most, of his profession; and that care ought to be taken not to engage in a calling wherein, if a man chanced to be a bungler, there was no retreat."

In 1666, Locke became acquainted with Lord Ashley, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury. So high an opinion did this nobleman form of Locke's general powers, that he prevailed upon him to take up his residence in his house, and urged him to apply his studies to politics and philosophy. From this time he attached himself to the fortunes of his lordship through life, and after death vindicated his memory and honour. In the house of his noble friend, Locke became acquainted with some of the most eminent men of the day, among whom were the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Halifax, and the Earl of Northumberland. His conversation was highly acceptable to these celebrated men; and to show the value he attached to their conversation, as well as the familiar, terms on which he stood with them, the following anecdote is worth recording. On an occasion when several of them met at Lord Ashley's house, the party, soon after assembling, sat down to cards, so that scarcely any conversation took place. Locke, after looking on for some time, took out his note-book, and began to write in it, with much appearance of gravity and deliberation. One of the party observing this, inquired what he was writing. "My lord," he replied, "I am endeavouring to profit as far as I am able in your company; for having waited with impatience for the honour of being in an assembly of the greatest geniuses of the age, and having at length obtained this good fortune, I thought that I could not do better than write down your conversation; and, indeed, I have set down the substance of what has been said for this hour or two." A very brief specimen of what he had written was sufficient to make the objects of his irony abandon the card-table, and engage in rational discourse.

While residing with Lord Ashley, Locke superintended the education, first, of his lordship's son, and afterwards of his grandson, the third Earl of Shaftesbury, the author of the "Characteristics." In 1672, Lord Ashley received an earldom, and the office of chancellor, when he gave Locke the appointment of secretary of presentations, which, however, he enjoyed only till the following year, his patron having lost favour with the court and being deprived of the seals. He then became secretary to the Board of Trade, of which the earl still retained the post of president. The commission, however, was dissolved in 1674, so that he lost that appointment also.

A few years before this, Locke had commenced his investigations into the nature and extent of the human understanding; but his numerous avocations long protracted the completion of his work. The delicate state of his health, and his being apprehensive of consumption, induced him, in 1675, to visit France, and he resided for some time at Montpelier. Here he formed an acquaintance with the most eminent literary men of that country, and also with the Earl of Pembroke, to whom he afterwards dedicated his celebrated essay. In 1679 he was recalled to England by the Earl of Shaftesbury, who had been restored to favour and appointed President of the Council. Six months after this, however, the earl was again disgraced, and after a short imprisonment in the Tower, was ultimately compelled to leave England to avoid a prosecution for high treason. On his taking refuge in Holland, Locke accompanied him in his exile, at the hazard of his own safety. After the death of his patron, he remained in Holland, but found it necessary, even while there, to conceal himself from the rancour of his political opponents in England. In 1686 he ventured to appear in public, and in the following year he instituted at Amsterdam a literary society, the members of which (among whom were Leclerc, Limborch, and other learned individuals,) met weekly for the purpose of enjoying each other's conversation.

The Revolution of 1688 finally restored Locke to his native country, and he returned to England in the fleet which conveyed the Princess of Orange. Being regarded as a sufferer for the principles on which that revolution was established, he was made a Commissioner of Appeals. He now became a pro

minent defender of civil and religious liberty, in a succession of works which have exerted a highly beneficial influence on subsequent generations, not only in Britain, but throughout the civilised world. His letter on Toleration, originally written in Latin, was translated and published in Dutch, French, and English, and he was soon after gratified by the establishment of toleration by law.

In 1690, Locke published his most celebrated work, the "Essay on the Human Understanding," in the composition of which he had been engaged, at intervals, for eighteen years. It will be interesting to most persons to hear how he himself states his object in presenting this essay to the world. In the prefatory epistle to the reader, he says:-" Were it fit to trouble thee with the history of this essay, I should tell thee that five or six friends meeting at my chamber, and discoursing on a subject very remote from this, found themselves quickly at a stand by the difficulties that rose on every side. After we had awhile puzzled ourselves, without coming any nearer a resolution of those doubts which perplexed us, it came into my thoughts that we took a wrong course; and that, before we set ourselves on inquiries of that nature, it was necessary to examine our own abilities, and see what objects our understandings were, or were not, fitted to deal with. This I proposed to the company, who all readily assented; and thereupon it was agreed, that this should be our first inquiry. Some hasty and undigested thoughts on a subject I had never before considered, which I set down against our next meeting, gave the first entrance into this discourse; which having been begun thus by chance, was continued by intreaty, written by incoherent parcels; and after long intervals of neglect, resumed again, as my humour or occasions permitted; and at last, in a retirement where an attendance on my health gave me leisure, it was brought into that order thou seest it."

