f "_Louis
Capet_." Lamartine is, indeed, a "Conservative Democrat," that is,
ready to immolate the king to preserve the rights of the people; but
he does not distinguish in his mind a justifiable act from a righteous
one. But it is a peculiarity of the French mind to identify itself so
completely with the object of its reflection, that it is impossible
for a French mind to be impartial, or as they will have it, not to be
an enthusiast. The French are partisans even in science; the Academy
itself has its factions.

We have thus quoted the most important political opinions expressed in
his "Girondists," because these are his _latest_ political
convictions, and he has subscribed to them his name. We look upon this
his last work, as a public confession of his faith--as a declaration
of the principles which will guide him in the administration of the
new government. Lamartine has been indoctrinated with the spirit of
revolution; but it is not the spirit of his youth or early manhood.
Liberty in his hands becomes something poetical--perhaps a lyric
poem--but we respectfully doubt his capacity to give her a practical
organization, and a real existence. High moral precepts and sublime
theories may momentarily elevate a people to the height of a noble
devotion; but laws and institutions are made for ordinary men, and
must be adapted to their circumstances. Herein consists the specific
talent of the statesman, and his capacity to govern. Government is not
an ideal abstraction--a blessing showered from a given height on the
abiding masses, or a scourge applied to mortify their passions; it is
something natural and spontaneous, originating in and coeval with the
people, and must be adapted to their situation, their moral and
intellectual progress, and to their national peculiarities. It
consists of details as well as of general forms, and requires labor
and industry as well as genius. The majority of the people must not
only yield the laws a ready submission, but they must find, or at
least believe, it their interest to do so, or the government becomes
coercion. The great problem of Europe is to discover the laws of
labor, not to invent them, for without this question being practically
settled in some feasible manner, all fine spun theories will not
suffice to preserve the government.

Lamartine closes his history of the Girondists with the following
sublime though mystic reflection: "A nation ought, no doubt, to weep
her dead,