rants. Like them, let us be ruled by morals and feelings, by the virtues of all classes, and by keeping the poor in friendly communication and union with their superiors.

But where is the ground for hope? Previously to late years, when the government was really a popular one, a new law was at once repealed, if it were injurious or distasteful to public feeling; in proof, we may point to a new marriage law, and to many others. But the laws fabricated in these days, are declared to be, like those of the Medes and Persians, unalterable. A new system or statute operates destructively, and is condemned by the mass of the population; but no matter, Parliament has adopted it, therefore it must be preserved. The main defence of all pernicious legislation now is, Parliament voted certain resolutions in one year, and sanctioned certain principles in another; the public interests and feelings must be disregarded. Public men and Parliaments are now in their own eyes infallible; and one of them must not, if even the salvation of the empire depends on it, undo what another has done. This is one of the most despotic and detested violations of the spirit of the constitution which modern times have seen; and it is absurd to say, that where it prevails, there is popular government. Of course, the establishment of the New Police will, we imagine, be pronounced a sufficient reason for retaining it.

Yet, if the Whig doctrines touching a standing army-the employment of the military-public opinion-popular rights, privileges, and government-and the power of the Crown, be not wholly fable ;-if the Whigs have not abandoned the essence of Whiggism for the reverse; the Whig Ministry is bound to suppress the New Police and stipendiary magistrates, and to restore to England her popular government.

But who can trust aWhig Ministry? It is not from hostility to the present Cabinet, that we put the question. We, at least, think it the best amidst the bad, and more trustworthy than any other party. Far be from us the folly of believing that public distress flows from a deficiency of the precious metals,

when the country has for years had an unexampled excess of them; and far be from us the greater folly of believing that the corn law is an evil, and that the taxes form the only obstacle to a free trade in corn; and far be from us the worse than folly of leaping, in the course of a few months, from one set of opinions to another. Judging from the debate on Lord Wynford's motion for enquiry, the present Ministry is now the only party of character willing to save what is left of property and subsistence.

We say, who can trust a Whig Ministry? because the past affords no ground for trust-because the Whigs have a bad character to get rid of, and a good one to establish. We tell the new Ministers that they are not trusted; and yet that all men are anxious to trust them, provided they will prove by their conduct that they deserve it. In this anxiety we share, and grieved shall we be, if they give us cause to oppose them. But to gain that confidence which the community at large wishes to bestow on them, they must look at something more than abstract doc trine. Instead of floundering about in vague generalities touching the precious metals, bank-notes, and machinery, they must go to work like men of business; they must ask '' the farmer separately what he finds in his market to prevent his getting proper prices, not only for his corn, but also for his cattle, wool, tallow, and other produce; in like manner, they must ask of every producer separately, what he finds in his market to cripple his trade, and grind down his prices. By this they

will soon discover causes and remedies.

As friends, we tell these Ministers further, that names are now nothing

that it will do no longer to plead principles and systems, the work of predecessors, and their own past sanction-and that they must remove loss and suffering, or lose office to themselves, and the monar chy to the country. The times are perilous infinitely beyond what the Legislature seems to dream of; and, alas for all! if remedy be again refused until extorted by insurrection.

THE TURNED HEAD.

HYPOCHONDRIASIS, * Janus-like, has two faces-a melancholy and a laughable one. The former, though oftener seen in actual life, does not present itself so frequently to the notice of the medical practitioner as the latter; though, in point of fact, one as imperatively calls for his interference as the other. It may be safely asserted, that a permanently morbid mood of mind invariably indicates a disordered state of some part or other of the physical system; and which of the two forms of hypochondria will manifest itself in a particular case, depends altogether upon the mental idiosyncrasy of the patient. Those of a dull, phlegmatic temperament, unstirred by intermixture and collision with the bustling activities of life, addicted to sombrous trains of reflection, and, by a kind of sympathy, always looking on the gloomy side of things, generally sink, at some period or other of their lives, into theslough of despond"-as old Bunyan significantly terms it-from whence they are seldom altogether extricated. Religious enthusiasts constitute by far the largest portion of those afflicted with this species of hypochondria-instance the wretched Cowper; and such I have never known entirely disabused of these dreadful fantasies. Those, again, of a gay and lively fancy, ardent temperament, and droll, grotesque appetencies, exhibit the laughable aspect of hypochondriasis. In such, you may expect conceits of the most astounding absurdity that could possibly take possession of the topsyturvied intellects of a confirmed lunatic; and persisted in with a pertinacity-a dogged defiance of evidence to the contrary-which is itself as exquisitely ludicrous, as distressing and provoking. There is generallypreserved an amazing con

