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diff --git a/old/44378-h/44378-h.htm b/old/44378-h/44378-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e3c058 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/44378-h/44378-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,16515 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 374 December, 1846, by Various. + </title> + <link rel="coverpage" href="images/coverpage.jpg"/> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; + text-indent: 1em; +} + +.noind {text-indent: 0em;} + +.b12 {font-size:1.2em;} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb {width: 25%;} +hr.chap {width: 45%} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + font-style: normal; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + +.bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.space-above { margin-top: 3em; } + +.sig { text-align: right; margin-right: 5%; } + +/* Footnotes */ + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: 55%; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +.poem br {display: none;} + +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + +.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 0.5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i6 {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i7 {display: block; margin-left: 3.5em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i14 {display: block; margin-left: 7em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + +@media handheld +{ + .poetry + { + display: block; + margin-left: 1.5em; + } +} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.tn {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:smaller; + border: dashed 1px; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; } + + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, +No. 374, December, 1846, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 374, December, 1846 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 6, 2013 [EBook #44378] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, DEC 1846 *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<hr class="chap" /> + + + +<h1>BLACKWOOD'S +EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h1> + +<p class="center">No. CCCLXXIV. <span class="bb bt">DECEMBER, 1846.</span> VOL. LX.</p> + + +<h2><br /> +CONTENTS.</h2> + + + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="contents"> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Kohl in Denmark and in the Marshes</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_645">645</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Lord Metcalfe's Government of Jamaica</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_662">662</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Annals and Antiquities of London</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_673">673</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Marlborough's Dispatches.</span> 1711-1712,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_690">690</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Mildred. A Tale. Part I.</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_709">709</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Law and its Punishments</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_721">721</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Legends of the Thames</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_729">729</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Recent Royal Marriages</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_740">740</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">St Magnus', Kirkwall</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_753">753</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Game Laws</span>,</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_754">754</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p class="center">————</p> +<p class="center space-above"> +<big>EDINBURGH:</big><br /> +WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET;<br /> +AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.<br /> +<i>To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed.</i><br /> +<small>SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.</small><br /> +————<br /> +<small>PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH.</small><br /> +</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + + + +<p class="center"> +<i>In the Press, a Seventh Edition of</i><br /> + +<span class="b12"><br />THE HISTORY OF EUROPE,</span><br /> +<br /><small>FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION TO THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.</small><br /> +<br /> +BY ARCHIBALD ALISON, F. R. S.<br /> + +————<br /> + + +⁂ This Edition will be handsomely printed in Crown Octavo; the First<br /> +Volume to be Published on the 24th of December, and the remaining Volumes<br /> +Monthly.<br /> +<br /> +PRICE SIX SHILLINGS EACH.<br /> +</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_645" id="Page_645"> </a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>BLACKWOOD'S +EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.</h2> + +<p class="center">No. CCCLXXIV. <span class="bb bt">DECEMBER, 1846.</span> VOL. LX.</p> + + + +<h2><br />KOHL IN DENMARK AND IN THE MARSHES.</h2> + +<blockquote> + +<p><i>Die Marschen und Inseln der Herzogthümer Schleswig und Holstein. Reisen in +Dänemark und den Herzogthümer Schleswig und Holstein.</i></p></blockquote> + + +<p>Mr. Kohl, the most prolific of modern +German writers, the most indefatigable +of travellers, is already well +known to the English public by his +"Sketches of the English," "Travels +in Ireland," and many other publications +too numerous to remember. He +is a gentleman of marvellous facility +in travelling over foreign ground—of +extraordinary capabilities in the manufacturing +of books. Within five +years he has given to the world, hostages +for fame, some thirty or forty +volumes; and explored, socially, politically, +scientifically, and æsthetically, +North and South Russia, Poland, +Moravia, Hungary, Bavaria, Great +Britain, France, Denmark, and we +know not how many other countries +besides. It is as difficult to stop +his pen as his feet. He is always +trotting, and writing whilst he trots, +and evidently without the smallest +fatigue from either occupation. He +plays on earth the part assigned to +the lark above it by the poet: he,</p> + +<p> +"Singing, still doth soar; and soaring, ever singeth."<br /> +</p> + +<p>He has already announced a scheme +that has occurred to him for a commercial +map, which shall contain, in +various colours, the productions and +raw materials of every country in the +world, with lines appended, marking +the course they take to their several +ports of embarkation. We shrewdly +suspect that this gigantic scheme has +grown out of another, more personal +and profitable, and already put in +practice. We could almost swear that +Mr Kohl had drawn up a literary map +on the very same principle, with dots +for the countries and districts to be +visited and worked up, and lines to +mark the course for the conveyance +of that very raw material, which he +is eternally digging up on the way, +in the shape of disquisitions about +nothing, and moral reflections on every +thing. Denmark occupies him to-day. +We will wager that he is already intent +upon working out an article or +book from neighbouring Norway or +adjacent Sweden.</p> + +<p>It was remarked the other day by a +writer, that one great literary fault of +the present day is a desire to be "so +priggishly curt and epigrammatic," +that almost every lucubration comes +from the furnace with a coating of +"small impertinence," perfectly intolerable +to the sober reader. If any +writer is anxious to correct this fault, +let him take our advice gratis, and +sit down at once to a course of Kohl. +So admirable a spinner of long yarns +from the smallest threads, never flourished. +We have most honestly and +perseveringly waded through his eleven +or twelve hundred pages of close print, +and we unhesitatingly confess that we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_646" id="Page_646">[646]</a></span> +have never before perused so much, of +which we have retained so little. Does +not every man, woman, and child, in +these days of cheap fares and everlasting +steamers, know by heart all +that can be said or sung about "tones +from the sea?" Are they not to be +summoned, at any given moment, +under any given circumstances, by +your fire at twilight, on your pillow +at midnight? Mr Kohl proses +about these eternal "<i>tones</i>," till salt +water becomes odious—about +storms, till they calm you to sleep—about +calms, till they drive you to +fury—about winds and waves, till +your head aches with their motion. +We will not pretend to tell you, +reader, all the differences that exist +between high marsh-land and low +marsh-land, broad dikes and narrow +dikes, or to describe the downs and +embankments which we have seen, go +whithersoever we may, ever since we +have risen from the perusal of Mr +Kohl's book. We will not, because +Mr Kohl has dealt hardly by us, have +our revenge upon you. Nay, we could +not, if we would. The picture is +jumbled in our critical head, as it lies +confused in the author's work, which +is as disjointed a labour as ever +puzzled science seeking in chaos for a +system. Backwards and forwards he +goes—now up to his head in the +marshes, now lighting upon an island, +disdaining geography, giving the go-by +to history, dragging us recklessly +through digressions, repudiating any +thing like order, and utterly oblivious +of that beautiful scheme so dear to his +heart, by which we are to trace the +natural course of every thing under +the sun but the narrative of Mr Kohl's +very tedious adventures.</p> + +<p>Mr Kohl knows very well what is +the duty of a faithful delineator of +foreign countries and manners. He +acknowledges in his preface, that his +work is rather a make-up of simple +remarks than a comprehensive description +of the countries named in +the titlepage. This confession is not—as +is often the case—a modest appreciation +of great merits, but a true +estimate of small achievements. It +is the simple fact. As for the consolatory +reflections of the author, that +he has at all events proved that he +knows more of the lands he describes +than his countrymen who stay at +home, it is of so lowly a character +that we are by no means disposed to +discuss it. When he adds, however, +that he has already earned a kind +reception from the world, and trusts +to be reckoned amongst the men who +have been useful, we may be permitted +to hint, that neither a kind +reception nor the quality of usefulness +will long be vouchsafed to the +individual who leads confiding but +unfortunate readers a Will-o'-the-Wisp +chase over bogs and moors that +have no end, and compels them to +swallow, diluted in bottles three, the +draught which might easily have +found its way into an ordinary phial.</p> + +<p>That there are gems in the volumes +cannot be denied: that they are not +of the first water, is equally beyond a +doubt. Scattered over a prodigious +surface, they have not been gained +without some difficulty. Those who +are not able or disposed to turn to the +original, will be glad to learn from us +something of the sturdy Frieslanders +and Ditmarschers. They who have +energy and patience enough to overcome +the prolixity of the author, will +at least give us credit for some perseverance, +and appreciate the difficulties +of our task.</p> + +<p>Mr Kohl commences his work with +a description of the <i>Islands</i>. We will +follow the order of the titlepage, and +begin with the "Marshes" and their +brave and hardy inhabitants. The +author informs us, with pardonable +exultation, that, upon asking a German +of ordinary education whether +he knew who the Ditmarschers are, +he was most satisfactorily answered, +"<i>Ja wohl!</i> are they not the famous +peasants of Denmark who would not +surrender to the king?" We question +whether many Englishmen, of +even an extraordinary education, +would have answered at once so glibly +or correctly. To enable them to meet +the question of any future Kohl with +promptness and success, we will introduce +them at once to this singular +race, and give a rapid sketch of their +country and political existence.</p> + +<p>The territory inhabited by the Ditmarschers +is a small district of flat +country, stretching along the Elbe +and the Eyder, and is about a hundred +miles in length. Its maritime<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_647" id="Page_647">[647]</a></span> +frontier was originally defended by +lofty mounds, which opposed the encroachments +of the sea; whilst inland +it found protection in an almost impenetrable +barrier of thick wood, +bogs, lakes, and morass. This barrier +constitutes the marshes so minutely +described by our author. The +Ditmarschers are a people of Friesic +origin; the name, according to Mr +Kohl, being derived from <i>Marsch</i>, +<i>Meeresland</i>, sea-land, and <i>Dith</i>, <i>Thit</i>, +or <i>Teut</i>, <i>Deutsch</i>, German. In the +time of Charlemagne, or his immediate +successors, the district was included +in the department of the Mouth +of the Elbe, and was known as the +Countship of Stade. It was bestowed +by the Emperor Henry IV., in 1602, +upon the archbishops of Bremen, to +be held by them in fief. The Ditmarschers, +however, were but slippery +subjects; and, maintaining an actual +independence within their embankments, +cared little who governed them, +provided sufficient advantages were +offered by the prince or prelate who +demanded their allegiance. In 1186, +we find them claiming the protection +of Bishop Valdemar of Sleswig, +the uncle and guardian of Prince +Valdemar, afterwards known as +Valdemar the conqueror; for, "being +grievously worried by the oppressions +of the bailiffs of their spiritual Lord," +they declared a perfect indifference as +to "whether they paid tribute to +Saint Peter of Bremen, or Saint Peter +of Sleswig." They passed from the +rule of Bishop Valdemar, who was +subsequently excommunicated, to that +respectively of the Duke of Holstein, +the Bishop of Bremen, and Valdemar +II., King of Denmark. When the +last-named monarch gave battle to +his revolted subjects at Bornhöved +in Holstein, in the year 1227, the +Ditmarschers suddenly united their +bands with those of the enemy, and +decided the fate of the day against +the king. They then returned to the +rule of the bishops of Bremen, stipulating +for many rights and privileges, +which they enjoyed unmolested during +300 years; that is to say, up to the +year 1559, whilst they yielded little +more than a nominal obedience to +their spiritual lords, and evinced no +great alacrity in assisting them in +times of need.</p> + +<p>During their long period of practical +independence and freedom, the +Ditmarschers governed themselves +like stanch republicans. Their grand +assembly was the <i>Meende</i>, to which all +citizens were eligible above the age of +eighteen. It met in extraordinary +cases at Meldorf, the capital: but +commonly seventy or eighty <i>Radgewere</i>, +or councillors, decided upon all +questions of national policy propounded +to them by the <i>Schlüter</i>, or +overseers of the various parishes into +which the district was divided, who +generally managed the affairs of their +own little municipality independently +of their neighbours. This simple institution +underwent some modifications +about the middle of the fifteenth +century, when, in consequence of +internal dissensions, eight-and-forty +men were chosen as supreme judges +for life. These "<i>achtundveertig</i>" had, +however, but little real power. They +met weekly; but on great emergencies +they summoned a general assembly, +amounting to about 1500 persons, +and consisting of the various councillors +and <i>schlüter</i>. This assembly held +forth in the market-place of the +capital. The masses closely watched +the proceedings, and when it was +deemed necessary, called upon one +of their own number to address the +meeting on behalf of the rest.</p> + +<p>The peace enjoyed by the Ditmarschers +from without, contrasted +strongly with the tumults that were +often experienced within. The annals +of these people inform us, that +whole families and races were from +time to time swept away by the hand +of the foe, and by the violence of party +spirit. The Ditmarschers celebrate +several days as anniversaries of victories. +One, the <i>Hare</i> day, dates as +far back as 1288, when a party of +Holsteiners made an incursion into +the marshes, but were speedily opposed +by the natives. For a time the +two hostile bands watched each other, +neither willing to attack, when a hare +suddenly started up between them. +Some of the Ditmarschers, pursuing +the frightened animal, exclaimed <i>Löp, +löp!</i>—"Run, run!" The foremost +Holsteiners, seeing the enemy approaching +at full speed, were thrown +into confusion; whilst those behind +them, hearing the cry of "run, run!"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_648" id="Page_648">[648]</a></span> +took to their heels, and a general rout +ensued. The day of "melting lead" +is another joyful anniversary. Gerard +VII. of Holstein, endeavouring in +1390<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> to subjugate the country of the +Ditmarschen, drove the people at the +crisis of an assault to such extremities, +that they were obliged to take refuge +in a church, which they obstinately +defended against the Duke's troops, +until Gerard, infuriated, ordered the +leaden roof of the building to be +heated. The melted lead trickled +down on the heads of the Ditmarschers, +who, finding themselves reduced +to a choice of deaths, desperately +fought their way out, engaged the +Holsteiners, whom they overcame, +and who, ignorant of the country, +were either lost in the intricacies of +the marshes or drowned in the dikes. +The forces of a count, a duke, and a +king, were in turns routed by the +brave Ditmarschers, who have not +yet forgotten the glory of their ancient +peasantry. In 1559, however, they +ceased to gain victories for celebration. +In that year Denmark and the +Duchies united to subdue the small +but very valiant nation. They marshalled +an army of twenty-five +thousand picked men, whilst the +Ditmarschers could with difficulty +collect seven thousand. John Rantzan +commanded the allied army. +He captured Meldorf, set fire to +the town, pursued the inhabitants +in all directions and destroyed the +greater number whilst they were nobly +fighting for their liberties. Utterly +beaten, the Ditmarschers submitted to +their conquerors. Three of the clergy +proceeded to the enemy, bearing a +letter addressed to the princes as +"The Lords of Ditmarschen," and +offering to surrender their arms and +ammunitions, together with all the +trophies they had ever won. A general +capitulation followed: not wholly +to the disadvantage of the people, +since it was stipulated that none but +a native of the country should hold +immediate authority over it. At first +the land was divided amongst the +sovereigns of Denmark, Holstein, and +Sleswig; but in 1773 it was finally +ceded in full to the Danish monarch, +together with part of Holstein, by the +Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, (afterwards +Grand-Duke of Russia,) in +exchange for Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. +The Ditmarschers, at the present +hour enjoy many of their former +privileges: they acknowledge no distinctions +of rank; they have their +forty-eight Supreme Judges (the ancient +<i>schlüter</i>) under the name of +<i>Vögte</i> or overseers, and may, in fact, +be regarded as one of the best samples +of republicanism now existing in +the world.</p> + +<p>Thus much for their history. Of +their far-farmed dikes and sluices, of +the marsh-lands and downs which +their embankments inclosed, much +more may be said, for Mr Kohl devotes +half his work to their consideration. +We will not fatigue the indulgent +reader by engaging him for a +survey. The land is distinguished by +the inhabitants by the terms <i>grest</i> and +<i>marsch</i>; the former being the hilly +district, the latter the deposits from +the sea:—the one is woody in parts, +having heath and sand, springs and +brooks: the other is flat, treeless, +heathless, with no sand or spring, but +one rich series of meadows, intersected +in every direction by canals and dikes. +Far as the eye can reach, it rests upon +broad and fertile meads covered with +grazing cattle; whilst from the teeming +plain stand forth farm-houses innumerable, +raised upon <i>wurten</i>, or +little hillocks, some ten or twelve feet +above the level of the land, for security +against constantly recurring inundation. +All external appliances +needful for the establishment are +elevated upon these heights, whose +sides are, for the most part, covered +with vegetable gardens, and here and +there with flowers and shrubs. The +houses have but one story; they are +long, and built of brick. For protection +against the unsteady soil, they are +often supported by large iron posts +projecting from the sides, and looking +like huge anchors. There are few +villages or hamlets in the marshes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_649" id="Page_649">[649]</a></span> +The inhabitants are not gregarious, +but prefer the independence of a perfectly +insulated abode. The "threshold +right" is still so strictly maintained +amongst them, that no officer +of police dare enter, unpermitted, the +house of a Ditmarscher, or arrest +him within his own doors.</p> + +<p>The roads in the marshes, as may +be supposed, are, at times, almost +impassable; riding is therefore more +frequent than driving or walking, +although many of the more active +marshers accelerate their passage +across the fens by leaping-poles, +which they employ with wonderful +dexterity. The women ride always +behind the men, on a seat fastened to +the crupper. As the dikes lie higher +than the meadows, they prove the +driest road for carriages and passengers; +but they are not always open to +the traveller, lest too constant a +traffic should injure the foundations. +The carriages chiefly used are a species +of land canoe. They are called <i>Körwagen</i>, +and are long, narrow, and +awkward. On either side of the +vehicle, chairs or seats swing loosely. +No one chair is large enough for the +two who occupy it, and who sit with +their knees closely pressed against the +seat which is before them.</p> + +<p>The process of gradually reclaiming +new land from the waves is somewhat +curious. As soon as a sufficient +amount of deposit has been thrown +up from the sea, outguards, or breakwaters, +called <i>höfter</i> are immediately +erected. Within the breakwater there +remains a pool of still water, which +by degrees fills up with a rich slime +or mud called <i>slick</i>. As soon as the +slick has attained an elevation sufficient +to be above the regular level of the +high waves, plants styled "<i>Queller</i>" +appear, and are soon succeeded by +others termed <i>Drücknieder</i>, from the +tendency of their interlaced roots and +tendrils to keep down the soft mud. +In the course of years, the soil rises, +and a meadow takes the place of +the former stagnant pool. As these +new lands are extremely productive, +often yielding three hundred-fold on +the first crop of rape-seed, sixty to +eighty fold on barley, and from thirty +to forty on wheat, their possession is +ever a subject of great dispute. Formerly +the diking and embankments +were undertaken by companies; but at +present they are in the hands of the +Danish government, which makes all +necessary outlay in the beginning, and +appropriates whatever surplus may remain +upon the original cost to future +repairs and to the aid of the general +poor fund. Some slight idea may be +formed of the enormous expense incurred +in the construction and maintenance +of these dikes, when we state +that the <i>Dagebieller</i> dike alone cost +ten thousand dollars for one recent +repair. Ninety thousand dollars +were one summer spent in +building embankments around reclaimed +land, now valued at one hundred +and fifty thousand dollars, thus +showing a clear gain of sixty thousand +dollars by the undertaking. The embankments +are generally from fifteen +to twenty feet high. When the nature +of the soil upon which they are raised +is considered, together with the scarcity +of wood on these low lands, it +will not be difficult to understand +that constant labour is needed to +prevent the land from being undermined +by the sea, and that it is +only by unremitting industry, and constant +attention to the condition of the +breakwaters and dikes, that the enemy +can at all be kept at bay.</p> + +<p>The dangers that are to be encountered, +and the laborious efforts that +must be made for subsistence at home, +train the Frieslander of the marshes +and islands for the perils of the deep, +which we find him encountering with +a brave and dogged resolution. The +islanders, especially, are constantly +engaged in the whale and other fisheries. +In the islands visited by Mr +Kohl, the greater number of the men +were far away on the seas, and their +wives and daughters conducting the +business of their several callings; +some tending cattle, some spinning, +others manufacturing gloves. Seals +abound upon the coast, and are caught +by sundry ingenious devices. A fisher +disguises himself in a seal-skin, and +travels up to a troop of these sea +monsters, imitating, as far as he is +able, their singular movements and +contortions. When, fairly amongst +them, he lifts the gun which has been +concealed beneath his body, and shoots +amongst the herd. If discovered +asleep a seal is sure to be caught, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_650" id="Page_650">[650]</a></span> +his slumbers are sound. Conscious +of his weakness, <i>Phoca</i> stations a +patrol at some little distance from his +couch, and an alarm is given as soon +as any man appears. At certain +seasons of the year vast flocks of +ducks light upon the islands, and are +caught chiefly by the aid of tame +decoy-birds, who mislead the others +into extensive nets spread for the +visitors. One duck-decoyer will catch +twenty thousand birds in the course +of a summer; the soft down obtained +from the breast of one species is the +<i>eider down</i>. The season begins in +September and lasts till Christmas. +Hamburg beef is due to the localities +we speak of. One of the large +meadow districts already mentioned, +is said to fatten eight thousand head +of oxen yearly, who, at their death, +bequeath to the world the far-famed +dainty.</p> + +<p>The islands visited by our author +are those lying in that part of the +North Sea which the Danes call <i>Vesterhafet</i>, +or the western harbour, and +which extends close to the shores +from the mouth of the Elbe to Jutland. +Of these the most noted are +Syltoe, Fœhr, Amrum, Romœ, and +Pelvorn. Around them lie many excellent +oyster-beds—royal property, +and yielding an annual income of +twenty thousand dollars. The people +inhabiting these islands are said to +be of Friesic origin: they certainly +were colonists from Holland, and they +still exhibit many peculiarities of the +ancient Friesic stock. They are clean, +neat, simple, honest, and moral. Few +establishments for the punishment of +culprits are to be found either in the +islands or on the marshes. As late +as the fifteenth and sixteenth century, +in cases of homicide the accused was +doomed to walk over twelve burning +ploughshares. Great crimes seem +unknown to-day; and the practice of +leaving house-doors unbarred and unlocked +upon the wide and desolate +marshes, testifies not a little to the +general honesty of the people.</p> + +<p>Mr Kohl talks a whole boxfull of +balaam about the identity of the islanders +and the English. In the first +place, he insists that <i>Hengist</i> and <i>Horsa</i> +were gentlemen of Friesic extraction; +and secondly, he compares them +to a spirituous liquor: thirdly, he argues +on the topic like a musty German +bookworm, who has travelled no +further than round his own room, and +seen no more humanity than the grubby +specimen his looking-glass once a-week, +at shaving time, presents to him. +What authority has Mr Kohl for this +Friesic origin of Hengist and Horsa? +Is there a port along the Elbe and the +Weser, or on the coasts of Jutland +and Holstein, which does not claim +the honour of having sent the brothers +out? Is not the question as difficult to +decide, the fact as impossible to arrive +at, as Homer's birthplace? But supposing +the hypothesis of Mr Kohl to +be true, he surely cannot be serious +when he asserts, that the handful of +men who landed with the brothers in +Britain, have transmitted their Friesic +characteristics through every succeeding +age, and that these are discernible +now in all their pristine vigour and +integrity. Can he mean what he +says? Is he not joking when he puts +forward the "rum" argument? A +little of that liquor, he says, flavours +a bowl of punch. Why shouldn't a +little Friesic season the entire English +nation with the masculine force of the +old Teutonic Frieslanders? Why should +it? If Hengist and Horsa supplied the +rum, who, we are justified in asking, +came down with the sugar and lemon? +If the beverage be milk-punch, who +was the dairyman? These are questions +quite as apt as Mr Kohl's, not a +whit more curious than his illustrations. +The points of identity between +the Frieslander and the Englishman +are marvellous, if you can but see +them. The inhabitants of the marshes +and islands are grave, reserved, and +thoughtful; so are the English; so, +for that matter, are the Upper Lusatians, +if we are to believe Ernst Willkomm; +so are a good many other +people. The marshers have an eye to +their own interests; so have the English. +This is a feature quite peculiar +to the marshers and the English. It +may be called the <i>right</i> eye, every +other nation possessing only the left. +Of course, Mr Kohl is perfectly blind +to his interests, in publishing the present +work: yet he is Friesic too! From +the Frieslanders we have inherited our +"English spleen." How many years +have we been attributing it to the much +maligned climate? We are starched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_651" id="Page_651">[651]</a></span> +and stiff; so are the islanders. The +marshers dress a May king and queen +at a spring festival. We know something +about a May queen at the same +blessed season. If these were the +only instances of kindred resemblance, +our readers might fail to be convinced, +after all, of the truth of the Friesic +theory. These doubts, if any linger, +shall be removed at once. One morning +a Frieslander carefully opened +Mr Kohl's door, and said, "<i>I am +afraid</i> there is a house on fire." Kohl +rushed forth and found the building in +flames; which incident immediately +reminded him—he being a German +and a philosopher—of the excessive +caution of the Englishman, which, +under the most alarming circumstances, +forbids his saying any thing +stronger than "I believe," "I am +afraid," "I dare say." Verily we +"believe," we are "afraid," we "dare +say," that Mr. Kohl is a most incorrigible +twaddler. One more peculiarity +remains to be told. They keep gigs +in the marshes. There are "gentlemen" +there as well as in England. +Are there none elsewhere?</p> + +<p>The customs of the Ditmarschers +could not fail to be interesting. That +of the <i>Fenstern</i> or <i>Windowing</i> is romantic, +and perilous to boot. At +dead of night, when all good people +are asleep, young gallants cross the +marshes and downs for miles to visit +the girls of their acquaintance, or it +may be <i>the</i> girl of fairest form and +most attractions. Arrived at the +house, they scale the walls, enter a +window, and drop into the chamber +of the lady, who lies muffled up to the +chin on a bed of down, having taken +care to leave a burning lamp on the +table, and fire in the stove, that her +nocturnal callers may have both light +and warmth. Upon the entrance of +her visitor, she politely asks him to be +seated—his chair being placed at the +distance of a few feet from the bed. +They converse, and the conversation +being brought to an end, the gallant +takes his departure either by the door +or window. Some opposition has been +shown of late to this custom by a few +over-scrupulous parents; but the +fathers who are bold enough to put +bolts on their doors or windows, are +certain of meeting with reprisals from +the gallants of the district. The <i>Fenstern</i> +is subject to certain laws and regulations, +by which those who practise +it are bound to abide. Another +curious custom, and derived like the +former from the heathen, was the +dance performed at the churching of +women up to the close of the last +century—the woman herself wearing a +green and a red stocking, and hopping +upon one leg to church. The Friesic +women are small and delicately formed: +their skin, beautifully soft and +white, is protected most carefully +against the rough atmosphere by a +mantle, which so completely covers +the face, that both in winter and summer +little can be seen beyond the eyes +of the women encountered in the open +streets. The generally sombre hue of +the garments renders this muffling the +more remarkable; for it is customary +for the relatives of those who are at +sea to wear mourning until the +return of the adventurers. Skirt, +boddice, apron, and kerchief, all are +dark; and the cloth which so +jealously screens the head and face +from the sun and storm, is of the +same melancholy hue.</p> + +<p>The churchyards testify to the fact, +that a comparatively small number +of those who, year after year, proceed +on their perilous expeditions, return +to die at home. The monuments +almost exclusively record the names +of women—a blank being left for that +of the absent husband, father, or +brother, whose remains are possibly +mouldering in another hemisphere. +Every device and symbol sculptured +in the churchyard has reference to the +maritime life, with which they are all +so familiar. A ship at anchor, dismasted, +with broken tackle, is a +favourite image, whilst the inscription +quaintly corresponds with the sculptured +metaphor. It is usual for the +people to erect their monuments during +life, and to have the full inscriptions +written, leaving room only for the +<i>date</i> of the decease. In the island of +Fœhr and elsewhere, the custom still +prevails of hiring women to make +loud lamentations over the body, as +it is carried homewards and deposited +in the earth. The churches are plain +to rudeness, and disfigured with the +most barbarous wood carvings of our +Saviour, of saints, and popes. These +rough buildings are, for the most part,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_652" id="Page_652">[652]</a></span> +of great antiquity, and traditions tell +of their having been brought from +England. There can be no doubt +that British missionaries were here +in former days. At the time of the +Reformation, the islanders refused to +change their faith; but once converted +to Lutheranism, they have remained +stanch Protestants ever since, and +maintain a becoming veneration for +their pastors. The clergy are natives +of the islands, and therefore well +acquainted with the Friesic dialect, +in which they preach. Their pay is +necessarily small, and is mostly raised +by the voluntary contributions of the +parishioners. As may be supposed, +the clergy have much influence over +the people, especially on the smaller +islands, where the inhabitants have +but little intercourse with strangers. +Temperance societies have been established +by the pastors. Brandy, tea, +and coffee, came into general use +throughout the islands about a century +ago, and ardent drinking was in +vogue until the interference of the +clergy. The Ditmarschers especially, +who are allowed to distil without +paying excise duties, carried the vice +of drunkenness to excess; but they +are much improved.</p> + +<p>The greatest diversity of languages, +or rather of dialects, exists in the +islands, arising probably from the +fact of Friesic not being a written +language. The dialect of the furthest +west approaches nearer to English +than any other. The people of <i>Amrum</i> +are proud of the similarity. They +retain the <i>th</i> of the old Icelandic, and +have a number of words in which the +resemblance of their ancient form of +speech to the old Anglo-Saxon English +is more apparent than in even the +Danish of the present day; as, for +instance, <i>Hu mani mile?</i> How many +miles? <i>Bradgrum</i>, bridegroom; <i>theenk</i>, +think, &c. In many of the words +advanced by Mr Kohl, that gentleman +evidently betrays an unconsciousness +of their being synonymous with the +modern Danish; and, therefore, strikingly +inimical to his favourite theory +of the especial Friesic descent of the +English people and language. Little +or nothing is known of the actual +geographical propagation of the old +Friesic. At present it is yielding to +the Danish and the Low German in +the duchies of Sleswig and Holstein. +Many names are still common amongst +the people, which seem to have descended +from the heathen epoch, and +which are, in fact, more frequently +heard than the names in the "Roman +Calendar," met with elsewhere. <i>Des</i>, +<i>Edo</i>, <i>Haje</i>, <i>Pave</i>, <i>Tete</i>, are the names +of men; <i>Ehle</i>, <i>Tat</i>, <i>Mantje</i>, <i>Ode</i>, <i>Sieg</i>, +are those of women. None of them +are known amongst any other people. +Much confusion exists with respect to +the patronymic, there being no surnames +in use in many of the islands. +If a man were called <i>Tete</i>, his son +<i>Edo</i> would be <i>Edo Tetes</i>; and then, +again, <i>Tat</i>, the wife of the <i>Edo</i>, would +be <i>Tat Edos</i>, and his son <i>Des</i>, <i>Des +Edos</i>; whilst <i>Des's</i> son <i>Tete</i> would be +<i>Tete Des's</i>, and so on in the most +troublesome and perplexing combinations.</p> + +<p>The Frieslanders, like other northern +nations, are superstitious, and they +have a multitude of traditions or sagas, +some of them very curious and interesting. +We must pass over these +instructive myths—always the rarest +and most striking portion of a people's +history—more cursorily than we could +wish, and cite a few only of the most +peculiar. The island of <i>Sylt</i>, which +is the richest in remains of <i>höogen</i>, +the celts of heathen heroes, &c., lays +claim to the largest number of Märchen. +The most characteristic of all +is that of <i>de Mannigfuel</i>, the "colossal +ship," (or world,) which was so large +that the commander was obliged to +ride about the deck in order to give +his orders: the sailors that went aloft +as boys came down greyheaded, so +long a time having elapsed whilst +they were rigging the sails. Once, +when the ship was in great peril, and +the waters were running high, the +sailors, disheartened by their protracted +watching and labour, threw +out ballast in order to lighten the +vessel, when, lo! an island arose, and +then another, and another still, till +land was formed—the earth being, +according to the sailors' notion, the +secondary formation. Once—many +ages afterwards—when the <i>Mannigfuel</i> +was endeavouring to pass +through the Straits of Dover, the +captain ingeniously thought to have +the side of the vessel, nearest Dover, +rubbed with white soap, and hence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_653" id="Page_653">[653]</a></span> +the whiteness of the cliffs at Dover. +The achievements recounted of <i>de +Mannigfuel</i> are endless. The following +explanation of the formation of the +Straits of Dover is found in a Friesic +saga:—Once upon a time, a queen +of England, the land to the west of +the North Sea, and a king of Denmark, +the land to the east of the +North Sea, loved each other, and +plighted troth; but, as it happened, +the king proved faithless, and left the +poor queen to wear the willow. England +was then joined to the Continent +by a chain of hills called <i>Höneden</i>; +and the queen, desiring to wreak vengeance +on her false wooer and his +subjects, summoned her people around +her, and setting them to work for +seven years in digging away these +hills, at the end of the seventh year +the waves pushed furiously through +the channel that had been dug, and +swept along the coasts of Friesland +and Jutland, drowning and carrying +away 100,000 persons. To this very +hour the Jutland shores yearly tremble +before the fatal vengeance of the +slighted queen. The Frieslanders are +so wedded to this marvellous geological +myth, that they insist upon its +historical foundation. In some versions +700, in others 7000, in others +again, even 700,000 men are said to +have been employed in this gigantic +undertaking.</p> + +<p>Another allegorical saga is the narrative +of the share taken by the man +in the moon in the matter of the daily +ebbing and flowing of the sea. His +chief, or indeed only occupation, +seems to be to pour water from a +huge bucket. Being somewhat lazy, +the old gentleman soon grows weary +of the employment, and then he lies +down to rest. Of course whilst he +is napping, the water avails itself of +the opportunity to return to its ordinary +level.</p> + +<p>The constellation of the Great Bear, +or Charles's Wain, is, according to +the Frieslanders, the chariot in which +Elias and many other great prophets +ascended into heaven. There being +now-a-days no individual sufficiently +pious for such a mode of transit, +it has been put aside, with other heavenly +curiosities, its only office being +to carry the angels in their nocturnal +excursions throughout the year. The +angel who acts as driver for the night, +fixes his eye steadily upon the centre +point of the heavenly arch, (the polar +star,) in order that the two stars of +the shaft of the chariot may keep in +a straight line with the celestial focus. +The rising and setting of the sun is +thus explained:—A host of beautiful +nymphs receive the sun beneath the +earth in the western hemisphere, +and cutting it into a thousand parts, +they make of it little air balloons, +which they sportively throw at the +heavenly youths, who keep guard at +the eastern horizon of the earth. +The gallant band, not to be outdone +by their fair antagonists, mount a +high ladder, and when night has veiled +the earth in darkness, toss back the +golden balls, which, careering rapidly +through the vault of heaven, fall in +glittering showers upon the heads of +the celestial virgins of the west. The +children of the sky, having thus diverted +themselves through the night, +they hasten at dawn of day to collect +the scattered balls, and joining them +into one huge mass, they bear it upon +their shoulders, mid singing and +dancing, to the eastern gates of heaven. +The enchanting rosy light which +hovers round the rising orb is the reflection +of the virgins' lovely forms, +who, beholding their charge safely +launched upon its course, retire, and +leave it, as we see it, to traverse the +sky alone.</p> + +<p>The following exquisite tradition +connects itself with that brief season +when, in the summer of the far north, +the sun tarries night and day above +the horizon. <i>All-fader</i> had two faithful +servants, of the race of those who +enjoyed eternal youth, and when the +sun had done its first day's course, +he called to him <i>Demmarik</i>, and said, +"To thy watchful care, my daughter, +I confide the setting sun that I have +newly created; extinguish its light +carefully, and guard the precious +flame that no evil approach it." And +the next morning, when the sun was +again about to begin its course, he +said to his servant <i>Koite</i>, "My son, +to thy trusty hand I remit the charge +of kindling the light of the sun I have +created, and of leading it forth on its +way." Faithfully did the children +discharge the duties assigned to them. +In the winter they carefully guarded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_654" id="Page_654">[654]</a></span> +the precious light, and laid it early +to rest, and awakened it to life again +only at a late hour; but, as the spring +and summer advanced, they suffered +the glorious flame to linger longer in +the vault of heaven, and to rejoice +the hearts of men by the brightness +of its aspect. At length the time arrived +when, in our northern world, +the sun enjoys but brief rest. It +must be up betimes in the morning +to awaken the flowers and fruit to +life and light, and it must cast its +glowing beams across the mantle of +night, and lose no time in idle slumber. +Then it was that <i>Demmarik</i>, for +the first time, met <i>Koite</i> face to face +as she stood upon the western edge +of heaven, and received from the +hands of her brother-servant the orb +of light. As the fading lamp passed +from one to the other, their eyes met, +and a gentle pressure of their hands +sent a thrill of holy love through their +hearts. No eye was there save that +of the <i>All-fader</i>, who called his servants +before him, and said, "Ye +have done well; and as recompense, +I permit ye to fulfil your respective +charges conjointly as man and wife." +Then, <i>Demmarik</i> and <i>Koite</i>, looking +at each other, replied—"No, All-fader! +disturb not our joy; let us +remain everlastingly in our present +bridal state; wedded joy cannot +equal what we feel now as betrothed!" +And the mighty <i>All-fader</i> granted +their prayer, and from that time +they have met but once in the year, +when, during four weeks, they greet +each other night after night; and +then, as the lamp passes from one to +the other, a pressure of the hand and +a kiss calls forth a rosy blush on the +fair cheek of <i>Demmarik</i> which sheds +its mantling glow over all the heavens, +<i>Koite's</i> heart the while thrilling +with purest joy. And should they +tarry too long, the gentle nightingales +of the <i>All-fader</i> have but to warble +<i>Laisk tudrück, laisk tudrück! öpik!</i> +"Giddy ones, giddy ones! take heed!" +to chide them forward on their duty.</p> + +<p>With a lovelier vision, reader! we +could not leave you dwelling upon +the rugged but, to the heart's core, +thoroughly poetic Frieslander. Let +us leave the gentle Demmarik and +devoted Koite to their chaste and +heavenly mission, and with a bound +leap into Denmark, whither Mr Kohl, +in his forty-fourth volume of travels, +summons us, and whither we must +follow him, although the prosaic gentleman +is somewhat of the earth, +earthy, after the blessed imitations +we have had, reader—you and we—of +the eternal summer's day faintly embodied +in the vision of that long +bright day of the far north!</p> + +<p>Should any adventurous youth sit +down to Mr Kohl's volume on +Denmark, and, half an hour afterwards, +throw the book in sheer disgust +and weariness out of the window, +swearing never to look into it +again, let him be advised to ring the +bell, and to request Mary to bring it +back again with the least possible +delay. Having received it from the +maid of all work's horny hand, let +the said youth begin the book again, +but, as he would a Hebrew Bible, at +the other end. He may take our +word for it there is good stuff there, +in spite of the twaddle that encountered +him erewhile at Hamburg. +Mr Kohl has been won by aldermanic +dinners in the chief city of the Hanseatic +League, as Louis Philippe was +touched by aldermanic eloquence and +wit in the chief city of the world, and +he babbles of mercantile operations +and commercial enterprise, until the +heart grows sick with fatigue, and is +only made happy by the regrets which +the author expresses—just one hour +after the right time—respecting his +inability to enlarge further upon the +fruitful and noble theme of the monetary +speculations of one of the richest +and most disagreeable communities of +Europe.