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and rapid circulation of social blood, a healthy action is kept up in all parts of the political body independent of the forms of the government. Not so with France: that country of limited though great extent, has a population of thirty-three millions, rapidly increasing, and within a definite time will not have wherewithal to maintain its inhabitants. After a violent political malady, such as no other nation was perhaps ever affected with, and after a subsequent temporary recovery, it has been again exposed to something like a relapse, and is evidently diseased at the core. The French are not setting out on their voyage of national existence with the hope of youth, and that ignorance of political evil which constitutes much of a people's happiness, and often renders the wisdom of government comparative folly, but with the bitter recollections of brilliant expectations blasted, of long-continued and misdirected efforts thwarted or made abortive, of the substance of good thrown away, and nought but the shadow of theoretical perfection grasped at; with the enervating ef fects of centuries of bygone civilisation abused and rejected, with expectations of future good almost exhausted, and with the national heart and eye dead ened and sickened as to political advancement by long-continued failure and disappointment. So far from exciting energy among such a people, republicanism is the cause only of feverish, short-lived excitement, or of anarchy ending in fresh political degradation. It makes an immense difference, whether it be at an early or a mature period of a people's life, that republicanism is introduced; and France has adopted it at the later and the pernicious moment.

No man is more alive to the danger arising to his country from the anarchical spirit that prevails in it than M. Guizot; and his parliamentary and official life has been spent in perpetually combating it. His opinions, which, however, are well known from his harangues in the Chamber of Deputies, are eloquently summed up at the end of his essay De la Democratie dans les Sociétés Modernes. He says

"The essential and necessary principles of every regular and stable community are as follow:-Persevering unity of national intention, represented by the Government:-Respect

for public authority:-Subordination of individual will to the Law:-The partition of rights according to capacity: the guaranteeing of liberty for every one, on every step of the social ladder; but with authority at the top and over all, since the affairs of a com. munity are in themselves high and paramount, and incapable of being conducted by those who are below. These are the maxims of social good sense, and the elementary principles of social order. Whether a community be democratical or aristocratical; whether its government be monarchical or republican, is of little moment; it has always need of these principles, flowing as they do, not from such or such a state of society, not from such or such a form of government, but from the very nature of men and hu man relations: so that where these principles are found to be weak, it is not the government only, but it is this community itself, which is sinking and tottering. The more freedom a community possesses, or wishes to possess, the more ought it to place itself under the empire of these tutelary principles; for they alone can support a bold and ample development of liberty. The dominant urgent interest-the moral, and, at the same time, the national interest of our present state of society, is to elevate and organize itself, since it is in elevation and organization that it is principally deficient. Ideas, ambitious customs, social situations, and internal arrangements, every thing among us has need of regulating and amplifying itself. But the old routine of democracy is above all fatal, inasmuch as it lowers and degrades every thing-persons as well as things. We are dragging ourselves on in the leading strings of the Revolution, instead of standing upright and advancing. A return of the past is dreaded: let then our modern democracy forget what its past was: let it rise to the altitude of the position it has acquired; then only will it be fit for its present fate-then only can it reckon itself sure of its future."

M. Guizot, as a conscientious supporter of the existing Charter and Government of France, is for continuing the experiment, and for working that charter out to its final results, with a monarchical and religious bias given to it by the government for the time being. Our own opinion is, that the

fundamental constitution of French society requires alteration; the aristocratic element must be reintroduced, and the republican tendency taken away, in order to let the monarchical and religious elements have their proper sphere of action. Until by the abolition of the law ef equal succession, the formation of a permanent upper class, alike independent of the government and the people, is brought about; and until the growth of such a body of families is strengthened by the lapse of years, France will not be in a healthy political condition, but will continue as she now is, a hot-bed of discontent for herself, and a focus of pernicious propagandism to her neighbours.

And there are ample materials in France for improving the state of the people. The country and its inhabitants are alike capable of being turned to good. The former is not second in average fertility to any territory of equal extent in Europe, with every natural advantage for richly varied agriculture, and most extensive commerce. The latter are composed, for twenty-five out of the thirty-three millions, of a sturdy and honest rural population, split into many distinct races, and even languages, and as such full of national vigour. With remarkable aptitude for agriculture, but without the means of improvement; with no antipathy for trade and manufac

tures, but without any encouragement; with much natural shrewdness, but domineered over, and talked out of their good sense, by the corrupt denizens of the capital. The French have so much national good-humour and bonhommie, that they could again easily attach themselves to the seigneurs with whom their chateaux and manors, as of old, ought to be peopled; and they have so much innate acuteness and aptitude for detail, that a really paternal and provident government might urge them on to commercial and industrial pursuits with the happiest results. If something of this kind be not done by the peaceful ways of legislation, it will be effected, sooner or later, at the dreadful sacrifice of another revolution; but we hope for the best. We have faith in the improving good sense of European nations; and the examples of other peoples will not be without their due influence. Meanwhile, we desire heartily that the good parts only of French institutions, the love and protection of science, literature, and art, may be imitated in our own country; and that we may have the good sense, while we avoid the rocks on which our neighbours have split, to preserve, as the palladium and touchstone of our national greatness, the religious and aristocratic spirit of our venerable constitution.

