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From the Dublin University Magazine.
PARIS IN 1846.

and public walks by day, or their brilliancy when lighted up by night.

But the achievement which will be remembered PARIS as it is after fifteen years rule of the throne in connection with the reign of Louis Philippe, with of the Barracades, and Paris as it was under the the most grateful feelings by the philanthropist, is divine-right crown of the Restoration-Paris as it undoubtedly the example he has afforded even to presented itself to the staring wonder of the crowd the advanced civilization of Great Britain in his that rushed from Corn-hill to the Palais Royal as efforts for the repression of gambling and prostitusoon as the echo of the cannon had died away on tion. He has accomplished what the English authe plains of Waterloo, and as it now addresses thorities have not even thought of attempting. itself to the twenty thousand strangers that swarm There are now no public gambling tables in Paris, between the Rue de la Paix and the Arc de Tri- and even private play is subject to so many reomphe, is a subject interesting to contemplate. straints, that it has been stripped of half its evils. Under the consulate and the empire, as of old under The purest female may now walk the public thothe ancient regime, the fine arts, in all their depart-roughfares of the city by day or by night without ments, engrossed the attention of the government, the risk of having her sight outraged or her ears and captivated the public. The substantial com- polluted by the indecencies which are still suffered forts, the convenience and health of the people, to prevail in the most frequented streets of the were subjects of comparatively minor importance. metropolis of Britain. The theatres and other Magnificent buildings, splendid monuments, and places of public resort are equally purified. Even gorgeous palaces everywhere attracted the eye; the Palais Royal-that temple of vice-has been and in their immediate vicinage, poverty, filth, and thoroughly reformed; and it is due to the present misery. The marble walls of temples and palaces king to add, that this reformation has been effected were defiled by the river of filth and offal which by a large sacrifice of his private revenue; a conflowed through the sewerless streets. The pas-siderable portion of the rental of the Palais Royal senger who aspired not to a coach, unprovided with having risen from the extensive and long-established a footway, scrambled along the inclined pavement which sloped from either wall to the central gutter, which discharged the functions of a sewer, and was from time to time bespattered with the mud and filth flirted around by the wheels of the carriages in which the more wealthy were transported. Lanterns suspended like a performer on the corde volante, at distant intervals, like angels' visits, few and far between, in the centre of the street, and at a height sufficient to allow carriages to pass under them, served as a sort of light-houses for the navigation of the vehicles of the rich through the streams of puddle, but by their distance, height, and position, afforded no benefit to the humble pedes-remembered, that the construction and maintenance trian To say that they illuminated the streets would be an abuse of language; they just served to make darkness visible.

gambling rooms by which it was occupied, and by the employment of the loftier stories for still more impure, and not less profitable purposes.*

Among the improvements in the arts of life, imported from England, the most striking, at the present moment, is the railway system, which is progressing in France more rapidly than is imagined at our side of the channel. The manner of accomplishing these public works here is essentially different from the English system, and has certainly some advantages over the latter in a national point of view. To comprehend it, and the circumstances out of which it has arisen, it must be

of the public roads has always constituted a department of the government in France, under the title of L'Administration des ponts et chaussées, or the Fifteen years of constitutional liberty, and the Department of Roads and Bridges. Connected with substitution of a representative government-pre- this department there is a public school of engineersided over by a prince who has been schooled in ing, the pupils of which ultimately form a corps of misfortune, had experienced the sweet uses of ad- engineers, in the immediate pay, and under the versity, and had known what it was to eat the control of the state. By this corps, or under their bread of his own industry-for the throne of the superintendence, all the great public communicarestoration, vainly struggling against the spirit of tions of the country are made and maintained. the age and the popular will, have changed all this. When the invention of railways, therefore, had The wand of an enchanter has been waved over the been advanced so far in England, as to supersede, city, and a magical transformation has been effected. to a greater or less extent, common roads, and the The ornamental has ceased to monopolize the atten- improvement had forced itself upon the French tion of government, and the useful has claimed public, the construction of such lines of intercourse its due care. The frightful ravages of the cholera, by private companies presented a novelty in the in 1832, left a warning which has not been un- civil administration of the country; and after the heeded. In an incredibly short space of time, a concession of one or two of the first enterprises of perfect system of drainage by sewers throughout this kind to joint stock companies, (a large portion this vast city has been completed. Footways have of the shareholders of which were English,) the everywhere been constructed. The system of car-government reverted to the established usage, subriage pavement with square blocks of granite, ject, however, to a slight modification. The great forming a convex road, with side drains leading to lines of railway are now projected, surveyed, and the sewers, has taken the place of the concave street with open centre gutters. The offensive effluvia which excluded the English visitor from certain quarters of Paris no longer exists, and the demon of malaria has been expelled. Gas illumination, extending now through every quarter, including the interior of buildings as well as the streets, has superseded the suspended lantern; and it is hard to say which most attracts the admiration of foreigners, the gaiety of the streets, boulevards,

