6 swiftly in dense columns, they rapidly advanced to the shortly ensued. They numbered not less than 30,000 attack. The main body, however, had not yet come up: men, and the annihilation of the liberty of the press had the French fought gallantly; and the Allies were falling thrown the greater part of them out of employment. In fast in the centre, when the Emperor Alexander arrived the garden of the Palais Royal, many of these persons on the field, where the Russian and Prussian guards were collected groups around them, and gave expression to already forming to support their comrades. Instantly their indignation against the authorities in the most fearordering them to advance, these magnificent troops bore less and unmeasured terms. Crowds now gathered in all down all opposition; and the whole allied line moving parts of the city-revolutionary cries were heard in every forward at once, the heights were carried amid tremen- quarter-the faubourgs sent forth their dense and restdous cheering. Immediately the guns were hurried to less masses-and the barricades were once more rising in the front; loud cries of Fire on Paris! fire on Paris!' the streets. Conflicts between the military and the poran along the line: and twenty pieces forthwith com- pulace next ensued; Paris was declared in a state of siege; menced, from their elevated position, to send death and de- and Marmont, in writing to the king, now used the mestruction to the most distant parts of the capital. A morable words—' Sire, it is no longer a commotion, it is a Russian gunner, with the medal of 1812 on his breast, ex- revolution!' The marshal's measures of defence were claimed, as he levelled his piece, So, Father Paris! you very badly conceived-leaving the troops unsupported in must now pay for Mother Moscow.' A white flag now different parts of the city, so as easily to be cut up in decame from the city, and a truce, preparatory to a capitu- tail; and of the troops themselves, the greater portion lation, was agreed on. Scarcely was this done when the either openly joined the insurgents, or refused to act sharp rattle of musketry, quickly deepening into a roar, against them. The Guards and the Swiss alone remained was heard on the right, and all eyes were turned to the faithful; and they suffered dreadfully. At length the height of Montmartre, where it was evident a desperate Louvre and the Tuileries were taken by the insurgents, combat was going on. In a few minutes the well-known and Marmont and the royal troops were forced to evaRussian hurrah was heard above the roar of the battle, cuate Paris. When the news was brought to the king and the allied colours were seen waving on the summit. that the city was in possession of the populace, and the The intelligence of the truce had not yet reached that part military in full retreat, he exhibited the utmost firmof the field, and the Russian officer had received orders to ness, and set about preparing other measures of defence; make himself master of the last height in possession of and it was not till his heart was appealed to, and the danthe enemy. The position was so formidable, that the ger pointed out to which the Dauphiness was exposed Russian General Rudzewitch, before entering the fire, from the populace, that he at last yielded. A messenger took farewell of his brother officers, as if advancing on was forthwith despatched to announce to the Parisians the certain death; but so vehement was the onset, that the dismissal of the ministers, and the revocation of the ordiFrench were every where forced from their posts, and nance. A few hours ago, these concessions might have driven downhill into the city. The young men of the saved the throne; but now they were too late. • ReconPolytechnic School behaved most gallantly during the en- ciliation,' said Lafayette, 'is impossible: the royal family gagement, and for a great part of the day worked a battery has ceased to reign.' Charles X. was soon forced to reof cannon planted at the entrance of the wood of Vin- treat from St Cloud; and not long after, the deposed cennes. Their gallantry seems even to have affected the monarch and his family retired into exile. wild sons of the Steppes; for during a cavalry charge, a Cossack having raised his lance to strike one of them who was lying wounded, his comrade put the weapon aside, exclaiming in his broken French, Ne tuez jeune Français !'-(Don't kill young Frenchman.) Many instances of brilliant daring on the part of individuals occurred during this sanguinary struggle. On one occasion, the people determined to cross the Seine to assist their comrades in the Place de Grêve. The bridge, however, was swept by the enemy's shot, and when they The last great historical scene of which Paris was the arrived at the end of it, they stopped, intimidated by the theatre, was the Revolution of 1830, which took place fire of the troops. At this instant, one of their number, during the last week of July of that year. On the 8th of a young man about seventeen-some say only fourteenAugust, 1829, Charles X. nominated a most unpopular carrying a tricolor flag, rushed from the midst of them, ministry, of which Prince Polignac was the head. The and running forward along the bridge, ascended to the Chambers were convoked for the 2d of March, and the top of the elevated pier which forms its central support, very first division left the cabinet in a helpless minority. and there planted the ensign of liberty-when he immeOn this, the