The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-13 00:00:00

1848,

MAGAZINES-(CONTINUED).
TAIT.

A clear and forcible contribution begins Tait's
Magazine for June, headed " Taxes on Knowledge
and the Newspaper Press." From the closing sen-
tence of the article,- the drift of its argument may be
very readily conjectured :
" That red penny stamp on the corners of news-
sheets is a badge of slavery—a barricade of know-
ledge, as the window-tax is a barricade to health and
light—and the country cannot be free where both
exist."

One of the amusing liistoriettes of Heinrich Zschokke
is afterwards given to us in the form of a very glib
translation : it is called " The Chapter of Accidents."
Calder Campbell and Ebenezer' Elliott are among the
poetical contributors to the magazine; but we must
acknowledge, at once, that we are utterly at a loss to
discover the meaning, or even the very faintest suspi-
cion of the meaning, of the " Plea for Lamartine,"
written by the Corn law Rhymer. The " Plea" is
only composed of six verses, each verse consisting of
merely four lines, yet those few lines form of them-
selves a labyrinth more bewildering than the vege
table puzzle at Hampton Court. Mr. Percy B. St.
John continues his admirable and valuable narrative
of the French Revolution—a narrative which we are
gratified to see now in course of publication in a se-
parate form. Speaking of the conduct of M. de La-
martine in regard to the retention of M. Ledru Rollin
in the Executive Commision, Mr. St. John says that
that policy is dictated by the profoundest wisdom—
and Mr. St. John is at present a resident in Paris,
and therefore the better enabled to arrive at a sound
judgu.ent upon a circumstance of this description.
Hear what he remarks upon this particular, viz., the
alliance between Lamartine and Ledru Rollin :
" Lamartine and Ledru Rollin, when they, on the 24th
February, accepted the lead of France, were actuated by
a sincere desire to be true to the people. They did nut
comprehend the Republic with monarchical institutions;
but democratic—pure, true. Lamartine, though wiser
and more prudent than Ledru Rollin, was quite as great
an enemy of aristocracy as his colleague. Though an
aristocrat, he knew well how, in 1830, the people had
been tricked, and he resolved to be a party to no such
trick again. This explains the union of the eloquent,
enthusiastic, and public mind of Lamartine with the
energetic and hot-headed Ledru Rollin. Marie, Gamier
Pages, and Arago, were equally republican, but their
ideas were more aristocratic. Thus the Executive
f
oAhae
triumphant
facitn
2d4iffthereFde.
hrLnaarmyarhtienineginseisptted; on the
whenpromises of the
k and he found his
eminent colleagues inclined to hesitation, he signified,
wiuhßowoellviner,,his intention of resigning, and lead-
ing
t seemeddemocratic
th Le
eloquence,dr
go, and the really democratic
itahe Cmg the sincere
Lao
rournrctils of the nation.
nn
reaiadtnit
ioconv. thepe House.rtthye is scruples
agl
ns
and true, not to ineis too great a man, too un-
selfishprofit those who made it.
to benefit only the middle
wishlf that the Revolution shall
the days of February are
Jul classes—if the Republic is,
like the monarchy of
might as well have remainedy toa be bourgeoise—things
Rollin is turbulent, hot-headed, vs' theyl were. Ledru
ent ; but he is the
energy, the action of the Revolution—Lamartineanion
nof
these two
head; and, in my opinion, the sincere u
men is a great blessing for France, for the Republic, and
the cause of democracy."
Subsequently he observes, that " in uniting thus th
l.
moderation and activity of the republic in e
on
Lamartine acted the part of a trite patriot." Describ-
inge
the physiognomy of Paris since the 24th of Feb-
ruary, in a later paragraph, Mr. St. John mentions a
singular fact—that the late revolution has been fruit-
ful in statuettes, medals, &c.—Napoleon, Robespierre,
and Lamartine figuring in the first rank, and many
thousands of them, and other heroes of war and
liberty, being sold. The remaining portions of the
magazine are of ordinary merit.