being digested thought even in the treatment of light or transient topics, and a cast of Scottish gleesome feeling where many would be tame and sombre.

Mr. Chambers loves to note the form, tendency, and achievements of a people's industry, just as he does to describe the shapes which their sympathies, superstitions, and romantic fancies take. In this tour, however, the reader will meet with more of the utile than the dulce, and with more that is new in regard to fact as well as doctrine about manufactures and industrial habits, than concerning natural scenery, the fine arts, or floating literature. If we accompany him through Belgium, it will soon be perceived that machinery and such productions as minister to the comforts and luxuries of daily lifethese luxuries having become like unto necessities-are objects that attracted his marked attention. At the same time it will be seen that he had uniformly a British purpose in view, suggestively or correctively. One specimen, and when he was at Brussels, will exemplify our meaning and his manner of observation. The occasion was a visit to the exhibition of manufactures :

Entering the vestibule, we follow a path through a series of saloons on the ground floor, all filled with objects of great interest and beauty of execution. One saloon is filled with new-made steam-engines and locomotives, engineering tools, spinning-machines, and printing-presses; the workmanship of which appeared to be equal to any thing of the kind in England. Next we have a saloon occupied with pianofortes, cabinets, and other articles, formed of walnut or other fine woods, and inlaid with ivory or mother-ofpearl: we observe here, also, some elegant gentlemen's coaches and gigs, with harness to match. Another saloon contains a most extraordinary variety of leather, (a manufacture in which we are greatly excelled by the Belgians,) painted floor-cloths, hair-cloths, furs, perfumery, and periwigs. In ascending the grand staircase, we find the landing-places occupied with iron safes, stoves, fire-grates for drawing-rooms, all unexceptionable and of first-rate finish. Landing on the upper floor we walk from room to room, lost in the contemplation of the numerous products of Belgian industry; lace, linen, woollen, cotton, and silk goods; threads, cutlery, crysta', paper, fire-arms, musical instruments, philosophical apparatus-in short, every thing that a luxurious people can require. I spent an hour in the closest examination of some of these articles; for I felt assured, that as regards excellence of quality, England had here certainly met her match. The different parcels of cloth and flannels, the manufacture of Francois Biolley ard sons at Verviers, and of. M. Snoeck at Herve, would not have discredited the cloth-halls of Leeds; while the damasks of Fretigny and Company at Ghent and Dujardin at Courtrai, gave indications that in this species of fabric the Low Countries maintained their ancient reputation. The threads and laces of Brussels were exhibited in extensive variety. Altogether, the Exposition afforded a decided proof of the prodigious advance made in the useful arts in Belgium of late years; and I believe nothing remains to be done but to find a market for her goods. That, it appears, is no easy matter; partly in consequence of the little influence which the country has abroad, but chiefly VOL. I. (1843) NO. II.

from the preference given in most places to English goods. To put the question of price in some measure to the test, I bought a few articles of cutlery; and found that, though well executed, they cost rather more than they were worth in England. From all I saw and heard, my impression is, that nearly all factory goods can still be produced cheaper and on a greater scale, in England than in Belgium; but that Belgium can now manufacture most articles of as good quality, and only stands in need of due encouragement to be in every respect a most formidable competitor. As regards articles prepared by the exercise of individual taste and skill, we are already far behind Belgium. I have never, for instance, seen in England any work to compare in point of elegance of design and execution with that displayed on the pianofortes and cabinets at this Exposition. I remarked one pianoforte in particular, marked 800 francs, (321.); a sum which would not have paid for the mere workmanship of the case in England, where a 327. piano is in appearance little else than a plain veneered box.

We cite a longer passage from his observations and conclusions with regard to the Swiss, and then dismiss the useful and interesting work; its merits as a literary performance and an embodiment of intellect and of acquired thought being of a superior order. The hints, lessons, and reproofs which this specimen furnishes are of a still more seriously practical nature than any that can be connected with mere mechanical ingenuity or handicraft skill.

