the electors; in so far as that influence extends, it ceases to be representative; or rather, it represents the executive at the expense of the nominal constituency. The philosophy of representation cannot be complete without taking the executive into account. It is no reason for passing over this part of the subject, that we may assume a supreme legislative assembly to frame an executive in the wisest manner. We might also assume that it would regulate the publicity of discussion, mode of election, distribution of business, &c., in the wisest manner; yet these matters are considered at length, and properly, inasmuch as their arrangement affects the constitution and functions of a representative government. Much more must the character of the executive. Moreover, it is only in combination with the idea of an hereditary executive that the theory of representation is of any practical use. Only under this modification is it possessed by our own country, or can it be attained by any other country, except through violent revolution. Under this modification, with the addition of a delegation of the executive authority, did it exist in the state governments of America prior to their independence. The mutual checking and influencing of an hereditary executive and an elective legislature must affect the action and the expediency of almost every form and mode of proceeding that can be devised. The question is enough, of itself, for a volume as large as the one before us. We wish we might hope for it from the pen of Mr. Bailey. His introductory chapter, On the Progress and Present State of Political Repre sentation,' brief as it is, shows his aptitude for the historical portion of the subject; and there can be no doubt of the skill, clearness, and moral courage with which he would arrange and philosophize on the materials.

The remainder of our analysis must be postponed till next month.

ELUCIDATORY COMMENTS;

Supposed to be from the posthumous Pen of Jeremy Bentham ;

ON THE THAUMATURGIC FANTASIE, AFTER HOFFMAN,
ENTITLED NUTCRACKER;"

With a right curious EXTRACT, now first published from an original MS,

THE psychological subtilties and pictorial phantasmagoria, once so universally prevalent and influential, and still practised with appropriate, intellectual aptitude,-more or less, and with sympathy-searching-and-finding effect,-among the Teutonic races; are of a nature, not inherently epileptic, as they continually appear

* Printed in the Repository' for January

to be, but very frequently eclectic in their main purpose and tendency, however wild, disjunct, incoherent, (in their external sense and face of things,) and injudicial a frame, conveyance, and baggage of tropes and figures they may ostensibly present to the ordinary, unrarefied and prejudicate mind. Some harm, I think, they may reasonably be expected to do, by leading the ratiocinationary powers an unnecessary dance and dalliance after truth and morality; sometimes following, sometimes in a circuitous perplexity, sometimes inductive of an overshooting of the mark, and always leaving us in a degree of doubt, as contradistinguished from the desired grasp of certitude. They cannot assuredly be designated as mendacity-exciting, not being mendacious in themselves; for a lie is the utterance of a malicious untruth, i. e. with intent to deceive and injure; whereas, that external machinery of magical freaks, powers, and illusions, of and by which these tales and fantasies are compounded and dressed forth, contain a palpable self-contradiction to their own assertions, by a self-reductional argumentum ad absurdum. Therefore, they are not mendacious—in a proportional degree-nor mendacity-exciting, for the same proportionate reason.

The rare and ingenious specimen now before me, entitled Nutcracker,'-and which I doubt not in the least; making every estimate of the present and probable state of mutual knowledge, coincidence, and sympathy between Germany and the British dominions; will, in about twenty years from the date of the period at which I write these remarks, (December 10, 1812,) be well translated, and well understood, if closely studied by appropriate intelligences, in about thirty years more-is a work of almost unbounded suggestiveness. By following or endeavouring to follow all its mazes into their simplicity of end, so as to decipher and expound all their objects and meanings, the human mind into the very depths of metaphysical dykes and labyrinths, or speculations on theological and social science, may-if seriously so disposed-be gradually led. It is a work, unto the production of which the usual complement of five senses seems to have been inadequate. And, consequently, the right understanding of it will require, unless we should be content to minimize the scope and meaning of it, an equal additament of primitive power; for otherwise the drainage of ideas from the ordinary sources would only leave us in the lees of an unproductive fermentation. The present remarks will, therefore, be grounded (if we may so speak of essence, or pure mentality and abstraction) on the fair assumption of equal means of adding, by sundry laborious efforts, not necessary to be here dilated upon, to the ordinary pitch, poise, depth, extent, and spiritualized potentiality of human intelligence, and are intended to form a key to the sixth sense of Nutcracker.' The copy now displayed before me,-in which many of the words are antiquated exceedingly, or very ill-spelt abortions of

