Charlotte Corday;" and "Jean Paul's Letters and Future History."

Most of Richter's works belong to the class of novels and romances; but they must not be judged of by our English notions of the nature of such productions. Speaking of " Hesperus " and "Titan," Mr. Carlyle remarks:"There is solid metal enough in them to fit out whole circulating libraries, were it beaten into the usual filligree; and much which, attenuate it as we might, no quarterly subscriber could well carry with him." From the same writer we subjoin a few additional sentences, which will serve, better than anything we could present, to give a general notion of the most prominent and peculiar characteristics of Richter's genius:

"We defy the most careless or prejudiced reader to peruse these works without an impression of something splendid, wonderful, and daring. Richter has been called

an intellectual Colossus; and, in truth, it is somewhat in this light that we view him. His faculties are all of gigantic mould; cumbrous, awkward in their movements; large and splendid, rather than harmonious or beautiful; yet joined in living union; and of force and compass altogether extraordinary. He has an intellect vehement, rugged, irresistible; crushing in pieces the hardest problems; piercing into the most hidden combinations of things, and grasping the most distant: an imagination vague, sombre, splendid, or appalling; brooding over the abysses of Being; wandering through Infinitude; and summoning before us, in its dim religious light, shapes of brilliancy, solemnity, or terror: a fancy of exuberance literally unexampled, for it pours its treasures with a lavishness which knows no limit; hanging, like the sun, a jewel on every grass-blade; and sowing the earth at large with orient pearl. But deeper than all these lies Humour, the ruling quality with Richter; as it were the central fire that pervades and vivifies his whole being. He is a humourist from his inmost soul: he thinks as a humourist; he feels, imagines, acts as a humourist. Sport is the element in which his nature lives and works, a tumultuous element for such a nature, and wild work he makes in it! A Titan in his sport as in his earnestness, he oversteps all bound, and riots without law or measure. He heaps Pelion upon Ossa, and hurls the universe together and asunder like a case of playthings.

It is an infinite masquerade: all nature is gone forth mumming in the strangest guises.

"Yet the anarchy is not without its purpose: these vizards are not mere hollow masks; there are living faces under them; and this mumming has its significance. Richter is a man of mirth, but he seldom or never condescends to be a merry-andrew. Nay, in spite of its extravagance, we should say that his humour is, of all his gifts, in

:

trinsically the finest and most genuine. It has such witching turns; there is something in it so capricious, so quaint, so heartfelt. From his Cyclopian workshop, and its fuligi nous limbecs, and huge unwieldy machinery, the little shrivelled, twisted Figure comes forth at last, so perfect and so living, to be for ever laughed at and for ever loved! Wayward as he seems, he works not without forethought like Rubens, by a single stroke, he can change a laughing face into a sad one. But in his smile itself a touching pathos may lie hidden, a pity too deep for tears. He is a man of feeling, in the noblest sense of the word, for he loves all living with the heart of a brother; his soul rushes forth, in sympathy with gladness and sorrow, with goodness or grandeur, over all creation. Every gentle and generous affection; every thrill of mercy; every glow of nobleness, awakens in his bosom a response; nay, strikes his spirit into harmony; a wild music, as of windharps, floating round us in fitful swells; but soft sometimes, and pure and soul-entrancing, as the song of angels! Aversion itself with him is not hatred: he despises much, but justly; with tolerance also, with placidity, and even a sort of love. Love, in fact, is the atmosphere he breathes in ; the medium through which he looks. His is the spirit which gives life and beauty to whatever it embraces."

This, of course, is no complete estimate of Richter's literary powers and performances; but it may serve to indicate their quality and substance, just as a piece of broken marble might be exhibited to show the nature of the material in a quarry. Any one desirous of undertaking the study of Richter's writings, could not do better than begin by reading the whole of Mr. Carlyle's criticisms upon them in the two first volumes of his "Miscellanies." Here, at any rate, our restricted space forbids us to enter further into the subject; and, with respect to Richter's outward history, there is but little more to tell.

