THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1'48.* "DANIEL STERN," as many of

our readers will b3 aware, is the nom de plume of Madame d'Agoult, one of the most accomplished lady writers of modern France. Born in 1805, at Frankfort-on- the-Main, the daughter of a French nobleman, Marie de Flavigny had the benefit of a careful German education, and at an early age distinguished herself for her literary talents. When twenty- two she married Count d'Agoult, and having travelled for a considerable time in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, she made her first literary venture in 1811, in the feuilleton of La Presse, with a tale called "nerve." The favourable reception of this romance brought out another, entitled " Valentia," in the fol- lowing year, the success of which was such that ninny of the critics of the French press compared it to the productions of Madame Dudevant's pen—however, with little show of justifica- tion. " Valentia " was followed in 1815 by " Nelicla," without corn- parison the best of Madame d'Agonit's novels. Before publishing

the last named work, the authoress found herself enlisted in the ranks of French journalism, and contributed frequ eat articles to the Revue des Deux:nudes and the Revue Inde'pendante. She was thus engaged at the commencement of the revolution of ls'18, into which she threw herself heart and soul. Sharin..; with a thoasand others the excitement of the period, her passionate nature fervently

embraced the tenets of the social republic, with its " liberty- equality-fraternity" banner, and while yet the battle was raging in the streets and in the public tribune, she sat down to write the History of the Revolution of 1818 in a strain of glowing eulogy. The History was given to the world in 1851, but unexpectedly found few admirers, even among the republican party. It was agreed on all sides that the book was a gool photograph of the revolution; but probably for this very reason people were not warm in their admiration of it. Historians, like portrait painters,. when they have to deal with living subjects are expected to see many things conker de rose which are not otherwise brilliant, and in this optic faculty Madatne D'Agoult seems to be somewhat deficient.

Notwithstanding the moderate success which the History of the Revolution met with on the part of the French public, the authoress wisely determined, in preparing a second edition, not to change the plan of the whole, as recording the vivid impres- sions of an eye-witness ; but merely to alter such facts and figures as time had rectified, and improve the style in matters of detail. In this form the work is now again given to the public Leaving aside the political and social views of Madame D'Agoult, we may say at once that it is decidedly the best, because most lucid history of the great French turmoil of 1848 which has yet been published. The picture is clear and distinct in its minutest shades ; the events are fully and impartially explained, and the character and action of the leading personalities are copiously illustrated. It is particularly in the latter respect that Madame D'Agoult's history is as valuable as attractive. With that fine penetration so often possessed by her sex, the authoress draws the portraits of her heroes with a minuteness and fullness of aspect which is perfectly lifelike, and contributes not a little to the interest of the drama, epic, and tragedy unrolled before the reader.

The war in the streets and on the barricades of the capital of France, in the eventful days of February, 1848, has been often before described, and sometimes with more force than in the sketches of Madame D'Agoult ; but the struggle within doom, in the palace of the legislature, and the mansions of the ministers, behind the scenes of the great theatre, has never been so well pictured as by her. The delineation, in many parts, is graphic in the extreme, affarding an extraordinary insight into the nature of the men and events of the period. To give an example of the authoress's descriptive power we translate a few of her biographical sketches. First; a striking portrait of M. Ledru-Rollin.

"The new Minister of the Interior was sufficiently gifted to become conspicuous in the ranks of the militant democracy ; but from the moment he was lifted up to the pinnacle of power, these gifts lost much of their value by the absence of a quality which ought to have united, and in some degree crowned all other advantages. M. Ledru-Rollin was devoid of authoritative power. Neither his private life, which he had not been able sufficiently to regulate; nor his sincere, but somewhat ostentatious patriotism ; nor his open and generous, but slightly un- settled character ; nor his more showy than solid acquirements ; nor even his natural uprightness, too often spoilt by an excessive thirst of popularity, made hint fit for command. He was quite conscious of this incapacity, and to escape the uneasiness which it caused to him, he made use of a device well known to minds whose ardour is not sustained nor • Ilistoire de is Revolution de 1848. By Daniel Stern. 2 wiz., 2nd edition, revised by the Author. Paris : Charpeutier. 1802.

tempered by judgment, lie affected haughtiness of speech ; he used big words, and tried to play the despot. Feeling not sufficiently strong to lead the revolution, he wanted to outdo it. Unable to impose respect, he attempted to create terror. It is here that lies the secret of all the -contradictory actions and movements of M. Ledrus-Rollin. From the moment that he began to perceive the success of his tactics ; from the day that he saw fear take hold of the public imagination, and heard his name pronounced in faltering accents; from the time be knew himself compared by his flatterers to Danton, he fancied he possessed an im- mense power. The more his form of speech was in exaggeration of his real sentiments, and his words opposed to his intentions, the more he believed himself a profound politician. He seemed to think with native simplicity that the best method to prevent a recurrence of the terrorism of 1793 would be a suspended threat of the aame. He evidently did not understand that this momentary effect could impose upon none but the most verdant in politics."

