to receive ideas that may abase the eminent, could hardly admit a calumny so groundless and irrational. In this purer spot it is utterly needless to prove the innocence of an exalted being, to whom we are only solicitous to pay that sincere tribute of praise and veneration which we are conscious he deserves. In truth, this admirable Character seemed to ill.u.s.trate the philosophical maxim, that mildness is the proper companion of true magnanimity. He had a gentleness of manners, that was peculiar to himself; and, instead of possessing such imperious severity of spirit as might produce the calamity I allude to, he was really endued with such native tenderness of heart as must have sunk under it, had he not found in the unexampled services that he rendered to the world, an antidote to the poison of domestic infelicity. It is among the most gracious ordinances of Providence, that man is sure to find the most powerful relief for his own particular afflictions, in his endeavours to alleviate the sufferings of others. And permit me to add, it is this beneficent law of our nature, that gives a peculiar charm and dignity to the Medical Profession; a profession singularly endeared to the affectionate HOWARD! not only as its compa.s.sionate and active spirit was the guide of his pursuits, but as one of its prime ornaments was his favourite a.s.sociate and his bosom-friend. If different cla.s.ses of men are to vie with each other, as it may certainly become them to do, in rendering various honours to this their matchless Benefactor; I hope we shall display, with the most affectionate spirit, the deep interest that we ought to take in his glory. I think it very desirable that every Physician should possess a Medal of HOWARD, not only to shew his veneration for the great Philanthropist, but to derive personal advantage from such a mental Amulet, if I may hazard the expression.

Most of us, in the exercise of Medicine, feel at particular moments that our spirits are too sensibly affected by the objects we survey; that scenes of misery and infection depress and alarm: at such a time how might it rekindle the energy of our minds to contemplate a little effigy of HOWARD! to recollect, that all the trouble and danger that we encounter, in the practice of a lucrative profession, are trifling in the extreme, when compared to the labour and the peril, which this wonderful man most willingly took upon himself, without looking forward to any reward but the approbation of Heaven!

"I mention not a Medal as a new idea--it has been already in contemplation; and a motto for it suggested, which applies with such singular force and propriety to the person whom it is designed to commemorate, that perhaps the wide range of cla.s.sical literature could not afford another pa.s.sage so strikingly apposite to a character so extraordinary--

"Stupuere patres tentamina tanta, Conatusque tuos: pro te Reus ipse timebat."--

"I must confess, however, that I wish for another, which may seem to bind him more closely to us in a medical point of view. But it is time to leave the different members of our Fraternity at full liberty to propose any marks of distinction that they wish to suggest.--It is sufficient for me to have reminded you of a truth, which I am confident we all equally feel, that, while we justly consider ourselves as students in the extensive school of Humanity, it becomes us to look up to HOWARD, with a laudable veneration, as the Prince and Patron of our Order."

On the conclusion of this discourse, my Guides immediately conducted me, with their former celerity and kindness, to the only remaining Structure. It was the most extensive, and, from the hallowed majesty of its appearance, the most admirable of the three. In approaching it, I paused a moment in aweful surprise at the solemnity of the fabrick: the most lovely and communicative of my two aetherial conductors smiled upon me, and said, "You will find here Ministers of G.o.d from every Christian country; but only those who consider Evangelical Charity as the essence of true Religion, and who are disposed to honour, in the favourite object of your veneration, the most signal example of that virtue, which the present age has beheld." "I hope then," I eagerly replied, "I shall have the delight of hearing, on this occasion, the most eloquent of our English Bishops." On this exclamation, my kind informer regarded me with that lively and soothing air with which intelligent Benevolence corrects mistaken simplicity, and thus continued to instruct me with united vivacity and tenderness.

"Earthly distinctions, you know, are of little moment in the sight of Heaven. You will hear no Prelate; and perhaps you may feel surprised and indignant, when you observe how very few of your Mitred Countrymen are to be seen in this a.s.sembly; but you will not retain in this hallowed spot that most common of human infirmities, a tendency to censure or to suspicion. You will recollect that this Convocation contains only those charitable men, who are peculiarly disposed to honour your recent model of this Christian virtue. Other good men may exist, who, from motives of innocent mistake, or of mere inadvertency, may fail to exhibit that animated regard to his exemplary character, which a.s.suredly it has merited from all men, and which the Ministers of Religion may most properly display.

"One of these," continued my Director, "you are now going to hear; not, indeed, a Dignitary of your Church, yet a Divine of Talents, Learning, and Charity. He was led, by a laudable warmth of heart, to suggest to your Country the first idea of paying a public tribute of veneration to the signal virtue of Howard; and has acquired from this circ.u.mstance a t.i.tle to commemorate here the merit, to which he was eager to render such early justice on earth. But it is time for us to attend him."

