I. INTERNATIONAL VANITIES. III. — Titles, . Blackwood's Magazine, . II. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. By Thomas Hardy, author of "Under the IN MEMORIAM. O SUMMER Sky, so blue and clear; O earth so sweet, and roses fair, And bright birds glistening through the air, Trilling soft music everywhere. O form I loved so true and well, Nought on this earth can break the spell Where lies thy quiet, peaceful breast, O life is sweet when love is young, I think of thee at morning light; I'll love thee still while life shall last; EPIGEA ASLEEP. BY WILLIAM WHITMAN BAILEY. She thinks her rosy buds expand The arching elders bending o'er The pussy-willows in their play The toads their cheery music chant, "I must awake! I hear the bee! Transcript. From Blackwood's Magazine. NO. III. TITLES. earnestness. These sentiments are indeed so developed in many of the more ancient publications that it is sometimes difficult to avoid feeling a sort of envy of JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU says, in a such resolute conviction, of such persistrue but decidedly ill-tempered sentence, tent faith. The authors who believed in that kings have two main objects, "to ex- Majesty believed in everything; they tend their power outside their frontiers, had no doubts; they went straight onand to make it more absolute within wards to their end without a hesithem." He might have added, with equal tation, without a flicker in their creed. reason, that another of their objects is to Even if they state that, because multiply and consolidate their titles; in-mustard was made at Dijon, its name deed, if we are to admit the arguments of must necessarily be a corruption of Bossuet, this latter sort of action is oblig-"moult me tarde," the old motto of the atory upon them—they have no choice Dukes of Burgundy (who were always in about it. The Bishop of Meaux argues a hurry), there is a sincerity about the that "kings, like the sun, have not re- affirmation which shows that they, at all ceived without a reason the brilliancy events, were quite certain of the fact. which surrounds them; it is necessary And so it was with all else they talked to the human race; they are bound, both about; no matter what they said, they for the peace and the decoration of the were always convinced of the truth of universe, to keep up a majesty, which is their own words. The result is, natubut a ray of that of God." This opinion rally, that the modern reader somewhat may have been altogether in its place in mistrusts the asseverations of such unLouis XIV.'s chapel at Versailles (though reasoning writers, and that, if he wants to those who saw the German Emperor pray be as satisfied as they are, he is obliged every Sunday in that same chapel for the to take the trouble of verifying many of speedy capitulation of Paris are justified their assertions. Luckily the subject is in entertaining doubts as to its fitness amusing; what would be an ungrateful even there), but it certainly does not ex- labour in another case, becomes a pleaspress actual ideas; and though Fléchier ant task in this one: though the early confirms it by asserting that reverence history of titles is so much scattered that for regal Majesty should be regarded "as its elements have to be scraped together a sort of civil religion and of political from various outlying sources. They are worship," we seem, in these days, to have all disconnected; there is no unity in the grown altogether outside the state of story; it lies about in bits; it does not mind in which such theories were re-appear to have been ever grouped into a garded as indisputable axioms. The whole. If this last impression be correct, books on the law of nations allude to if no history of titles has ever been comthem with veneration, but do not presume posed, there is a gap for an enthusiast to to discuss their mysteries or to penetrate fill up; but it seems difficult to believe into their awe-inspiring recesses. It is that the ground has really been left unrather in the treatises on ceremonial, in tilled: it is probable that books have the chronicles of two or three hundred been composed upon the question, but years ago in the older French, German, that they have left no "footprints on the and Italian special dictionaries, and in sands of time," as is indeed the case, unthe earlier encyclopædias — that we find fortunately, with a good many books. disquisitions on the fundamental princi- And yet this is a world-wide subject, ples of Majesty, and on the titles with which finds its application everywhere, which Majesty adorns itself. But, what- and which a number of learned men in ever be the sources of information on the many lands have regarded as possessing matter, they present the same invariable qualities of the highest character. Even character of detailed reverence, of wilful now there are serious people who look at homage, of credulous and unsuspecting it with deep respect, and who will protest with indignation against its being includ- kings; the king of the many-peopled ed amongst the vanities of nations. The countries; the supporter also of the great only answer to be given to them is, that it would be of no use at all to be a native of a Protestant country unless one could enjoy the one advantage of Protestantism, which is to be absolutely free to hold and to defend any opinion whatever. They are entitled to do the same. world; the son of King Darius." Tigranes the Armenian borrowed "king of kings" from Persia at a later period; and held to it so eagerly, that, when he was beaten by Lucullus, he refused to answer a letter from the latter because it was addressed to him under the ordinary Judging from what has happened since name of king, instead of bearing the pluhistory has been organized, it seems ral mention. But let it be remembered reasonable to suppose that in early times that it has turned out luckily for archækings invented themselves first, and then ologists that this appellation should have invented titles, in order to frame in and been cherished with such care and emilluminate their glory. Menes, whom we ployed so frequently; for, if the signs must regard as ancient — the most moder- which represented it had not been conate computation of his date puts him stantly repeated in the Persepolis in4000 years back—was a title in himself, scriptions, Grotefend would have had no for his name signified "the conductor; reason to suspect that they might perhaps and though we know nothing of the spe- express this much-loved title, and would cial personal denominations which were not have been thereby led to the discovadopted by the founders of Babylon and ery of the key by which the cuneiform Nineveh, we find their successors in pos- writing was deciphered. It was because session of a fair share of honorific appel- Darius Hystas pes persisted in calling lations, at the moment when their annals himself king of kings that the meaning of become accessible to our curiosity. The these arrow-headed records was found Kileh-Shargat cylinder, which is the old-out. If more recent royal titles had est monument of Mesopotamian history yet discovered, has brought down to us the designations attributed to himself by the fifth known king of Assyria, who reigned about 1200 B.C. It indicates that the potentate in question already used in It is, indeed, most terribly the contrasome abundance the figurative, emblem-ry; for whereas Xerxes and Darius atic, and descriptive epithets which have whom our schoolmasters taught us most since acquired the name of "titles." wrongfully to regard as gorgeous speciHe calls himself "Tiglath-pileser; the mens of pride-contented themselves, illustrious chief; whom Asshur and Her- in their retiring modesty, with half-acules have exalted to the utmost wishes dozen titles, the monarchs of our own of his heart; who has pursued after the time require at least fifty each. In this enemies of Asshur, and has subjugated respect, as in so many others, the world all the earth; the son of Asshur-rish-ili; has got on marvellously since the fight at the powerful king; the subduer of for- Salamis; the progress, indeed, has been eign countries; he who has reduced all so vast, the subject has become so huge, the lands of the Magian world; " and that it is an audacious act to attempt to more in the same style. This was pretty dissect it in an article: nothing but its good for thirty centuries ago, for a prince outlines can be sketched in these few who seems to us, at this long distance, to pages; developed at full length, it would have been a mere beginner in the art of fill a dozen folios. And if, instead of self-laudation; but, as times passed on, limiting our attention to purely royal the love of titles grew, and, seven hun- titles (which alone present a character of dred years after Tiglath, we find Xerxes internationality), we were to include persaying on another slab: "I am Xerxes sonal and local attributions too, we should the king; the great king; the king of need a goods station to store the volumes served an equally useful purpose, they might, perhaps, have been omitted from the catalogue of the vanities of nations. Alas! it is just the contrary. That is why they are included here. |