It was in the year 1805 that he took up his residence at Baireuth; and there he continued to live for the next

twenty years. "Little city of my habitation," said he, " which I belong to on this side the grave!" During these years children grew up around him, and in the eyes of their mother he saw his own content and happiness reflected. A man of the simplest habits and wishes, he was satisfied with simple pleasures; and, in the exercise of his vocation, he was ever distinguished by the most exemplary and unwearied diligence. "I hold my

duty," said he, "not to lie in enjoying or acquiring, but in writing,-whatever

divorce, and, as a consequence, insisted upon marrying our hero! She hinted, one night at Herder's, that such a consummation might be effected in the spring. "But," says Richter, "I afterwards said to her decidedly, No! and, after a glow of eloquence from her, it stands thus, that she shall take no step for, and I no step against, the divorce. I have at last acquired firmness of heart. In this affair I am wholly guiltless. I can feel that holy, general love which I cannot, indeed, paint with this dark water; but it passes not beyond my dreams,"

However, no experience comes amiss to a man of poetic genius; and it would seem that the stormy passages of his life, arising out of his relations with the Kalbs and Berlespshs, were of unquestionable advantage to him in the way of enabling him to complete his "Titan." At this work he labours until the spring, when, instead of marrying the enchantress Kalb, he accepted an invitation to the Court of Hilburghausen, "from whose Duke," we are told, "he received the diploma of Legations-rath."* Here Paul is again bewitched by a certain Caroline von F, a maid of honour to the Duchess, and seems decidedly to think, "If I were united with her, my whole being, even the smallest stain, would be purified." The lady, indeed, appears to reciprocate his feelings, and for a time all goes joyous "as a marriage bell." But you are aware that "the course of true love never does run smooth;" and here, again, we find "objections on the part of friends," and endless fastidious "botherations;" and, finally, the match is broken off, never more to be renewed. Richter, meanwhile, is so discomposed by the termination of the affair, as to grow tired of Weimar, and, for a change, he journeys to Berlin.

But before going, he contrived to get the first volume of "Titan" published, the same being dedicated to the hospitable Duchess and her three noble sistersall of whom had declared themselves Paul's intense admirers. Other works, of lesser note, he had produced, with a view to keep himself before the public while the "Titan" was in preparation. On arriving at Berlin, he found his fame had arrived before him; and,

* Counsellor of Legation.

accordingly, he was everywhere well received and entertained. And now, if the Fates will only be propitious, Richter shall certainly obtain a wife. He is now thirty-seven years of age, so that if he means to marry he had better lose no time. Many brilliant ladies are made known to him, and among them, Caroline Meyer, daughter of Dr. John Andrew Meyer, Professor of Medicine, and a member of the Royal Privy Council. As we have no space to spare for describing the particularities of the wooing, it may be as well to state at once that to this lady Richter was duly married on the 27th of May, 1801. The young wife, writing shortly afterwards to her father, declares herself to be happy beyond her utmost expectations:-"It will sound extravagant to you," she says, "if I say, the high enthusiasm which Richter excited in me has continually risen as we have entered into real life together. Never can a misunderstanding arise between us. This man so loves

me, that I have nothing to wish but that we may die together." Of her, in return, Jean Paul affirms, "Marriage has made me love her more romantically, deeper, infinitely more than before." And so, with the brightest prospects, they set up their household in the pleasant town of Meiningen.

All this, we suppose, is exactly as it should be; and, as henceforth Paul's life was for the most part prosperous and peaceful, there needs be little further said, in this place, respecting his fortunes or condition. After several changes of residence, he finally settled in Baireuth; and the remaining chief events of his life were the books which he produced and published. Shortly after his marriage, "Titan" was completed, after being ten years in progress; and not much later, in 1803, appeared the "Flegeljahre," a work whose title Mr. Carlyle thinks may be freely translated "Wild Oats." Besides these, and the works already named in the course of our narrative, Richter's principal works are:-"Vorschule der Aesthetik" (Introduction to Esthetics); "Levana" (à Discourse on Education), translated into English; "Leben Fibels" (Life of Fibel); "Nicholaus Margraf;" "Katzenberger's Badereise" (Katzenberger's Journey to the Bath); "Schmelzle's Reise nach Flätz" (Schmelzle's Journey to Flätz); "A Eulogy on

Charlotte Corday;" and "Jean Paul's Letters and Future History."