</p> + +<p>Before putting foot on Danish +ground, Mr Kohl is careful to make +a kind of solemn protest touching +Germanic patriotism, lest, we presume, +he should be suspected of taking +a heretical view of the question at +issue at the present moment between +the Sleswig-Holstein provinces and +the mother-country Denmark. It is +not for us to enter into any political +discussions here, concerning matters +of internal government which are no +more business of ours than of his Majesty +Muda Hassim, of the island of +Borneo; but we must confess our inability +to understand why such a terrific +storm of patriotic ardour has so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_655" id="Page_655">[655]</a></span> +suddenly burst forth in Germany, respecting +provinces which, until recently, +certainly up to the time when the +late king gave his people the unasked-for +boon of a constitution, were perfectly +happy and contented under the +Danish rule, to which they had been +accustomed some five or six hundred +years.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> It is only since the assembly +of the states was constituted, that the +Sleswig Holsteiners have been seized +with the Germanic <i>furor</i>—a malady +not a little increased by the inflammatory +harangues of needy demagogues, +and the pedantic outpourings +of a handful of professors stark-mad +on the subject of German liberty. If +there is one thing more absurd than +another, upon this globe of absurdity, +it is the cant of "nationality," "freedom," +"fatherland," "brotherhood," +&c. &c., which is dinned into your +ears from one end of Germany to the +other; but which, like all other cants, +is nothing but so much wind and +froth, utterly without reason, stamina, +or foundation. We should like to ask +any mustached and bearded youth +of Heidelberg or Bonn, at any one +sober moment of his existence, to +point out to us any single spot where +this boasted "nationality" is to be +seen and scanned. Will the red-capped, +long-haired <i>Bursch</i> tell us +when and where we may behold that +"vaterland" of which he is eternally +dreaming, singing, and drinking? +Why, is it not a fact that, to a Prussian, +an Austrian or a Swabian is an +alien? Does not a Saxe-Coburger, a +Hessian, and any other subject of any +small duchy or principality, insist, +in his intense hatred of Prussia, that +the Prussians are no Germans at all; +that they have interests of their own, +opposed to those of the true German +people; and that they are as distinct +as they are selfish? You cannot +travel over the various countries and +districts included under the name of +Germany, without learning the thorough +insulation of the component +parts. The fact is forced upon you +at every step. Mr Kohl himself belongs +to none of the states mentioned. +He is a native of Bremen—one of the +cities of that proud Hanseatic League +which certainly has never shown an +enlarged or patriotic spirit with reference +to this same universal "vaterland." +Arrogant and lordly republics +care little for abstractions. They have +a keen instinct for their own material +interests, but a small appreciation of +the glorious ideal. We ask, again, +where is this all pervading German +patriotism?</p> + +<p>We have said that Mr Kohl is a +great traveller. We withdraw the +accusation. He has written forty odd +volumes, but they have been composed, +every one of them, in his snug +<i>stube</i>, at Bremen, or wheresoever else +he puts up, under the influence of +German stoves, German pipes, and +German beer. A great traveller is a +great catholic. His mind grows more +capacious, his heart more generous, +as he makes his pilgrimages along +this troubled earth, and learns the +mightiness of Heaven, the mutability +and smallness of things temporal. +Prejudice cannot stand up against the +knowledge that pours in upon him; +bigotry cannot exist in the wide +temple he explores. The wanderer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_656" id="Page_656">[656]</a></span> +"feels himself new-born," as he learns, +with his eyes, the living history of +every new people, and compares, in +his judgment, the lessons of his ripe +manhood with the instruction imparted +in his confined and straitened youth. +If it may be said that to learn a new language +is to acquire a new mind, what +is it to become acquainted, intimately +and face to face, with a new people, +new institutions, new faiths, new habits +of thought and feeling? There +never existed a great traveller who, +at the end of his wanderings, did not +find himself, as if by magic, released +of all the rust of prejudice, vanity, +self-conceit, and pride, which a narrow +experience engenders, and a small +field of action so fatally heaps up. +We will venture to assert that there +is not a monkey now caged up in the +zoological gardens, who would not—if +permitted by the honourable Society—return +to his native woods a better +and a wiser beast for the one long +journey he has made. Should Mr +Kohl, we ask, behave worse than an +imprisoned monkey? We pardon M. +Michelet when he rants about <i>la belle +France</i>, because we know that the excited +gentleman—eloquent and scholarly +as he is—is reposing eternally in +Paris, under the <i>drapeau</i>, which fans +nothing but glory into his smiling and +complacent visage. When John Bull, +sitting in the parlour of the "Queen's +Head," smoking his clay and swallowing +his heavy, with Bob Yokel +from the country, manfully exclaims, +striking Bob heartily and +jollily on the shoulder, "D—n it, Bob, +an Englishman will whop three +Frenchmen any day!" we smile, but +we are not angry. We feel it is the +beer, and that, like the valiant Michelet, +the good man knows no better. +Send the two on their travels, and +talk to them when they come back. +Well, Mr Kohl has travelled, and has +come back; and he tells us, in the +year of grace 1846, that the crown-jewel +in the diadem of France is Alsace, +and that the Alsatians are the +pearls amongst her provincialists—the +Alsatians, be it understood, being +a German people, and, as far as report +goes, the heaviest and stupidest +that "vaterland" can claim. The +only true gems in the Autocrat's crown +are, according to the enlightened +Kohl, the German provinces of Liefland, +Esthonia, and Courland. All +the industry and enterprise of the +Belgians come simply from their Teutonic +blood; the treasures of the +Danish king must be looked for +in the German provinces of Sleswig +and Holstein. This is not all. German +literature and the German tongue +enjoy advantages possessed by no +other literature and language. English +universities are "Stockenglisch," +downright English; the French are +quite Frenchy; the Spanish are solely +Spanish; but German schools have +taken root in every part of the earth. +At Dorpat, says Mr Kohl, German +is taught, written, and printed; and +therefore the German spirit is diffused +throughout all the Russias. At Kiel +the same process is going forward on +behalf of Scandinavia. The Slavonians, +the Italians, and Greeks, are +likewise submitting, <i>nolens volens</i>, to +the same irresistible influence. The +very same words may be found in M. +Michelet's book of "The People,"—only +for <i>German</i> spirit, read <i>French</i>.</p> + +<p>Mr Kohl proceeds in the same easy +style to announce the rapid giving +way of the Danish language in Denmark +and the eager substitution of +his own. He asserts this in the teeth +of all those Danish writers who have +started up within the last fifty years, +and who have boldly and wisely discarded +the pernicious practice (originating +in the German character of the +reigning family) of expressing Danish +notions in a foreign tongue. He asserts +it in the teeth of Mrs Howitt +and of the German translators, whom +this lady calls to her aid, but who +have very feebly represented that rich +diction and flexible style so remarkable +in the Danish compositions referred +to, and so much surpassing the +power of any other northern tongue. +We should do Mr Kohl injustice if +we did not give his reason for regarding +the Danish language as a thing +doomed. He was credibly informed +that many fathers of families were in +the habit of promising rewards to their +children if they would converse in +German and not in Danish! Hear +this, Lord Palmerston! and if, on +hearing it, you still allow the rising +generation, at our seminaries, to ask +for <i>du pang</i> and <i>du bur</i>, and to receive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_657" id="Page_657">[657]</a></span> +them with, it may be, a silver +medal for proficiency, the consequences +be on your devoted head!</p> + +<p>Denmark has been comparatively +but little visited by the stranger. She +offers, nevertheless, to the antiquary, +the poet, and the artist, materials of +interest which cannot be exceeded in +any other district of the same extent. +Every wood, lake, heath, and down, +is rich in historical legends or mythical +sagas; every copse and hill, every +cave and mound, has been peopled by +past superstition with the elf and the +sprite, the <i>ellefolk</i> and <i>nissen</i>. Her +history, blending with that of her +Scandinavian sisters, Norway and +Sweden, is romantic in the extreme—whether +she is traced to the days of +her fabulous sea-kings, or is read of +in the records of those who have +chronicled the lives of her sovereigns +in the middle ages. The country itself, +although flat, is picturesque, +being thickly interspersed with lakes, +skirted by, and embosomed in, luxuriant +beech woods; whilst ever and +anon the traveller lights upon some +ancient ruin of church or tower, palace +or hermitage, affecting, if only +by reason of the associations it awakens +with an age far more prosperous +than the present. The existence of +the Danish people, as a nation, has +been pronounced a miracle. It is +hardly less. Small and feeble, and +surrounded by the foreigner on every +side, Denmark has never been ruled +by a conqueror. Amid the rise and +fall of other states, she has maintained +her independence—now powerful and +victorious, now depressed and poor, +but never succumbing, never submitting +to the stranger's yoke. Her present +dynasty is the oldest reigning +European family. It dates back to +Christian I.—himself descended in a +direct female line from the old kings +of Scandinavia—who, as Duke of +Oldenburg, was chosen king by the +states in 1448.</p> + +<p>A good account of Denmark and +the Danes is yet wanting. It may +be collected by any honest writer, +moderately conversant with the language +and history of the country. We +fear that Mr. Kohl will not supply the +literary void, if we are to judge from +the one volume before us. Others +are, however, to follow; and as our +author is immethodical, he may haply +return to make good imperfections, +and to fill up his hasty sketches. +We cannot but regret that he should +have passed so rapidly through the +Duchy of Holstein. Had he followed +the highways and byways of the +province, instead of flitting like a +swallow—to use his own words—over +the ground by means of the +newly-opened railroad through Kiel, +his "Travels" would surely have +been the better for his trouble. Instead +of pausing where the most volatile +would have been detained, our +author satisfies himself with simply +expressing his unfeigned regret at +being obliged to pursue his journey, +consoling his readers and himself with +the very paradoxical assertion that +we are most struck by the places of +which we see least; since, being all +of us more or less poetically disposed, +we permit the imagination to supply +the deficiencies of experience;—an argument +which, we need scarcely say, +if carried to its fullest limits, brings +us to the conviction, that he who +stays at home is best fitted to describe +the countries the furthest distant from +his fireside. Surely, Mr Kohl, you do +not speak from knowledge of the fact!</p> + +<p>In his present volumes, Mr Kohl +refers only passingly to the subject of +education in Denmark. He remarks +that the national schools far surpassed +his expectations. He might have +said more. For the last thirty or +forty years, we believe, it has been +rare to meet with the commonest +peasant who could not read and write; +a fact proving, at least, that Denmark +is rather in advance than otherwise +of her richer neighbours in carrying +out the educational measures +which, of late years, have so largely +occupied the attention of the various +governments of Europe. No one in +Denmark can enter the army or navy +who has not previously received his +education at one or other of the military +academies of the country. The +course of study is well arranged. It +embraces, besides the classics, modern +languages, drawing, and exercises +both equestrian and gymnastic. +The academies themselves are under +the immediate direction of the best +military and naval officers in the service. +For the education of the people,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_658" id="Page_658">[658]</a></span> +two or three schools are provided +in every village, the masters receiving +a small salary, with a house and +certain perquisites. In 1822 the system +of Bell was introduced in the +elementary public schools, and since +that period it has been generally adhered +to.</p> + +<p>Our author speaks with natural +surprise of the small number of Roman +Catholics he encountered in the Danish +States. The Papists have no church +or chapel throughout the kingdom; +indeed, with the exception of the private +chapel of the Austrian minister, +no place of worship. We were aware +that such was the fact a few years +ago; we were scarcely prepared to +find that Rome, who has been so +busy in planting new shoots of her +faith in every nook of the known +world, is still content to have no recognition +in Denmark. Heavy penalties +are incurred by all who secede to +the Romish church. In Sweden a +change to Roman Catholicism is followed +by banishment. This severity, +we presume, must be ascribed to state +policy rather than to a spirit of intolerance, +for Jews and Christians of +every denomination are permitted the +freest exercise of their faith. Since +the year 1521, the era of the Reformation +in Denmark, the religion of +the country has been Lutheran. The +Danish church is divided into five +dioceses, of which the bishop of +Zealand is the metropolitan. His +income is about a thousand a-year, +whilst that of the other prelates varies +from four to six hundred. The funds +of the clergy are derived principally +from tithes; but the parish ministers +receive part of their stipend in the +form of offerings at the three great +annual festivals. Until lately, there +existed much lukewarmness on all +religious questions. Within the last +ten or fifteen years, however, a new +impulse has been given to the spiritual +mind by the writing and preaching +of several Calvinistic ministers, who +have migrated from Switzerland and +established themselves in Copenhagen. +Their object has been to stop the recreations +which, until their arrival, +enlivened the Sabbath-day. They +have met with more success in the +higher classes than amongst the people, +who now, as formerly, assemble on the +green in front of the village church at +the close of service, and pursue their +several pastimes.</p> + +<p>Mention is made in Mr Kohl's +volume, of the churchyards and cemetries +he visited in his hasty progress. +Compared with those of his +own northern Germany, the Scandinavian +places of burial are indeed +very beautiful. The government has +long since forbidden any new interments +to be made within the churches, +and many picturesque spots have, in +consequence, been converted into cemetries. +In the immediate vicinity +of Copenhagen there are several; but +the essence of Mr Kohl's plan being +want of arrangement, he makes no +mention of them for the present. One +of these cemetries, the <i>Assistenskirkegaard</i>, +outside the city, has an unusual +number of fine monuments, with no +exhibitions of that glaring want of +taste so frequently met with elsewhere. +The village churchyards are +bright, happy-looking spots, which, +by their cheerful aspect, seem to rob +the homes of the dead of all their +natural gloom and desolation. Every +peasant's grave is a bed of flowers, +planted, watched, and cherished by a +sorrowing friend. At either end of +the seven or eight feet of mound +rises a wooden cross, on which fresh +wreaths of flowers appear throughout +the summer, giving place only to the +"eternals" which adorn the grave +when snow mantles its surface. A +narrow walk, marked by a line of +box, incloses every mound; or, not +unfrequently, a trellis-work, tastefully +entwined of twigs and boughs. The +resting-places of the middle classes +are surmounted by a tablet, not, as +in our churchyards, rigidly inclosed +within impassable palisades, but +standing in a little garden, where +the fresh-blown flowers, the neatly +trimmed beds, and generally the garden-bench, +mark that the spot is +visited and tended by the friends of +those who sleep below. Hither +widowed mothers lead their children, +on the anniversary of their +father's death, to strew flowers on +his grave, to hang up the wreaths +which they have wound; but, above +all, to collect the choicest flowers that +have bloomed around him, which +must henceforth deck, until they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_659" id="Page_659">[659]</a></span> +perish, the portrait of the departed, +or some relic dear for his sake. We +have watched the rough work-worn +peasant, leading by the hand his little +grandchild, laden with flowers and +green twigs to freshen the grave of a +long-absent helpmate; and as we +have remarked, we confess not without +emotion, feeble infancy and feeble +age uniting their weak efforts to preserve, +in cleanliness and beauty, the +one sacred patch of earth—we have +believed, undoubtingly, that whilst +customs such as these prevail, happiness +and morality must be the people's +lot; and that very fearful must +be the responsibility of those who +shall sow the first seeds of discord +and dissension amongst the simple +peasantry of so fair a land!</p> + +<p>The cathedrals of Denmark are of +great antiquity. Those of Ribe, of +Viboig in Jutland, of Lard, Ringsted, +and Roeskilde, in Zealand, all date +from the end of the eleventh, or the +beginning of the twelfth century; +since which remote period, in fact, +no churches of any magnitude have +been erected. Roeskilde is one of the +oldest cities in the kingdom. In the +tenth century it was the capital. Canute +the Great may be considered as +the originator and founder of its existing +cathedral, which was completed +in the year 1054. It has occasionally +undergone slight repairs, but +never any material alteration. The +edifice is full of monuments of the +queens and kings of the ancient race +of Valdemar, as well as of those of +the present dynasty. Some of the +earliest sovereigns are inclosed within +the shafts of the pillars, or in the +walls themselves; a mode of sepulture, +it would appear, as honourable +as it is singular, since we find amongst +the immured the great <i>Svend Etridsen</i>, +and other renowned and pious +benefactors of the church. In front +of the altar is the simple sarcophagus +of Margaret, the great queen of +Scandinavia, erected by her successor, +Eric the Pomeranian. The +queen is represented lying at full +length, with her hands devoutly +folded on her breast. At this sarcophagus +our author lingers for a +moment to express sentiments which +would have brought down upon him +the anathemas of the good John +Knox, could that pious queen-hater +but have heard them. Mr Kohl defies +you to produce, from the number +of royal ladies who have held supreme +power in the world, one instance of +inadequacy and feebleness. Every +where, he insists, examples of female +nobility and strength of character are +found linked with the destinies of +kings who have earned for themselves +no better titles than those of the +<i>fainéant</i> and the simple. The style +of Roeskilde cathedral is pure Gothic; +but in consequence of the additions +which the <i>interior</i> has received +from time to time from kings and +prelates, that portion of the edifice is +more remarkable for historical interest +than for purity of style or architectural +beauty. One incident in +connexion with this building must +not be omitted. When Mr Kohl +quitted the cathedral, he offered his +cicerone a gratuity. The man respectfully +declined accepting even +the customary fees. The reason +being asked of a Danish gentleman, +the latter answered, that the man was +a patriot, and proud of the historical +monuments of his country; it would +be degradation to take reward from a +stranger who seemed so deeply interested +in them. One would almost +suspect that this honest fellow was <i>a +verger of Westminster Abbey</i>!</p> + +<p>The church of St Kund, at Odense, +was erected in honour of King Kund, +murdered in the year 1100 in the +church of St Alben, at Odense. The +bones of the canonised were immured +in the wall over the altar. Many +sovereigns have been interred here. +Indeed, it is a singular fact that the +respective burial-places of every Christian +king of Denmark, from the earliest +times up to the present day, are +traced without the slightest difficulty; +whilst every heathen sovereign, of +whom any historical record remains, +lies buried beneath a mound within +sight of Seire, the old heathen capital +of the country. St Kund's church is +of Gothic architecture. Amongst the +many paintings that decorate its +walls is one of a female, known as +<i>Dandserinden</i>, or "The Dancer." +She is the heroine of a tradition, met +with under slightly modified forms +in various parts of Denmark. It is +to the following effect:—A young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_660" id="Page_660">[660]</a></span> +lady, of noble family, went accompanied +by her mother to a ball; and +being an indefatigable dancer, she declared +to her parent, who bade her +take rest, that she would not refuse +to dance even though a certain gentleman +himself should ask her as a +partner. The words were scarcely +uttered before a finely dressed youth +made his appearance, held out his +hand, and, with a profound obeisance, +said, "Fair maiden, let us not tarry." +The enthusiastic dancer accepted the +proffered hand, and in an instant was +with the moving throng. The music, +at that moment, seemed inspired by +some invisible power—the dancers +whiled round and round, on and on, +one after the other, whilst the standing +guests looked upon all with dread +horror. At length, the young lady +grew pale—blood gushed from her +mouth—she fell on the floor a corpse. +But her partner, (we need not say +who <i>he</i> was,) first with a ghastly +smile, then with a ringing laugh, +seized her in his arms, and vanished +with her through the floor. From +that time she has been doomed to +dance through the midnight hours, +until she can find a knight bold +enough to tread a measure with her. +Regarding the sequel, however, there +are a number of versions.</p> + +<p>Mr Kohl's volume adverts cursorily +to the many institutions still existing +in Denmark, which owe their origin +to the days of Roman Catholicism, +and have been formed upon the model +of Catholic establishments. Several +<i>Frökenstifts</i>, or lay nunneries, are still +in being. They are either qualifications +of some ancient monastic foundation, +or they have been endowed +from time to time by royal or private +munificence. Each house has a lady +superior, who is either chosen by the +king or queen, or succeeds to the +office by right of birth—some noble +families having, in return for large +endowments, a perpetual advowson +for a daughter of the house. At these +<i>Frökenstifts</i>, none but ladies of noble +birth can obtain fellowships. As a +large number of such noble ladies are +far from wealthy, a comfortable home +and a moderate salary are no small +advantages. A constant residence +within the cloister is not incumbent +upon the "fellows;" but a requisition, +generally attached to each presentation, +obliges them to live in their <i>stift</i> +for a certain number of weeks annually. +The practice of founding +institutions for ladies of noble birth +has risen naturally in a country where +<i>family</i> is every thing, and wealth is +comparatively small: where it is esteemed +less degrading to live on royal +bounty than to enter upon an occupation +not derogatory to any but noble +blood. The system of <i>pensioning</i> in +Denmark is a barrier to real national +prosperity. Independence, self-respect, +every consideration is lost +sight of in the monstrous notion, that +it is beneath a high-born man to earn +his living by an honourable profession. +Diplomacy, the army, and navy, are +the three limited careers open to the +aristocracy of Denmark; and since +the country is poor, and the nobility, +in their pride, rarely or never enrich +themselves by plebeian alliances, it +follows, of course, that a whole host +of younger brothers, and a countless +array of married and unmarried patricians, +must fall back upon the bounty +of the sovereign, administered in one +shape or another. The Church and +Law are made over to the middle +classes. To such an extent is pride +of birth carried, that without a title +no one can be received at Court. In +order, therefore, to admit such as are +excluded by the want of hereditary +rank, honorary but the most absurd +titles are created. "<i>Glatsraad</i>," +"<i>Conferenceraad</i>," Councillor of State, +Councillor of Conference, carry with +them no duties or responsibilities, but +they obtain for their possessors the +right of <i>entrée</i>, otherwise unattainable. +In Germany, the titles of the people, +from the under-turnpike-keeper's-assistant's +lady, up to the wife of the +lord with a hundred tails, are amusing +enough. They have been sufficiently +ridiculed by Kotzebue; but the distinctions +of Denmark go far beyond +them. A lady, whose husband holds +the rank of major (and upwards) in +the army, or of captain (and upwards) +in the navy, or is of noble birth, is +styled a <i>Frue</i>; her daughter is born a +<i>Fröken</i>: but the wife of a private +individual, with no blood worth the +naming in her veins, is simply <i>Madame</i>, +and her daughter's <i>Jomfrue</i>. +You might as easily pull down Gibraltar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_661" id="Page_661">[661]</a></span> +as the prejudice which maintains +those petty and frivolous distinctions. +It is highly diverting to witness the +painful distress of Mr Kohl at hearing +ladies of noble birth addressed as <i>Frue +Brahe</i>, <i>Frue Rosenkrands</i>, instead of +by the sublime title of <i>Gnädige Frau</i>, +eternally in the mouths of his own +title-loving countrymen. It is singular, +however, that whilst the Danes +are so tenacious of honorary appellations, +they are without those constant +quantities, the <i>von</i> and <i>de</i> of Germany +and France. The <i>Sture</i>, the <i>Axe</i>, the +<i>Trolle</i>, and the other nobles who, for +ages, lived like kings in Denmark, +were without a prefix to their names. +<i>Greve</i> and <i>Baron</i> are words of comparatively +modern introduction.</p> + +<p>There are about twenty high fiefs +in Denmark—the title to hold one of +these lordships, which bring with them +many important privileges, being the +possession of a certain amount of land, +rated at the value of the corn it will +produce. The owners are exempt +from all payment of taxes, not only +on their fiefs, but on their other lands: +they have the supervision of officials +in the district: are exempted from +arrest or summons before an inferior +court, to which the lesser nobility are +liable; and they enjoy the right of +appropriating to their own use all +treasures found under the earth in +their lordships. Next to these come +the baronial fiefs; then the <i>stammehuser</i>, +or houses of noble stock, all +rated according to various measures +of corn as the supposed amount of +the land's produce; all other seats or +estates are called <i>Gaarde</i>, Courts, or +<i>Godser</i>, estates. The country residences +of the nobility are strikingly +elegant and tasteful. They are surrounded +by lawns and parks in +the English fashion, and often contain +large collections of paintings and +extensive libraries. Along the upper +corridors of the country residences of +the nobility are ranged large wooden +chests, (termed <i>Kister</i>,) containing the +household linen, kept in the most +scrupulous order. Many of these +<i>Kister</i> are extremely ancient, and +richly carved in oak. Every peasant +family, too, has its <i>Kiste</i>, which holds +the chief place in the sitting-room, +and is filled with all the treasure, as +well as all the linen, of the household. +Amongst other lordly structures, Mr +Kohl visited <i>Gysselfelt</i>,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> near Nestned +in Zealand. It was built in 1540 by +Peter Oxe, and still stands a perfect +representation of the fortresses of the +time. Its fosses yet surround it—the +drawbridges are unaltered: and, round +the roof, at equal distances, are the +solid stone pipes from which boiling +water or pitch has often been poured +upon the heads of the assailants below. +In the vicinity of this castle is +<i>Bregentned</i>, the princely residence of +the Counts <i>Moltke</i>. The <i>Moltke</i> are +esteemed the richest family in Denmark. +Their ancestors having munificently +endowed several lay nunneries, +the eldest daughter of the house is +born abbess-elect of the convent of +<i>Gysselfelt</i>: the eldest son is addressed +always as "His Excellence." The +splendid garden, the fine collection +of antiquities, the costly furniture and +appointments that distinguish the +abode at <i>Bregentned</i> send Mr Kohl +into ecstasies. He is equally charmed +by the sight of a few cottages actually +erected by the fair hands of +the noble daughters of the House of +Moltke. The truth is, Mr Kohl, +republican as he is, is unequal to the +sight of any thing connected with +nobility. The work of a noble hand, +the poor daub representing a royal individual, +throws him immediately into a +fever of excitement, and dooms his +reader to whole pages of the most +prosaic eloquence.</p> + +<p>The condition of the peasantry of +Denmark is described as much better—as +indeed it is—than that of the +labourers of any other country. If +there is no superabundance of wealth +in Denmark, there is likewise no evidence +of abject poverty. The terms +upon which the peasants hold their +farms from the landed proprietors are +by no means heavy; and their houses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_662" id="Page_662">[662]</a></span> +their manner of dressing, and their +merry-makings, of themselves certify +that their position is easy, and may +well bear a comparison with that of +their brethren of other countries. +Within the last twenty years, great +improvements have been effected in +agriculture, and the best English +machines are now in common use +amongst the labourers.</p> + +<p>Upon the moral and political condition +of the Danish people at large, +we will postpone all reflections, until +the appearance of Mr Kohl's remaining +volumes. We take leave of volume +one, with the hope that the +sequel of the work will faithfully furnish +such interesting particulars as the +readers of Mr Kohl have a right to +demand, and he, if he be an intelligent +traveller, has it in his power to +supply. We do not say that this +first instalment is without interest. +It contains by far too much desultory +digression; it has more than +a sprinkling of German prosing and +egotism: but many of its pages may +be read with advantage and instruction. +If the work is ever translated, +the translator, if he hope to please +the English reader, must take his pen +in one hand and his shears in the +other.</p> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>LORD METCALFE'S GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA.</h2> + + +<p>The death of Lord Metcalfe excited +one universal feeling—that +his country had lost a statesman +whom she regarded with the highest +admiration, and the warmest gratitude. +The <i>Times</i>, and the other public journals, +in expressing that feeling, could +only give a general and abridged memoir +of this great and good man. +Every part of his public life—and that +life commencing at an unusually early +period—stamps him with the reputation +of a statesman endowed in an +eminent degree with all the qualities +which would enable him to discharge +the most arduous and responsible +duties. Every part of it presents an +example, and abounds in materials, +from which public men may +derive lessons of the most practical +wisdom, and the soundest rules for +their political conduct. His whole +life should be portrayed by a faithful +biographer, who had an intimate +acquaintance with all the peculiar +circumstances which constituted the +critical, arduous, and responsible character +of the trusts committed to him, +and which called for the most active +exercise of the great qualities which +he possessed. That part of it which +was passed in administering the government +of Jamaica, is alone selected +for comment in the following pages. It +is a part, short indeed as to its space, +but of sufficient duration to have justly +entitled him, if he had distinguished +himself by no other public service, to +rank amongst the most eminent of +those, who have regarded their high +intellectual and moral endowments as +bestowed for the purpose of enabling +them to confer the greatest and most +enduring benefits on their country, and +who have actively and successfully +devoted those qualities to that noble +purpose.</p> + +<p>No just estimate of the nature, extent, +and value of that service, and of +those endowments, can be formed, +without recalling the peculiar difficulties +with which Lord Metcalfe had to +contend, and which he so successfully +surmounted, in administering the +government of Jamaica.</p> + +<p>The only part of colonial society +known in England, consisted of those +West Indian proprietors who were +resident here. They were highly educated—their +stations were elevated—their +wealth was great, attracting attention, +and sometimes offending, by +its display. It was a very prevalent +supposition, that they constituted the +whole of what was valuable, or +wealthy, or respectable in West Indian +colonial society; that those who were +resident in the colonies could have no +claim to either of these descriptions; +and that they were the mere hired +managers of the properties of the +West Indians resident in England. +This notion was entertained by the +government. The hospitable invitations +from the West Indians in England, +which a Governor on the eve of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_663" id="Page_663">[663]</a></span> +his departure for his colony accepted, +served to impress it strongly on his +mind. He proceeded to his government +with too low an estimate of the +character, attainments, respectability, +and property of those who composed +the community over whom he was to +preside. The nobleman or general +officer on whom the government had +been bestowed, entered on his administration, +familiar, indeed, with the Parliament +of Great Britain, and with +what Mr Burke calls "her imperial +character, and her imperial rights," +but little acquainted with, and still +less disposed to recognise, the rights +and privileges of the Colonial Assemblies, +although those assemblies, in +the estimation of the same great authority, +so exceedingly resembled a +parliament in all their forms, functions, +and powers, that it was impossible +they should not imbibe some +idea of a similar authority. "Things +could not be otherwise," he adds; "and +English colonies must be had on those +terms, or not had at all." He could not, +as Mr Burke did, "look upon the imperial +rights of Great Britain, and the +privileges which the colonies ought to +enjoy under these rights, to be just +the most reconcilable things in the +world."</p> + +<p>The colonists, whose Legislative Assemblies +had from the earliest period +of their history, in all which regarded +their internal legislation, exercised +the most valuable privileges of a representative +government, would, on +their part, feel that the preservation of +those privileges not only constituted +their security for the enjoyment of +their civil and political rights as Englishmen, +but must confer on them importance, +and procure them respect in +the estimation of the government of +the parent state. Thus, on the one +hand, a governor, in his zeal to maintain +the imperial rights, from the +jealousy with which he watched every +proceeding of the Assembly, and his +ignorance of their constitution and +privileges, not unfrequently either invaded +these privileges, or deemed an +assertion of them to be an infringement +of the rights of the Imperial Parliament. +On the other hand, the Colonists, +with no less jealousy, watched every +proceeding of the governor which +seemed to menace any invasion of the +privileges of their Assemblies, and +with no less zeal were prepared to +vindicate and maintain them. The +Governor and the Colonial Assembly +regarded each other with feelings +which not only prevented him from +justly appreciating the motives and +conduct of the resident colonists, but +confirmed, and even increased the unfavourable +impressions he had first +entertained. His official communications +enabled him to impart to and +induce the government to adopt the +same impressions. The influence of +these feelings, in like manner, on +Colonial Assemblies and colonists too +frequently prevented them from justly +appreciating the motives of the Governor, +from making some allowance for +his errors, and too readily brought +them into collision with him.</p> + +<p>It cannot be denied that those impressions +exercised on both sides of +the Atlantic an influence so strong, as +to betray itself in the communications +and recommendations, and indeed in the +whole policy of the government, as well +as in the legislation of the colonies.</p> + +<p>This imperfect acquaintance with +the character of the resident colonists, +and the unfavourable impression with +which the proceedings and motives of +their Legislative Assemblies were regarded, +prevailed amongst the public +in Great Britain.</p> + +<p>The colonial proprietors resident in +Great Britain felt little sympathy, +either with the colonial legislatures, or +with those resident in the colonies. +This want of sympathy may be attributed +to a peculiarity which distinguished +the planters of British from +those of other European colonies. The +latter considered the colony in which +they resided as their home. The former +regarded their residence in it +as temporary. They looked to the +parent state as their only home, and +all their acquisitions were made with +a view to enjoyment in that home. This +feeling accompanied them to England. +It was imbibed by their families and +their descendants. The colony, which +had been the source of their wealth +and rank, was not, as she ought to have +been, the object of their grateful affection. +They regarded with indifference +her institutions, her legislature, +her resident community. From this +want of sympathy, or from the want +of requisite information, they made no +effort to remove the unfavourable impressions<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_664" id="Page_664">[664]</a></span> +with which the executive Government +and the Assemblies regarded +each other, or to promote the establishment +of their relations in mutual +conciliation and confidence.</p> + +<p>Another cause operated very powerfully +in exciting a strong prejudice +against the inhabitants of our West +Indian colonies. The feeling which +was naturally entertained against the +slave trade and slave colonies was +transferred to the resident colonists, +and almost exclusively to them. By +a numerous and powerful party, slavery +had been contemplated in itself, +and in the relations and interests +which it had created, and its abolition +had been endeavoured to be effected +as if it were the crime of the +colonies <i>exclusively</i>. It was forgotten +"that it was," to use the language of +Lord Stowel, "in a peculiar manner the +crime of England, where it had been +instituted, fostered, and encouraged, +even to an excess which some of +the colonies in vain endeavoured to +restrain." Besides the acts passed by +the legislatures of Pennsylvania and +South Carolina, when those were British +colonies, we find that when the +Assembly of Jamaica, in 1765, was +passing an act to restrain the importation +of slaves into the colony, the +governor of Jamaica informed the +Assembly of that island, that, consistently +with his instructions, he could +not give his assent to a bill for that +purpose, which had then been read +twice. In 1774, the Jamaica Assembly +attempted to prevent the +further importation, by an increase +of duties thereon, and for this +purpose passed two acts. The merchants +of Bristol and Liverpool +petitioned against their allowance. +The Board of Trade made a report +against them. The agent of Jamaica +was heard against that report; but, +upon the recommendation of the Privy +Council, the acts were disallowed, and +the disallowance was accompanied by +an instruction to the governor, dated +28th February 1775, by which he was +prohibited, "upon pain of being removed +from his government," from +giving his assent to any act by which +the duties on the importation of +slaves should be augmented—"on the +ground," as the instruction states, +"that such duties were to the injury +and oppression of the merchants of +this kingdom and the obstruction of +its commerce."</p> + +<p>The opposition to the abolition of +the slave trade was that of the merchants +and planters resident in England, +and to their influence on the +members of the colonial legislature +must be attributed whatever opposition +was offered by the latter. In the +interval between the abolition of +the slave trade and that of slavery, +the feelings of prejudice against them +grew still stronger. Every specific +measure by which this party proposed +to ameliorate the condition of the +slaves, was accompanied by some degrading +and disqualifying remarks on +the conduct of the resident inhabitants. +An act of individual guilt was +treated as a proof of the general +depravity of the whole community. +In consequence of the enthusiastic +ardour with which the abolition of +slavery was pursued, all the proposed +schemes of amelioration proceeded on +the erroneous assumption, that the +progress of civilisation and of moral +and religious advancement ought to +have been as rapid amongst the slave +population of the colonies, as it had +been in England and other parts of +Europe. It was forgotten, that until +the slave trade was abolished, the +inherent iniquity of which was aggravated +by the obstacle it afforded to the +progress of civilisation, every attempt +to diffuse moral and religious instruction +was impeded and counteracted +by the superstitions and vices which +were constantly imported from Africa. +Thus, instead of the conciliation which +would have rendered the colonists as +active and zealous, as they must always +be the <i>only efficient</i>, promoters of +amelioration, irritation was excited, +and they were almost proscribed, and +placed without the pale of all the +generous and candid, and just and +liberal feelings which characterise +Englishmen.</p> + +<p>This state of public feeling operated +most injuriously in retarding and preventing +many measures of amelioration +which would have been made in +the slave codes of the several colonies.</p> + +<p>Jamaica experienced, in a greater +degree than any other colony, the +effects of those unfavourable impressions +with which the motives and +proceedings of her legislature were +regarded, and of those feelings of distrust<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_665" id="Page_665">[665]</a></span> +and suspicion which influenced +the relations of the executive government +and the Assembly. Her Assembly +was more sensitive, more +zealous, more tenacious than any +other colony in vindicating the privileges +of her legislature, whenever an +attempt was made to violate them. +The people of Jamaica, when that +colony first formed part of the British +empire, did not become subjects of +England by conquest—they were by +birth Englishmen, who, by the invitation +and encouragement of their +sovereign, retained possession of a +country which its former inhabitants +had abandoned. They carried with +them to Jamaica all the rights and +privileges of British-born subjects. +The proclamation of Charles II. is +not a grant, but a declaration, confirmation, +and guarantee of those +rights and privileges. The constitution +of Jamaica is based on those +rights and privileges. It is, to use +the emphatic language of Mr Burke, +in speaking of our North American +colonies, "a constitution which, with +the exception of the commercial restraints, +has every characteristic of a +free government. She has the express +image of the British constitution. She +has the substance. She has the right +of taxing herself through her representatives +in her Assembly. She has, +in effect, the sole internal government +of the colony."</p> + +<p>The history of the colony records +many attempts of the governor and of +the government to deprive her of that +constitution, by violating the privileges +of her Assembly; but it records +also the success with which those attempts +were resisted, and the full recognition +of those privileges by the +ample reparation which was made for +their violation. That very success +rendered the people of Jamaica still +more jealous of those privileges, and +more determined in the uncompromising +firmness with which they maintained +them. But it did not render +the governors or the home government +less jealous or less distrustful of +the motives and proceedings of the +Assembly. As the whole expense of +her civil, military, and ecclesiastical +establishment was defrayed by the +colony, with the exception of the salaries +of the bishop, archdeacon, and +certain stipendiary curates; and as +that expense, amounting to nearly +£400,000, was annually raised by the +Assembly, it might have been supposed +that the power of stopping the +supplies would have had its effect in +creating more confidence and conciliation, +but it may be doubted whether +it did not produce a contrary effect.</p> + +<p>The feelings entertained by the government +towards the colonies, were +invoked by the intemperate advocates +for the immediate abolition of slavery, +as the justification of their unfounded +representations of the tyranny and +oppression with which the planters +treated their slaves. Happily, that +great act of atonement to humanity, +the abolition of slavery, has been accomplished; +but the faithful historian +of our colonies, great as his detestation +of slavery may and ought to be, +will yet give a very different representation +of the relation which subsisted between +master and slave. He will represent +the negroes on an estate to have +considered themselves, and to have +been considered by the proprietor, +as part of his family; that this self-constituted +relationship was accompanied +by all the kindly feelings which +dependence on the one hand, and protection +on the other, could create; +and that such was the confidence with +which both classes regarded each +other, that, with fearless security, the +white man and his family retired to +their beds, leaving the doors and windows +of their houses unclosed. These +kindly feelings, and that confidence, +were at length impaired by the increasing +attempts to render the employers +the objects of hatred. At +the latter end of 1831, a rebellion +of the most appalling nature broke +out amongst the slave population. A +district of country, not less than forty +miles in extent, was laid waste. Buildings +and other property, to the amount +of more than a million in value, exclusive +of the crops, were destroyed.