75 



" and then they send all roun' 



To see if there's a feather bed that's borryable in the town." 



So we read in " The Big-low Papers ; " the feathers 

 of course being 1 wanted to apply with the addition 

 of tar to the person of an utterer of unpopular 

 opinions. But, as I say, we have not come to this 

 yet. As to metaphysics, of course they are neither 

 popular nor unpopular, most people being 1 much too 

 wise to waste their time about the matter. te When 

 " the person who speaks," says Voltaire, " does not 

 " understand what he is saying 1 , and the person who 

 " is spoken to does not understand what is said to 

 " him, voila la metaphysique." 



Montaig-ne says he feels inclined to hate all po- 

 pular governments, whenever he calls to mind their 

 tendency to give way to cruel and childish super- 

 stitions ; and then he tells the story of the Athenians, 

 in consequence of popular clamour, putting to death 

 their captains, because they followed up a battle by 

 pursuing 1 the Lacedemonians instead of stopping* be- 

 hind to bury the dead. To be sure they gained and 

 completed a great victory ; but that was a trifle com- 

 pared to satisfying- the popular superstition by 

 performing' the customary ceremonies over the bodies 

 of the slain. Now, uncultivated human nature is 

 the same in all ages } of course, superstition in these 

 times takes different forms; hut there it is just the 

 same. In the matter of the Cattle Plag'ue, as we 

 all remember, the Government held back as long- as 

 it could, but at last popular clamour was too loud, 



