the ſedimentary rock the latent impreſſions of ſome primeval ſtorm, or the footprints of races long extinct, determines the courſe of the one and the character of the other.
“The popular ſongs of a nation (remarks an able writer on Political Literature) conſtitute one of the moſt palpable manifeſtations of its political feelings and ſympathies; and this is more ſtrikingly the caſe, if other legitimate channels for the expreſſion of public ſentiment be choked or dried up by the repreſſive hand of power. The ſong-writer is an ubiquitous and privileged character. He purſues his avocation in the family circle, in the workshop, in the tavern, at the gay feſtival, in the ſqualid alley, in the barrack-room, and in the mess-room of the ſailor. His ſtrains are hearty, bold, and genial; the embodiment of thought, emotion, and melody. The popular ſong is eaſy, ſimple, and born of the incidents of the day. It is the intellectual perſonification of the feelings and opinions of a people. It is the delight of the multitude, the joy and ſolace of the many. It laughs in deriſion at deſpotic power, lightens the ſocial burdens of life, and inſpires the patriot with hope. Of the popular ſatirical ſong much has been written, but nothing
