speak, to the Diet, the nation, and the world-men whose names are now ringing throughout Germany. At length the Diet, having gotten through the consideration of the subjects submitted to it, was dissolved, and its members returned to their homes, some of them to be received with ovations at the hands of their delighted constituents. And what now is going to be done? That is a very grave question, which, not being prophets, we do not feel ourselves capable of answering with confidence. We will, however, say a few words. In the first place, we think that Frederick William has committed the serious mistake-through his great admiration of almost everything that concerns England-of believing that the true way to accomplish the proposed object, is to begin with as little as possible in the shape of concession to the people. Or rather, he seems to think that a sort of constitutional government may be organized with almost nothing in the form of a written and defined charter. But he loses sight of the fact that the times are widely different from those long ages through which England worked out her constitution. There is now infinitely more light on the subject of making Constitutions than there was during that long and rude period. No nation, with the example of England before its eyes, will hereafter be content to pass through what she did. “Tempora mulantur, et nos mutamur cum illis.” We live fast in these days of steamships, railroads, and electric telegraphs. Everything must now be done with rapidity, if done at all. The slow procedures of the ancients will not suit us. We must reach in a few years, or months, results which with them required long ages. The King of Prussia should bear this in mind. The example of England, in her protracted and dreadful struggles to gain one principle or point after another in her Constitution, will not serve in these days. On the other hand, those in Prussia who demand a constitution ought to remember that the heavens and the earth were not created in one day, although that would have been practicable for the infinite Architeet. It required a long time to perfect (if we may use the word) the British Constitution; and it is not likely that Prussia either can or will obtain a good one in a day, a year, or even several years. In the second place, we certainly believe that things cannot remain long as they are now in Prussia; and as we think that theKing is too wise and good a man to retreat from his present position and fall back upon the bayonets of his army, we are quite sure that he will go forward, perhaps not immediately, but sooner or later. We are inclined to think that the rising billows of popular we should say national-discontent will rise so high, that in a year or two he will be compelled to give his people another and greatly "enlarged and improved" edition of his present meagre constitution. In that case he will probably dismiss his present cabinet,* and call to the head of a new one his friend Chevalier Bunsen, the able Prussian ambassador at the court of St. James-of all men in Germany the best instructed, in our opinion, in constitutional government. He has been for years in London, and has studied on the spot the British Constitution and all the details of its working. He is the fittest man of Germany to devise and carry into operation a broad, liberal and well-defined Constitution. Indeed, we have been informed that he has, at the request of the King, submitted a sketch of a Constitution of a very complete nature; but his Majesty prefers to make an experiment with his own scheme. We have said that the state of things in Germany cannot remain long as it is at present. This is our firm conviction. About one year ago M. Guizot said, in the Chamber of Deputies, toute l'Allemagne est en feu! And, although there was something of French hyperbole in this strong metaphorical expression, yet there was a great deal of truth in it. There are many elements fermenting there, besides a desire of liberty, well defined and practicable. There is, if we are correctly informed, and we think we are, a strong tendency to rush into the extreme of licentiousness. There is a large amount of low, vulgar infidelity, *The present cabinet of the King embraces some men of talents-such as Eichhorn-but it cannot be said to be an able one. It will not compare was at the head of it. with that of the late King, especially when Stein in close alliance with radicalism, socialism, and other wrong economical and moral opinions of one grade and another, which threatens to overthrow the very foundations of society. Still, we trust, that the good sense, kindly feeling, and almost naturally conservative character of the German people, will keep them back from all avoidable excesses. With the bloody pages of the Revolutions of both England and France before their eyes, humanity entire will have cause to weep if the children of Hermann and Luther should plunge into all the horrors of a fratricidal war. That Frederick William IV. may be so influenced and guided, as to be induced to give his people such a Constitution as will be best for them--such as will render them happy and prosperous-must be the wish -the prayer rather of all good men. For ourselves, we consider him one of the best sovereigns in Europe, as it regards benevolence of heart, simplicity and purity of domestic life, and general rectitude of intentions. We are very far from