We immediately entered the temple; and I beheld an Ecclesiastic rising at that moment to address a very numerous a.s.sembly of his order, that seemed to contain Christians of every sect, and Ministers of every degree. The person preparing to speak was distinguished by a majestic comeliness of person, though he appeared to have pa.s.sed the middle age of life; and with a powerful elocution he delivered the following discourse.

"The Righteous are bold as a Lion."

Proverbs, chap, xxviii, ver. i.

"In these few words, my brethren, we have a pa.s.sage of Scripture, that served as a favourite maxim, or leading truth, to the admirable personage whose glorious qualities it is now both my duty and my delight to recall to your remembrance. The words, indeed, are so consonant to that exalted spirit which his life displayed, that they almost appear to me an epitome of his character. Let us consider Courage as one of his princ.i.p.al endowments! To contemplate so pure and resolute a being in this point of view, may lead us to form just ideas on the true nature of this primary virtue, on the sacred source from whence it should proceed, and the sublime end to which it should aspire. How large a portion of folly, vice, and wickedness, have arisen from mere mistakes concerning this most important of human qualities! so important, that the real dignity of man can only rise in proportion as this virtue is perfectly understood, and properly cherished! In the same proportion, let me add, our courageous Philanthropist will be found ent.i.tled to the praise of every upright mind, to the homage of every feeling heart.

"If we take the word Courage" in the most common and simple sense of that term, as a generous and n.o.ble contempt of personal hardship and danger; who has given more numerous or more striking examples of such brave contempt! Or if we follow the definition of Courage given us by a profound, an eloquent, and philanthropic Writer, namely, that it is a just estimate of our own powers; who is there among the most signal Benefactors of mankind, not professedly inspired, that ever formed an estimate of what he might achieve in the most glorious field of enterprize, at once so difficult, and so true, so humble, and so grand.

"With every apparent disadvantage, Howard conceived it possible that his endeavours might correct the abuses, and mitigate the sufferings of men, in various nations of the world. Whence happened it, that a mortal, so visibly weak and gentle, shrunk not from an idea so pregnant with difficulty and peril! It was because, 'The Righteous are bold as a Lion.' It was because he felt the strongest internal conviction of this animating truth, that, while Heaven blesses a man with health sufficient to pursue a benevolent and magnanimous design, the vigour of his mind, and most probably his powers of doing good, will be proportioned to the firmness of his faith, and the sincerity of his virtue.

"Many achievements of beneficent Courage have undoubtedly been accomplished by men influenced by no motive but that generous love of glory which is so frequently the predominant pa.s.sion of an active and ardent mind: but the virtues that arise from this source are as unsteady, and as precarious, as the reward they pursue. He who acts only as a candidate for the applause of mankind, will find his spirit vary with all the variations in the ever-changing atmosphere of popular opinion. He will be subject to hot and cold fits of action and inactivity, of confidence and distrust, in proportion as the illusive vapour, that he follows, may either sparkle or fade before him. Hence proceeded much of that inconsistency and weakness, which appear in some of the most enlightened, and exalted characters of the Pagan world.--Wanting a purer light from Heaven, the most radiant spirits of antiquity were bewildered; one in particular, the mildest and most undaunted of antient Worthies, who had a sufficient portion of heroic philanthropy to prefer the benefit of mankind to every selfish consideration, had yet his hours of diffidence and despondency. On a final review of his own generous labours, he is supposed to have questioned the very existence of Virtue, though he had made it the idol of his life; a striking proof, that the temperate and invariable energy of soul, which alone perhaps deserves the name of true Courage, can only proceed from a fuller knowledge and love of G.o.d; from the animating a.s.surance, that, however we may prosper or fail in the earthly success of our endeavours to do good, the merit of the attempt is registered in Heaven; and we secure to ourselves the everlasting approbation of our Almighty Parent, in proportion as we approach towards that blessed model of Perfect Benevolence, who has taught us, by his divine example, to compa.s.sionate and to relieve the sufferings of the wretched. From this source flowed the courageous beneficence of HOWARD: and how delightful it is to observe that the force, the extent, the utility, and the l.u.s.tre of the stream, has gloriously corresponded to the height and purity of the fountain!

"The Sensualist and the Sceptic may, indeed, deride the conduct of a man, who sacrificed all the common pleasures of life, and sought for no recompence but in the favour of Heaven. It may be said that an illusive fervor of mind has hurried men, in all periods of the world, into singular and wild exertions, which excite the wonder of the pa.s.sing hour, and are afterwards either deservedly forgotten, or only recalled to notice by Reason and Philosophy, to caution the restless and impetuous spirit of man against all similar excesses.