king prorogued the Houses to 1st September; diately fell, pierced with balls. According to another and shortly afterwards, the Chamber of Deputies was dis- version of the story, the young man only succeeded in solved; the elections were appointed to take place on 23d fixing his flag, after three times making the attempt; June and 3d July, and the new Chamber to assemble on when, an officer having run to take hold of it, the hero, the 3d of August. The elections in some of the depart-waiting his approach, shot him dead as he came up, and ments were not finished till the 19th of July; but for some time before this it had been evident that in the new Chamber the cabinet would be left in a feebler minority than ever. The ministers, therefore, instead of yielding to the wishes of the nation thus legally expressed, resolved to meet the emergency by a coup d'état, and on Monday the 25th of July, the famous ordinances were promulgated the direct tendency of which was to annihilate the liberty of the press, and to extinguish all popular influence in the representative system. The morning of that day found royalty with its splendour unshorn, yet, ere the end of the week, it was trampled under the feet of the multitude. Still, by a singular infatuation, the ministers, when thus risking a revolution, did not even count upon a riot. Marshal Marmont, Duke of Ragusa, then commanded the troops in Paris, yet he also seemed unconscious of danger; and although 20,000 guards and household troops, who could safely be relied on, and thirty-six pieces of artillery, might have been brought up to Paris within a week, fewer than 10,000 soldiers were in the city during the convulsion. The printers were the first movers in the struggle which was on his way back to his friends when he was himself struck down by a ball, which lodged in his thigh. This exploit seems to have recalled to the recollection of the spectators the similar action of Bonaparte at the bridge of Arcole in Italy; and the bridge has ever since been called Le Pont d'Arcole, in commemoration of the young man's gallantry. A woman named Frottier braved every danger to offer assistance to the wounded, that were lying in all directions. At one time she darted forward, and seized a piece of cannon that had just been discharged; her courage electrified every body, and the air was rent by Bravo! bravo!' and other enthusiastic cries. The scholars of the Polytechnic School distinguished themselves by their gallant bearing; and though for the most part beardless boys, a group of insurgents quickly formed round each of them; and they seemed as naturally to assume the command, as it was readily conceded to them. On one occasion, when the military were about to clear a street with grape-shot, one of these youths, calling on the people to follow, rushed forward; the next moment the cannon was discharged, and the youth blown to atoms. Encouraged by his gallantry, however, the insurgents fol lowed; the gun was quickly captured, and turned against the troops; and forthwith it was sending death through their retreating ranks. During the assault on the Tuileries, another of these scholars advanced at the head of his company to one of the iron gates; when, having asked to see the commander of the guard, a superior officer presented himself. Open your gates, sir,' said the young man, if you do not wish to be, every one of you, exterminated: might, as well as right, is with the people.' Retiring a step or two, the officer replied by snapping a pistol at the youth. Boiling with fury, the people rushed en masse against the gate, and burst it open; and the next instant the officer found himself held by the grasp and completely in the power of his intended victim. Your life is in my hands,' said the youth, but I shall not shed your blood.' Overcome by this magnanimity, the officer tore from his breast an order which he carried, and offered it to his gallant antagonist. Take it,' he said; none can be more worthy to wear it.' He besought him at the same time to let him know his name; but the youth merely replied that he was a pupil of the Polytechnic School, and then retired among the crowd. won. 'The conduct of the French people on this occasion was truly above all human praise. Their moderation in victory even exceeded the bravery that gained it. No one act of cruelty stained the glorious laurels which they had Even plunder was unknown among the poorest classes of the multitude. A most affecting circumstance, which cannot be told without emotion, is related of those who opened the bankers' and goldsmiths' shops. The lowest of the mob were for hours among untold treasure, and unwitnessed; not a farthing-not a trinket was touched. The same persons were seen, after the fatigues and perils of the day, begging charity, that they might have wherewithal to purchase the meal of the evening; and when the purses of the admiring bystanders were pressed upon them, a few pence was all they would accept! No Greek, no Roman virtue ever surpassed, ever equalled, this.' Not the least interesting event of late years in Paris, was the re-interment of Napoleon-the bringing back his remains from their sea-girt grave of St Helena, to repose at last beneath the stately dome of the Invalides, which already contained the remains of Turenne and Vauban, and the paladins of France. On disentombing the body, it was found still with almost the look of life upon it; it was conveyed to Europe by the Belle Poule frigate, by