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Et fine, diffinire Musae
Exigua breviore gyro.

Origo rerum et terminis omnium,
Origo, fons et principium sui,
Suique finis, terminusque ;
Principio sine terminoque..

Ubique Totus; tempore in omnibus Omni quiescens ipse Deus locis, Partes in omnes distributus, Integer usque manens ubique.

Nec comprehensum ullis regionibus,
Ullisve clausum limitibus loca
Tenent, sed omnis liber omne
Diditus in spatium vagatur.

Illius alta est velle potentia,
Opus voluntas invariabilis,
Et magnus absque est quantitate,
Atque bonus sine qualitate.

Quod dicit, uno tempore perficit; Mirere fiat vox, vel opus prius ; Cum dixit, en, cum voce cuncta Universa simul creata.

Cuncta intuetur, perspicit omnia,
Atque in sua unus, solus est omnia
Quæ sunt, fuerunt et futura;
Prævidet ipse perennitate.

Atque ipse plenus, cuncta replet sui,
Et semper idem. Sustinet omnia,
Et fert, monetque amplectiturque,
Atque supercilio gubernat.

TE, te oro; tandem respice me bonus,
Tibique nodo junge adamantino;
Id namque solum, unumque, et omne
Reddere quod potis beatos.

Quicunque junxit se tibi, et altius Uni adhærescit, continet omnia. Ipsumque te, qui sis futurus Omnibus omnia sub ministras.

Laboriosis tu vigor inclytus Tu portus alto naufragantibus; Tu fons perennis perstrepentis Qui latices salientis ardet.

Tu summa nostris pectoribus quies Tranquillitasque et pax placidissima ; Tu mensus es rerum modusque, Tu species et amata forma.

Tu meta, pondus, tu numerus, decor; Tuque ordo, tu pax atque honor, atque

amor,

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FAINT-gazing on the burning orb of day,
When Africk's injur'd son expiring lay,
His forehead cold, his labouring bosom bare,
His dewy temples, and his sable hair,
His poor companions kiss'd, and cry'd aloud,
Rejoicing, whilst his head in peace he bow'd :-

"Now thy long, long task is done,
Swiftly, brother, wit thou run,
Ere to-morrow's golden beam
Glitter on thy parent stream,
Swiftly the delights to share,

The feast of joy which waits thee there
Swiftly, brother, wilt thou ride

O'er the long and stormy tide,
Fleeter than the hurricane,
'Till thou view those scenes again,
Where thy father's hat was rear'd,
Where thy mother's voice was heard
Where thy infant brothers play'd
Beneath the fragrant citron shade;
Where through green savannahs wide
Cooling rivers silent glide,
Or the shrill sigarras sing
Ceaseless to their murmuring;
Where the dance, the festive song,

Of many a friend divided long,

Doom'd through stranger lands to roam,
Shall bid thy spirit welcome home!

"Fearless o'er the foaming tide
Again thy light canoe shall ride;
Fearless on the embattled plain
Thou shalt lift thy lance again;
Or, starting at the call of morn,
Wake the wild woods with thy horn;
Or, rushing down the mountain-slope,
O'ertake the nimble antelope;

Or lead the dance, 'mid blissful bands,
On cool Andracte's yellow sands;
Or. in th' embow'ring orange grove,
Tell to thy long-forsaken love

The wounds, the agony severe,
Thy patient spirit suffer'd here!

"Fear not now the tyrant's powerPast is his insulting hourMark no more the sullen trait 'On slavery's brow of scorn and hate; Hear no more the long sigh borne Murmuring on the gales of morn!

"Go in peace-yet we remain Far distant, toiling on in pain; Ere the great Sun fire the skies To our work of woe we rise; And see each night, without a friend, The world's great comforter descend!

"Tell our brethren, where ye meet, Thus we teil with weary feet; Yet tell them, that Love's gen'rous flame, In joy, in wretchedness, the same, In distant worlds was ne'er forgotAnd tell them, that we murmur notTell them, though the pang will start, And drain the life-blood from the heartTell them, generous shame forbids The tear to stain our burning lids! Tell them, in weariness and want, For our native hills we pant, Where soon, from shame and sorrow free, We hope in death to follow thee."

HYMN....BY BURNS.

Scene...A field of battle...time of the day, evening...the wounded and dying of the victorious army are supposed to join in the following song.

FAREWELL, thou fair day, thou green earth, and ye skies

Now gay with the bright setting sun; Farewell loves and friendships, ye dear tender ties, Our race of existence is run!

Thou grim king of terrors, thou life's gloomy foe,
Go, frighten the coward and slave;
Go, teach them to tremble, fell tyrant! but
know,

No terrours hast thou to the brave!

Thou strik'st the dull peasant, he sinks in the dark,

Nor saves e'en the wreck of a name;
Thou strik'st the young hero, a glorious mark!
He falls in the biaze of his fame!

In the field of proud honour...our swords in our hands,

Our king and our country to save...
While victory shines on life's last ebbing sands,
O! who would not rest with the brave!

AN EPISTLE TO J. HILL, ESQ.
By Cowper.

