French with all the fervour of British prejudice, visits Paris, and
remains there for a year or two; he can give a good reason why a man
who delights in a well preserved property in a sporting country, with
a house well built and beautifully situated, consents to "_spare it_,"
at a reduced price, to a man for whom he cares nothing upon earth: and
looks at the world fully alive to the motives, and perfectly aware of
the circumstances, of three-fourths of the unconscious actors by whom
he is surrounded.

The eminent medical man stands, if not upon higher ground, at least in
a more interesting position. As he mingles with the gay assembly, or
visits the crowded ball, he knows the latent ills, the hidden, yet
incurable disorders of the laughing throng by which he is encircled;
he sees premature death lurking under the hectic flush on the cheek of
the lovely Fanny, and trembles for the fate of the kind-hearted Emily,
as he beholds her mirthfully joining in the mazy dance. He, too, by
witnessing the frequently recurring scenes of death, beholds the
genuine sorrow of the bereaved wife, or the devoted husband--and can,
by the constant unpremeditated exhibitions of fondness and feeling,
appreciate the affection which exists in such and such places, and
understand, with an almost magical power, the value of the links by
which society is held together.


_Middle Life_.

There is more healthful exercise for the mind in the uneven paths of
middling life, than there is on the Macadamized road of fortune. Were
the year all summer, how tiresome would be the green leaves and the
bright sunshine--as, indeed, those will admit, who have lived in