</p> + +<p>In 1833, the act for the abolition of +slavery was passed; and it cannot be +denied, that the feelings of distrust +and jealousy with which government +had so long regarded the Assembly +and their constituents, accompanied +its introduction, progress, and details. +They accompanied also the legislative +measures adopted by the Assembly +for carrying into effect its provisions, +and especially those for establishing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_666" id="Page_666">[666]</a></span> +and regulating the apprenticeship. +The manner in which the relative +rights and duties of master and apprentices +were discharged, was watched +and examined with the same unfavourable +feelings as if there had +existed a design to make the apprenticeship +a cover for the revival of +slavery—an object which, even had +there been persons wicked enough to +have desired it, could never have been +accomplished. There were persons in +Jamaica exercising a powerful influence +over the minds of the apprentices, +who proclaimed to them their +belief, that it was the design of their +masters to reduce them to slavery, +and who appealed to the suspicion and +jealousy of the government as justifying +and confirming that belief. Such +was the influence of those feelings, +that two attempts were made in Parliament +to abolish the apprenticeship. +They were unsuccessful; but enough +had been said and done to fill the +minds of the apprentices with the +greatest distrust and suspicion of their +masters. In June 1838, the Assembly +was especially convened for the purpose +of abolishing it. The governor, +as the organ of her Majesty's government, +distinctly told the Assembly +that it was impossible to continue the +apprenticeship. "I pronounce it," +he says, "physically impossible to +maintain the apprenticeship, with any +hope of successful agriculture." The +state to which the colony had been +reduced, is told in the answer of the +Assembly to this address: "Jamaica +does, indeed, require repose; and we +anxiously hope, that should we determine +to remove an unnatural servitude, +we shall be left in the exercise +of our constitutional privileges, without +interference." The colony was +thus compelled to abolish the apprenticeship, +although it had formed part of +the plan of emancipation—not only that +it might contribute to the compensation +awarded for the abolition of slavery, +but that it might become that intermediate +state which might prepare the apprentices +for absolute and unrestricted +freedom, and afford the aid of experience +in such legislation as was +adapted to their altered condition. It +was again and again described by the +Secretary of State for the colonies, in +moving his resolutions, "to be necessary +not only for the security of the +master, but for the welfare of the +slave." The apprenticeship was thus +abruptly terminated two years before +the expiration of the period fixed by +the act of the Imperial Parliament for +its duration, before any new system of +legislation had been adopted, and when +the emancipated population had been +taught to regard the planters with far +less kindly feelings than those which +they entertained in their state of +slavery.</p> + +<p>The difficulties and dangers with +which the colony was now threatened +were such as would have appalled any +prudent man, and would render it no +less his interest than his duty to assist +the Assembly in surmounting them. +It was, however, the misfortune of +Jamaica that her governor, from infirmity +of body and of temper, far +from endeavouring to surmount or +lessen, so greatly increased these +difficulties and dangers, that it appeared +scarcely possible to extricate +the colony from them. His conduct +in the session of November 1838 was +so gross a violation of the rights and +privileges of the Assembly, as to leave +that body no other alternative but +that of passing a resolution, by which +they refused to proceed to any other +business, except that of providing the +supplies to maintain the faith of the +island towards the public creditor, +until they had obtained reparation for +this violation.</p> + +<p>This course had obtained the sanction, +not only of long usage and +practice, but of the government of +the parent state. The history of Jamaica +abounds in numerous instances +where governors, who had by their +conduct given occasion for its adoption, +had been either recalled, or ordered +by the Executive Government +to make such communication to the +Assembly as had the character of +being an atonement for the violation +of their privileges, and an express +recognition of them. Upon this resolution +being passed, the governor +prorogued the Assembly. On being +re-assembled, they adhered to their +former resolution. The governor dissolved +the Assembly. A general election +took place, when the same members +who had composed the large +majority concurring on that resolution, +were re-elected, and even an +addition made to their majority. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_667" id="Page_667">[667]</a></span> +Assembly, as might be expected, on +being convened, adhered to their former +resolution. It was then prorogued +until the 10th of July 1839. +The government, upon the urgent recommendation +of the governor, and +influenced by his misrepresentations, +proposed to Parliament a measure +for suspending the functions of the +Legislative Assembly. Unjustifiable +and reprehensible as this measure +was, yet it is only an act of justice to +the government of that day to +remember that it originated, not +only in the recommendation of the +governor, supported also by that +of the two preceding governors of +Jamaica, but was sanctioned, and +indeed urged on it, by several +influential Jamaica proprietors and +merchants, resident in London. Indeed, +until the bill had been some +time in the House of Commons, it +was doubtful whether it would be +opposed by Sir Robert Peel and his +adherents. The determination of several +members who usually supported +the government, to oppose a measure +destructive of the representative part +of the constitution of this great +colony, enabled him and his party +to defeat the bill on the second +reading. The government being +thus left in a minority, resigned; +but the attempt of Sir Robert Peel +to form a ministry having failed, the +former government was restored, and +they introduced another bill, equally +objectionable in its principles, and +equally destructive of the representative +branch of the Jamaica constitution. +An amendment was proposed +on the part of Sir Robert Peel, by the +party then considered Conservative; +but as the amendment would leave the +bill still inconsistent with the rights +of this popular branch of the constitution, +they were deprived of the +support of those who had before united +with them in their opposition to the +first bill, and they were therefore left in +a minority. The bill passed the House +of Commons. The amendment, which +had been rejected, was adopted by the +House of Lords, and the bill was +passed. The powerful speeches of +Lords Lyndhurst and Brougham, and +those of the other noble lords by whom +the amendment was supported, afford +abundant evidence that they disapproved +of the principles of the bill, +and were unanswered and unanswerable +arguments for its rejection.</p> + +<p>Lord John Russell, and other members +of the government, might well +believe, and express their prediction, +that such a bill would not satisfy the +Assembly, but that they would still +refuse to resume their legislation; and +that in the next session the House +must adopt the original measure.</p> + +<p>It was in the power of the ministry, +without resorting to any measure of +undue interference which could have +furnished their opponents with any +ground of censure, by passively leaving +the administration of the government +of the colony to its ordinary +course, and adopting the ordinary +means of selecting a governor, to +have fulfilled their own prediction. +They might thus have saved themselves +from the taunt with which +Sir Robert Peel, in the debate on +the 16th January 1840, attributed +the satisfactory manner in which +the Assembly of Jamaica had resumed +their legislative proceedings, +to "the opinion of the ministers having +been overruled." But the conduct +of Lord John Russell, who had +then accepted the seals of secretary +for the colonies, was influenced by +higher motives. He immediately applied +himself to secure, by confidence, +the cordial co-operation of the Assembly +of Jamaica, in that legislation +which should promote the best interests +of all classes of the community. +For the accomplishment of this object, +he anxiously sought for a governor who +united the discretion, the judgment, +the temper and firmness, which would +promote that confidence, and obtain +that co-operation, and, at the same +time, maintain the dignity of the executive, +and the supremacy of Parliament.</p> + +<p>From no consideration of personal +or political connexion, but purely from +the conviction that Lord Metcalfe +was eminently distinguished by these +qualities, Lord John Russell offered +to him the Government of Jamaica. +He had just returned from the East +Indies, where he had displayed the +greatest ability, and met with almost +unexampled success. He had scarcely +tasted the sweets of the repose which +he had promised himself. His acceptance +of the Government was a sacrifice +of that repose to his high sense of +duty, and to the noble desire of rendering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_668" id="Page_668">[668]</a></span> +a great public service to his +country.</p> + +<p>But to little purpose would such a +character have been selected, and to +little purpose would he have possessed +those eminent qualities, if he had been +sent to Jamaica with instructions +which would have controled their +exercise. A more wise, just, and +liberal policy was adopted by the government. +Lord Metcalfe was left +with the full, free, unfettered power +of accomplishing, in his own manner, +and according to his own discretion, +the great object of his administration. +Of the spirit of his instructions, and +of the discretion and powers confided +to him, he gives his own description +in his answer to an address which, on +his return to England, was presented +him by the Jamaica proprietors resident +in London, "I was charged by +her Majesty's government with a +mission of peace and reconciliation."</p> + +<p>It is scarcely possible to conceive a +public trust so full of difficulties, and +requiring the possession and exercise +of so many high and rare qualities for +its successful discharge, as the Government +of Jamaica at the time it +was undertaken by Lord Metcalfe. +Some account has been given of the +difficulties which attended the government +of every West Indian colony, +and of those which were peculiar to +that of Jamaica. It should be added, +that the office of Governor, independently +of the difficulties occasioned +by any particular event, is itself of +so peculiar a character as to require +no inconsiderable share of temper and +address as well as judgment. He is +the representative of his Sovereign, +invested with many of the executive +powers of sovereignty. He must constantly +by his conduct maintain the +dignity of his Sovereign. He cannot, +consistently with either the usages of +his office or the habits of society, +detach himself from the community +over which he presides as the representative +of his Sovereign. It is +necessary for him to guard against +a possibility of his frequent and +familiar intercourse with individuals, +impairing their respect for him +and his authority, and, at the same +time, not deprive himself of the +friendly disposition and confidence on +their part which that intercourse may +enable him to obtain. Especially +must he prevent any knowledge of +the motives and views of individuals +with which this intercourse may supply +him, from exercising too great, or, +indeed, any apparent influence on his +public conduct. It will be seen how +well qualified Lord Metcalfe was to +surmount, and how successfully he +did surmount, all these difficulties.</p> + +<p>It has been stated, that the bill, +even with the amendment it received +in the House of Lords, was so inconsistent +with the constitutional rights +of Jamaica, that it was apprehended +there would be great reluctance on the +part of the Assembly to resume the +exercise of its legislative functions. +Considerations, which did honour to +the character of that body, induced +the members to overcome that reluctance, +even before they had practical +experience of the judicious and conciliatory +conduct of Lord Metcalfe, +and of the spirit in which he intended +to administer his government. There +was a party of noblemen and gentlemen, +possessing considerable property +in Jamaica, and of great influence in +England, at the head of whom was +that excellent man, the late Earl of +Harewood, who had given their most +cordial support, in and out of Parliament, +to the agent of the colony in +his opposition to the measure for +suspending the legislative functions +of the Assembly. They had thus +acquired strong claims on the grateful +attention of the legislature of Jamaica. +In an earnest and affectionate appeal +to the Assembly, they urged that body +to resume its legislation. The Assembly +and its constituents, with +the generosity which has ever distinguished +them, and with a grateful +sense of the powerful support they +had received from this party, felt the +full force of their appeal. Lord Metcalfe, +by his judicious conduct in +relation to the bill, by the conciliatory +spirit which his whole conduct on his +arrival in Jamaica, and first meeting +the Assembly, evinced, and by his +success in impressing the members +with the belief that her Majesty's +government was influenced by the +same spirit, inspired them with such +confidence in the principles on which +his government would be administered, +that they did not insist on their +objections to the bill, but resolved on +resuming their legislation. They did<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_669" id="Page_669">[669]</a></span> +resume it. "They gave him," to use +his own language, "their hearty support +and active co-operation in adopting +and carrying into effect the views +of her Majesty's government, and in +passing laws adapted to the change +which had taken place in the social relations +of the inhabitants of Jamaica."</p> + +<p>Before we state the principles on +which he so successfully conducted +the government of Jamaica, and endeavour +to represent the value of those +services which, by its administration, +he rendered to his country, we would +select some of those qualities essential +to constitute a great statesman, with +which he was most richly endowed. +He was entrusted with public duties +of great responsibility at a very early +period of life. Impressed with a deep +sense of that responsibility, he felt +that the faculties of his mind ought +to be not only dedicated to the discharge +of those duties, but that +he ought to bestow on them that +cultivation and improvement which +could enable his country to derive +the greatest benefit from them. He +acquired the power of taking an enlarged +and comprehensive view of all +the bearings of every question which +engaged his attention, and he exercised +that power with great promptitude. +He distinguished and separated +with great facility and with great +accuracy what was material from what +was not in forming his judgment. +He kept his mind always so well +regulated, and its powers so entirely +under his control—he preserved his +temper so calm and unruffled—he +resisted so successfully the approach +of prejudice, that he was enabled to +penetrate into the recesses of human +conduct and motives, and to acquire +the most intimate knowledge and the +most practical experience of mankind.</p> + +<p>The acquisition of that experience is +calculated to impress the statesman +with an unfavourable opinion of his +species, and to excite too general a +feeling of distrust. This impression, +unless its progress and effects are controlled, +may exercise so great an influence +as effectually to disable the +judgment, frustrate the best intentions, +and oppose so many obstacles +as to render the noble character of +a great and good statesman wholly +unattainable. It is the part of +wisdom no less than of benevolence, +so far to control it, that it shall have +no other effect than that of inducing +caution, prudence, and circumspection. +He will regard it as reminding +him that those for whom he +thinks and acts, are beings with the +infirmities of our fallen nature; as +teaching him to appeal to, and avail +himself of the better feelings and +motives of our nature; and, whenever +it is practicable, to render those +even of an opposite character the +means of effecting good, and if that +be not practicable, to correct and control +them so as to deprive them of +their baneful effects.</p> + +<p>Lord Metcalfe followed the dictates +of his natural benevolence, no less +than those of his excellent judgment, +in applying to those purposes, and in +this manner, his great knowledge and +experience of mankind. Burke, who +has been most truly called "the +greatest philosopher in practice whom +the world ever saw," has said, "that +in the world we live in, distrust is but +too necessary; some of old called it the +very sinews of discretion. But what +signify common-places, that always +run parallel and equal? Distrust is +good, or it is bad, according to our +position and our purpose." Again, +"there is a confidence necessary to +human intercourse, and without which +men are often more injured by their +own suspicions, than they would be +by the perfidy of others." No man +knew better or made a more wise and +judicious and successful application of +these maxims of wisdom and benevolence +than Lord Metcalfe. The +grateful attachment of the community +in which he lived abundantly proved +that distrust, when it was required by +his judgment, never impaired the +kindness of his own disposition, or +alienated from him the esteem and affection +of others.</p> + +<p>The rock on which too often a +governor has made shipwreck of his +administration has been the selection +of individuals or families on whom he +bestowed his exclusive confidence. +The jealousy and envy which this +preference excited in others did not +constitute the only or even the greatest +part of the evil. The selected few +were desirous of making themselves +of importance, and inducing him to +value their support as essential to the +success of his government. With<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_670" id="Page_670">[670]</a></span> +this view they attributed to others +unfriendly feelings towards the governor +which they never entertained, +and endeavoured to persuade him +that they themselves were the only +persons on whom he could rely. +Their professions betrayed him into +the great error of too soon and too +freely making them acquainted with +the views and designs of his government. +Lord Metcalfe was too wise +and too just to have any favourites; +towards all, he acted with +a frankness, sincerity, and kindness +which made all equally his friends. +Lord Metcalfe united with singular +equanimity of temper, an extraordinary +degree of self-possession. He +never was betrayed into an intimation +of his opinions or intentions, if prudence +required that they should not +be known. The time when, and the +extent to which such intimation should +be given, were always the result of +his previous deliberate judgment. But +this reserve was accompanied with +so much kindness and gentleness of +manner, that it silenced any disappointment +or mortification in not attaining +that insight into his views +which was sought. A short intercourse +with Lord Metcalfe could not +fail to satisfy the mind that any attempt +to elicit from him opinions +which he did not desire to impart, +would be wholly fruitless.</p> + +<p>Another evil, no less injurious to the +government than to the colony, was +the hasty and imperfect estimate +which governors formed of the motives +and conduct of colonial legislatures. +It had then been too frequent to +represent those bodies as influenced +by a hostile feeling, where no such +feeling existed, and to exaggerate their +difficulties in administering their government. +Lord Metcalfe's administration +was characterised by the candour +with which he appreciated, the +fidelity with which in his communications +to her Majesty's government he +represented, and the uncompromising +honesty and firmness with which he +vindicated the motives and acts of the +Jamaica legislature, and repelled the +prejudices, the misrepresentations, and +calumnies by which it had been +assailed. He brought to his administration, +and never failed to evince, a +constitutional respect for the institutions +of the colony, and the strictest +impartiality in maintaining the just +rights of all classes of the community. +Her Majesty's government continued +to him that unlimited confidence he so +well deserved, and left him to carry +out his wise and beneficent principles +of government. To cheer him in his +noble undertaking, to bestow on the +Assembly the most gratifying reward +for their conduct, and to give them +the highest assurance of the confidence +of the government, the royal speech +on the prorogation of Parliament contained +her Majesty's gracious approbation +of the disposition and proceedings +of the legislature.</p> + +<p>So sound were the principles on +which he administered the government—so +firm and lasting was the confidence +reposed in him by the assembly, +that during his administration +there was not the slightest interruption +of the most perfect harmony +between him and the different branches +of the legislature. He had the satisfaction +of witnessing a most beneficent +change in the manner, the care, and +spirit in which the acts of the colonial +legislature were examined, objections +to them treated, and amendments +required, by the government. The +acts were not, as before, at once +disallowed; but the proposed amendments +were made the subjects of recommendation +by communications to +the legislature from the governor. +The Assembly felt this change, and met +it in a corresponding spirit, which +readily disposed them to adopt the +recommendations of the government.</p> + +<p>Having fully and effectually accomplished +the noble and Christian purpose +with which he undertook the +arduous duties of the government, he +resigned it in June 1842. The state +in which he left Jamaica, contrasted +with that in which he found the colony +on the commencement of his administration, +was his rich reward. He came +to Jamaica at a time when her legislation +was suspended, mutual feelings +of distrust and jealousy disturbing not +only the relation between the governor +and the legislature, but all the social +relations in the colony; when laws +were required for the altered state of +society, and when the tranquillity and +existence of the colony were placed in +the greatest jeopardy. When he resigned +the government, there had been +effected a perfect reconciliation of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_671" id="Page_671">[671]</a></span> +colony and the mother country; order +and harmony, and good feeling +amongst all classes had been restored; +legislation had been resumed, laws +had been passed adapted to the change +which had taken place in the social +relations of the inhabitants; and the +cordial and active co-operation of the +legislature had been afforded, notwithstanding +the financial difficulties of +the colony, in extending at a great +cost the means of religious and moral +instruction, and in making the most +valuable improvements in the judicial +system. He quitted the shores of +Jamaica beloved, respected, and revered, +with a gratitude and real attachment +which few public men ever +experienced. The inhabitants of Jamaica +raised to him a monument +which might mark their grateful homage +to his memory. But there is +engraven on the hearts of the public +of Jamaica another memorial, in +the affectionate gratitude and esteem +with which they will feel the enduring +blessings of his government, and recall +his Christian charity, ever largely +exercised in alleviating individual distress; +his kindness and condescension +in private life; and his munificent support +of all their religious and charitable +institutions, and of every undertaking +which could promote the prosperity +and happiness of the colony.</p> + +<p>On Lord Metcalfe's arrival in England, +a numerous meeting of the Jamaica +proprietors and merchants was +held, and an address presented to him, +in which they offered him the tribute +of their warmest and sincerest gratitude +for the benefits which he had +conferred on the colony "by the eminent +talents, the wise, and just, and +liberal principles which made his administration +of the government a +blessing to the colony, and had secured +him the affection of all classes +of the inhabitants, as well as the high +approbation of his sovereign."</p> + +<p>His answer to that address was a +beautiful illustration of the unaffected +modesty, of the kindness and benevolence +of his disposition, and of the +principles which influenced his administration. +"Charged by her Majesty's +government with a mission of +peace and reconciliation, I was received +in Jamaica with open arms. +The duties which I had to perform +were obvious; my first proceedings +were naturally watched with anxiety; +but as they indicated good-will and a +fair spirit, I obtained hearty support +and co-operation. My task in acting +along with the spirit which animated +the colony was easy. Internal differences +were adjusted—either by being +left to the natural progress of affairs, +during which the respective parties +were enabled to apprehend their real +interests; or by mild endeavours to +promote harmony, and discourage dissension. +The loyalty, the good sense, +and good feeling of the colony did +every thing."</p> + +<p>The beneficial effects of his administration +did not cease on his resignation. +The principles on which he +had conducted it, were such, that an +adherence to them could not fail to +secure similar effects in every succeeding +government. It was his great object +to cultivate such mutual confidence +and good feeling between her Majesty's +government and the legislature, +and all classes of the colony, as would +influence and be apparent in the views +and measures of the government, and +as would secure the cordial co-operation +of the legislature in adopting +them. In promoting that object, he +was ever anxious to supply the government +with those means, which his +local information and experience could +alone furnish, of fully understanding +and justly appreciating the views and +measures of the Assembly. He was +sensibly alive to whatever might impair +the confidence of the government +in that body. It was his desire to +convey the most faithful representations +himself, and to correct any misrepresentations +conveyed by others. +In a word, it was his constant object +to keep the government fully and +faithfully informed of all which would +enable it to render justice to the +colony. Until Lord Metcalfe's administration, +her Majesty's government +never understood, and never rightly +appreciated, the motives and conduct +of the legislature of Jamaica, and +never did they know the confidence +which might be bestowed on that +legislature, and the all-powerful influence +which, by means of that confidence, +could be exercised on its +legislation. The foundation for the +most successful, because the most +beneficial, government was thus permanently +laid by Lord Metcalfe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_672" id="Page_672">[672]</a></span></p> + +<p>Lord Elgin succeeded Lord Metcalfe +as the governor of Jamaica. +He had the wisdom to follow the +example of his predecessor, and adopt +his principles of government, and pursue +the path which he had opened. +His administration was uninterrupted +by any misunderstanding between the +executive government and the Assembly. +It merited and received the +approbation of his sovereign, and the +gratitude of the colony.</p> + +<p>More than six years have elapsed +since Lord Metcalfe entered on the +government of Jamaica. During that +space of time, in the former history of +the colony, there were frequent dissolutions +or prorogations caused by some +dispute between the government and +the Assembly, or between the different +branches of the legislature. Since the +appointment of Lord Metcalfe, no misunderstanding +has arisen, but perfect +harmony has prevailed amongst them. +The principles of Lord Metcalfe, which +established the relations between the +government of the parent state and +the various branches of the legislature +of Jamaica, and between all +classes of society there, in perfect +confidence and good feeling, and entirely +excluded distrust and suspicion, +were so strongly recommended by the +enduring success of his administration, +that it is not possible to anticipate +that they will ever be forgotten +or abandoned. There can be no difficulties +which may not be surmounted, +and confidence can never be supplanted +by distrust: there can be no governor +of Jamaica whose administration +will not have merited and received the +approbation of his sovereign, and the +gratitude of the colony, so long as he +religiously follows the example, and +adheres to the principles of Lord Metcalfe. +By such an adherence to these +principles, Jamaica will retain, not the +remembrance alone of the wisdom, the +justice, the benevolence of his administration, +and the blessings it conferred, +but she will enjoy, in every +succeeding generation, the same administration, +for although directed by +another hand, it will be characterised +by the sane wisdom, the same justice +and beneficence, and confer on her the +same blessings.</p> + +<p>But as the beneficent effects of his +government are not limited in their duration +to the time, so neither are they +confined to the colony, in which it was +administered. The same experience of +its success, and the same considerations +no less of interest than of duty, recommend +and secure the adoption of +its principles in the administration of +the government of every other colony, +as well as of Jamaica. Such was the +impression with which the other British +colonies regarded his administration +in Jamaica. They considered +that the same principles on which the +government of Jamaica had been administered, +would be adopted in the +administration of their governments. +Shortly after Lord Metcalfe's return +from Jamaica, a numerous and influential +body, interested in the other +colonies, presented him with an address, +expressing "the sentiments of +gratitude and admiration with which +they appreciated the ability, the +impartiality, and the success of his +administration of the government of +Jamaica. They gratefully acknowledged +his undeviating adherence to +those just and liberal principles by +which alone the relations between the +parent state and the colonies can be +maintained with the feelings essential +to their mutual honour and welfare; +and they expressed their conviction, +that, as his administration must be +the unerring guide for that of every +other colony, so its benefits will extend +to the whole colonial empire of +Great Britain." Thus, by his administration +of the government of one +colony, during only the short space of +two years, he laid the foundation for +that permanent union of this and all +the other colonies with the parent +state, which would secure the welfare +and happiness of the millions by whom +they are inhabited, and add to the +strength, the power, and splendour of +the British empire.</p> + +<p>Such is a faint record of only +two years of the distinguished public +life of this great and good man. +How few statesmen have ever furnished +materials for such a record? +What greater good can be desired for +our country, than that the example +of Lord Metcalfe, and his administration +of Jamaica, may ever be "the +guide-post and land-mark" in her +councils for the government of all her +colonies, and may ever exercise a predominant +influence in the relations +between them and the parent state?</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_673" id="Page_673">[673]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>ANNALS AND ANTIQUITIES OF LONDON.</h2> + +<blockquote> + +<p><i>An Antiquarian Ramble in the Streets of London; with Anecdotes of their more +celebrated Residents.</i> By J. T. <span class="smcap">Smith</span>, late Keeper of the Prints and Drawings in +the British Museum, Author of <i>Nollekins and his Times</i>, &c.</p></blockquote> + + +<p>What is London? Walk into Lombard +Street, and ask the Merchant; +he will tell you at once—the Docks +and the Custom-House, Lloyd's and +the Bank, the Exchange, Royal or +Stock. Drive your cab to the Carlton, +and learn that it is Pall-mall and +the Clubs, St James's and the Parks, +Almack's and the Opera. Carry your +question and your fee together to legal +chambers, and be told that it is Westminster +and Chancery Lane, Lincoln's +Inn and the Temple. All that remains +of mankind, that is not to be numbered +in these several categories, will +tell you it is a huge agglomeration +of houses and shops, churches and +theatres, markets and monuments, +gas-pipes and paving-stones. Believe +none—Yes, believe them all! We +make our London, as we make our +World, out of what attracts and interests +ourselves. Few are they who +behold in this vast metropolis a many-paged +volume, abounding in instruction, +offering to historian and philosopher, +poet and antiquary, a luxuriant +harvest and never-failing theme. We +consider London, with reference to +what it is and may become, not to +what it has been. The present and +the future occupy us to the exclusion +of the past. We perambulate the great +arteries of the Monster City, from +Tyburn to Cornhill, from Whitechapel +to the Wellington statue, and our +minds receive no impression, save +what is directly conveyed through our +eyes; we pass, unheeding, a thousand +places and objects rich in memories of +bygone days, of strange and stirring +events—great men long since deceased, +and customs now long obsolete. We +care not to dive into the narrow lanes +and filthy alleys, where, in former centuries, +sons of Genius and the Muses +dwelt and starved; we seek not the +dingy old taverns where the wit of +our ancestors sparkled; upon the spot +where a hero fell or a martyr perished, +we pause not to gaze and to recall +the memories of departed virtue and +greatness. We are a matter-of-fact +generation, too busy in money-getting +to speculate upon the past. So crowded +has the world become, that there +is scarce standing-room; and even the +lingering ghosts of olden times are +elbowed and jostled aside. It is the +triumph of the tangible and positive +over the shadowy and poetical.</p> + +<p>Things which men will not seek, +they often thankfully accept when +brought to them in an attractive form +and without trouble. Upon this calculation +has the book before us been +written. It is an attempt to convey, +in amusing narrative, the history, ancient, +mediæval, and modern, of the +streets and houses of London. For +such a work, which necessarily partakes +largely of the nature of a compilation, +it is obvious that industry is +more essential than talent—extensive +reading than a brilliant pen. Both of +industry and reading Mr Smith makes +a respectable display, and therefore +we shall not cavil at any minor deficiencies. +His subject would have been +better treated in a lighter and more +detached form; and, in this respect, +he might have taken a hint from an +existing French work of a similar nature, +relating to Paris. But his materials +are too sterling and interesting +to be spoiled by any slight mistake in +the handling. He has accumulated a +large mass of information, quotation, +and extract; and although few persons +may read his book continuously +from beginning to end, very many, we +are sure, will dip with pleasure and +interest into its pages.</p> + +<p>West and East would have been no +inappropriate title for Mr Smith's twin +volumes. In the first, he keeps on the +Court side of Temple Bar; the second +he devotes to the City. As may be +supposed, the former is the more +sprightly and piquant chronicle; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_674" id="Page_674">[674]</a></span> +the latter does not yield to it in striking +records and interesting historical +facts. Let us accompany the antiquarian +on his first ramble, from +Hyde Park Corner to Charing Cross, +starting from Apsley House, of which, +although scarcely included in the design +of his work, as announced on the +title-page, he gives, as of various +other modern buildings, a concise account.</p> + +<p>How few individuals of the human +tide that daily flows and ebbs along +Piccadilly are aware, that within a +century that aristocratic quarter was +a most disreputable outlet from London. +The ground now covered with +ranges of palaces, the snug and select +district of May Fair, dear to opulent +dowagers and luxurious <i>célibataires</i>, +was occupied, but a short hundred +years since, by a few detached dwellings +in extensive gardens, and by a +far larger number of low taverns. +Some of these, as the White Horse +and Half Moon, have given their +names to the streets to which their +bowling-greens and skittle-alleys tardily +gave way. The Sunday excursions +of the lower orders were then more +circumscribed than at present; and +these Piccadilly publics were much +resorted to on the Sabbath, in the +manner of a country excursion; for +Piccadilly was then the country. +"Among the advertisements of sales +by auction in the original edition of +the <i>Spectator</i>, in folio, published in +1711, the mansion of Streater, jun., +is advertised as <i>his country house</i>, +being near Bolton Row, in Piccadilly; +his town residence was in Gerrard +Street, Soho." The taverns nearest +to Hyde Park were chiefly patronised +by the soldiers, particularly, we are +informed, on review days, when they +sat in rows upon wooden benches, +placed in the street for their accommodation, +combing, soaping, and +powdering each other's hair. The +bad character of the neighbourhood, +and perhaps, also, the nuisance of +May Fair, which lasted for fifteen +days, and was not abolished till 1708, +prevented the ground from increasing +in value; and accordingly we find +that Mr Shepherd, after whom Shepherd's +Market was named, offered for +sale, as late as the year 1750, his +freehold mansion in Curzon Street, +and its adjacent gardens, for five +hundred pounds. At that price it +was subsequently sold. Houses there +were, however, in the then despised +neighbourhood of Piccadilly, of high +value; but it arose from their intrinsic +magnificence, which counterbalanced +the disadvantages of situation. Evelyn +mentions having visited Lord John +Berkeley at his stately new house, +which was said to have cost thirty +thousand pounds, and had a cedar +staircase. He greatly commends the +gardens, and says that he advised the +planting of certain holly-hedges on +the terrace. Stratton Street was built +on the Berkeley estate, and so named +in compliment to the Stratton line of +that family. At what is now the +south end of Albemarle Street, stood +Clarendon House, built, as Bishop +Burnet tells us, on a piece of ground +granted to Lord Clarendon by Charles +II. The Earl wished to have a plain +ordinary house, but those he employed +preferred erecting a palace, whose +total cost amounted to fifty thousand +pounds.</p> + +<p>"During the war," says the Bishop, +"and in the plague year, he had about +three hundred men at work, which +he thought would have been an +acceptable thing, when so many men +were kept at work, and so much +money, as was duly paid, circulated +about. But it had a contrary effect: +it raised a great outcry against him." +The sale of Dunkirk to the French +for four hundred thousand pounds, +had taken place only three years +before, and was still fresh in men's +minds. The odium of this transaction +fell chiefly on Lord Clarendon, +who was accused of pocketing a share +of its profits; and the people gave +the name of Dunkirk House to his +new mansion. Others called it Holland +House, thereby insinuating that +it was built with bribes received from +the Dutch, with whom this country +then waged a disastrous war. In +spite of popular outcry, however, the +house was completed in 1667, the year +of Clarendon's disgrace and banishment. +Fifteen years later, after his +death, his heir sold the place to the Duke +of Albemarle for twenty-five thousand +pounds, just half what it cost; and the +Duke parted with it for ten thousand +more. Finally, it was pulled down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_675" id="Page_675">[675]</a></span> +to make room for Albemarle and +Stafford Streets; of which latter, as +appears from old plans of London, +the centre of Clarendon House occupied +the entire site.</p> + +<p>Piccadilly was formerly the headquarters +of the makers of leaden +figures. The first yard for this worthless +description of statues was founded +by John Van Nost, one of the numerous +train of Dutchmen who followed +William III. to England. His establishment +soon had imitators and +rivals; and, in 1740, there were four +of these figure-yards in Piccadilly, all +driving a flourishing trade in their +leaden lumber. The statues were as +large as life, and often painted. +"They consisted of Punch, Harlequin, +Columbine, and other pantomimical +characters; mowers whetting +their scythes, haymakers resting on +their rakes, gamekeepers in the act +of shooting, and <i>Roman</i> soldiers with +<i>firelocks</i>; but, above all, that of a +kneeling African with a sundial upon +his head, found the most extensive +sale." Copies from the antique were +also there, and had many admirers; +but the unsuitableness of the heavy +and pliable material was soon discovered, +and, after a brief existence, +the figure-yards died a natural death.</p> + +<p>On the etymology of the word +Piccadilly, Mr Smith expends much +erudite research, without, as it appears +to us, arriving at a very definite or +satisfactory conclusion. A pickadill +is defined by Blount, in his <i>Glossography</i>, +as "the round hem of a +garment, or other thing; also a kinde +of stiff collar, made in fashion of a +band." Hence Mr Smith infers, that +the famous ordinary near St James's, +which first bore the name of Piccadilly, +may have received it because at +that time it was the outmost or skirt-house +of the suburb. The derivation +is ingenious, but rather far-fetched. +Another notion is, that a certain +Higgin, a tailor, who built the house, +had acquired his money by the manufacture +of pickadills, then in great +vogue. The orthography of the name +has varied considerably. Evelyn mentions +in his memoirs, that, as one of +the commissioners for reforming the +buildings and streets of London, he +ordered the paving of the road from +St James's North, "which was a quagmire," +and likewise of the Haymarket +about "Pigudello." In the same +year, however, 1662, it is found +inscribed in tradesmen's tokens as +Pickadilla; and this appears to be +the most ancient mode of spelling it. +In <i>Gerard's Herbal</i>, published in the +reign of Queen Elizabeth, (1596,) the +author, talking of the "small wild +buglosse," says that this little flower +"growes upon the drie ditch bankes +about Pickadilla."</p> + +<p>Where Bennet and Arlington Streets +now stand, was formerly the celebrated +mulberry gardens, referred to by Malone +as a favourite haunt of Dryden, +who loved to eat tarts there with his +mistress, Anne Reeve. To the polite +ears of the nineteenth century, the +very name of a public garden is a +sound of horror; and to see the cream +of <i>the ton</i> taking their evening lounge +at Cremorne, or the "Royal Property," +and battening upon mulberry tarts and +sweetened wine, would excite as much +astonishment as if we read in the <i>Moniteur</i> +that the Duchess of Orleans +had led a <i>galop</i> at Musard's masquerade. +In the easy-going days of the +second Charles, things were very different, +and a fashionable company +was wont to collect at the Mulberry +Garden, to sit in its pleasant arbours, +and feast upon cheesecakes and syllabubs. +The ladies frequently went +in masks, which was a great mode at +that time, and one often adopted by +the court dames to escape detection +in the intrigues and mad pranks they +so liberally permitted themselves. +"In <i>The Humorous Lovers</i>, a comedy +written by the Duke of Newcastle,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> +and published in 1677, the +third scene of Act I. is in the Mulberry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_676" id="Page_676">[676]</a></span> +Garden. Baldman observes to Courtly, +''Tis a delicate plump wench; now, a +blessing on the hearts of them that +were the contrivers of this garden; +this wilderness is the prettiest convenient +place to woo a widow, Courtly.'" +One can hardly fancy a wilderness in +the heart of St James's, except of +houses; but the one mentioned in the +above passage had ceased to exist +at the time the play appeared, at +least as a place of public resort. Five +years previously, the King had granted +to Henry Earl of Arlington, "that +whole piece or parcel of ground called +the Mulberry Gardens, together with +eight houses, with their appurtenances +thereon," at a rent of twenty shillings +per annum. Goring House, in which +Mr Secretary Bennet, afterwards Earl +of Arlington, resided, was probably +one of these eight houses. Two years +subsequently to the grant, it was burnt +down, and the earl removed to Arlington +House, which stood on the +site of Buckingham Palace. Sheffield, +Duke of Buckingham, bought the +former, pulled it down in 1703, and +erected a new mansion, which was +sold to the crown by his son, and +allotted, in 1775, as a residence for +the Queen, instead of Somerset House.