"Why, Hum, you're getting quite poetical; Those nows you managed in a special style!" If ever you have leisure, sire, you shall See scraps of mine will make it worth your while; Good Hum, and let me view this mighty coil.' "The morn is full of holiday; loud bells Of the lesser poems, "The Song of Four Fairies," and the fragment called The Eve of St. Mark," deserve especial attention, but they are too long to quote. We must close our extracts with a grand and subtle sonnet. ON THE SEA. "It keeps eternal whisperings around Desolate shores, and with its mighty swell Gluts twice ten thousand caverns, till the spell Of Hecate leaves them their old shadowy sound. Often 'tis in such gentle temper found, That scarcely will the very smallest shell Be moved for days from where it sometime fell, When last the winds of heaven were unbound. Oh. ye who have your eyeballs vexed and tired, Feast them upon the wideness of the sea; Oh, ye whose ears are dimmed with uproar rude, Or fed too much with cloying melody, Sit ye near some old cavern's mouth, and brood Until ye start, as if the sea-nymphs quired!" Ere we conclude, we must again entreat that we may not be misunderstood in what has been put forth by us concerning the shortcomings of Keats in his character as a poet. Were we to speak at full all the praise which we believe his writings merit, we should satisfy the blindest of his admirers; but we have dwelt rather upon the faults of Keats, because while they have been very much less generally perceived than his excellences, the perception of them is by no means of less importance to the health of English literature. When we remember that poets are unconsciously received in the world as the highest authorities upon matters of feeling, and therefore of morals, we cannot think that we have dwelt even fully enough upon the deficiencies of the last phase which our poetry has assumed. We console ourselves with the assurenduring one. Poetry in England has passed ance that it is a phase which cannot be an through three great epochs, and is now in the early youth of the fourth, and let us hope the noblest. Natural and religious, almost by compulsion, nearly till the time of Milton, the muse at last endeavored to be something other and more than these; with Cowley and his train, she affected elaborate, artificial, and meretricious ornament; but the reaction appeared in that school of sensible poets, of which Dryden ånd Pope were the chief doctors; we are now returning to the right path; nothing can be more laudable than have been the aims of most of our modern poets, and we found our extraordinary hopes of the final success of the school, less upon any earnest we have received of the harvest than upon the incontrovertible truth that "whatsoever we desire in youth, in age we shall plentifully obtain." It remains for us to assure our readers that Mr. Milnes, whose prose style is the completest, in its happy way, that we are acquainted with, has executed his task with accomplished taste. For a poet to have conducted the autobiography of a brother poet, as Mr. Milnes has done, without having once overstepped the modest office of an "editor," is an exhibition of self-denial which is now as rare as it is worthy of imitation. North British Re view. Mr Murray announces "A History of the Sikhs," from the pen of Capt. Joseph Cunningham of the Bengal engineers. Capt. Cunningham is the eldest son of Allan Cunningham, the poet; and his book will contain the results at once of his own observation and research and of his eight years' official experience as assistant political agent on the northwest frontier, first to Sir Claude Wade and afterwards to Col. Richmond, Mr. Clerk, the Governor of Bombay, and to the late Major Broadfoot. Capt. Cunningham was long a resident in the present seat of war in Mooltan; and was honorably mentioned in Sir Harry Smith's Aliwal despatch, and in the Sutlej despatches of Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough. A GAMIN OF THE GARDE MOBILE. AN EPISODE OF THE INSURRECTION OF JUNE. BY THE HONORABLE CHARLES STUART SAVILLE. During a lengthened residence near the Boulevart du Temple, I had frequently occasion to pass near a lad of about seventeen years of age, who was constantly to be met with in front of the Théâtre Historique, and whose occupation, if occupation it could be termed, almost entirely consisted in performing small jobs, running errands, and playing with others of his own age and station at the games peculiar to the Parisian gamin. From eight in the morning until eleven at night, he was always to be seen near the same spot. His extremely intelligent countenance, which was also very handsome, had attracted my attention to him, and I more than once engaged him to carry letters and go upon commissions, in the performance of which he evinced a quickness and an aptitude that was unusual even among the lads of his own class, clever and shrewd as they always are. His good-humor also was unfailing, even when tried to the utmost by a long run of ill-luck at the jeu de bouchon. I never, indeed, saw him out of temper for a single moment. None of his companions could compete with him, either in repartee or raillery, although, be it observed, he never turned his powers in that line to an ill-natured purpose. In addition to this, his honesty was unimpeachable, and it was through his possessing that virtue to a very high degree, that I became well acquainted with him. One evening I had bought