in a word, science,—­leading it at last, though slowly, and not by the most brilliant road, out of the bondage of the humdrum and common, into the better life.  The universal dead-level of plainness and homeliness, the lack of all beauty and distinction in form and feature, the slowness and clumsiness of the language, the eternal beer, sausages, and bad tobacco, the blank commonness everywhere, pressing at last like a weight on the spirits of the traveller in Northern Germany, and making him impatient to be gone, this is the weak side; the industry, the well-doing, the patient steady elaboration of things, the idea of science governing all departments of human activity—­this is the strong side; and through this side of her genius, Germany has already obtained excellent results, and is destined, we may depend upon it, however her pedantry, her slowness, her fumbling, her ineffectiveness, her bad government, may at times make us cry out, to an immense development. {82}

For dulness, the creeping Saxons,—­says an old Irish poem, assigning the characteristics for which different nations are celebrated:-

For acuteness and valour, the Greeks,
For excessive pride, the Romans,
For dulness, the creeping Saxons;
For beauty and amorousness, the Gaedhils.

We have seen in what sense, and with what explanation, this characterisation of the German may be allowed to stand; now let us come to the beautiful and amorous Gaedhil.  Or rather, let us find a definition which may suit both branches of the Celtic family, the Cymri as well as the Gael.  It is clear that special circumstances may have developed some one side in the national character of Cymri or Gael, Welshman or Irishman, so that the observer’s notice shall be readily caught by this side, and yet it may be impossible to adopt it as characteristic of the Celtic nature generally.  For instance, in his beautiful essay on the poetry of the Celtic races, M. Renan, with his eyes fixed on the Bretons and the Welsh, is struck with the timidity, the shyness, the delicacy of the Celtic nature, its preference for a retired life, its embarrassment at having to deal with the great world.  He talks of the douce petite race naturellement chretienne, his race fiere et timide, a l’exterieur gauche et embarrassee.  But it is evident that this description, however well it may do for the Cymri, will never do for the Gael, never do for the typical Irishman of Donnybrook fair.  Again, M. Renan’s infinie delicatesse de sentiment qui caracterise la race Celtique, how little that accords with the popular conception of an Irishman who wants to borrow money!  Sentiment is, however, the word which marks where the Celtic races really touch and are one; sentimental, if the Celtic nature is to be characterised by a single term, is the best term to take.  An organisation quick to feel impressions, and feeling them very strongly; a lively personality therefore, keenly sensitive to