sistency in the delusion, in spite of the incipient rebuttals of sensation. In short, when once a crotchet, of such a sort as that hereafter mentioned, is fairly entertained in the fancy, the patient will not let it go! It is cases of this kind which baffle the adroitest medical tactician. For my own part, I have had to deal with several during the course of my practice, which, if described coolly and faithfully on paper, would appear preposterously incredible to a non-professional reader. Such may possibly be the fate of the following. I have given it with a minuteness of detail, in several parts, which I think is warranted, by the interesting nature of the case, by the rarity of such narratives, and, above all, by the peculiar character and talents of the wellknown individual who is the patient; and I am convinced that no one would laugh more heartily over it than he himself-had he not long lain quiet in his grave!

You could scarcely look on Nwithout laughing. There was a sorry sort of humorous expression in his odd and ugly features, which suggested to you the idea that he was always struggling to repel some joyous emotion or other, with painful effort. There was the rich light of intellect in his eye, which was dark and full

you felt when its glance was settled upon you;-and there it remained concentrated, at the expense of all the other features;-in the clumsy osseous ridge of eye-bone impending sullenly over his eyes-the Pittlike nose, looking like a finger and thumb full of dough drawn out from the plastic mass, with two ill-formed holes inserted in the bulbous extremity-and his large liquorish, shapeless lips-looked altogether anything but refined or intellectual. He was a man of fortune-an obstinate bachelor-and was educated at Cambridge, where he attained considerable dis

&c.

tinction; and at the period of his introduction to the reader, was in his thirty-eighth or fortieth year. If I were to mention his name, it would recall to the literary reader many excellent, and some admirable por tions of literature, for the perusal of which he has to thank N The prevailing complexion of his mind was sombrous-but played on, occasionally, by an arch-humorous fancy, flinging its rays of fun and drollery over the dark surface, like moonbeams on midnight waters. I do believe he considered it sinful to smile! There was a puckering up of the corner of the mouth, and a forced corrugation of the eyebrows-the expression of which was set at nought by the conviviality-the solemn drollery of the eyes. You saw Momus leering out of every glance of them! He said many very witty things in conversation, and had a knack of uttering the quaintest conceits with something like a whine of compunc tion in his tone, which ensured him roars of laughter. As for his own laugh-when he did laugh-there is no describing it-short, sudden, unexpected was it, like a flash of powder in the dark. Not a trace of real merriment lingered on his features an instant after the noise had ceased. You began to doubt whether he had laughed at all, and to look about to see where the explosion came from. Except on such rare occasions of forgetfulness on his part, his demeanour was very calm and quiet. He loved to get a man who would come and sit with him all the evening, smoking, and sipping wine in cloudy silence. He could not endure bustle or obstreperousness; and when he. did unfortunately fall foul of a son of noise, as soon as he had had " sample of his quality," he would abruptly rise and take his leave, saying, in a querulous tone, like that of a sick child, "I'll go!" [probably these two words will at once recall him to the memory of more than one of my readers]-and he was as good as his word; for all his acquaintances-and I among the number-knew his eccentricities, and excused them.

a

Such was the man-at least as to the more prominent points of his character-whose chattering black servant presented himself hastily to my notice one morning, as I was

standing on my door-steps, pondering the probabilities of wet or fine for the day. He spoke in such a spluttering tone of trepidation, that it was some time before I could conjecture what was the matter. At length I distinguished something like the words, "Oh, Doeta, Docta, com-a, and see-a a Massa! Com-a! Him so gashly-him so ill-ver dam badhim say so-Oh lorra-lorra-lorra! Com see-a a Massa-him ver orrid!"

Why, what on earth is the matter with you, you sable, eh?-Why can't you speak slower, and tell me plainly what's the matter?" said I, impatiently, for he seemed inclined to gabble on in that strain for some minutes longer. "What's the matter with your master, sirrah, eh?" I enquired, jerking his striped morning jacket.

"Oh, Docta! Docta! Com-aMassa d-n bad! Him say so !Him head turned! Him head turned"

"Him what, sirrah ?" said I, in amazement.

« Him head turned, Docta—him head turned," replied the man, slapping his fingers against his forehead.

"Oh, I see how it is, I see; ab, yes," I replied, pointing to my forehead in turn, wishing him to see that I understood him to say his master had been seized with a fit of insanity.