a quantity of books at an old stall in the neighborhood of the Café Turc, and had employed Julien Letourneur, for that was the name of the gamin, to carry them home for me. On arriving at my apartments, I put into his hand, what I thought was a franc, and dismissed him: a few hours afterwards I was retiring to bed, when I heard a ring at the bell, and on my opening the door Julien entered and immediately cried out, "Monsieur, I have come to inform you that you gave me a twenty franc piece this evening, and as you must have done so by mistake, I have brought it back again, car l'honneur avant tout. I should have returned before, only I did not discover that I had received a gold piece, until a few moments ago, just after I left the door of the Folies,' where I have been selling contremarques all the evening. I am certain it was monsieur who gave me the louis, for I have received nothing but coppers, for the seats at the Folies are not so expensive as those of the Gymnase or Variétés, which, I presume, are the theatres frequented by monsieur. Now copper money is larger than a louis, while a franc, on the contrary, is of the same size, so said I to myself, when I found the gold piece in my pocket, on counting the receipts of the evening, Julien! it must be the Monsieur d'Anglais that gave it you.' Upon which I made one run along the Boulevart, and here I am. 66 "Yes, sir," was the reply, un brave homme." "I wonder at his not trying to procure you some fixed occupation," I observed, "for although you are an honest young fellow, still your mode of living is decidedly vagrant, and not altogether respectable." "That is not the fault of the old man," replied Julien, "his desire is to see me settled, but somehow or other I was never able to fix myself down to any employment, do what I could. I am sorry for it, for I am aware it is wrong, but we cannot change our natures." As it was getting late, I dismissed the lad for the night, bidding him call upon me the following morning, as I was anxious to learn something more about him. On his return I discovered that he was the son of an old soldier, who had served in the Imperial Guard, during the latter years of Napoleon's power, and had made the campaign of Russia, where he had been disabled from ever again joining in active service; but notwithstanding the wounds he had received, he had been unable to get a birth in the Hôpital des Invalides, or to obtain a pension. The veteran, who had been employed for some years as concierge in a small house situated in a street near the Rue du Temple, had been extremely anxious to bring up his son as a commis in a shop or an office, but the volatile disposition of the youth prevented this intention from being carried into execution, and although Julien had received a very tolerable education, he could never be induced to follow any settled employment; and to the sorrow of his father, he passed the whole of his time, as I have already observed, in loitering on the boulevarts and playing at the jeu de bouchon in front of the theatres, except when performing some temporary commission, or disposing of contremarques at the doors of the Gaiété, the Folies, or the Délassements Comiques. On my expostulating with him in a friendly manner, on his vagabond mode of living, and attempting to prove how little respectable it was, Julien informed me, that the only fixed career it would be possible for him to follow, I would be that of a soldier. "Why in a regiment of tirailleurs?" was my very natural question. "Because they serve in Africa, and are often engaged with the Arabs," cried Julien, enthusiastically. "I should hate to be a soldier during a time of peace, and have nothing to do but to mount guard and perform other corvées of the same description. No! that would never do; better spend one's whole life in selling contremarques. La guerre, la guerre pour moi, for with war comes promotion, and I should like to be an officer, it would make my father so proud." "You love your father, then, very much?" Love him," exclaimed the lad, "I would die for the old man, if that could do him any good." And from the earnest manner in which he spoke, it was evident that Julien Letourneur meant what he said. It was on the night of the 23d of February (three months after the above conversation), shortly after the murderous and ill-fated volley fired by the fourteenth regiment of the line upon an inoffensive crowd in front of the Hôtel des Affairs Etrangères, which inexplicable act, indeed, mainly brought about the consummation of the Revolution, by exciting the populace to an ungovernable state of fury and exasperation, that I was proceeding as fast as I could along the boulevart St. Martin, by scrambling over the innumerable barricades which were rising at short distances from each other. On arriving at the barricade just above the Théâtre de la Port St. Martin, I thought I recognized one of the voices of those engaged in digging up the pavement, and, upon looking at the speaker, I found I was not mistaken, for the voice belonged to Julien Letourneur, who appeared to be the very life and soul of the hardworking, but enthusiastic band; at one moment he would work fiercely at tearing up the pavement, at another he would leap upon the rising barricade and exhort his companions to exert themselves to the uttermost, in order that all should be prepared before the municipal guards and the line should come up. 66 'Well, Julien, mon ami," I