rough passing of a sudden wind, the rare
and interrupted whooping of the gray owl; but in the distance at
intervals one heard the solemn rolling of the cataract of Niagara,
which in the calm of the night echoed from desert to desert and died
away in solitary forests.

The grandeur, the astonishing melancholy of this picture can not be
exprest in human language: the most beautiful nights in Europe can
give no idea of it. In the midst of our cultivated fields the
imagination vainly seeks to expand itself; everywhere it meets with
the dwellings of man; but in these desert countries the soul delights
in penetrating and losing itself in these eternal forests; it loves to
wander by the light of the moon on the borders of immense lakes, to
hover over the roaring gulf of terrible cataracts, to fall with the
masses of water, and, so to speak, mix and blend itself with a sublime
and savage nature. These enjoyments are too keen; such is our weakness
that exquisite pleasures become griefs, as if nature feared that we
should forget that we are men. Absorbed in my existence, or rather
drawn quite out of myself, having neither feeling nor distinct
thought, but an indescribable I know not what, which was like that
happiness which they say we shall enjoy in the other life, I was all
at once recalled to this. I felt unwell, and perceived that I must not
linger. I returned to our encampment, where, lying down by the
savages, I soon fell into a deep sleep.

FRANCOIS GUIZOT

Born in France in 1787, died in 1874; became a professor of
literature in 1812, and later of modern history at the
Sorbonne; published his "History of Civilization" in
1828-1830; elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1830;
Minister of the Interior, 1830; Ambassador to England, in
1840; returning, entered the Cabinet where he remained until
1848, being at one time Prime Minister; after 1848 went into
retirement and published books frequently until his death.

SHAKESPEARE AS AN EXAMPLE OF CIVILIZATION[49]

Voltaire was the first person in France who spoke of Shakespeare's
genius;[50] and altho he spoke of him merely as a barbarian genius,
the French public were of opinion that Voltaire had said too much in
his favor. Indeed, they thought it nothing less than profanation to
apply the words "genius" and "glory" to dramas which they considered
as crude as they were coarse.

[Footnote 49: From "Shakespeare and His