all the boat hands, and soon Old Ben One morning, after we had been steaming down the river for nine days, Old Ben and I were standing together on the lower deck. It was a bright day, and the sun fairly danced on the water. Suddenly Old Ben seized my arm, and pointing out, excitedly exclaimed: 'See! see! dere 'tis-dat's me ole 'ome. See dat ole log cabin ober yonder." He left me here and rushed upstairs. A few moments later the boat was standing as near the bank as the mud. would allow. The long gangway was slowly lowered from the centre of the boat. Out rushed Old Ben, followed by the captain, who stood midway on the gang plank, and followed the old negro with his eyes. The mate stepped out on the gang plank also. When Old Ben reached the shore he turned round, and taking off his old torn cap, yelled out gleefully: "Gawd bless you cap'n. I'm 'ome at las'. Be good to yoursel's, an' don' forgit Ole Ben." "Good-bye. We'll call on our up trip and see how you are getting on," said the captain. Old Ben scampered up over the banks, merrier than he had been for many a day. The captain was visibly affected, and even the mate did not blaspheme the rousters for a time. We rounded a turn in the river, and the old cabin was shut out from view, t as Old Ben w as entering it. "A trio wended its way to the boats." We reached the Crescent city three days later, having made the trip down in twelve days. A fresh cargo was loaded at the levee, and the Golden Rule started on her northward trip. We ploughed our way slowly up the river, and reached the old man's cabin one day, just at dusk. The captain seemed very much interested, and directed his boat to be run close to shore. The captain and I walked slowly up the bank. The eyes of all in the packet were upon us. As we approached the hut we observed no signs of life anywhere around. The garden was overgrown with weeds, in short, the whole place had a deserted appearance. We knocked at the door. We waited-no reply. We knocked again, harder than before. This time we heard staggering footsteps. The door opened, and Old Ben looked into our faces with a vacant stare. Why, what is the matter, Ben? you look as though you had lost your best friend," said the captain. "Dat's jes' w'at 'tis, massa. I done gone feel like killin' mysef'. I's weary ob dis worl'. I come 'ome to fin' me ole woman; but she's gone-gonegone-dere's no one here—no one—NO one-❞ He started up, his eyes glaring as if we had contradicted him. Yes, I see; no one is here," said the captain. "I'se bin awanderin' aroun' foh days lookin' foh her. I conno' fin' her. I come to the cabin of me ole frien' Silas. He say dat me ole woman done gone died moh'n a yeah ago. Dere's nuthin' foh me to lib foh now," wailed the old negro. "Brace up, old man, and come along with us. We'll see you nicely settled in Cincinnati, won't we partner?" said the captain, looking at me. "Yes," I replied, and urged him to SAXON OR SLAV: England or Russia ? * BY HON. DAVID MILLS, M.P., LL.B., Q.C. THE theme of this article is the domination of Saxon or Slav-which shall, in the future that lies before us, lead humanity? The subject is one of special interest to us, because we have all felt more or less pride in the fact that we are ourselves members of the race which has for two centuries marched in the van of mankind; and we have now before us the question: Are we approaching the end of that period when we shall have fulfilled our mission, and shall be obliged to give place to some other race, that shall seize the standard which we can no longer carry? Are we about to yield up the place through be ing no longer qualified to hold it, because, having spent our energies, we are about to sink into a condition of lethargy, weary with the march of humanity, which we have long had the honor to lead? It is a common observation that nations, like persons, have their periods of growth, maturity, and decay. But Burke wisely observes that nations are not physical, but moral persons. They do not belong to the same sphere of existence as individuals, and it is altogether a false analogy to suppose that they are necessarily subject to the same vicissitudes of being. The fact, however, remains, that hitherto there has been a succession of leading States, each of which rose to greatness, held the first place for a time, and then declined. The subject, then, which we are called upon to consider, is one of great importance to us. At this hour we belong to the doui "This article was prepared as a lecture for the Political Science Club of Toronto University, but was not delivered owing to the refusal by the University Council of a lecture room to the Club, in which to hold their meetings. nant race, and whether or not we are to have more than our brief hour upon the stage of history, is a question which must be, for our race, of the very deepest interest. I say that the whole history of the world shows that there has been a succession of dominant races, and of nations, each of which has served to carry humanity forward a certain distance, to spread itself abroad by force of arms, to impose its thoughts and opinions upon a considerable portion of mankind, to exhaust its energies in the operation, and, after a period of some confusion, to sink into a subordinate position, and to have its place wrested from it by some other nation of another race. The history of nations can have no other foundation than human nature. This, though everwhere the same, is everywhere modified by the varying strength of the elements of which it is composed. These variations are due to the character of the national environments. Some men are nations in miniature. We can point out individuals who are representative men of their times-of their nation-types of their race; and its whole history is exhibited in their lives. Psychology, for this reason, finds its most perfect expression in history. There we see the virtues and the vices, the intellectual strength and the intellectual weakness of a people. The acts of the rulers, the political constitution of the State, and the aims of the public policy, are but expressions of the strength and the weakness, of the moral and intellectual character of the people. I assume that there is a Divine pur pose in history, and that the life of the State is dependent mainly upon the moral stamina of its people. I assume that no State has perished that deserved to survive. In order to comprehend the status of a nation we ask ourselves for what purpose it exists? what special contribution is it making, or is it likely to make, to the progress of humanity? If it does not represent some specific idea and purpose; if it is not holding a large space in the well-being of mankind, its existence, as a leading State, would be unintelligible. The events by which it is developed would promote no common purpose and could contribute to no common end. Its national life would be without unity of design and could lead up