"Iss, iss, Docta-him Massa head turned-him head turned !-d-n bad!"

"Where is Mr N- Nambo, eh?"

"Him lying all 'long in him bed, Massa-him d-n bad. But him 'tickler quiet-him head turned”—

"Why, Nambo, what makes you say your master's head's turned, eh? What d'ye mean?"

"Him, Massa, self say so-him did-him head turned-d-n." I felt as much at a loss as ever; it was so odd for a gentleman to acknowledge to his negro-servant that his head was turned.

"Ah! he's gone mad, you mean, eh-is that it? Hem! Mad-is it so?" said I, pointing, with a wink, to my forehead. "No, no, doctor-him head turned!-him head," replied Nambo; and raising both his hands to his head, he seemed trying to twist it round! I could make nothing of his gesticulations, so I dismissed him,

telling him to take word, that I should make his master's my first call. I may as well say, that I was on terms of friendly familiarity with Mr N, and puzzled myself all the way I went, with attempting to conjecture what new crotchet he had taken into his odd-and, latterly, I began to suspect, half-addled-head. He had never disclosed symptoms of what is generally understood by the word hypochondriasis; but I often thought there was not a likelier subject in the world for it. At length I found myself knocking at my friend's door, fully prepared for some specimen of amusing eccentricity-for the thought now crossed my mind, that he might be really ill. Nambo instantly answered my summons, and, in a twinkling, conducted me to his master's bed-room. It was partially darkened, but there was light enough for me to discern, that there was nothing unusual in his appearance. The bed was much tossed, to be sure, as if with the restlessness of the recumbent, who lay on his back, with his head turned on one side, and buried deep in the pillow, and his arms folded together outside the counterpane. His features certainly wore an air of exhaustion and dejection, and his eye settled on me with an alarmed expression from the moment that he perceived my entrance. "Oh, dear doctor Isn't this frightful!-Isn't it a dreadful piece of business?"

"Frightful!-dreadful business!" I repeated, with much surprise. "What is frightful? Are you illhave you had an accident, eh?"

"Ah-ah!-you may well ask that!" he replied; adding, after a pause, "it took place this morning about two hours ago!"

"You speak in parables, Mr N! Why, what in the world is the matter with you?"

"About two hours ago-yes," he muttered, as if he had not heard me. "Doctor, do tell me truly now, for the curiosity of the thing, what did you think of me on first entering the room?-Eh?-Feel inclined to laugh, or be shocked-which ?"

"Mr N, I really have no time for trifling, as I am particularly busy to-day. Do, I beg, be a little more explicit ! Why have you sent for me? What is the matter with you?"

"Why, God bless me, doctor!" he replied, with an air of angry surprise in his manner which I never saw before, "I think, indeed, it's you who are trifling! Have you lost your eye-sight this morning? Do you pretend to say you do not see I have undergone one of the most extraordinary alterations in appearance, that the body of man is capable ofsuch as never was heard or read of before?"

"Once more, Mr N," I repeated, in a tone of calm astonishment, "be so good as to be explicit. What are you raving about?"

"Raving!-Egad, I think it's you who are raving, doctor !" he answered; " or you must wish to insult me! Do you pretend to tell me you do not see that my head is turned?"and he looked me in the face steadily and sternly.

"Ha-ha-ha!-Upon my honour, N- I've been suspecting as much for this last five or ten minutes! I don't think a patient ever described his disease more accurately before !"

"Don't mock me, Doctor replied N, sternly. "By G-, I can't bear it! It's enough for me to endure the horrid sensations I do!" “ Mr N-——, what do you"

!

Why, d- -n, Doctor you'll drive me mad!-Can't you see that the back of my head is in front, and my face looking backwards? Horrible!" I burst into loud laughter.

"Doctor, it's time for you and me to part-high time," said he, turning his face away from me. "I'll let you know that I'll stand your nonsense no longer! I called you in to give me your advice, not to sit grinning like a baboon by my bedside! Once more,-finally Doctor are you disposed to be serious and rational? If you are not, my man shall shew you to the door the moment you please." He said this in such a sober earnest tone of indignation, that I saw he was fully prepared to carry his threat into execution. I determined, therefore, to humour him a little, shrewdly suspecting some temporary suspension of his sanity-not exactly madness-but at least some extraordinary hallucination. To adopt an expression which I have several times heard him use"I saw what o'clock it was, and set my watch to the time."