people was frequently adverted to, their desperate restlessness, their increasing suicides, their horrible publi cations, which seem dictated by the insanity of genius, revelling in combinations of the dreadful, the ludicrous, and the obscene-all these were pointed out, as the frightful signs of the times. Alas! the contagion of their example has spread themselves. We have their novels and their plays, and our boasters of the spread of knowledge, and of liberal intercourse, seem to rejoice in the presence of these destructive excitements. Happily our common people have as yet no taste for the meretricious sentiment of these things, but our cheap theatres in this metropolis, are gradually leading them on to it. As for those a little above them in wealth and station, it is surprising and melancholy to see how their sober British taste is already vitiated. I recollect the numbers who, during the present season, used to crowd to the French theatre to see a piece called 'Auberge des Adrets, which was nothing but the clever representation of a series of rascalities and atrocities, intermingled with the dancing, and drinking, and snuff-taking, and witticisms of the perpetrator. It was just like passages in the life of Fieschi, and yet this disgusting representation was not only tolerated, but made the subject of vehement applause. Instead of being hooted from the stage, with just indignation, it was lauded as a most " philosophical" conception and

delineation of nature. Should such depravity of taste ever become the characteristic of the many, as there is but too much reason to fear it may, we shall find real crime duped up in the caricature of sentiment-real remorseless crime, mixing itself up with the affairs of life, as it does in France. But now a few words regarding the consequences of this atrocious affair. Independently of the sensation, and lamentations, and congratulations before alluded to, and the grand show funeral, for the expenses of which, by. the-by, a vote of three hundred thousand francs (£12,000) has already been proposed in the chamber, which, for a funeral, is a good round sum. Independently of these, there have been immediate national consequences of great import

ance to France. The popular zeal in favor of the freedom of the press, which Charles the Tenth thought it necessary to curb, cost that king his crown, while it placed one on the brows of Louis Philippe. The propensity of the favorites of Fortune to kick down the ladder by which they have climbed, has become proverbial; but there are sharper reasons than this, for the hostility which the king has constantly shewn to the instruments of his elevation. Louis Philippe is said to be, by mere politicians, the cleverest man in Europe-certainly he is not the most scrupulous. He will suffer no feeling -no inconvenient reminiscence, to stand between him and the accomplishment of an object. He possibly does not forget that the power of the press raised him up, but then he fails not to remember that it pulled his predecessor down, and what it has done once, it might do again. A king making power, however useful to the aspirant to a throne, is no very agreeable object of contemplation, once the throne is gained. Louis Philippe has spared no pains to weaken and exhaust the power of the press by continued seizures, and fines, and imprisonments; but this he has found too slow a process, however certain to effect the object in the end. He has, no doubt, been long desiring such a state of affairs in France, as would give him an opportunity and an excuse, for one bold decisive assault upon the press. He was not so much thrown off his guard by the late dreadful attack, as to forget for a single day, that it afforded the occasion for accomplishing his purpose. Accordingly, while the nation was yet in a state of surprise and terror, and lively sympathy, with the king, the crushing projet de loi was laid before the public. True it has not yet passed the chambers; but to get it out, and before the public, at such a time, was the grand artifice. Louis Philippe well knows that the chambers are sufficiently manageable, if he can but restrain the mouvement of the populace; and he knows that the French populace are not apt to be moved by anything, upon reflection. Of the sober satisfaction which belongs to practical, regulated liberty, they have no perception. Their admiration of liberty is a theoretical admiration—

at most it is but an emotion. If they are roused upon the instant, by an act of oppression, represented to them in a striking phrase (for very much depends upon that) they fly to arms, and fight like devils, satisfied that if they die their friends will inscribe "morts pour la liberté!" upon their tombs but no matter what tyranny is established in practice-they are content to bear it, so as it touches not upon their amusements or their gloire. The proposed restrictions on the French press are tenfold more severe than those which led to the successful revolt of July, 1830; but pre-occupation, a more rigorous police, and a better preparation of troops, have kept everything quiet.