executed by or under the immediate superintend-
ence of the Administration des ponts et chaussées,
and at the cost of the state. When they are com-
pleted, or nearly so, they are offered to public com-
petition, on a lease for a specified time, varying from
forty years to a century. The company, or indi-
vidual, who, under sealed proposals, sent in within
a specified time, and to be opened on an appointed

property of Louis Philippe.
* It is well known that the Palais Royal is the private

day, offers the terms most advantageous to the | London (eighty-eight miles) may be made in two state, obtains the lease. The lessee company hours. Thus the entire distance between Paris and usually replaces the capital expended by the gov- London, making allowance for fair stoppages, may ernment in the construction of the road, and pro- be effected in seven hours by express trains, and by vides from its own funds all the movable capital common trains may certainly be brought within necessary for the operation of the line. At the ter- twelve hours!! On an emergency, a despatch may mination of the lease, the property in the line reverts be sent to Paris, and an answer obtained in fifteen to the state. hours! But this emergency itself may be superThis method of proceeding is attended with sev-seded by the electric telegraph which will reduce eral obvious advantages. The general projection the hours to minutes!! of the lines of communication through the country is not left to chance or to the fancy of individuals or companies, or the suggestion of local coteries, but is governed by the high and general interests of the state. By retaining a general control and surveillance, which form part of the conditions of the lease, the interests of the public are better protected, and abuses of administration are more effectually prevented than could be effected if the railways were the property of independent bodies and associations as in England. After the expiration of the leases, these enterprises becoming national property, may either be made a direct source of revenue to the state, relieving the public in a proportionate extent from less tolerable burthens, or be worked for the public benefit at rates only sufficient to maintain them.

The lines of railway now in actual operation are the following:

Paris to Versailles, (right bank,)

TIME.

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DISTANCE.
Miles.

h. m.

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Do.

Do. (left bank)

12

0 30

Paris to St. Germain,

12

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Paris to Rouen,

86

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Paris to Orleans,

79

4

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The railway from Paris to Lyons, and thence to Marseilles, is also in rapid progress. This distance will be about five hundred miles, and at the same rate of travelling for express trains, may be completed in ten hours. Thus an express train may reach Marseilles from London in seventeen hours! The same rate on the Sardinian and Tuscan lines, when constructed, would reach the frontier of the papal states in a few additional hours; but here we must stop. The states of the Church forbid the construction of railways within their precincts, as dangerous to Christianity! There we must surrender the locomotive, and betake ourselves to the road. The papal authorities of the nineteenth century are as hostile to the speed of the railway as those of the sixteenth were to the orbital motion of the earth, and are as strongly opposed to Stephenson as those of the latter were to Galileo. Fashion is everything in Paris. Its sway is omnipotent and universal. It

