has made no
enemies. Sheridan and the rest, when they have nothing else to do in the
House, fire their shots at him to keep their hands in practice, but none
of them have been able to bring him down.

* * * * *

A remarkable man died in June, the well-known Colonel Barre. He began
political life about the commencement of the American war, and
distinguished himself by taking an active part in the discussion of
every public measure of the time. Barre's soldiership impressed its
character on his parliamentary conduct. He was prompt, bold, and
enterprising, and always obtained the attention of the House. Though
without pretensions to eloquence, he was always a ready speaker; and
from the rapidity with which he mastered details, and from the boldness
with which he expressed his opinions, he always produced a powerful
effect on the House. Though contemporary with Burke, and the countryman
of that illustrious orator, he exhibited no tendency to either the
elevation or the ornament of that distinguished senator; yet his
speeches were vigorous, and his diligence gave them additional effect.
No man was more dreaded by the minister; and the treasury bench often
trembled under the force and directness of his assaults. At length,
however, he gave way to years, and retired from public life. His party
handsomely acknowledged his services by a retiring pension, which Mr
Pitt, when minister, exchanged for the clerkship of the pells, thus
disburdening the nation by substituting a sinecure. For many years
before his death, Barre was unfortunately deprived of sight; but, under
that heaviest of all afflictions, he retained his practical philosophy,
enjoyed the society of his friends, and was cheerful to the last. He was
at length seized with paralysis, and died.

* * * * *

The crimes of the French population are generally of a melodramatic
order. The temperament of the nation is eminently theatrical; and the
multitude of minor theatres scattered through France, naturally sustain
this original tendency. A villain in the south of France, lately
constructed a sort of machinery for murder, which was evidently on the
plan of the trap-doors and banditti displays of the Porte St Martin.
Hiring an empty stable, he dug a pit in it of considerable depth. The
pit was covered with a framework of wood, forming a floor, which, on the
pulling of a string, gave way, and plunged the victim i