DEAR Joseph-five and twenty years ago-
Alas, how tine escapes !-'tis even so-
With frequent intercourse, and always swcet,
And always friendly, we were wont to cheat
A tedious hour, and now we never meet !
As some grave gentleman in Terence says,
('Twas therefore much the same in ancient days)
Good lack, we know not what to-morrow brings-
Strange fluctuation of all human things!
True. Changes will befall, and friends may part,
But distance only cannot change the heart:
And, were I call'd to prove the assertion true,
One proof should serve-a reference to you.

Whence comes it, then, that in the wane of life, Though nothing have occurr'd to kindle strife, We find the friends we fancied we had won, Though num'rous once, reduc'd to few or none? Can gold grow worthless that has stood the touch? No-gold they seem'd, but they were never such.

Horatio's servant once, with bow and cringe,
Swinging the parlour-door upon its hinge,
Dreading a negative, and overaw'd

Lest he should trespass, begg'd to go abroad.
Go, fellow !-whither ?-turning short about-
Nay-stay at home-you're always going out.
"Tis but a step, Sir, just at the street's end.-
For what?-An please you, Sir, to see a friend.
A friend! Horatio cried, and seem'd to start-
Yea, marry shalt thou, and with all my heart.-
And fetch my cloak; for, tho' the night be raw,
I'll see him too-the first I ever saw.

I knew the man, and knew his nature mild,
And was his plaything often when a child;
But somewhat at that moment pinch'd him close
Else he was seldom bitter or morose,
Perhaps, his confidence just then betray'd,
His grief might prompt him with the speech he
made;

Perhaps 'twas mere good humour gave it birth, The harmless play of pleasantry and mirth. Howe'er it was, his language, in my mind, Bespoke at least a man that knew mankind.

But, not to moralize too much, and strain To prove an evil of which all complain, (I hate long arguments, verbosely spun) One story more, dear Hill, and I have done. Once on a time an emp'ror, a wise manNo matter where, in China or JapanDecreed, that whosoever should offend Against the well-known duties of a friend, Convicted once, should ever after wear But half a coat, and show his bosom bare. The punishment importing this, no doubt, That all was naught within, and all found out. Oh, happy Britain! we have not to fear Such hard and arbitrary measure here ; Else, could a law like that which I relate Once have the sanction of our triple state, Some few, that I have known in days of old, Would run most dreadful risk of catching cold; While you,my friend,whatever wind should blow, Might traverse England safely to and fro, An honest man, close-buttoned to the chin, Broad-cloth without, and a warm heart within.

308

THE BOSTON REVIEW,

FOR APRIL, 1806.

Librum tuum legi & quam diligentissime potui annotavi, quæ commutanda, quæ eximenda, arbitrarer. Nam ego dicere verum assuevi. Neque ulli patientius reprehenduntur, quam qui maxime laudari inerentur.-Pliny.

ARTICLE 23.

An Enquiry into the Law Merchant of the United States; or Lex Mercatoria Americana, on several heads of commercial importance. Dedicated by permission to T. Jefferson, president of the United

IF

States. In two volumes. Vol. I.* New-York, Isaac Collins & Son, for Abraham & Arthur Stansbury, 1802. Svo, pp. 815.

any general observation applies to American writers, it is that they are not careful, by learned diligence, by the study of approved works, and by repeated essays in private, to acquire an elevated .standard of taste. Who among them has shewn, that his works are the images of that divine model, which had a previous existence in the mind of the author? To make a volume, something more is necessary, than manual labour. The mere manufacturers of books are less deserving of patronage, than the humblest artizans in society. They degrade the dignity of intellectual exertion. They write only for money, and they judge of the goodness of their work, as a shopkeeper of his cloth, by its saleable quality.

The work before us is modestly entitled, "An Enquiry into the Law Merchant of the United States." From the nature of commerce it is

This work is by George Cains of New-York. The fecond volume is not yet publifhed.

not capable of being regulated by the but it must be governed by a code, municipal laws of individual states, which is respected by all civilized nations, and denominated the Law Merchant.* In respect of the uniVersality of this system, it may be considered as a portion of the law the intercourse of independent of nations; not indeed regulating states, but obligatory on the individuals of each state among themselves, and with the citizens of other states, in the multifarious transactions of trade and compursuit would naturally observe merce. Men engaged in a similar similar rules of acting, and this of itself sufficiently accounts for the origin of a distinct code of laws for that vast portion of our species, tion of gain by buying and selling. who are employed in the acquisi

which relate to commerce, usually The laws of particular states,

Lord Mansfield, fpeaking, in the cafe of Luke et al v. Lyde. 2d Burr. 887, of the maritime law, which is a branch of the law of commerce, fays: "The maritime law is not the law of a particu lar country, but the general law of nations non erit alia lex Roma, alia Athenis; alia nunc, alia pofthac ; fed et apud omnes gentes et omni tempore, una eademque lex obtinebit." Cic. Off. 3. This was a queftion of freight between two British fubjects. In expreffing the opinion of the court, Lord Mansfield quoted the Rhodian Larus, the Corfelato del Mere, which is a Spanish work, the Ufures and Cuftoms of the Sea, a French book, the Laws of Wifbury, the Hanfe Town Laws, Roccus de Navibus et Neule, and the Ordinance of Lewis the XIV.

respect the collection of the impost. In work therefore, which professes to treat of the commercial law of the United States, we should expect to find a digest of the statutes of congress, relating to this subject, with the constructions given to them by decisions in the federal courts, and more especially in the supreme court of the United States, togeth er with no inconsiderable portion of the Law Merchant.