THE CANDIDATE'S GARLAND.

AN EXCELLENT NEW SONG.

AIR" Croppies lie down."

1.

YE candidates claiming to serve the good cause
Of religion and liberty, order and laws!
Where'er on the hustings the foe you may face,
Lay it into him well, till he bellows for grace.

I can teach you some tricks to crack Whiggery's crown,
And to make all Repealers and Chartists lie down.
Singing down, down, Radicals, down!

2.

If "TORY DISLOYALTY" furnish the cry,

First simply assert that the charge is a lie.

Then suggest that some folks have more profit than praise, Paying court to the sun while they bask in his rays.

But demand where's the party, since parties were made, So true as the Tories when left in the shade.

Singing down, down, courtiers lie down!

3.

If this isn't sufficient to silence their jaw,

Keep rubbing their hide till you come to the raw :

Hint at Denman and Brough'm, at the Duke and the Prince,
And you'll soon make the jade's ugly withers to wince;
You may lastly allude to a speech by old Coke-

I forget his new title-then see how they'll look.
Singing down, down, libellers, down!

4.

On the CANADAS next you may largely dilate,
In extent so prodigious, in value so great:
Such an outlet for industry-idle at home-
Such a fountain of commerce through ages to come.
Whether traitor or trimmer, confusion, to him
Who would cripple the realm in so goodly a limb!
Singing down, down, rebels lie down!

5.

If firebrands or fools of self-government speak,

Say, 'tis nonsense and knavery all that they seek.
Ere they set the child free from the mother's command,
Bid them try the experiment nearer at hand.

Oh! what pranks would the imps in our nurseries play,
If declared their own masters for even a day.

Singing down, down, younkers lie down!

6.

At the CORN-Laws, though now rather musty and stale,
If some flow'ry Whig orator chooses to rail,

Don't be you mealy-mouthed, give him prices and freight,
And just press him to death on the subject of weight.
If you question him close, you'll soon carry the laugh,
And leave few that will barter their corn for his chaff.
Singing down, down, humbugs lie down!

7.

Then present this dilemma, with horns, a good pair,
Such as often the Stot has in vain wish'd to wear.
When prices decline, pray, will wages fall too?
(We've an answer in petto to meet either view :)
If they won't, what relief will the masters have then?
If they will, what the mischief becomes of the men?
Singing down, down, disputants, down!

8.

Enquire as to IRELAND,-Beneath the Whig reign
Is reason returning ?-is crime on the wane?
See, the Arch-agitator still rampant we find,
Mendicity still with mendacity join'd;

While Augean pollution fast poisons the scene,
Such as Stanley-or Hercules-only could clean,
Singing down, down, perjury, down!

9.

A word to the CHARTISTS before my song ends;

Of the Whigs or the Tories, say which are their friends?
Those who help them in patience and peace to endure
What princes and parliaments never can cure?—
Or the tricksters who sell them sedition for food,
And, first fanning the fire, then would quench it in blood?
Singing down, down, Democrats, down!

10.

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If you borrow these lessons from Christopher's school,
The result, my good friends, may be left to old Bull
Even Peggy and Pat, their newfangledness past,
Will awake to some calmer conclusions at last;
But be that as it may, ere the twelve months are out,
You'll see Peel back in power and the Whigs up the spout.
Singing down, down, Whiggery, down!

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THE WAGS.

In a town which we will call Middletown, because it was of the middle size, dwelt a worthy shopkeeper bear ing the odd name of Jeremiah Wag. By dealing in all sorts of commodities, and steady attention to his business, he had managed to keep up his respectability, and doubtless would have considerably increased his store, but for the gradual increase of his family. For several years after his marriage a new little Wag was ushered annual ly into the world; and though there had latterly been somewhat less of regularity, as many as ten small heads might be counted every evening in his back parlour. Jerry, the eldest boy, was, however, almost fourteen years of age, and therefore began "to make himself useful," by carrying out small parcels and assisting behind the coun< ter.

All the rest were, to use their parent's phrase, "dead stock," and "were eating their heads off;" for, sooth to say, they were a jolly little set, and blessed with most excellent appetites. Such was the state of family matters at the time when our narrative commences.

Now, on the opposite side of the street, exactly facing the modest board on which Jeremiah's name was painted, with the usual announcement of certain commodities in which he dealt, was another board of a very different description. On it were emblazoned the arms of his Majesty, with the sup、 porters, a lion and a unicorn, as the country folks said, "a-fighting for the

crown.

The establishment indicated by this display, was upheld by a very different class of customers to that which patronised the shop. Two or three times in each day some private carriage or post-chaise would stop to change horses at the King's Arms, and occasionally a family" took up their quarters there for the night; but the latter was a piece of good-luck not often to be expected, as there were no lions to be seen in Middletown save the red rampant guardian on the sign board.

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It was haymaking time, and business was very" slack" with the worthy Jeremiah; but he said that he didn't care much about it, as the coun

try folks were earning money, part of which he trusted would find its way into his till in due course. So, after rummaging about among his stock to see if he was "out of any thing," he took his stand at the door, just to breathe a mouthful of fresh air. Titus Twist, the landlord, made his appearance at the same moment, in his own gateway, apparently with the same salubrious intent, and immediately beckoned to his neighbour just to step across.