</p> + +<p>We are glad to learn from Mr Smith, +that there is a plan on foot for the +removal of the confined, dirty, and +unwholesome district between Buckingham +Palace and Westminster Abbey, +now one of the vilest parts of +the metropolis, the favourite abode +of thieves, beggars, pawnbrokers, and +gin-sellers. The streets adjacent to +the palace have at no time been of +the most spacious or respectable description, +although Pimlico is vastly +improved from what it was in the +days of Ben Jonson, who uses the +name to express all that was lowest +and most disreputable. In his play +of <i>The Alchymist</i>, he says, "Gallants, +men and women, and of all +sorts, tag-rag and bob-tail, have been +seen to flock here in threaves, these +ten weeks, as to a second Hoxton or +Pimlico." And again, "besides other +gallants, oysterwomen, sailors' wives, +tobacco-men—another Pimlico." <i>Apropos</i> +of the gin-palaces which have +replaced the old-fashioned public-houses +that abounded some twenty +years ago in Westminster, Mr Smith +makes a digression on the subject of +drunkenness, and quotes some curious +particulars from an old treatise, called +<i>The London and Country Brewer</i>. +"Our drunkenness, as a national +vice," says the writer, "takes its date +from the restoration of Charles the +Second, or a few years later." It may +be questioned whether drunkenness +was not pretty well established as an +English vice long before the period +here referred to. We have the authority +of various writers, however, for +its having greatly increased about the +time of the Stuarts' restoration. "A +spirit of extravagant joy," says Burnet, +in his <i>History of his own Times</i>, +"spread over the nation. All ended +in entertainments and drunkenness, +which overrun the three kingdoms to +such a degree, that it very much corrupted +all their morals. Under the +colour of drinking the King's health, +there were great disorders, and much +riot every where." This was no unnatural +reaction after the stern austerity +of the Protectorate. "As to +the materials, (of drunkenness,") continues +<i>The Brewer</i>, "beer and ale +were considerable articles; they went +a great way in the work at first, but +were far from being sufficient; and +then strong waters came into play. +The occasion was this: In the Dutch +wars it had been observed that the +captains of the Hollanders' men-of-war, +when they were about to engage +with our ships, usually set a hogshead +of brandy abroach afore the mast, and +bid the men drink <i>sustick</i>, that they +might fight <i>lustick</i>; and our poor seamen +felt the force of the brandy to +their cost. We were not long behind +them; but suddenly after the war we +began to abound in strong-water +shops." Even the chandlers and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_677" id="Page_677">[677]</a></span> +barber-surgeons kept stores of spirituous +compounds, for the most part of +exceeding bad quality, but sweetened +and spiced, and temptingly displayed +in rows of glass bottles, under Latin +names of imposing sound. Aniseed-water +was the favourite dram; until +the French, finding out the newly-acquired +taste of their old enemies, +deluged the English markets with +brandy, which was recommended by +the physicians, and soon acquired +universal popularity. It was sold +about the streets in small measures, +at a halfpenny and a penny each; and +the consumption was prodigious, until +a war broke out with France, when +the supply of course stopped, and the +poor were compelled to return to their +<i>aqua vitæ</i> and <i>aqua mirabilis</i>, or, better +than either, to the ale-glass. When +speaking of the royal cockpit at Whitehall, +Mr Smith tells us of "Admiral +M'Bride, a brave sailor of the old +school, who constantly kept game-cocks +on board his ship, and on the +morning of an action, endeavoured, +and that successfully, to animate his +men by the spectacle of a cock-fight +between decks." This, if not a very +humane expedient, according to modern +notions, was at any rate an +improvement upon Dutch courage, +with which British seamen of the +present day would scorn to fortify +themselves.</p> + +<p>St James's Park, originally a +swamp, was first inclosed by Harry +the Eighth, but little was done towards +its improvement and embellishment until +after the Restoration. It was within +its precincts, that in July 1626 Lord +Conway assembled the numerous and +troublesome French retinue of Queen +Henrietta Maria, and communicated +to them the king's pleasure that they +should immediately quit the country. +The legion of hungry foreigners, including +several priests and a boy +bishop, scarcely of age, had hoped +long to fatten upon English soil, and +they received their dismissal with +furious outcry and loud remonstrance. +Their royal mistress also was greatly +incensed, and broke several panes of +glass with her fists, in no very queenly +style. But Charles for once was resolute; +the Frenchmen had, to use his +own expressions, so dallied with his +patience, and so highly affronted him, +that he could no longer endure it. +They found, however, all sorts of +pretexts to delay their departure, +claiming wages and perquisites which +were not due, and alleging that they +had debts in London, and could not +go away till these were discharged. +L'Estrange, in his Life of Charles I., +and D'Israeli in his <i>Commentaries</i>, +gives many curious particulars of the +proceedings of this troop of bloodsuckers. +Under pretence of perquisites, +they pillaged the queen's wardrobe +and jewel-case, not leaving her +even a change of linen. The king accorded +them a reasonable delay for +their preparations, but at last he lost +all patience, as will be seen by the +following characteristic letter to the +Duke of Buckingham, dated from +Oaking, the 7th of August 1626:</p> + +<blockquote> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Steenie</span>,—I have received your +letter by Dic Greame, (Sir Richard +Graham.) This is my answer: I command +you to send all the French away +to-morrow out of the towne, if you can +by fair means, (but stike not long in +disputing,) otherways force them away, +dryving them away lyke so manie wilde +beastes, until ye have shipped them, and +so the devil goe with them. Let me +heare no answer, but of the performance +of my command. So I rest your faithful, +constant, loving friend, C. R."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Thereupon the debts of the obnoxious +French were paid, their +claims, both just and unjust, satisfied, +presents given to some of them, and +they set out for Dover, nearly forty +coaches full. "As Madame St George, +whose vivacity is always described +as extremely French, was stepping +into the boat, one of the mob could +not resist the satisfaction of +flinging a stone at her French cap. +An English courtier, who was conducting +her, instantly quitted his +charge, ran the fellow through the +body, and quietly returned to the +boat. The man died on the spot, but +no further notice appears to have been +taken of the inconsiderate gallantry of +the English courtier."</p> + +<p>The Stuarts were commonly plagued +with the foreign attendants of their +wives. When Charles the Second's +spouse, Catherine of Braganza, arrived +in England, she was escorted by +a train of Portuguese ladies, who +highly disgusted the king and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_678" id="Page_678">[678]</a></span> +court, less, however, by their Papistry +and greediness, than by their surpassing +ugliness and obstinate adherence +to the fashions of their country. "Six +frights," says Anthony Hamilton in +his memoirs of Count Grammont, +"who called themselves maids of +honour, and a duenna, another +monster, who took the title of governess +to these extraordinary beauties. +Among the men were Francisco de +Melo, and one Tauravedez, who called +himself Don Pedro Francisco Correo +de Silva, extremely handsome, but a +greater fool than all the Portuguese +put together; he was more vain of his +names than his person; but the Duke +of Buckingham, a still greater fool +than he, though more addicted to +raillery, gave him the name of Peter +of the Wood. He was so enraged at +this, that, after many fruitless complaints +and ineffectual menaces, poor +Pedro de Silva was obliged to leave +England; while the happy duke kept +possession of a Portuguese nymph +more hideous than the queen's maids +of honour, whom he had taken from +him, as well as two of his names. +Besides these, there were six chaplains, +four bakers, a Jew perfumer, and +a certain officer, probably without an +office, who called himself her highness's +barber." Evelyn also tells us, +that "the queen arrived with a train +of Portuguese ladies in their monstrous +fardingals or guard-infantas, +their complexions olivader, and sufficiently +unagreeable;" and Lord +Clarendon talks of "a numerous +family of men and women, that were +sent from Portugal"—the women "old +and ugly and proud, incapable of any +conversation with persons of quality +and a liberal education; and they +desired, and indeed had conspired +so far to possess the queen herself, +that she should neither learn the +English language, nor use their habit, +nor depart from the manners and +fashions of her own country in any +particulars." Although the Infanta +herself was by no means ill-looking, +her charms did not come up to those +of the flattered portrait which her +mother, the old Queen of Portugal, +had sent to Charles; and it is possible +that the selection of plain women for +her retinue had been intentional, that +their ugliness might serve as a foil to +her moderate amount of beauty. After +a short time, however, the majority +of these uncomely Lusitanians were +sent back to their native country.</p> + +<p>To return to Mr Smith and St +James's Park. After his Restoration, +Charles the Second, who, as +worthy Thomas Blount says in his +Boscobel, had been hunted to and fro +like a "partridge upon the mountains," +became very <i>casanier</i>, decidedly +stay-at-home, in his habits, and +cared little to absent himself from +London and its vicinity. He had had +buffeting and wandering enough in +his youth, and, on ascending the +throne of his unfortunate father, he +thought of little besides making himself +comfortable in his capital, careless +of expense, which, even in his greatest +need, he seems never to have calculated. +He planted the avenues of the +park, made a canal and an aviary for +rare birds, which gave the name to +Bird-Cage Walk. Amongst other +freaks, and to provide for a witty +Frenchman who amused him, he +erected Duck Island into a government. +Charles de St Denis, seigneur +of St Evremond, who had been +banished from France for a satire on +Cardinal Mazarine, was the first and, +it is believed, the last governor. He +drew the salary attached to the appointment, +which was certainly a more +lucrative than honourable one for a +man of his talents and reputation. +According to Evelyn, Charles stored +the park with "numerous flocks of +fowle. There were also deer of several +countries—white, spotted like leopards; +antelopes, as elk, red deer, +roebucks, staggs, Guinea grates, Arabian +sheep," &c. In the Mall, also +made by him, Charles played at ball +and took his daily walk. "Here," +says Colley Cibber, "Charles was +often seen amid crowds of spectators, +feeding his ducks and playing with +his dogs, affable even with the meanest +of his subjects." Mr Smith regrets +the diminished affability and +less accessible mood of sovereigns of +the nineteenth century, although he +admits that the populace of France +and England are at the present day +too rude for it to be advisable that +kings and queens should walk amongst +them with the easy familiarity of the +second Charles. Of that there can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_679" id="Page_679">[679]</a></span> +be very little doubt. Even Charles, +whose dislike of ceremony and restraint, +and love of gossip and new +faces, were cause, at least as much as +any desire for popularity, that he thus +mingled with the mob, occasionally +experienced the disagreeables of his +undignified manner of life. Aubrey +the credulous, Mr Smith tells us, relates +in his Miscellanies the following +anecdote of an incident that occurred +in the Park. "Avise Evans had a +fungous nose, and said that it was +revealed to him that the king's hand +would cure him: and at the first +coming of King Charles II. into St +James's Park, he kissed the king's +hand, and rubbed his nose with it, +which disturbed the king, but cured +him." It was whilst walking on the +Mall that the pretended Popish plot of +Oates and Bedloe was announced +to Charles. "On the 12th of August +1678," says Hume, "one Kirby, a +chemist, accosted the king as he was +walking in the Park. 'Sir,' said he, +'keep within the company; your +enemies have a design upon your life, +and you may be shot in this very +walk.' Being asked the reason of +these strange speeches, he said that +two men, called Grove and Pickering, +had engaged to shoot the king, and +Sir George Wakeman, the queen's +physician, to poison him." Charles, +unlike his grandfather, the timid +James, was little apprehensive of assassination, +and, when sauntering in +the Park, preferred the society of two +or three intimates to the attendance +of a retinue. On one occasion, however, +as a biographer has recorded, +an impudent barber startled him from +his usual happy <i>insouciance</i>. Accustomed +to chat familiarly with his +good-humoured master, the chin-scraper +ventured to observe, whilst +operating upon that of the king, that +he considered no officer of the court +had a more important trust than himself. +"Why so, friend?" inquired +the king. "Why," replied the barber, +"I could cut your majesty's throat +whenever I chose." Charles started +up in consternation, swore that the +very thought was treason, and the indiscreet +man of razors was deprived +of his delicate charge.</p> + +<p>In the <i>Daily Post</i> for October 31st, +1728, is an order of the Board of +Green Cloth for clearing St James's +Park of the shoe-cleaners and other +vagrants, and sending them to the +House of Correction. This reminds us +of what has often excited our surprise, +the absence from the streets of London +of an humble but very useful +class of professionals, who abound in +many continental towns, in all French +ones of any size. Abundant ingenuity +is displayed in London in the +discovery and invention of strange +and out-of-the-way employments. +Men convert themselves into "animated +sandwiches" by back and +breastplates of board, encase themselves +in gigantic bottles to set forth +the merits of some famed specific or +potent elixir, or walk about with +advertisements printed on their coats, +peripatetic fly-sheets, extolling the +comfort and economy of halfpenny +steamers, and of omnibuses at a +penny a mile. Some sweep crossings, +others hold horses; but none of the +vast number of needy <i>industrials</i> who +strain their wits to devise new means of +obtaining their daily ration and nightly +shelter, have as yet taken pattern +by the French <i>décrotteur</i> and +German <i>stiefel-wichser</i>, and provided +themselves for stock in trade with a +three-legged stool, a brace of brushes, +and a bottle of blacking. No one +has been at Paris without finding the +great convenience of the <i>ateliers de +décrottage</i> which abound in the passages +and in the more frequented of +the streets, where, for three or four +<i>sous</i>, the lounger who has had boots +and trousers bemired by rapid cab or +lumbering <i>diligence</i>, is brushed and +polished with unparalleled rapidity and +dexterity. But a very moderate capital +is required for the establishment +of these temples of cleanliness, and +we recommend the subject to the consideration +of decayed railway "stags."</p> + +<p>"Duke Street Chapel, with a flight +of steps leading to the Park, formed +originally a wing of the mansion of +the notorious Judge Jeffries. The +house was built by him, and James +the Second, as a mark of especial favour, +allowed him to make an entry +to the Park by the steps alluded to. +The son of Jeffries inhabited it for +a short time." It was this son and +successor of the infamous Jeffries, +who, with a party of rakes and debauchees,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_680" id="Page_680">[680]</a></span> +mohocks as they were at +that time called, insulted the remains +of the poet Dryden, and the grief of +his widow. They happened to pass +through Gerrard Street, Soho, when +Dryden's remains were about to be +conveyed from his house, No. 43, in +that street, to Westminster Abbey. +Although it was in the daytime, +Jeffries was drunk; he swore that +Dryden should not be buried in so +shabby a manner, (eighteen mourning +coaches waited to form the procession,) +and that he would see due honour +done to his remains. After frightening +Lady Elizabeth, who was ill in +bed, into a fainting fit, these aristocratic +ruffians stopped the funeral, +and sent the body to an undertaker +in Cheapside. The bishop waited +several hours in Westminster Abbey, +and at last went away. When Jeffries +became sober, he had forgotten +all about the matter, and refused to +have any thing to do with the interment. +The corpse lay unburied for +three weeks. At last the benevolent +Dr Garth had it taken to the College +of Physicians, got up a subscription +for the expenses of the funeral, and +followed the body to Westminster +Abbey. The poet's son challenged +Jeffries, but Jeffries showed the white +feather, and, to avoid personal chastisement, +kept carefully out of the +way for three years, when Charles +Dryden was drowned near Windsor.</p> + +<p>Mr Smith is most indulgent to the +blunders and blockheadism of our modern +architects and monument-makers, +far too much so, indeed, when he speaks +approvingly of Trafalgar Square and +its handsome fountains, and without +positive disapprobation of the vile +collection of clumsy buildings and ill-executed +ornament defacing that site. +There has been a deal of ink spilt +upon this subject, and we have no +intention of adding to the quantity, +especially as there is no chance that +any flow of fluid, however unlimited, +shall blot out the square and its +absurdities. But we defy any Englishman, +with the smallest pretensions +to taste, to pass Charing Cross without +feelings of shame and disgust at +the mismanagement and ignorance +there manifest. Such an accumulation +of clumsiness was surely never +before witnessed. The wretched National +Gallery with its absurd dome, +crushed beneath the tall and symmetrical +proportions of St Martin's portico, +overtopped even by the private +dwelling-houses in its vicinity; the +dirty, ill-devised, and worse-executed +fountains, with their would-be-gracefully +curved basins, the steps and +parapets, which give the whole place +the appearance of an exaggerated +child's toy. Well may foreigners +shrug their shoulders, and smile at the +public buildings of the great capital +of Britain. A fatality attends all our +efforts in that way. In regard to +architecture and ornament, we pay +more and are worse served than any +body else. So habituated are we to +failure in this respect, that when a +public building is completed, scaffolding +removed, and a fair view obtained, +we wonder and exult if it is found +free from glaring defects, and in no +way particularly obnoxious to censure. +As to its proving a thing to be proud +of, to be gazed at and admired, and +to be spoken of out of England, or +even in England, after the fuss and +ceremony of its inauguration is over, +we never dream of such a thing. The +negative merit of having avoided the +ridiculous and the grotesque, is subject +for satisfaction, almost for pride. +Assuredly we love not to exalt other +countries at the expense of our own, +to draw invidious comparisons between +things English and things foreign. +But the difference between +public buildings of modern erection +in London and in Paris is so immense, +that it can escape no one. Take, for +instance, the Paris <i>Bourse</i> and the +London Exchange. The former, it +has been objected, is out of character; +a Greek temple is no fitting rendezvous +for the sons of commerce; a less +classic fane were more appropriate for +the discussion of exchanges, for sales +of cotton and muscovado. The objection, +according to us, is flimsy and +absurd, and must have originated with +some Vandalic and prejudiced booby, +with whom consistency was a monomania. +Nevertheless we will, for +argument's sake, admit its validity. +Is that a reason that the traders and +capitalists of London should meet in +a building which, for heaviness and +exaggerated solidity, rivals a South +American Inquisition? Do the Barings<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_681" id="Page_681">[681]</a></span> +and the Rothschilds anticipate +an attack upon their strong boxes, +and intend to stand a siege within the +massive walls of the Royal Exchange? +Assuredly the narrow doorways may +easily be defended; for a time, at +least, the ponderous walls will mock +the cannonade. The curse of heaviness +is upon our architects. There is +total want of grace, and lightness, +and airiness in all their works. Behold +our new Senate House! Do its +florid beauties and overdone decorations, +unsparingly as they have been +lavished, and convenient as they will +doubtless be found as receptacles for +bird's nests, contrast favourably with +the elegant and dignified simplicity of +the Chamber of Deputies? The two, +it will be said, cannot be assimilated: +the vast difference of size precludes a +comparison. We reply, that the buildings +are for the same purpose; but +were they not, proportion at least +should be observed. The Parliament +House is far too low for its length. +Want of elevation is the common +fault, both in the ideas and in the +productions of our architects.</p> + +<p>Are we more successful in statues +than in buildings? Mr Smith has +some sensible remarks on this score. +Speaking of the equestrian statue of +George III. in Cockspur Street, he +says, that "critics object to the cocked +hat and tie-wig in the royal figure; +but, some ages hence, these abused +parts will be the most valuable in the +whole statue. It may very reasonably +be asked, why an English gentleman +should be represented in the dress of +a Roman tribune? Let the man appear, +even in a statue, in his habit as +he lived; and whatever <i>we</i> may say, +posterity will be grateful to us. We +should like to know exactly the ordinary +walking-dress of Cæsar or Brutus, +and how they wore their hair; and we +should not complain if they had cocked +hats or periwigs, if we knew them to +be exact copies of nature." It is +certain that modern physiognomy +rarely harmonises with ancient costume. +What is to be said of the +aspect of the "first gentleman of +Europe," wrapped in his horsecloth, +and astride on his bare-backed steed, +in the aforesaid Square of Trafalgar? +Assuredly nothing in commendation. +There are portraits of Napoleon in +classic drapery, and, even with his +classically correct countenance, he +looks a very ordinary, under-sized +Roman. But, in his grey <i>capote</i> and +small cocked hat, the characteristic is +preserved, and we at once think of, +and wonder at, the hero of Austerlitz +and Marengo.</p> + +<p>Leicester Square, as Mr Smith +justly observes, has more the appearance +of the <i>Grande Place</i> of some +continental city than of a London +square. The headquarters and chief +rendezvous of aliens, especially of +Frenchmen, it bears numerous and +unmistakeable marks of its foreign +occupancy. French hotels and restaurants +replace taverns and chop-houses. +French names are seen above shops; +promises of French, German, and +Spanish conversation, are read in the +windows; and grimy-visaged, hirsute +individuals, in plaited pantaloons and +garments of eccentric cut, saunter, +cigar in mouth, over the shabby pavement. +It is curious to remark the +different tone and station taken by +English in Paris and French in London. +In the former capital, nothing +is too good for the intruding islanders. +In the best and most expensive +season, they throng thither, and strut +about like lords of the soil, perfectly +at home, and careless of the opinions +of the people amongst whom they +have condescended to come. The best +houses are for their use; the most +expensive shops are favoured with +their custom; and if occasionally +tormented by a troublesome consciousness +of paying dearly for their +importance, they easily console themselves +by a malediction on the French +<i>voleurs</i>, who thus take advantage of +their long purses and open hands. +How different is it with the Frenchman +in London! He comes over, for +the most part, at the dullest time of +the year, in the autumn, when the +town is foggy, and dreary, and empty; +when the Parks are deserted, shutters +shut, the theatres dull, and exhibitions +closed. He has certain vague apprehensions +of the tremendous expense +entailed by a visit to the English +capital. To avoid this, he makes a +toil of a pleasure; wearies himself +with economical calculations; and +creeps into some inferior hotel or dull +lodging-house, tempted by low prices<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_682" id="Page_682">[682]</a></span> +and foreign announcements. We find +French deputies abiding in Cranbourn +Street, and counts contenting themselves +with a garret at Pagliano's. +Thence they perambulate westwards; +and ignorant, or not choosing to remember, +that London is out of town, +and that they have selected the very +worst possible season to visit it, they +greatly marvel at the paucity of equipages, +at the abundance of omnibuses +and hack-cabs, and the scarcity of +sunbeams; and return home to inform +their friends that London is a <i>ville +monstre</i>, with spacious streets, small +houses, few amusements; very great, +but very gloomy; and where the +nearest approach to sunshine resembles +the twinkling of a rushlight +through a plate of blue earthenware.</p> + +<p>"The foreign appearance of Leicester +Square is not of recent growth. +It seems to have been the favourite +resort of strangers and exiles ever +since the place was built. Maitland, +who wrote more than a hundred years +ago, describing the parish of St Anne's, +in which it is situate, says—'The +fields in these parts being but lately +converted into buildings, I have not +discovered any thing of great antiquity +in this parish. Many parts of it so +greatly abound with French, that it +is an easy matter for a stranger to +imagine himself in France.'"</p> + +<p>Sydney Alley is named after the +Earls of Leicester, who had their +town-house on the north side of the +square, where Leicester Place has +since been opened. Elizabeth, Queen +of Bohemia, daughter of James I., +occupied, for some years, this residence +of the Sydneys. She also +inhabited a house in Drury Place, +where Craven Street now stands, which +was built for her by Lord Craven. It +was called Bohemia House for many +years afterwards, and at last became +a tavern, at the sign of the Queen of +Bohemia. "The Earl of Craven was +thought to have been privately married +to the queen, a woman of great +sweetness of temper and amiability of +manners—a universal favourite both +in this country and Bohemia, where +her gentleness acquired her the title +of 'The Queen of Hearts.' By right +of their descent from her, the House +of Hanover ascended the throne of +this kingdom." Lord Craven was the +eldest son of Sir William Craven, +lord-mayor of London in 1611. He +fought under Gustavus Adolphus with +great distinction, and returned to England +at the Restoration, when Charles +II. made him viscount and earl. He +commanded a regiment of the guards +until within three or four years of his +death, which occurred in 1697, at the +advanced age of eighty-five. "He +was an excellent soldier," says the +advertisement of his decease in No. +301 of the <i>Postman</i>, "and served +in the wars under Palsgrave of the +Rhine, and also under the great Gustavus +Adolphus, where he performed +sundry warlike exploits to admiration; +and, in a word, he was then in +great renowne."</p> + +<p>However indifferently Leicester +Square may at present be inhabited, +and notwithstanding its long-standing +reputation as a foreign colony, it has +been the chosen abode of many distinguished +men. Hogarth and Reynolds +lived and died there. Hogarth's +house is now part of the Sablonière +Hotel. Sir Joshua's was on the opposite +side of the square; and both of +them, especially the latter, were much +resorted to by the wits and wise men +of the day. Johnson, Boswell, and, +at times, Goldsmith, were constant +visitors to Reynolds. John Hunter, +the anatomist, lived next-door to +Hogarth's house; and in 1725, Lords +North and Grey, and Arthur Onslow, +the Speaker, also inhabited this square. +Leicester House, where the Queen of +Bohemia lived, is called by Pennant +the "pouting-place of princes." George +II. retired thither when he quarrelled +with his father; and his son Frederick, +the father of George III., did +the same thing for the same reason. +Whilst Prince Frederick and the +Princess of Wales lived there, they +received the wedding visit of the Hon. +John Spencer, ancestor of the present +Earl Spencer, and of his bride, Miss +Poyntz. Contrary to established etiquette, +the bridal party went to visit +the Prince before paying their respects +to the King. They came in two carriages +and a sedan chair; the latter, +which was lined with white satin, +contained the bride, and was preceded +by a black page, and followed by three +footmen in splendid liveries. The +diamonds presented to Mr Spencer,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_683" id="Page_683">[683]</a></span> +on occasion of his marriage, by Sarah, +Duchess of Marlborough, were worth +one hundred thousand pounds. The +bridegroom's shoe-buckles alone cost +thirty thousand pounds. An old +gentleman, born more than a century +ago, from whom Mr Smith obtained +some of these particulars, informed +him, that about that time the neighbourhood +was so thinly built, that +when the heads of two men, executed +for participation in the Scotch rebellion, +were placed on Temple Bar, a +man stood in Leicester Fields with a +telescope, to give the boys a sight of +them for a penny a-piece.</p> + +<p>A house in Leicester Fields was the +scene of some of the eccentricities of +that semi-civilised hero, Peter the +Great of Russia. It belonged to the +Earl of Aylesbury, and was inhabited, +during the Czar's visit to this +country, by the Marquis of Carmarthen, +who gave a grand ball there, on +the 2d April 1698, in honour of the +imperial stranger. The Marquis was +Peter's particular chum and boon companion, +and the Czar preferred his +society to all the gaieties and visitors +that beset him during his residence +in England. Peter was very shy of +strangers, and when William the +Third gave him a magnificent entertainment +at St James's, he would not +mix with the company, but begged +to be put into a cupboard, whence he +could see without being seen. He +drank tremendously, and made Lord +Carmathen do the same. Hot brandy, +seasoned with pepper, was his +favourite drink. Something strong +he certainly required to digest his +diet of train-oil and raw meats. +On one occasion, when staying in +Leicester Fields with the Marquis, +he is said to have drunk a pint of +brandy and a bottle of sherry before +dinner, and eight bottles of sack +after it, and then to have gone to the +play, seemingly no whit the worse. +He lodged in York Buildings, in a +house overlooking the river, supposed +by some to be that at the left-hand +corner of Buckingham Street. A +house in Norfolk Street also had +the honour of sheltering him. "On +Monday night," says No. 411 of the +<i>Postman</i> "the Czar of Muscovy arrived +from Holland, and went directly +to the house prepared for him +in Norfolk Street." His principal +amusement was being rowed on the +Thames between London and Deptford; +and at last, in order to live +quietly and avoid the hosts of visitors +who poured in upon him, he took Admiral +Benbow's house at the latter +place. It stood on the ground now +occupied by the Victualling Office, +and was the property of the well-known +John Evelyn.</p> + +<p>"Horne Tooke," says Mr Smith, +"in his <i>Diversions of Purley</i>, derives +the word Charing from the Saxon +<i>Charan</i>, to turn; and the situation +of the original village, on the bend or +turning of the Thames, gives probability +to this etymology." Every +body knows that Charing, now so +central a point, was once a little +hamlet on the rural high-road between +London and Westminster, and +that the "Cross" was added to it +by Edward the First, who, when +escorting his wife's remains from +Lincolnshire to Westminster Abbey, +erected one at each place where the +beloved corpse rested. The first +cross, which was of wood, and probably +of rude enough manufacture, +gave way to one of stone, designed +by Cavalini. About the middle of +the seventeenth century, that period +of puritanical intolerance, this was +removed by order of the Commons' +House, an order which the royalists +took care to ridicule by song and +lampoon. According to Lilly the astrologer +and quack, the workmen +were three months pulling it down, +and some of the stones were used +for the pavement before Whitehall. +Others were made into knife-handles, +and Lilly saw some of them which +were polished and looked like marble. +Those were days in which kingly +memorials found as little favour as +popish emblems; and after the death +of Charles the First, the statue that +now stands at Charing Cross, and +which had been cast by Le Sueur in +1633 for the Earl of Arundel, was +sold and ordered to be broken up. +It was bought by one Rivet, a brazier, +who, instead of breaking, buried +it. This did not prevent the ingenious +mechanic from making a large +and immediate profit by the effigy of +the martyred monarch; for he melted +down old brass into knife and fork-handles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_684" id="Page_684">[684]</a></span> +and sold them as proceeding +from the King's statue. Roundheads +and cavaliers all flocked to buy; the +former desiring a trophy of their triumph, +the latter eager to possess a +memento of their lamented sovereign. +In 1678, £70,000 was voted by Parliament +for the obsequies of Charles +I., and for a monument to his memory, +and with a portion of this sum, +how large a one is not known, the +statue was repurchased.</p> + +<p>The historian of the streets and +houses of a great and ancient city, +has, in many ways, a most difficult +task to perform. Not only must he read +much, observe closely, and diligently +inquire, display ingenuity in deduction +and judgment in selection, but +he must be steadfast to resist temptation. +For, assuredly, to the lover of +antiquarian and historical lore, the +temptation is immense, whilst culling +materials from quaint old diaries, +black-letter pamphlets, and venerable +newspapers, to expatiate and extract +at a length wholly inconsistent with +the necessary limits of his work. +Some writers are at pains to dilate +their matter—his chief care must be +to compress. What would fairly fill +a sheet must be packed into a page—the +pith and substance of a volume +must be squeezed into a chapter. +The diligent compiler should not be +slightly considered by the creative +and aspiring genius. Like the bee, +he forms his small, rich store, from +the fragrance of a thousand flowers—adopting +the sweet, rejecting the +nauseous and insipid. Nor must he +dwell too long on any pet and particular +blossom, lest what would please +in due proportion should cloy by too +large an admixture. To vary the +metaphor, the writer of such a work +as this <i>Antiquarian Ramble</i>, should be +a sort of literary Soyer, mixing his +materials so skilfully that the flavour +of each is preserved, whilst not one +unduly predominates. He must not +prance off on a hobby, whether architectural, +historical, social, or romantic, +but relieve his cattle and his +readers by jumping lightly and frequently +from one saddle to another.</p> + +<p>How many books might be written +upon the themes briefly glanced at in +Mr Smith's book! Let us take, for +instance, the places of public executions +in London. Charing Cross was +for centuries one of them, and its pillory +was the most illustrious amongst +the many that formerly graced the +capital—illustrious by reason of the +remarkable evil-doers who underwent +ignominy in its wooden and +unfriendly embrace. The notorious +Titus Oates, and Parsons, the chief +contriver of the Cock-Lane Ghost, +were exposed in it. To the rough +treatment which, in former days, +sometimes succeeded exposure in the +pillory, the following paragraph, from +the <i>Daily Advertiser</i> of the 11th June +1731, abundantly testifies:—"Yesterday +Japhet Crook, <i>alias</i> Sir Peter +Stranger, stood on the pillory for the +space of one hour; after which he was +seated in an elbow-chair, and the +common hangman cut both his ears +off with an incision knife, and showed +them to the spectators, afterwards +delivered them to Mr Watson, a sheriff's +officer; then slit both his nostrils +with a pair of scissors, and sear'd +them with a hot iron, pursuant to his +sentence. He had a surgeon to attend +him to the pillory, who immediately +applied things necessary to prevent +the effusion of blood. He underwent +it all with undaunted courage; afterwards +went to the Ship tavern at +Charing Cross, where he stayed some +time; then was carried to the King's +Bench Prison, to be confined there +for life. During the time he was on +the pillory he laughed, and denied the +fact to the last." Petty punishments +these, although barbarous enough, +inflicted for paltry crimes upon mean +malefactors. Criminals of a far higher +grade had, previously to that, paid +the penalty of their offences at the +Cross of Charing. Hugh Peters, +Cromwell's chaplain, was there hung, +as were Scrope, Jones, Harrison, and +others of the king-killers. Long had +been their impunity; but vengeance +at last overtook them. To the end +they showed the stern fanatical resolution +of Oliver's iron followers. +"Where is your <span class="smcap">Good Old Cause</span>?" +cried a scoffer to Harrison, as he was +led to the scaffold. "Here!" he replied, +clapping hand on breast; "I +go to seal it with my blood." At the +foot of the ladder, which he approached +with undaunted mien, his limbs +were observed to tremble, and some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_685" id="Page_685">[685]</a></span> +amongst the mob made a mockery of +this weakness. "I judge," said Harrison, +"that some do think I am +afraid to die, by the shaking I have +in my hands and knees. <i>I</i> tell you +NO! but it is by reason of much +blood that I have lost in the wars, +and many wounds I have received in +my body, which caused this shaking +and weakness in my nerves." And he +spoke further, and told the populace +how he gloried in that he had done, +and how, had he ten thousand lives, +he would cheerfully lay them down +in the same cause. "After he was +hanged, a horrible scene took place. +In conformity to the barbarous sentence +then, and for many years afterwards, +executed upon persons convicted +of treason, he was cut down +alive and stripped, his belly was cut +open, his bowels taken out and burned +before his eyes. Harrison, in the +madness of his agony, rose up wildly, +it is said, and gave the executioner a +box on the ear, and then fell down +insensible. It was the last effort of +matter over mind, and for the time it +conquered." The other regicides died +with the same firmness and contempt +of death. "Their grave and graceful +demeanour," says the account in the +state trials, "accompanied with courage +and cheerfulness, caused great +admiration and compassion in the +spectators." So much so, and so +strong was the sympathy excited, +that the government gave orders that +no more of them should be executed +in the heart of London. Accordingly +the remainder suffered at Tyburn.</p> + +<p>Upon the old Westminster market-place +a most barbarous event occurred +in the time of that tyrannical, acetous +old virgin, Queen Bess, who assuredly +owes her renown and the sort of halo +of respect that surrounds her memory, +far less to any good qualities of her +own, than to the galaxy of great men +who flourished during her reign. The +glory that encircles her brow is formed +of such stars as Cecil, Burleigh and +Bacon, Drake and Raleigh, Spencer, +Shakspeare, and Sydney. Touching +this barbarity, however, enacted by +order of good Queen Bess. At the +mature age of forty-eight, her majesty +took it into her very ordinary-looking +old head to negotiate a marriage +with the Duke of Anjou. Commissioners +came from France to discuss +the interesting subject, and were +entertained by pageants and tournaments, +in which Elizabeth enacted +the Queen of Beauty; and subsequently +the duke came over himself, +as a private gentleman, to pay his +court to the last of the Tudors. The +duke being a papist, the proposed alliance +was very unpopular in England, +and one John Stubbs, a barrister +of Lincoln's-Inn, wrote a pamphlet +against it, entitled, "The Discoverye +of a gaping gulphe, whereinto +England is like to be swallowed by +another French marriage, if the Lord +forbid not the banns, by letting her +Majestye see the sin and punishment +thereof." Certain expressions in this +imprudent publication greatly angered +the Queen; Stubbs and his servant, +Page, were brought to trial, and condemned +to lose their right hands. +This cruel and unusual sentence was +carried into effect on the market-place +at Westminster, and witnessed by +Camden, who gives an account of it. +Both sufferers behaved with great fortitude +and courage. Their hands were +cut off with a butcher's cleaver and +mallet, and as soon as Stubbs had +lost his, he pulled off his cap with his +left, waved it in the air, and cried—"God +save the Queen!" He then +fainted away. It took two blows to +sever Page's hand, but he flinched +not, and pointing to the block where +it lay, he exclaimed—"I have left +there the hand of a true Englishman!" +And so he went from the scaffold, +says the account, "stoutlie and with +great courage."</p> + +<p>Amongst spots of sanguinary notoriety, +Smithfield, of course, stands prominent. +The majority of the two +hundred and seventy-seven persons +burned for heresy during Mary's short +reign, suffered there; and here also, +upon two occasions, the horrible punishment +of boiling to death, formerly +inflicted on poisoners, was witnessed. +In France this was the punishment of +coiners, and there is still a street at +Paris known as the <i>Rue de l'Echaudé</i>. +In Stow's <i>Annals</i> it is recorded, that +on the fifth of April 1531, "one Richard +Rose, a cook, was boiled in Smithfield +for poisoning of divers persons, +to the number of sixteen or more." +Two only of the sixteen died, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_686" id="Page_686">[686]</a></span> +others were never restored to health. +If any thing could reconcile us to +torture, as a punishment to be inflicted +by man on his offending brother, +it is such a crime as this.</p> + +<p>If the punishments of our ancestors +were cruel, if trials were sometimes +over hasty, and small offences +often too severely chastised, on the +other hand, culprits formerly had facilities +of escape now refused to them. +The right of sanctuary was enjoyed +by various districts and buildings in +London. Pennant and many other +writers have stigmatised this practice +as absurd; Mr Smith defends it upon +very reasonable grounds. "In times +when every man went armed, when +feuds were of hourly occurrence in +the streets, when the age had not yet +learned the true superiority of right +over might, and when private revenge +too often usurped the functions +of justice, it was essential that there +should be places whither the homicide +might flee, and find refuge and +protection until the violence of angry +passions had subsided, and there was +a chance of a fair trial for him." Not +all sanctuaries, however, gave protection +to the murderer, at least in +later times. Whitefriars, for instance, +once a refuge for all criminals, except +traitors, afforded shelter, after the +fifteenth century, to debtors only. In +1697 this sanctuary was abolished +entirely, at the same time with a +dozen others. It is not well ascertained +how it acquired the slang name +of Alsatia, which is first found in +a play of Shadwell's, <i>The Squire of +Alsatia</i>. Immortalised by the genius +of Scott, no sanctuary will longer +be remembered than Whitefriars. It +was one of the largest; many others +of the privileged districts being limited +to a court or alley, a few houses or a +church. Thus Ram Alley and Mitre +Court in Fleet Street, and Baldwin's +Gardens in Gray's Inn Lane, were +amongst these refugees of roguery and +crime. Whitefriars was much resorted +to by poets and players, dancing +and fencing masters, and persons of +the like vagabond and uncertain professions. +The poets and players were +attracted by the vicinity of the theatre +in Dorset Gardens, built after the fire +of London, by Sir Christopher Wren, +upon the site of Dorset House, the +residence of the Sackvilles. Here Sir +William Davenant's company of comedians—the +Duke of York's servants, +as they were called—performed for a +considerable time. It appears, however, +that even before the great fire, +there was a theatre in that neighbourhood. +Malone, in his <i>Prologomena</i> +to Shakspeare, quotes a memorandum +from the manuscript book +of Sir Henry Herbert, master of the +revels to King Charles I. It runs +thus:—"I committed Cromes, a broker +in Long Lane, the 16th of February +1634, to the Marshalsey, for lending +a church robe with the name of +Jesus upon it <i>to the players in Salisbury +Court</i>, to represent a Flamen, a +priest of the heathens. Upon his petition +of submission and acknowledgement +of his faults, I released him the +17th of February 1634."</p> + +<p>The ancient sanctuary at Westminster +is of historical and Shaksperian +celebrity, as the place where +Elizabeth Grey, Queen of Edward the +Fourth, took refuge, when Warwick +the king-maker marched to London to +dethrone her husband, and set Henry +the Sixth on the throne. It was a +stone church, built in the form of a +cross, and so strongly, that its demolition, +in 1750, was a matter of great +difficulty. The precinct of St Martin's-le-Grand +was also sanctuary. Many +curious particulars respecting it are +to be found in Kempe's <i>Historical +Notices of the Collegiate Church, or +Royal Free Chapel and Sanctuary of +St Martin's-le-Grand, London</i>, published +in 1825. In the reign of Henry +the Fifth, this right of sanctuary gave +rise to a great dispute between the +Dean of St Martin's and the city +authorities. "A soldier, confined in +Newgate, was on his way to Guildhall, +in charge of an officer of the city, +when on passing the south gate of St +Martin's, opposite to Newgate Street, +five of his comrades rushed out of +Panyer Alley, with daggers drawn, +rescued him, and fled with him to the +holy ground." The sheriff had the +sanctuary forced, and sent rescued +and rescuers to Newgate. The Dean +of St Martin's, indignant at this violation +of privilege, complained to the +king, who ordered the prisoners to be +liberated. Thereat the citizens, ever +sticklers for their rights, demurred,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_687" id="Page_687">[687]</a></span> +and at last it was made a Star-Chamber +matter. The dean pleaded his +own cause, and that right skilfully +and wittily. He denied that the chapel +of St Martin's formed any part of the +city of London, as claimed by the +corporation; quoted a statute of Edward +III. constituting St Martin's +and Westminster Abbey places of +privilege for treason, felony, and debt; +and mentioned the curious fact, that +"when the King's justices held their +sittings in St Martin's Gate, for the +trial of prisoners for treason or felony, +the accused were placed before them, +<i>on the other side of the street</i>, and carefully +guarded from advancing forward; +for if they ever passed the water-channel +which divided the middle of +the street, they might claim the saving +franchise of the sacred precinct, +and the proceedings against them +would be immediately annulled." The +dean also expressed his wonder that +the citizens of London should be the +men to impugn his church's liberties, +since more than three hundred worshipful +members of the corporation +had within a few years been glad to +claim its privilege. The Star-Chamber +decided against the city, and the +prisoners were restored to sanctuary. +The Savoy was another sanctuary; +and it was the custom of the inhabitants +to tar and feather those who +ventured to follow their debtors thither.