ht his life to a premature close. His personal faults were great,
and he shared, besides them, in the errors of his age; but far deeper
blemishes would be but as scars upon the features of a sovereign who
in trying times sustained nobly the honor of the English name, and
carried the commonwealth securely through the hardest crisis in its
history.

ON A SIDING AT A RAILWAY STATION

From 'Short Studies on Great Subjects'

Some years ago I was traveling by railway, no matter whence or
whither. I was in a second-class carriage. We had been long on the
road, and had still some distance before us, when one evening our
journey was brought unexpectedly to an end by the train running into a
siding. The guards opened the doors, we were told that we could
proceed no further, and were required to alight. The passengers were
numerous, and of all ranks and sorts. There were third class, second,
first, with saloon carriages for several great persons of high
distinction. We had ministers of State, judges on circuit, directors,
leading men of business, idle young men of family who were out amusing
themselves, an archbishop, several ladies, and a duke and duchess with
their suite. These favored travelers had Pullman cars to themselves,
and occupied as much room as was allotted to scores of plebeians. I
had amused myself for several days in observing the luxurious
appurtenances by which they were protected against discomfort,--the
piles of cushions and cloaks, the baskets of dainties, the novels and
magazines to pass away the time, and the profound attention which they
met with from the conductors and station-masters on the line. The rest
of us were a miscellaneous crowd,--commercial people, lawyers,
artists, men of letters, tourists moving about for pleasure or because
they had nothing to do; and in third-class carriages, artisans and
laborers in search of work, women looking for husbands or for service,
or beggars flying from starvation in one part of the world to find it
follow them like their shadows, let them go where they pleased. All
these were huddled together, feeding hardly on such poor provisions as
they carried with them or could pick up at the stopping-places. No
more consideration was shown them than if they had been so many
cattle. But they were merry enough: songs and sounds of laughter came
from their windows, and notwithstanding all their conveniences, the
languid-looking fine people in the large compartments