exclaimed, addressing him, "you are about to have some sharp work." "Yes, monsieur," he returned, "we are going to pay off those gueux de municipaux in their own coin, que le diable les emporte, they killed two friends of mine this afternoon in the faubourg du Temple, mais je les vengerai," he added, with glistening eyes, "for I have a musket and its bayonet in yonder corner, all I want are cartridges, and if the national guard take part with us to-morrow morning, which I am certain they will, we shall have plenty of ammunition from the mairies, and then à bas les Municipaux,' 'à bas la Royauté,' vive la République."" It is not my intention to give any description of the Revolution of February, as the subject is become threadbare, but to confine myself to observing that one of the foremost at the attack of the military post of the Chateau d'Eau, on the Place du Palais Royal, was this young lad, who used his musket on that occasion as if he had been a soldier from his infancy. He was one of those who bore the throne from the Tuilleries, and paraded it along the Boulevarts to the column of Liberty at the Bastile, where a bonfire was made of the gilded chair, which had a few hours before borne the weight of its royal master, at that moment an obscure exile flying towards a foreign shore. had returned to the capital. This was fraternity with a vengeance. They little know us, or rather pretend not to know us," observed the young sergeant, but if ever we have an opportunity, we will prove to the regulars that although we are not, perhaps, as yet, so well disciplined, we are, notwithstanding, quite as brave as they are; point out to the gamin of Paris the road to danger, and I promise you that he will march upon it at once, for he understands neither the meaning nor nature of fear.” After the proclamation of the Republic by the Provisional Government, Julien Letour-" neur was one of the first of the Parisian gamins who enlisted in the garde mobile, raised by Lamartine, and thus the dearest wish of his heart was satisfied, for he had to all intents and purposes become a soldier. It is true, then, many people cavilled at and turned into derision those battalions of little boys; as they termed them, others blamed the want of foresight shown by Lamartine in forming a corps which, it was asserted, would in the event of an insurrection certainly side with that portion of the populace from which they had sprung. It was putting it in the power of the people, such were the arguments used, to overturn everything, were they so disposed, for it was asserted that the garde mobile could scarcely be expected to fire upon their fathers, brothers, and friends. How those who argued thus, wronged the brave and devoted corps, which, during the dreadful events of June, so nobly and gallantly underwent the baptème du feu, and saved the cause of order, at the same time that its members conquered for themselves a marked and distinguished place in the army of their country. On the elections taking place for the purpose of the soldiers of the garde mobile naming their own officers, Julien Letourneur, who had become an universal favorite in his battalion, was raised to the rank of sergeant; had he, indeed, been a few years older, he would certainly have been elected an officer, such was the esteem his comrades bore him. He called upon me, in his new uniform, on the day the colors were distributed at the Arc du Triomphe, and triumphantly called my attention to the silver-laced stripes on his sleeves. One circumstance, however, appeared to somewhat damp his joy, namely, that the officers and soldiers of the line evidently looked upon him and his comrades with undisguised disdain, and neither mixed freely with them, or even admitted them to be soldiers. There was, perhaps, some jealousy which caused them to act in this manner, the officers and sergeants of the line grumbled at the idea of young men and boys, who had never seen any service, wearing epaulettes and laced stripes, being thus put on an equality with those who had gained their steps by long and arduous service. Julien, indeed, informed me that several duels had taken place between some of the garde mobile and the soldiers of the dragoon and infantry regiments, which | The youth spoke prophetically, for notwithstanding the bravery and discipline of the line, shown before the barricades of June, no doubt can exist that had not the garde mobile acted as they did on that occasion, victory would have declared itself on the side of the insurgents. The upholders of the cause of order, therefore, instead of seeking to attack the conduct of Lamartine, and attempting to lower him in the estimation of his countrymen and the world at large, ought to acknowledge, as eventually they will, and if they do not, history will acknowledge it for them, that to Lamartine's idea of raising the corps of the garde mobile is owing the triumph of the moderate over the red republicans. After the above interview with Julien Letourneur, I seldom had an opportunity of speaking to him, in consequence of his being almost constantly engaged in attending to his military duties. I frequently, however, saw him parading with his battalion, which appeared to become daily more disciplined and soldierlike; indeed, a corporal of the line, who was employed as one of the military instructors to the corps, informed me that he had never before met with recruits so docile, or who displayed such aptitude. "The Parisian gamins," he