Steam /Ships, and Steam Navigation. 135 



will be lost ? If we cast our eyes upon the European continent, 

 we find the reigning dynasties lost in every great enterprize. 

 They may indeed catch a glimpse of the far-off coast, looming in 

 the horizon, and speckled with objects indistinctly visible ; but 

 they must wait for a nearer approach, a clearer atmosphere, before 

 they can realize the grandeur and beauty of the prospect. 



'' The emperor of Russia embarked with his family on the 3d 

 of October, at Stetin, in the steam boat Hercules, and found at 

 the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, the Russian fleet ranged in 

 order of battle. The fleet manoeuvered before the emperor," 

 &c. «fec. &c. 



If we did not know that hereditary talents are not necessarily 

 connected with hereditary rights, we should imagine the head of 

 a vast empire and the descendants of Peter the Great, seated upon 

 the deck of the Hercules, would catch an idea of the importance 

 of steam power from his very position, from the manner in which 

 he was conveyed into the presence of his fleet ; from the contrast 

 which the exhibition before him presented, and from the facility 

 and celerity with which he approached his fleet and withdrew 

 from it. But we are told that the emperor discourages steam 

 navigation. Let him. We cannot conceal the fact, that im- 

 provements upon a grand scale are scarcely compatible with the 

 notions of aristocratical and feudal governments. They tremble 

 under the secret apprehension, that they read their own doom in 

 the melioration of society, and therefore grasp the "rod of em- 

 pire" with a firmer hold, and close the inlets of every stream 

 whose flowings would fertilize the public mind. But perhaps 

 even this exclusive state of things is not without its alleviation. 

 States of less physical force, unfettered by hereditary bonds, free 

 to move, free to act, seize upon the advantages thus cast upon 

 them, and occupy a position for which they are indebted to the 

 repulsive character of others, rather than to any superior sagacity 

 of their own. 



This is the reason why nations just peering into notice, gain so 

 rapidly upon ancient dynasties. They have no antiquated thral- 

 doms to overcome, no prejudices to surmount, no prescribed limits 

 to check their career, no masters to consult, but with all the free- 

 dom and buoyancy of youth, bound away in pursuit of every 

 gainful enterprize, heedless of toil, regardless of restraint, intent 

 only upon securing the result. The single fact, that there are at 



