qualification of
always being securely invested, while the rest of the property in the
world remained insecure, it would gradually suck all the wealth of the
world into its vortex. But it would require supernatural agency to
make it thus absolutely secure.

* * * * *

[Footnote 1: See the will at length in the appendix to Lord
Lauderdale's _Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth_.]

SIR FRANCIS HEAD'S 'FAGGOT.'[2]

'A FAGGOT OF FRENCH STICKS' is the whimsical title of a work just
presented to the public, by the author of _Bubbles from the Brunnen of
Nassau_; the said work being as respectable a specimen of bookmaking
as has ever come under our notice. The object of the writer appears to
have been to fill so much paper, by saying something about all he saw
or heard of in a visit to Paris, no matter how insignificant the
circumstances; and by this ingenious means, he has actually contrived
to make up two goodly-sized volumes for the literary market.

The author of this strange melange, however, is not without a dash of
merit; he possesses a terrier-like power of poking about into holes
and corners, and dragging to light a variety of facts which might
escape the attention of less vigilant tourists. For example, he is not
satisfied with the mere sight or employment of omnibuses,
street-porters, _chiffonniers_, and other agents of the public
service, but must know all about them--how the omnibus horses live,
and how many miles they run per diem; what variety of occupations the
porters resort to for a livelihood; and what are the substances, and
their value, that the chiffonniers scrape every morning from the
kennel. Sir Francis is great on pig slaughter-houses, furnished
lodgings, and police-officers. He tells you every particular of his
lodging: how he ascended the stair; what landing-places there were;
what price he was to pay; how the servant brought him too few pieces
of butter to breakfast, and what he said in ordering more; how one day
he perceived a bad smell in his sitting-room, and shifted to a higher
part of the building, where the bad smell did not come; how he finally
paid his account, and how the _concierge_ bade him good-by. All
important information this. An equally true and particular narrative
is given of Sir Francis's object in visiting Paris, which was to
consult an occulist on the subject of his eyes. In going to the
occulist's, we are informed how