Since 1830, Béranger has lived by turns at Passy, at Fontainebleau and in Touraine. His retirement is that of a sage, not of a hermit. His social and somewhat convivial disposition makes him welcome, in his solitude, many of those visitors whose admiration, or even whose curiosity, leads them to perform a pilgrimage to the abode of genius. All the accounts we have read agree in representing him as a man of the most benevolent disposition, the most lively and entertaining conversation. From the remarks of a writer of considerable reputation, we translate the following:

*

"He converses in a ready, discursive and fluent manner. He appears to possess a wonderful fund of information upon all topics; he is curiously conversant with the peculiarities and technicalities of trades. He never travelled, but his long residence in Paris, that meeting-place of the world, together with his ready faculty of observation, has made him incredibly familiar with the temper and feelings of all nations. His knowledge of literature is acute, profound, and gives evidence of a depth of studies which would surprise even those who know what intense labor necessarily devolves upon genius. Béranger affects ignorance with great effect, somewhat in the manner of Montaigne. It is undoubtedly true, that he does not know Latin; but to hear him discourse upon the drama, and pass with equal facility from Moliere, Racine and Shakespeare to the tragic poets of ancient times-one would feel tempted to believe that he understands the Greek language; nay, that he was once himself a Grecian, and remembers it, so familiar does he seem to be with that order of classic beauty and noble harmony."

TO SOPHY,

WHO BEGGED ME TO COMPOSE A ROMANCE TO AMUSE HER.

FROM THE FRENCH OF BERANGER.

It is thy wish that I should write for thee
A long romance, that may effective be :
Against that wish my reason must rebel;
A long romance no more 'tis mine to tell.
When from life's dawn man finds himself so far,
All his romances of the shortest are;

Nor can I hope that long 'twill be my fate
Of love's romance to lengthen out the date.

Ah! happy he who can in mistress find
The friendship that belongs to sister kind!
Joy's wild delirium 'tis to thee I owe;

From thee the sweetness of kind cares I know.
The well-drawn hero, the pretended sage,

In long romance our pity may engage;

But with some leaves of Friendship's soft romance
These, when compared, are scarcely worth a glance.

A dull romance would our own history make;
But. Sophy, pleasure in the thought I take,
That on Love's breast 'twill be thy fate to lie,
And charmed by pleasures see thy moments fly.
Ah! may'st thou long, as fair and gay as now,
With crowns of flowers bedeck thy beauteous brow;
And never be it thine to shed one tear

O'er the romance that life presents us here!

THE REPUBLIC.

We anticipated much pleasure in reading "The Republic,* more from the name adopted than anything else; and we have not been wholly disappointed, but to a great extent. We have found a defence of a war, the expediency and necessity of which will scarcely admit of a doubt-not the history of our national progress.-Something of the establishment of our institutions; but nothing of the blessings resulting therefrom, contrasted with those of other and different political organizations. From the cognomen adopted, we were induced to believe that the author had commenced his labor in a much neglected field,—that a manly and philosophical exposition of the republican principles which work together so harmoniously, had been added to the stock of political text-books. These expectations have not been realized; but our disappointment is relieved by a thorough and triumphant defence of the policy pursued towards Mexico, in our recent difficulties, by the administration. The subject is presented in a masterly manner, and every material averment sustained by documentary evidence. Thus far the author has discharged a debt due to the administration, and to the citizens generally. The more necessary something of this kind appears, from the numerous and violent attacks made daily on our national character, prompted, undoubtedly, by the contrast of our highly prosperous condition with the confusion and misery of the old world. Americans are so frequently lectured by their self-constituted censors, that many are disposed to inquire, seriously, whether they do owe any "natural allegiance" to our trans-Atlantic progenitor. We offend chiefly by being Americans-by speaking freely of our institutions, and of the political and social blessings they secure. Whether we are warranted in so doing, is a compound question, depending upon the past, the present and the future. The two first furnish a key to the last; from the principles advocated and the rights and liberties already established, we may judge with considerable accuracy, what the fruits of the future will be. Our feelings of national pride are as liberal as they are just. Prompted by no local. spirit,-bounded by no territorial lines, they belong to, and are a part of, the triumph of right over force; the offspring of free thought and free action, and in harmony with their legitimate advances. Our institutions were warmed into life under the focus of the accumulated, lights of the eighteenth century; were not the result of an accident, but the deliberate act of an enlightened people-an important step in the progress of man, and one to which his successive struggles pointed as steadily and unerringly as the needle to the pole. To that point, indistinct as it was, an unutterable something within impelled him. How slow his progress, and how painful, may be seen; for each important concession constitutes an era in his history. The traces of the spirit that directed his efforts, sanctified the blood of revolutions, and which led him safely through the valley and shadow of the middle ages, to the period of a higher civilization, may be seen all along his pathway. It is the knowledge of this long protracted political travail, that invest free institutions, the legitimate offspring, with such increasing importance. It is this, together with their beneficial effects upon * "The Republic of the United States of America; its duties to itself," &c. D. Appleton and Company.

