estimate him, I do not think that he is precisely the person calculated
to cope with the difficulties that must beset a minister, and, above
all, a minister in France, in times like the present.

The very qualities that render him so beloved in private life, and
which make his domestic circle one of the happiest in the world, are
perhaps those which unfit him for so trying a post as the one he is now
called on to hold--a post requiring abilities so various, and
qualifications so manifold, that few, if any, could be found to possess
the rare union.

A spirit is rife in France that renders the position of _premier_ in it
almost untenable; and he must unite the firmness of a stoic, the
knowledge of a Machiavelli, and the boldness of a Napoleon, who could
hope to stem the tide that menaces to set in and sweep away the present
institutions. If honesty of intention, loyalty to his sovereign,
personal courage, attachment to his country, and perfect
disinterestedness could secure success, then might Prince Polignac
expect it.

CHAPTER XXII.

May.--Some months have elapsed since I noted down a line in this book.
Indisposition and its usual attendants, languor and lassitude, have
caused me to throw it by. Time that once rolled as pleasantly as
rapidly along, seems now to pace as slowly as sadly; and even the
approach of spring, that joyous season never before unwelcomed, now
awakens only painful recollections. Who can see the trees putting forth
their leaves without a dread that, ere they have yet expanded into
their full growth, some one may be snatched away who with us hailed
their first opening verdure?

When once Death has invaded our hearths and torn from us some dear
object on whose existence our happiness depended, we lose all the
confidence previously fondly and foolishly experienced in the stability
of the blessings we enjoy, and not only deeply mourn those lost, but
tremble for those yet spared to us. I once thought that I could never
behold this genial season without pleasure; alas! it now occasions only
gloom.

Captain William Anson, the brother of Lord Anson, dined here yesterday.
He is a very remarkable young man; highly distinguished in his
profession, being considered one of the best officers in the navy, and
possessing all the accomplishments of a finished gentleman. His reading
has been extensive, and his memory is very retentive. He has been in
most quarters of the globe, and has missed no oppor