Accordingly we find, that the author in his I. chap. treats of the laws, which regulate that portion of the shipping of the United States, employed by the trading and mercantile part of the community. It contains an analysis of all the statutes relating to the title, use, and privileges of vessels, engaged either in the foreign, coasting, or fishing trades. In this chapter are some ingenious and valuable observations on the question, whether by a breach of our navigation laws the offence is inexpiable, and the property in the vessel or goods is thereby divested from the owners, so that a subse, quent sale would convey no interest. Such forfeiture would a:ise from the policy of the navigation law, which might be defeated, if the property were safe in the hands even of a bona fide purchaser, for a good consideration.

The II. chap. treats of owners of ships.

The III. chap. on "commercial neutrality," treats, first, on arti cles contraband of war in all cases, and those which become so by an accidental combination of circumstances; secondly, on the reciprocal rights and duties of the neutral and the belligerent in cases of blockade; thirdly, on the trade which the neutral may carry on with belligerent nations; and last

ly, on the right of visitation and search claimed by belligerents. It concludes with a general account of the proceedings in the admiralty in cases of prize. The natural situation of our country is highly favourable,both for peace & for commerce, and therefore the rights of neutrals to carry on commerce with other nations, which are at war, are to our citizens peculiarly interesting. They should be asserted with the authority due to reason and to the usages of nations heretofore, and with all the energy of national strength. A direct trade by neutrals between the colony and the mother country of a belligerent is contrary to the law of nations. But neutrals have heretofore been authorised to import the produce of a belligerent into their own territories, and to export it to any other, even to the mother country. Where this is done in strict conformity with good faith, without any attempt to prosecute, by a circuitous transportation, a commerce between the colony and the mother country, we conceive that the trade is authorised by the law of nations. That a neutral should be prohibited by a belligerent from prosecuting a commerce in war, because it is interdicted in peace, is most unreasonable. For a nation, as well as an individual, has the right to pursue its own interests, and to seize favourable opportunities, either for profit or for glory. Unless fraud is made manifest, we apprehend, that no belligerent may lawfully interrupt the neutral in the acquisition of the gain, which flows from his neutral position. This chapter is almost entirely taken from the celebrated Reports of Robinson in the Admiralty. We wish that the author had been more minute in that part of it, which relates to the forms and

method of proceeding in the admiralty. Professional gentlemen in this country are generally deficient in their knowledge of this branch of legal science, and have access but to few sources of information on the subject.

In chapter IV. the author treats generally of masters of ships, as acting for themselves, as representing their owners, and as carriers of the cargo laden on board. He has likewise collected the provisions of the general and state governments, relative to the transportation of citizens, and to the importation of aliens, paupers, and offenders against the laws of other countries.

Chapter V. is on bills of lading, in which the author has well discussed the doctrine of "stoppage in transitu." From the cases, which he has diligently collected, it is evident, that a consignor has a right to arrest goods in their course, before they have come to the possession of the consignee, if they have not been paid for, or there is reasoable ground to fear the insolvency of the consignee. But as it would offend against common honesty, and might be injurious to commerce, if the consignor could prevent goods from coming to the possession of an assignee, to whom they have been transferred bona fide, and for a valuable consideration, it is now well settled, ascording to the final decision of the case of Lickbarrow against Mason, in the courts of Westminster, and is now "the general opinion of lawyers, that such an assignment does give an absolute right and property to the assignee, indefeasible by any claim on the part of the consignor."

The VI. chapter contains an ample collection of the cases,

which relate to the carriage of goods, either by land or water. The VII. treats of the rights and duties of seamen.

VIII. are freight, charterparty, The subjects considered in the and demurrage. In the IX. average and salvage. In the X. insurance. In the XI. bottomry and respondentia. In the XII. merchants, agents, factors, and brokeis. In the XIII. partnership; and in the XIV. bankruptcy. The appendix contains forms of papers used at the custom house, admiralty precedents, and policies of insurance; together with a copious index of the principal matters in the volume.

Every treatise on the law, must derive its value from the correctness and fidelity, with which the author collects and reports the principles and decisions,which belong to his subject.

Either we

statutes of our government the auIn analyzing and digesting the thor has exerted a very commendable industry, Compared with the size of the volume, and the variety of subjects which it contains, we regret, that he has been able to collect but so small a number of precedents, taken from decisions in our own country. porting legal adjudications, or else have not yet learnt the art of rethe occupation does not present, to those who are qualified for the In truth, while the unbounded office, a sufficient prospect of gain. rage for speculation, and the viooccupy the minds of our citizens, lence of party spirit universally our country will produce but few plishment, and but few examples men eminent for literary accomof professional excellence.

In perusing this volume, we legal opinions of the author, and have not always subscribed to the

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