thinking that he is not liable to make serious mistakes. We think that his ardent and impetuous temperament will hurry him into many an act which he had better avoid. He may not always be wise in his measures, or in the manner of executing them; but we believe him sincerely desirous of doing what will be best, so far as he can see, for his people. He is naturally a man of humane and kind feelings. And we have occasion to know that he is prompt to do not only justice, but even grace, where a proper case is presented to him. His position at this moment is eminently difficult, and he needs a large measure of that wisdom which God alone can give. As we have already hinted, we are far from thinking that, with one or two exceptions, he is surrounded by as able men as the exigency of the times demands. That there are such men in Prussia, we do not doubt, nor that they will be shortly forthcoming. The recent acts of the Prussian government, in giving publicity to the proceedings of the courts; in proposing (if we understand the matter) to withdraw the surveillance of the press altogether from the Diet of Germany, and place it under the control of the government of the country in which it may be; in granting a large amount of religious liberty; and in the formation of the Zollverein or Customs-Union, all prove that Frederick William IV. must be an enlightened man. On the last named two measures we must say a word. If we are rightly informed, the late edict on the subject of religious liberty, whilst it does not release any one from bearing his share of the burthens of the Established Church, allows an unrestricted dissent. In other words, it introduces a state of things in this respect, similar to what exists in the British realm-a state of things infinitely better than that which existed a few years ago. "Commercial As to the Zollverein, or League," it relieves all the portions of Germany which have come into it* from the numerous and vexatious difficulties arising from each kingdom and petty duchy having its own custom houses, and its own tariff. We think it probable that it will have a far-reaching influence upon the political destinies of Germany. It may prove an "entering wedge" to a consolidation of all the northern German States at least a consummation much to be desired. Considerable censure has been bestowed upon the conduct of Frederick William IV. in relation to the affair of Cracow, but we think not justly. We have the best of reasons for believing that the King has been greatly grieved by the deceptive and high-handed course which Austria pursued in that business. The case demands a few words. Cracow, by the partition of Poland among the three great powers, fell, we believe, to Austria. Napoleon in 1807, when he created the grand duchy of Warsaw, annexed Cracow to that duchy. The Congress of Vienna, finding no little difficulty in deciding to which of the two powers that desired it-Austria and Russia―to give it, when they converted the duchy of Warsaw into the modern kingdom of Poland, constituted Cracow, with a small adjacent territory, into a republic,† and put it under the auspices of the great parties to the treaty of Vienna-Austria, Russia, Prussia, France and England. It was not long until Austria renewed the agitation of the question, either under pretence that the republic was a sort of nuisance to its great neighbors, or because she wanted it, as Ahab did Naboth's vineyard. But the late King of Prussia would not listen to the proposition. Not long after the present King ascended the throne of his father, Austria again brought forward the question. Prussia still refused. At last the recent outbreak occurred, and several thousand men, Cracovites and Polish refugees, taking up arms, sallied forth to promote a rebellion in Gallicia or Austrian Poland. This ill-advised and ill-directed movement, although it ended in defeat, gave Austria the occasion she desired for pressing successfully her suit, saying to the still reluctant King of Prussia, that there never could be tranquillity on the borders until the republic of Cracow was abolished. In an evil hour Frederick William IV. consented that Austria (Russia having yielded) might take possession of Cracow, but upon the express condition that she should first gain the consent of France and England. The consent of Prussia having been gained, Metternich did not wait for that of France and England, but, after having taken possession of the city and territory in question, went to work to negotiate with both about the affair as a "fail accompli." France yielded readily enough, whilst protesting against the transaction. England was displeased, but could do nothing but remonstrate. The King of Prussia was greatly grieved, as we know from good authority, but the evil was done. This is a simple history of the case, and sets the conduct of that monarch in a very different light from that in which it is very generally viewed. But we must bring this sketch of the life and character of Frederick William IV. to a close. We have endeavored to speak impartially and truly of that monarch, but are well aware that this notice will be considered by many as entirely too favorable. This we cannot help. We have given our conscientious opinions respecting his character and conduct. We could not do otherwise, having derived them from sources that are worthy, as we believe, of all confidence. By many in Germany, especially by certain classes of people who hate his Protestant and strictly evangelical faith, he is greatly spoken against. There is an infidelity in that country of the most malignant character, and those who have imbibed it are, without exception, the enemies of the King of Prussia. They hate his religious creed, and by consequence, they hate him. And among the emigrants from that land, who come to our shores, there are many counterparts of those we have just referred to. Some of these cannot find epithets sufficiently abusive to express all their hatred of his Majesty.