THE GREAT BELL ROLAND. TOLL! Roland, toll! High in St. Bavon's tower, The great bell Roland spoke, And all who slept in Ghent awoke. What meant its iron stroke? Why caught each man his blade? All flying to the city's wall? Known well to all, That Freedom stood in peril of some foe; And even timid hearts grew bold, Whenever Roland tolled, And every hand a sword could hold; For men Were patriots then, Three hundred years ago! Toll! Roland, toll! Bell never yet was hung, Between whose lips there swung So true and brave a tongue! If men be patriots still, At thy first sound True hearts will bound, Great souls will thrill. Then toll! and wake the test In each man's breast, And let him stand confessed! Toll! Roland, toll! Not in St. Bavon's tower, At midnight hour; Nor by the Scheldt, nor far-off Zuyder Zee; But here this side the sea! And here, in broad, bright day! Toll! Roland, toll! For not by night awaits But Treason stalks abroad — inside! — at noon! Toll! Thy alarm is not too soon! To arms! Ring out the Leader's call! Till every dauntless breast Swell beneath plume and crest! Till swords from scabbards leap! What tears can widows weep Less bitter than when brave men fall? Till cottager from cottage wall Snatch pouch and powder-horn and gun- Ere half of Freedom's work was done! Till son, in memory of his sire, Till volunteers find out the art Toll! Roland, toll! Stands to this hour And by its side stands Freedom yet in Ghent; For when the bells now ring, Men shout, "God save the king!" Until the air is rent! Amen! So let it be ; For a true king is he Who keeps his people free. Toll! Roland, toll ! This side the sea! No longer they, but we, Have now such need of thee! Toll! Roland, toll! And let thy iron throat Ring out its warning note, Till Freedom's perils be outbraved, ALEXIS CHARLES HENRI CLEREL DE TOCQUEVILLE. TOCQUEVILLE, ALEXIS CHARLES HENRI CLÉREL DE, a distinguished French statesman and political economist; born at Verneuil, July 29, 1805; died at Cannes, April 16, 1859. After a course of study in law, he became a judge. In 1831 he was sent to the United States, to examine our penitentiary systems, and made a report, entitled "Du Système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis " (1832), translated by Dr. Lieber (1833). From this visit resulted his work "Democracy in America," published in French in 1835, translated in 1838. Other works are "The Ancient Régime and the Revolution" (1856), translated the same year, and his "Works and Correspondence" (1860), translated in 1861; "Souvenirs" (1892), translated (1896). In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies; in 1848, to the Constituent Assembly; and became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1849. In 1851 he opposed the coup d'état of Napoleon III., was imprisoned, and, on his release, retired from public life. AMERICAN WOMEN. (From "Democracy in America.") IN France, where remnants of every age are still so strangely mingled in the opinions and tastes of the people, women commonly receive a reserved, retired, and almost conventual education, as they did in aristocratic times; and then they are suddenly abandoned, without a guide, and without assistance, in the midst of all the irregularities inseparable from democratic society. The Americans are more consistent. They have found out that in a democracy the independence of individuals cannot fail to be very great, youth premature, tastes ill-restrained, customs fleeting, public opinion often unsettled and powerless, paternal authority weak, and marital authority contested. Under these circumstances, believing that they had little chance of repressing in woman the most vehement passions of the human heart, they held that the surer way was to teach her the art of combating those passions for herself. they could not prevent her virtue from being exposed to frequent danger, they determined that she should know how best to defend it; and more reliance was placed on the free vigor of her will than on safeguards which have been shaken or overthrown. Instead then of inculcating mistrust of herself, they constantly seek to enhance their confidence in her own stength of character. As it is neither possible nor desirable to keep a young woman in perpetual or complete igrorance, they hasten to give her a precocious knowledge on all subjects. Far from hiding the corruptions of the world from her, they prefer that she should see them at once and train herself to shun them; and they hold it of more importance to protect her conduct than to be overscrupulous of her innocence. Although the Americans are a very religious people, they do not rely on religion alone to defend the virtue of woman; they seek to arm her reason also. In this they have followed the same method as in several other respects; they first make the most vigorous efforts to bring individual independence to exercise a proper control over itself, and they do not call in the aid of religion until they have reached the utmost limits of human strength. I am aware that an education of this kind is not without danger; I am sensible that it tends to invigorate the judgment at the expense of the imagination, and to make cold and virtuous women instead of affectionate wives and agreeable companions to man. Society may be more tranquil and better regulated, but domestic life has often fewer charms. These, however, are secondary evils, which may be braved for the sake of higher interests. At the stage at which we are now arrived the time for choosing is no longer within our control; a democratic education is indispensable to protect women from the dangers with which democratic institutions and manners surround them. . . . The Americans are at the same time a puritanical people and a commercial nation: their religious opinions, as well as their trading habits, consequently lead them to require much abnegation on the part of woman, and a constant sacrifice of her pleasures to her duties which is seldom demanded of her in Europe. Thus in the United States the inexorable opinion of the public carefully circumscribes woman within the narrow circle of domestic interests and duties, and forbids her to step beyond it. |