which it was landed safely at Havre de Grace. From thence the remains of the great warrior chief were conveyed to Paris, and the re-interment took place on the 6th December, 1840. The day was fine, though piercingly cold; but such was the interest excited, that six hundred thousand persons were assembled to witness the spectacle. Louis Philippe and all his court officiated at the ceremony; but nothing excited such deep interest as a band of the mutilated veterans of the Old Guards, who with mournful countenance, but a yet military air, attended the remains of their beloved chief to his last resting-place. An aged charger, once rode by the Emperor on his fields of fame, survived to follow the colossal hearse to the grave. Enchanting music thrilled every heart as the coffin was lowered into the tomb; the thunders of artillery, so often vocal to his triumphs, now gave him the last honours of mortality: the genius of Marochetti was selected to erect a fitting monument to his memory; and the bones of Napoleon finally repose on the banks of the Seine, amid the people he had loved so well.' Yet will future ages perhaps regret the ocean-girt isle, the solitary stone, the willow-tree. Napoleon will live when Paris is in ruins: his deeds will survive the dome of the Invalides; no man can show the tomb of Alexander!' During the administration of M. Thiers, a chain of fortifications was begun, which now encircle Paris on the north. They crown the summit of Montmartre and adjoining heights, and some of the forts are very formidable. There is no doubt that it will be no easy exploit to cap ture Paris in any future invasion of France; and it is well known that Napoleon intended to encompass the city with fortifications, and only delayed doing so from apprehension of alarming the national pride. Had he carried his design into execution, his overthrow in 1814 might have been long delayed, if not rendered impossible; as Paris would in that case have easily held out against the Allies, till the return of Napoleon from his fatal cross-march to St Dizier. The present fortifications, however, although originating in the bellicose spirit of the Thiers party, are prosecuted, it is alleged, by the reigning monarch and his present minister, less as a defence against foreign assault, than as a means of more easily quelling any insurrection in Paris-as the cannon of the forts completely command the city. This apprehension is entertained by many members of the Chambers of Deputies; and though it is now too late to prevent the project being executed, the question has been, and still occasionally is, a subject of stormy debate and altercation in the Legislative Chambers. CAMELOPARD HUNTING. To the sportsman, the most thrilling passage in my adventures is now to be recounted. In my own breast it awakens a renewal of past impressions, more lively than any written description can render intelligible; and far abler pens than mine, dipped in more glowing tints, would still fall short of the reality, and leave much to be supplied by the imagination. Three hundred gigantic elephants, browsing in majestic tranquillity amidst the wild magnificence of an African landscape, and a wide stretching plain, darkened, far as the eye can reach, with moving phalanx of gnoos and quaggas, whose numbers literally baffle computation, are sights but rarely to be witnessed; but who amongst our brother Nimrods shall hear of riding familiarly by the side of a troop of colossal giraffes, and not feel his spirit stirred within him? He that would behold so marvellous a sight must leave the haunts of man, and dive, as we did, into pathless wilds, traversed only by the brute creation; into wide wastes, where the grim lion prowls, monarch of all he surveys, and where the gaunt hyæna and wild dog fearlessly pursue their prey. Many days had now elapsed since we had even seen the camelopard-and then only in small numbers, and under the most unfavourable circumstances. The blood coursed through my veins like quicksilver, therefore, as on the morning of the 19th, from the back of Breslar, my most trusty steed, with a firm wooden plain before me, counted thirty-two of these animals, industriously stretching their peacock necks to crop the tiny leaves which fluttered above their heads, in a mimosa grove that beautified the scenery. They were within a hundred yards of me, but having previously determined to try the boarding system, I reserved my fire. Although I had taken the field expressly to look for giraffes, and had put four of the Hottentots on horseback, all excepting Piet had as usual slipped off unperceived in pursuit of a troop of koodoos. Our stealthy approach was soon opposed by an ill-tempered rhinoceros, which, with her ugly calf, stood directly in the path; and the twinkling of her bright little eyes, accompanied by a restless rolling of the body, giving earnest of her intention to charge, I directed Piet to salute her with a broadside, at the same moment putting spurs to my horse. At the report of the gun, and the sudden clattering of hoofs, away bounded the giraffes in grotesque confusion, clearing the ground by a succession of frog-like hops, and soon leaving me far in the rear. Twice were their towering forms concealed from view by a park of trees, which we entered almost at the same instant; and twice, on emerging from the labyrinth, did I perceive them tilting over an eminence immeasurably in advance. A white turban that I wore round my hunting-cap, being