To compare the condition of Switzerland with that of England would be absurd. There is not the slightest resemblance between them. The Swiss have pitched their standard of happiness at a point which, as far as things, not feelings, are concerned, could with great ease be reached by the bulk of the British population. And here what may be called the unfavourable features of Swiss society become prominent. There is little cumulative capital in Switzerland. It is a country of small farmers and tradesmen, in decent but not wealthy circumstances. An active man among them could not get much. If he and his family wrought hard they would not starve, and whatever they got would be their own. On all occasions, in speaking to respectable residents, the observation on the people was, “They labour hard, very hard; but they have plenty of food, and they are happy.' Now it is my opinion, that if any man labour hard in either England or Scotland, exercise a reasonable degree of prudence, and be temperate and economical, he can scarcely fail in arriving at the same practical results as the Swiss nay, I go farther, and will aver that he has an opportunity of reaching a far higher standard of rational comfort than was ever dreamt of by the happiest peasant in Switzerland. The condition of the Swiss is blessed, remotely, no doubt, from the simple form of government, but immediately and chiefly from the industry, humble desires, and economic habits of the people.

Switzerland is unquestionably the paradise of the working-man; but then, it cannot be called a paradise for any other; and I doubt if the perfection of the social system-if the ultimate end of creation-is to fix down mankind at peasant and working-man pitch. Both Bowring and Symons are in raptures with the cottage-system of the Swiss artisans: I own it is

most attractive, and, as I have said, is doubtless productive of much happiness. But who prevents English artisans from having equally good houses with the Swiss ? With a money wage of some seven or eight shillings a week, it is said the Swiss operative realizes, by means of his free cottage, bit of ground, and garden, equal to thirty shillings in England. My own conviction is, that fourteen or fifteen shillings would be much nearer the mark; but, taking it at a larger sum, let us inquire if English workmen may not attain similar advantages. All perhaps could not, but I feel assured that every skilled artisan could—that is, every man receiving from fifteen to twenty shillings per week, of whom there is no small number. British operatives are taxed to a monstrous degree; almost every thing they put in their mouths being factitiously raised in price in a manner perfectly shameful. But they possess a freedom known nowhere on the Continent. They can travel from town to town at all times without begging for passports; they are not called upon for a single day's drill; in short, their time is their own, and they may do with it as they please. Exercising the same scrupulous economy as the Swiss, and in the same manner refraining from marriage till prudence sanctioned such a step, I do not see what is to prevent a skilled and regularly-employed British operative from becoming the proprietor of a small house and garden, supposing his taste to lie that way. I know several who have realised this kind of property indeed, a large proportion of the humbler class of tradesmen in the Scottish country-towns, villages, and hamlets, are the proprietors of the dwellings in which they reside. Now, if some so placed contrive to realize property, why may not others do so? The answer is that a vast mass of our working population think of little beyond present enjoyment. Gin-whisky!-what misery is created by these demons, every city can bear sorrowful witness. Cruelly taxed, in the first place, by the state, the lower classes tax themselves still more by their appetites. Scotland spends four millions of pounds annually on whisky, and what England disburses for gin and porter is on a scale equally magnificent. Throughout the Grand Rue of Berne, a mile in length, densely populated, I did not see a single spirit-shop or tavern; I observed, certainly, that several of the cellars were used for the sale of wines. In the High street of Edinburgh, from the Castle to Holyrood House, the same in length as the main street of Berne, and not unlike it in appearance, there are 150 taverns, shops, or places of one kind or another in which spirituous liquors are sold; and in Rose Street, a much less populous thoroughfare, the number is 41. I did not see a drunken person in Switzerland; Sheriff Alison speaks of ten thousand persons being in a state of intoxication every Saturday night in Glasgow.

I take the liberty of alluding to these practices, not for the purpose of depreciating the character of the operative orders, but to show at least one pretty conclusive piece of evidence why they do not generally exhibit the same kind of happy homes as the Swiss. In a word, Bowring and Symons, and, I may add, Laing, seem to lead to the inference, that every thing excellent in the Swiss operative and peasant's condition is owing to institutional arrangements; whereas, without undervaluing these, I ascribe fully more, as already stated, to the temperance, humble desires, and extraordinary economic habits of the people. That the practical advantages enjoyed by Swiss artisans

are also, somehow, inferior to those of similar classes in Britain, is evident from the fact that Swiss watchmakers emigrate to England for the sake of better wages than they can realize at home; and that some thousands of unskilled labourers leave Switzerland annually to better their condition in foreign lands, is, I believe, a fact which admits of no kind of controversy. Let us, then, conclude with this impartial consideration, that if our working population have grievances to complain of (and I allow these grievances are neither few nor light,) they at the same time enjoy a scope and outlet for enterprise and skill, a means of enrichment and advancement, which no people in Continental Europe can at all boast of. Switzerland, as has been said, is the paradise of the working-man. It might with equal justice be added, that a similar paradise can be realised in the home of every man who is willing to forego personal indulgences, and make his domestic hearth the principal scene of his pleasures, the sanctuary in which his affections are enshrined.

