German literature to the high estimation which it now enjoys in France and England. The first two volumes of his history were now published, and his companion was charmed to present to every one, as she said, "the new historian, preceded by his fame." She occupied a house at Vienna during the winter, and all the choice society that this gay capital could afford was collected at her evening parties. Surrounded by persons of eminent rank or great talents, who were noted for their polished manners and sparkling conversation, Madame de Staël strove to forget Paris and the sorrows of her exile. He But through all the splendor and festivities by which they were surrounded, Sismondi saw the feeble and depressed condition of Austria, which seemed to be waiting only for the final blow from the resistless power of Napoleon. He saw the desperate state of the finances, the uncertainty of private fortunes, the languor of the government, and the general anxiety and distress of the people. His active mind could not rest without attempting to investigate the cause of these evils, and to find a remedy for them; though the result of his speculations could hardly have been satisfactory even to himself. He wrote and published a tract on Paper Money, which attracted considerable attention at the time, though it was not calculated to add much to his fame as an economist. pointed out the abuses of credit, and argued strenuously in favor of the suppression of paper as a medium of exchange, and the restoration of a metallic currency. This advice may have been good enough, as far as it went; but the adoption of it would have been a very insufficient restorative for an empire that was apparently sinking into dissolution. His anonymous biographer's estimate of it is quite too favorable. "Strongly supported by the Prince de Ligne, considered, discussed, and praised by the ministers of Austria and Prussia, presented to the Archdukes John and Charles, approved by the Archduke Renier, attentively read in manuscript by the emperor, and afterwards printed at Weimar, the paper of Sismondi, which for a moment raised the hopes of commerce, had no other result than to give its author the satisfaction of having thrown light on an important subject, and having conscientiously labored for the interests of the community." Returning to Geneva, Sismondi again applied himself with indefatigable ardor to historical studies and the labors of the their lower classes, and to suggest plans for rescuing them from poverty and debasement. In the eloquent and gloomy picture, which he afterwards published, of the Roman Campagna, he frankly confesses his want of taste, and his lack of sensibility to the wonders of nature and art. "Painters," he says, 66 are thrown into ecstasies by the warm and rich tints which are reflected from these desert fields, and by the beauties which they lend to the landscape. I must confess that all these sensations, all these emotions, are unknown to me; defects in my organs of sense deprive me of nearly all the enjoy. ́ments which others find in the arts. The rich colors of the Campagna of Rome, that I hear spoken about, entirely elude my sight, as the red ray is invisible to my eyes. I am more impressed by the masterpieces of architecture; but among the ancient monuments, though some of them remind me of the glorious period of wisdom and virtue, far the greater number, and those which are most imposing from their size, and even from their beauty, remind one only of the opulence of those masters of the world, who had subdued nature because they had enslaved man, and who thought the work of a hundred thousand arms was not ill employed, if it procured for them the enjoyments of a moment. Thus my defective sight and the thoughts which I am most accustomed to indulge act together in annihilating, so far as I am concerned, all the charm which allures other travellers to Rome."- Études sur l'Économie Politique, II. 8, 9. This is a manly avowal, which shows the straightforward honesty of the man, and his hearty dislike of pretension and false sentiment. It is not wonderful that he should have written thus, though we are surprised that one like Madame de Staël should have chosen him for a travelling companion. But he had eyes to see and a heart to feel for the depopulation of the country, and the wretchedness of those who cultivated the soil, especially when he contrasted their condition with the general well-being of the peasants of Tuscany. The picture which he drew of the Campagna surpasses in moral effect the most glowing descriptions by his companion, the eloquent and all-gifted Corinne. The travellers returned to Geneva in the summer of 1805, and after rather more than a year's interval devoted to their respective literary occupations at home, Madame de Staël invited Sismondi again to accompany her in a visit to Germany, an excursion no less fruitful than the former one, as in it she completed her preparations for that work which first raised German literature to the high estimation which it now enjoys in France and England. The first two volumes of his history were now published, and his companion was charmed to present to every one, as she said, "the new historian, preceded by his fame." She occupied a house at Vienna during the winter, and all the choice society that this gay capital could afford was collected at her evening parties. Surrounded by persons of eminent rank or great talents, who were noted for their polished manners and sparkling conversation, Madame de Staël strove to forget Paris and the sorrows of her exile. But through all the splendor and festivities by which they were surrounded, Sismondi saw the feeble and depressed condition of Austria, which seemed to be waiting only for the final blow from the resistless power of Napoleon. He saw the desperate state of the finances, the uncertainty of private fortunes, the languor of the government, and the general anxiety and distress of the people. His active mind could not rest without attempting to investigate the cause of these evils, and to find a remedy for them; though the result of his speculations could hardly have been satisfactory even to himself. He wrote and published