dragged off by a projecting bough, was instantly charged by three rhinoceroses; and looking over my shoulder, I could see them long afterwards fagging themselves to overtake me. In throw him. Their motion, altogether, reminded me the course of five minutes, the fugitives arrived at a small rather of the pitching of a ship, or rolling of a rockingriver, the treacherous sands of which receiving their long horse, than of any thing living; and the remarkable gait legs, their flight was greatly retarded; and after floun- is rendered still more automaton-like, by the switching, dering to the opposite side, and scrambling to the top of at regular intervals, of the long black tail, which is invarithe bank, I perceived that their race was run. Patting ably curled above the back, and by the corresponding acthe steaming neck of my good steed, I urged him again to tion of the neck, swinging as it does, like a pendulum, his utmost, and instantly found myself by the side of the and literally imparting to the animal the appearance of a herd. The stately bull, being readily distinguishable piece of machinery in motion. Naturally gentle, timid, from the rest by his dark chestnut robe and superior and peaceable, the unfortunate giraffe has no means of stature, I applied the muzzle of my rifle behind his dap- protecting itself but with its heels; but even when hempled shoulder, with the right hand, and drew both trig-med into a corner it seldom resorted to this mode of degers; but he still continued to shuffle along, and being fence. I have before noticed the courage evinced by our afraid of losing him, should I dismount, among the ex- horses in the pursuit of game. Even when brought into tensive mimosa groves with which the landscape was now actual contact with these almost unearthly quadrupeds, obscured, I sat in my saddle, loading and firing behind they evinced no symptom of alarm, a circumstance which the elbow, and then placing myself across his path, until, may possibly be traced to their meagre diet. the tears trickling from his full brilliant eye, his lofty The colossal height and apparent disproportions of this frame began to totter, and at the seventeenth discharge extraordinary animal long classed it with the unicorn and from the deadly grooved bore, like a falling minaret the sphinx of the ancients, and induced a belief that it bowing his graceful head from the skies, his proud form belonged rather to the group of chimeras with which the was prostrate in the dust. Never shall I forget the ting-regions of imagination are tenanted, than existed amongst ling excitement of that moment. At last, then, the sum- the actual works of nature. Of its form and habits, no mit of my hunting ambition was actually attained, and very precise notions were obtained until within the last the towering giraffe laid low. Tossing my turbanless forty years; and even now the extant delineations are far cap into the air, alone, in the wild wood, I hurraed with from the truth, having been taken from crippled prisonbursting exultation, and, unsaddling my steed, sank ex- ers instead of from specimens free in their native deserts. hausted beside the noble prize I had won. The giraffe is by no means a common animal, even at its head-quarters. We seldom found them without having followed the trail, and never saw more than five-and-thirty in a day. The senses of sight, hearing, and smell, are acute and delicate; the eyes, which are soft and gentle, eclipsing those of the oft-sung gazelle of the East, and being so constructed that, without turning the head, the animal can see both before and behind it at the same time. On the forehead there is a remarkable prominence; and the tongue has the power of mobility increased to an extraordinary degree, accompanied with the faculty of extension, which enables it, in miniature, to perform the office of the elephant's proboscis. The lofty maned neck, possessing only seven joints, appears to move on a pivot, instead of being flexible like that of the swan or peacock, to which, from its length, it has been likened. When I leisurely contemplated the massive frame before me, seeming as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, and protected by a hide of an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer matter of astonishment that a bullet discharged from a distance of eighty or ninety yards should have been attended with little effect upon such amazing strength. The extreme height from the crown of the elegantly-moulded head to the hoof of this magnificent animal, was eighteen feet; the whole being equally divided into neck, body, and leg. Two hours were passed in completing a drawing: and Piet still not making his appearance, I cut off the tail, which exceeded five feet in length, and was measurelessly the most estimable trophy I had gained; but proceeding to saddle my horse, which I had left quietly grazing by the side of a running brook, my chagrin may be conceived, when I discovered that he had taken advantage of my occupation to free himself from his halter, and abscond. Being ten miles from the waggons, and in a perfectly strange country, I felt convinced that the only chance of recovering my pet was by following the trail; whilst doing which, with infinite difficulty, the ground scarcely deigning to receive a foot-print, I had the satisfaction of meeting Piet and Mohanycom, who had fortunately seen and recaptured the truant. Returning to the giraffe, we all feasted heartily