The preceding must rank as one of the best pen-and-ink sketches yet drawn of the character of the famous author of 4-La Decadence de rAngleterre." Not less graphic is that of a greater writer, if not a greater statesman, M. Francois Guizot :— " To see this large head, too big almost for the feeble shoulders, thrown back with an effort as if to grasp a power which will escape ; to re- gard this pale and ascetic face, the high furrowed forehead, the fine, proud mouth, the bilious lines of the depressed temples, the eyes so full of subdued fire—to regard this whole form, the impression is left as of a long struggle in a proud soul between good and evil, ending in a victory of all that is great and noble over low and vulgar passions. But from the moment this head begins to speak, the picture changes, and we see nothing but a man possessed of no faith. Under a sea of im- perative formulas is hidden a deep current of inveterate scepticism, which is involuntarily communicated to the hearer. We hesitate ; we suspend our judgment ; we feel an insurmountable uneasiness in listen- ing, and we end by either disliking the orator, or according him a forced admiration. . . . . Though Prime Minister, M. Guizot was never able to divest himself of the professor, the man of Geneva, the Cal- vinist."

In strong contrast with that of M. Guizot stands the sketch -of another hero of the revolution of 1849, whom recent events have again invested with some share of fame, or, at least, notoriety.

"M. Proudhon appeared in the political arena with an audacity of aspect and strangeness of speech which struck all bystanders, and, the -circumstances being favourable, at once fixed public opinion on him and his works. Born in a small village of Franche-Comte, he went through a painful system of self-education ; but in spite of great personal sacrifices, was only enabled to make the most incomplete studies. With the rude stubbornness of the men of his province, he first turned his mind towards religious questions, and occupied himself with re- searches on the origin of Christianity. But soon after his literary labours took another direction, and in 1840 he addressed to the Academy of Moral Sciences a memoir, in which he stated that, having -chosen for the subject of his researches one of he oldest, least contested, most respected, and most universal things upon earth,' namely, the right to hold property, he had finally arrived at the conclusion that there was no such right. He insisted upon an absolute ne2,ation, expressed in the -celebrated formula, La propriete; c'est le vol, property is Theft -Struck by the eccentricity of these forms and ideas, unthinking people thereupon began to fancy that there was a profound originality in M. Proudhon's writings ; and even a few more serious minds, who had gone through his works superficially, joined the chorus of admiration. They all regarded M. Proudhon as a philosopher, while he was nothing but a sophist."

The samples from Madame D'Agoult's portrait-gallery may finish with a sketch of the most famous member of the Pro- visional Government of 1848. There is a delicious sarcasm in every line.

"M. de Lamartine has few rivals. His rich and highly coloured poetical style, splendid often to gorgeousness ; the sonorous flow of his diction, accompanied in speaking by a deportment and air full of -majesty ; the even march of his sentences, which come rolling on, in their magnificent monotony, like the waves on the sea-shore, make him an orator of gigantic proportions. Rarely he rises into a passion ; more rarely still he descends into familiarity. Neither the beat of the debate, nor the right of replying to an attack, ever brings from his lips a bitter word, or even the shadow of a sarcasm. His thought always dwells in serene regions. The very essence of his mind is foreign to satire, and to French humour in particular. He has never read Aristophanes ; he detests Rabelais, and does not understand either Montaigne or Lafon- taMe. It may almost be said that the faculty of observation and .criticium exists not within him, and that he is conscious only to a very feeble degree of the necessity of fads (le hada de la certitude)."

This is a very mild way of saying that M. de Lamartine is an habitual liar, or at least a man far more fond of fiction than of truth. M. Louis Blanc expresses himself more clearly on the subject in a letter to Madame D'Agoult, which is given in the appendix, among other historical documents. "The Histoire de la Rivolu- tion, by M. de Lamartine," says M. Louis Blanc, "is an incon-

ceivable romance, and the more inconceivable, as he has written it, I am sure, in thorough faith. M. de Lamartine is a far too honest man to bare the intention to deceive others ; but ho possesses the power of deceiving himself to a degree which is per- fectly marvellous." So much for the character of the minister of foreign affairs in the Provincial Government, the most notable of all the leaders of the revolution of 1848.

We recommend Madame D'Agoult's two volumes to all who

wish to understand the state of modern France since the fall of Louis Philippe. The events narrated do not go further than the election of Louis Napoleon ; but the facts told and the reflections based thereon give the key to all that has happened up to the present moment. Although the view which Madame D'Agoult takes of men and things is somewhat desponding- " the masses in France," she says, "ate still uncivilized and semi- barbarian (encore incultes, it demi barbares), and like all primitive societies, led entirely by sentiment and imagination"—yet she agrees that there is a distinct progress visible, which ere long must lead to a higher national life, and a greater political and social development. Imperialism, Madame D'Agoult hints, is a salutary medicine, which, though very bitter, France will have to swallow to the dregs before regaining her health. The thesis is not new, but once more well supported.