to no definite result. If the notion be true that a nation is called by Providence to represent an idea, and serve some great purpose, the order of events must be, in the life of such a nation, an order of progression; and, if this could be interrupted or destroyed, the nation would have, as such, but an abortive existence. It may well be that the existence of many States is only auxiliary to the furtherance of the design contemplated in the existence of the one great leading State of the time. Apart from the furtherance of that design, their existence has no great purpose. Just as thousands of forest trees serve only to form and to give symmetry to the few great trees that survive and reach maturity, so the majority of States serve mainly to give vigor and strength to the one placed by Providence in the van of human progress. Every great State that has played an important part in the history of humanity has had a beginning, a middle, and an end in its history. It constitutes a symmetrical whole. When its end comes it seems to have had a life rounded off and completed. There may be much in that history which we cannot but condemn; there may have been very wide departures, at times, from a high standard of rectitude. At times that which is evil seems to have triumphed over that which is good. But at all times we can trace through its history -as we can trace the Gulf Stream in the broad Atlantic, the great purpose for which it holds the first place. When we speak of the perfection of a nation we use a relative term; we measure it by its own type,-by what we discover that type to be. We consider the end it was designed to accomplish, and the perturbing influences which, from time to time, operate upon it. And the advantages of historical study will be greatly lessened if we fail to observe these influences, and to correctly appreciate the character and design of the forces, both external and internal, by which a State is impelled onward. An epoch is complete when its historical development has unfolded everything wrapped up in the idea of progress which it represents. When this is done it can no longer move forward, because it has ceased to have any impelling motive carrying it beyond the point which it has already reached. The laws of this progressive development always harmonize with each other, because there is a necessary relation between all the parts of a nation's life. Show me an institution which a nation has outgrown, which no longer fits into those parts of its organic existence which have been re-formed, and I will show you an institution which will produce friction and unrest until it is adjusted and brought into harmony with the others. Every nation has an individuality of its own, which is seen in its art, industry, religion, philosophy, and government. In some States, one of these characteristics is developed to a much greater extent than the others. In some States the civilization is broader than it is in other States, and the national life has moved along all these lines. When the national energies are exhausted, progress ceases. At first there is rest, and then disintegration and decay. The State with the widest civilization has also the fullest, the most instructive history. When I say history, I refer to the events of national life in a period of progress, and not to the events in a period of decay. Every epoch has an individuality of its own, as certainly as every nation has its own personality. We can designate the age or the epoch which has produced certain types in works of art, certain doctrines of religion, certain systems of philosophy, and certain theories of government, and certain notions of functions of the State. Now, when a State is struggling to the front, it brings with it different ideas from those entertained by the State already holding the first place And even when the dominant State has completed its mission it does not yield its place without a struggle. Its defeat means the triumph of a stronger and more youthful people, who are destined to carry the banner of progress still farther onward. "War," says M. Cousin," is nothing more than a bloody exchange of ideas." It is the triumph of the one who bears the treasures of the future over one who has nothing further to bestow. What gives interest to the great battles of Platea and Salamis, Marathon and Arbela, Xama and Pharsalia, Lepanto and Vienna, but this, that there were great ideas, as well as great forces, arrayed against each other? These great events are "the judgments of God in history:" that judgment is always just, and the world, in the end, gains by the change. Every student who reads Demosthenes sympathizes with the orator and patriot against Philip and Alexander. But this is due, not to the purity and patriotism of the Athenians, but to the lofty character of Demosthenes himself. The King of Macedon was unscrupulous; he was ambitious; but the Athenians were worse; they were luxurious and venal, and the world gained by the fall of Athens and the success of Macedon. Demosthenes was a splendid character; every young heart thrills with admiration for the cause and the man; but there were not enough like him remaining to preserve the State. The State that succeeds must make sacrifices; it is only amidst great trials, patiently endured, that success is earned: and these struggles indicate points of departure from which nations move forward, upon hitherto untrodden pathways, to a nobler life than they had before attained. I don't pretend to state why it is that men are perfected and disciplined, and placed upon a higher plane of life, through what they endure rather than through what they enjoy. The greatest Leader of our race, we are told, was made perfect through suffering; and no great good has ever been secured to man without great sacrifice. This is true from the ays of Jephthah to the student who is at this day struggling for literary or scientific distinction, by pleasures denied and by toils endured. Is it possible that a race may preserve those habits of simple virtue and unwearied energy, which may keep it indefinitely in the lead of human progress? This question suggests another: Does not the fact that it is in a condition favorable to progress along certain lines keep from it those environing influences which may be necessary to mark out a new, a higher, type of civilization? We differ from every leading nation that has preceded us, in the universality of our environment and in the numbers of independent centres of racial life. I am not going to discuss these questions further. It is our business to bear in mind that we are still to the front: that we seem still to be in the midst of a period of progressive advancement; that a great work still remains for us to accomplish; and that we are steadily and untiringly pursued by a powerful and ambitious race, with different conceptions of human rights, with different notions of the functions of gov |