increase in the lower class in proportion to the increase of the middle class. The energies and means of improvement, and of acquiring wealth, in France, are, if drawn out properly, immense.

The

It cannot, however, be concealed, that the upper class in France are not sufficiently numerous or wealthy to give any strength to a house of peers, which must, as at present constituted, resemble the Senate in the United States. property of the members elected for life as peers in France, is not sufficient to form any fence round the throne, or to give any dignity or éclat to that order in the State; and it does not appear easy to imagine in what manner this deficiency can be remedied. Probably the creation of wealth, by encouraging to the utmost commercial industry, may be of use. An upper class in France, therefore, can scarcely be said, as a body, to exist. The sovereign may distribute peerages or give orders and decorations, to increase his popularity, or to gain votes in the Chamber; but when the peers are deficient in property, their individual influence is little or nothing in the nation, beyond that arising from their individual talents or exertions.

Most truly does a writer of the present day observe, that "it is proper that the French nation should invoke the assistance of religion, for they must and ought to know, that liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without religious faith; but they have seen their ad

versaries pretending to morality, and they inquire no farther. Some of them attack it openly, and the remainder are afraid to defend it."* He adds, "Where are we then in France? The religionists are the enemies of liberty, and the friends of liberty attack religion; the high-minded and the noble advocate subjection, and the meanest and most servile minds preach independence; honest and enlightened citizens are opposed to all progress, whilst men without patriotism and without intelligence are the apostles of improvement and of intelligence."

After the Revolution of 1830, and until March 1831, it was a moot point whether public opinion or popular clamour was most influential. The lower and middle classes were at issue in reference to the relations of France with England. The former were vehement for war, and the latter desired a continuance of peace. At length the matter was settled by the preponderating influence of the middle class, or in other words, of the peaceparty. The state of opinion between the conflicting bodies (la doctrine, et le tiers-parti) resembles a balance, of which the throne is the fulcrum. Let us hope that for years, until the moral principle in France is more fully developed, this fulcrum, on which both parties rest, will remain as powerful as at present. To lessen its influence, might be incurring the danger either of despotism or anarchy.

* Tocqueville.

From this account of the state of sentiment in France, one may arrive at the conclusion, that the excesses committed at the Revolution, and the subsequent tyranny under Napoleon, arose from a deficiency of the moral principle,-deficient, because not founded on religious belief.

to that in England and France at the same Period. - Extension of the Monarchy. - Despotic Power. Ignorance, Superstition, and Brutality of the Lower Class. The Cortes of Castile. Spain injured, rather than benefited, by the Wealth of the Indies.-Elements of Civilisation dormant.

SOCIETY, when it emerged from barbarism in Spain, resembled that state already described as existing at the same time in England and in France. At first the country appears divided into provinces or petty kingdoms, each contending with its neighbour; and we perceive, as elsewhere, all the jealousies, passions, and violence, exhibited by man against his fellow To this ensued the contests of great proprietors against each other in the days of chivalry. These being gradually subdued and brought into subjection by the sovereign, were succeeded by absolute power.

man.

Then followed a constant series of wars, either foreign or domestic, for family compacts, or arising from the caprice or ambition of the ruler; and lastly, a more liberal system of government slowly dawned, and a form of representation was brought about by

the middle class, which had never before existed. As in England and France, we see Spain improved as soon as an absolute monarchy had annihilated domestic feuds and petty wars, and consolidated all the discordant elements of the country under one uniform plan of government. This epoch

was commenced under Ferdinand and Isabella, and was consummated by their successors. By the discoveries of Columbus and other adventurous navigators, Spain acquired the wealth of the new world.

We will just give an example of the state of the country previous to the consolidation of monarchy. Rodrigo Ponce de Leon is a complete exemplification of the Spanish cavalier of the olden time. Temperate, vigilant, and valorous; kind to his vassals, frank towards his equals, faithful and loving to his friends, terrible yet magnanimous to his enemies. Contemporary historians extol him as the mirror of chivalry, and compare him to the immortal Cid. His ample possessions extended over the most fertile parts of Andalusia, including many towns and fortresses. A host of retainers, ready to follow him to danger or to death, fed in his castle hall, which waved with banners taken from the Moors. His armouries glittered with helms and cuirasses and weapons of all kinds, ready burnished for use, and his stables were filled with hardy steeds, trained to a mountain scamper. This ready preparation arose not merely from his residence on the Moorish border: he had a formid