</p> + +<p>In the theatrical district of London, +Mr Smith lingers long and fondly; for +there each house, almost every brick, +is rich in reminiscences, not only of +players and playhouses, but of wits, +poets, and artists. In the burial-ground +of St Paul's, Covent-Garden, +repose not a few of those who in their +lifetime inhabited or frequented the +neighbourhood. There lies the author +of Hudibras. "Mr Longueville, of +the Temple, Butler's steady friend, +and who mainly supported him in his +latter days, when the ungrateful Stuart +upon the throne, whose cause he +had so greatly served, had deserted +him, was anxious to have buried the +poet in Westminster Abbey. He +solicited for that purpose the contributions +of those wealthy persons, his +friends, whom he had heard speak +admiringly of Butler's genius, and +respectfully of his character, but none +would contribute, although he offered +to head the list with a considerable +sum." So poor Butler was buried in +Covent-Garden, privately but decently. +He is in good company. Sir +Peter Lely, the painter of dames, the +man who seemed created on purpose +to limn the languishing and voluptuous +beauties of Charles the Second's +court, is also buried in St Paul's; as +are also Wycherley and Southerne, +the dramatists; Haines and Macklin, +the comedians; Arne, the musician; +Strange, the engraver; and Walcot, +<i>alias</i> Peter Pindar. Sir Peter Lely +lived in Covent-Garden, in very great +style. "The original name of the +family was Vandervaes; but Sir Peter's +father, a gallant fellow, and an officer +in the army, having been born at a +perfumer's shop, the sign of the Lily, +was commonly known by the name of +Captain Lily, a name which his son +thought to be more euphonious to +English ears than Vandervaes, and +which he retained when he settled +here, slightly altering the spelling." +Wycherley, a dandy and a courtier, +as well as an author, had lodgings in +Bow Street, where Charles II. once +visited him when he was ill, and gave +him five hundred pounds to go a journey +to the south of France for the benefit +of his health. When he afterwards +married the Countess of Drogheda, +a young, rich, and beautiful +widow, she went to live with him in +Bow Street. She was very jealous, +and when he went over to the "Cock" +tavern, opposite to his house, he was +obliged to make the drawer open the +windows, that his lady might see there +was no woman in the company. This +"Cock" tavern was the great resort +of the rakes and mohocks of that day; +of Buckhurst, Sedley, Killigrew, and +others of the same kidney. In fact, +Bow Street was then the Bond Street +of London; and the "Cock," its +"Long's" or "Clarendon." Dryden, +in an epilogue, talks of the "Bow +Street beaux," and several contemporary +writers have similar allusions. +Like most places where the rich congregate, +this fashionable quarter was +a fine field for the ingenuity of pick-pockets, +and especially of wig and +sword-stealers, a class of thieves that +appeared with full-bottomed periwigs +and silver-hilted rapiers. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_688" id="Page_688">[688]</a></span> +those days, to keep a man's head decently +covered, cost nearly as much +as it now does to fill his belly and +clothe his back. Wigs were sometimes +of the value of forty or fifty +pounds. Ten or fifteen pounds was +an exceeding "low figure" for these +modish incumbrances. Out of respect +to such costly head-dress, hats were +never put on, but carried under the +arm. The wig-stealers could demand +no more. Mr Smith quotes a passage +from Gay, describing their manœuvres:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Nor is thy flaxen wig with safety worn:<br /></span> +<span class="i1">High on the shoulder, in a basket borne,<br /></span> +<span class="i1">Lurks the sly boy, whose hand, to rapine bred,<br /></span> +<span class="i1">Plucks off the curling honours of thy head."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Will's coffeehouse was in Bow Street, +and "being the grand resort of wits +and critics, it is not surprising," says +Mr Smith, "that it should become +also the headquarters of envy, slander, +and detraction." There was then +a lack of printed vehicles for the +venting of the evil passions of rival +<i>literati</i>; lampoons were circulated in +manuscript, and read at Will's. As +the acknowledgment of the authorship +might sometimes have had disagreeable +consequences for the author, +a fellow of the name of Julian, who +styled himself "Secretary to the +Muses," became the mouthpiece of +libeller and satirist. He read aloud +in the coffee-room the pasquinades +that were brought to him, and distributed +written copies to all who desired +them. Concerning this base fellow, +Sir Walter Scott gives some curious +particulars in his edition of Dryden's +works. There is no record of cudgelings +bestowed upon Julian, though it +is presumed that he did not escape +them. "He is described," says Malone, +"as a very drunken fellow, and +at one time was confined for a libel." +Dryden was a great sufferer from +these violent and slanderous attacks—a +sufferer, indeed, in more senses than +one; for, besides being himself made +the subject of venomous lampoons, he +was suspected unjustly of having +written one, and was waylaid and +beaten on his way from Will's to his +house in Gerrard Street. A reward +of fifty pounds was offered for the +apprehension of his assailants, but +they remained undiscovered. Lord +Rochester was their employer: Lord +Mulgrave the real author of the libel.</p> + +<p>In James Street, Covent-Garden, +where Garrick lodged, there resided, +from 1714 to 1720, a mysterious lady, +who excited great interest and curiosity. +Malcolm, in his <i>Anecdotes of +London during the Eighteenth Century</i>, +gives some account of her. She was +middle-sized, dark-haired, beautiful +and accomplished, and apparently +between thirty and forty years old. +She was wealthy, and possessed very +valuable jewels. Her death was sudden, +and occurred after a masquerade, +where she said she had conversed +with the King. It was remembered +that she had been seen in the private +apartments of Queen Anne; but after +that Queen's death, she lived in obscurity. +"She frequently said that +her father was a nobleman, but that, +her elder brother dying unmarried, +the title was extinct; adding, that +she had an uncle then living, whose +title was his least recommendation. +It seems likely enough that she was +connected in some way with the +Stuart family, and with their pretensions +to the throne."</p> + +<p>Dr Arne was born in King Street. +His father, an honest upholsterer, at +the sign of the "Two Crowns and +Cushions," is said to have been the +original of Murphy's farce of <i>The +Upholsterer</i>. He did not countenance +his son's musical propensities; and +young Arne had to get up in the +night, and practise by stealth on a +muffled spinet. The first intimation +received by the worthy mattress-maker +of his son's proficiency in music, +was one evening at a concert, where +he quite unexpectedly saw him officiating +as leader of the orchestra.</p> + +<p>Voltaire, when in England, after +his release from the Bastille, whither +he had been sent for libel, lodged in +Maiden Lane, at the White Peruke, +a wigmaker's shop. When walking +out, he was often annoyed by the +mob, who beheld, in his spare person, +polite manners, and satirical countenance, +the personification of their +notion of a Frenchman. "One day +he was beset by so great a crowd +that he was forced to shelter himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_689" id="Page_689">[689]</a></span> +against a doorway, where, mounting +the steps, he made a flaming speech +in English in praise of the magnanimity +of the English nation, and their +love of freedom. With this the people +were so delighted, that their jeers were +turned into applauses, and he was carried +in triumph to Maiden Lane on +the shoulders of the mob." From +which temporary elevation the arch-scoffer +doubtless looked down upon +his dupes with glee, suppressed, but +immeasurable.</p> + +<p>Quitting the abodes of wit and the +drama for those of legal learning, we +pass from Covent-Garden to Lincoln's +Inn Fields, through Great Queen +Street, in the Stuarts' day one of the +most fashionable in London. Here +dwelt Lord Herbert of Cherbury, and +here he wrote the greater part of his +treatise <i>De Veritate</i>, concerning the +publication of which he believed himself, +according to his own marvellous +account, to have had a special revelation +from heaven. A strange weakness, +or rather madness, on the part +of a man who disbelieved, or at least +doubted, of general revelation. For +himself, he thought an exception possible. +Insanity alone could explain +and excuse such illogical vanity. Near +to this singular enthusiast lived Sir +Godfrey Kneller, whose next-door +neighbour and friend was Radcliffe +the physician. "Kneller," says Horace +Walpole, in his Anecdotes of +Painting, "was fond of flowers, and +had a fine collection. As there was +great intimacy between him and the +physician, he permitted the latter to +have a door into his gardens; but +Radcliffe's servants gathering and +destroying the flowers, Kneller sent +him word he must shut up the door. +Radcliffe replied peevishly, "Tell him +he may do any thing with it but paint +it." "And I," answered Godfrey, +"can take any thing from him but his +physic." Pope and Gay were frequent +visitors at the painter's studio. At +the wall of Lincoln's Inn Garden, +Ben Jonson is by some asserted to +have laboured as a bricklayer. "He +helped," says Fuller, "in the building +of the new structure of Lincoln's +Inn, where, having a trowel in his +hand, he had a book in his pocket." +Aubrey tells the same story, which is +discredited by Mr Gifford, who denies +that the poet ever was a bricklayer. +Lord William Russell was executed +in Lincoln's Inn Fields, it being, Pennant +tells us, the nearest open space +from Newgate, where he was confined.</p> + +<p>Passing through Duke Street, where +Benjamin Franklin lodged, when working +as a journeyman printer in the adjacent +Great Wyld Street, into Clare +Market, the scene of Orator Henley's +holdings-forth, we thence, by Drury-Lane, +the residence of Nell Gwynne +and Nan Clarges before they became +respectively the King's mistress and a +Duke's wife, get back to the Strand and +move Citywards. But to refer, although +merely nominally, to one half the subjects +of interest met with on the way, +and suggested by Mr Smith, would +be to write an index, not a review. +Here, therefore, we pause, believing +that enough has been said to convince +the reader of the vast amount +of information and amusement derivable +from the bricks and stones of +London, and able to recommend to +him, should he himself set out on a +street pilgrimage, an excellent guide +and companion in the <i>Antiquarian +Ramble</i>.</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_690" id="Page_690">[690]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>MARLBOROUGH'S DISPATCHES.</h2> + +<h3>1711-1712.</h3> + + +<p>After the reduction of Bouchain, +Marlborough was anxious to commence +without delay the siege of +Quesnoy, the capture of which would, +in that quarter, have entirely broken +through the French barrier. He vigorously +stimulated his own government +accordingly, as well as that at +the Hague, to prepare the necessary +supplies and magazines, and expressed +a sanguine hope that the capture +of this last stronghold would be the +means of bringing about the grand +object of his ambition, and a general +peace.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The ministry, to appearance, +went with alacrity into his projects, +and every thing bore the aspect of +another great success closing the +campaign with honour, and probably +leading to a glorious and lasting +peace. Mr Secretary St John, in particular, +wrote in the warmest style of +cordiality, approving the project in +his own name as well as in that of +the Queen, and reiterating the assurances +that the strongest representations +had been made to the Dutch, +with a view to their hearty concurrence. +But all this was a mere cover +to conceal what the Tories had really +been doing to overturn Marlborough, +and abandon the main objects of the +war. Unknown to him, the secret negotiation +with the French Cabinet, +through Torcy and the British ministers, +through the agency of Mesnager, +had been making rapid progress. +No representations were made +to the Dutch, who were fully in the +secret of the pending negotiation, +about providing supplies; and on the +27th September, preliminaries of +peace, on the basis of the seven +articles proposed by Louis, were +signed by Mesnager on the part of +France, and by the two English secretaries +of state, in virtue of a special +warrant from the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> + +<p>The conditions of these preliminaries, +which were afterwards embodied +in the Treaty of Utrecht, were the +acknowledgement of the Queen's title +to the throne, and the Protestant +succession, by Louis; an engagement +to take all just and reasonable measures +that the crowns of France and +Spain should never be united on the +same head,—the providing a sufficient +barrier to the Dutch, the empire, and +the house of Austria; and the demolition +of Dunkirk, or a proper equivalent. +But the crown of Spain was +left to the Duke of Anjou, and no +provision whatever made to exclude +a Bourbon prince from succeeding to +it. Thus the main object of the contest—the +excluding the Bourbon family +from the throne of Spain, was +abandoned: and at the close of the +most important, successful, and glorious +war ever waged by England, +terms were agreed to, which left to +France advantages which could scarcely +have been hoped by the Cabinet of +Versailles as the fruit of a long series +of victories.</p> + +<p>Marlborough felt deeply this clandestine +negotiation, which not only +deprived him of the main object for +which, during his great career, he had +been contending, but evinced a duplicity +and want of confidence on the +part of his own government at its +close, which was a melancholy return +for such inappreciable public services.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> +But it was of no avail; the secession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_691" id="Page_691">[691]</a></span> +of England proved, as he had foreseen +from the outset, a deathblow to the +confederacy. Finding that nothing +more was to be done, either at the +head of the army, or in direction of +the negotiations, he returned home by +the Brille, after putting his army into +winter-quarters, and landed at Greenwich +on the 17th November. Though +well aware of the private envy, as well +as political hostility of which he was +the object, he did nothing that could +lower or compromise his high character +and lofty position; but in an +interview with the Queen, fully expressed +his opinion on the impolicy of +the course which ministers were now +adopting.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> He adopted the same +manly course in the noble speech which +he made in his place in Parliament, in +the debate on the address. Ministers +had put into the royal speech the unworthy +expression—"I am glad to +tell you, that notwithstanding <i>the arts +of those who delight in war</i>, both place +and time are appointed for opening the +treaty of a general peace." Lord Anglesea +followed this up, by declaring, +in the course of the debate, that the +country might have enjoyed the blessing +of peace soon after the battle of +Ramilies, if it had not been deferred +by some person whose interest it was +to prolong the war.</p> + +<p>Rising upon this, with inexpressible +dignity, and turning to where the +Queen sat, Marlborough said, "I appeal +to the Queen, whether I did not +constantly, while I was plenipotentiary, +give her Majesty and her Council +an account of all the propositions +which were made; and whether I did +not desire instruction for my conduct +on this subject. I can declare with a +good conscience, in the presence of her +Majesty, of this illustrious assembly, +and of God himself, who is infinitely +superior to all the powers of the earth, +and before whom, by the ordinary +course of nature, I shall soon appear +to render account of my actions, that +I was very desirous of a safe, honourable, +and lasting peace, and was very +far from wishing to prolong the war +for my own private advantage, as +several libels and discourses have most +falsely insinuated. My great age, and +my numerous fatigues in war, make +me ardently wish for the power to enjoy +a quiet repose, in order to think of +eternity. As to other matters, I have +not the least inducement, on any account, +to desire the continuance of the +war for my own interest, since my +services have been so generously rewarded +by her Majesty and her parliament; +but I think myself obliged to +make such an acknowledgment to her +Majesty and my country, that I am +always ready to serve them, whenever +my duty may require, to obtain an +honourable and lasting peace. Yet I +can by no means acquiesce in the +measures that have been taken to enter +into a negotiation of peace with +France, upon the foot of some pretended +preliminaries, which are now +circulated; since my opinion is the +same as that of most of the Allies, +that <i>to leave Spain and the West Indies +to the House of Bourbon, will be +the entire ruin of Europe</i>, which I have +with all fidelity and humility declared +to her Majesty, when I had the honour +to wait upon her after my arrival +from Holland."<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> + +<p>This manly declaration, delivered +in the most emphatic manner, produced +a great impression; and a resolution +against ministers was carried +in the House of Peers by a majority +of twelve. In the Commons, however, +they had large majority, and +an address containing expressions +similar to those used by Lord Anglesea, +reflecting on Marlborough, was +introduced and carried there. The +Whig majority, however, continued +firm in the Upper House; and the +leaders of that party began to entertain +sanguine hopes of success. The +Queen had let fall some peevish expressions +in regard to her ministers. +She had given her hand, in retiring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_692" id="Page_692">[692]</a></span> +from the House of Peers on the 15th +December, to the Duke of Somerset, +instead of her own Lord Treasurer; +it was apprehended her old partiality +for Marlborough was about to return; +Mrs Masham was in the greatest +alarm; and St John declared to Swift +that the Queen was false.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> The +ministers of the whole alliance seconded +the efforts of the Whigs, and strongly +represented the injurious effects +which would ensue to the cause of +European independence in general, +and the interests of England in particular, +if the preliminaries which had +been agreed to should be made the +basis of a general peace. The Dutch +made strong and repeated representations +on the subject; and the Elector +of Hanover delivered a memorial +strongly urging the danger which +would ensue if Spain and the Indies +were allowed to remain in the hands +of a Bourbon prince.</p> + +<p>Deeming themselves pushed to +extremities, and having failed in all +attempts to detach Marlborough from +the Whigs, Bolingbroke and the ministers +resolved on the desperate measure +of bringing forward the accusation +against him, of fraud and peculation +in the management of the public +monies entrusted to his management +in the Flemish campaign. The charges +were founded on the report of certain +commissioners to whom the matter +had been remitted; and which charged +the Duke with having appropriated +L.63,319 of the public monies destined +for the use of the English troops, and +L.282,366, as a per-centage of two +per cent on the sum paid to foreign +ambassadors during the ten years of +the war. In reply to these abominable +insinuations, the letter of the Duke +to the commissioners was published +on the 27th December, in which he +entirely refuted the charges, and +showed that he had never received +any sums or perquisites, not sanctioned +by previous and uniform usage, +and far less than had been received by +the general in the reign of William III. +And in regard to the L.282,000 of per-centage +on foreign subsidies, this was +proved to have been a voluntary gift +from those powers to the English +general, authorised by their signatures +and sanctioned by warrants from the +Queen. This answer made a great +impression; but ministers had gone +too far to retreat, and they ventured +on a step which, for the honour of the +country, has never, even in the worst +times, been since repeated. Trusting +to their majority in the Commons, +they dismissed the Duke from all his +situations on the 31st December; and +in order to stifle the voice of justice +in the Upper House, on the following +day patents were issued calling <i>twelve</i> +new peers to the Upper House. On +the following day they were introduced +amidst the groans of the House: +the Whig noblemen, says a contemporary +annalist, "cast their eyes on +the ground as if they had been invited +to the funeral of the peerage."<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> + +<p>Unbounded was the joy diffused +among the enemies of England by +these unparalleled measures. On +hearing of Marlborough's fall, Louis +XIV. said with triumph, "The dismission +of Marlborough will do all we +can desire." The Court of St Germains +was in exultation; and the +general joy of the Jacobites, both at +home and abroad, was sufficient to +demonstrate how formidable an enemy +to their cause they regarded the +Duke; and how destitute of truth were +the attempts to show that he had +been engaged in a secret design to +restore the exiled family. Marlborough +disdained to make any defence +of himself in Parliament; but +an able answer on his part was prepared +and circulated, which entirely +refuted the whole charges against the +illustrious general. So convinced were +ministers of this, that, contenting +themselves with resolutions against +him in the House of Commons, where +their influence was predominant, they +declined to prefer any impeachment +or accusation, even in the Upper +House swamped by their recent creations. +In the midst of this disgraceful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_693" id="Page_693">[693]</a></span> +scene of passion, envy, and ingratitude, +Prince Eugene arrived in London +to endeavour to stem the torrent +and, if possible, prevent the secession +of England from the confederacy. +He was lodged with the Lord Treasurer; +and the generous prince omitted +no opportunity of testifying his +undiminished respect for his illustrious +rival in the day of his tribulation. The +Treasurer having said to him at a +great dinner, "I consider this day as +the happiest of my life, since I have +the honour to see in my house the +greatest captain of the age." "If it be +so," replied Eugene, "I owe it to +your lordship;" alluding to his dismissal +of Marlborough. On another +occasion, some one having pointed out +a passage in one of the libels against +Marlborough, in which he was said +to have been "perhaps once fortunate." +"It is true," said Eugene; +"he was <i>once</i> fortunate; and it is the +greatest praise which can be bestowed +on him; for, as he was <i>always</i> successful—that +implies that all his other +successes were owing to his own conduct."<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<p>Alarmed at the weight which +Marlborough might derive from the +presence and support of so great a +commander, and the natural sympathy +of all generous minds with the cordial +admiration which these two great men +entertained for each other, the ministers +had recourse to a pretended conspiracy, +which it was alleged had been discovered +on the part of Marlborough and +Eugene to seize the government and dethrone +the Queen, on the 17th November. +St John and Oxford had too much +sense to publish such a ridiculous +statement; but it was made the subject +of several secret examinations +before the Privy Council, in order to +augment the apprehensions and secure +the concurrence of the Queen in their +measures. Such as it was, the tale was +treated as a mere malicious invention, +even by the contemporary foreign annalists,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> +though it has since been repeated +as true by more than one party +native historian.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> This ridiculous calumny, +and the atrocious libels as to the +embezzlement of the public money, +however, produced the desired effect. +They inflamed the mind of the Queen, +and removed that vacillation in regard +to the measures of government, from +which so much danger was apprehended +by the Tory administration. +Having answered the desired end, they +were allowed quietly to go to sleep. +No proceedings in the House of Peers, +or elsewhere, followed the resolutions +of the Commons condemnatory +of Marlborough's financial administration +in the Low Countries. His +defence, published in the newspapers, +though abundantly vigorous, was neither +answered nor prosecuted as a +libel on the Commissioners or House of +Commons; and the alleged Stuart conspiracy +was never more heard of, till it +was long after drawn from its slumber +by the malice of English party spirit.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the negotiations at +Utrecht for a general peace continued, +and St John and Oxford soon found +themselves embarrassed by the extravagant +pretensions which their +own conduct had revived in the +plenipotentiaries of Louis. So great +was the general indignation excited +by the publication of the preliminaries +at Utrecht, that St John felt the +necessity of discontinuing any general +negotiation, and converting it into a +private correspondence between the +plenipotentiaries of the English and +French crowns.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> Great difficulty was +experienced in coming to an accommodation, +in consequence of the rising +demands of the French plenipotentiaries, +who, deeming themselves secure +of support from the English +ministry, not only positively refused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_694" id="Page_694">[694]</a></span> +to abandon Spain and the Indies, but +now demanded the Netherlands for +the Elector of Bavaria, and the cession +of Lille and Tournay in return +for the seizure of Dunkirk. The sudden +death, however, first of the Dauphiness +of France, and then of the +Dauphin, the former of whom was +carried off by a malignant fever on +the 12th, the latter on the 18th February +1712, followed by the death of +their eldest son on the 23d, produced +feelings of commiseration for the aged +monarch, now in his seventy-third +year and broken down by misfortunes, +which rendered the progress of the +separate negotiation more easy. England +agreed to abandon its allies, +and the main object of the war, on +condition that a guarantee should be +obtained against the crowns of France +and Spain being united on the same +head. On this frail security, the +English ministry agreed to withdraw +their contingent from the Allied army; +and to induce the Dutch to follow +their example, Ipres was offered +to them on the same terms as Dunkirk +had been to Great Britain.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> + +<p>The disastrous effects of this secret +and dishonourable secession, on the +part of England, from the confederacy, +were soon apparent. Great had been +the preparations of the continental +Allies for continuing the contest; and +while the English contingent remained +with them, their force was irresistible. +Prince Eugene was at the head of the +army in Flanders, and, including the +British forces under the Duke of Ormond, +it amounted to the immense +force of 122,000 effective men, with +120 guns, sixteen howitzers, and +an ample pontoon train. To oppose +this, by far the largest army he +had yet had to confront in the Low +Countries, Villars had scarcely at his +command 100,000 men, and they were +ill equipped, imperfectly supplied with +artillery, and grievously depressed in +spirit by their long series of disasters. +Eugene commanded the army of the +confederates; for although the English +ministry had been lavish in their +promises of unqualified support, the +Dutch had begun to entertain serious +suspicions of their sincerity, and bestowed +the command on that tried +officer instead of the Duke of Ormond, +who had succeeded Marlborough in +the command of the English contingent. +But Marlborough's soul still +directed the movements of the army; +and Eugene's plan of the campaign +was precisely that which that great +commander had chalked out at the +close of the preceding one. This was +to besiege Quesnoy and Landrecies, +<i>the last</i> of the iron barrier of France +which in this quarter protected the +frontier, and immediately after to +inundate the open country, and advance +as rapidly as possible to Paris. +It was calculated they might reach it +in <i>ten</i> marches from Landrecies; and +it was well known that there was +neither a defensible position nor fortress +of any sort to arrest the invaders' +march. The Court of Versailles were +in despair: the general opinion was, +that the King should leave Paris, +and retire to Blois; and although the +proud spirit of Louis recoiled at such +a proposal, yet, in taking leave +of Marshal Villars, he declared—"Should +a disaster occur, I will go +to Peronne or St Quentin, collect all +my troops, and with you risk a last +effort, determined to perish, or save +the State."<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p> + +<p>But the French monarch was spared +this last desperate alternative. The +defection of the British Cabinet saved +his throne, when all his means of +defence were exhausted. Eugene, on +opening the campaign on the 1st May, +anxiously inquired of the Duke of +Ormond whether he had authority to +act vigorously in the campaign, and +received an answer that he had the +same authority as the Duke of Marlborough, +and was prepared to join +in attacking the enemy. Preparations +were immediately made for forcing +the enemy's lines, which covered +Quesnoy, previous to an attack on +that fortress. But, at the very time +that this was going on, the work of +perfidious defection was consummated. +On May 10, Mr Secretary +St John sent positive orders to Ormond +to take no part in any general +engagement, as the questions at issue +between the contending parties were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_695" id="Page_695">[695]</a></span> +on the point of adjustment.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> Intimation +of this secret order was sent +to the Court of France, but it was +directed to be kept a positive secret +from the Allied generals. Ormond, +upon the receipt of these orders, +opened a private correspondence with +Villars, informing him that their +troops were no longer enemies, and +that the future movements of the +troops under his command were +only to get forage and provisions. +This correspondence was unknown +to Eugene; but circumstances soon +brought the defection of England to +light. In the middle of it, the Allied +forces had passed the Scheldt, and +taken post between Noyeller and the +Boiase, close to Villars's position. To +bring the sincerity of the English to +a test, Eugene proposed a general +attack on the enemy's line, which was +open and exposed, on the 28th May. +<i>But Ormond declined</i>, requesting the +operation might be delayed for a few +days. The defection was now apparent, +and the Dutch deputies loudly +condemned such dishonorable conduct; +but Eugene, anxious to make +the most of the presence of the British +troops, though their co-operation could +no longer be relied on, proposed to +besiege Quesnoy, which was laid open +by Villars's retreat. Ormond, who felt +acutely the painful and discreditable +situation in which, without any fault +of his own, he was placed, could not +refuse, and the investment took place +that very day. The operations were +conducted by <i>the Dutch and Imperial +troops alone</i>; and the town was taken, +after a siege of six weeks, on the 10th +July.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> + +<p>This disgraceful defection on the +part of the English government excited, +as well it might, the utmost +indignation among the Allies, and +produced mingled feelings of shame +and mortification among all real patriots +or men of honour in this country. +By abandoning the contest in this +manner, when it was on the very +point of being crowned with success, +the English lost the fruit of TEN costly +and bloody campaigns, and suffered +the war to terminate without attaining +the main object for which it had +been undertaken. Louis XIV., defeated, +and all but ruined, was permitted +to retain for his grandson the +Spanish succession; and England, +victorious, and within sight, as it +were, of Paris, was content to halt in +the career of victory, and lost the +opportunity, never to be regained for +a century to come, of permanently +restraining the ambition of France. +It was the same as if, a few days after +the battle of Waterloo, England had +concluded a separate peace, guaranteeing +the throne of Spain to Joseph +Buonaparte, and providing only for +its not being held also by the Emperor +of France. Lord Halifax gave vent +to the general indignation of all generous +and patriotic men, when he said, +in the debate on the address, on 28th +May, after enumerating the proud +list of victories which, since the commencement +of the war, had attended +the arms of England,—"But all this +pleasing prospect is totally effaced by +the orders given to the Queen's general, +not to act offensively against the +enemy. I pity that heroic and gallant +general, who, on other occasions, took +delight to charge the most formidable +corps and strongest squadrons, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_696" id="Page_696">[696]</a></span> +cannot but be uneasy at his being +fettered with shackles, and thereby +prevented from reaping the glory +which he might well expect from leading +on troops so long accustomed to +conquer. I pity the Allies, who have +relied upon the aid and friendship of +the British nation, perceiving that +what they had done at so great an +expense of blood and treasure is of +no effect, as they will be exposed to +the revenge of that power against +whom they have been so active. I +pity the Queen, her royal successors, +and the present and future generations +of Britain, when they shall find the +nation deeply involved in debt, and +that the common enemy who occasioned +it, though once near being +sufficiently humbled, does still triumph, +and design their ruin; and are informed +that this proceeds from the +conduct of the British cabinet, in neglecting +to make a right use of those +advantages and happy occasions which +their own courage and God's blessing +had put into their hands."<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> + +<p>Marlborough seconded the motion +of Halifax, in a speech of peculiar +interest, as the last which he made +on the conduct of this eventful war. +"Although," said he, "the negotiations +for peace may be far advanced, +yet I can see no reason which +should induce the Allies or ourselves to +remain inactive, and not push on the +war with the utmost vigour, as we have +incurred the expense of recruiting the +army for the service of another year. +That army is now in the field; and +it has often occurred that a victory +or a siege produced good effects and +manifold advantages, when treaties +were still further advanced than in +the present negotiation. And as I +am of opinion that we should make +the most we can for ourselves, the +only infallible way to force France to +an entire submission, is to besiege and +occupy Cambray or Arras, and to +carry the war into the heart of the +kingdom. But as the troops of the +enemy are now encamped, it is impossible +to execute that design, unless +they are withdrawn from their position; +and as they cannot be reduced +to retire for want of provisions, they +must be attacked and forced. For +the truth of what I say I appeal to a +noble duke (Argyle) whom I rejoice +to see in this house, because he knows +the country, and is as good a judge of +these matters as any person now +alive." Argyle, though a bitter personal +enemy of Marlborough, thus +appealed to, said,—"I do indeed +know that country, and the situation +of the enemy in their present camp, +and I agree with the noble duke, that +it is impossible to remove them +without attacking and driving them +away; and, until that is effected, +neither of the two sieges alluded to +can be undertaken. I likewise agree +that the capture of these two towns +is the most effectual way to carry on +the war with advantage, and would +be a fatal blow to France."<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the creation of +twelve peers to swamp the Upper +House, it is doubtful how the division +would have gone, had not Lord +Strafford, a cabinet minister, observed, +in reply to the charge, that the British +government was about to conclude a +separate peace,—"Nothing of that +nature has ever been intended; for +such a peace would be so <i>foolish, villanous, +and knavish</i>, that every servant +of the Queen must answer for it +with his head to the nation. The +Allies <i>are acquainted with our proceedings, +and satisfied with our terms</i>." +This statement was made by a British +minister, in his place in Parliament, +on the 28th May, eighteen days +<i>after</i> the private letter from Mr Secretary +St John to the Duke of Ormond, +already quoted, mentioning +the private treaty with Louis, enjoining +him to keep it secret from the +Allies, and communicate clandestinely +with Villars. But such a declaration, +coming from an accredited +minister of the crown, produced a +great impression, and ministers prevailed +by a majority of sixty-eight to +forty. In the course of the debate, +Earl Poulett let fall such cutting expressions +against Marlborough for +having, as he alleged, led his troops +to certain destruction, in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_697" id="Page_697">[697]</a></span> +profit by the sale of the officers' commissions,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> +that the Duke, without +deigning a reply, sent him a challenge +on leaving the house. The agitation, +however, of the Earl, who was less +cool than the iron veteran on the +prospect of such a meeting, revealed +what was going forward, and by an +order of the Queen, the affair was terminated +without bloodshed.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> + +<p>It soon appeared how much foundation +there was for the assertion of the +Queen's ministers, that England was +engaged in no separate negotiation for a +peace. On the 6th June were promulgated +the outlines of the treaty which +afterwards became so famous as the +<span class="smcap">Peace of Utrecht</span>. The Duke of +Anjou was to renounce for ever, for +himself and his descendants, all claim +to the French crown; and the crown of +Spain was to descend, by <i>the male line</i> +only, to the Duke of Anjou, and failing +them to certain princes of the +Bourbon line by <i>male</i> descent, always +excluding him who was possessed of +the French crown.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> Gibraltar and +Minorca remained to England; Dunkirk +was to be demolished; the Spanish +Netherlands were to be ceded to +Austria, with Naples, Milan, and +Sardinia; the barrier towns were to be +ceded to the Dutch, as required in +1709, with the exception of two or +three places. Spain and her Indian +colonies remained with the Duke of +Anjou and his male heirs, as King of +Spain. And thus, at the conclusion +of the most glorious and successful +war recorded in English history, did +the English cabinet leave to France +the great object of the contest,—the +crown of Spain, and its magnificent +Indian colonies, placed on the head of +a prince of the Bourbon race. With +truth did Marlborough observe, in the +debate on the preliminaries—"The +measures pursued in England for the +last year are directly contrary to her +Majesty's engagements with the Allies, +sully the triumphs and glories of her +reign, and will render the English +name odious to all other nations."<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> +It was all in vain. The people loudly +clamoured for peace; the Tory ministry +was seconded by a vast numerical +majority throughout the country. The +peace was approved of by large majorities +in both houses. Parliament +was soon after prorogued; and Marlborough, +seeing his public career terminated, +solicited and obtained passports +to go abroad, which he soon +afterwards did.</p> + +<p>Great was the mourning, and loud +the lamentations, both in the British +and Allied troops, when the fatal day +arrived that the former were to +separate from their old companions in +arms. On the 10th July, the very +day on which Quesnoy surrendered, +the last of their long line of triumphs, +Ormond, having exhausted every sort +of procrastination to postpone the +dreaded hour, was compelled to order +the English troops to march. He in +vain, however, gave a similar order +to the auxiliaries in British pay; the +hereditary Prince of Cassel replied—"The +Hessians would gladly march, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_698" id="Page_698">[698]</a></span> +it were to fight the French." Another, +"We do not serve for pay, but fame." +The native British, however, were +compelled to obey the order of their +sovereign, and they set out, twelve +thousand strong, from the camp at +Cambresis. Of all the Germans in +British pay, only one battalion of +Holstein men, and a regiment of +dragoons from Liege, accompanied +them. Silent and dejected they took +their way; the men kept their eyes +on the ground, the officers did not +venture to return the parting salute +of the comrades who had so long +fought and conquered by their side. +Not a word was spoken on either +side, the hearts of all were too big +for utterance; but the averted eye, +the mournful air, the tear often trickling +down the cheek, told the deep +dejection which was every where felt. +It seemed as if the Allies were following +to the grave, with profound affection, +the whole body of their British +comrades. But when the troops +reached their resting-place for the +night, and the suspension of arms was +proclaimed at the head of each regiment, +the general indignation became +so vehement, that even the bonds of +military discipline were unable to restrain +it. A universal cry, succeeded +by a loud murmur, was heard through +the camp. The British soldiers were +seen tearing their hair, casting their +muskets on the ground, and rending +their clothes, uttering all the while +furious exclamations against the government +which had so shamefully +betrayed them. The officers were so +overwhelmed with vexation, that they +sat apart in their tents looking on the +ground, through very shame; and for +several days shrunk from the sight +even of their fellow-soldiers. Many +left their colours to serve with the +Allies, others withdrew, and whenever +they thought of Marlborough +and their days of glory, tears filled +their eyes.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> + +<p>It soon appeared that it was not +without reason that these gloomy presentiments +prevailed on both sides, +as to the consequences of the British +withdrawing from the contest. So +elated were the French by their secession, +that they speedily lost all +sense of gratitude and even honesty, +and refused to give up Dunkirk to +the British, which was only effected +with great difficulty on the earnest +entreaties of the British government. +So great were the difficulties which +beset the negotiation, that St John +was obliged to repair in person to +Paris, where he remained <i>incognito</i> +for a considerable time, and effected a +compromise of the objects still in dispute +between the parties. The secession +of England from the confederacy +was now openly announced; and, as +the Allies refused to abide by her preliminaries, +the separate negotiation +continued between the two countries, +and lingered on for nearly a year after +the suspension of arms.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Eugene, after the departure +of the British, continued his +operations, and laid siege to Landrecies, +the last of the barrier fortresses +on the road to Paris, in the end of +July. But it soon appeared that +England had been the soul of the +confederacy; and that it was the tutelary +arm of Marlborough which had +so long averted disaster, and chained +victory to its standard. Nothing but +defeat and misfortune attended the +Allies after her secession. Even the +great and tried abilities of Eugene +were inadequate to procure for them +one single success, after the colours of +England no longer waved in their +ranks. During the investment of +Landrecies, Villars drew together the +garrisons from the neighbouring towns, +no longer threatened by the English +troops, and surprised at Denain a +body of eight thousand men, stationed +there for the purpose of facilitating +the passage of convoys to the besieging +army. This disaster rendered it +necessary to raise the siege of Landrecies, +and Villars immediately resumed +the offensive. Douay was +speedily invested: a fruitless effort of +Eugene to retain it only exposed him +to the mortification of witnessing its +surrender. Not expecting so sudden +a reverse of fortune, the fortresses +recently taken were not provided +with provisions or ammunition, and +were in no condition to make any +effectual resistance. Quesnoy soon +fell from this cause; and Bouchain,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_699" id="Page_699">[699]</a></span> +the last trophy of Marlborough's victories, +opened its gates on the 10th +October. The coalition was paralysed; +and Louis, who so lately +trembled for his capital, found his +armies advancing from conquest to +conquest, and tearing from the Allies +the fruits of all their victories.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> + +<p>These disasters, and the evident +inability of the Allied armies, without +the aid of the English, to keep their +ground in Flanders, in a manner compelled +the Dutch, how unwilling soever, +to follow the example of Great +Britain, in treating separately with +France. They became parties, accordingly, +to the pacification at +Utrecht; and Savoy also concluded +peace there. But the barrier for +which they had so ardently contended +was, by the desertion of England, so +much reduced, that it ceased to afford +any effectual security against the encroachments +of France. That power +held the most important fortresses in +Flanders which had been conquered +by Louis XIV.