nocence), he threw the false tail into the sea, and then addressing his accuser in a solemn tone: "Swear now,” said he, "if thou darest!" The servant retired in confusion, and the gipsy tranquilly continued his route with his booty.

THE PROTESTANTS OF LA ROCHELLE (A.D. 1572). La Rochelle, nearly all of whose inhabitants professed the reformed religion, was then the capital, as it were, of the southern provinces, and the strongest bulwark of the Protestant party. An extensive commerce with Spain and England had introduced considerable wealth, and that spirit of independence which wealth inspires and fosters. The citizens, either fishermen or sailors, and frequently corsairs, early familiarised with the dangers of an adventurous life, possessed an energy which stood them in stead of discipline and practice in war. Accordingly, on receiving the news of the massacre of the 24th of August, far from abandoning themselves to that stupid resignation which had seized upon most of the Protestants, and made them despair of their cause, the Rochelois were animated by that active and formidable courage which despair often inspires. With one accord they resolved to suffer the last extremities rather than open their gates to an enemy who had just given them so striking a proof of his faithlessness and barbarity. Whilst the ministers kept up this zeal by their fanatical discourses, the women, children, and old men vied with one another in labouring to repair the old fortifications,

ENVIRONS OF MADRID-INTENSE HEAT. 355

and to erect new ones. Provisions and arms were collected, barques and ships were fitted out; in short, not a moment was lost in organizing and preparing all the means of defence of which the town was capable. A number of gentlemen who had escaped from the massacre joined the Rochelois, and by the description which they gave of the crimes of St. Bartholomew's-day, imparted courage even to the most timid. To men saved from apparently certain death, war and its chances were what a slight breeze is to sailors who have just escaped from a tempest.

PROSPER MÉRIMÉE, "Règne de Charles IX."

ENVIRONS OF MADRID-INTENSE HEAT.

The environs of Madrid are dull, bare, and scorched up, though less stony on this side than on the road from Guadarrama. The country, which is rather uneven than hilly, presents everywhere the same uniform appearance, only broken by a few villages, all dust and chalk, scattered here and there throughout the general aridity, and which would not be remarked if the square towers of their churches did not attract the attention. Spires are rarely met with in Spain, the square tower being the usual form of steeple. Where two roads meet, suspicious-looking crosses stretch forth their sinister arms; from time to time carts drawn by oxen pass by, with the carter asleep under his cloak; and peasants on horseback, with a fierce expression of countenance, and their carbines at the saddle-bows. In the middle of the day the sky is the colour of melting lead, and the ground of a dusty grey, interspersed with mica,

to which the greatest distance hardly imparts a bluish tint. There is not a single cluster of trees, not a shrub, not a drop of water in the bed of the dried-up torrents; nothing, in fact, is there to relieve the eye, or to gratify the imagination. In order to find a little shelter from the burning rays of the sun, you must follow the narrow line of scanty blue shade cast by the walls. We were, it is true, in the middle of July, which is not exactly the time of year for cool travelling in Spain; but it is our opinion that countries ought to be visited in their most characteristic seasons-Spain in summer, and Russia in winter.

...

While waiting for our repast, we went to take a siesta: this is a habit which you are compelled to follow in Spain, for the heat from two to five o'clock is something that no Parisian can form an idea of. The pavement burns, the iron knockers on the doors. grow red hot, a shower of fire seems to be falling from the sky; the corn bursts from the ear, the ground cracks like the porcelain of an over-heated stove, the grasshoppers make their corslets grate with more vivacity than ever, and the little air which reaches you seems to be blown forth by the brazen mouth of a calorifère; the shops are closed, and with all the gold in the world you would not induce a tradesman to sell you the slightest article. In the streets are to be seen dogs and Frenchmen only, according to the popular saying, which is not very flattering for us. The guides refuse to take you to the most insignificant monument, even though you offer them Havannah cigars, or a ticket for a bullfight-two most seductive things for a Spanish cicerone. The only thing you can do is to sleep like the rest, and you very soon make up your mind to do so;

for what is the use of being alone wide-awake in the midst of a nation fast asleep!

THEOPHILE GAUTIER, "Voyage en Espagne."

WASHINGTON.

Washington had none of those brilliant and extraordinary qualities which strike at once upon the human imagination. He was not one of those ardent spirits, eager to explode, driven onwards by the energy of their thoughts or of their passions, and scattering about them the exuberance of their own nature, before either opportunity or necessity has called forth its exercise. Unacquainted with aught of inward agitation, and with the promptings of splendid ambition, Washington did not anticipate circumstances, nor did he aspire to the admiration of mankind. His firm intellect and his noble heart were profoundly calm and modest. Capable of rising to the level of the highest destiny, he could without a pang have remained ignorant of his own powers, and he would have found in the cultivation of his own estate enough to satisfy those vast faculties which were to prove equal to the command of armies and the foundation of a government. But when the opportunity occurred, when the need was felt, without an effort on his part, and without surprise on that of others, or rather, as has been just shown, in conformity with their expectations, the wise planter shone forth a great man. He had, to a very high degree, the two qualities which in active life fit men for great achievements: he could trust firmly in his own thoughts, and resolutely act up to them, without fear of responsibility. GUIZOT, "Washington."

DEFENCE OF PATRIOTISM.

Is, then, that land like every other land, in which we first beheld the light, in which we have grown up, and which has given us our first impressions, our language and habits, everything in fact that makes a man? We might as well say that our mother is no more to us than any other woman. The Greeks of former times held that they were born of the very soil they cultivated: is not this belief a symbol for all other nations? May we not say that each nation is born of its own soil, to which it is attached by a thousand invisible roots, and that to a certain degree it reproduces its temperament? Races are plants adapted to the soil and climate which have produced them; each occupies its place, fulfils its appointed part, accomplishes its evolution, gives its note; while the whole forms, as it has been said, the "gamut of human aptitude." Attempt to amalgamate the nations, alter their personality, and you will have false notes,. the gamut will be destroyed, and consequently all harmony in that vast concert of nations will be impossible. A distinction between nations is as necessary as between individuals, if you wish to preserve to each group of humanity its peculiar instincts and capabilities.

Doubtless this distinction degenerates into rivalry; but the multiplicity of social ties, complicated interests, and habits of neighbourly kindness will gradually soften that tendency. To attempt to substitute philanthropy for patriotism, is to endeavour to replace instinct by pure ideality, and to raise logical speculations above the claims of gratitude and early associations. Were