† It would have been very easy for us to have written such a notice of the King of Prussia as would have chimed in with the prejudices of those people among us who think that it is impossible for a king to be either an honest or a sensible man. There are brawlers among us who find it convenient and easy to court popularity with men of ignorant and vulgar minds, by denouncing everything in the shape of monarchy, and all persons who belong to what are called the high ranks. But there are also men, of all parties, who have too much elevation of mind and justice of heart to sympathize, for one moment, with such a spirit. For ourselves, we dare affirm that we yield to no one in admiration of republican government. We believe that it is the normal one. The Divine Being gave his people-his "chosen nation"- -a republican economy; and a glorious commonwealth it was! But when He found Whilst there are many truly enlightened, wellinformed, and excellent foreigners, who come to us from Germany, France, and other portions of Europe, there are not a few who know very little about the countries from which they have come, save the petty localities in which they were born, and in which they passed their lives down, till the day of quitting their native lands. The opinions of such are very little worth, especially in regard to both facts and men whereof they had no sources of information save the exaggerated, and often baseless and absurd stories which they heard some one or other repeat. † We have heard Frederick William IV. called, by some of his compatriots of the class alluded to in the text, a "liar," a "tyrant," a "knave," a "drunkard," and we know not what all. Such people are entirely welcome to their own opinions of his Majesty, and every one else; but they presume too much, if they think that the people of this country will receive them without examination, or that they will allow them to outweigh those of great and good men in Germany who have the best means of knowing the truth. that they were not fit for such a govern- | him several hours daily, in order to derive ment, He gave them a king in his an- from the conversation of the greatest savant ger." In both cases, however, he required living, that knowledge and instruction his people to obey the government de facto. which he has no leisure to gain from And much as we love our invaluable po- books. litical institutions, and deem them truly incomparable, we should consider ourselves bereft of common sense, if, knowing the state of the world as we do, we should insist upon it, that all other nations are at present prepared for them. We believe that God permits the nations to decide for themselves what form of government they will have. From the first, our government has acted upon the principle that, in all ordinary cases, the government de facto is the government de jure. And as we thus expect other nations to treat our government with respect, it is our duty to treat the forms of government which they choose to maintain, with similar respect. It is this that has inspired a confidence in all other governments, in relation to us-be their form what it may-which | is in the highest degree honorable to us. We have spoken of the domestic happiness of Frederick William IV. with deep interest, for we know no greater proof of the goodness of a man's heart than his love for his wife and family, nor a stronger pledge of general rectitude of purpose. We will add that, as the King can find very little time for reading, amid the cares and burthens of government, he still has the distinguished and excellent Humboldt with He In terminating this sketch, we have only to remark, that whilst we consider the position of Frederick William IV. to be extremely difficult, and even critical, we think that never had monarch such an opportunity to immortalize himself. Let him be prompt in giving to his people a good Constitution-one corresponding to the intelligence and the demands of the age-and he cannot fail to render his memory illustrious in all coming time. might, if he were so disposed, rally all Germany around his throne, and create a great and happy empire in the heart of Europe, which would be an effectual barrier against Gallic ambition on the one hand, and Russian on the other. And if Austria and Russia should attempt to hinder or molest him, he need only threaten them both with the restoration of Poland to her ancient independence, and the limits she had in the 16th century. Uniting Germany around him, he could at a word raise up a mighty kingdom on its eastern frontier, composed of the countries inhabited by the western branches of the Slavonic races-Poland, Bohemia, Hungary-and effectually put it out of the power of Austria and Russia ever to trouble the rest of Europe. HAMLET. THE tragedy of Hamlet has probably | caused more of perplexity