Most of Richter's works belong to the class of novels and romances; but they must not be judged of by our English notions of the nature of such productions. Speaking of " Hesperus" and "Titan," Mr. Carlyle remarks:"There is solid metal enough in them to fit out whole circulating libraries, were it beaten into the usual filligree; and much which, attenuate it as we might, no quarterly subscriber could well carry with him." From the same writer we subjoin a few additional sentences, which will serve, better than anything we could present, to give a general notion of the most prominent and peculiar characteristics of Richter's genius:

"We defy the most careless or prejudiced reader to peruse these works without an impression of something splendid, wonderful, and daring. Richter has been called

an intellectual Colossus; and, in truth, it is somewhat in this light that we view him. His faculties are all of gigantic mould; cumbrous, awkward in their movements; large and splendid, rather than harmonious or beautiful; yet joined in living union; and of force and compass altogether extraordinary. He has an intellect vehement, rugged, irresistible; crushing in pieces the hardest problems; piercing into the most hidden combinations of things, and grasping the most distant: an imagination vague, sombre, splendid, or appalling; brooding over the abysses of Being; wandering through Infinitude; and summoning before us, in its dim religious light, shapes of brilliancy, solemnity, or terror: a fancy of exuberance literally unexampled, for it pours its treasures with a lavishness which knows no limit; hanging, like the sun, a jewel on every grass-blade; and sowing the earth at large with orient pearl. But deeper than all these lies Humour, the ruling quality with Richter; as it were the central fire that pervades and vivifies his whole being. He is a humourist from his inmost soul: he thinks as a humourist; he feels, imagines, acts as a humourist. Sport is the element in which his nature lives and works,-a tumultuous element for such a nature, and wild work he makes in it! A Titan in his sport as in his earnestness, he oversteps all bound, and riots without law or measure. He heaps Pelion upon Ossa, and hurls the universe together and asunder like a case of playthings. It is an infinite masquerade: all nature is gone forth mumming in the strangest guises.

"Yet the anarchy is not without its purpose these vizards are not mere hollow masks; there are living faces under them; and this mumming has its significance. Richter is a man of mirth, but he seldom or never condescends to be a merry-andrew. Nay, in spite of its extravagance, we should say that his humour is, of all his gifts, in

trinsically the finest and most genuine. It has such witching turns; there is something in it so capricious, so quaint, so heartfelt. From his Cyclopian workshop, and its fuligi nous limbecs, and huge unwieldy machinery, the little shrivelled, twisted Figure comes forth at last, so perfect and so living, to be for ever laughed at and for ever loved! Wayward as he seems, he works not without forethought like Rubens, by a single stroke, he can change a laughing face into a sad one. But in his smile itself a touching pathos may lie hidden, a pity too deep for tears. He is a man of feeling, in the noblest sense of the word, for he loves all living with the heart of a brother; his soul rushes forth, in sympathy with gladness and sorrow, with goodness or grandeur, over all creation. Every gentle and generous affection; every thrill of mercy; every glow of nobleness, awakens in his bosom a response; nay, strikes his spirit into harmony; a wild music, as of windharps, floating round us in fitful swells; but soft sometimes, and pure and soul-entrancing, as the song of angels! Aversion itself with him is not hatred: he despises much, but justly; with tolerance also, with placidity, and even a sort of love. Love, in fact, is the atmosphere he breathes in; the medium through which he looks. His is the spirit which gives life and beauty to whatever it embraces."