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Even religion here is not exempt from its sceptre, and the church revives under its fostering influence. After the revolution of July, the few ecclesiastics who under the restored Bourbons had gained a sort of footing in society, fell into such disrepute that no one appeared for several years in the public streets in the clerical costume. The shovel and three-cornered chapeaux were laid aside, and the loose-robe was abandoned for the ordinary coat and round-hat of the layman. In the churches, on the Sabbath, the congregation consisted almost exclusively of females, with a slight sprinkling of old men, gener20 ally of the humbler classes. Within a few years, however, it has-for what reason would be hard to say-become fashionable among the Parisians to observe the external forms of religion; and when the Parisians adopt any fashion, they don't do so by halves. The streets now have become a perfect rookery. Black robes of every cut and fashion, shovel hats, three-cornered hats, and every other characteristic of clerical costume abound. The churches, on Sundays, are as overflowing as the theatres, and as brilliant in the rank and fashion of The effects which in a few years may be expect the assemblies which fill them. Go to the Madeleed to be produced on the inter-communication of ine, and look at the luxurious velvet-covered prie different parts of Europe, but especially between dicus, and you will discover the rank of the habitués, France and England, when these enterprises come by the names of their owners engraved on the into operation, must be very striking. It is pre-pretty brass plates attached to them. Madame La sumable that between two capitals so important as Duchesse de M-, Madame La Vicomtesse de N-, Paris and London, no known practical means of Madame La Princesse de P-, &c. &c., attest the expeditious communication will be neglected. At rank of the votaries at this fashionable temple. present, the express trains between London and Exeter travel (stoppages included) at fifty miles an hour. The stoppages being much less frequent, it may then be expected that express trains between Paris and Boulogne will travel at the same rate at least; in which case the trip between Paris and Boulogne will be made in less than three hours. Steamers of improved efficiency may easily make the passage between Boulogne and Folkstone in an hour and a-half, and the trip between Folkstone and

Shops have been opened in the vicinities of all the principal churches, pour la vente des objets religieux. In the windows are displayed rosaries, of exquisitely carved beads; crucifixes in gold, silver, and ivory, beautifully sculptured; Agni-Deis, Virgins and infant Saviours; ecce homos, missals, gor

died, and it is announced that his successor, adopting a *Since the above was in type, Pope Gregory XVI. bas more enlightened policy, has decided on the construction of railways.

geously bound in the richest velvet, with sculptured Thus it seems that of the total number of per crucifixes on the covers; priests' robes of the rich-sons who die in Paris, very nearly forty per cent. est cloth of gold; little shrines for the private closet die in the hospitals. of the faithful; and an infinitely various assortment of like objects, by which religion is rendered ornamental and externally attractive.

The improvement of the general comforts of the poorer classes in France, which has taken place since the Revolution, combined with the extensive The children are reminded of the observances of use of vaccination, is exhibited in its effects on the their religion in their playthings and their sweet- average duration of life. By the statistical returns, meats. The toy-shops exhibit in their windows it appears that for the last twenty-seven years the baby-chapels, with baby altars, shrines, and cruci- ratio of the whole population, to the number of fixes. The boy who used to take his pocket money births, is 33.4 to 1, which gives the mean duration to purchase little soldiers, now buys little monks, of life, during that period, to be 33 years. By the and the girl shows you her doll dressed as a sister tables of Duvilland, it appears that before the Revof charity. Sugar plums are formed into the figuresolution the average duration of life was only 274 of the Virgin and the Saviour, and priests in their years, which gives an increase of 19 per cent. on robes are eaten in sweet chocolate, as images in the length of life since the Revolution. sugar are swallowed from the crust of a twelfth night cake.

With all this external parade of the forms of religion, there is at the same time scarcely a serious pretension to any real or deep feeling on the subject. Even among women the matter begins and ends in ceremonials. In the actual practical conduct of life all this religion (if it can be so denominated) exercises little or no influence. Whether this arises from the fact that the national clergy do not constitute a prominent section of good society in the country, as is the case in England, we must leave others to determine.

The statistics of the population of Paris, published from year to year, disclose some curious facts which may aid in the discussion of such questions.

It appears from the statistical returns of last year that the births which took place in Paris, in the year 1844, were as follows:

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21,526
10,430

31,956

The proportion of the sexes among the children born, offers some curious and inexplicable circumstances. On taking the returns of births from 1817 to 1843, it is found that the total number of boys born in that interval was 13,477,489, while the number of girls was 12,680,776; so that, of the whole number there are 6 per cent. more boys than girls.

But let us examine separately the two classes of legitimate and illegitimate children.

It is found, that among legitimate children 1063 boys are born for every 100 girls; while among illegitimate children 104, boys are born for 100 girls. In the latter class, therefore, there are only four per cent. more boys born than girls; while in the former there are nearly seven per cent. more of boys.