and discussion, than any other of Shakspeare's plays. Others of them may have more of interest for particular minds, or particular states of mind, or particular periods of life; but none of them equals Hamlet in universality of interest. Doubtless this results, in part, from the hero's being "a concentration of all the interests that belong to humanity." His history is the very extraction and efficacy of the thoughts, and feelings, and inward experiences of us all; his life is a picture of blighted hopes and crushed affections, from which we may solve the darkest enigmas of our existence, and over which our aching hearts may bleed themselves into repose. Hamlet, in short, is an universal genius, in the depths and variety of his feelings and faculties, almost rivalling Shakspeare himself, and engaged, not in creating or revealing the true, the beau tiful, and the good, but in conflict with the dark powers of the world. If there be a heart, whose best affections have never been breathed upon by hope, nor broken down by despair; which has never been called to weep over the desecration or the degradation of its most cherished objects; which has no springs of life to be sweetened by sympathy, or embittered by disappointment; and which has put forth no promises to be fanned by airs from heaven, or scorched by blasts from hell; such a heart may indeed contemplate the picture of Hamlet without emotion, and may find exemption from the sorrows of life in the iceberg of its own insensibility. Coleridge very finely remarks somewhere, that Shakspeare's characters are classes of men individualized. Of most of them, this seems to us profoundly true; and Hamlet seems to differ from the others, in that he is the race itself individualized. He is a sort of glass wherein we may all see ourselves, provided we have any self; and it is not so correct to say, that he represents any one man or class of men, as that he represents them all. Hamlet, in short, is the very abridgment and eclecticism of humanity in the words of another, it is we who are Hamlet. question is, why, with this unanimity as to his being a man, do men differ so much as to what sort of a man he is? agen In reasoning upon facts, we are apt to forget what complex, many-sided things we are dealing with. We often speak of them as very simple and intelligible things, whereas, in reality, they are most profoundly and inscrutably mysterious: they may indeed be used to explain other things, but they cannot themselves be explained. For example, how many causes, elements, conditions, and processes go to the forming of a rose? The combined cies of all nature work together in its production—are all represented by it, and inferable from it. Thus facts involve and infer many things at the same time; they present manifold elements and qualities in consistency and unity, and so express a diversity of meanings which cannot be gathered up into a form of logical explanation. Even if we seize and draw out, severally and successively, all the properties of a fact, still we are as far as ever from producing the effect of their combination in the fact itself. It is this mysteriousness of facts that begets our respect for them, our docility to them, and our interest in them: could we master them, we should cease to regard them: could we explain them, we should feel at liberty to substitute our explanations for the things explained. For, to see round and through a thing, implies a sort of conquest over it; and when we get, or think we have got, above a thing, we naturally either overlook it, or else look down upon it: finding or fancying we have mastered a thing, we are apt to neglect it, or, what is worse, put off that humility towards it, which, besides being itself the better part of wisdom, is our only key to the remainder. Accordingly, scarce any character in history has provoked so great a diversity of opinion as Hamlet; for the more generic and comprehensive a man is, the more various will the judgments of men naturally be concerning him. One man thinks Hamlet is great, but wicked; another, that he is good, but weak; a third, that he is a coward, and dare not act; a fourth, that he has too much intellect for his will, and so reflects away the time of action. Doubtless there are facts in the representation which, considered by themselves, would sustain any one of these views; but none of them seems reconcilable with all the facts taken together. Yet, notwith-ories; for, "in so great a store of properstanding this diversity of facts and conclusions, all agree in thinking, and feeling, and speaking about Hamlet as an actual person. It is easy, indeed, to invest with plausibility almost any theory in regard to him; but it is extremely hard to make any theory comprehend the whole subject: and, though all are impressed with the truth of the character, no one is satisfied with another's explanation of it. The In this complexity of facts, is obviously contained the material of innumerable the ties belonging to the self-same thing, every man's mind may take hold of some special consideration above the rest;" and it is characteristic of facts, that, seen through any given theory, they always seem to prove only that one, though really affording equal proof to fifty other theories. In short, many of the elements, perhaps all the elements of truth, may meet together in a fact; and nothing is more common than for several minds |