338 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



railways. There is the usual complaint of the torpidity of Radicals, 

 Joseph Hume being his only exception. 



For the July number he contributes only the opening article, 

 which is a political survey, on the text of Sir John Walsh's " Contem- 

 porary History." It retraces the history of reform and its conse- 

 quences, and discourses on the relative merits of Tories, Whigs, and 

 Radicals, with the usual complaints. Knowing the state of his health 

 this year, the occurrence of his father's death, and his three months' 

 absence, we are surprised to find that he can contribute to the October 

 number, of which the first article is his, on the "Definition and 

 Method of Political Economy." Doubtless this had been lying by 

 him, and had been brought out to fill a gap. 



In January, 1837, the political article is by Sir William Molesworth 

 ("The Terms of Alliance between Radicals and Whigs"). Mill con- 

 tributes only a short paper on an anonymous work of Arthur Helps, I 

 believe his first publication " Thoughts in che Cloister and the 

 Crowd." This was another occasion when he displayed his passion 

 for discerning and encouraging the first indications of talent and 

 genius. I remember when I first came to London, this was one of the 

 books he lent me ; and we agreed that, in point of thinking power, 

 Helps had not fulfilled the promise of that little work. 



For April, 1837, he contributes a review of Fonblanque's " England 

 under Seven Administrations," which would be easy work. The 

 article is laudatory enough, but iterates the author's standing com- 

 plaint against all the journals, namely, too great subserviency to the 

 Ministry in power. The political summary in the number is again by 

 Molesworth. Carlyle contributes a short paper on the " French Revo- 

 lution," under an editorial caveat. 



In July appears the review of Carlyle's " French Revolution," 

 which Mill considers to have been one of his grand strokes in the " Re- 

 view." Carlyle's reputation was as yet hanging very dubious. The 

 effect to be produced by the " French Revolution " was extremely un- 

 certain. Mill was now well acquainted with Carlyle, and knew how 

 his peculiarities affected people, and how easily a prejudice might be 

 created that would retard his fame for years. A judicious boldness 

 was the only chance, and the article opens thus : " This is not so much 

 a history, as an epic poem ; and notwithstanding, or even in conse- 

 quence of this, the truest of histories. It is the history of the French 

 Revolution, and the poetry of it, both in one ; and, on the whole, no 

 work of greater genius, either historical or poetical, has been produced 

 in this country for many years." Nothing could be better calculated 

 to disarm prejudice against the book than the conduct of this article 

 throughout ; it is indeed a masterpiece of pleading, and deserved to 

 be successful, as it was. A little later, Mill admitted into the " Re- 

 view " an article on Carlyle by John Sterling, which was a still more 

 complete exhibition of Carlyle, and is probably yet one of the best 