—Cambray, Valenciennes, +and Arras. Lille, the conquest +on which Marlborough most +prided himself, was restored by the +Allies, and with it Bethune, Aire, St +Venant, and many other places. The +Dutch felt, in the strongest manner, +the evil consequences of a treaty +which thus, in a manner, left the enemy +at their gates; and the irritation +consequently produced against England +was so violent that it continued +through the greater part of the eighteenth +century. Austria, indignant at +being thus deserted by all her Allies, +continued the contest alone through +another campaign. But she was +overmatched in the contest; her resources +were exhausted; and, by the +advice of Eugene, conferences were +opened at Rastadt, from which, as a +just reward for her perfidy, England +was excluded. A treaty was soon +concluded on the basis of the Treaty +of Ryswick. It left Charles the Low +Countries, and all the Spanish territories +in Italy, except Sicily; but, +with Sardinia, Bavaria was restored. +France retained Landau, but restored +New Brisach, Fribourg, and Kehl. +Thus was that great power left in +possession of the whole conquests +ceded to Louis XIV. by the treaties +of Aix-la-Chapelle, Nimeguen, and +Ryswick, with the vast addition of +the family alliance with a Bourbon +prince, possessing Spain and the Indies. +A century of repeated wars on +the part of England and the European +powers, with France, followed by the +dreadful struggle of the Revolutionary +contest, and the costly campaigns of +Wellington, were the legacy bequeathed +to the nation by Bolingbroke +and Harley, in arresting the course of +Marlborough's victories, and restoring +France to preponderance, when it was +on the eve of being reduced to a level +consistent with the independence of +other states. Well might Mr Pitt +style the Treaty of Utrecht "the indelible +reproach of the age!"<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> + +<p>Marlborough's public career was +now terminated; and the dissensions +which had cast him down from power +had so completely extinguished his +political influence, that during the remaining +years of his life, he rarely +appeared at all in public life. On +landing on the Continent, at Brille, on +the 24th November, he was received +with such demonstrations of gratitude +and respect, as showed how deeply +his public services had sunk into the +hearts of men, and how warmly they +appreciated his efforts to avert from +England and the Coalition, the evils +likely to flow from the Treaty of +Utrecht. At Maestricht he was +welcomed with the honours usually +reserved for sovereign princes; and +although he did his utmost, on the +journey to Aix-la-Chapelle, to avoid +attracting the public attention, and +to slip unobserved through byways, +yet the eagerness of the public, +or the gratitude of his old soldiers, +discovered him wherever he went. +Wherever he passed, crowds of +all ranks were waiting to see him, +could they only get a glimpse of the +hero who had saved the empire, and +filled the world with his renown. All +were struck with his noble air and +demeanour, softened, though not +weakened, by the approach of age. +They declared that his appearance +was not less conquering than his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_700" id="Page_700">[700]</a></span> +sword. Many burst into tears when +they recollected what he had been, +and what he was, and how unaccountably +the great nation to which +he belonged had fallen from the height +of glory to such degradation. Yet +was the manner of Marlborough so +courteous and yet animated, his conversation +so simple and yet cheerful, +that it was commonly said at the +time, "that the only things he had +forgotten were his own deeds, and the +only things he remembered were the +misfortunes of others." Crowds of +all ranks, from the highest to the +lowest, hastened to attend his levee +at Aix-la-Chapelle on the 17th January +1713, and the Duke de Lesdeguières, +on leaving it, said, with equal +justice and felicity,—"I can now say +that I have seen the man who is equal +to the Maréchal de Turenne in conduct, +to the Prince of Condé in courage, +and superior to the Maréchal de +Luxembourg in success."<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> + +<p>But if the veteran hero found some +compensation, in the unanimous admiration +of foreign nations, for the ingratitude +with which he had been +treated by the government of his own, +he was soon destined to find that +gratitude for past services was not to +be looked for among foreign nations +any more than his own countrymen. +Upon the restoration of the Elector, +by the treaty of Rastadt, the principality +of Mendleheim, which had been +bestowed upon Marlborough after the +battle of Blenheim by the Emperor +Joseph, was resumed by the Elector. +No stipulation in his favour was made +either by the British government or +the Imperial court, and therefore the +estate, which yielded a clear revenue +of £2000 a-year, was lost to Marlborough. +He transmitted, through +Prince Eugene, a memorial to the +Emperor, claiming an indemnity for +his loss; but though it was earnestly +supported by that generous prince, +yet being unaided by any efforts on +the part of the English ministry, it +was allowed to fall asleep. An indemnity +was often promised, even by +the Emperor in writing,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> but performance +of the promise was always +evaded. The Duke was made a prince +of the Holy Roman Empire, but obtained +nothing but empty honours for +his services; and at this moment, these +high-sounding titles are all that remain +in the Marlborough family to +testify the gratitude of the Cæsars to +the hero who saved their Imperial +and Royal thrones.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> + +<p>The same oblivion of past and inappreciable +services, when they were +no longer required, pursued the illustrious +general in his declining years, +on the part of his own countrymen. +The got-up stories about embezzlement +and dilapidation of the public +money, in Flanders, were allowed to +go to sleep, when they had answered +their destined purpose of bringing +about his fall from political power. +No grounds were found for a prosecution +which could afford a chance +of success, even in the swamped and +now subservient House of Peers. But +every thing that malice could suggest, +or party bitterness effect, was done to +fill the last days of the immortal hero +with anxiety and disquiet. Additional +charges were brought against +him by the commissioners, founded +on the allegation that he had drawn +a pistole per troop, and ten shillings +a company, for mustering the soldiers, +though, in the foreign auxiliaries, it +was often not done. Marlborough at +once transmitted a refutation of those +fresh charges, so clear and decisive, +that it entirely silenced those accusations.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> +But his enemies, though +driven from this ground, still persecuted +him with unrelenting malice. +The noble pile of Blenheim, standing, +as it did, an enduring monument at +once of the Duke's services and the +nation's gratitude, was a grievous +eyesore to the dominant majority in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_701" id="Page_701">[701]</a></span> +England, and they did all in their +power to prevent its completion.</p> + +<p>Orders were first given to the Treasury, +on June 1, 1712, to suspend +any further payments from the royal +exchequer; and commissioners were +appointed to investigate the claims of +the creditors and expense of the work. +They recommended the payment of a +third to each claimant, which was +accordingly made; but as many years +elapsed, and no further payments to +account were made, the principal creditors +brought an action in the Court of +Exchequer against the Duke, as personally +liable for the amount, and the +court pronounced decree in favour of +the plaintiffs, which was affirmed, +after a long litigation, in the House +of Lords. Meanwhile the works, for +want of any paymaster, were at a +stand; and this noble pile, this proud +monument of a nation's gratitude, +would have remained a modern ruin +to this day, had it not been completed +from the private funds of the hero +whose services it was intended to +commemorate. But the Duke of +Marlborough, as well as the Duchess, +were too much interested in the work +to allow it to remain unfinished. He +left by his will fifty thousand pounds +to complete the building, which was +still in very unfinished state at the +time of his death, and the duty was +faithfully performed by the Duchess +after his decease. From the accounts +of the total expense, preserved at +Blenheim, it appears, that out of three +hundred thousand pounds, which the +whole edifice cost, no less than sixty +thousand pounds was provided from +the private funds of the Duke of +Marlborough.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p> + +<p>It may readily be believed that +so long-continued and unrelenting a +persecution of so great a man and +distinguished benefactor of his country, +proceeded from something more +than mere envy at greatness, powerful +as that principle ever is in little +minds. In truth, it was part of the +deep-laid plan for the restoration of the +Stuart line, which the declining state +of the Queen's health, and the probable +unpopularity of the Hanover family, +now revived in greater vigour than ever. +During this critical period, Marlborough, +who was still on the Continent, +remained perfectly firm to the +Act of Settlement, and the Protestant +cause. Convinced that England was +threatened with a counter-revolution, +he used his endeavours to secure the +fidelity of the garrison of Dunkirk, +and offered to embark at its head in +support of the Protestant succession. +He sent General Cadogan to make +the necessary arrangements with +General Stanhope for transporting +troops to England, to support the +Hanoverian succession, and offered to +lend the Elector of Hanover £20,000 +to aid him in his endeavour to secure +the succession. So sensible was the +Electoral house of the magnitude of +his services, and his zeal in their behalf, +that the Electress Sophia entrusted +him with a blank warrant, +appointing him commander-in-chief +of her troops and garrisons, on her accession +to the crown.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> + +<p>On the death of Queen Anne, on +August 1, 1714, Marlborough returned +to England, and was soon after appointed +captain-general and master-general +of the ordnance. Bolingbroke +and Oxford were shortly after +impeached, and the former then +threw off the mask, by flying to +France, where he openly entered into +the service of the Pretender at St +Germains. Marlborough's great popularity +with the army was soon after +the means of enabling him to appease +a mutiny in the guards, which at first +threatened to be alarming. During +the rebellion in 1715, he directed, in a +great degree, the operations against +the rebels, though he did not actually +take the field; and to his exertions, +its rapid suppression was in a great +measure to be ascribed.</p> + +<p>But the period had now arrived +when the usual fate of mortality +awaited this illustrious man. Severe +domestic bereavements preceded his +dissolution, and in a manner weaned +him from a world which he had passed +through with so much glory. His +daughter, Lady Bridgewater, died in +March 1714; and this was soon followed +by the death of his favourite +daughter, Anne Countess of Sunderland, +who united uncommon elegance +and beauty to unaffected piety and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_702" id="Page_702">[702]</a></span> +exemplary virtue. Marlborough himself +was not long of following his +beloved relatives to the grave. On +the 28th May 1716, he was seized +with a fit of palsy, so severe that it +deprived him, for a time, alike of speech +and recollection. He recovered, however, +to a certain degree, and went to +Bath, for the benefit of the waters; +and a gleam of returning light shone +upon his mind when he visited Blenheim +on the 18th October. He expressed +great satisfaction at the survey +of the plan; which reminded him +of his great achievements; but when +he saw, in one of the few rooms +which were finished, a picture of +himself at the battle of Blenheim, +he turned away with a mournful +air, with the words—"Something +then, but now——" On November +18th he was attacked by another +stroke, more severe than the former, +and his family hastened to pay the +last duties, as they conceived, to their +departing parent. The strength of +his constitution, however, triumphed +for a time even over this violent attack; +but though he continued contrary +to his own wishes, in conformity +with those of his friends, who needed +the support of his great reputation, to +hold office, and occasionally appeared +in parliament, yet his public +career was at an end. A considerable +addition was made to his fortune by +the sagacity of the Duchess, who persuaded +him to embark part of his +funds in the South Sea scheme; and +foreseeing the crash which was approaching, +sold out so opportunely, +that, instead of losing, she gained +£100,000 by the transaction. On +the 27th November 1721, he made +his last appearance in the House of +Lords; but in June 1722, he was +again attacked with paralysis so violently, +that he lay for some days +nearly motionless, though in perfect +possession of his faculties. To a +question from the Duchess, whether +he heard the prayers read as usual +at night, on the 15th June, in his +apartment; he replied, "Yes; and +I joined in them." These were his +last words. On the morning of the +16th he sunk rapidly, and, at four +o'clock, calmly breathed his last, in +the 72d year of his age.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p> + +<p>Envy is generally extinguished by +death, because the object of it has +ceased to stand in the way of those +who feel it. Marlborough's funeral +obsequies were celebrated with uncommon +magnificence, and all ranks +and parties joined in doing him honour. +His body lay in state for several +days at Marlborough House, and +crowds flocked together from all the +three kingdoms to witness the imposing +ceremony of his funeral, which +was performed with the utmost magnificence, +on the 28th June. The procession +was opened by a long array +of military, among whom were General, +now Lord Cadogan, and many +other officers who had suffered and +bled in his cause. Long files of heralds, +officers-at-arms, and pursuivants +followed, bearing banners emblazoned +with his armorial achievements, +among which appeared, in uncommon +lustre, the standard of Woodstock, +exhibiting the arms of France on the +Cross of St George. In the centre of +the cavalcade was a lofty car, drawn +by eight horses, which bore the mortal +remains of the Hero, under a +splendid canopy adorned by plumes, +military trophies, and heraldic devices +of conquest. Shields were affixed to +the sides, bearing the names of the +towns he had taken, and the fields +he had won. Blenheim was there, +and Oudenarde, Ramilies and Malplaquet; +Lille and Tournay; Bethune, +Douay, and Ruremonde; Bouchain +and Mons, Maestricht and Ghent. +This array of names made the English +blush for the manner in which +they had treated their hero. On +either side were five generals in military +mourning, bearing aloft banderoles, +on which were emblazoned +the arms of the family. Eight +dukes supported the pall; besides +the relatives of the deceased, the +noblest and proudest of England's +nobility joined in the procession. Yet +the most moving part of the ceremony +was the number of old soldiers who +had combated with the hero on his +fields of fame, and who might now be +known, in the dense crowds which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_703" id="Page_703">[703]</a></span> +thronged the streets, by their uncovered +heads, grey hairs, and the +tears which trickled down their +cheeks. The body was deposited, +with great solemnity, in Westminster +Abbey, at the east end of the tomb +of Henry VII.; but this was not its +final resting-place in this world. It +was soon after removed to the chapel +at Blenheim, where it was deposited +in a magnificent mausoleum; and +there it still remains, surmounted by +the noble pile which the genius of +Vanbrugh had conceived to express a +nation's gratitude.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> + +<p>The extraordinary merit of Marlborough's +military talents will not be +duly appreciated, unless the peculiar +nature of the contest he was called on +to direct, and the character which he +assumed in his time, is taken into +consideration.</p> + +<p>The feudal times had ceased—at +least so far as the raising of a military +force by its machinery was concerned. +Louis XIV., indeed, when pressed for +men, more than once summoned the +ban and arrière-ban of France to his +standards, and he always had a gallant +array of feudal nobility in his +antechambers, or around his headquarters. +But war, both on his part +and that of his antagonists, was carried +on, generally speaking, with +standing armies, supported by the +belligerent state. The vast, though +generally tumultuary array which the +Plantagenet or Valois sovereigns summoned +to their support, but which, +bound only to serve for forty days, +generally disappeared before a few +months of hostilities were over, could +no longer be relied on. The modern +system invented by revolutionary +France, of making war maintain war, +and sending forth starving multitudes +with arms in their hands, to subsist +by the plunder of the adjoining states, +was unknown. The national passions +had not been roused, which alone +would bring it into operation. The +decline of the feudal system forbade +the hope that contests could be maintained +by the chivalrous attachment +of a faithful nobility: the democratic +spirit had not been so aroused as to +supply its place by popular fervour. +Religious passions, indeed, had been +strongly excited; but they had prompted +men rather to suffer than to act: +the disputations of the pulpit were +their natural arena: in the last extremity +they were more allied to the +resignation of the martyr, than the +heroism of the soldier. Between the +two, there extended a long period +of above a century and a half, +during which governments had acquired +the force, and mainly relied +on the power, of standing armies; but +the resources at their disposal for +their support were so limited, that +the greatest economy in the husbanding +both of men and money was +indispensable.</p> + +<p>Richard Cœur de Lion, Edward III., +and Henry V., were the models of +feudal leaders, and their wars were a +faithful mirror of the feudal contests. +Setting forth at the head of a force, +which, if not formidable in point of +numbers, was generally extremely so +from equipment and the use of arms, +the nobles around them were generally +too proud and high-spirited to +decline a combat, even on any possible +terms of disadvantage. They +took the field as the knights went to +a <i>champ clos</i>, to engage their adversaries +in single conflict; and it was +deemed equally dishonourable to retire +without fighting from the one as +the other. But they had no permanent +force at their disposal to secure +a lasting fruit even from the greatest +victories. The conquest of a petty +province, a diminutive fortress, was +often their only result. Hence the +desperate battles, so memorable in +warlike annals, which they fought, +and hence the miserable and almost +nugatory results which almost invariably +followed their greatest triumphs. +Cressy, Poictiers, and Azincour, followed +by the expulsion of the English +from France; Methven and Dunbar, +by their ignominious retreat from +Scotland; Ascalon and Ptolemais, by +their being driven from the Holy +Land, must immediately occur to every +reader. This state of war necessarily +imprinted a corresponding character +on the feudal generals. They were +high-spirited and daring in action—often +skilful in tactics—generally +ignorant of strategy—covetous of military<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_704" id="Page_704">[704]</a></span> +renown, but careless of national +advancement—and often more solicitous +to conquer an adversary in +single conflict, than reduce a fortress, +or win a province.</p> + +<p>But when armies were raised at +the expense, not of nobles, but of +kings—when their cost became a +lasting and heavy drain on the royal +exchequer—sovereigns grew desirous +of a more durable and profitable result +from their victories. Standing +armies, though commonly powerful, +often irresistible when accumulated +in large bodies—were yet extremely +expensive. They were felt the more +from the great difficulty of getting +the people in every country, at that +period, to submit to any considerable +amount of direct taxation. More +than one flourishing province had +been lost, or powerful monarchy overturned, +in the attempt to increase +such burdens; witness the loss of +Holland to Spain, the execution of +Charles I. in England. In this +dilemma, arising from the experienced +necessity of raising standing +armies on the one hand, and the +extreme difficulty of permanently +providing for them on the other, the +only resource was to spare both the +blood of the soldiers and the expenses +of the government as much as possible. +Durable conquests, acquisitions +of towns and provinces which could +yield revenues and furnish men, became +the great object of ambition. +The point of feudal honour was forgot +in the inanity of its consequences; +the benefits of modern conquests were +felt in the reality of their results. A +methodical cautious system of war +was thus impressed upon generals by +the necessities of their situation, and +the objects expected from them by +their respective governments. To +risk little and gain much, became the +great object: skill and stratagem +gradually took the place of reckless +daring; and the reputation of a general +came to be measured rather by the +permanent addition which his successes +had made to the revenues of +his sovereign, than the note with +which the trumpet of Fame had proclaimed +his own exploits.</p> + +<p>Turenne was the first, and, in his +day, the greatest general in this new +and scientific system of war. He first +applied to the military art the resources +of prudent foresight, deep +thought, and profound combination; +and the results of his successes completely +justified the discernment which +had prompted Louis XIV. to place +him at the head of his armies. His +methodical and far-seeing campaigns +in Flanders, Franche Comté, Alsace, +and Lorraine, in the early part of the +reign of that monarch, added these +valuable provinces to France, which +have never since been lost. They have +proved more durable than the conquests +of Napoleon, which all perished +in the lifetime of their author. Napoleon's +legions passed like a desolating +whirlwind over Europe, but they gave +only fleeting celebrity, and entailed +lasting wounds on France. Turenne's +slow, or more methodical and more +cautious conquests, have proved lasting +acquisitions to the monarchy. +Nancy still owns the French allegiance; +Besançon and Strasbourg are +two of its frontier fortresses; Lille +yet is a leading stronghold in its iron +barrier. Napoleon, it is well known, +had the highest possible opinion of +that great commander. He was disposed +to place him at the head of +modern generals; and his very interesting +analysis of his campaigns +is not the least important part of his +invaluable memoirs.</p> + +<p>Condé, though living in the same +age, and alternately the enemy and +comrade of Turenne, belonged to a +totally different class of generals, +and, indeed, seemed to belong to +another age of the world. He was +warmed in his heart by the spirit of +chivalry; he bore its terrors on his +sword's point. Heart and soul he was +heroic. Like Clive or Alexander, he +was consumed by that thirst for +fame, that ardent passion for glorious +achievements, which is the invariable +characteristic of elevated, and +the most inconceivable quality to +ordinary, minds. In the prosecution +of this object, no difficulties could +deter, no dangers daunt him. Though +his spirit was chivalrous—though +cavalry was the arm which suited his +genius, and in which he chiefly delighted, +he brought to the military +art the power of genius and the resources +of art; and no man could +make better use of the power which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_705" id="Page_705">[705]</a></span> +the expiring spirit of feudality bequeathed +to its scientific successors. +He destroyed the Spanish infantry at +Rocroy and Lens, not by mere desultory +charges of the French cavalry, +but by efforts of that gallant body as +skilfully directed as those by which +Hannibal overthrew the Roman legions +at Thrasymene and Cannæ. His +genius was animated by the spirit of +the fourteenth, but it was guided by +the knowledge of the seventeenth, +century.</p> + +<p>Bred in the school of Turenne, +placed, like him, at the head of a +force raised with difficulty, maintained +with still greater trouble, Marlborough +was the greatest general of the methodical +or scientific school which modern +Europe has produced. No man +knew better the importance of deeds +which fascinate the minds of men; +none could decide quicker, or strike +harder, when the proper time for action +arrived. None, when the decisive +crisis of the struggle approached, +could expose his person more fearlessly, +or lead his reserves more gallantly +into the very hottest of the +enemy's fire. To his combined intrepidity +and quickness, in thus bringing +the reserves, at the decisive +moment, into action, all his wonderful +victories, in particular Ramilies +and Malplaquet, are to be ascribed. +But, in the ordinary case, +he preferred the bloodless methods +of skill and arrangement. Combination +was his great <i>forte</i>, and there +he was not exceeded by Napoleon +himself. To deceive the enemy as to +the real point of attack—to perplex him +by marches and countermarches—to +assume and constantly maintain the +initiative—to win by skill what could +not be achieved by force, was his +great delight; and in that, the highest +branch of the military art, he was +unrivalled in modern times. He did +not despise stratagem. Like Hannibal, +he resorted to that arm frequently, +and with never-failing success. His +campaigns, in that respect, bear a +closer resemblance to those of the +illustrious Carthaginian than those of +any general in modern Europe. Like +him, too, his administrative and diplomatic +qualities were equal to his +military powers. By his address, he +retained in unwilling, but still effective +union, an alliance, unwieldy from +its magnitude, and discordant by its +jealousies; and kept, in willing multitudes, +around his standards, a <i>colluvies +omnium gentium</i>, of various +languages, habits, and religions—held +in subjection by no other bond but +the strong one of admiration for their +general, and a desire to share in his +triumphs.</p> + +<p>Consummate address and never-failing +prudence were the great characteristics +of the English commander. +With such judgment did he measure +his strength with those of his adversary—so +skilfully did he choose the +points of attack, whether in strategy +or tactics—so well weighed were all +his enterprises, so admirably prepared +the means of carrying them +into execution, that none of them +ever miscarried. It was a common +saying at the time, which the preceding +narrative amply justifies, that +he never fought a battle which he did +not gain, nor laid siege to a town +which he did not take. This extraordinary +and unbroken success +extended to all his manœuvres, however +trivial; and it has been already +noticed, that the first disaster of any +moment which occurred to his arms +during <i>nine</i> successive and active +campaigns, was the destruction of a +convoy destined for the siege of St +Venant, in October 1710, by one of +Villars' detachments.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> It was the +admirable powers of arrangement and +combination which he brought to bear +on all parts of his army, equally from +the highest to the lowest parts, which +was the cause of this extraordinary +and uninterrupted success.</p> + +<p>He was often outnumbered by the +enemy, always opposed by a homogeneous +army, animated by one strong +national and military spirit; while he +was at the head of a discordant array +of many different nations, some of +them with little turn for warlike +exploit, others lukewarm, or even +treacherous in the cause. But notwithstanding +this, he never lost the +ascendant. From the time when he +first began the war on the banks of +the Maese in 1702, till his military<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_706" id="Page_706">[706]</a></span> +career was closed in 1711, within the +iron barrier of France, by the intrigues +of his political opponents at home, he +never abandoned the initiative. He +was constantly on the offensive. When +inferior in force, as he often was, he +supplied the defect of military strength +by skill and combination; when his +position was endangered by the faults +or treachery of others, as was still +more frequently the case, he waited +till a false move on the part of his +adversaries enabled him to retrieve +his affairs by some brilliant and decisive +stroke. It was thus that he restored +the war in Germany, after the +affairs of the Emperor had been wellnigh +ruined, by the brilliant cross +march into Bavaria, and splendid victory +at Blenheim; and regained Flanders +for the Archduke by the stroke +at Ramilies, after the imperial cause +in that quarter had been all but lost +by the treacherous surrender of Ghent +and Bruges, in the very centre of his +water communications.</p> + +<p>Lord Chesterfield, who knew him +well, said that he was a man of excellent +parts, and strong good sense, +but of no very shining genius. The +uninterrupted success of his campaigns, +however, joined to the unexampled +address with which he allayed +the jealousies and stilled the discords +of the confederacy whose armies he +led, decisively demonstrates that the +polished earl's opinion was not just; +and that his partiality for the graces +led him to ascribe an undue influence +in the great duke's career to the inimitable +suavity and courtesy of his +manner. His enterprises and stratagems, +his devices to deceive the enemy, +and counterbalance inferiority of +force by superiority of conduct; the +eagle eye which, in the decisive moment, +he brought to bear on the field +of battle, and the rapidity with +which in person he struck the final +blow from which the enemy never +recovered, bespeak the intuitive genius +of war. It was the admirable +<i>balance</i> of his mental qualities which +caused his originality to be under-valued;—no +one power stood out +in such bold relief as to overshadow +all the others, and rivet the eye by +the magnitude of its proportions. +Thus his consummate judgment made +the world overlook his invention; his +uniform prudence caused his daring +to be forgotten; his incomparable +combinations often concealed the capacious +mind which had put the whole +in motion. He was so uniformly successful, +that men forgot how difficult +it is always to succeed in war. It was +not till he was withdrawn from the +conduct of the campaign, and disaster +immediately attended the Allied arms, +and France resumed the ascendant +over the coalition, that Europe became +sensible who had been the soul of the +war, and how much had been lost +when his mighty understanding was +no longer at the head of affairs.</p> + +<p>A most inadequate opinion would +be formed of Marlborough's mental +character, if his military exploits +alone were taken into consideration. +Like all other intellects of the first +order, he was equally capable of great +achievements in peace as in war, and +shone forth with not less lustre in the +deliberations of the cabinet, or the +correspondence of diplomacy, than +in directing columns on the field of +battle, or tracing out the line of +approaches in the attack of fortified +towns. Nothing could exceed the +judgment and address with which he +reconciled the jarring interests, and +smoothed down the rival pretensions, +of the coalesced cabinets. The danger +was not so pressing as to unite their +rival governments, as it afterwards did +those of the Grand Alliance in 1813, +for the overthrow of Napoleon; and incessant +exertions, joined to the highest +possible diplomatic address, judgment +of conduct, and suavity of manner, +were required to prevent the coalition, +on various occasions during the course +of the war, from falling to pieces. As +it was, the intrigues of Bolingbroke +and the Tories in England, and the +ascendency of Mrs Masham in the +Queen's bedchamber councils, at last +counterbalanced all his achievements, +and led to a peace which abandoned +the most important objects of the +war, and was fraught, as the event +has proved, with serious danger to +the independence and even existence +of England. His winter campaign at +the Allied courts, as he himself said, +always equalled in duration, and often +exceeded in importance and difficulty, +that in summer with the enemy; and +nothing is more certain, than that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_707" id="Page_707">[707]</a></span> +if a man of less capacity had been +entrusted with the direction of its diplomatic +relations, the coalition would +have soon broken up without having +accomplished any of the objects for +which the war had been undertaken, +from the mere selfishness and dissensions +of the cabinets by whom it was +conducted.</p> + +<p>With one blot, for which neither +the justice of history, nor the partiality +of biography either can or +should attempt to make any apology, +Marlborough's private character seems +to have been unexceptionable, and +was evidently distinguished by several +noble and amiable qualities. That he +was bred a courtier, and owed his +first elevation to the favour with which +he was regarded by one of the King's +mistresses, was not his fault:—It +arose, perhaps, necessarily from his +situation, and the graces and beauty +with which he had been so prodigally +endowed by nature. The young +officer of the Guards, who in the +army of Louis XIV. passed by the +name of the "handsome Englishman," +could hardly be expected to be free +from the consequences of female partiality +at the court of Charles II. But +in maturer years, his conduct in public, +after William had been seated on +the throne, was uniformly consistent, +straightforward, and honourable. +He was a sincere patriot, and ardently +attached both to his country and the +principles of freedom, at a time when +both were wellnigh forgotten in the +struggles of party, and the fierce contests +for royal or popular favour. +Though bred up in a licentious court, +and early exposed to the most entrancing +of its seductions, he was in +mature life strictly correct, both in +his conduct and conversation. He +resisted every temptation to which his +undiminished beauty exposed him +after his marriage, and was never +known either to utter, or permit to be +uttered in his presence, a light or indecent +expression. He discouraged +to the utmost degree any instances of +intemperance or licentiousness in his +soldiers, and constantly laboured to +impress upon his men a sense of moral +duty and Supreme superintendence. +Divine service was regularly performed +in all his camps, both morning and +evening; previous to a battle, prayers +were read at the head of every regiment, +and the first act, after a victory, +was a solemn thanksgiving. "By +those means," says a contemporary +biographer, who served in his army, +"his camp resembled a quiet, well-governed +city. Cursing and swearing +were seldom heard among the officers; +a drunkard was the object of scorn: +and even the soldiers, many of them +the refuse and dregs of the nation, became, +at the close of one or two campaigns, +tractable, civil, sensible, and +clean, and had an air and spirit above +the vulgar."</p> + +<p>In political life, during his career +after that event, he was consistent and +firm; faithful to his party, but more +faithful still to his country. He was a +generous friend, an attached, perhaps +too fond a husband. During the +whole of his active career, he retained +a constant sense of the superintendence +and direction of the Supreme +Being, and was ever the first to +ascribe the successes which he had +gained, to Divine protection; a disposition +which appeared with peculiar +grace amidst the din of arms, and the +flourish of trumpets for his own mighty +achievements. Even the one occasion +on which, like David, he fell from his +high principles, will be regarded by +the equitable observer with charitable, +if not forgiving eyes. He will recollect, +that perfection never yet belonged +to a child of Adam; he will measure +the dreadful nature of the struggle +which awaits an upright and generous +mind when loyalty and gratitude impel +one way, and religion and patriotism +another. Without attempting to +justify an officer who employs the +power bestowed by one government +to elevate another on its ruins, he will +yet reflect, that in such a crisis, even +the firmest heads and the best hearts +may be led astray. If he is wise, he will +ascribe the fault—for fault it was—not +so much to the individual, as the time +in which he lived; and feel a deeper +thankfulness that his own lot has been +cast in a happier age, when the great +moving passions of the human heart +act in the same direction, and a public +man need not fear that he is wanting +in his duty to his sovereign, because +he is performing that to his country.</p> + +<p>Marlborough was often accused of +avarice: but his conduct through life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_708" id="Page_708">[708]</a></span> +sufficiently demonstrated that in him +the natural desire to accumulate a fortune, +which belongs to every rational +mind, was kept in subjection to more +elevated principles. His repeated refusal +of the government of the Netherlands, +with its magnificent appointment +of L.60,000 a-year, was a sufficient +proof how much he despised money +when it interfered with public duty; +his splendid edifices, both in London +and Blenheim, attest how little he +valued it for any other sake but as +it might be applied to noble and +worthy objects.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> He possessed the +magnanimity in every thing which is +the invariable characteristic of real +greatness. Envy was unknown, suspicion +loathsome, to him. He often +suffered by the generous confidence +with which he trusted his enemies. +He was patient under contradiction; +placid and courteous both in his manners +and demeanour; and owed great +part of his success, both in the field +and in the cabinet, to the invariable +suavity and charm of his manner. +His humanity was uniformly conspicuous. +Not only his own soldiers, but +his enemies never failed to experience +it. Like Wellington, his attention to +the health and comforts of his men +was incessant; and, with his daring in +the field and uniform success in strategy, +endeared him in the highest +degree to the men. Troops of all +nations equally trusted him; and the +common saying, when they were in +any difficulty, "Never mind—'Corporal +John' will get us out of it," was +heard as frequently in the Dutch, +Danish, or German, as in the English +language. He frequently gave the +weary soldiers a place in his carriage, +and got out himself to accommodate +more; and his first care, after an engagement, +invariably was to visit the +field of battle, and do his utmost to +assuage the sufferings of the wounded, +both among his own men and those +of the enemy.</p> + +<p>The character of this illustrious man +has been thus portrayed by two of the +greatest writers in the English language, +the latter of whom will not be +accused of undue partiality to his political +enemy. "It is a characteristic," +says Adam Smith, "almost peculiar to +the great Duke of Marlborough, that +ten years of such uninterrupted and +such splendid successes as scarce any +other general could boast of, never +betrayed him into a single rash action, +scarce into a single rash word or expression. +The same temperate coolness +and self-command cannot, I think, +be ascribed to any other great warrior +of later times—not to Prince Eugene, +nor to the late King of Prussia, nor +to the great Prince of Condé, not +even to Gustavus Adolphus. Turenne +seems to have approached the nearest +to it: but several actions of his life +demonstrate that it was in him by no +means so perfect as in the great Duke +of Marlborough."<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> "By King William's +death," says Bolingbroke, "the +Duke of Marlborough was raised to +the head of the army, and indeed of +the confederacy, where he, a private +man, a subject, obtained by merit +and by management a more decided +influence than high birth, confirmed +authority, and even the crown of +Great Britain, had given to King +William. Not only all the parts of +that vast machine, the Grand Alliance, +were kept more compact and +entire, but a more rapid and vigorous +motion was given to the whole; and +instead of languishing or disastrous +campaigns, we saw every scene of +the war full of action. All those +wherein he appeared, and many of +those wherein he was not then an +actor, but abettor, however, of their +actions, were crowned with the most +triumphant success. I take with +pleasure this opportunity of doing +justice to that great man, whose faults +I know, whose virtues I admire, and +whose memory, <i>as the greatest general +and greatest minister that our country +or any other has produced</i>, I honour."<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_709" id="Page_709">[709]</a></span></p> + + +<h2>MILDRED;</h2> + +<h3><span class="smcap">A Tale.</span></h3> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Part I.</span> <span class="smcap">Chap. I.</span></h4> + +<p>The town of Wimborne, in Dorsetshire, +boasts the possession of a very +ancient cathedral-like church, dignified +with the title of Minster, but, with +this exception, is as utterly devoid, we +believe, of all interest to the traveller, +as any of the numerous country-towns +which he rapidly passes through, and +so gladly quits, wondering for the +moment how it is that any one can +possibly consent to be left behind in +them. He who has journeyed from +Southampton to Poole will remember +the town, from the circumstance that +he quitted by the same narrow streets +by which he entered it, his road not +passing directly through, but forming +an angle at this point. He will call +to mind what appeared an unaccountable +turning and twisting about of the +coach, whilst the horses were being +changed, and a momentary alarm at +finding that he was retracing his steps; +he will remember the two massive +square towers of the old church, peering +above the roofs of the houses; and +this is all that he will know, or have +the least desire to know, of the town +of Wimborne.</p> + +<p>If, however, the traveller should +be set down in this quiet place, and +be compelled to wait there half a day +for the arrival of some other coach to +carry him to his destination, he will +probably wile away his time by a +visit to its antique and venerable +church; and after climbing, by the +dark and narrow staircase, to the top +of one of its towers, he will be somewhat +surprised to find himself—in a +library! A small square room is +fitted up with shelves, whereon a +number of books are deposited, and +the centre is occupied by a large +reading-desk, and a massive oak table, +apparently coeval with the tower itself, +and which was probably placed there +before the roof was put on, since it +never could have been introduced by +the stairs or through the window. It +is no modern library, be it understood—no +vestry reading-room connected +with the Sunday school of the +place; they are old books, black-letter +quartos, illuminated missals, now dark +and mouldy, and whose parchment +has acquired no pleasant odour from +age. By no means is it a circulating +library, for some of the books are +still chained to the reading-desk; and +many more have their rusty iron +chain twisted about them, by which +they, in their turn, were bound to the +desk. If the traveller should not be +favoured with that antiquarian taste +which finds a charm in decyphering, +out of mouldy and black-letter volumes, +what would not be worth his +perusal in the most luxurious type of +modern days, he will at least derive +some pleasure from opening the little +windows of the tower, and inhaling +the fresh breeze that will blow in +upon him, and in looking over an +extensive prospect of green meadows, +with their little river meandering +about in them. It must have formed +a pleasant retreat at one time to the +two or three learned clerks, or minor +canons, or neighbouring monks or +friars—we may be sure there were +never many of such students—who +used to climb this turret for their +morning or their evening lucubrations.</p> + +<p>The only student who had, perhaps +for some centuries, frequented it—and +she brought her own books with her, +and was very unlike either learned +clerk, or monk, or friar—was Mildred +Willoughby. She used to delight—a +taste savouring of extreme youth—to +bring the book she was perusing from +her own comfortable parlour, to climb +up with it to this solitary height, and +there read it alone. She had no difficulty +in obtaining from the parish-clerk +permission to be left in this +chosen solitude—to draw the one +wooden chair it possessed to the window, +and there to sit, and read, or +muse, or look upon the landscape, +just as long as she pleased. It did +not very frequently happen that this +functionary was called upon to exhibit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_710" id="Page_710">[710]</a></span> +the old tower to the curiosity of +strangers; but if this occurred whilst +she was thus occupied, she would rise +from her seat, and for a moment put +on the air of a visitor also—walk +slowly round the room, looking at the +backs of the books, or out of the window +at the prospect, as if she saw +them for the first time! and when the +company had retreated, (and there +was little to detain them long,) would +quietly return to her chair, her study, +or her reverie.</p> + +<p>One reason she might have given, +beside the romantic and pensive mood +it inspired, for her choice of this retreat—the +charm of being alone. Nothing +could be more quiet—to look at +the exterior—than the house she called +her home. It stood at the extremity +of the town, protected from the road +by its own neat inclosure of turf and +gravel-walk—surely as remote from +every species of disturbance or excitement +as the most devoted student +could desire. We question even whether +a barrel-organ or a hurdy-gurdy +was ever known to commit an outrage +upon its tranquillity; and for its +interior, were not Mr and Miss Bloomfield +(they were brother and sister, +uncle and aunt of Mildred) the most +staid, orderly, methodical persons in +the world? Did not the bachelor +uncle cover every part of the house, +and the kitchen stairs in particular, +with thick carpet, in order that the +footsteps of John and the maid should +not disquiet him? The very appearance +of the garden, both before and +behind the house, was sufficient to +show how orderly a genius presided +over it. Could box be cut more +neatly? or gravel-walks be kept +cleaner? You saw a tall lance-like +instrument standing by the steps of +the back-door, its constant place. +With this Mr Bloomfield frequently +made the circuit of his garden, but +with no hostile purpose: he merely +transfixed with it the dry leaves or +the splinters of wood that had strayed +upon his gravel, carrying them off in +triumph to a neat wooden receptacle, +where they were both imprisoned and +preserved. And Miss Bloomfield, she +also was one of the most amiable of +women, and as attached to a quiet +and orderly house as her brother. +Neither could any two persons be +more kind, or more fond of their +niece, than they were. But it was +from this very kindness, this very +fondness, that Mildred found it so +pleasant at times to escape. Her +aunt, especially, was willing to grant +her any indulgence but that of being +alone. This her love for her niece, +and her love of talking, would rarely +permit. Neither could Mildred very +graciously petition for this unsocial +privilege. In youth, nothing is so +delightful as solitude, especially when +it is procured by stealth, by some +subtle contrivance, some fiction or +pretence; and many a time did her +aunt find it necessary to pursue Mildred +to her own chamber, and many +a time did she bring her down into +the parlour, repeating, with unfeigned +surprise, and a tone of gentle complaint, +the always unanswerable question—what +she <i>could</i> be doing so long +in her own room? Therefore it was +that she was fain to steal out alone—take +her walk through the churchyard, +ascend the tower, enter its little +library, and plant herself in its old +arm-chair for an hour of solitary reading +or thinking.