the time, to take his seat, alleging that his presence in France might serve as a dangerous pretext for the enemies of the republic. Subsequently he came to Paris, and assumed the duties of representative of the people; and at the period fixed upon by the new constitution for the election of a President of the republic, he became the prominent candidate for that office. He was elected on the 10th of December, 1849, in opposition to Cavaignac, Lamartine, Rollin, and other candidates, by an overwhelming majority, having received nearly fourfifths of all the votes polled. On the 20th of December he took the oath of office, and delivered an address on the occasion full of generous and noble sentiments. Preceding and immediately after his election most of the English journals expressed a want of confidence both in his capacity and sincerity, and predicted that he would soon give evidence both of imbecility and of anti-republican tendencies. Thus far his conduct as a ruler has disappointed these conceptions of his character. He has, on the contrary, manifested much tact and judgment in the administration of the government; and the same papers, both in Europe and in this country, which at first decried him, now give him credit for purity of motive, and for more than ordinary talent. His popularity with the French people is unbounded; and it is believed by some that if the Bonapartists have a majority in the new Assembly, he will be declared President for life; and that in this movement there will be a general acquiescence, for the purpose of entirely allaying popular ferment, and securing a permanent govern ment. President Bonaparte appears to have inherited that singular art by which the Emperor Napoleon managed, through solitary and apparently unconsidered incidents, to attract to himself an admiration amounting to idolatry. Among the many examples of this trait we find the following anecdote in a late London paper, which is not friendly to him: "On the occasion of the distribution of crosses of the legion of honour a few days since to the troops assembled in the Champ de Mars, it was observed that a sergeant whose name was on the list of candidates for the honour, failed to answer when his name was called. The president having demanded the cause, was informed that the sergeant had obtained leave of absence to visit his mother, who, it was feared, was dying. On hearing the words 'dying mother,' Louis, who idolizes the memory of his maternal parent, turned to an aide-de-camp and ordered him forthwith to send an express after the sergeant, at the private expense of the president, in order that his mother should see the croix d'honneur on her son's breast before she expired. Perhaps,' added he, the sight of the cross may restore her to health.' A courier was forthwith despatched at the command of the president. It is said that the joy occasioned by the good news actually effected a revolution in the poor woman's health, and that she is now in a fair way of recovery. The sergeant on his return related to his companions the noble conduct of the emperor's nephew, and of which he cannot speak without shedding tears." It may not be inappropriate to append to this sketch of the president of France, a copy of the letter addressed to him, soon after his accession to office, by the celebrated Arab chief Abd-el Kader:"To Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, president of the republicthe Emir Abd-el-Kader, detained with his family in the chateau of Amnois. 'I will die in prison if unexampled rigors condemn me so to do, but never will I be brought to lower my character.'-PRINCE LOUIS NAPOLEON, at Ham. "God is great, and Mahomet is his prophet. May this God of clemency, under whose protection the national assembly has placed the French constitution, inspire the chief of the republic with an act of justice and humanity, which will give to all the nations of the globe a high opinion of the hospitality of France, which country is already renowned by her bravery and chivalrous spirit at all times. When, guided by my confidence in the bravery and the promise of the French, I came to place myself and mine under the protection of France, by giving myself up to General Lamoriciere, at that time commandant of Oran, I received the formal promise that I should be sent to the noble land of France, and be afterwards conveyed to Egypt, and from thence to Syria, near the sacred tomb of the prophet, that I might enlighten myself with new light, and my days be wholly devoted to the happiness of my family and far from the hazards of war, the theatre of which I abandoned for ever to the domination of France, in execution of the will of the Almighty, who lowers or raises empires as he pleases. "Far from these sacred promises having been fulfilled, I and mine have been subjected to captivity, without being able to cause justice to be rendered to me. If the sufferings of my poor mother, old and infirm, can excite some interest in the hearts of the French people, and especially in those of wives and mothers, I demand of the chief of the French government to fulfil the promises that were made to me by the generals of Africa, and to accord me the liberty of going on parole, with my family into Syria, to follow the precepts of our religion. Grateful for such an act of clemency and justice, I would pray our God to bestow on France and her chiefs all his great consolations and blessings. I rely on the wisdom of the president of the Republic and of the national assembly. "The Emir ABD-EL-KADER. 