This ratio is not casual, for it has been found to obtain, not only for different periods of time and for different parts of France, but is equally found in other countries where exact statistical records are kept.

It seems, then, that a greater proportion of boys Total number of births, . are born among legitimate than among illegitimate These figures lead to the astounding conclusion children. What strange inferences this incontestathat thirty-two and a-half per cent. of the children bly established phenomenon leads to! Are we to born in the metropolis of France, are illegitimate!! infer that the solemnization of marriage produces It may be inquired in what condition of life this a specific physiological effect, varying in a deterenormous extent of concubinage prevails? Some minate manner the sex of the offspring? We must light may be thrown on this question by examining the proportion of the entire number of illegitimates which are born in the hospitals, to which here the poorer classes almost invariably resort.

leave this curious question to the faculty to explain. Meanwhile we must assure them that they are absolutely excluded from taking refuge in the doubtfulness of the fact itself. The evidence is quite

It appears, then, that of the total number of ille-incontestable. gitimates, there were

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extent in Paris.

If the intellectual condition of the population of the French metropolis can be inferred from the amount of intellectual food provided for them, and apparently enjoyed and voluntarily consumed, it must be admitted to have attained rather an high standard. The first, most obvious, and most abundant source of mental information, is the daily press. Journalism is carried to an extraordinary Not only is the number of newspapers considerable, but the average circulation is much greater than that of the London journals. They are issued at a much lower price, and much The annual subscription more extensively read. to the principal daily papers is only forty francs, equal to thirty-two shillings, British. These papers are published daily, including Sundays, and consequently their price is little more than one penny. But small as this cost is, the Parisian rarely incurs so much; nor would a single journal satisfy his thirst for information. He requires to see the journals of all parties, and to hear all sides of the question. This object is attained easily, economically, and agreeably, by the Cabinets de Lecture or read

ing rooms, above three hundred of which are estab- the tribune; never except on questions on which lished in Paris. The admission to these is three his peculiar acquirements are capable of throwing halt pence. Here all the journals of Paris, great light. Whenever he does, the chamber is hushed and small, all the periodicals of the day, the popular in the most profound and respectful silence. There romances and pamphlets, and other works of cur- are no interruptions, either of approbation or disrent interest, are provided. In many of the better class of these establishments, the English and other foreign papers are found. Every Parisian above the rank of the mere working class resorts to these rooms, and makes himself au courant on the subjects of the day. Besides these sources of daily information, he has his café, to which all Frenchmen resort morning or evening, and where all the principal journals are provided.

sent, such as even the most eminent parliamentary speakers are accustomed to. The members listen with inclined heads and inquiring countenances. The strangers' galleries are filled with respectful and anxious spectators and hearers. The stature of the savant is above the middle size, his hair is curled and flowing, and his fine southern bust commands the attention. His forehead and temples indicate force of will and habits of meditation. The The aim and object of a Parisian journal, are moment he opens the subject of his speech, he besomewhat different from those of an English news- comes the centre to which every look is directed, paper. It is less the vehicle of advertisements, or and on which all attention is fixed. If the quesof mere gossip, such as accidents and offences, than tion is complicated, it becomes simple as he utters the latter. It is more discursive, and affects more it. If it be technical, it is resolved into the most the character of a review, embracing literature and familiar. If it be obscure, it becomes luminous. the arts, as well as politics and miscellaneous intel- The ignorant are astonished that what seemed uninligence. In a certain sense it may be said to have telligible has become suddenly self-evident, and the a higher intellectual tone, and, although no single dull are charmed with the consciousness of their French journal can be truly said to be as perfect awakened powers of perception. The gesture, the a vehicle of general intelligence as one of the leading pantomime of the orator are captivating. Flashes morning papers of London, yet this deficiency is of light seem to issue from his eyes, his mouth, and more than compensated by the facility with which even from his fingers! He varies and relieves his the various journals are accessible. discourse by the most lively digressions and wellpointed anecdotes immediately arising out of the subject, which adorn without overcharging it. When he relates facts, his language has all the graces of simplicity; but when he unfolds the mysteries of science, and develops some of the wonders of nature, his speech rises, his style becomes elevated and figurative, and his eloquence corresponds with the sublimity of his theme.