upon the flesh, which, although highly scented at this season with the rank makaala blossoms, was far from despicable; and after losing our way in consequence of the twin-like resemblance of two scarped hills, we regained the waggons after sunset. The spell was broken, and the secret of camelopard hunting discovered. The next day, Richardson and myself killed three; one, a female, slipping upon muddy ground, and falling with great violence, before she had been wounded, a shot in the head despatched her as she lay. From this time we could reckon confidently upon two out of each troop that we were fortunate enough to find, always approaching, as near as possible, in order to insure a good start, galloping into the middle of them, boarding the largest, and riding with him until he fell. The rapidity with which these awkwardly formed animals can move is beyond all things surprising, our best horses being unable to close with them under two miles. Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, the fore and hind leg on the same side moving together instead of diagonally, as in most other quadrupeds, the former being kept close together, and the latter so wide apart, that in riding by the animal's side, the hoof may be seen striking on the outside of the horse, threatening momentarily to over The giraffe utters no cry whatever. Both sexes have horns covered with hair, and are similarly marked with an angular and somewhat symmetrical pattern. The male increases in depth of colour according to the age, and in some specimens is nearly black; but the female is smaller in stature, and of a lighter colour, approaching to yellow. Although very extensive, the range of its habitat is exclusively confined to those regions in which the species of mimosa termed mokaala, or kameel-dorn, is abundant, the leaves, shoots, and blossoms of that tree forming its ordinary food. On the 22d, being encamped on the banks of a small stream, a camelopard was killed by a lion, whilst in the act of drinking, at no great distance from the waggons. It was a noisy affair, but an inspection of the scene on which it occurred proved that the giant strength of the victim had been paralysed in an instant.-Wild Sports of Southern Africa, by Captain Harris. LAUGHTER. No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can How much lies in be altogether irreclaimably bad. laughter-the cipher-key wherewith we decipher the whole man! Some men wear an everlasting barren simper; in the smile of others lies a cold glitter as of ice; the fewest are able to laugh what can be called laughing, but only sniff, and titter, and snigger from the throat outwards, or at best produce some whiffling husky cachinnation as if they were laughing through wool; of none such comes good. The man who cannot laugh is not only fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils, but his whole life is already a treason and a stratagem.-T. Carlyle. CHEVY-CHACE. FROM PERCY'S RELIQUES OF ANCIENT ENGLISH POETRY. God prosper long our noble king, Our lives and safetyces all! A woefull hunting once there did To drive the deere with hound and horne Erle Percy took his way: The child may rue that is unborne The stout Erle of Northumberland The bowmen muster'd on the hills, Their outposts all, with speciall care, The hounds ran swiftly through the woods, That with their crves the hills and dales Lord Percy to the quarry went, To view the slaughter'd deere; O cease your sports. Erle Percy said, I durst encounter man for man, Show me,' sayd hee, whose men you bee, The first man that did answer make Who sayd, Wee list not to declare I know thee well, an erle thou art, But trust me, Percy, pittye it were Let thou and I the battel trye, 'Accurst bee hee, Erle Percy sayd, Then stept a gallant squier forth, Ile doe the best that doe I may, While I have power to stand- Full four-score Scotts they slew. Lay gasping on the ground. At last these two stout erles did meet They fought untill they both did sweat, And this report of thee- 'Noe, Douglas,' quoth Erle Percy then, I will not yeelde to any Scott With that there came an arrow keene Which struck Erle Douglas to the heart, Who never spake more words than these- A knight amongst the Scotts there was, Sir Hugh Mountgomery was he call'd, And through Erle Percy's body then The staff ran through the other side The four stanzas here enclosed in brackets are offered to the reader instead of four lines which are rather obscure. So thus did both these nobles dye, For when they rung the evening-bell Sir Robert Ratcliff, and Sir John, Sir Charles Murray, that from the feeld And the Lord Maxwell in like case Of fifteen hundred Englishmen Next day did many widowes come, They washt their wounds in brinish teares, Their bodyes, bathed in purple gore, The news was brought to Edinborrow, 'Oh heavy newes!' Kinge James did say; 'Scotland may witnesse bee I have not any captaine more Like tydings to Kinge Henry came, That Percy of Northumberland 'Now God be with him,' said our kinge, Sith it will noe better bee; I trust I have, within my realme, For brave Erie Percy's sake.' In one day fifty knights were slayne, Thus endeth the hunting of Chevy-Chace, God save our kinge, and bless this land The curfew-bell usually rang at eight o'clock in the evening. i. e. 