assures us*, that it appeared as if their whole army had sustained an irretrievable defeat.

We are reminded of Scanderbeg, Mahomet II., and Mithridates. When Mahomet learned the death of Scanderbeg, he was rejoiced beyond measure. • The

Christians have now lost both sword and shield,' exclaimed he; what is now to prevent me from com'pleting their destruction?' His joy could only be equalled by that of Pope Sixtus † and the Catholics, when they learned the death of Mahomet himself; or that of the Genoese, on the death of Sampiero; when Fornari, governor of Corsica, not only ordered a general discharge of cannon, with bonfires and ringing of bells; but distributed rewards to all the soldiers who brought any pieces of his body.

We may now allude to Mithridates. Mithridates had a bold and martial figure; a strong, fertile, and creative genius; but he had no heart; at least, he had none, if we may credit the testimony of his enemies: for they accuse him of causing Alcæus of Sardis to be executed, because he had better horses than himself; and of ordering his wives and sisters to be put to death on losing a battle with Lucullus. It is certain, however, that he caused one hundred and fifty thousand Romans to be massacred in one day; and that he killed himself on learning the revolt of his favourite son‡. When the news of this event reached Rome, the ecstasy was so great, that the Romans seemed as if they had lost, * Hist. Rebel., ii., 204.

† Guillet's Hist. de Mahomet II., lib. vii. 384.

‡ Pharnaces.

in Mithridates*, not less than a hundred thousand enemies.

I write this at Conway, where Edward received the remains of Llewellyn, covered with wounds. So overjoyed was the king at the death of this hero, that he offered many marks of ignominy upon his person, and caused his body to be carried through the streets of London, on a lance, headed with a silver crown. Then it was placed in the pillory; and afterwards exposed on the highest part of the Tower of London; and all this to a prince for the crime of defending his country to the best of his ability! In contemplating this unworthy deed, we might almost be excused for saying of the Thames-at sunset

'The conscious water saw the deed, and blush'd.'

LXXX.

WHO DO ONLY ONE THING AT A TIME.

SOME trials can succeed only once; and they succeed once because they have never been tried before.

To be able to see one thing only at one time is like attempting to be a musician by striking only one string.

Many men can do many things at once; and I have often observed with admiration the facility of hearing and reading at the same time, which, in so peculiar a manner, distinguishes all the Lord Chancellors of Great Britain, when sitting in the Court of Chancery, or listening to appeals in the House of Lords. I have admired this not the less from the knowledge, that complex ideas are all made by the mind out of simple ones.

* Plutarch.

Some persons take two ways to come at the same result. If one will not do, the other may.

Will ye not now the pair of sages praise,

Who the same end pursues by several ways?"

For circumstances do not often resemble rondos in music; where the second and third strains reconduct to the one, which ends in the original key.

Some begin with first principles, and proceed by regular demonstrations to establish truth. Others begin at the limit, and proceed gradually to the first principle. These are the synthetic and analytic methods; and the adoption of one, in preference to the other, sometimes depends on circumstances, and sometimes on original constitution of mind.

How many men resemble Bramante, the architect of Urbino! He was accused of a multitude of faults; not arising from want of genius; but from his not taking sufficient care and time to perfect his ideas. In fact, he did too many things at a time.

Most men of business have particular maxims; amongst the rest,-' Do one thing at a time' was the favourite axiom of De Witt: for an illustration of which I refer you to his work, entitled, The True In'terest and Political Maxims of the Republic of Hol"land;' a book eminently worthy of attention*.

Napoleon never allowed two things to engross him equally at one and the same time: when events jostled with his projects, ' he laid them aside, so to speak, for the future; in order to consider 'them at a fitting season; but chased from his thoughts—such in'credible empire could he exercise over himself-every reflection 'which might distract his mind from the dominating idea of the 'moment.'-Bourrienne, vol. iii. p. 38.

From statesmen to the stage. Actors can do two things at one time. They can make signs and even speak to persons behind the scenes, and yet carry on the action and the look of the characters they are performing. Mr. Boaden says *, he has seen John Kemble frequently do this; and I have observed, when I have been behind the scenes at the theatre, that Kean was equally capable of the same mastery.

Those are the most successful, who, having no wide range of ability, direct what little they have to a point, and to that concentrate their exertions. But in respect to mere employment for the mind, diversity has the greater benefit. I have lived long enough to know, that the great secret of human happiness is this,' said Dr. Edward Clarke ; never suffer your

energies to stagnate. The old adage of "too many C irons" conveys an abominable untruth. You can

' not have too many; poker, tongs, and all: keep them

' all going.'

This lesson is applicable to old age, to preserve the body in exercise and the mind in action. But it is not the way for a man to make a fortune. With that object in view, the best method is to concentrate, and have only one matter in hand at a time.

LXXXI.

MEN OF ONE IDEA.

NATURE appears, sometimes, to have only one idea, as it were; presenting scenes, which are counterparts,

* See Boaden's Life of Mrs. Siddons, vol. ii. p. 290.

VOL. II.

H

being composed of the same pictorial elements; an instance of which is presented in the scenery of Loch Katherine.

Some men, also, appear to have only one idea; and these serve to remind us of birds having only one note. The prairie warbler, for instance, utters, at short intervals, a feeble'chirr;' the yellow-rump warbler has a kind of chip,' occasionally repeated; the hairy woodpecker has also only a single note or chuck,' which it often repeats as it digs into the cavities of trees; the American red-start says, ' wièse, wièse, wièse ;' the golden-crowned thrush has two notes, peche, peche, peche,' which it repeats for a quarter of a minute at a time; and upon the tops of the highest trees of the forests of America, the scarlet tanager repeats, at intervals, his pensive notes of chip, churr.' The whitebreasted nut-hatch, while winding round the body and larger branches of a tree, cries, 'quank, quank;' and the small blue grey fly-catcher says, 'tsee, tsee,' not louder than a mouse.

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Man magnifies his instruments to produce one effect; Nature employs but one instrument to produce myriads of effects. I cannot grasp, much less arrange, at one time, several ideas,' said Bacon the sculptor. If I 'have any thing distinguishing, it is a knack at ex'pressing an idea single and detached.' 'My father,' said one of his sons to Mr. Cunningham *, ' knew where 'his forte lay. I have heard him often compare him'self to the cat in the fable, that had but one sure trick

* Lives of the most eminent Painters and Sculptors, vol. iv. 213.