This, of course, is no complete estimate of Richter's literary powers and performances; but it may serve to indicate their quality and substance, just as a piece of broken marble might be exhibited to show the nature of the material in a quarry. Any one desirous of undertaking the study of Richter's writings, could not do better than begin by reading the whole of Mr. Carlyle's criticisms upon them in the two first volumes of his "Miscellanies." Here, at any rate, our restricted space forbids us to enter further into the subject; and, with respect to Richter's outward history, there is but little more to tell.

It was in the year 1805 that he took up his residence at Baireuth; and there he continued to live for the next

twenty years. "Little city of my habitation," said he, " which I belong to on this side the grave!" During these years children grew up around him, and in the eyes of their mother he saw his own content and happiness reflected. A man of the simplest habits and wishes, he was satisfied with simple pleasures; and, in the exercise of his vocation, he was ever distinguished by the most exemplary

and unwearied diligence. "I hold my

duty," said he, "not to lie in enjoying or acquiring, but in writing,-whatever

time it may cost, whatever money may be forborne,-nay, whatever pleasure; for example, that of seeing Switzerland, which nothing but the sacrifice of time forbids." And again, he says: "A poet, who presumes to give poetic delight, should contemn, and willingly forbear, all enjoyments, the sacrifice of which affects not his creative powers, that so he may delight a century and a whole people." Richter uniformly took the highest and the noblest view of his literary calling. He exercised it solely for the edification and improvement of humanity. As the days of his pilgrimage advanced towards their decline, he could calmly consider them, and say, " When I look at what has been made out of me, I must thank God that I paid no heed to external matters, neither to time nor toil, nor profit nor loss. The thing is there, and the instruments that did it I have forgotten; and none else knows them. In this wise, has the unimportant series of moments been changed into something higher that remains." He was not without some troubles in his latter years; but these did not long disturb the magnanimity and sereneness of his soul. Whatsoever befel, he bore with a stoical and patient steadfastness, cheerfully seeking what help was to be had; and when no hope, or chance of help, was left, still cheerfully submitting to his lot. Finally, as is the universal fate of mortals, he died; and saw the shining of the sun no more, nor the green earth, with its streams and flowers, nor the sadness or the joy of human faces. "I have described so much," he had said, "and I depart without ever seeing Switzerland, and the ocean, and so many other sights; but the ocean of eternity I shall in no case fail to see!" On that remote and unimaginable deep, he went forth from the shores of time, on the 11th of November, 1825. The same grand voyage, Reader, you and I must some day embark upon; may we, in the meanwhile, remember that there is a God above us, and strive to work out our destination here with fidelity and manfulness!

DR. CHALMERS.

Few modern names have been longer, or more honourably, before the world than that of Dr. Thomas Chalmers. As an orator, a theologian, and the leading

spirit of one of the most remarkable ecclesiastical revolutions of modern times, the records of his life fill a large space in the domestic history of his country and his age; whilst, as a philosopher, he rendered incalculable service, by the mingled originality and sobriety of his speculations, to the cause of moral and social science. All the features of his character were strongly developed

the acuteness of his intellect, the thorough independence of his judgment, the indomitable resolution of his will, the untiring and restless activity, which seemed a pervading law of his being, his exquisite conscientiousness, simplicity, and candour. Such were the qualities that rendered him the great, good man of public life; whilst the tenderness of his affection, and the constancy of his friendship, made him beloved and revered in the narrower circle of private associations. His influence was largely felt whilst he was an actor in our midst, and his great deeds of virtue and benevolence live after him.

Anstruther, a small fishing town on the south-east coast of the county of Fife, was his birthplace. It was one of a little nest of trading communities, which had long flourished on a profitable, though to a large extent contraband, traffic with Holland, France, and Spain, and on a considerable exportation of malt and salt to England. With the simultaneous decay of both these branches of commerce, the prosperity of these little towns rapidly waned; but a new source of distinction was reserved for them; and Kirkcaldy, Largo, and Anstruther, separated from each other only by a few miles of coast, will be remembered in history as the birthplace of great names-Adam Smith, Sir John Leslie, and Thomas Chalmers.