'I, as one in deep concern, must lament. The construction here has generally been misunderstood. The old MS. reads' wofull dumpes.' Printed and published by JAMES HOGG, 12 Nicol son Street, Edinburgh; to whom all communic tions are to be addressed. Sold also by J. Jers STONE, Edinburgh; J. M'LEOD, Glasgow V. M'COMB, Belfast; G. & R. KING, Aberdeen; WALKER, Dundee; G. Pan, Liverpol, b GROOMBRIDOR & Sons, London; and alikok sellers. No. 23. EDINBURGH, SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1845. THOUGHTS ON POPULAR LITERATURE.* By Mrs ELLIS, authoress of The Women of England,' &c. To write for the people, without prejudice or party feeling, and for the world, without neglecting the claims of religion, is to supply exactly the kind of literature most wanted in the present day. Judging from the number of periodical works now issuing from the press, it would seem that every class of society, and every order of mind, might be supplied with literary food adapted to their tastes; and yet, strange to say, there is one vast field comparatively unoccupied, consisting of a sort of border territory, situated betwixt the range of strictly religious publications on the one hand, and those in which the fundamental principles of the Christian faith are scarcely if ever acknowledged, on the other. It requires but a very slight acquaintance with our literature to see that almost all periodicals having a religious tone and tendency are but organs of a particular sect or party, and as such, however valuable in themselves, to a certain extent unfitted for general usefulness. To many readers the strong interests, the partial views, and even the peculiar phraseology, of the party to which they belong, may impart a zest to their literary enjoyments of which no one would wish them to be deprived. But there are others who turn with weariness and dissatisfaction from pages thus appropriated, and who long to see perhaps the very same subjects viewed in a broader light, and regarded in their general relation to the interests of the community at large. It is not sufficient for the latter class of readers that the facts presented to their notice are, strictly speaking, true, nor even that the sentiments of the writer are on some points in accordance with their own; truth in its genuine character, unadorned by the costume of a country, or the fashion of a day, is what they most desire, and they desire it in relation to the establishment of social institutions, as well as in the discoveries of science-in the description of imaginary characters, as well as in the biography of real life-in the region of poetic imagery, as well as in the details of practical utility. This mode of circulating truth, without party bias, is what some of our ablest periodicals professedly adopt. Nor are there wanting instances in which this profession is acted upon with the most honourable and PRICE 1d. straightforward adherence to the principle of stating 'nothing but the truth.' But to be ready on all suitable occasions to state the whole truth' requires a very different exercise of thought and feeling, and here it is that some of our most popular miscellanies fall short; for as regards a professedly Christian community, it should never be forgotten, that to shrink from acknowledging the supreme importance of the Christian religion, as a means of moral regeneration, is virtually to deny its influence; and to send forth such denial amongst the people, is in reality as wide a departure from the spirit of truth, as it would be to undertake a description of the effects of light upon the natural world, without once alluding to the existence of a sun. That the influence of party spirit, in separating the community at large into distinct sections, is generally regretted by the enlightened, the wise, and the good, it requires but little acquaintance with society to discover; and from each of these sections there are kind and benevolent hands stretched forth to draw, into what they believe to be the ark of safety, any wandering dove in search of rest. But to step forth from the narrow boundary of their own little sphere of interest, and to tread with firm step upon the great field of no party; to say to all mankind, as to the members of one family, 'Let us meet here in the broad light of the same glorious sunlet us rejoice in the same free air, and look upon the same beautiful creation, each only anxious to discover and communicate more of the wisdom and goodness of its great Creator'-to enter the field of literature in this spirit, and at the same time to consult the tastes and wishes of the people, so far as principle allows, and talent affords the means, is to fill no mean place in the moral history of a nation, even though a nameless contributor to the cheap literature of the day. Again, is there not far too little importance attached by serious-minded persons to the art of blending amusement with instruction? It is not necessary to go to the opposite extreme of supposing that knowledge should be played into the minds of children, for they have a spring of cheerfulness within themselves, and can well afford the labour of mind which is absolutely necessary for the attainment of any important step either in learning or wisdom. Yet still, even as regards children, the mother who knows how to amuse them well, will always find herself most intimately acquainted with their dispositions, as well as possessed of the most unbounded influence over their tastes and modes of thinking. But the case is widely different with that class of the community for whom our popular periodical literature is chiefly prepared. The tired artizan returning home; the |