It is evident that Locke was gradually led into other fields of investigation, for of the four books of which the essay consists, only the last is devoted to an inquiry into the objects within the sphere of the human understanding. Enfield, in his Abridgement of Brucker's History of Philosophy," gives the following brief summary of the contents of the completed work:-" After clearing the way, by setting aside the whole doctrine of innate notions and principles, both speculative and practical, the author traces all ideas to two sources, sensation and reflection; treats at large of the nature of ideas, simple and complex; of the operation of the human understanding in forming, distinguishing, compounding, and associating them; of the manner in which words are applied as representations of ideas; of the difficulties and obstructions in the search after truth which arise from the imperfection of these signs; and of the nature, reality, kinds, degrees, casual hindrances, and necessary limits of human knowledge." The third and fourth books are generally considered the most valuable portion of the work; in the third, the author treats of the nature and imperfections of language, and in the fourth the subject already mentioned.

The success which attended the publication of this essay was very considerable. Independent of the merits of the work itself as an attempt to apply the Baconian method of observation and experience to establish a theory of human knowledge, many circumstances contributed to its success: amongst others, the personal celebrity of the author as a friend of civil and religious liberty, and the attempt made at Oxford to prevent its being read in the colleges, a measure which could not fail to have a contrary effect. Numerous editions passed rapidly through the press, and translations of it having been made into Latin and French, the fame of the author was quickly spread throughout Europe. No book of the metaphysical class has ever been more generally read; or, looking to its overthrow of the doctrine of innate ideas, none has produced greater consequences. In the opinion of Dr. Reed, Locke gave the first example in the English language of writing on abstract subjects with simplicity and perspicuity. The fact was, that he hated scholastic jargon, and wrote in language intelligible to every man of common sense. His noble pupil, Shaftesbury, says of him,-"No one has done more the towards recalling of phi

losophy from barbarity, into the use and practice of the world, and into the company of the better and politer sort, who might well be ashamed of it in its other dress." "Few books," says Sir James Mackintosh, "have contributed more to rectify prejudice, to undermine established errors, to diffuse a just mode of thinking, to excite a fearless spirit of inquiry, and yet to contain it within the boundaries which nature has prescribed to the human understanding. An amendment of the general habits of thought is, in most parts of knowledge, an object as important as even the discovery of new truths, though it is not so palpable, nor in its nature so capable of being estimated by superficial observers. In the mental and moral world, which scarcely admits of anything which can be called discovery, the correction of the intellectual habits is probably the greatest service which can be rendered to science. In this respect the merit of Locke is unrivalled. His writings have diffused throughout the civilised world the love of civil liberty; the spirit of toleration and charity in religious differences; the disposition to reject whatever is obscure, fantastic, or hypothetical in speculation; to reduce verbal disputes to their proper value; to abandon problems which admit of no solution; to distrust whatever cannot be clearly expressed; to render theory the simple expression of facts; and to prefer those studies which most directly contribute to human happiness. If Bacon first discovered the rules by which knowledge is improved, Locke has most contributed to make mankind at large observe them. He has done most, though often by remedies of silent and almost insensible operation, to cure those mental distempers which obstructed the adoption of these rules; and thus led to that general diffusion of a healthful and vigorous understanding, which is at once the greatest of all improvements, and the instrument by which all other improvements must be accomplished. He has left to posterity the instructive example of a prudent reformer, and of a philosophy temperate as well as liberal, which spares the feelings of the good, and avoids direct hostility with obstinate and formidable prejudice. Those benefits are very slightly counterbalanced by some political doctrines liable to misapplication, and by the scepticism of some of his ingenious followers,-an inconvenience to which every philosophical school is exposed which does not steadily limit its theory to a mere exposition of experience. If Locke made few discoveries, Socrates made none. Yet both did more for the improvement of the understanding, and not less for the progress of knowledge, than the authors of the most brilliant discoveries."

