Austrasian Franks disputed with the Neustrian Franks, an ascendency which was not decided till the times of Pepin. This makes a third epoch in the history of the territory now occupied by the French-a first epoch in the history of France, strictly speaking.

The succession of the Carlovingian race to supremacy among the Franks established the new nation in that power which has been upheld to the present day. Charles Martel was already strong enough to hurl back triumphantly the invasion of the almost indomitable Saracens ; and the great Charlemagne at once warred against Germanic barbarism, and sought to re-establish Roman civilisation. The feudal epoch took its rise with the good, but weak, Louis le Debonnaire, a system against which royalty cannot be said to have struggled with success, till the time of Louis Le Gros (1108). With the succession of the Valois, the rivalry of France and England attained its acmé, and this great epoch in history is made to terminate with Charles VII. and of his inspired lieutenant, Jeanne d'Arc.

The deliverance of France from the dominion of the English was however, by no means beneficial to the Franks themselves. The monarchy established without an apprehension of control from without or within, at once assumed the character of a pure despotism, and the results were the formation of leagues, and continued civil dissensions. The wars with Italy and with Charles V. are made to constitute at this period of history, an epoch of themselves. To these succeeded that most dismal of all periods in French history, that of the civil religious wars which terminated with the succession and the apostacy of Henry IV. Louis XIV. fills up a whole epoch with his great name. As if also monarchical government had attained its zenith under that powerful yet immoral prince; royalty declined from the same period, and the convocation of the states-general lead the way to the final revolution.

Such is a general view of the system and method upon which Messrs. Roche and Philarète Chasles, have conceived and written their "History of France," which is at once concise and philosophical, and is admirably adapted for the purposes intended-to instruct the young or to correct many of the historical notions wrongly entertained by the old.

THE EXPERIENCES OF A TRAGIC POET.* THERE are many evidences of talent in this work, but the spirit that breathes throughout its pages is an unwholesome spirit of rebellion against all that is, which it is vain to attempt to uphold.

If a person chooses, from the possession of faculties and perfections unknown to the rest of his fellow-creatures, to set himself apart from them, to live a life of discontent, and to set his face against all concession or reconcilement, he can, no doubt, adduce many reasons for persisting in such a course; but to himself, as in the case of Arthur Frankland, the result must inevitably be, a life of insupportable wretchedness, of perpetual vexation, and of disastrous and irremediable defeat.

Luckily, there are two persons in this biographical memoir, the listener and author, and Arthur Frankland the narrator. The author professes to entertain common-sense notions of the duties and rights of humanity, to which we could concede greater applause if they were not tinctured

* Arthur Frankland; or, the Experiences of a Tragic Poet. A Tale. Saunders and Otley.

with the same leaven of scepticism which embitters Frankland's cha

racter.

Since we are brought into existence without our tastes being consulted, and since the condition of humanity is undistinguishingly and inalienably imposed upon us-whether we will or not-certainly, seeing we have so little choice in the matter, it is both wiser and better to make the most of the gift thus unceremoniously bestowed upon us, and live out our day with as small an infusion of vexation and misery, as our philosophy or our religion may suffice to secure us.

This is better philosophy than Arthur Frankland's; but still, if such was all the advance the human mind has made, it were almost as well to return to the nonentity from whence we came. Arthur Frankland is admitted "with all his rich intellectual endowments, and his vast and varied experiences," to have been deficient in that chief quality of wisdom-the knowledge of how to be happy. But then again, we are taught that he was compensated for this want, by his skill in that lore which the privileged disciples of various Nature are alone initiated into." Not only is such a privilege as opposed to the duty, or as Dr. Johnson would say, "the business of a wise man to be happy," not to be envied, but it cannot be called a privilege at all-it is a sad and perverse frame of mind, melancholy to contemplate, and much to be repudiated.