</p> + +<p>Mildred Willoughby was born in +India, and her parents (the greatest +misery attendant upon a residence in +that climate) were compelled to send +her to England to be reared, as well +as educated. She had been placed +under the care of her uncle and aunt. +These had always continued to live +together—bachelor and spinster. As +their united incomes enabled them to +surround themselves with every comfort +and personal luxury, and as they +were now of a very mature age, it was +no longer considered to be in the chapter +of probabilities that either of them +would change their condition. Miss +Bloomfield, in her youth, was accounted +a beauty—the <i>belle</i> of Wimborne; +and we may be sure that personal +charms, a very amiable disposition, +and a considerable fortune, could not +fail to bring her numerous admirers +and suitors. But her extreme placidity +of temper no passion seems ever +to have ruffled; and it did so happen, +that though her hand had often been +solicited, no opportunity of marriage +had been offered to her which would +not have put in jeopardy some of those +comforts and indulgences to which she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_711" id="Page_711">[711]</a></span> +was habituated. She was pleased with +the attentions of gentlemen, and was +studious to attract them; but there +was nothing in that word <i>love</i> which +could have compensated for the loss +of her favourite attendants, or of that +pretty little carriage that drew her +about the country.</p> + +<p>As for Mr Bloomfield, it was generally +supposed that he had suffered +from more than one tender disappointment, +having always had the misfortune +to fix his affections just where +they could not be returned. But +those who knew him well would say, +that Josiah Bloomfield was, in fact, +too timid and irresolute a man ever +to have married—that being himself +conscious of this, yet courting, at the +same time, the excitement of a tender +passion, he invariably made love where +he was sure to be rejected. Many a +fascinating girl came before him, whom +he might have won, from whose society, +for this very reason, he quietly +withdrew, to carry his sighs to some +quarter where a previous engagement, +or some other obstacle, was sure to +procure him a denial. He thus had +all the pleasing pains of wooing, and +earned the credit for great sensibility, +whilst he hugged himself in the safe +felicity of a single life. By this time, +a more confirmed or obdurate bachelor +did not exist; yet he was pleased to +be thought to wear the willow, and +would, from time to time, endeavour +to extort compassion by remote hints +at the sufferings he had endured from +unreturned affection.</p> + +<p>Two such persons, it will be supposed, +were at first somewhat alarmed +at the idea of taking into their establishment +a little girl about four or +five years old. Indeed, they had, in +the first instance, only so far agreed +to take charge of her as to find her a +fit school—to receive her at the holidays—and, +in this distant manner, +superintend her education. But Mildred +proved so quiet, so tractable, +and withal so cheerful a child, that +they soon resolved to depart from this +plan. She had not been long in the +house before it would have been a +great distress to both of them to have +parted with her. It was determined +that she should reside perpetually +with them, and that the remittances +received from India should be employed +in obtaining the very best +masters that could be procured from +Bath or Exeter. Mr Bloomfield found, +in the superintendence of Mildred's +education, an employment which made +the day half as short as it had ever +been before. He was himself a man +fond of reading; and if he had not a +very large store of thoughts, he had +at least an excellent library, into +which Mildred, who had now arrived +at the age of fifteen, had already +begun to penetrate.</p> + +<p>And books—her music—&c., a few +friends, more distinguished by good-breeding +and good-nature than by +any vivacity of mind, were all the +world of Mildred Willoughby, and it +was a world that there seemed little +probability of her getting beyond. It +had been expected that about this +time she would have returned to India +to her parents; but her mother had +died, and her father had expressed no +wish that she should be sent out to +him. On the contrary, beyond certain +pecuniary remittances, and these +came through an agent's hands, there +was nothing to testify that he bore +any remembrance of his daughter. +Of her father, very contradictory reports +had reached her; some said that +he had married again, and had formed +an engagement of which he was not +very proud; others that he had quitted +the service, and was now travelling, +no one knew where, about the world. +At all events, he appeared to have +forgotten that he had a daughter in +England; and Mildred was almost +justified in considering herself—as she +did in her more melancholy moments—as +in fact an orphan, thrown upon +the care of an uncle and aunt, and +dependent almost entirely upon them.</p> + +<p>One fine summer's day, as she was +enjoying her lofty solitude in the minster +tower, a visitor had been allowed +to grope up his way unattended into +its antique library. On entering, he +was not a little startled to see before +him in this depository of mouldering +literature a blooming girl in all the +freshness and beauty of extreme youth. +He hesitated a moment whether to +approach and disturb so charming a +vision. But, indeed, the vision was +very soon disturbed. For Mildred, +on her side, was still more startled at +this entrance, alone and suddenly, of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_712" id="Page_712">[712]</a></span> +very handsome young man—for such +the stranger was—and blushed deeply +as she rose from her chair and attempted +to play as usual the part of +casual visitor. He bowed—what +could he less?—and made some apology +for his having startled her by his +abrupt entrance.</p> + +<p>The stranger's manner was so quiet +and unpresuming, that the timidity of +Mildred soon disappeared, and before +she had time to think what was most +<i>proper</i> to do, she found herself in a +very interesting conversation with one +who evidently was as intelligent as he +was well-bred and good-looking. She +had let fall her book in her hurry to rise. +He picked it up, and as he held the +elegantly bound volume in his hand, +which ludicrously contrasted with the +mouldy and black-letter quartos that +surrounded them, he asked with a +smile, on which shelf he was to deposit +it. "This fruit," said he, "came +from another orchard." And seeing +the title at the back, he added, "Italian +I might have expected to find in a +young lady's hand, but I should have +looked for a Tasso, not an Alfieri."</p> + +<p>"Yes," she replied gaily, "a damsel +discovered reading in this old +turret ought to have book of chivalry +in her hand. I have read Tasso, +but I do not prefer him. Alfieri presents +me quite as much as Tasso with +a new world to live in, and it is a more +real world. I seem to be learning +from him the real feelings of men."</p> + +<p>The stranger was manifestly struck +by this kind of observation from one +so young, and still more by the simple +and unpretending manner in which it +was uttered. Mildred had not the +remotest idea of talking criticism, +she was merely expressing her own +unaffected partialities. He would +have been happy to prolong the conversation, +but the clerk, or verger, +who had missed his visitor—as well +he might, for his visitor had purposely +given him the slip, as all wise men +invariably do to all cicerones of +whatever description—had at length +tracked his fugitive up the tower, and +into the library. His entrance interrupted +their dialogue, and compelled +the stranger very soon afterwards to +retreat. He made his bow to the fair +lady of the tower and descended.</p> + +<p>Mildred read very little more that +day, and if she lingered somewhat +longer in meditation, her thoughts had +less connexion than ever with antiquities +of any kind. She descended, +and took her way home. The probability +that she might meet the +stranger in passing through the town—albeit +there was nothing, disagreeable +in the thought—made her walk +with unusual rapidity, and bend her +eyes pertinaciously upon the ground. +The consequence of which was, that +in turning the corner of a street which +she passed almost every day of her +life, she contrived to entangle her +dress in some of the interesting hardware +of the principal ironmonger of +the place, who, for the greater convenience +of the inhabitants, was +accustomed to advance his array of +stoves and shovels far upon the +pavement, and almost before their +feet. As she turned and stooped to +disengage her dress, she found that +relief and rescue were already at +hand. The stranger knight, who had +come an age too late to release her as +a captive from the tower, was affording +the best assistance he could to +extricate her from entanglement with +a kitchen-range. Some ludicrous idea +of this kind occurred to both at the +same time—their eyes met with a +smile—and their hands had very +nearly encountered as they both bent +over the tenacious muslin. The task, +however, was achieved, and a very +gracious "thank you" from one of +the most musical of voices repaid the +stranger for his gallantry.</p> + +<p>That evening Mildred happened to +be sitting near the window—it must +have been by merest hazard, for she +very rarely occupied that part of the +room—as the Bath coach passed their +gates. A gentleman seated on the +roof appeared to recognise her—at +least, he took his hat off as he passed. +Was it the same?—and what if it +were? Evidently he was a mere +passer-by, who had been detained in +the town a few hours, waiting for this +coach. Would he ever even think +again of the town of Wimborne—of +its old minster—or its tower—and +the girl he surprised sitting there, in +its little antique library?</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_713" id="Page_713">[713]</a></span></p> + + +<h4><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h4> + +<p>Between two or three years have +elapsed, and our scene changes from +the country town of Wimborne to the +gay and pleasant capital of Belgium.</p> + +<p>Mr and Miss Bloomfield had made +a bold, and, for them, quite a tremendous +resolution, to take a trip upon +the Continent, which should extend—as +far as their courage held out. The +pleasure and profit this would afford +their niece, was no mean inducement +to the enterprise. Mr Bloomfield +judged that his ward, after the course +of studies she had pursued, and the +proficiency she had attained in most +feminine accomplishments, was ripe +to take advantage of foreign travel. +Mr Bloomfield judged wisely; but Mr +Bloomfield neither judged, nor was, +perhaps, capable of judging how far, +in fact, the mind of his niece <i>had</i> advanced, +or what singular good use she +had made of his own neglected library. +She had been grappling with all sorts +of books—of philosophy and of science, +as well as of history and poetry. But +that cheerful quietude which distinguished +her manner, concealed these +more strenuous efforts of her mind. +She never talked for display—she had, +indeed, no arena for display—and the +wish for it was never excited in her +mind. What she read and thought, +she revolved in herself, and was perfectly +content. How it might have +been had she lived amongst those who +would have called her forth, and overwhelmed +her with praise, it would be +difficult to tell. As it was, Mildred +Willoughby presented to the imagination +the most fascinating combination +of qualities it would be possible +to put together. A young girl of most +exquisite beauty, (she had grown paler +than when we last saw her, but this +had only given increased lustre to her +blue eye)—of manners the most unaffected—of +a temper always cheerful, +always tranquil—was familiar with +trains of deep reflection—possessed a +practised intellect and really cultivated +mind. In this last respect, +there was not a single person in all +Wimborne or its neighbourhood who +had divined her character. That she +was a charming girl, though a little +too pale—very amiable, though a little +too reserved—of a temper provokingly +calm, for she was not ruffled even +where she ought to be—and that she +sang well, and played well; such +would have been the summary of her +good qualities from her best and most +intimate friends. She was now enjoying, +with her uncle and aunt—but in +a manner how different from theirs!—the +various novelties, great and small, +which a foreign country presents to +the eye.</p> + +<p>Those who, in their travels, estimate +the importance of any spot by +its distance or its difficulty of access, +will hardly allow such a place as Brussels +to belong to <i>foreign parts</i>. It is +no more than an excursion to Margate: +it is but a day's journey. True; +but your day's journey has brought +you to another people—to another +religion. We are persuaded that a +man shall travel to Timbuctoo, and +he shall not gain for himself a stronger +impression of novelty, than a sober +Protestant shall procure by entering +the nearest country where the Roman +Catholic worship is in full practice. +He has seen cathedrals—many and +beautiful—but they were mere architectural +monuments, half deserted, +one corner only employed for the modest +service of his church—the rest a +noble space for the eye to traverse, in +which he has walked, hat in hand, +meditating on past times and the +middle ages. But if he cross the +Channel, those past times—they have +come back again; those middle ages—he +is in the midst of them. The empty +cathedral has become full to overflowing; +there are the lights burning in +mid-day, and he hears the Latin +chant, and sees high-priests in gorgeous +robes making mystic evolutions +about the altar; and there is the incense, +and the sprinkling of holy water, +and the tinkling bell, and whatever +the Jew or the Pagan has in +times past bequeathed to the Christian. +Or let him only look up the street. +Here comes, tottering in the air, upon +the shoulders of its pious porters, Our +Lady herself, with the Holy Child in +one arm, and her sceptre in the other,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_714" id="Page_714">[714]</a></span> +and the golden crown upon her head. +Here she is in her satin robe, stiff +with embroidery, and gay with lace, +and decked with tinsel ornaments beyond +our power of description. If the +character of the festival require it, she +is borne by six or eight maidens clad +in white, with wreaths of white roses +on their heads; and you hear it whispered, +as they approach, that such a +one is beautiful Countess of C——; +and, countess or not, there is amongst +those bearers a face very beautiful, +notwithstanding that the heat of the +day, and a burden of no light weight, +has somewhat deranged the proportions +of the red and white which had +been so cunningly laid on. And then +comes the canopy of cloth of gold, +borne over the bare head of the venerable +priest, who holds up to the +people, inclosed in a silver case, imitative +of rays of glory, the sacred +host; holds it up with both his hands, +and fastens both his eyes devoutly on +the back of it; and boys in their +scarlet tunics, covered with white +lace, are swinging the censor before +it; and the shorn priests on each side, +with lighted tapers in their hands, tall +as staves, march, chanting forth—we +regret to say, with more vehemence +than melody.</p> + +<p>Is not all this strange enough? +The state-carriage of the King of the +Ashantees was, some years ago, captured +in war, and exhibited in London; +and a curious vehicle it was, +with its peacocks' feathers, and its +large glass beads hung round the +roof to glitter and jingle at the same +time. But the royal carriage of the +Ashantees, or all that the court of +the Ashantees could possibly display, +is not half so curious, half so strange +to any meditative spirit, as this image +of the Holy Virgin met as it parades +the streets, or seen afterwards deposited +in the centre of the temple, surrounded +by pots of flowers, real and +artificial, by vases filled with lilies of +glazed muslin, and altogether tricked +out with such decorations as a child +would lavish on its favourite doll if +it had an infinite supply of tinsel.</p> + +<p>And they worship <i>that</i>!</p> + +<p>"No!" exclaims some very candid +gentleman. "No sir, they by no +means worship it; and you must be a +very narrow-minded person if you +think so. Such images are employed +by the Catholic as representatives, as +symbols only—visible objects to direct +his worship to that which is +invisible." O most candid of men! +and most liberal of Protestants! we +do not say that Dr Wiseman or M. +Chateaubriand worship images. But +just step across the water—we do not +ask you to travel into Italy or Spain, +where the symptoms are ten times +more violent—just walk into some of +these churches in Belgium, <i>and use +your own eyes</i>. It is but a journey of +four-and-twenty hours; and if you +are one of those who wish to bring +into our own church the more frequent +use of form and ceremony and +visible symbol, it will be the most +salutory journey you ever undertook. +Meanwhile consider, and explain to +us, why it is—if images are understood +to have only this subordinate +function—that one image differs so +much from another in honour and +glory. This Virgin, whom we have +seen parade the streets, is well received +and highly respected; but there +are other Virgins—ill-favoured, too, +and not at all fit to act as representatives +of any thing feminine—who are +infinitely more honoured and observed. +The sculpture of Michael Angelo +never wins so much devotion as you +shall see paid here, in one of their innumerable +churches, to a dark, rude, +and odious misrepresentation of Christ. +They put a mantle on it of purple +cotton, edged with white, and a reed +in its hand, and they come one after +the other, and kiss its dark feet; and +mothers bring their infants, and put +their soft lips to the wound that the +nail made, and then depart with full +sense of an act of piety performed. +And take this into account, that such +act of devotion is no casual enthusiasm, +no outbreak of passionate piety +overleaping the bounds of reason; it +is done systematically, methodically; +the women come with their green tin +cans, slung upon their arm, full of +their recent purchases in the market, +you see them enter—approach—put +down the can—kiss—take up the can, +and depart. They have fulfilled a +duty.</p> + +<p>But we have not arrived in Brussels +to loiter in churches or discuss +theology.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_715" id="Page_715">[715]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Monsieur and the ladies will go +to the ball to-night," said their obliging +host to our party. "It is an annual +ball," he continued, "given by +the Philanthropical Society for the +benefit of the poor. Their Majesties, +the king and the queen, will honour +it with their presence, and it is especially +patronised by your fair countrywomen.</p> + +<p>"Enough," said Mr Bloomfield; +"we will certainly go to the ball. To +be in the same room with a living +king and queen—it is an opportunity +by no means to be lost."</p> + +<p>"And then," said Miss Bloomfield, +"it is an act of charity."</p> + +<p>This species of charity is very prevalent +at Brussels. You dance there +out of pure commiseration. It is an +excellent invention, this gay benevolence. +You give, and you make no +sacrifice; you buy balls and concerts +with the money you drop into the +beggar's hat; charity is all sweetness. +Poverty itself wears quite a +festive air; the poor are the farmers-general +of our pleasures; it is they +who give the ball. Long live the +dance! Long live the poor!</p> + +<p>They drive to the ball-room in the +Rue Ducale. They enter an oblong +room, spacious, of good proportions, +and brilliantly lit up with that gayest +of all artificial lights—the legitimate +wax candle, thickly clustered in numerous +chandeliers. Two rows of +Corinthian columns support the roof, +and form a sort of arcade on either +side for spectators or the promenade, +the open space in the centre being, of +course, devoted to the dance. At the +upper end is a raised dais with chairs +of state for their Majesties. What, +in day-time, were windows are filled +with large mirrors, most commodiously +reflecting the fair forms that stand +or pass before them. How smooth is +the inlaid polished floor! and how it +seems to foretell the dance for which +its void space is so well prepared! +No incumbrance of furniture here; +no useless decorations. Some cushioned +forms covered with crimson velvet, +some immense vases occupying +the corners of the room filled with +exotic plants, are all that could be +admitted of one or the other.</p> + +<p>The orchestra, established in a +small gallery over the door, strikes +up the national air, and the royal +party, attended by their suite, proceed +through the centre of the room, +bowing right and left. They take +their seats. That instant the national +air changes to a rapid waltz, +and in the twinkling of an eye, the +whole of that spacious floor is covered +thick with the whirling multitude. +The sober Mr Bloomfield, to whom +such a scene is quite a novelty, grows +giddy with the mere view of it. He +looks with all his might, but he +ought to have a hundred pairs of +eyes to watch the mazes of this +dance. One couple after another appear +and vanish as if by enchantment. +He sees a bewitching face—he +strives to follow it—impossible!—in +a minute fifty substitutes are presented +to him—it is lost in a living +whirlpool of faces.</p> + +<p>To one long accustomed to the +quiet and monotony of a country life, +it would be difficult to present a spectacle +more novel or striking than this +of a public ball-room; and though +for such a novelty it was not necessary +to cross the water, yet assuredly, +in his own country, Mr Bloomfield +would never have been present at +such a spectacle. We go abroad as +much to throw ourselves for a time +into new manners of life, as to find +new scenes of existence. He stood +bewildered. Some two hundred couples +gyrating like mad before him. Sometimes +the number would thin, and the +fervour of the movement abate—the +floor began, in parts, to be visible—the +storm and the whirlwind were +dying away. But a fresh impulse +again seized on both musicians and +dancers—the throng of these gentle +dervishes, of these amiable mænads, +became denser than ever—the movement +more furious—the music seemed +to madden them and to grow mad itself: +he shut his eyes, and drew back +quite dizzy from the scene.</p> + +<p>It is a singular phenomenon, this +waltz, retained as it is in the very +heart of our cold and punctilious civilisation. +How have we contrived, +amidst our quiet refinement and fastidious +delicacy, to preserve an amusement +which has in it the very spirit +of the Cherokee Indian? There is nothing +sentimental—nothing at all, in +the waltz. In this respect, mammas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_716" id="Page_716">[716]</a></span> +need have no alarm. It is the mere +excitement of rapid movement—a +dextrous and delirious rotation. It +is the enthusiasm only of the feet—the +ecstacy of mere motion. Yes! +just at that moment when, on the extended +arm of the cavalier, the soft +and rounded arm of his partner is +placed so gently and so gracefully—(as +for the hand upon the whalebone +waist no electricity comes that way)—just +then there may be a slight +emotion which would be dangerous +if prolonged; but the dance begins, +and there is no room for any other +rapture than that of its own swift and +giddy course. There are no beatings +of the heart after that; only pulsations +of the great artery.</p> + +<p>Found where it is, it is certainly a +remarkable phenomenon, this waltz. +Look now at that young lady—how +cold, formal, stately!—how she has +been trained to act the little queen +amongst her admirers and flatterers! +See what a <i>reticence</i> in all her demeanour. +Even feminine curiosity, +if not subdued, has been dissimulated; +and though she notes every +thing and every body, and can describe, +when she returns home, the +dress of half the ladies in the room, +it is with an eye that seems to notice +nothing. Her head has just been released +from the hair-dresser, and +every hair is elaborately adjusted. +To the very holding of an enormous +bouquet, "round as my shield," +which of itself seems to forbid all +thoughts of motion—every thing has +been arranged and re-arranged. She +sits like an alabaster figure; she +speaks, it is true, and she smiles as +she speaks; but evidently the smile +and the speech have no natural connexion +with one another; they co-exist, +but they have both been quite +separately studied, prepared, permitted. +Well, the waltz strikes up, and +at a word from that bowing gentleman, +himself a piece of awful formality, +this pale, slow, and graceful automaton +has risen. Where is she now? +She is gone—vanished—transformed. +She is nowhere to be seen. But in +her stead there is a breathless girl, +with flushed cheeks, ringlets given to +the wind, dress flying all abroad, spinning +round the room, darting diagonally +across it, whirling fast as her little +feet can carry her—faster, faster—for +it is her more powerful cavalier, +who, holding her firmly by the waist, +sustains and augments her speed.</p> + +<p>Perhaps some ingenious mind may +discover a profound philosophy in all +this; perhaps, by retaining this authorised +outlet for the mere rage of +movement, the rest of civilised life is +better protected against any disturbance +of that quietude of deportment +which it is so essential to maintain.</p> + +<p>But if the waltz appeared to Mr +Bloomfield like dancing gone mad, the +quadrille which divided the evening +with it, formed a sort of compensation +by carrying matters to the opposite +extreme. A fly in a glue-pot moves +with about the same alacrity, and apparently +the same amount of pleasure, +as did the dancers this evening in +their crowded quadrille. As no one, +of course, could be permitted to stand +with his back to royalty, they were +arranged, not in squares, but in two +long files as in a country-dance. The +few couples that stood near their +majesties were allowed a reasonable +share of elbow-room, and could get +through their evolutions with tolerable +composure. But as the line receded +from this point, the dancers +stood closer and closer together, and +at the other extremity of the room it +became nothing less than a dense +crowd; a crowd where people were +making the most persevering and ingenious +efforts to accomplish the most +spiritless of movements—with a world +of pains just crawling in and out +again. The motions of this <i>dancing</i> +crowd viewed from a proper elevation, +would exactly resemble those slow +and mysterious evolutions one sees, +on close examination, in the brown +dust of a cheese, in that condition +which some people call ripe, and +others rotten.</p> + +<p>As to Miss Bloomfield, she keeps +her eyes, for the most part, on the +king and queen. Having expected to +see them rise and join the dance, she +was somewhat disappointed to find +them retain their seats, the king chatting +to a lady at his right, the queen +to a lady on her left. Assuredly, if +there were any one in that assembly +who had come there out of charity, it +was their Majesties. Or rather, they +were there in performance of one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_717" id="Page_717">[717]</a></span> +the duties of royalty, perhaps not the +least onerous, that of showing itself in +public on certain occasions. When +they rose, it was to take their leave, +which they were doubtless very glad +to do. Nor, indeed, were those who +had been most attracted by the advertised +presence of their Majesties sorry +to witness their departure. They +would carry many away with them—there +would be more room for the +dance—and the quadrille could reassume +its legitimate form.</p> + +<p>But Mildred—what was she doing +or thinking all this time? To her the +scene was entirely new; for though +Mr and Miss Bloomfield probably +attended county balls in their youth, +they had not, for some years, so far +deviated from the routine of their +lives as to frequent any such assemblies. +Besides, she had to encounter, +what they certainly had not, the gaze +of every eye as she passed, and the +whispered exclamations of applause. +But to have judged from her manner—from +that delightful composure which +always distinguished it, as free from +insipidity as from trepidation or fluster, +you would have thought her quite +familiar with such scenes and such +triumphs. Reflection supplied the +place of experience. You saw that +those clear blue eyes, from which she +looked out with such a calm and keen +inquiry, were by no means to be imposed +on; that they detected at once +the true meaning of the scene before +her. She was solicited to dance, but +neither the waltz nor the quadrille +were at all enticing, and she contented +herself with the part of spectator. +Her chief amusement was derived +from the novel physiognomies which +the room presented; and indeed the +assortment, comprising, as it did, a +sprinkling of many nations—French +and Belgian, English and German—was +sufficiently varied. There were +even two or three <i>lions</i> of the first +magnitude, who (judging from the +supreme <i>hauteur</i> with which they surveyed +the scene) must have been +imported from the patron capital of +Paris. Lions, bearded magnificently—no +mere luxuriance, or timid overgrowth +of hair, but the genuine full +black glossy beard—faces that might +have walked out of Titian's canvass. +Mildred would have preferred them +in the canvass; they were much too +sublime for the occasion. Then there +were two or three young English +<i>exquisites</i>, gliding about with that +published modesty that proclaimed +indifference, which seeks notoriety by +the very graceful manner in which it +seems struggling to avoid it. You +see a smile upon their lips as they +disengage themselves from the crowd, +as if they rallied themselves for taking +any share in the bustle or excitement +of the scene; but that smile, be it +understood, is by no means intended +to escape detection.</p> + +<p>There were a greater number of fat +and elderly gentlemen than Mildred +would have expected, taking part in +the dance, or circulating about the +room with all or more than the vivacity +of youth. How happy!—how +supremely blest!—seems that rotund +and bald-headed sire, who, standing +on the edge of the dais, now forsaken +by their Majesties, surveys the whole +assembly, and invites the whole assembly +to return the compliment. +How beautifully the bland sympathy +he feels for others mingles with and +swells his sense of self-importance! +How he dominates the whole scene! +How fondly patronises! And then +his smile!—why, his heart is dancing +with them all; it is beating time to +twice two hundred feet. An old +friend approaches him—he is happy +too—would shake him by the hand. +The hand he gives; but he cannot +withdraw his eye from the wide scene +before him; he cannot possibly call +in and limit his sympathies at that +moment to one friend, however old +and dear. And he who solicits his +hand, he also is looking around him +at the same time, courting the felicitations +of the crowd, who will not +fail to observe that he too is there, +and there amongst friends.</p> + +<p>In the female portion of the assembly +there was not so much novelty. +Mildred could only remark that there +was a large proportion of <i>brunettes</i>, and +that the glossy black hair was parted +on the head and smoothed down on +either side with singular neatness and +precision. Two only out of this part +of the community attracted her particular +notice, and they were of the +most opposite description. Near to +her stood a lady who might have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_718" id="Page_718">[718]</a></span> +either thirty, or forty, or fifty, for all +that her sharp and lively features betrayed. +She wore one of those small +round hats, with the feather drooping +round it, which formed, we believe, a +part of the costume of Louis XV.; and +that which drew the notice of Mildred +was the strange resemblance she bore, +in appearance and manner, to the +portraitures which some French memoirs +had made familiar to her imagination. +As she watched her in conversation +with an officer in full regimentals, +who stood by her side, her +fancy was transported to Versailles +or St Cloud. What a caustic pleasantry! +What a malicious vivacity! +It was impossible to doubt that the +repartees which passed between her +and her companion were such as to +make the ears of the absent tingle. +There were some reputations suffering +there as the little anecdote was so +trippingly narrated. Her physiognomy +was redolent of pleasant scandal—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i14">"Tolerably mild,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To make a wash she'd hardly stew a child;"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noind">but to extract a jest, there was no +question she would have distilled half +the reputations in the room.</p> + +<p>The other object of Mildred's curiosity, +we pause a moment to describe, +because she will cross our path again +in the course of this narrative. +Amongst all the costly and splendid +dresses of her sex, there was a young +girl in some simple striped stuff, the +most unsophisticated gown imaginable, +falling flat about her, with a +scanty cape of the same material +about her neck—the walking-dress, +in short, of a school-girl. The only +preparation for the ball-room consisted +of a wreath imitative of daisies, +just such a wreath as she might have +picked up in passing through a Catholic +cemetry. And the dress quite +suited the person. There she stood +with eyes and mouth wide open, as if +she saw equally through both apertures, +full of irrepressible wonder, and +quite confounded with delight. She +had been asked to dance by some very +young gentleman, but as she elbowed +her way through the quadrille, she was +still staring right and left with unabated +amazement. Mildred smiled +to herself as she thought that with +the exception of that string of white +tufts round her head, no larger than +beads, which was to pass for a wreath, +she looked for all the world as if some +spirit had suddenly snatched her up +from the pavement of the High Street +of Wimborne, and deposited her in +the ball-room of Brussels. Little did +Mildred imagine that, that crude little +person, absurd, untutored, ridiculous +as she was, would one day have it in +her power to subdue, and torture, and +triumph over her!</p> + + +<h4>CHAPTER III.</h4> + +<p>Mildred was at this moment checked +in her current of observation, and reduced +to play something more than +the part of spectator. Her ear caught +a voice, heard only once before, but +not forgotten; she turned, and saw +the stranger who had surprised her +when, in her girlish days, she was +sitting in the minster tower. He +immediately introduced himself by +asking her to dance.</p> + +<p>"I do not dance," she said, but in +a manner which did not seem to refuse +conversation. The stranger appeared +very well satisfied with the +compromise; and some pleasant allusion +to the different nature of the +scene in which they last met, put +them at once upon an easy footing.</p> + +<p>"You say you <i>do</i> not dance—that +is, of course, you <i>will</i> not. I shall +not believe," he continued, "even if +you had just stepped from your high +tower of wisdom, but that you can do +any thing you please to do. Pardon +so blunt a speech."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I <i>can</i>, I think," she replied. +"My uncle, I believe, would have +taught me the broad-sword exercise, if +any one had suggested its utility to +him."</p> + +<p>And saying this, she turned to her +uncle, to give him an opportunity, if +he pleased, of joining the conversation. +It was an opportunity which +Mr Bloomfield, who had heard a foreign +language chattered in his ear all +the evening, would have gladly taken;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_719" id="Page_719">[719]</a></span> +but the patience of that gentleman +had been for some time nearly exhausted; +he had taken his sister +under his arm, and was just going to +propose to Mildred to leave the +room.</p> + +<p>The stranger escorted them through +the crowd, and saw the ladies into +their carriage.</p> + +<p>"Can we set you down any +where?" said Mr Bloomfield, who, +though impatient to be gone, was disposed +to be very cordial towards his +fellow-countryman. "We are at the +<i>Hotel de l'Europe</i>."</p> + +<p>"And I opposite at the <i>Hotel de +Flandres</i>—I will willingly accept your +offer;" and he took the vacant seat +in their carriage.</p> + +<p>"How do you like Brussels?" was +on the lips of both gentlemen at the +same time.</p> + +<p>"Nay," said the younger, "I have +been here, I think, the longest; the +question is mine by right of priority +of residence."</p> + +<p>Mr Bloomfield was nothing loath to +communicate his impression of all +that he had seen, and especially to +dilate upon a grievance which, it +seemed, had sorely afflicted him.</p> + +<p>"As to the town, old and new, and +especially the Grande Place, with its +Hotel de Ville, I have been highly +interested by it; but, my dear sir, +the torture of walking over its horrid +pavement! Only conceive a quiet +old bachelor, slightly addicted to the +gout, accustomed to take his walk +over his well-rolled paths, or on his +own lawn, (if not too damp,) suddenly +put down amongst these cruel stones, +rough and sharp, and pitched together +in mere confusion, to pick his +way how he can, with the chance of +being smashed by some cart or carriage, +for one is turned out on the +same road with the horses. I am +stoned to death, with this only difference, +that I fall upon the stones instead +of the stones falling upon me. +And when there is a pavement—<i>a +trottoir</i>, as they call it—it is often so +narrow and slanting, and always so +slippery, and every now and then +broken by some step put there purposely, +it would seem, to overthrow +you, that it is better to bear the penance +at once of the sharp footing in +the centre of the street. <i>Trottoirs</i>, indeed! +I should like to see any one +trot upon them without breaking his +neck! A spider or a black beetle, or +any other creature that crawls upon a +multitude of legs, and has not far to +fall if he stumbles, is the only animal +that is safe upon them. I go moaning +all the day about these jogged +pointed stones, that pitch me from one +to the other with all the malice of +little devils; and, would you believe +it? my niece there only smiles, and +tells me to get thick shoes! They +cannot hurt her; she walks somehow +over the tops of them as if they were +so many balls of Indian rubber, and +has no compassion for her gouty +uncle."</p> + +<p>"Oh, my dear uncle"——</p> + +<p>"No, none at all; indeed you are +not overburdened with that sentiment +at any time for your fellow-travellers. +You bear all the afflictions of the road—your +own and other people's—very +calmly."</p> + +<p>"Don't mind him, my dear," said +Miss Bloomfield, "he has been exclaiming +again and again what an +excellent traveller you make; nothing +puts you out."</p> + +<p>"That is just what I say—nothing +does put her out. In that she is a +perfect Mephistophiles. You know +the scene of confusion on board a +steamer when it arrives at Antwerp, +and is moored in under the quay on a +hot day, with its full complement of +passengers. There you are baked by +the sun and your own furnaces; stunned +by the jabber around you, and +the abominable roar over your head +made by the escape of the steam; +the deck strewed with baggage, which +is then and there to be publicly examined—turned +over by the revenue +officers, who leave you to pack up +your things in their original compass, +if you can. Well, in all this scene of +confusion, there sat my niece with her +parasol over her little head, looking +quite composedly at the great cathedral +spires, as if we were not all of us +in a sort of infernal region there."</p> + +<p>"No, uncle, I looked every now and +then at our baggage, too, and watched +that interesting process you have described +of its examination. And when +the worthy officer was going to crush +aunt's bonnet by putting your dressing-case +on the top of it, I rose, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_720" id="Page_720">[720]</a></span> +arrested him. I had my hand upon +his arm. He thought I was going to +take him prisoner of war, for he was +about to put his hand to his sword; +but a second look at his enemy reassured +him."</p> + +<p>"Oh, you did squeak when the bonnets +were touched," cried the uncle, +"I am glad of that: it shows that +you have some human, at least some +feminine, feeling in your composition."</p> + +<p>"But <i>àpropos</i> of the pavement," +said the young stranger, who could +not join the uncle in this banter on his +niece, and was therefore glad to +get back to some common ground. +"I took up, in a reading-room, the +other day, a little pamphlet on phrenology, +by <i>M. Victor Idjiez</i>, <i>Fondateur +du Musée Phrenologique</i> at Brussels. +It might as well have been entitled, +on animal magnetism, for he is one of +those who set the whole man in motion—mind +and body both—by electricity. +Amongst other things, he has +discovered that that singular strength +which madmen often display in their +fits, is merely a galvanic power which +they draw (owing, I suppose, to the +peculiar state of their nerves,) from +the common reservoir the earth, and +which, consequently, forsakes them +when they are properly isolated. In +confirmation of this theory, he gives +a singular <i>fact</i> from a Brussels journal, +showing that <i>asphalte pavement</i> +will isolate the individual. A madman +had contrived to make his escape +from confinement, having first thrown +all the furniture of his room out of the +window, and knocked down and +trampled upon his keeper. Off he +ran, and no one would venture to stop +him. A corporal and four soldiers +were brought up to the attack: +he made nothing of them; after having +beaten the four musketeers, he +took the corporal by the leg and again +ran off, dragging him after upon the +ground. A crowd of work-people +emerging from a factory met him in +full career with the corporal behind +him, and undertook his capture. All +who approached him were immediately +thrown down—scattered over the +plain. But his triumph was suddenly +checked; he lighted upon a piece of +asphalte pavement. The moment he +put his foot upon it, his strength deserted +him, and he was seized and +taken prisoner. The instant, however, +he stepped off the pavement, his +strength revived, and he threw his +assailants from him with the same +ease as before. And thus it continued: +whenever he got off the pavement, his +strength was restored to him; the +moment he touched it, he was again +captured with facility. The asphalte +had completely isolated him."</p> + +<p>"Ha! ha!" cried Mr Bloomfield; +"the fellow, after all, was not quite +so mad as not to know what he was +about. A Brussels pavement, asphalte +or not, is no place for a wrestling +match. Isolated, indeed! Oh, doubtless, +it would isolate you most completely—at +least the soles of your +feet—from all communication with +the earth. But does Mr—what do +you call him?—proceed to theorise +upon such <i>facts</i> as these?"</p> + +<p>"You shall have another of them. +Speaking of animal magnetism or +electricity, he says—'There are certain +patients the iron nails of whose +shoes will fly out if they are laid in a +direction due north.'"<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> + +<p>"But you are quoting from Baron +Munchausen."</p> + +<p>"Not precisely."</p> + +<p>Miss Bloomfield, who had been +watching her opportunity, here brought +in her contribution. "Pray, sir, do +you believe the story they tell of the +architect of the Hotel de Ville—that +he destroyed himself on finding, after +he had built it, that the tower was +not in the centre?"</p> + +<p>"That the architect should not discover +that till the building was finished, +is indeed <i>too good a story to be +true</i>."</p> + +<p>"But, then, why make the man +kill himself? Something must have +happened; something must be true."</p> + +<p>"Why, madam, there was, no +doubt, a committee of taste in those +days as in ours. They destroyed the +plan of the architect by cutting short +one of his wings, or prolonging the +other; and he, out of vexation, destroyed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_721" id="Page_721">[721]</a></span> +himself. This is the only +explanation that occurs to me. A +committee of taste is always, in one +sense at least, the death of the artist."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes," said Mildred; "the +artist can be no longer said to exist, +if he is not allowed, in his own sphere, +to be supreme."</p> + +<p>This brought them to the door of +the hotel. They separated.</p> + +<p>The next morning, on returning +from their walk, the ladies found a +card upon their table which simply +bore the name of "Alfred Winston." +The gentleman who called with it, the +waiter said, had left word that he +regretted he was about to quit Brussels, +that evening, for Paris.</p> + +<p>Mildred read the name several +times—Alfred Winston. And this +was all she knew of him—the name +upon this little card!</p> + +<p>There were amongst the trio several +discussions as to who or what Mr +Alfred Winston might be. Miss +Bloomfield pronounced him to be an +artist, from his caustic observations +on committees of taste, and their +meddling propensities. Mr Bloomfield, +on the contrary, surmised he +was a literary man; for who but such +a one would think of occupying himself +in a reading-room with a pamphlet +on phrenology, instead of the +newspapers? And all ended in "wondering +if they should fall upon him +again?"</p> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>THE LAW AND ITS PUNISHMENTS.