190 Nules of the Month on [^August, 



principle, blind and foolish prindple ; but as he adopted them without 

 hypocrisy, he adhered to them with honour. Sucli a man might go 

 wrong ; but his errors were connected with no baseness of heart : he 

 was not looking from side to side, at the moment when he gave his 

 pledge, for a loophole to creep out at : he was not swearing to one party, 

 while he was thinking how he could make the best bargain of his be- 

 trayal of that party to another ; he was not moving heaven and earth to 

 gain the entire confidence of men, with tlie express purpose of infamous 

 treachery ; he had not wormed himself into trust, imtil his treachery not 

 simply ruined the cause, but ruined the reputation of every public mah 

 of the day, and ruined the reputation of all public men, until the me- 

 mory of his baseness shall have perished. We infinitely prefer the old 

 IVIajor, with his endless fooleries on Ballot, Universal Suffrage, and An- 

 nual Parliaments, — " to be held once a-year, or oflener, if necessary !" — 

 to the smooth, soft-tongued, and false-hearted slave, who has shewn us 

 the weight of evils that may be wrought by meanness and mediocrity 

 combined. 



We are afraid that the fame of that pre-eminent personage. Sir Richard 

 Birnie ! is a good deal clouded ; and we should not be surprised at hear- 

 ing speedily that he had gone to complete his studies in the classic retire- 

 ment of Lambeth INIarsh. At a late meeting of the parishioners of St. 

 iVIartin's, Sir Francis Burdett in the chair, it was resolved, that "it was 

 necessary and expedient that a petition should be presented to Lord 

 INIelbourne, the Secretary for the Home Department, praying him td 

 dismiss Sir Richard Birnie from the magistracy." The cause of the 

 petition was some alleged act strongly inconsistent with his magisterial 

 functions. With this charge we have nothing to do. But we come at 

 once to the general question ; what qualification has this personage, or can 

 tliis personage have, for the magistracy ? Is some knowledge of law essen- 

 tial for the exercise of the magistracy ? Has he had the opportunity of 

 acquiring any knowledge of law, or of any thing else? Is some degree 

 of education necessary to give a man the decent use of his mother tongue? 

 Has he had the opportunity of obtaining such education ? Cases of great 

 importance are hable to come under the decision of Bow-street, and there 

 sits Sir Richard as the great expounder of the law ! We heartily wish 

 that the Home Secretary will immediately assent to the prayer of the 

 petition. 



The French boast of their adroitness. 



" Custom cannot stale his infinite variety'." Over the stall of a public writer 

 in La rue du Bac, at Paris, is the following inscription : — " M. Renard, public 

 writer, advising compiler, translates the tongues, explains the language of 

 flowers, and sells fried potatoes." 



This is tolerably well. But we can surpass, in a hundred instances ; 

 for example. Lady J , what a placard would hers be ! — " Superin- 

 tends all the routs from Piccadilly to the Regent's Park, keeps Almacks 

 above water, keeps my lord's racing-book, the ' fiery duke's' secrets, the 

 premier's heart, and the levee-moustaches of the Earl of ]\Iunster ; makes 

 mirth for the royal circle, character for the Whigs, friends for his Grace 

 of Devonshire, smiles for Lord Palmerston, speeches for Lord King, and 

 wit for the peers in general."— Before the Herculean, or the Protean 