said, "seemed to learn by intuition, and made more progress in a month than the conscripts he had previously had to deal with, in the course of half a year's constant drill and exercise.' The fatal 22d of June arrived, the garde mobile was called out to attack the barricades raised by the insurgents, who, it appeared, counted on that corps not only not acting with the government, but on its siding with themfor selves. How those infatuated men were deceived, is well known, for the garde mobile remained true to its colors, and marched against the defenders of the barricades as resolutely as though they had been foreign enemies, although among those very insurgents upon which they fired were the fathers and brothers of many of the devoted youths who thus sacrificed their natural feelings to their sense of duty and discipline. Although a foreigner, I was a member of the National Guard, and was doing duty on the 25th with my company at the upper end of the Boulevart St. Martin, when I saw a brancard with a wounded garde mobile upon it carried by. I should not have paid much attention to this circumstance-for wounded men were constantly passing, as a dreadful combat was going on near the Café Ture, had I not recognized in the pale face of the sufferer the features of Julien Letourneur. I instantly ran up to him, and having stopped the bearers of the brancard, requested them to carry the wounded youth to my apartment, where he would be able to receive better attendance than in a crowded ambulance. My wish was complied with, and Julien was a few minutes afterwards laid upon my bed, where he was immediately visited by an American medical gentleman who resided in the same house. The poor fellow was dreadfully mangled, his body being almost riddled with bullets, and it was evident that he could not survive any length of time. Julien, who was perfectly conscious, soon saw, by the surgeon's grave countenance, that his fate was sealed, and turning to me, exclaimed, "Citoyen, I am glad I am about to die, for life now would be a burden to me; am I not a parricide? yes, mon Dieu! a parricide!" "A parricide!" I ejaculated with a shudder, for I guessed the truth at once, and I was right, for a most horrible event had just taken place. The battalion to which Julien Letourneur belonged, had been, like all those of the garde mobile, constantly in the thickest of the fight, and the young sergeant had distinguished himself in the most brilliant manner; indeed, had he survived, there is no doubt that he would have been decorated with the Legion of Honor. During the attack upon a barricade near the Café Turc, he had taken the place of his lieutenant, who had just fallen, and was leading on his comrades, when the chief of the barricade leaped up and levelled his musket at him. Julien, however, had raised his gun at the same moment, and fired at the insurgent, who tottered and fell dead over the barricade, right before the feet of his own son, for it was no other than André Letourneur who had been thus killed. The old soldier of the Imperial Guard, who had been spared by death throughout all the dangers of the Russian campaign, was thus sent to his last account in a street combat with his own countrymen, and by a shot fired by his only child. On recognizing the corpse of his father, Julien gave a scream of horror, and remained motionless, as if turned to stone. At this moment his company was forced to retreat, but the young sergeant, however, moved not, but remained gazing upon that one dead body, until a general volley from the barricade and the adjoining windows, stretched him almost lifeless upon the ground. A few generous comrades, at the risk of their own lives, rushed up to the spot, and bore him away. It was in vain that I attempted to console the unfortunate youth, and to persuade him that no possible blame could be attached to what he had done, either by God or man; all the answer I could obtain was, "J'ai tué mon père, mon bon père, je suis maudit." In vain did a pious and gentle priest utter holy words of comfort, and essay to calm that agonized spirit, before it departed forever; for to every observation, Julien answered, "There is no absolution in heaven for a parricide!" and, with despair in his heart, he turned his face to the wall, and expired. Thus died Julien Letourneur, one of the bravest and most energetic members of that brave and energetic band, the garde mobile. · Requiescat in pace." 66 Anathema, Maranatha, be all civil war ; Anathema, Maranatha, be all who excite their countrymen to turn their bayonets and aim their muskets at each other's hearts. Anathema, Maranatha, be all, who, to serve their own ambitious projects, excite the people of one land, and one tongue, to fall out and shed each other's blood."-New Monthly Magazine. POEMS BY CURRÈR, ELLIS, AND ACTON BELL. To those who think the subject worth attention, this volume will furnish data for examining the resemblances that have been observed and the differences detected in the prose fictions, published separately under the names of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. We do not knew that it will settle the ques tion as to whether the writers are identical or merely akin. The mass of the poems in this volume are occasional, and often on such common subjects as are usually found in "miscel lanies;" the more peculiar pieces (as far as subject is concerned) are chiefly by Currer Bell, but furnish little means of judging; |