Large was his bounty and his soul sincere,
  Heaven did a recompense as largely send: 
He gave to Misery (all he had) a tear;
  He gained from Heaven (’t was all he wished) a friend.

No farther seek his merits to disclose,
  Or draw his frailties from their dread abode
(There they alike in trembling hope repose),
  The bosom of his Father, and his God.

[Illustration:  Man on horseback riding past a church-yard (graveyard).  The sky is cloudy; the church steeple stands in the background.]

Notes.—­John Hampden (b. 1594, d. 1643) was noted for his resolute resistance to the forced loans and unjust taxes imposed by Charles I. on England.  He took part in the contest between King and Parliament, and was killed in a skirmish.

John Milton.  See biographical notice, page 312.

Oliver Cromwell (b. 1599, d. 1658) was the leading character in the Great Rebellion in England.  He was Lord Protector the last five years of his life, and in many respects the ablest ruler that England ever had.

XVIII.  TACT AND TALENT. (113)

Talent is something, but tact is everything.  Talent is serious, sober, grave, and respectable:  tact is all that, and more too.  It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five.  It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch; it is the interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles.  It is useful in all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man into the world; it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through the world.

Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is momentum; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it; talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected; talent is wealth, tact is ready money.  For all the practical purposes, tact carries it against talent ten to one.

Take them to the theater, and put them against each other on the stage, and talent shall produce you a tragedy that shall scarcely live long enough to be condemned, while tact keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its successful farces.  There is no want of dramatic talent, there is no want of dramatic tact; but they are seldom together:  so we have successful pieces which are not respectable, and respectable pieces which are not successful.

Take them to the bar, and let them shake their learned curls at each other in legal rivalry; talent sees its way clearly, but tact is first at its journey’s end.  Talent has many a compliment from the bench, but tact touches fees.  Talent makes the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact arouses astonishment that it gets on so fast.  And the secret is, that it has no weight to carry; it makes no false steps; it hits the right nail on the head; it loses no time; it takes all hints; and, by keeping its eye on the weathercock, is ready to take advantage of every wind that blows.