And yet will every allowance for the thoughtlessness of Frenchmen, and for the absence of such steady attachment to liberty, as long habit has imparted to Britons, it is matter of astonishment, that the government of Louis Philippe, considering its origin, could have had the front to propose such rules and penalties-all offences against the king's person, it is proposed shall incur detention (thrusting into gaol) and a fine of from 10,000 to 50,000 francs. For deriding the king's person or authority (making political jokes or caricatures) an imprisonment of from six to twelve months, and a fine of 5000 to 10,000 francs. For any introduction of the king's name, or allusion to him, whether direct or indirect, in discussing the acts of the government, an imprisonment of from one month to twelve, and a fine of from 500 to 5000 francs. This, as Mr. O'Connell lately and elegantly said of some assertion in the House of Commons, this "bangs Banagher." Considering the position that the present King of the French holds in the government, that he is in fact his own prime minister, it may be said to amount to a prohibition of political discussion altogether. It is probable that the clause will be modified by the chambers, and it is very possible that it was put in with the intention of being sacrificed in order to save the rest, and give them an appearance of comparative moderation. There is nothing done bona fide in France. To nothing almost do they go straightforward-finesse in the means-effect in end, are the objects of their study.

But to proceed with the pains and penalties-for any attack against the principle or form of government established in 1830, or incitement to changing it, an imprisonment and fine of from 10,000 to 20,000 francs. For publicly declaring in favor of any other form of government, as the republican, or expressing a wish, or hope, or threat of destroying the monarchical and constitutional order of government, or suggesting any right to the throne, except that of Louis Philippe and bis descendants, an imprisonment is proposed to be decreed of from one to five YEARS, and a fine of 500 to 10,000 francs. On a second condemnation in the same year the maximum of penalties to be doubled, or even four times greater. Any person publicly advertising subscriptions for defraying judiciary condemnation, to incur from one to twelve months imprisonment, and a fine of from 500 to 5000 francs. All acting editors of periodical publications must sign the "minutes" of each number, on pain of imprisonment from a month to a year, and a fine of from 300 to 3000 francs. If information, or rectifications sent by government be not inserted, imprisonment from one month to twelve is incurred, and a fine of from 500 to 5000 francs. If, in the event of a prosecution, the conductor of a paper do not disclose the name or names of the writer of the offending articles, he shall incur imprisonment from one to twelve months, and a fine of 1000 to 5000 francs. Whoever shall publish, and put up for sale, drawings, engravings, lithographs, or any emblems whatever without the previous permission of the minister or prefect, shall incur a month's to twelve months' imprisonment, and a fine of from 100 to 1000 francs. Lastly, no theatres are to be opened, nor dramatic piece performed, without the previous permission of the minister for the home department, or the prefect.

Can despotism go beyond this? Yes; for notwithstanding all these penalties there might be acquittals, therefore that is to be guarded against, and another law is proposed, that juries shall deliver their verdict by secret ballot, and that a majority of seven to five shall suffice for a condemnation.

This is pretty well for a "liberal" sovereign-a very liberal sovereign,

who was put upon the throne by an insurrection in favour of liberty. These are excellent propositions from a man who tickled the ears of the people when they made him a king, by talking of "a throne surrounded by republican institutions." Whether such discipline as this be necessary for keeping the French in order, I cannot teli, but I doubt not that it is necessary for keeping Louis Philippe on his throne, and that is the point to which he looks. Let him grind their faces well, they deserve it all (although not from him), and so little have they of the true sense of national honor, that they will probably be better subjects of a tyrant, than of a moderate and conscientious prince. But how absurd and contemptible, in the eyes of all Europe, must that nation appear, which, after having fought in the streets but five years ago, and established a revolution because of a decree against the press by the reigning monarch, shall now submit to such laws as these from the new king whom they set up? Such a people cannot deserve the name of rational creatures, at least so far as the high concernments of political liberty afford a test of rationality in a people.

As for Louis Philippe, he acts for his own interest according to the position in which he finds himself, without the least let or hindrance from that old fashioned thing (very old fashioned in France) called honesty. He called himself a republican King when that was necessary for settling himself upon the throne, and now he resorts to the crushing power of a despot, when that is necessary to keep himself upon the throne, and to preserve tranquillity. Except that " honesty is the best policy," one could hardly find fault with the policy of Louis Philippe.