ART. VI.-Narrative of a Yacht-Voyage in the Mediterranean during the Years 1840, 1841. 2 vols. Murray.

LADY GROSVENOR tells us that "a tossing ship and a rolling sea" are not the most favourable accompaniments for journal-keeping. Nevertheless, she has made out a very agreeable narrative in these unpretending volumes, and written just such a book as an English countess in the nineteenth century should indite,-discursive, liberaltoned, informing and tasteful. The work is inscribed to the Right Honourable Thomas Grenville, and the following terms convey a good idea of its character and intention:-"I must remind you, that not having stayed anywhere long enough to make observations of much research and consequent value, my only hope can be to give you a few hours' amusement, without attempting to add a volume to your library. You have been a cordial partaker in the many joys, and the few, though deeps sorrows, of my life; and it is a pleasure to me to offer this account of a very amusing portion of it, to one who, where he is best known, is most honoured and beloved."

In this smooth and frank style does her ladyship uniformly express herself, there being with the utmost high-breeding in the form of the expressions a sparkling spirit, together with a sound sense that indicate a healthy, rightly-constituted, and well-cultured mind. And these qualities are manifested not less in her notices of antiquity and of classical subjects, than in her observations relative to modern times and existing circumstances.

A book of the present sort affords but few points for criticism, beyond the general terms we have just been employing; and therefore in giving a notice of the last work of the class which we can take up this month,-tours and journals having already occupied their due share in our pages,-it only remains that we mention one

or two particulars with regard to the occasion and the scope of the publication.

Well, then, the Earl of Grosvenor, his Countess, and four children, attended by a maid and a man-servant, were the passengers in the yacht, the crew and the officers constituting a suitable addition to the number.

The voyage of the Dolphin extended to a variety of places in the Mediterranean, and on its shores,-Portugal, Spain, Tangier, Turkey, Greece, the Grecian Islands, Malta, Sicily, &c.; touching at many ports, and sometimes remaining long enough to take a journey inland, in order to visit and examine scenes and objects celebrated in history; and this both by land and by water, as the means of conveyance happened to serve. Lisbon and Cadiz were the points at which the Dolphin first anchored, and these, like the other places described, and particulars introduced, are sketched with rapidity and ease. Some of the journeys were performed not without great toil and fatigue, nor without exposure to danger, such as besets the traveller in Calabria, owing to the lawless habits of the inhabitants. For example, a trip from Malaga over the mountains to Granada, is one of risk on the account mentioned. Highly tragical tales are told of undertakings of this kind, as the following story related by a Mr. Annesley will show; the event described having occurred in the October of 1839.

An Englishman had for some time resided in Barcelona, who taught English, and gave lessons to my children; he was associated with a Frenchman, who also instructed several families; and these two lived together in a house with a Swiss jeweller; they had no servant, and none but these three occupied the mansion. The jeweller suddenly disappeared; he was nowhere to be found, and no trace remained of him, and there was no appeal to the police, as they never take any trouble in such cases. One morning the Englishman came to my house, and begged to see me. I found him hardly able to speak; and what he did say was so incoherent, I fancied he had either been drinking, or had lost his senses. He stated that what he had to impart was so dreadful, he could not bring himself to relate it. However, by degrees, he became more intelligible, and after a great many small details, I collected that in the room he occupied with the Frenchman there was a small closet, with an opening in it to admit light from the room near the ceiling. The night before, as he was sitting alone, he fancied he perceived a disagreeable smell in that part of the room; he tried to open the door of the closet, but found it locked; he then climbed upon a chair, and with a candle looked in at the little opening, and, to his horror, saw a corpse in fragments on the floor; part of a leg in one place, an arm in another, and a large sledge-hammer lying by them; he nearly dropped with horror; and at that moment (it was just twelve o'clock) he heard the knock of the Frenchman at the door. As they were alone in the house, he had no resource but to appear as calm and easy as if he had seen nothing. When he let him in, he remarked that he was late that night, as he had to begin