a war in which the Vraibleusians had engaged about a century
before. Another showed that it was altogether clearly ascribable to the
pernicious custom of issuing pink shells; but if, instead of this mode
of representing wealth, they had had recourse to blue shells, the nation
would now have advanced to a state of prosperity which it had never yet
reached. A third demonstrated to the satisfaction of himself and his
immediate circle that it was all owing to the Statue having recently
been repaired with silver instead of iron. The public were unable to
decide between these conflicting opinions; but they were still more
desirous of finding out a remedy for the evil than the cause of it.

An eloquent and philosophical writer, who entertains consolatory
opinions of human nature, has recently told us that 'it is in the nature
of things that the intellectual wants of society should be supplied.
Whenever the man is required invariably the man will appear.' So it
happened in the present instance. A public instructor jumped up in
the person of Mr. Flummery Flam, the least insinuating and the least
plausible personage that ever performed the easy task of gulling a
nation. His manners were vulgar, his voice was sharp, and his language
almost unintelligible. Flummery Flam was a provisional optimist. He
maintained that everything would be for the best, if the nation would
only follow his advice. He told the Vraibleusians that the present
universal and overwhelming distress was all and entirely and merely to
be ascribed to 'a slight over-trading,' and that all that was required
to set everything right again was 'a little time.' He showed that
this over-trading and every other injudicious act that had ever been
committed were entirely to be ascribed to the nation being imbued with
erroneous and imperfect ideas of the nature of Demand and Supply. He
proved to them that if a tradesman cannot find customers his goods will
generally stay upon his own hands. He explained to the Aboriginal
the meaning of rent; to the mechanics the nature of wages; to the
manufacturers the signification of profits. He recommended that a large
edition of his own work should be printed at the public expense and
sold for his private profit. Finally, he explained how immediate, though
temporary, relief would be afforded to the State by the encouragement of
EMIGRATION.

The Vraibleusians began to recover their spirits. The Government had
the highest confidence in