precedent or tradition, without that rooted stock on which freedom, in order to grow and bear fruit, must be grafted,—­was a conception which, however familiar to our age, was utterly unknown, and impracticable to that of Richelieu.  With the horrors of civil war fresh in the memory of all, the general desire was for tranquillity and peace, not liberty; to which, moreover, had it been contemplated, the first necessary step was that of humbling the aristocracy.  It was impossible that constitutional freedom could grow out of the chaos of privileges, and anarchy, and organized rebellion, that the government had to contend with.  In building up her social fabric France had in fact gone wrong, destroyed the old foundations, and rebuilt on others without solidity or system.  To introduce order or add solidity to so ill-constructed a fabric, was impossible; Richelieu found it necessary to raze all at once to the ground, except the central donjon of despotism, which he left standing.  Had Richelieu, with all his genius and sagacity, undertaken for liberty what he achieved for royalty, his age would have rejected or misunderstood him, as it did Bacon and Galileo.  He might, indeed, as a man of letters, have consigned such a political dream to the volume of an Utopia, but from action or administration he would have been soon discarded as a dreamer.  Liberty must come of the claim of the mass; of the general enlightenment, firmness, and probity.  It is no great physical secret, which a single brain, finding, may announce and so establish:  it is a moral truth, which, like a gem, hides its ray and its preciousness in obscurity, nor becomes refulgent till all around it is beaming with light.—­Cabinet Cyclopaedia—­History of France.

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THE GATHERER.

  A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. 
  SHAKSPEARE.

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From what town in England does all the butter come in the London market?—­Cowes.

Which is the closest town in Ireland, and is the best when drawn?—­Cork.

A Dirty Member.—­A member of a certain house was noticed the other night to be very dirty in his appearance, which a wit accounted for by saying he supposed the gentleman had been assisting the Chancellor of the Exchequer in taking the duty off coals!—­From “the Age."

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LUXURY

Was once restricted by an English law, wherein the prelates and nobility were confined to two courses at every meal, and two kinds of food in every course, except on great festivals:  it also prohibited all who did not enjoy a free estate of L100. per annum, from wearing furs, skins, or silk, and the use of foreign cloth was confined to the royal family alone, to all others it was prohibited, 1337.  In 1340, an edict was issued by Charles VI. of France, which says, “Let no one presume to treat with more than a soup and two dishes.”