A RURAL INSTITUTE. 7

Even under the circumstances which must, in the ordinary course of things, take place,—when the present ferment shall subside,—when ingenuity may ex- ert itself, in safety, and industry be every where protected,-when the constella- tion of inventors, to whom this country principally owes its present commercial splendor(a phenomenon. which may never shine, again, in this country) shall have passed away, and their inventions be spread over Europe,—this country cannot longer expect to hold more than its proportional share of commerce;— with some additional advantage, which its natural situation as an island may give it, and which it ought of right to claim. By vainly grasping at the whole! the whole may be lost:

- Itis not the splendor of any particular period, or the transitory views of men who happen to be invested with temporary power, that can be regarded, in founding the lasting prosperity of a nation. It be-