From their Celtic ancestry, the Gauls, the French people inherited
a certain heedlessness of character, or want of foresight as to
consequences. The Romans communicated to them their language; the Franks,
a teutonic people, by whom they were captured in the fifth century, gave
them a national designation; but to neither the Romans nor Franks were
they materially indebted for those qualities which ordinarily stamp the
national or individual character. We have therefore to keep in mind that,
through all the vicissitudes of modern history, the French people have
remained essentially Celtic. With many good qualities—bold, tasteful,
quick-witted, ingenious—they have some less to be admired—impulsive,
restless, vain, bombastic, fond of display, and, as Cæsar described
them, “lovers of novelty.” They have ever boasted of being at the
head of civilization; but with all their acknowledged advancement in
literature and science, they have at every stage in their political
career demonstrated a singular and absolutely pitiable want of common
sense.—_Chambers’ Miscellany._