The feuilleton is a department of French journalism which has no corresponding branch in the English press. Here the writings of many of the most eminent men of letters of the day, more especially the authors of fiction, first are offered to the world. Here are also found literary and dramatic criticism, reviews of the arts, and a general record of the progress of mind.

The number of journals which thus form channels of popular information in Paris alone, is about forty; half that number being daily papers for politics and general intelligence.

The versatility of Arago, and his vast fund of peculiar information, always ready in his memory, and available for felicitous application, remind us of the qualities of his friend Lord Brougham. Like the The intellectual taste of the Parisians is mani- latter Arago is a linguist, a politician, a man of letters. fested, in a striking manner, by the desire they show He is perpetual secretary of the institute, in which for attendance on public lectures in every depart-office he has produced remarkable eloges of some ment of literature and science. Such discourses of his most eminent contemporaries, among whom are accessible gratuitously in various parts of may be mentioned Volta, Fourriere and Watt. Paris, and delivered by professors eminent in the various departments of knowledge. Among these ought to be especially mentioned the lectures on astronomy delivered throughout the season by Arago, at the royal observatory, and those on mechanical philosophy, given on Sundays, by the Baron Charles Dupin, at the Conservatoire des arts et metiers. Each of these professors is attended by audiences of six or seven hundred persons of both sexes and all ages, from the youth of sixteen upwards.

Of all the class of public professors coming under the title of adult instructors, Arago is, perhaps, the most remarkable, and we might even extend the comparison beyond the limits of France. The well-known felicity of Faraday gives him a high rank in this species of teaching. But he yields to Arago in the eloquence of language, and what may be called the literary qualifications of the instructor. If Arago had not been a member of the Academy of Sciences, he might have preferred a fair claim to admission to the Academy of Letters, (L'Académie Française.)

One of the principal avowed instruments for the intellectual advancement for the people in France, is, the drama. Whether the counteracting evils which attend theatrical entertainments, preponderate over the means of mental improvement which they offer, is a question on which some difference of opinion will, no doubt, prevail. However this be decided, the state in France regards the drama as a national object, as the means of sustaining an important branch of French literature, and, in a word, as a department of les beaux arts, as well entitled to protection and encouragement as painting or sculpture.

There are within the barriers of Paris about twenty-four theatres, permanently open; most of them nightly, including Sunday. Several of these are directly supported by the state, receiving an annual subvention, of greater or less amount, and being consequently subject, in some degree, to government control. In defence of the moral effect of these places of public amusement, it must be said that none of them present the offensive and revolting scenes which are witnessed in the saloons and As a member of the chamber of deputies, Arago upper tiers of boxes of the English theatres. In has assumed his seat on the extreme left, the place fact, that class of persons who thus outrage decenof republican opinions pushed to their extreme cy, in the place of public amusement in England, limit. He is a violent politician, and will go every dare not show themselves in any theatre in Paris. length with his party. He rarely, however, mounts In that respect, at least, there is a wholesome

stringency of police regulations. In the audience you are only required to find your own paper. part of a Paris theatre there is, in fact, nothing to The number of readers who avail themselves of offend the eye or the ear of the most fastidious mor- this privilege is enormous. alist.

The principal theatre of Paris, and that to which the state attaches most importance, is the Académie Royale de Musique, commonly called the grand opera. It is here that the art of dancing is cultivated; in connexion, however, with the higher class of opera. Notwithstanding that the prices of admission are considerable, and the theatre accommodates two thousand persons, and is generally filled, yet such is the splendor with which musical entertainments are produced, that the entire receipts do not amount to anything near the expenses of the establishment. The annual subscription allowed by the state to this school of music is above thirtyfive thousand pounds sterling.

A second theatre, called the Opéra Comique, is also devoted exclusively to the advancement of music, and receives an annual grant of £10,000.

The great school of French dramatic literature is the Theatre Français, where the works of Racine, Corneille, Voltaire, Molière, and the other great dramatic writers, are kept continually before the public, supported by the best living artists, among whom Mademoiselle Rachel at present holds the first place. This theatre is supported by an annual grant of £8,000, notwithstanding which it is now tottering on the brink of dissolution, and must come to a suspension if the state do not intervene.

