of an individual. We shall enlarge our
conception of the nature of human events, and gather some useful
instruction in our historical reading by pausing at intervals;
contemplating, for a moment, _on certain events which have not
happened_!

OF FALSE POLITICAL REPORTS.

"A false report, if believed during three days, may be of great service
to a government." This political maxim has been ascribed to Catharine
de' Medici, an adept in _coups d'etat_, the _arcana imperii_! Between
solid lying and disguised truth there is a difference known to writers
skilled in "the art of governing mankind by deceiving them;" as
politics, ill-understood, have been defined, and as, indeed, all
party-politics are. These forgers prefer to use the truth disguised to
the gross fiction. When the real truth can no longer be concealed, then
they can confidently refer to it; for they can still explain and
obscure, while they secure on their side the party whose cause they have
advocated. A curious reader of history may discover the temporary and
sometimes the lasting advantages of spreading rumours designed to
disguise, or to counteract the real state of things. Such reports, set a
going, serve to break down the sharp and fatal point of a panic, which
might instantly occur; in this way the public is saved from the horrors
of consternation, and the stupefaction of despair. These rumours give a
breathing time to prepare for the disaster, which is doled out
cautiously; and, as might be shown, in some cases these first reports
have left an event in so ambiguous a state, that a doubt may still arise
whether these reports were really destitute of truth! Such reports, once
printed, enter into history, and sadly perplex the honest historian. Of
a battle fought in a remote situation, both parties for a long time, at
home, may dispute the victory after the event, and the pen may prolong
what the sword had long decided. This has been no unusual circumstance;
of several of the most important battles on which the fate of Europe has
hung, were we to rely on some reports of the time, we might still doubt
of the manner of the transaction. A skirmish has been often raised into
an _arranged_ battle, and a defeat concealed in an account of the
killed and wounded, while victory has been claimed by both parties!
Villeroy, in all his encounters with Marlborough, always sent home
despatches by which no one could suspect that he was discomfited.
Pompey, after h