"Well, how are ye, Master Wag?" said he, when they met. "Did you observe that green chariot that stands down in the yard there, and came in more than an hour ago?" Jeremiah answered in the negative. "Well," continued mine host, "it belongs to one of the oddest, rummest, little old gentleman I ever clapped my eyes on. He's been asking me all sorts of questions, and seems mightily tickled with your name above all things. I think he's cracked. Howsomever, he's ordered dinner; but hush! here he comes."

The little gentleman in question seemed between sixty and seventy; but, excepting a certain sallowness of complexion, carried his years well, his motions being lively, and wearing a good-humoured smile, as though habitual, on his countenance. His dress was plain, but good, and altogether becoming his apparent rank.

"I shall be back in a quarter of an hour," said he to the landlord; " I'm only going over the way to the shop to buy something;" and away he went, and, of course, was followed by Jeremiah, who, immediately on entering his own house, skipped nimbly behind the counter to wait upon his new cus

tomer.

After trying on some gloves, and purchasing two pair, the little strange gentleman looked round the shop, as though examining its contents to find something he wanted.

"Any thing else I can do for you, sir?" replied Jeremiah. "You sell almost every thing I see, Mr Wag?" observed the old gentleman." Mr Wag? Your name is Wag, I suppose ?" "Yes, sir," replied the shopkeeper, dryly.

"Wag, Wag, Wag!" repeated the stranger, briskly. "Funny name! eh?" "It was my father's before me," observed Jeremiah, scarcely knowing what to think of the matter.

"Very good name!" continued the little gentleman, "Like it very much. Got any children? Any little Wags, eh? Like to see 'em. Fond of child. ren-little Wags in particular-he, he, he!"

"Much obliged to ye for enquiring, sir," replied the senior Wag; "I've got just half a score, sorted sizes. That's the eldest!" and he pointed to young Jerry, whose lanky limbs were at the moment displayed, spread eagle fashion, against the shelves, from the topmost of which he was reaching down some commodity for a cus

tomer.

"That's right. Bring 'em up to industry," said the little gentleman. "Well, I can't stay now, because my dinner's ready; but I see you sell Irish linen, and I want a piece for shirts; so, perhaps, you'll be so good as to look me out a good one and bring it over to me."

"You may rely," commenced Mr Wag; but his new customer cut him short by adding, "I know that well enough," as he briskly made his exit.

The industrious shopkeeper forthwith selected certain of his primest articles, folded them in a wrapper, and, at the appointed time, carried the whole across to the King's Arms.

He was immediately ushered into the presence of the eccentric elderly gentleman, who was seated alone behind a bottle of white and a bottle of red." Suppose you've dined, Master Wag?" said he, "So, come! No ceremony, sit down and take a glass of wine."

"I'm very much obliged to you, I'm sure, sir," replied Jeremiah; "but I have just brought over half a dozen pieces of Irish for you to look at and choose."

"Phoo, phoo!" Quoth the small stranger, "I don't want to see them. I know nothing about 'em. Leave all to you. Only meant to have had a piece; but, as you have brought half a dozen, I may as well take 'em. 'Store's no sore,' they say. There's a fifty pound note! Reckon 'em up, and see if there's any change."

Jeremiah stared at this unusual

wholesale mode of dealing, stammered his thanks, and observed, that the goods would not amount to half the money.

"So much the worse," said the

little gentleman. "Must see if I can't buy something else in your line presently; but, sit down now: that's a good fellow! I want to have some talk with you."

The bashful shopkeeper hereupon perched himself on the extreme front edge of a chair, at a respectful distance from the table; but was told to draw up closer by his hospitable en◄ tertainer. Then they took three or four glasses of wine together, and gradually Jeremiah found himself more at home, and scrupled not to reply to the odd stranger's questions respecting his family and occupations. And so they went on chatting till they appeared as two very old and intimate friends; for Mr Wag was of an open, unsuspecting disposition, and talked as though he had no objection that all the world should know all about his affairs.

"Well, but, my dear Wag," said the stranger, "can't you tell what part of the country your father came from?"

"No, sir, I can't," replied Jeremiah, "he died when I was about eight years old, and the London merchant to whom he was clerk, put me to school, and after that apprenticed me to old Hicks, who lived over the way where I do now. Well, there I served my time, and then married his daughter, and so came in for the business when he died; but I've increased it a pretty deal, and if I'd more capital, could make a snug thing of it by going into the wholesale, and serving village shops with grocery, and so on."

"Why don't you try it?" asked the little gentleman.

"It won't do unless one has got the ready to go to market with," replied Jeremiah, knowingly; "and then one must be able to give credit, and ought to keep one's own waggon to carry out goods. No, no, it won't do. Many a man has made bad worse by getting out of his depth, and, as it is, thank God, I can live. The only thing that puzzles me now and then is, what I shall do with all the children."

"Hark ye, my worthy Wag," said the odd stranger," I have not got any

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