man, that secures our strong attachment, and inspires our deepest sympathies with those who seek to establish them. We are equally interested in the workings of the disturbed elements that surge and swell around the base of continental thrones, with those who consecrate their lives to the spirit of the storm. The successive changes of the old world are marked with the utmost anxiety. Connected as we are with free institutions, we cannot silently contemplate the enlargement of the stream of human liberty, whether it be by gradual contributions, or the convulsive throes of public excitement. The name of our country is pronounced by dignified senators, under the shadow of monarchy, with a singular veneration; and the principles of our government find a response in the hearts of millions, who but impatiently wait for their universal triumph.

Constitutional freedom, as established by our revolution, changed the current of human events, and is destined to direct and control the march of nations. Much had been done by charters, wrung from the grasp of reluctant monarchs; but these were advances only towards a fact not fully developed. How much influence the adoption of our constitution had upon man, it is impossible to estimate: certain it is, that great and important changes followed in quick succession. The French revolution took place soon after, which, however disgraceful to that people, laid the foundation of their present liberty. Europe was fired with a desire for constitutional freedom; Baden, Bavaria, Wertemburgh, Portugal, Naples and Piedmont, sought and obtained written constitutions. The states were instituted in Prussia, the Cortes in Spain, and Greece, reminded of her former greatness, again, but ineffectually, struggled to obtain a recognition of her rights. But European advances did not keep up with the spirit of the times, and the excitement which now shakes it from one extreme to the other is the result. We are not ignorant of the advances this spirit made before our revolution; nor of the fact that political power has been gradually passing from the hands of the few to the many, for centuries. The Spanish protested in 1420 against taxation, unless levied by the representatives of the free cities and villages; and in their remonstrance presented to John II., distinctly asserted some of the fundamental principles of constitutional liberty. "There remains," said they "no other privilege or liberty which can be profitable to subjects, if this be shaken." About the same period the south of France caught the spirit, and had it not been for the strong arm of feudalism, (still predominant in the north,) those provinces would have laid the foundation for a more enduring monument; but this was reserved for the sons of the Rhine, and of the Swiss cantons. The Hanseatic league lasted longer than any previous union of the kind, and furnished undeniable evidence of its own importance and of its advantages; while the Swiss in their cantons, unyielding as their native mountains, withstood the shock of a mightier power, and in the self-sacrificing patriotism of Winkelried, published their just estimate of Helvetic liberty to the world.

We need not go back to the blind efforts of the Romans; between them and the period of a more healthy, more enlightened spirit, a wide, dark gulf of barbarism intervenes. Their civilization was evanescent ;-that to which barbarism gave birth may be considered eternal. Nowhere have the advances been more regular than in England: and if not so rapid in their de velopment, perhaps more certain. Her constitutional history presents the successive steps of political freedom in the most distinct characters. Not a right has been established,--not a franchise granted, without the most stubborn opposition. But notwithstanding the reluctance manifested, the re

cords of her struggles are so many witnesses of the advance of popular rights. King John yielded to the demands of this unconquerable spirit, in granting Magna Charta; and from that day to the present, it has continued to wear upon the pillars of their government, bursting a fetter here and removing an obstacle there, until, from an absolute, it has become a limited monarchy. The whole structure of the building has been changed, but so gradually, that centuries have been exhausted in the work; and centuries more will be required, unless hastened by revolutions, to equalize its proportions. Her distinctions are unnatural, and her harsh and oppressive contrasts the necessary result. The strength of the valleys is wasted in trying to fertilize her mountain tops. The first and last rays of sunshine are caught by the elevated; the shadows only are allowed to fall upon the lowly, but productive portions of her population.

The history of France is equally interesting. Her changes have been more rapid, but not so permanent; yet the bases were sound, as we shall hereafter establish. Her past history warns us not to speak too confidently of her present adventure. But we have not space to devote to a more extended review of the history of popular advances; nor do we presume to enter further upon a task, to the performance of which we feel so inade quate. Ever since the organization of society, man has been struggling to establish a just and equitable government, the benign influences of which should be felt by all. Prompted by this desire, impelled by obligations of the highest consideration, patriots have not waited to count the convulsions and revolutions necessary to prepare the elements of faction for its birth. Their labors, however trying and fearful, have been in the line of their duty; and their advances so many steps towards the destiny of man.

