all the abuses of imprisonment; to visit the abodes of wretchedness and infection; and to prove himself the friend of the friendless, in every country that the limits of his advanced life would allow him to examine.  Against such an enterprize, projected by such an individual, what forcible arguments might be urged, not only by every selfish passion, but even by that prudence, and that reason, which are allowed to regulate an elevated mind!  How plausibly did Friendship exclaim to Howard, ’Your projects are unquestionably noble; but they are above the execution of any individual:  you are unarmed with authority; you have the wish to do great good, but the power of doing little!  Consider the probable issue of the undertaking!—­You will see a few hapless wretches, and tell their condition to the inattentive world; perhaps perish yourself from contagion, before you have time to tell it; and leave your afflicted friends to lament your untimely fate, and the ungrateful Publick to deride your temerity!’ What force of intellect, what dignity of soul were required to prevent a mortal from yielding to remonstrances so engaging!  The divine energy of Genius and of Virtue enabled Howard to foresee, that the sanctity of his pursuit would supply him with strength and powers far superior to all human authority:—­His piercing mind comprehended that there are enormities of such a nature, that to survey and to reveal them is to effect their correction.—­He felt that his sincere compassion for the oppressed, and his ardent desire to promote perfect justice, would serve him as a perpetual antidote against the poison of fear.—­He felt that in the darkness of dungeons he should want no associates, no guards to defend him against the outrages of detected extortion, or suspicious brutality.—­He felt, that as his purpose was heavenly, the powers of Heaven would be displayed in his support; that iniquity and oppression would not dare to lift a hand against him, though they knew it was the business of his life to annihilate their sway in their most secret dominion.  How admirably did the progress of his travels evince and justify the pure and enlightened confidence of his spirit!  All dangers, all difficulties, vanish before his gentleness, his regularity, his perseverance.  Insolence and ferocity seem to turn, at his approach, into docility and respect.  Every hardship he endures, every step he advances, in his wide and laborious career of Beneficence, instead of impairing his strength, invigorates his frame; instead of diminishing his influence, increases the utility of his conduct, by making the world acquainted with the sanctity of his character.  Witness, ye various regions of the earth! with what surprize, delight, and veneration, ye beheld an unarmed, and unassuming traveller instructing you in the sublime science of mitigating human misery, and giving you a matchless example of tenderness and magnanimity!  O, England! thou generous country! ever enamoured of glory, contemplate in this, the most