46 Amboise, 27 Moharrem, 1265 (Dec. 23, 1848.”) S. ANECDOTES OF TALLEYRAND. Charles Maurice Talleyrand was born in Paris, in the year 1754. In the middle ages his ancestors were sovereigns of Quercy. The name Talleyrand, which appears originally to have been that of an estate or manor, was formerly written Taleran, Tailleran, Talairant, or Talliran. In the commencement of the twelfth century it was adopted as a surname by the family of the sovereign counts of Perigord. After the extinction of the elder branch, the younger, known by the designation of the Counts de Grignols, and afterwards by that of the Princes de Chalias and de Talleyrand, succeeded to the family title and honours. Having stated so much, or rather, so little, for the benefit of the curious in genealogy, we crave permission not only to proceed at once to lighter, and to us more attractive matter, but to present it without any ceremonious attention to time, place, or circumstance, and after that unconnected fashion which to narrators is a sort of second nature. Early in life, Talleyrand de Perigord figured among the most influential personages of France, and formed a close connexion with the principal republican leaders of the day; to some of them, however, the outset of his political career rendered him an object of distrust. Carnot, in particular, manifested a deep-rooted aversion for the prêtre défroqué, as he contemptuously termed the ex-bishop of Autun. Chenier compared him to a sponge that absorbs a portion of every liquor in which it is steeped, with this difference, that the sponge, when squeezed, disgorges its contents, whilst Talleyrand still imbibes and still retains. It must be admitted, that one whose career belongs to so many epochs, one who passed unscathed through so many political convulsions, and still as the horizon blackened, seemed to "ride on the whirlwind and direct the storm"-one who survived the old regime, the directory, the consular power, the empire, and the final fall of the Bourbons, still rising on the wreck of each crumbling dynasty that overwhelmed in its ruin his less fortunate or less skilful compeers, such a one might well engender in others that sour and sullen spirit in which envy is ever ready to rail at vice when its rewards fall not to her share. His first friend was the Comte d'Artois. While he was a plain abbé, the comte wearied Louis XVI. with prayers to make his friend a bishop. Louis for a long time positively refused, alleging as his objection the rather negligent course of M. de Perigord's mode of life; but being farther solicited, promised to grant the request on condition. that the abbé would go to the country, and do something ecclesiastical that would make people forget his escapades in Paris. Accordingly, Talleyrand left the city, and preached two or three fine sermons, and otherwise behaved himself so as to lay in a sufficient stock of merit. The Comte d'Artois obtained his prayer; and the abbé was turned into the Bishop d'Autun. This was his first rise in the world-mark the end! During the consular regime, Talleyrand was the wit par excellence of the court, and it must be confessed, that in common with most wits, he could rarely be accused of good-natured consideration for the feelings of those at whom his shafts were levelled. A certain distinguished personage, in his presence, once passed a high encomium on the beauty of the Marchioness de Luchesini, the wife of the Prussian ambassador, a lady whose stature was colossal, and whose attractions were altogether of the masculine order. "Bah!" exclaimed Talleyrand, in answer to the panegyrist, "I could show you better than that in the consular guard." As nothing is more unstable than the vogue of a court beauty, the ambassadress, after this cruel sarcasm, was at a discount of fifty per cent. "Never write a book," said he to Prince Kofflosky; "if you do, we shall know all that your brains are worth for as many francs as your book will cost. No man of sense writes books-the emperor writes no books-[this was before the emperor went to St. Helena]-Socrates never wrote a book." To