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gallant armies waged a war with each other, wherein both gave great and equal proofs of valour and of skill? No matter what was the issue, each nation proved itself a foe well worthy of the other— and mutual worth should beget regard, not rancour. Edinburgh Review, January, 1841.

Part Second.

FRENCH LOYALTY UNDER THE OLD MONARCHY.

THE baseness of mankind is not to be estimated1 by the degree of their subserviency to a sovereign power; that standard would be an incorrect one.3 However submissive the men of the old régime may have been to the will of the King, one sort of obedience was altogether unknown to them; they knew not what it was to bow before an illegitimate or contested power-a power but little honoured,5 frequently despised, but which is willingly endured" because it may be serviceable, or because it may hurt. To this degrading form of servitude they were ever strangers.

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The King inspired them with feelings which none of the most absolute princes who have since appeared in the world have been able to call forth, and which are become almost incomprehensible to the present generation, so entirely has the Revolution extirpated

1 The baseness, etc......estimated, il faut bien se garder d'évaluer la bassesse du genre humain-2 subserviency to, soumission envers that standard would be an incorrect one, ce serait se servir d'une fausse mesure- 4 what it was to bow before, ce que c'était que se plier sous5 but little honoured, qu'on honore peu- which is willingly endured, qu'on subit volontiers inspired them with feelings, leur inspirait des sentiments have been able to call forth, n'a pu faire naître.

their very root from our hearts. They had for him both the affection one has for a father, and the respect due to God alone. In submitting to the most arbitrary of his commands, they yielded still less to compulsion than to love, and thus it frequently happened that they preserved3 great freedom of mind, even in the most complete dependence. To them the greatest evil of obedience was compulsion; to us it is the least; the worst is in that servile sentiment which makes men obey. Let us not despise our forefathers; we have no right to do so. Would to God we could recover, with their prejudices and their faults, something of their greatness!

A. DE TOCQUEVILLE,

"L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution."

AN APPEAL TO MERCY.

Misery engenders not only suffering, but crime. Here is an unhappy man,9 born in despair and vice; his intellect remains wrapped in 10 darkness. Poverty has whispered11 dark temptations to him. The hand of a friend never pressed his hand. Not a voice has 12 awakened in him the echoes of tenderness and love. When young, he passed through the age of flowers and of sunshine without enjoying it. Now, if he becomes

1 So entirely has......extirpated their very root from our hearts, tant .....en a extirpé de nos cœurs jusqu'à la racine-2 both, tout à la fois -3 and thus, etc......preserved, et il leur arrivait souvent ainsi de conserver-even in, jusque dans-5 to, pour-6 which makes men obey, qui fait obéir-1 we have no......to do so, nous n'en avons pas le......8 would to God, plût à Dieu que.

9 Unhappy man, malheureux-10 remains wrapped in, n'est pas sortie des-11 whispered, soufflé-12 not a......has, pas une......qui ait.

guilty, cry to your Justice to interpose: our safety demands it. But do not forget that But do not forget that your social order has not extended to1 this unhappy man the protection due to his weakness. Do not forget that his free choice has been perverted from his cradle; that an iniquitous fatality has weighed upon his mind; that he has been hungry, that he has been cold, that he has not learnt goodness.

LOUIS BLANC, "Révolution Française."

A FRENCHMAN'S VIEW OF ENGLAND IN 1855.

No, England is not yet on the eve of perishing. No, she is not disgusted with her institutions, so prolific of good and of glory.3 No, she has not yet fallen so low as to1 prefer Democracy to Liberty, or Equality in servitude to the life, the strength, the independence that she draws from 5 her old aristocratic traditions. No, she will not follow the example of the Continent; and the enemies of freedom of speech and self-government-both Socialists and Absolutists -will yet have to wait a long time for the day of her apostacy and her ruin.

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It is not, however, without some misgivings that I advance this opinion. We have all had, since 1848, personal experience of the vanity of our anticipations, and the frailty of our reasonings.8 Never,

1 To, sur-2 free choice, libre arbitre.

3 With her institutions, so prolific of good and of glory, de ses fécondes et glorieuses institutions she has, etc......as to, elle n'en est pas encore tombée au point de-5 she draws from, elle puise dans-6 both to be left out- some misgivings, une certaine défiance— reasonings, arguments.

perhaps, did it please Heaven' more egregiously to defeat the calculations of human wisdom, or to mock at our prospects. Besides, if there is always something of risk and temerity in3 speculating on the future destiny of any people, this difficulty especially exists with regard to the English people, whose character is such as not to be easily studied or quickly understood. . . .

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England is not one of those parks with straight avenues and well-trimmed trees, where you look forward till the eye loses itself in the distance,5 where everything is kept straight, tended, gravelled, and watered by police regulations. It is a vigorous and thick forest, where there are good and bad districts, charming lawns and abominable sloughs, centenary oaks and inextricable briars, but where all is spontaneous, robust, genuine, and where life bursts forth and abounds in every part.10 But you must explore it, sound it, penetrate it, in all directions and in all seasons, to form an idea of what it is.13 Even then you will never be sure that your idea 14 is exact or complete; but you will know, you will feel that there is in it a mass of life,15 of strength, and beauty, which will no doubt one day perish like all that is human, which may to-morrow be consumed by the wrath of Heaven, but where nothing indicates

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1 Did it please Heaven, Dieu ne s'est plu-2 or to mock at, et à se jouer de3 if there is always, etc.........in, s'il est toujours chanceux et téméraire de-4 with, à-5 where you look, etc...... distance, où le regard va droit devant soi à perte de vue-6 kept straight, aligné-7 tended, émondé-8 by police regulations, par ordonnance de police-9 districts, cantons-10 in every part, de toutes parts-11 but, seulement-12 you must explore it, il faut en faire le tour-13 to form an idea of what it is, pour s'en faire une idée-14 even then, etc......idea, encore ne sait-on jamais très-bien si cette idée15 there is in it a mass of life, il y a là un foyer de vie.

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