In the activity of his thought and the leisure of his life, this was evidently with him the dominant idea of the future.

GUIZOT, "Sir Robert Peel."

THE AUTOCRAT.

And now see yonder, at the farthest horizon of Europe, that man, more than man, emperor and judge at once, ruling,1-the head encircled with a double crown, in his Cæsarean majesty, as in an aurora borealis, over a magnificent vastness in the centre of an ocean of bayonets.

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He is all, he is everywhere, by sign or by look;3 he can assuredly, when his anger is roused, judge, condemn, proscribe, exile, imprison, kill, rack, burn, reduce to ashes, drive the plough1 over the town taken by storm,5 send the wandering flame of his artillery from one frontier to the other, cut down the youth of a country like the grass of the field: he can, in a word, scatter on his way all the sufferings which man can inflict on man in a day of malediction: he can do all that; he can do all, with the single exception of creating, on the soil which he has under his feet, activity, life, riches, and thought, this man, overwhelmed by all the powers of heaven and earth accumulated on his head, suspended in a cloud, lost in his apotheosis, all-powerful for evil, is powerless for good, by the very nature of this

...

1 Ruling, planer-2 encircled with, ceinte de- by sign or by look, dn geste ou du regard drive the plough, passer la charrue by storm, d'assaut-6 send, promener-7 cut down, faucher-8 he can do all, il peut tout-9 with the single exception, à l'exception toutefois.

1

exceptional, incommensurable authority, which separates him, which isolates him from the rest of mankind. He may desire justice, but with this desire his power stops. When he speaks of justice, he speaks to the wind. His words fall dead at his feet. without finding a hand to raise them. Between himself and his people, despotism has placed the living wall of the functionary; a tacit enchantment, which intercepts his thought, and strikes it with sterility. What does he see? what does he know? At the most, what the imperial court, always grouped and always buzzing around him, will allow him to see and to hear. He is certainly the most ignorant and most deceived man in the whole empire; the subject of his subjects, the slave of slaves. He has tried to break down humanity, and humanity has retaliated upon him.3

EUGÈNE PELLETAN, "Heures de Travail."

SHAKSPEARE.

The glory of Shakspeare appeared at first, in France, a paradox and a scandal. At a later period, it nearly menaced the ancient fame of our own theatre; and now it shares it in the opinion of many enlightened judges. This changes of taste evinces doubtless a more extended knowledge, a more attentive study of the language and the works of the English poet; but it is chiefly to be accounted for by the changes that

1 With, etc......stops, il n'a que le pouvoir de la volonté-2 enchantment, conjuration-3 has retaliated upon him, a pris sa revanche.

4 At a later period, plus tard-5 change, révolution-6 it is chiefly to be accounted for by, elle tient surtout à.

have taken place in our social state and in our manners. The mighty things that we have suffered and witnessed for the last1 half century, the fall of the old order of things and of time-honoured elegance, our royal and domestic tragedies, more terrible than those of the theatre, our popular frenzies, the severity of war, and of the imperial régime, and also the roughness always inseparable from democracy, have all in turn prepared us to understand better, and to appreciate more thoroughly, the extraordinary genius of Shakspeare. This is meant in a general sense, apart from the infatuation of imitators, and that systematic and theoretical admiration which can never secure but a limited influence. Out of that circle it is manifest that the progress of modern liberty, whilst it so widely separates us from the Middle Ages, has nevertheless enabled us to enter far more deeply into its energetic and unfettered literature. Shakspeare, who is the crowning-point5 of the Middle Ages, whose imagination and barbarity he brings out with so much force, could not but gain by this new disposition, shock his readers less, gratify them more, and, after overwhelming them by the grandeur of his wild creations, leave them at last impressed with a serious and lasting admiration.

VILLEMAIN, "Etudes de Littérature."

1 For the last, depuis un-2 to appreciate more thoroughly, à goûter davantage this is meant in a general sense, cela soit dit en général -has......enabled us to enter far more deeply into, nous a donné...... une plus vive intelligence de-5 crowning-point, couronnement6 brings out, reproduit- could not but gain by, devait gagner àwild, irrégulières-9 leave them......impressed with, leur laisser.

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THE TWO NEIGHBOURS.

Two men were neighbours, and each had a wife and several little children, and only his labour to support them.1

And one of these men was uneasy within himself, saying, "If I die, or if I fall sick, what will become of my wife and of my children ?"

And this thought never left him, and it fretted his heart as a worm eats away the fruit wherein it is hidden.

Now, although the other father had thought the same,3 he had not dwelt upon it;4" For," said he, "God, who knows all his creatures, and who watches over them, will watch also over me, my wife, and my children."

And this one lived in tranquillity, whereas the first did not enjoy a moment of repose or of joy in his heart.5

One day, as he was working in the fields, sad and dejected on account of his fear, he saw some birds go into a bush, then come out of it and soon return again. And having approached, he saw two nests placed side by side, and in each of them several young ones, newly hatched and still without feathers.

And when he had returned to his work, every now and then he raised his eyes, and watched the birds going to and fro,7 carrying food to their little ones.

Behold, at the very moment when one of the mothers was returning with her beak full, a vulture

To support them, pour les faire vivre-2 if, que-3 the......had thought the same, la même pensée fût venue également à l'...... he had not dwelt upon it, il ne s'y était point arrêté-5 in his heart, intérieurement—6 as, que-7 going to and fro, qui allaient et venaient.

seized her, carried her off, and the poor mother, struggling violently in his grasp,' uttered piercing shrieks.

At that sight, the man who was working felt his soul more troubled than before; for, thought he, the death of the mother is the death of the children; and mine have only me: what would become of them if they were to lose me?

And all day he was gloomy and sad, and at night he did not sleep.

The next day, when he had returned to the fields, he said to himself, "I should like to see the little ones of this poor mother; doubtless many of them are dead." And he walked towards the bush, and looking in, he saw the young ones quite well;3 not one of them appeared to have suffered.

And this having astonished him, he concealed himself to see what would happen. And after a short time, he heard a faint cry, and he saw the second mother .hastily bringing the food she had collected, and she distributed it amongst all the little ones without distinction, and all had their share, and the orphans were not abandoned in their misery.

And the father who had mistrusted Providence related in the evening to the other father what he had seen. And this one said to him-"Why should one be uneasy ? Never did God forsake his own; His love has secrets which we know not of. Let us have faith, hope, love, and let us proceed on our way

1 In his grasp, dans sa serre- 2 when he had returned to the, de retour aux-3 quite well, bien portants- would happen, se passerait5 amongst, à-6 all had their share, il y en eut pour tous-7 why, etc. ....uneasy? pourquoi s'inquiéter?