BLACKWOOD'S
EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH;
AND
37 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
1851.
No. CCCCXXIII.JANUARY, 1851.Vol. LXIX.
| The Currency Extension Act of Nature, | 1 |
| My Novel; or, Varieties in English Life. Part V., | 20 |
| Biography, | 40 |
| The Lay of the Niebelungen, | 55 |
| Additional Chapters from the History of John Bull, | 69 |
| Hungarian Military Sketches, | 89 |
| The Message of Seth. By Delta, | 107 |
| The Voice of Nature, | 111 |
| British Labour and Foreign Reciprocity, | 112 |
EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, 45 GEORGE STREET;AND 37 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
To whom all communications (post paid) must be addressed.
SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.
BLACKWOOD'S
EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
No. CCCCXXIII.JANUARY, 1851.Vol. LXIX.
Whoever has examined with attentionthe past annals of mankind,must have become aware that thegreatest and most important revolutionsthat have occurred in humanaffairs have originated in the variationswhich from time to time havetaken place in the supply of theprecious metals which could be obtainedfor the use of man. As theyconstitute, by the universal consent ofthe world, the common medium ofexchange and measure of value amongnations, their plenty or scarcity hasan immediate and powerful influenceupon the remuneration of i