Our revolution, then, was not the result of new ideas, but the triumph of old ones this, however, does not detract from its importance. A new order of things was established; the people became the government. The author of "The Republic" has given us a brief history of the adoption of the Arti cles of Confederation, and of the present Constitution. The one superseded the other, but not without much bitter opposition. It became necessary, after the Declaration of Independence, which was made in the name of the Sovereign people, for the states to enter into some kind of political associ ation for their mutual defence and general welfare. The Amphictyons and the United Provinces of the Netherlands furnished examples; and in the formation of the Articles of Confederation, their errors and weaknesses were followed as closely as their virtues. The Federal Congress had power to make treaties, but none to fulfil them-that was reserved by the states. Congress had power to declare war, but could not command the resources to sustain it. The Federal Treasury depended upon the good faith of the states: and they not unfrequently refused to raise the amount required. Congress had power to borrow money, but none to collect funds to discharge the indebtedness. The deficits during the war were partially supplied by patriotic citizens; but when the greater emergency had passed, and men began to look about for relief, the evils and imbecilities of the Confederation appeared in their real proportions. The Federal ordinances were disregarded, the states refused to pay their respective quotas of the expendi tures,-treaties with other nations were violated,-former prejudices were revived, and each state pursuing what appeared to be its own local inte rests, threw the whole into confusion profound. But the creative energy, almost peculiar to Americans, brought order out of the confusion, and light out of the darkness. The elements of discord were quieted by the spirit of

concession, and a new government was created out of the materials of the old, more comprehensive in its character, and more energetic in its action. To this offspring of patriotism we are indebted for all that makes our history interesting, and our national character worthy of emulation. All distinctions were abolished, the interests of government and the governed were inseparably united. Religion recognizes a natural equality, and our Constitution guarantees it to all. One of the great difficulties in other governments is found in the impediments and obstructions created to prevent the general diffusion of knowledge. The press has its censor, and the schools and institutions of learning are placed beyond the reach of the masses. Here, the press, a great and important means of information, is untrammelled-free in the most enlarged sense of the term. No censor casts his shadow over it; for weal or for woe it exercises its potent influence. Not needed now, as in the days of Lord Cecil, its original patron in England, to correct the misrepresentations and quiet the fears created by the Spanish Armament, but having extended its influence, and increased its power, it has become a mighty engine, by which the rights of the people are protected from an Armada more fearful than any that ever threatened Elizabeth, or exhausted the treasury of Spain. The freedom of the press is more desirable than charters of liberty; with it they perform their legitimate office; without it they are worthless. It speaks, and the response topples iron-bound monarchies. At its bidding, provisional governments arise and republics are born.

Oursystem of religious instruction, free, like the press, has a most beneficial influence. Disconnected-independent of the government-it relies solely upon the strength derived from the faith inspired by the purity of its tenets and the devotion of its disciples. Our religion may not be national, but it is natural,—the religion of the heart, not of interest and convenience -supported by the voluntary offerings of a people conscious of the blessings it secures, and the obligations it imposes; not by the tithe wrung from the reluctant will. It lends its sanction to no political party; but, by purifying the heart and elevating the mind, it regulates the actions of all. Independent of the state, it requires the smile of no sovereign but God.

Education is absolutely free in most of the states, and in some of them all are compelled to avail themselves of its advantages. There is scarcely a community in the Union that does not offer greater opportunities than were enjoyed by the sage, to whose philosophic mind the lightning of heaven submitted. All may not be Franklins, but the fault is not in the government; the causes will be found to have existed within the legitimate range of their own powers. Knowledge is not confined to monasteries, as in the middle ages, not fenced round by titles of distinction,-not encouraged in those who despise its best fruits, and prostitute it to the vilest purposes, and discouraged in those who are its natural votaries, and who only are fit to minister at its altars. Here, more than in any other country, it should be free. We are, emphatically, a united people, our interests are inseparably blended, so close is the connection, that we cannot elevate ourselves, in a moral and intellectual view, without proportionately benefitting those by whom we are surrounded. The acquisition of knowledge depends very much upon the society in which we move; but where distinctions are made-where classes are tolerated, a part or class may improve without having any beneficial effect upon others. The intelligence of a man, as well as that of a people, is the accumulation of facts; and as much the largest portion of what we know is derived from others, the sum total depends upon the labors of each individual. No one, therefore, can distinguish himself in a free coun