In 1690 Locke published his second letter on Toleration, in answer to an attack on his first letter by Jonas Proast, a clergyman of Queen's College, Oxford. In the same year appeared his two Treatises on Government, with the view of refuting the principle advanced in the Patriarcha of Sir Robert Filmer, who had maintained that men are not naturally free, and therefore could not be at liberty to choose either governors or forms of government, and that all legitimate government is an absolute monarchy. The first of these essays was devoted to a refutation of Filmer's argument,-that all government was originally vested by God in Adam, as the father of all mankind, and that kings, as the representatives of Adam, are possessed of the same unlimited authority as parents exercise over their children. In the second essay Locke proceeds to establish what had been the leading doctrine of the Puritans and Independents on this subject, that the legitimacy of a government depends solely and ultimately on the popular sanction, or the consent of men making use of their reason to unite together into a society or societies.

Finding the air of London disagreeing with him, in consequence of a constitutional complaint of asthma, he accepted the offer of apartments in the house of his friend, Sir Francis Masham, at Oates, in Essex; where he resided for the remainder of his life. While in this retirement, he wrote his third letter on Toleration, which called forth a reply from his former antagonist on the subject, his answer to which, a fourth letter, in an unfinished state, was published after the death of Locke. In 1693 he published his "Thoughts con

cerning Education." In 1695 he was made a Commissioner of Trade and Plantations; but he still found leisure for writing. In the same year, he published his work "On the Reasonableness of Christianity," which was intended to facilitate the execution of a design which William III. had projected, to reconcile and unite all sects of professing Christians; and accordingly the object of the tract was to determine what, amid so many conflicting views of religion, were the points of belief common to all. Dr. Edwards attacked this publication with great warmth, in his work entitled "Socinianism Unmasked," and Locke published a first and second “Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity, &c.," in which he defended his opinions with considerable mastery. Locke was again engaged in this controversy, in 1697, in consequence of the publication of a "Defence of the Doctrine of the Trinity," by Dr. Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, in which the bishop had censured certain passages in the "Essay concerning Human Understanding" which he considered as tending to subvert the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Against this charge Locke vindicated his essay; and the controversy, after having been maintained for some time, was terminated by the death of the bishop. Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the soundness of Locke's views on this question, all admitted that his publications respecting it were distinguished by mildness and urbanity.

Soon after the publication of this last work, Locke retired from the press; and his health became so impaired, that he determined to resign his office as Commissioner of Trade and Plantations. King William was very unwilling to receive his resignation, and urged upon him the acceptance of a pension as that to which the services he had rendered the public fully entitled him. But with the rectitude which distinguished the whole of his conduct, Locke declined to accept of it, observing that he could not in conscience accept a salary or pension, when he was no longer able to discharge the duties which the office involved.

The remainder of Locke's life was devoted chiefly to the study of the Holy Scriptures, his profound veneration for which was most beautifully expressed in the character he gave of them to a friend in that well-known sentence, "They have God for their author-salvation for their end-and truth without any mixture of error for their subject." Among others of his religious labours at this period, a "Discourse on Miracles," and "Paraphrases, with Notes, of the Epistles of St. Paul," together with "An Essay for the understanding of St. Paul's Epistles, by consulting St. Paul himself," were published among his posthumous papers. These contained also the work, "Of the Conduct of the Understanding,” and "An Examination of Father Malebranche's Opinion of Seeing all Things in God." The sufferings incidental to his disorders were greatly alleviated by the kind attentions and agreeable conversation of Lady Masham, who was the daughter of the learned Dr. Cudworth, for many years his intimate friend.

Mr. Locke remained for nearly two years in a gradually declining state, and at length expired in a manner consisten with the uniform excellence of his character, on the 26th of October, 1704. He was buried at Oates, where a neat monument is erected to his memory, with a modest Latin inscription indited by himself.

"The personal character of Locke was in complete harmony with the opinions which he so zealously and so ably advocated. Truly attached to the cause of liberty, he was also willing to suffer for it. Perfectly disinterested, and without any personal objects at stake in the political views which he adopted, he never deviated from moderation, and the sincerity of his own profession rendered him tolerant of what he believed to be the conscientious sentiments of others."

