Her idle freaks; from family diffus'd
To family.

Hail, Source of being! Universal soul

Of heaven and earth! Essential Presence, hail!
To Thee I bend the knee 25 to Thee my thoughts,26
Continual, climb; who, with 27 a master-hand,
Hast the great whole into perfection touch'd.
By thee the various vegetative tribes,28
Wrapt in filmy net,29 and clad 30 with leaves,
Draw the live 31 ether, and imbibe the dew:
By Thee dispos'd 32 into congenial soils

Stands each attractive plant, and sucks, and swells
The juicy tide; a twining mass of tubes.
At Thy command 33 the vernal sun awakes
The torpid sap, detruded 34 to the root

By wintry winds; that 35 now in fluent dance 36
And lively fermentation, mounting 37 spreads
All this innumerous-colour'd scene of things.

EXTRACT FROM MILTON'S PARADISE LOST.'

O thou that, with surpassing glory crown'd,
Look'st from thy sole dominion like the God
Of this new world; at whose sight 2 all the stars

plays her innocent caprices, and which perpetuates itself from race to race."

23 Essence première. 24 Salut!

Prosterné, je t'adore. 26"My thoughts incessantly rise towards thee."

27 "Whose all-powerful hand touched the great whole, and imprinted (to it-lui) perfection."

28"The various species of vegetation."

29 Dans ses membranes. 30 Garnir.

31 Becomes vivified by the air; and imbibed with dew."

1 Turn: O thou, who, crowned with incomparable glory, lookest from thy throne, or from the highest part (du haut) of the empire," &c.

2 "Whose brightness (clarté) causes the stars to turn pale and disappear."

Hide their diminished heads; to thee I call,3
But with no friendly voice, and add thy name,4
O Sun! to tell thee how I hate thy beams,
That bring to my remembrance from what state
I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere!

6

8

Till pride and worse ambition threw me down,
Warring in Heaven against Heav'n's matchless King;
And wherefore? He deserved no such return
From me, whom he created what I was
In that bright eminence 10 and with 11 his good
Upbraided none; nor was his service hard 12
What could be less than to afford him praise,
The easiest recompense, and pay him thanks!
How due! 13 Yet all his good proved ill 14 in me,
And wrought but malice; lifted up so high 15

20

I disdained subjection, and thought one step higher 16
Would raise me highest, and in a moment quit 17
The debt immense of endless gratitude,
So burdensome: 18 still paying, still to owe;
Forgetful 19 what from him I still receiv'd,
And understood not that a grateful mind
By owing owes not, but still pays' at once
Indebted and discharg'd,21 what burden then?
Oh! had his powerful destiny ordain'd
Me 22 some inferior Angel, I had stood
Then happy; no unbounded hope had rais'd
Ambition. Yet why not? Some other power
As great might have aspir'd, and me tho' mean,2

3 "I raise my voice towards thee, but not with a feeling of friendship."

4 "I pronounce thy name, O Sun! only to tell thee how much I hate thy rays."

5 "How it awakens within me regrets of my former splendour."

6"How far I was superior to thee; but pride and rebellion (révolte) caused my fall (chûte)." 7 "And urged me on to dare (braver) the omnipotent." 8 Ingratitude.

9 Supply the word " me"--as, 66 me (moi) whom," &c.

10 Glorious eminence." 11"And yet for all his blessings (bienfaits)."

12 Etait-ce une tâche si dure?

23

13 Combien un tel tribut ne lui était-il pas dû!

14 Tous ses bienfaits n'ont fait que tendre à ma ruine.

15 Elevé jusqu'au faîte de la grandeur.

16 J'ai cru qu'un pas de plus, &c.

17" And rid myself (me défaire) of the weight of that immense debt-the debt of gratitude!"

18 "Debt so heavy (lourde)— always paying, always owing!" 19 J'oubliais.

20 Mais qu'il paye sans cesse. 21 Acquitté.

22 M'eût crée, &c.

23" And would, in spite of my little value, dragged (entraîné)."

Drawn to his part; but other Pow'rs as great
Fell not, but stand 24 unshaken, from within 25
Or from without, to all temptations arm'd.

Hadst thou the same free will and power to stand? 26
Thou hadst; whom 27 hast thou then, or what t'accuse,
But 28 Heaven's free love dealt equally to all?
Be then his love accurs'd, since love or hate,
To me alike, it deals 29 eternal woe.

Nay curs'd be thou; since 30 against his thy will
Chose freely what it now so justly rues.
Me miserable! 31 which 32 way shall I fly
Infinite wrath, and infinite despair?
Which way 33 I fly is Hell; myself am Hell;
And in the lowest deep' 34 a lower deep,
Still threat'ning to devour me, opens wide,
To which 35 the Hell I suffer seems a Heaven.
O then at last relent! 36 is there no place
Left for 37 repentance, none for pardon left?
None left but 38 submission; and that word 39
Disdain forbids me, and my dread of shame
Among the Sp'rits beneath, whom I seduc'd 40
With other promises and other vaunts 41
Than to submit; boasting I could subdue
Th' Omnipotent. Ah! me,42 they little know
How dearly I abide 43 that boast so vain,
Under what torments inwardly I groan
While they adore me on the throne of Hell.
With diadem and sceptre high advanc'd,

The lower still I fall, only supreme
In misery; such joy ambition finds.
But say I would 4 repent, and could obtain
By act of grace my former state, how soon

Would height 45 recall high thoughts, how soon unsay 46
What feign'd submission swore! Ease would recant 47
Vows made in pain, as violent as void.

For never can true reconcilement grow 48

Where wounds of deadly hate have pierc'd so deep;
Which would but lead us to a worse relapse
And heavier fall: so should I purchase dear
Short submission bought with double smart.
This knows my punisher; therefore as far
From granting he, as I from begging peace :
All hope excluded thus behold instead
Of us out-cast, exil'd, his new delight,
Mankind created, and for him this world.
So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,
Farewell remorse; all good to me is lost;
Evil be thou my good; by thee at least
Divided empire with Heaven's King I hold,
By thee, and more than half perhaps will reign
A man ere long, and this new world, shall know.

FRENCH MERCANTILE TERMS

AND

EXPRESSIONS EXPLAINED;

*

WITH ENGLISH LETTERS TO BE TRANSLATED INTO FRENCH.

WE have, in the following pages, endeavoured to give the learner, who is intended for commerce, an insight into French Mercantile Style and Terms, by way of introduction to more elaborate works.†

* For most of the letters we have had recourse to an excellent work entitled, "Anderson's Mercantile Correspondence." And I must not forget to mention that I have often availed myself of Monsieur Ragon's valuable assistance.

† Such as Keegan's "Négociant Universal," "Anderson's Mercantile Correspondence," &c.: also, Spiers' "Manual of Commercial Terms;" this work will be found an invaluable acquisition.