Little now remains to be said. We have come upon the uninviting times when reason broke away from faith and carried desolation in its headlong course through the field of the human intellect. A literary and philosophical madness settled on men’s minds, and Babel seemed to have come again, except where the calm round of old studies was pursued with the old spirit of _quies_ within the sphere of the ancient faith. All beyond was confusion and hurry; every one set up as a teacher before having been a disciple; each man dictated and no one listened; each would be the originator of a system which his first follower was sure to alter, with the perspective of having _his_ alterations remodelled again by his first pupil, and so on _ad libitum_, till systems came to be called by men’s names, and to vary in meaning according to the particular temper of each one that undertook to explain them. With all its turbulence and occasional excesses contrasted with the cynical refinement and polite indifferentism of to‐day, was not the older system the better one? Fleurange. By Mrs. Craven, Author Of “A Sister’s Story.” Translated From The French, With Permission. Part Third. The Banks Of The Neckar. XXXIX. About a fortnight after Christmas, Clement was returning to his lodgings a little sooner than usual, when he met Wilhelm Müller at the door. “Ah! you have come at the right moment,” said he. “Let me tell you why. A courier from St. Petersburg arrived this morning with important news, which will have a serious effect on our business.” “Are you referring to the death of the Emperor Alexander? I knew that yesterday. What else is there?” “Quite another affair, indeed. Constantine has been set aside, and the Grand Duke Nicholas is to succeed his brother.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. But that is not all; we knew that yesterday. The news the courier brought this morning is more serious. It seems a conspiracy has broken out—” “A conspiracy! Where?” “At St. Petersburg. The courier left the twenty‐fourth of December. They were then fighting on the square before the palace, and the emperor was in the midst of the fight.” “Constantine?” “No, indeed; his brother.” “The Grand Duke Nicholas? Is he at the head of the plot?” “No; on the contrary, it seems to be Constantine, and yet it is not he either.—In fact, no one knows anything about it, the report is so very confused. But come and help me, if you will. We have despatches to send in every direction. We shall certainly have further news this evening. I dare say Waltheim (the chief member of the firm of which they were the principal clerks) is this very moment beside himself.”