The works of Locke have been collected and frequently published. There is an edition in three volumes, folio; another in four volumes, quarto; and a third, which is the most complete and best, in ten volumes, octavo. A "Life of Locke" was published in 1829, by the late Lord King, a lineal descendant of his sister

SWITZERLAND, anciently Helvetia, is bounded on the north by Alsace in France, and Swabia in Germany; on the cast by the Lake of Constance, Tyrol, and Trent; on the south by Italy; and on the west by France. Its very name is suggestive of thought. The struggles of its brave and hardy people, their industry, fidelity, simplicity, and zealous attachment to the liberties of their country, furnish an interesting and instructive history. Before the year 1798 Switzerland was divided into

thirteen cantons-the liberty of the people had been secured,

Berne, the capital of the canton of the same name, is one of the largest and most populous towns in Switzerland. It was founded in the year 1191, by Berthold V., Duke of Zahringen, who designed it as an instrument for suppressing the refractory spirit of his nobles. The Emperor Frederic II., upon the death of Berthold, elevated it to the rank of an imperial city; he also bestowed upon the inhabitants many peculiar advantages, and a legislative code, which served for a long time afterwards as the basis of their civil law. By the charter, or

and they had continued in the enjoyment of that liberty until they were attacked by their French neighbours at that period. In 1802 six new cantons were organised by order of the great emperor, after whose downfall new arrangements were made, and three other cantons were erected, and added to the rest. By this adjustment and division of their territories, the Swiss allies and subjects, as they were termed, have been more closely incorporated with, and united to, the old cantons, under the Helvetic confederation.

bull, which he then bestowed, it was enacted that the council of government and magisterial officers of the city should be chosen by a general assembly of their fellow-townsmen, every one of whom, possessing a house within the town, had a vote.

At an early period in its history Berne was involved, after the custom of the middle ages, in constant broils with the feudal lords in its neighbourhood. But by a steady and vigorous defence, a reliance upon their own strength, and the most dauntless courage, its people overcame every predatory incur.

sion; and so the republic prospered, and its governors became the rulers of a comparatively large and populous state.

In 1298, Louis, the Baron of Vaud, the Counts Peter of Gruyere and Rodolph of Neufchatel, brought their troops into the country. It was a strong and well trained force, men who had seen much of warfare; but the sturdy men of Berne were not to be overcome. Under intrepid leaders they attacked the invading army; the battle was terrible, but the victory was sure; and they returned to their city and deposited eighteen of their enemies' banners in the church of St. Vincent. A military song still celebrates their triumph.

The

Half a century afterwards a second invasion was made, and this time the attack was more carefully preconcerted, and more vigorously undertaken. The army contained fifteen hundred knights, three thousand chevaliers of a somewhat lower rank, and more than fifteen thousand soldiers. They were commanded by the Count Geraud of Velangin. whole power of the Austrian empire was directed against the rising state, the most sanguine could hardly anticipate anything but success to the invaders, and disaster to the invaded. The little city of Lauffen, situated within three leagues of Berne, was besieged, taken, and the inhabitants put to the sword. The Bernese having been apprised of what had occurred, demanded justice, but all attempts either to obtain redress or effect articles of peace were alike unavailing, and Rodolph of Erlach was chosen by acclamation as the leader of the citizen army. His first words inspired them with courage: "I have fought," he said, "in six campaigns, and I have seen the strongest army fly before the feeblest; good order is the great secret of victory. You are not incapable of this, you love liberty; and with you I have no fear of the enemy: I trust in God and you. You have chosen me to be your general, but I must command with an absolute power." The people promised obedience, and Erlach took the command. The army was quickly augmented by fresh arrivals; men with hearts alive to the threatening dangers, with stern determination, and invincible courage, gathered thick and fast, and beneath the broad light of the moon, on the 20th of June, 1339, the army set forth; the aged and the feeble, the wives and children of the men who formed that host, gathered on the walls, and watched their progress, till the last man was hidden in the forest depths. The battle which ensued when force met force, was decisive. The Bernese triumphed; the invading army gave way before them; the conquerors passed the night upon the field of battle, and then returned in triumph to their homes. The anniversary of that decisive

victory is still kept in Berne as a solemn feast-day.