66

What are these "vast and varied experiences" of this much-favoured intellectual being, Arthur Frankland? That he received "his patent of nobility immediately from Almighty God;" that he trained the poetic genius thus bestowed, with "the savagery of nature untamed at his heart" that with him the poetry of sentiments was regarded as false taste or "babyism;" that he was a sceptic, who denounced as blasphemies against Nature what priestcraft has so long enforced;" that he loved much, and more, than well and wisely; that publishers having refused his poetry, he resolved to combat his mission and destiny by the drudgery of an almost mechanical employment; that he was soon disgusted, and that he returned to his love and his literature; that his maid's father rejected him as an enthusiast, and that the publisher would have no more to do with his philosophy than with his poetry; that these anxieties and failures fevered and inflamed a too excitable cerebral organisation, and laid him on the bed of sickness; that a kind friend lent him a hundred pounds to set him up again as veterinary surgeon; but "genius" was too strong, and he perished in the fight, and succumbed in a delirious fever. These are tragic experiences of a poet, rather than the experiences of a tragic poet; and it is to be hoped that they will serve as a beacon to warn, as no doubt the author intended; yet he sums up his view of his hero's career, 66 as one successful warfare against fate, at once disastrous and profitless; and when he fell, as in early life he did fall, the only miserable reflection to console him was, that though he sunk destroyed before his opposeless destiny, at least he preserved his mind unconquered

to the end."

66

Unconquered by whom? Arthur Frankland had no enemy but himself, and a most uncompromising, vindictive, fiendish enemy that was. L'homme," says a distinguished French writer, "qui désire en cette vie mieux que cette vie, est un orgueilleux qui blasphème et un ingrat qui souffre," and the career of the tragic poet, replete as it is with fine fancies, and eloquent ambitionings, is still gloomy even in its majesty'; hopeless in its highest triumphs, and in its fall Satanic.

THE LAST OF THE FAIRIES.*

It would appear to be impossible to Mr. G. P. R. James to write a story that shall not be highly interesting and amusing. The "Last of the Fairies" (it would scarcely be so deduced from its title) is a tale of the Rebellion. It opens with the Battle of Worcester, from which a noble prisoner, Charles Brooke, Lord Eustace, escapes through the instrumentality of his attached daughter, the Lady Catherine. A change then comes over the scene. Lord Eustace is a proscribed refugee in the ruinous old castle of Landleigh, and the Lady Catherine is living as a peasant girl at a certain Roger Brownlow's in the same village.

Denzil Norman, Lord Blount, who had fought as a child at Worcester, by the side of Lord Eustace, arrives at the same village in disguise. As Denzil Norman he wooes and wins Alice Brownlow, to whom he had in childhood been attached as the Lady Catherine. But the fairy of Landleigh Castle conducts the youth to its supposed ghostly tenant, who despatches him to General Monk, to convey news of the declaration of the troops in London in favour of Parliament, and of the adhesion of Desborough and Fairfax. When Denzil, after suffering many inconveniences at the hands of the rough Parliamentarians, returns to Landleigh, armed with powers from General Monk, he finds that before quiet little village in the hands of the fanatical party, under one of its vilest leaders, Colonel Okey. Denzil arrived in time to save many from plunder and ill-treatment, and others most dear to him from still grosser outrage. The triumph of parliament and the restoration of the king, permit at the same time Lord Eustace, to leave his subterranean hiding-place and appear once more in the world, and the last of the fairies, and Alice Brownlow, re-appears in the most touching manner in her real character, that of a devoted daughter, to assume soon afterwards the no less honourable one of an affectionate wife. Trials and adversities, narrated with a talent so peculiar to Mr. James, had by this time taught to both a stern and wholesome lesson, that "worth is better than wealth, and goodness greater than distinction." The illustrations and coloured ornamental borders, it is proper to mention, of this little book are exceedingly pretty and tasteful.*

the life of A FOX-HOUND.†

THIS is a beautifully illustrated, and a carefully as well as pleasantly written, book. It is what it purports to be, the life of a brave fox-hound, narrated by himself. We do not profess to be adepts in hunting, or ever to become oracular in a red coat ; but it always strikes us as very singular that sportsmen should be so extremely jealous of the merits of brother red-coats.

"You will find out in time," said the old hound Trimbush to our young hero, Ringwood, "but may as well profit by my experience, and learn it at once, that most men who go with us to the covert-side, know little about hunting and less about hounds."