Exclusive of these, all the other theatres are private enterprises, conducted independently of the government, and generally attended with profitable results in a financial sense. The character of the dramas represented at them is very various, and in some instances exceptionable on the score of moral tendency, not more so, however, than those of the minor theatres in London.

Among the means of intellectual advancement enjoyed by the Parisians, we ought not to omit the mention of the public libraries, of which above twenty are open to the public daily. It is impossible to refrain from contrasting these admirable institutions with similar public establishments in London, not only as to the facilities which they offer to the public, but as to the extent to which the public avail themselves of the benefits which they present. If the number of daily readers at such institutions be any indication of the intellectual advancement of the people, then assuredly our French neighbors have greatly the advantage of us. To perceive this, it is only necessary to look into the salle de lecture of the Bibliothèque Royale any morning, and call to your recollection the reading-room of the library at the British Museum. Is the difference to be ascribed to the different state of mental advancement of the people, or to the restrictions imposed on the admission to the use of the latter library? If this last be to any extent the cause, the sooner these restrictions are removed the better. In Paris the public libraries are open without any restrictions whatever. You have no permission to ask, no introduction or recommendation to seek, no qualification to attain-not even a name to acknowledge. Whatever be your condition, rank, country, language, or garb, you are free to enter these institutions; write on a paper which is provided for you the titles of the works you wish to consult or to study, and without further inquiry or delay they are handed to you by porters, who are in waiting for the purpose; you have convenient seats and tables in rooms well ventilated in summer and warmed in winter, with ink for extracts, and

While means so ample are thus presented for the improvement of the understanding, opportunities for the cultivation of taste, and the refinement of the imagination, are not less profusely supplied, and still more eagerly and extensively enjoyed by all classes, including even the most humble of the operatives. To be convinced of this, we have only to make a promenade of the magnificent collection of Versailles, or of the museum of the Louvre, on any Sunday or holiday, when the working classes are free. Those who in London would be found at the gin-shop, or at the smoking bazaar, are here found familiarizing their eye with the productions of Raffaelle, Titian, Paul Veronese, the Poussins, or Claude, or wandering among the antiquities of Italy, Greece, and Egypt. It is not an overcharged estimate to state, that on every festival day, with favorable weather, not less than fifty thousand of the lower orders of Paris enjoy themselves in this manner.

STOCKHOLM, June 5.-About one thousand persons will sail this month from Gefle and Stockholm. These emigrants may be regarded as a fair specimen of the better class of Swedish peasants, and some are men of considerable property. They are generally hard-working, honest lovers of order, and will, no doubt, prove a valuable addition to our popThey are dissenters from the established church of Sweden, and are in fact driven out by the strong hand of religious tyranny. I understand it is their intention to form a colony, as soon as possible, in some of the western States.-Union.

ulation.

RICHARD COBDEN.-Elihu Burritt, now travelling in England, thus speaks of the last meeting of the League:

"Cobden arose not to speak for the space of several minutes, but to stand up in affecting silence before the assembly, who would have drowned the voice of a trumpet before the swelling peals of applause with which they greeted the Napoleon of moral revolution. Several times he essayed to speak, but before he could frame his lips to the utterance of a word, the multitude would burst forth anew with another volume of cheers. I saw his clear, spirit-speaking eyes fill with tears, on thus being interrupted the third time in his efforts to make himself heard. There stood the meekest looking man I ever saw fronting a public assembly, and in the meekest attitude. As he stood with his slight form inclining forward, with one of his thin pale hands hanging by the forefinger from a button hole in the left breast of his coat, and with the other resting on a corner of the speaker's desk as if for support, he looked the very impersonation of timid modesty. His whole attitude and appearance reminded me of some humble member of the Methodist church, in America, arising in one of their class meetings to tell his experience,' in a contrite spirit. And that was England's foremost man! Among all the heroes her annals have numbered, that soft-voiced revolutionist stood the highest in the people's gratitude! For England had become a people, and he the people's man, and this was the hour of his coronation. The first words he uttered fell upon the listening multitude in tones of querulous modulation. They were uttered with childlike simplicity, and were tremulous with the emo tion he confessed.'

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