That it was absolutely necessary for the safety and tranquillity of France to put a curb, and a strong one too, upon the licentiousness of the press and of the play-houses, I do most potently believe; but what right has Louis Philippe to do that for himself, which he took the crown from Charles the Tenth for attempting to do? Certainly none; and had he been as honest a man as he is reputed to be clever, he would have retired to the Palais Royal, and called back the elder branch to the Tuilleries, as soon as he

found that the government could not go on without greater restrictions on the liberty of the French, than that branch had been expelled for seeking to establish. Had Louis Philippe been an honest man, he would have written to old Charles Capet something like the following-I mean in substance. As to style, the Frenchman should follow his own flourish, I pretend not to know any thing about it. Suppose he had written thus:-My dear old cousin, I now find you were quite right in desiring to put down the ranting ruffians who publish newspapers. While these persons publish the impudence and the lies which they certainly will publish till they are prevented, and while the people are so silly in attending to them, and so headstrong in acting upon their misrepre sentations and excitements, there can be no peace or security to the king's government in France. I have discovered this from experience. I see that this nuisance must be put down; but instead of doing it at once by ordonnance, as you attempted to do it, I would propose a law to the chambers ten times as strong and severe as any thing you ever dreamed of. But since by hook or by crook the thing must be done, no one has so good a right to do it as yourself. I am not so shabby a fellow as to keep a crown from a friend and a relation, after discovering that it was taken from him under a mistake. As for the old ministers, Polignac and the rest, they were a set of ninnies, so I do not bother myself about them; my own set are no great things, but they are more rogues than fools-however, that is nothing to the present purpose; only keep Thiers, if you have a mind to deal with the press seriously; for as he once belonged to it himself, he hates it with all the cordiality of an old friend. But, for yourself, my old hearty, come back here with your interesting family, and I will return to my old quarters, and look after my tenants in the Palais Royal. I do not know how my wife and children may approve of this step, which my regard for honest conduct leads me to take; but I hope they will be reconciled to it, and that you will help me to provide for the children in some respectable way. I remain, my dear old cousin, your's sincerely,

LOUIS PHILIPpe.

I leave it to all Europe, whether this would not have been a million of times more creditable to the present King of the French, than a law which first shows that he has abandoned all the principles in virtue of his supposed adherence to which, he obtained the

throne, and then provides that it shall be a highly penal offence to suggest that any one but himself, or his descendants, have any right to the throne. T. O'R.

St. Giles's, London, August 12, 1835.

A Popular and Practical Introduction to Law Studies. By Samuel Warren, of the Inner Temple, F.R.S. London, Marshall, 1835.

This is a work of which it is almost impossible to speak in terms of too high commendation; to the general reader it is delightful, to the law student it is invaluable. We say to the general reader, for though the work is intended as a guide to the aspirants to the legal profession, and though a great portion of the work is devoted to matters specially interesting to these, there is no man, certainly no young man, be his professional intentions or prospects what they may, who will rise from an attentive perusal of the first six chapters, without being both gratified and instructed. These chapters are devoted to the consideration of the training by which the intellect can be best qualified for the arduous encounters of the legal profession. Much of what they contain is applicable to every aspirant after eminence; almost all the maxims will be profitable to every one. No profession requires a peculiar preparatory discipline from those who are about to enter on its studies—the habits of mental discipline by which the judgment and the reason can be best exercised, are the same for all. The road to distinction may, as we advance in life, diverge into paths as numerous as the goals to which they lead, but up to a certain point all travel together.

Mr. Warren, the author of this work, is already, we believe, generally known as the writer of that splendid series of tales which appeared in Blackwood's Magazine under the title of "Passages from the Diary of a late Physician;" and, apart from any other evidence, there is much in the style

and manner of this volume, to identify him. There is displayed the same knowledge of the workings of the human heart, and there is, in several passages, the same nervous eloquence of thrilling pathos which gave to his tales the powerful and unrivalled interest they possess. Perhaps in the volume we are noticing this last may be rather misplaced; there are sentences that one might very well fancy to belong to some unpublished passage of the physician's diary; but if the introduction of such eloquence be a fault on the part of the author it is one for which we cannot find in our hearts to blame him, and after all the solid and sensible advice which is contained in his book, will not be the less valuable, or the less appreciated, because it proceeds from one who feels intensely, and expresses powerfully, what he feels.