superannuated terminologies, and altogether very unlike what the German language (not only in grammatical construction, but in its idiom more particularly) is at present, and indeed has been for many years past,-is, nevertheless, to my own private judg ment, a very correct copy from the original manuscript. In it, that is, the copy displayed before me, I discover a multitude of impersonations, each distinguished by what is called a name.' And there are also many things as well as abstract qualities, whereunto a name, and indeed various names, might very feasibly be appended. Now it seems to me, that to these names, things, and qualities, three distinct classes of identificational terms, (social, theological, and metaphysical,) or one class combining all, (socio-theologico-metaphysical,) may very aptly be applied. It may be the best, and the shortest way, also; for that which is most elaborately accurate is the shortest, inasmuch as it saves the necessity of going over the same ground twice, or, perhaps, a thousand times; to deal with all these four classes (three distinct, and one combinative) carefully separative; and even unsympathetically so, if that be possible; the which latter I consider provocatively dubious.

And first of the social probability. This class may be given in three distinct forms, or nomenclatural identifications with historical characters; past, present, and future, inclusive. I shall confine myself, till a fitting opening and clearance is arrived at, in this primary class, solely to the first form.

Judging then, with the divisional and complicated understanding aforesaid, by his rank and talent in the piece; (entitled Nutcracker;) by his consunimate courtliness and gallantry; by his half-sentimental consciousness of amatorial fealty, towards the Princess Pearl-o-price, which should not have been compromised to another, even though he was thrust out of the hope of alliance with the house of ***; (q. e. d.) by his prominence in the kingdom of puppets,' his birthplace being at Tonbridge Wells; his affection for Sugar-candy Place, and his affinity, real and ideal, with the castle of Alicumpane; I cannot do otherwise, in this first form of the primary class, than identify the said Nutcracker, or hero of the fantasie, with his most confectionery and jewelsouled majesty, George IV., Fidei Defensor, &c. In the same first form, first class, I shall place little Mary,' as the amiable Mrs. Fitzherbert; (being Britannia in the second, social and political, form;) of whom touching her marriage with a celebrated and most respected barrister, residing in Bedford Square,' more shall be anon propounded. General Punch' is most undoubtedly His Grace of Wellington; the nose and hump being part real, part metaphorical. (q. e. d.) The Princess Pearl-o-price is no less a personage than the Princess Von Halizwhackslauchenhausen; the Queen, her mother, or the pudding-cooker, is the Princess Lieven, as I view her in first form, first class; and the

gourmand pudding-loving king embodies all the Bon-bons, Boorbons, or Bourbons!

Dame Greymouse combines-perhaps somewhat disrespectfully touching her attributes and aims-the ancient snuff-immortalized (being now a spirit) Queen Charlotte, and the present venerable Earl of Eldon. The seven-crowned rat-king is an ill-contrived typification of the Emperor Napoleon, whose cratacrack' was broken in the reign of George IV., alias Nutcracker. It is to be remembered that Nutcracker lost three teeth in the first attempts; i. e. when Mary's brother Frederick (Duke of York, scarce worth mentioning) insisted upon the trial being made.'* The astrologer is, of course, Dr. Southey: who raises his nose towards the planets in an angle of 85°.'