This defeat of the aggressors served to consolidate the power of the state, and raise it to the first rank among the states of Western Helvetia. A few years afterwards it was admitted into the Swiss Confederation, of which it eventually became the largest and most populous Canton. Its last triumph was that of the Pays de Vaud, which was wrested from the Duke of Savoy, in 1536, in consequence of an attack made by him upon Geneva, the ally of Berne. From that time forward the various acquisitions of territory which the city had made remained peaceably annexed to it, and quietly governed by Taillis, chosen from among the members of the Council, until the changes brought about by the first French Revolution, and the triumphs of Napoleon Buonaparte. A French army entered the Canton in 1798, and met a brave resistance; but the government being destitute of energy and decision, the enemy penetrated to the capital, which they plundered, and from that time its supremacy, as the ruling power of the whole Canton, has ceased.

The situation of Berne is remarkable. It stands upon the left bank of the rapid Aar, which sweeps in a sudden bend around three of its sides, the fourth opens towards the west, upon the neck of a little promontory, which is strongly fortified. The rocky bed of the river is much below the level of the town, and its steep craggy banks form a natural rampart.

A walk through its steep streets and cloistered colonnades is a very pleasant thing. Something of Roman majesty appears in its lofty terraces, in its massive arches, and abundance of

water flowing every day, and all day long, into gigantic basins. There is little evidence of luxury to be seen. Everything has a utilitarian cast with it, you meet no splendid equipages, but many a country waggon drawn by a capital team of oxen. The most careful attention is paid to the wants and comforts of the humbler classes, and as one saunters through the street the eye is recreated by everything which indicates a happy population, well fed, well dressed, well lodged. The streets are abundantly supplied with fountains, decorated with an extensive variety of appendages, and often presenting the oddest appearances imaginable, with their "stiff warriors, grogram dames, and allegorical conundrums, which might puzzle even Spenser himself." Among the public buildings of Berne, besides the cathedral, are two large hospitals-the Burgerspital, or Burgher-hospital, and the Inselspital, or Island-hospital. The town-hall is a lumbering mass of antiquity, strangely differing from the Corn Magazine, which is a large and splendid building. The museum, the arsenal, the theatre, and some charitable institutions, contribute to the general air of neatness and elegance which pervades the city.

The city is a specimen of the Canton: throughout the state there is the same neatness and the same elegance reissued. The roads are remarkably good, the road which leads to the city is a superb causeway, planted with lime-trees, which in the summer season impart a delightful perfume to the air. The country is rich in every kind of verdure, its villages, with their white houses and cottages, are scattered over its extent, and a busy population everywhere gives token of its prosperity.

When the winter takes possession of the high mountains, and every day descends nearer to the plains, fruit-gathering begins in the valleys. The whole country appears to the traveller as a forest of fruit trees: stretching far and wide on every side the varied tints of the ripening fruit attract the eye, the heavy-laden boughs bend down beneath their burden, and everywhere busy hands are hard at work gathering in the harvest. Many a happy group, in the strange costume of the country, the broad hat so characteristic of Switzerland, the merry voice of childhood, and the cheerful song add beauty and interest to the scene.

Until the French became connected with Switzerland the fruit of that country was but little cultivated; the wild apple, and the cherries of the wood, occupied the place where now the most magnificent trees are carefully tended, and their productions assiduously cultivated. When the Swiss became aware of the secret resources of their country, they discovered that there were certain localities better adapted for the growth of fruit than others; and the wild productions of the country, the cherries of Montreal, the apples of Berne, the chestnuts of Monthey, and the plums and prunes of Bâle, became fruits highly esteemed in France and in the neighbouring countries.

M. Laine established at his domain in Malley, about half a league from Lausanne, a seed plot or nursery, in which for twenty years he cultivated the productions of the country with peculiar facility and great success. His estate contained some of the finest trees, and was well supplied with water, which contributed to the luxuriance of the vegetation. It was remarkable for the numerous and beautiful specimens which it afforded of what might be made of the wild fruits and wild flowers of Switzerland. M. Laine was the first successful promoter of agriculture in that land of mountain heights and deep beautiful valleys, and his memory is still cherished by its people.

The fruit harvest is a season of festivity. A gay cavalcade sets forth from village homes, and upon arriving at their place of destination, the horses and oxen are turned into the pastures, and the gatherers begin their work. They generally commence in the month of October, the finest month in the year, and the young, the old, the children, all are engaged, all happy; and the romantic scenery, the tall trees, the transparent lake, the gray mountains, the clear sky, afford a charming spectacle. Some of the most beautiful fruit is preserved throughout the year until the next fruit-gathering.