which Talleyrand added a name we decline introducing into any light discourse, even after the example of a bishop. When Kofflosky pressed him with the names of men acknowledged to be great in other niches of the temple of fame, who had yet written books, such as Julius Cæsar, Frederick the great, &c., the prince replied, that the examples are rare, and that these books must have been written in order to lead people astray. It has been stated that Talleyrand's main incentive to the attainment of power was his love of wealth. If so, avarice and ambition may be said to have gone hand in hand, for both were amply gratified. The elevated position of the minister for foreign affairs, by giving him the key to all political secrets, enabled him to speculate with advantage in the public funds, and it appears that he liberally availed himself of his facilities. Some of his minor satellites, too, reaped the benefit of them second-hand, catching, as it were, a refraction of the light which shone so resplendently on his fortunes. Every morning, whilst under the hand of his perruquier, it was Talleyrand's custom to enter into familiar conversation with that functionary, sometimes touching on political matters, and on such occasions the barber would " with a greedy ear devour his excellency's discourse," from which he derived many a valuable hint for his own guidance. If Talleyrand muttered between his teeth, "Now is the time to sell," Strap hied him in haste to the Bourse, and sold out his five per cents. He then remained perfectly quiet, continued his daily routine, and powdered the minister's caput as usual, taking care to avail himself of the first hint of 'Now is the time to buy stock.' By diligently attending to these little soliloquies of Talleyrand, the perruquier gradually amassed an enormous fortune. Napoleon had by some means or other been apprized of Talleyrand's hits on 'change. The great captain hated stock-jobbing of every description, and took his prime minister severely to task. "So," said he, with a sarcastic sneer, "I am informed that your excellency is making a fortune on the Bourse."-"I never speculated but on one occasion,' was Talleyrand's reply,-" And when may that have been?" resumed the first consul. "I bought in on the 18th Brumaire, and I sold out the next day." The force of the repartée will be evident to the reader who recollects that the stormy period alluded to was that of the coup d'état which placed the consular power in the hands of Bonaparte, and consequently laid the foundation of his subsequent greatness. Napoleon, when his power was on the decline, began, and not without reason, to entertain some distrust of Talleyrand's fidelity. On one occasion the emperor observed in a menacing tone to the wary statesman-"You imagine that in the event of my fall you would be placed at the head of a council of regency. Be warned in time; you will gain. nothing by joining the ranks of my enemies. Were I to be suddenly attacked with a dangerous illness, your death would take place before mine." "Sire," replied Talleyrand, not in the least disconcerted by this abrupt apostrophe, "I need not such a warning to urge me to offer up my prayers for the prolongation of your Majesty's days." The colossus was at length overthrown, and a new order of things was established in Europe. In 1815, Talleyrand, still unshaken by the political storm, was the representative of France at the ever memorable congress of Vienna. Louis XVIII. formed a just appreciation of Talleyrand's superior abilities; he knew the man well, though he carefully abstained from openly pronouncing a judgment upon his character. When pressed to declare his opinion on this subject, the King usually replied by quoting the following lines from Corneille, in allusion to the famous Cardinal Richelieu : "Qu'on dise mal ou bien du fameux Cardinal, But notwithstanding this cautious moderation, Louis XVIII. evidently nurtured a secret grudge against Talleyrand, and occasionally displayed the feeling in various practical illustrations of the art of ingeniously tormenting. To be more explicit, his majesty was rather taquin with his grand chamberlain-for such was the dignity with which the cidevant minister for foreign affairs was invested at the epoch of the restoration. In 1823, when France interposed in the affairs of Spain, Talleyrand took occasion to comment rather freely on the course pursued by government. This was by no means agreeable to Louis XVIII. and a report was soon spread that the grand chamberlain was not only in disgrace, but on the point of being exiled. Not long after the circulation of this rumour, Talleyrand made his appearance at the Tuilleries, and was received by the King in a manner which proved that something like a storm was impending. "Apropos," said the monarch, “I |