The barrister of Bedford Square is the eloquent Sergeant Talfourd; though he may have moved. Mr. Widesight, the philosophical physician, is, probably, Dr. Birkbeck; for he says, Well, my love, never mind; keep yourself quiet.' Dr. Smallhorse is myself, (J. B.) as I opine-not done sufficient Justice to, yet evidently pointed at in the very first line: On a certain new year's day, the children of Dr. Smallhorse, &c.' Yes: all mankind I look upon as my children. Mr. Pivot, the wonderful mechanician, is Arkwright; but be it ever borne in appropriate intellectual view, that in all the classes and forms wherein this matter is, or shall be, now and heretofore, treated, that this Pivot, the commissioner,' is always united, whatever character he may be presented in to the external senses, with certain qualities, sympathies, and powers, not reducible to the laws of ordinary mortality, but intimately, though occultly, associated with the general motive essence of mundane things. The Con fectioner is evidently a thaumaturgic tri-unity, not lightly to be dealt with, defined, or even hinted at, in these or any other infinitely suggestive personations and fantasies.

Before proceeding to analyze or identify any of the other forms of the primary class; since such analysis and impersonation might tend in some degree-more or less, according to the idiosyncrasy and general powers of the reader-to confuse and lead astray the inquiring mind; (and it is very certain that every writer, of benevolent aim especially, is bound to make himself as clearly intelligible as possible, by every means of definition, explanation, illustration, and simplexity of language and construction, in his power ;) I shall give a short extract from the original manuscript, which extract has been detached, by some means or other, and if not translated by me, will probably-considering all things-be never properly commented upon by anybody else.

Let us here remark, to facilitate perception, that in the second form of Mary, as Britannia, the rat-king comes to her bedside (opposite Dover Cliffs) and says to her Little girl, I must have all your puppets made of sugar-cakes, sweetmeats, picture-books, dolls and their dresses; or else I will gnaw to death thy Nutcracker?

Extract from Original MS.

All the nobility and gentry, who were scientifically disposed, attended in the large hall of the Duke of Spheremansdorf's palace to hear Mr. Pivot's speech. It was publicly announced by sound of green-tea canisters throughout the kingdom of puppets. The king in person beat so loud upon his royal canister that all the court cried out with one acclaim, 'Gracious monarch! what a noise he makes!' In truth, the king was merely out of tea, and vacuity hath its advantages.

Meantime were assembled round the great hall, the grave premier of Puppetdom, Lord Snakeskin, in his last new coat; the dandified ambassador, Count Riddlecap Ratifie; the gallant Colonel Cracknel, covered with orders; the learned Burgomaster, Spongecake; and his haunchship, the Baron Von Punchmy paunch just arrived from Bogie-land-accounted a good magician.

Nor was there a dearth of feminine beauty. Nor was this beauty unaccompanied by talent; brilliant as the eyes that gave additional rays to the words springing spontaneous from the mouth, and, through a double-entendre, conveying a treble. But this was the case with some of the he-sex also; for the witty, though unprincipled, Marquis of Tipsycake, was universally allowed to have exceedingly fine eyes-quite bewitching. His income amounted to 7000 red sugar-plums, 200 acidulated drops, per annum!

A few only of the names of the assembled ladies may be mentioned. There was the Marchioness of Honeypot, with a long golden spoon slung over her alabaster shoulder; her Fragrance, the Duchess of Overblown, flaring in rouge and diamonds, with a syllabub turban, having a mince-pie, embossed and set in rubies, stuck right in front. She was accompanied by a fair young friend, with a half-mourning shawl stained in spanish-licorice, flung gracefully over one arm. She was no less an angel than the Lillyhood of Lookinglass Vale, whose husband was slain in the Cheesecake wars. Private reasons prevent our giving a further enumeration. The king was taken with a sudden indisposition, and sent an apology, written in high relief, upon a prodigious pancake; and the queen also excused herself from hearing Mr. Pivot's speech, as she was engaged in holding a magnum of aromatic salts to the sovereign Nose!

Meantime all the assembled pomposity, beauty, and talent began to be very impatient; and the murmur incessantly arose, of

Where is this Pivot?' The marquis made puns as fast as possible, and gave great offence to the head professor, S. Beane, of Snapdragon Glen. He would infallibly have been kicked out, had he not, with all his characteristic tact, suddenly drawn forth a handful of red sugar-plums, and scattered it among them;