*The Last of the Fairies. By G. P. James, Esq., with Illustrations from Designs of John Gilbert, engraved by Henry Vizetelly. Parry and Co., London.;

The Life of a Foxhound. By John Mills, author of the "Old English Gentleman," with seven illustrations on steel. H. Hurst.

Wherefore do they go at all then, we should ask, to be called muffs, or to receive, according to the historians of field exploits, occasional reproofs such as few men can put up with? Be this as it may, Mr. Mills is learned in hounds. He narrates how they occasionally eat up one another, and sometimes, but that more rarely, eat up the whipper-in. He further, as the biographer of Ringwood, not only narrates some runs with a spirit that interests us as much as if we were participators in the thing itself, but he also unfolds in his canine reflections much concerning the treatment and training of hounds, which will be valuable information even to the initiated.

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF A VOLUNTEER RIFLE CORPS.*

THE regulations for the proposed Corps are drawn up so as to suit the general convenience of professional men; four hours' attendance at drill only in the week, out of a selection of thirty-six, is required for a few weeks till the member is efficient ; and the subscription is but 37. per annum : the uniform being very simple, and estimated to cost about 6l., so that at a very slight sacrifice of time and money, by the adoption of a similar plan every man in England who has the welfare of his country at heart may learn how to defend all that is most dear to him.

It would be well, to avoid the chance of any catastrophe which might occur should we be attacked in our present unprepared state, that our countrymen in every town throughout the kingdom should at once imitate the example of the London Volunteers. Let them raise subscriptions, band together, select officers from among the retired military men in their neighbourhood, and at once send up their offers of service to the Government, or communicate with the mother association in London, and we will answer for it, that in the course of the spring, such a force will be prepared for action that peace may be insured, and the whole country may adopt the motto of the Queen's Own Volunteer Rifle Corps,

"In Utrumque Paratus."

MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES.

A SPLENDID table-book is Boyd's Book of Ballads, from the German. True, some of these ballads have already appeared in this country, but as in the case of Uhland's beautiful poem, "The Dying Girl's Serenade," in a different dress." The Rhine" is, however, familiar to most persons, and "The Midnight Review" is, we suspect, of French not German origin; but still the collection contains many very pretty things, in tasteful versions, in highly ornamental typography, and with characteristic illustrations. Mr. James Willyams Grylls has embodied his spirited sketches of tropical sports and amusements in a little volume, with the old title of The Out-Station; or, Jaunts in the Jungle. This amusing little book will most assuredly meet with a favourable reception.

* Rules and Regulations for the Formation of a Volunteer Rifle Corps, which it is proposed shall, with Her Majesty's gracious permission, be denominated, "The Queen's Own Volunteer Rifle Corps." Parker, Furnival, and Parker; Ollivier, Pall-Mall; and Bosworth, Regent-street.

THE RICHEST COMMONER IN ENGLAND

NATURE'S MYSTERIOUS SYMPATHIES

TICK; OR, MEMOIRS OF AN OLD ETON BOY. BY CHARLES
ROWCROFT, Esq. .

THE CAGOTS

ADVERTISING FOR A WIFE. BY DUDLEY COSTELLO, ESQ.
JENNY

PAGE

. 395

. 409

418

423

A FEW MONTHS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. BY LIEUT.-COLONEL E.
NAPIER
PAQUERETTE: THE STAR OF A NIGHT. A STORY OF PARIS Life.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "CHANTILLY"

456

467

ON RECEIVINg a Present OF TRINITY AUDIT ALE. By C. V.
LE GRICE

THE THEATRES IN PARIS SINCE THE REVOLUTION. BY CHARLES
HERVEY, ESQ..

LITERARY NOTICES:-The Chetham Society.-Trials of Do-
mestic Life.-The Half Sisters.-The Russian Sketch-Book.
-Marie Von Arnheim.-Lucretia.-Rienzi. Miscellaneous
Notices

. 474

. 495

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Mr. AINSWORTH begs it to be distinctly understood that no Contributions whatever sent him, either for the NEW MONTHLY or AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINES, will be returned. All articles are sent at the risk of the writers, who should invariably keep copies.