a tract on Paper Money, which attracted considerable attention at the time, though it was not calculated to add much to his fame as an economist. He pointed out the abuses of credit, and argued strenuously in favor of the suppression of paper as a medium of exchange, and the restoration of a metallic currency. This advice may have been good enough, as far as it went; but the adoption of it would have been a very insufficient restorative for an empire that was apparently sinking into dissolution. anonymous biographer's estimate of it is quite too favorable. "Strongly supported by the Prince de Ligne, considered, discussed, and praised by the ministers of Austria and Prussia, presented to the Archdukes John and Charles, approved by the Archduke Renier, attentively read in manuscript by the emperor, and afterwards printed at Weimar, the paper of Sismondi, which for a moment raised the hopes of commerce, had no other result than to give its author the satisfaction of having thrown light on an important subject, and having conscientiously labored for the interests of the community. His Returning to Geneva, Sismondi again applied himself with indefatigable ardor to historical studies and the labors of the their lower classes, and to suggest plans for rescuing them from poverty and debasement. In the eloquent and gloomy picture, which he afterwards published, of the Roman Campagna, he frankly confesses his want of taste, and his lack of sensibility to the wonders of nature and art. "Painters," he says, 66 are thrown into ecstasies by the warm and rich tints which are reflected from these desert fields, and by the beauties which they lend to the landscape. I must confess that all these sensations, all these emotions, are unknown to me; defects in my organs of sense deprive me of nearly all the enjoy'ments which others find in the arts. The rich colors of the Campagna of Rome, that I hear spoken about, entirely elude my sight, as the red ray is invisible to my eyes. I am more impressed by the masterpieces of architecture; but among the ancient monuments, though some of them remind me of the glorious period of wisdom and virtue, far the greater number, and those which are most imposing from their size, and even from their beauty, remind one only of the opulence of those masters of the world, who had subdued nature because they had enslaved man, and who thought the work of a hundred thousand arms was not ill employed, if it procured for them the enjoyments of a moment. Thus my defective sight and the thoughts which I am most accustomed to indulge act together in annihilating, so far as I am concerned, all the charm which allures other travellers to Rome."- Études sur l'Économie Politique, II. 8, 9. This is a manly avowal, which shows the straightforward honesty of the man, and his hearty dislike of pretension and false sentiment. It is not wonderful that he should have written thus, though we are surprised that one like Madame de Staël should have chosen him for a travelling companion. But he had eyes to see and a heart to feel for the depopulation of the country, and the wretchedness of those who cultivated the soil, especially when he contrasted their condition with the general well-being of the peasants of Tuscany. The picture which he drew of the Campagna surpasses in moral effect the most glowing descriptions by his companion, the eloquent and all-gifted Corinne. The travellers returned to Geneva in the summer of 1805, and after rather more than a year's interval devoted to their respective literary occupations at home, Madame de Staël invited Sismondi again to accompany her in a visit to Germany, an excursion no less fruitful than the former one, as in it she completed her preparations for that work which first raised German literature to the high estimation which it now enjoys in France and England. The first two volumes of his history were now published, and his companion was charmed to present to every one, as she said, "the new historian, preceded by his fame." She occupied a house at Vienna during the winter, and all the choice society that this gay capital could afford was collected at her evening parties. Surrounded by persons of eminent rank or great talents, who were noted for their polished manners and sparkling conversation, Madame de Staël strove to forget Paris and the sorrows of her exile. But through all the splendor and festivities by which they were surrounded, Sismondi saw the feeble and depressed condition of Austria, which seemed to be waiting only for the final blow from the resistless power of Napoleon. He saw the desperate state of the finances, the uncertainty of private fortunes, the languor of the government, and the general anxiety and distress of the people. His active mind could not rest without attempting to investigate the cause of these evils, and to find a remedy for them; though the result of his speculations could hardly have been satisfactory even to himself. He wrote and published a tract on Paper Money, which attracted considerable attention at the time, though it was not calculated to add much to his fame as an economist. He pointed out the abuses of credit, and argued strenuously in favor of the suppression of paper as a medium of exchange, and the restoration of a metallic currency. This advice may have been good enough, as far as it went; but the adoption of it would have been a very insufficient restorative for an empire that was apparently sinking into dissolution. anonymous biographer's estimate of it is quite too favorable. Strongly supported by the Prince de Ligne, considered, discussed, and praised by the ministers of Austria and Prussia, presented to the Archdukes John and Charles, approved by the Archduke Renier, attentively read in manuscript by the emperor, and afterwards printed at Weimar, the paper of Sismondi, which for a moment raised the hopes of commerce, had no other result than to give its author the satisfaction of having thrown light on an important subject, and having conscientiously labored for the interests of the community." 66 His Returning to Geneva, Sismondi again applied himself with indefatigable ardor to historical studies and the labors of the |