Of the style of which we speak, the following passages present a beautiful specimen

"Well, then, student, duly meditating upon this most momentous subject, Let us first inquire what manner of man are you really sufficient for these things? you are PHYSICALLY. Can you bear the long confinement and intense application required for the study-to say nothing of the practice of the law? The question is not whether, with all the confidence, resolution, and enthusiasm of genius, you can go through this preliminary struggle, but can you go through it safely-unscathed, without having ultimately to acknowledge that here your health received a mortal shock? What if, while one hand is sowing in your mind the rich seeds of wisdom, the other is scattering those of disease and death in your constitution?— If you cannot, then, answer this first

question satisfactorily, can you yet say whether your pecuniary circumstances will enable you to take it easily,' to mitigate the severity, by extending the period of your studies? If these questions cannot be answered affirmatively, either by you or your medical adviser, you must really pause, painful and disheartening as it may be, for life is its stake! Alas, what is the use of your being called to the bar,' and to the grave, at the same time?-of completing your library-your copious note-books, and choice precedents' only to give them to others, in the faltering accents, the bitter moments, of a premature death bed!"

66

Perhaps, however, the ambitious student meditates a higher flight; he is eager to enter upon court practice, either at the Equity or Common-Law Bar. Then the first question to be asked, is one all-important. Are his LUNGS equal to the severe task he is about to impose upon them? Of keeping them in almost constant play from morning to night? The Bar requires signal strength in that organ! The question, be it observed, is not whether the voice is strong, flexible, harmonious though this is a capital pointbut whether that on which the voice depends, is to be relied upon. The pipes of an organ may be capable of giving out tones of great power and exquisite richness; but what if the bellows, beneath, be crazy, and give way? Let us ask, then, the student, whether there is an hereditary tendency to consumption in his family, of which symptoms, however slight, have been discovered in himself? Because, if so, coming to the BAR is downright madness. Any honest and skilful medical man will tell him so. It is not the perpetual and often violent exercise of the voice alone; it is the EXCITEMENT, the ceaseless wearing of body and mind, that will kill him, as inevitably as it is encountered and persisted in. "How frequently is this predisposition the fell attendant upon genius! Supporting it with a precocious energy, flattering and deluding it with a semblance of strength that only accelerates its destruction! What avail the noblest intellect, consummately disciplined, the most brilliant and profound acquirements-a perfect aptitude for business-resplendent prospects--to hiin whose sun is appointed 'to go down at noon!' But does not this apply, with nearly equal force, to all professions? By no means. At the

Bar, the lungs are in incessant exercise; the consuming fire of excitement is ever kept up by eager, restless rivalry, fed by daily contests, public and harassing; by anxieties that haunt the young lawyer, not during the day only, but also the night. We seldom or never, however, hear of such instances as you are speaking of. Perhaps not; you may not be in the way of it; youth, besides, averts its eye from the dismal spectacle of premature decay, and shuts its ears to the voice of admonition. Nevertheless, such cases occur! but there is an obvious reason for their infrequency amongst those standing in the most conspicuous ranks the most distinguished and successful members of our profession. They could not have reached their present station, if they had had to fight all along against this fatal tendency. All who have been able to stand so long in the flames, may safely be pronounced fire-proof; whatever other disorders they may be heirs to,' this is not one of them. No, this cruel fiend early despatches its victims; it lurks about the threshold, and strikes them there!"

Who is there, familiar with the Diary of a Physician, that would not recognize their author, even in the very arrangement of the capitals?

We regret that our notice of this volume must be limited in space. Many considerations were suggested by its perusal, upon which we would feel it a pleasure to enlarge. Pressed as we are for space, there are some beautiful extracts which we cannot withhold from our readers; beautiful not merely in the language in which the sentiments are conveyed, but, what is far better, beautiful in the justness of the moral feeling that pervades them with a healthful spirit. To every word of the following we give our full and cordial assent:

"Should, however, any aristocratic idler now enter our profession with a view of finding thereby only a ready access to place and sinecure, we may pretty confidently assure him that he will find himself mistaken. The time for this sort of speculation is gone by. Whatever disposition may exist at any time to create and dispense such patronage as is sought for by these gentry, the vigilance of the bar, thank God, and fearless surveillance of the press, renders success in