Mr. John Chalmers, and his wife Elizabeth, held a respectable position in the society of eastern Anstruther. On Friday, the 17th of March, 1780, a sixth child, and fourth son, was added to their household. The father communicated the agreeable intelligence to his brother, and added, "The little fellow is named Tom-I wish him as good a man as his name-father" (Mr. Thomas Ballardie, his uncle). The child throve and waxed strong.

The boyhood of most illustrious men is found to furnish some indications of those great qualities for which they

have afterwards become remarkable; and, in the case of Dr. Chalmers, these germs of early promise are peculiarly interesting. His power of application, his candour, good temper and generosity, and, above all, his reverence for the obligations of truth under whatever circumstances contracted, are amongst the most conspicuous features of his character as a child. Even at two years of age, his promise, extracted by a flood of affected tenderness, not to reveal the ill-treatment of a cruel nurse, was held sound under every species of provocation. He was a gay, active, light-hearted boy-often idle from his predilection for the sports of the playground; but when he took his lessons in hand, it was with a vigour of purpose which soon mastered them; he was, indeed, always "in earnest ;" whether at work or at play, he entered into the pursuit of the hour with his whole heart, and as he grew in years this spirit of enthusiasm and perseverance became constantly more strongly developed. His dedication to the Christian ministry was a point decided on at a very early age, and in November, 1791-when only twelve years old-he was enrolled as a student in the University of St. Andrew's.

During the first two years of his college life, young Chalmers proved himself still a boy-and golf, foot-ball, and hand-ball, received a larger share of his attention than the exercises of the class-room and the study. It was not until the third session of his course that he applied diligently to graver pursuits. Attaching himself with ardour to the study of mathematics, under the guidance of Dr. James Brown, he gave a remarkable proof of what his strong intelligence and his great force of will were capable of accomplishing. It was to this period of his life, and to the influence of his mathematical professor, he was always accustomed to attribute the formation of his intellectual character, and the direction imparted to his tastes, habits, and literary career. With such an instructor-who not only gave him the benefit of his academic lessons, but admitted him to the intimacy of friendship-and with a mind keenly relishing geometrical speculations-it is not surprising that the young student quickly ripened into the full stature of mental manhood, and surrendered himself

with entire devotion to his favourite science.

But the after life of Dr. Chalmers would lead us to look for other influences at work at this period of his history in the formation of his character. Though long retaining his strong predilection for mathematical pursuits, he became a man of busy action in public affairs, and a distinguished master of ethics and theology. No man in Scotland had more decided and independent views on the subject of social economics, nor adopted more energetic measures for giving practical effect to his convictions; and none ever filled with greater distinction the professor's chair, or approved himself as a more eloquent and accomplished preacher of the Gospel. And if we follow him back to Saint Andrews, we shall find him continuing, indeed, to prosecute his geometrical studies with undiminished ardour, but occasionally, amid them, intent upon the study of Godwin's "Political Justice," and taking an active part in the debates of the political and theological societies. In the session of 1796-7, Chalmers read a speech in the latter of these clubs, on the affirmative side of the question, "Is a Divine Revelation necessary ?" which contained numerous proofs of great and peculiar talents. In the same year, he delivered an elaborate discourse on Predestination, and in the following session distinguished himself in the discussion of the question, "Is man a free agent ?" to which he returned a negative reply.

At the close of Mr. Chalmers' attendance at St. Andrew's, he spent some months as private tutor in a gentleman's family; but the contemptuous treatment he met with, rendered the situation very irksome to him, and in the beginning of January, 1799, he availed himself of an opportunity of terminating his engagements, and applied to the presbytery of St. Andrew's for a licence to preach. There was a difficulty in the way. He had not completed his nineteenth year, and the prescribed age was twenty-one. this dilemma, an old statute of the Church was hunted up, which contained an exceptional clause, in favour of such as were distinguished for "rare and singular qualities." Young Chalmers was pleaded for under this clause, as "a lad o' pregnant pairts" and the plea being admitted, he was licensed

In