</h2> + + +<p>It is no uncommon boast in the mouth +of Englishmen, that the system of jurisprudence +under which they have the +happiness to live, is the most perfect +the world has ever seen. Having its +foundation in those cabalistic words, +"Nullus liber homo," &c., engraved +with an iron pen upon the tablets of +the constitution by the barons of King +John, the criminal law, in their estimation, +has been steadily improved +by the wisdom of successive ages, +until, in the present day, it has reached +a degree of excellence which it were +rashness to suppose can by any human +sagacity be surpassed. Under its protecting +influence, society reposes in +security; under its just, but merciful +administration, the accused finds every +facility for establishing his innocence, +and is allowed the benefit of every +doubt that ingenuity can suggest to +rebut the probability of guilt; before +its sacred tribunals, the weak and the +powerful, the poor and the rich, stand +in complete equality; under its impartial +sentence, all who merit punishment +are alike condemned, without +respect of any antecedents of rank, +wealth, or station. In such a system, +no change can take place without injury, +for it is (not to speak irreverently) +a system of perfection.</p> + +<p>This is the dream of many—for we +must characterise it rather as a dream +than a deliberate conviction. Reason, +we fear, has but little to do with the +opinions of those who hold that English +jurisprudence has no need of reform.</p> + +<p>The praises which are so lavishly +bestowed upon our criminal law may +be, to a great extent, just; but it is +to be doubted whether they are altogether +judicious. It is true, that in no +other system of jurisprudence throughout +the civilised world, or among the +nations of antiquity, has there existed, +or is there so tender a regard for the +rights of the accused. In Germany, +the wretch who falls under suspicion +of the law is subjected to a tedious +and inquisitorial examination, with +a view to elicit from his own lips +the proof, and even the confession of +guilt. This mental torture, not to +speak of the imprisonment of the body, +may be protracted for years, and even +for life. In France, the facts connected +with an offence are published +by authority, and circulated throughout +the country, to be greedily devoured +by innumerable lovers of unwholesome +excitement; and not the +simple facts alone, but a thousand incidental +circumstances connected with +the transaction, together with the +birth, parentage, and education, and +all the previous life of the supposed +offender, making in the whole a romance +of considerable interest, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_722" id="Page_722">[722]</a></span> +possessing an attraction beyond the +ordinary tales which fill the <i>feuilleton</i> +of a newspaper. In England, the position +of the accused is widely different. +We avoid the errors and the +tyranny of our neighbours; but have +we not fallen into the opposite extreme? +Our magistrates scrupulously +caution prisoners not to say any thing +that may criminate themselves. Every +thing that authority can effect by +means of advice, which, under the circumstances, +is equivalent to command, +is carefully brought forward to prevent +a confession. And if, in spite of +checks, warnings, and commands, the +accused, overcome by the pangs of +conscience, and urged by an irresistible +impulse to disburden his soul of +guilt, should perchance confess, the +testimony is sometimes rejected upon +some technical point of law, which +would seem to have been established +for the express purpose of defeating +the ends of justice. Indeed, the technicalities +which surround our legal +tribunals have been, until very lately, +and are still, in too many instances, +most strangely favourable to the escape +of criminals. The idlest quibbles, +most offensive to common sense, and +utterly disgraceful in a court of criminal +investigation, have at various +times been allowed as valid pleas in +defence of the most palpable crimes. +Many a thief has escaped, on the +ground of some slight and immaterial +misdescription of the stolen article, +such as a horse instead of a mare, a +cow instead of an ox, a sheep for a +ewe, and so on. True, these absurdities +exist no longer; but others still +remain, less ridiculous perhaps, but +not less obstructive of the course of +justice, and quite as pernicious in their +example. Great and beneficial changes +have been effected in the criminal +code, and too much praise cannot be +bestowed upon Sir Robert Peel for his +exertions in this behalf. To her Majesty's +commissioners, also, some thanks +are due for the labour they have expended +with a view to the consolidation +and subsequent codification of the +various statutes. Their labours, however, +have not hitherto been very +largely productive. The excellent +object of simplifying our criminal laws +still remains to be accomplished, and +so long as it does so, so long will it +be obnoxious to the censures which +are not unsparingly heaped upon it.</p> + +<p>But if our jurisprudence be in one +respect too favourable to the criminal, +in another, as it appears to us, the +balance is more than restored to its +equilibrium. If, in the process of investigation, +justice leans too much to +the side of mercy, the inquiry once +over, she quickly repents of her excessive +leniency, and is careful to justify +her ways by a rigorous severity. +The accused, if he is not lucky enough +to avail himself of the thousand avenues +of escape that are open during +the progress of his trial, must abandon +all hope of further consideration, and +look to undergo a punishment, of +which the full extent cannot be estimated +by any human sagacity. Once +condemned, he ceases to be an object +of care or solicitude, except so far as +these are necessary to preserve his +life and restrain his liberty. Through +crime he has forfeited all claim upon +the fostering care of the state. He is +an alien and an outcast, and has no +pretence for expecting any thing but +misery.</p> + +<p>Surely there is something vindictive +in all this—something not quite +consistent with the calm and unimpassioned +administration of justice. +The first impressions of any man of +ordinary humanity must be very much +against a system which fosters and +encourages such a state of things. +We believe that those first impressions +would be confirmed by inquiry; +and it is our purpose in the present +article briefly to state the reasons for +our belief.</p> + +<p>The treatment of criminals under +sentence of imprisonment must now +be well known to the public. Repeated +discussion and innumerable writings +have rendered it familiar to every body. +A man is condemned to undergo, let +us say, three years' incarceration in a +jail. A portion of the time is to be +spent in hard labour. He commences +his imprisonment with no other earthly +object than to get through it with the +least possible amount of suffering. +Employment, which might, under +better circumstances, be a pleasant +resource, is distasteful to him because +it is compulsory, and because it is +productive of no benefit to himself. +The hours that are unemployed are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_723" id="Page_723">[723]</a></span> +passed in company with others as bad +as, or worse than, himself. They amuse +themselves by recounting the history +of their lives, their hairbreadth escapes, +their successful villanies. Each profits +by the experience of the whole number, +and stores it in his memory for +future guidance. Every good impulse +is checked, and every better feeling +stifled in the birth. There is no +room in a jail for the growth of +virtue; the atmosphere is not congenial +to its development. The prisoner, +however well disposed, cannot choose +but listen to the debasing talk of those +with whom he is compelled to associate. +Should he resist the wicked +influence for a while, he can hardly +do so long. The poison will work. +By little and little it insinuates itself +into the mind, and vitiates all the +springs of good. In the end, he yields +to the irresistible force of continued +bad example, and becomes as bad as +the worst.</p> + +<p>But let us believe, for an instant, +that one prisoner has resisted the ill +effects of wicked association—let us +suppose him to have escaped the contamination +of a jail, to have received +no moral hurt from bad example, to +be untainted by the corrupting atmosphere +of congregated vice—in short, +to return into the world at the end of +his imprisonment a better man than +he was at its commencement. Let +us suppose all this, although the supposition, +it must be confessed, is unsupported +by experience, and directly +in the teeth of probability. He sallies +forth from his prison, full of good +resolutions, and determined to win +the character of an honest man. Perhaps +he has a small sum of money, +which helps him to reach a part of +the country most distant from the +scene of his disgrace. He seeks for +work, and is fortunate enough to +obtain it. For a short time, all goes +well with him. He is industrious +and sober, and gains the good-will of +his employer. He is confirmed in his +good intentions, and fancies that his +hopes of regaining his position in +society are about to be realised. Vain +hopes! Rumour is busy with his +name. His fellow-labourers begin to +look coldly on him. The master does +not long remain in ignorance. The +discharged convict is taxed with his +former degradation, and made to suffer +again the consequences of a crime he +has well and fully expiated. His brief +hour of prosperity is over. He is cast +forth again upon the world, denied the +means of gaining an honest livelihood, +with nothing before him but starvation +or a jail. What wonder should +he choose the latter! Goaded by +despair, or stimulated by hunger, he +yields to the first temptation, and +commits a crime which places him +again within prison walls. It is his +second conviction. He is a marked +man. He were more than mortal if +he escaped the deteriorating effects of +repeated association with the hardened +and the vicious. His future career is +certain. He falls from bad to worse, +and ends his life upon the scaffold.</p> + +<p>We have imagined, for the sake of +argument, a case which, in one of its +features, is unfortunately of very rare +occurrence. Criminals seldom, perhaps +never, leave a jail with the slightest +inclination to a course of honesty. +Their downward progress, when they +have once been exposed to the contamination +of a prison life, may be calculated +almost with certainty. No +sooner is the term of their imprisonment +expired, than they step forth into the +world, eager to recommence the old career +of systematic villany. Good intentions, +and the desire of doing well, are +almost always strangers to their breasts. +But should they, perchance, be alive +to better things, and be moved by +wholesome impulses, what an awful +responsibility rests upon those who, +by individual acts, or by a pernicious +system, check and render abortive the +efforts of a dawning virtue! In the +case we have supposed, there is doubtless +much that must be laid to the +score of human nature. Men will not +easily be persuaded, that he who has +once made a grievous lapse from the +path of honesty, will not be ever +prone to repeat the offence. None +but the truly charitable (an infinitesimal +portion of every community) +will expose themselves to the risk of +employing a discharged convict. But +whilst this much evil is justly attributed +to the selfish cruelty of society, +a much larger share of blame attaches +to the system which affords too plausible +a pretext for such uncharitable +conduct. It is not merely because a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_724" id="Page_724">[724]</a></span> +man has offended against the laws, and +been guilty of what, in legal parlance, +may be a simple misdemeanour, that +he is regarded with suspicion and +treated with ignominy; but much +more, because he has been confined in +a jail, and exposed to all the pernicious +influences which are known to +be rife within its walls. It is deemed +a thing incredible, that a man can +issue from a hot-bed of corruption, and +not be himself corrupt. To have undergone +a term of imprisonment, is very +generally thought to be equivalent to +taking a degree in infamy. On the +system, therefore, rests much of the +blame which would otherwise attach +to the world's cold charity; to its +account must be charged every subject +who might have been saved, and +who, through despair, is lost to the +service of the state.</p> + +<p>The evils we have described are +patent and notorious; the only question, +therefore, that arises is, whether +they are inevitable and inherent in +the nature of things, or whether they +may be avoided by greater care and +an improved system. Before entering +upon this question, it may +be well to notice briefly the various +opinions that are entertained concerning +the proper end and aim of +criminal punishment. We take for +granted, that in every community, +under whatever political constitution +it may exist and be associated, the +sole object of criminal <i>law</i> is the peace +and security of society. With regard +to the means by which this object may +be best attained, or, in other words, +with regard to the whole system of +jurisprudence, from a preventive police +down to the discipline of jails and the +machinery of the scaffold, a great +diversity of sentiment must naturally +be expected. The pure theorist and +the subtle disciple of Paley, maintain +that the proper, nay, the sole object +of punishment should be the prevention +of crime. The philanthropic enthusiast, +and the man of strict religious +feeling, reject all other motives save +only that of reforming the criminal. +The dispassionate inquirer, the practical +man, and he who has learned his +lessons in the school of experience, +take a middle course, though inclining +a little to the theory of Paley. +They hold that, whilst the amount, +and to some extent the quality, of +punishment should be settled and defined +chiefly with a view to prevent +the increase of crime by the deterring +effect of fear, yet the details ought, if +possible, to be so managed as in the +end to bring about the reformation of +the prisoner. We have no hesitation in +avowing, that this last opinion is our +own. There is an argument in its +favour, which the most rigid disciple +of the pure "prevention" theory +must recognise immediately as one of +his own most valued weapons. The +"peace and security of society" are +his watchwords. They are ours also. +But whilst, in his opinion, the only +way to produce the desired result is +by a system of terrorism, such as will +deter from the perpetration of crime, +we believe that a careful solicitude +concerning the moral conduct of the +criminal during his imprisonment, and +an anxious endeavour to instruct and +improve his mind, by enforcing good +habits, and taking away bad example, +would be found equally powerful in +their operation upon the well-being of +society. For although it is a lamentable +fact, that the number of our criminals +is always being kept up to its full +complement, by the addition of juvenile +offenders, so that it would be vain +to indulge a hope, without cutting off the +feeding-springs, of materially diminishing +our criminal population; yet it +is equally true that the most desperate +and dangerous offenders are they who +have served their apprenticeship in +jails, and there accomplished themselves +in all the various devices of +ingenious wickedness. It is these +who give the deepest shade to the +calendar of crime, and work incalculable +mischief both in and out of +prison, by instructing the tyros +in all the most subtle varieties of +villany. To reform such men may +seem an arduous, perhaps an impossible +task; but it is far less arduous, and +certainly not impossible, to prevent +their becoming the hardened ruffians +which we have, without exaggeration, +described them.</p> + +<p>The truth must be told. The system +of secondary punishments (as they are +called, though why we know not) is +radically wrong. There is something +radically wrong in the discipline and +regulations of our jails. The details of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_725" id="Page_725">[725]</a></span> +imprisonment are faulty and imperfect. +Surely this is proved, when it is shown +that men are invariably rendered +worse, instead of better, by confinement +in a jail. Even though it be +admitted, for the sake of argument, +that the state lies under no obligation +to attempt the reformation of its criminals, +the admission serves no whit +to support a system under which criminals +are confirmed and hardened in +their vicious courses. The state may +refuse to succour, but it has no right +to injure. This, as it seems to us, is +the strong point against our present +system. It does not so much punish +the body as injure the mind of the +criminal; and, in so doing, it eventually +endangers rather than secures +the peace of society.</p> + +<p>Many remedies have been proposed, +but all, with an exception that will presently +be mentioned, are rather palliative +than corrective. Solitary confinement, +for instance, is an undoubted cure +for the diseases engendered by bad example +and evil communications; but +it breeds a host of other diseases, +peculiar to itself, and in many cases +worse than those it cures. Not to +speak of the indulgence which so much +idleness allows for vicious thoughts +and recollections, the chief objection +to solitary confinement is, that, if +continued for any length of time, it +unfits a man wholly for subsequent +intercourse with the world. He leaves +his prison with a mind prostrated to +imbecility, and a body reduced to +utter helplessness; yet he retains, +perhaps, the cunning of the idiot, and +just sufficient use of his limbs to serve +him for a bad purpose. On these +painful considerations, however, it is +unnecessary to dwell at length. Solitary +confinement, without occupation +and without intervals of society, was +an experiment upon the human animal. +It has been tried in this country +and elsewhere, and has signally failed. +At this moment, we believe, it has few +or no supporters.</p> + +<p>The plan which has most largely +and most deservedly attracted public +attention, is that of Captain Maconochie, +known by the name of the "Mark +System." Captain Maconochie was +superintendent of the penal establishment +at Norfolk Island, where he had +constantly about 2000 prisoners under +his command. This office he held for +eight years, and had, consequently, +the most favourable opportunity of +observing the practical working of the +old system. Finding it to be defective, +and injurious in every particular, +he tried, with certain unavoidable modifications, +a plan of his own, which, +as he asserts, succeeded beyond his +expectation. Having thus proved its +practicability in Norfolk Island, and +satisfied himself of its advantages, he +wishes now to introduce it into England; +and, with a view of obtaining +a favourable hearing and efficient support, +he has procured it to be referred +to a committee of the "Society for +Promoting the Amendment of the +Law." The committee have reported +in its favour; and their report, which +is said to have been drawn up by the +learned Recorder of Birmingham, contains +so concise and clear a statement +of the Captain's plan, that we take +leave to extract a portion of it:—</p> + +<p>"Captain Maconochie's plan," says +Mr M. D. Hill, "had its origin in +his experience of the evil tendency of +sentences for a time certain, and of +fixed gratuitous jail rations of food. +These he practically found opposed to +the reformation of the criminal. A +man under a time-sentence looks exclusively +to the means of beguiling +that time. He is thereby led to evade +labour, and to seek opportunities of +personal gratification, obtained, in extreme +cases, even in ways most horrible. +His powers of deception are +sharpened for the purpose; and even, +when unable to offend in act, he seeks +in fancy a gratification, by gloating +over impure images. At the best, +his life stagnates, no proper object of +pursuit being presented to his thoughts. +And the allotment of fixed gratuitous +rations, irrespective of conduct or exertion, +further aggravates the evil, by +removing even the minor stimulus to +action, furnished by the necessity of +procuring food, and by thus directly +fostering those habits of improvidence +which, perhaps even more than determined +vice, lead to crime.</p> + +<p>"In lieu of sentences to imprisonment +or transportation, measured thus +by months or years, Captain Maconochie +recommends sentences to an +amount of labour, measured by a given +number of marks, to be placed to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_726" id="Page_726">[726]</a></span> +debit of the convict, in books to be +kept for the purpose. This debit to be +from time to time increased by charges +made in the same currency, for all +supplies of food and clothing, and by +any fines that may be imposed for +misconduct. The duration of his sentence +will thus be made to depend on +three circumstances. <i>First</i>, The gravity +of the original offence, or the +estimate made by the judge of the +amount of discipline which the criminal +ought to undergo before he is restored +to liberty. This regulates the +amount of the original debit. <i>Second</i>, +The zeal, industry, and effectiveness +of his labour in the works allotted +to him, which furnish him with the +means of payment, or of adding from +time to time to the credit side of his +account. And, <i>Third</i>, His conduct in +confinement. If well conducted, he +will avoid fines; and if economical in +food, and such other gratifications as +he is permitted to purchase with his +marks, he will keep down the amount +of his debits.</p> + +<p>"By these means, Captain Maconochie +contends, that a term of imprisonment +may be brought to bear a +close resemblance to adversity in ordinary +life, which, being deeply felt, +is carefully shunned; but which, nevertheless, +when encountered in a manful +spirit, improves and elevates the +character. All the objects of punishment +will be thus attained. There +will be continued destitution, unless +relief is sought by exertion, and hence +there will be labour and suffering; +but, with exertion, there will be not +only the hope, but the certainty of recovery—whence +there will be improvement +in good habits, and right +thinking. And the motives put into +operation to produce effort and economy, +being also of the same character +with those in ordinary life, will advantageously +prepare the prisoner for +their wholesome action on him after +his discharge.</p> + +<p>"The only other very distinctive +feature in Captain Maconochie's system +is, his proposal that, after the +prisoner has passed through a term of +probation, to be measured not by +lapse of time, but by his conduct as +indicated by the state of his account, +he shall be advanced from separate +confinement into a social state. For +this purpose, he shall become a member +of a small class of six or eight, +these classes being capable of being +separated from each other, just as individuals +are separated from individuals +during the earlier stage, the +members of each class to have a +common interest, the marks earned +or lost by each to count to the gain +or loss of his party, not of himself +exclusively. By this means, Captain +Maconochie thinks prisoners will be +rescued from the simply gregarious +state of existence, which is, in truth, +a selfish one, now incident to imprisonment +in those jails to which +the separate system is not applied, +and will be raised into a social existence. +Captain Maconochie is convinced, +by experience, that much good +feeling will be elicited among them in +consequence of this change. Indolence +and vice, which either prevent +the prisoner from earning, or compel +him to forfeit his marks, will become +unpopular in the community; and industry +and good conduct, as enabling +him to acquire and preserve them, will, +on the contrary, obtain for him its approbation. +On much experience, he +asserts that no portion of his <i>modus +operandi</i> is more effective than this, +by which, even in the depraved community +of Norfolk Island, he succeeded, +in a wonderfully short time, in giving +an upward direction to the public +opinion of the class of prisoners themselves."</p> + +<p>This brief outline of the Mark +System undoubtedly presents to view +one of the boldest projects of reform +that ever proceeded from a private +individual. It seeks to root up and +utterly annihilate the whole system +of secondary punishments, and necessarily +involves a radical change in +the criminal law. To a plan of so +sweeping a character, a thousand objections +will of course be made. Some +will deny the necessity of so fundamental +a change. Many will be startled +by the magnitude of the innovation +alone, and refuse at the very +outset to accept a proposition which, +whatever be its intrinsic merits, +presents itself to their imagination +surrounded with incalculable perils. +Others will shake their heads, and +doubt the possibility of working out a +problem, which, from the beginning of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_727" id="Page_727">[727]</a></span> +time, has baffled the ingenuity of man. +A few there may be, who will regard +the new system with a favourable +eye, albeit on no other ground than +because it offers a prospect of escape +from evils which exist, and are increasing, +and which can hardly be +exchanged for worse. For want of +better companions, we shall take our +position in the last-mentioned class; +confessing that there is much in Captain +Maconochie's system which seems +at present Utopian, and savours too +strongly of an enthusiasm which can +see none but its own colours, but deeply +impressed, at the same time, with +the plausibility of his general theory. +It is vain to hope that the unaided +efforts of the chaplain will ever reform +the inmates of a jail. No man was +ever yet preached into good habits, +except by a miracle. It is vain to +hope that a discipline (if such it can +be called) which enforces sometimes +idleness, and sometimes useless labour, +providing at the same time for all the +wants of the body, with an abundance +never enjoyed beyond the prison walls, +will ever make men industrious, or +frugal, or any thing else than dissolute +and idle. In short, it is vain to hope, +in the present state of things, that +the criminal population of these kingdoms +will ever be diminished, or even +checked in its steady tendency to increase. +If, then, all these hopes, which +are exactly such as a philanthropist +may reasonably indulge, be vain and +futile, no man would be open to a +charge of folly, should he embrace any, +even the wildest proposition that holds +out the prospect of improvement.</p> + +<p>Captain Maconochie's system may +be divided into two distinct and very +different parts; namely, the general +principles and the details. Concerning +the latter, we are unwilling to hazard +an opinion, deeming them peculiarly +a matter of experiment, and incapable +of proof or refutation by any other +test than experience. But principles +are universal, and, if true, may always +be supported by argument, and +strengthened by discussion; those of +the Mark System, we think, will bear +the application of both. No one possessed +of the smallest experience of +the human mind, will deny that it is +utterly impossible to inculcate and fix +good habits by a process which is +continually distasteful to the patient. +With regard to labour, which is compulsory +and unproductive, the labourer, +so far from becoming habituated to +it, loathes it the more the longer he +is obliged to continue it. Such labour, +moreover, has no good effect upon the +mind; it produces nothing but disgust +and discontent. A similar result is +produced upon the body under similar +circumstances. Exercise is only beneficial +when taken with a good will, +and enjoyed with a zest: a man who +should walk but two or three miles, +grumbling all the way, would be as +tired at the end as though he had +walked twenty in a more contented +mood. What, then, will some one +say, are prisoners not to be punished +at all? Is every thing to be made +easy to them, and ingenuity taxed +for devices to render their sentences +agreeable, and to take the sting from +imprisonment? The answer is ready. +The law is not vindictive, and does +not pretend to inflict suffering beyond +what is necessary for the security of +society. The thief and the homicide +cannot be allowed to go at large. +They must either be sent out of the +country, or shut up within it. By +some means or other, they must be +deprived of the power of inflicting +further injury upon their fellow-creatures. +But how long are they to be +cut off from the world? For a time +fixed and irrevocable, and irrespective +of subsequent good conduct, or reformation +of character, or any other +consideration than only the magnitude +of the original offence? Surely neither +reason nor humanity can approve such +a doctrine; for does it not, in fact, +involve the very principle which our +law repudiates, namely, the principle +that its punishments are vindictive? +If a man who steals a horse, and is +condemned to three years' imprisonment, +be compelled to undergo the +whole sentence, without reference to +his conduct under confinement, this +surely is vengeance, and not, what it +assumes to be, a punishment proportioned +to the necessity of the case. +It is, no doubt, proper that a criminal +should be condemned to suffer some +loss of liberty, more or less, according +to the nature of his delinquency, and +a minimum should always be fixed; +but it seems equally proper, and consistent +with acknowledged principles, +that a power should reside somewhere<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_728" id="Page_728">[728]</a></span> +of diminishing the maximum, and +where more advantageously than in +the criminal himself? If the motives +which govern the world at large, and +operate upon men in ordinary life, to +make them frugal and industrious, and +to keep them honest, can be brought +to bear upon the isolated community +of a jail, why should they not? The +object is humane; not injurious, but, +on the contrary, highly beneficial to +society; and not opposed to any established +rule of law or general policy. +We can conceive no possible argument +against it, save that which we have +already noticed, and, we trust, satisfactorily.</p> + +<p>It is worthy of notice, as being +calculated to satisfy the scruples of +those who may be alarmed at the +introduction of what they imagine a +novel principle into our criminal jurisprudence, +that this, the main feature +of the Mark System, is not new. It +is sanctioned by long usage in our +penal settlements. In the Australian +colonies, a man under sentence of +transportation for years or for life +may, by his own conduct, both shorten +the duration and mitigate the severity +of his punishment. By industry, by +a peaceable demeanour, by the exercise +of skill and ingenuity acquired in +better times, he may obtain advantages +which are not accorded to +others. By a steady continuance in +such behaviour, he may acquire the +privilege of working for himself, and +enjoying the produce of his labour. +In the end, he may even be rewarded +by a free pardon. If all these things +may be done in Australia, why not +also in England? Surely there is more +to be said on behalf of convicts sentenced +to imprisonment than for those +sentenced to transportation. If our +sympathy, or, to speak more correctly, +our mercy, is to be inversely to the +enormity of the offence, then the +English prisoner is most entitled to +our regard. It is possible that the +transportation system may be wrong, +but, at least, let us be consistent.</p> + +<p>It is not necessary that Captain +Maconochie's plan should be adopted +<i>in extenso</i>, to the immediate and active +subversion of the ancient system. We +may feel our way. There is no reason +why a single prison should not be set +apart, or, if necessary, specially constructed, +for the purpose of applying +the test of practice to the new theory. +A short act might be passed, empowering +the judges to inflict labour +instead of time-sentences—of course, +within a certain limit as to number. +Captain Maconochie himself might be +entrusted with the superintendence of +the experiment, in order to avoid the +possibility of a suspicion that it had +not received a fair trial. If, with every +reasonable advantage, the scheme +should eventually prove impracticable, +then, of course, it will sink into oblivion, +and be consigned to the limbo +of impossible theories. The country +will have sustained no loss, save the +insignificant expense of the model +machinery.</p> + +<p>Considering the whole subject—its +importance, its difficulty, the novelty +of the proposed amendments, and +their magnitude—we are disposed to +agree with the learned Recorder of +Birmingham, that "the plan is highly +deserving of notice." Objections, of +course, might be made in abundance, +over and above those we have thought +proper to notice. These, however, +may be all reduced to one, namely, +that the scheme is impracticable. That +it may prove so, we do not deny; nor +could any one, with a grain of prudence, +venture to deny it, seeing how +many promising projects are daily +failing, not through their own intrinsic +defects, but through miscalculation of +opposing forces. The test of the +Mark System, we repeat, must be +experience. All that we seek to +establish in its favour is the soundness +of its principles. Of these we +do not hesitate to avow a perfect +approval; and, in doing so, we do not +fear being classed among the disciples +of the new school of pseudo-philanthropy, +whose academy is Exeter +Hall, and whose teachers are such +men as Lord Nugent and Mr Fox. +It is quite possible to feel compassion +for the guilty, and a solicitude +for their temporal as well as eternal +welfare, without elevating them into +the dignity of martyrs, and fixing one's +attention upon them, to the neglect of +their more honest and less protected +neighbours. It is no uncommon thing +to hear comparisons drawn between +the conditions of the prisoner and the +pauper—between the abundant nourishing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_729" id="Page_729">[729]</a></span> +food of the former, and the +scanty meagre rations of the latter! +There is no doubt that better fare is +provided in a jail than in a workhouse. +Good reasons, perhaps, may +be given for the distinction, but in +appearance it is horribly unjust. No +system which proposed to encourage +it would ever receive our approbation. +The Mark System is adverse to the +pampering of criminals. It seeks to +enforce temperance and frugality, both +by positive rewards, and by punishing +gluttony and indulgence. Its object +is the improvement, not of the physical, +but the moral condition of the +prisoner. His mind, not his body, is +its especial care—a prudent, humane, +we will even say, a pious care! Visionary +it may be, though we think not—absurd +it can never be, except in the +eyes of those to whom the well-being +of their fellow-creatures is matter of +indifference, and who, too frivolous to +reflect, or too shallow to penetrate +the depths of things, seek to disguise +their ignorance and folly under cover of +ridicule. To such we make no appeal. +But to the many really humane and +sensible persons who are alive to the +importance of the subject, we recommend +a deliberate examination of the +Mark System.</p> + +<p class="sig">M. +</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + + +<h2>LAYS AND LEGENDS OF THE THAMES.</h2> + + +<p>Never was there such a summer +on this side of the Tropics. How +is it possible to exist, with the +thermometer up to boiling point! +London a vast caldron—the few +people left in its habitable parts +strongly resembling stewed fish—the +aristocratic portion of the world flying +in all directions, though there are +three horticultural fetes to come—the +attachés to all the foreign embassies +sending in their resignations, rather +than be roasted alive—the ambassadors +all on leave, in the direction of +the North Pole—the new governor +of Canada congratulated, for the first +time in national history, on his banishment +to a land where he has nine +months winter;—and a contract just +entered into with the Wenham Lake +Company for ten thousand tons of +ice, to rescue the metropolis from a +general conflagration.</p> + +<p>—Went to dine with the new East +India Director, in his Putney paradise. +Sir Charles gives dinners worthy +of the Mogul, and he wants nothing +of the pomps and pleasures of the +East but a harem. But, in the mean +time, he gathers round him a sort of +human menagerie; and every race of +man, from the Hottentot to the Highlander, +is to be found feeding in his +Louis Quatorze saloons.</p> + +<p>This certainly variegates the scene +considerably, and relieves us of the +intolerable topics, of Parliament, taxes, +the last attempt on Louis Philippe, +the last adventure of Queen Christina, +or the last good thing of the last great +bore of Belgrave Square; with the +other desperate expedients to avoid +the inevitable yawn. We had an Esquimaux +chief, who, however, dwelt +too long on the luxury of porpoise +steaks; a little plump Mandarin, who +indulged us with the tricks of the tea +trade; the sheik Ben Hassan Ben +Ali, who had narrowly escaped hanging +by the hands of the French; and +a New Zealand chief, strongly suspected +of habits inconsistent with the +European <i>cuisine</i>, yet who restricted +himself on this occasion to every thing +at the table.</p> + +<p>At length, in a pause of the conversation, +somebody asked where +somebody else was going, for the dog-days. +The question engaged us all. +But, on comparing notes, every Englishman +of the party had been everywhere +already—Cairo, Constantinople, +Calcutta, Cape Horn. There +was not a corner of the world, where +they had not drunk tea, smoked +cigars, and anathematised the country, +the climate, and the constitution. +Every thing was <i>usé</i>—every soul was +<i>blasé</i>. There was no hope of novelty, +except by an Artesian perforation +to the centre, or a voyage to the +moon.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_730" id="Page_730">[730]</a></span></p> + +<p>At last a curious old personage, +with a nondescript visage, and who +might, from the jargon of his tongue +and the mystery of his costume, have +been a lineal descendant of the Wandering +Jew, asked, had any one at +table seen the Thames?</p> + +<p>The question struck us all at once. +It was a grand discovery; it was a +flash of light; it was the birth of a +new idea; it was an influx of brilliant +inquiry. It was ascertained, that +though we had all steamed up and +down the Thames times without number, +not one of us had seen the river. +Some had always steamed it in their +sleep; some had plunged at once into +the cabin, to avoid the passengers on +deck; some had escaped the vision +by the clouds of a cigar; some by a +French novel and an English dinner. +But not one could recollect any thing +more of it than it flowed through +banks more or less miry; that it was, +to the best of their recollection, something +larger than the Regent's Canal; +and some thought that they had seen +occasional masts and smoke flying by +them.</p> + +<p>My mind was made up on the spot. +Novelty is my original passion—the +spring of all my virtues and vices—the +stimulant of all my desires, disasters, +and distinctions. In short, I +determined to see the Thames.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p>Rose at daybreak—the sky blue, +the wind fragrant, Putney throwing +up its first faint smokes; the villa all +asleep. Leaving a billet for Sir Charles, +I ordered my cab, and set off for the +Thames. "How little," says Jonathan +Swift, "does one-half of the world +know what the other is doing." I had +left Putney the abode of silence, a +solitary policeman standing here and +there, like the stork which our modern +painters regularly put into the +corner of their landscapes to express +the sublime of solitude—no slipshod +housemaid peeping from her window; +no sight or sound of life to be seen +through the rows of the flower-pots, +or the lattices of the suburb gardens.</p> + +<p>But, once in London, what a contrast. +From the foot of London bridge +what a rush of life; what an incursion +of cabs; what a rattle of waggons; +what a surge of population; what a +chaos of clamour; what volcanic volumes +of everlasting smoke rolling up +against the unhappy face of the Adelaide +hotel; what rushing of porters, +and trundling of trunks; what +cries of every species, utterable by +that extraordinary machine the throat +of man; what solicitations to trust +myself, for instant conveyance to the +remotest shore of the terraqueous +globe!—"For Calais, sir? Boat off +in half-an-hour."—"For Constantinople? +in a quarter."—"For Alexandria? +in five minutes."—"For the +Cape? bell just going to ring." In +this confusion of tongues it was a +thousand to one that I had not jumped +into the boat for the Niger, and before +I recovered my senses, been far on my +way to Timbuctoo.</p> + +<p>In a feeling little short of desperation, +or of that perplexity in which +one labours to decypher the possible +purport of a maiden speech, I flung +myself into the first steamer which I +could reach, and, to my genuine self-congratulation, +found that I was under +no compulsion to be carried beyond +the mouth of the Thames.</p> + +<p>I had now leisure to look round me. +The bell had not yet chimed: passengers +were dropping in. Carriages +were still rolling down to the landing-place, +laden with mothers and daughters, +lapdogs and bandboxes, innumerable. +The surrounding scenery +came, as the describers say, "in all its +power on my eyes."—St Magnus, built +by Sir Christopher Wren, as dingy +and massive as if it had been built by +Roderic the Goth; St Olave's, rising +from its ruins, as fresh as a fairy palace +of gingerbread; the Shades, +where men drink wine, as Bacchus +did, from the bunghole; the Bridge of +Bridges, clambered over and crowded +with spectators as thick as hiving bees!</p> + +<p>But—prose was never made for +such things. I must be Pindaric.</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">London Bridge.</span><br /> + +<i>"My native land, good-night!"</i></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Adieu, adieu, thou huge, high bridge<br /></span> +<span class="i7">A long and glad adieu!<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_731" id="Page_731">[731]</a></span> +<span class="i0">I see above thy stony ridge<br /></span> +<span class="i6">A most ill-favour'd crew.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The earth displays no dingier sight;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I bid the whole—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There, hang between me and the sky<br /></span> +<span class="i6">She who doth oysters sell,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The youth who parboil'd shrimps doth cry,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The shoeless beau and belle,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blue-apron'd butchers, bakers white,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Creation's lords!—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Some climb along the slippery wall,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Through balustrades some stare,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">One wonders what has perch'd them all<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Five hundred feet in air.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Thames below flows, ready quite<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To break their fall.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What visions fill my parting eyes!<br /></span> +<span class="i6">St Magnus, thy grim tower,<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><i>Almost</i> as black as London skies!<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The Shades, which are no bower;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">St Olave's, on its new-built site,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In flaming brick.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The rope's thrown off, the paddles move,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">We leave the bridge behind;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beat tide below, and cloud above;—<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Asylums for the blind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Schools, storehouses, fly left and right;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Docks, locks, and blocks—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In distance fifty steeples dance.<br /></span> +<span class="i6">St Catherine's dashes by,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Customhouse scarce gets a glance,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The sounds of Bowbell die.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With charger's speed, or arrow's flight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We steam along.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The Tower seems whirling in a waltz,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">As on we rush and roar.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where impious man makes Cheltenham salts,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">We shave the sullen shore;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Putting the wherries all in fright,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Swamping a few.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We brave the perils of the Pool;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Pass colliers chain'd in rows;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">See coalheavers, as black and cool<br /></span> +<span class="i6">As negroes without clothes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Each bouncing, like an opera sprite,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Stript to the skin.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And now I glance along the deck<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Our own live-stock to view—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some matrons, much in fear of wreck;<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Some lovers, two by two;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some sharpers, come the clowns to bite;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Some plump John Bulls.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_732" id="Page_732">[732]</a></span>A shoal of spinsters, book'd for France,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">(All talking of Cheapside;)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">An old she-scribbler of romance,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">All authorship and pride;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A diner-out, (timeworn and trite,)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A <i>gobe-mouche</i> group.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">A strolling actor and his wife,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Both going to "make hay;"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">An Alderman, at fork and knife,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">The wonder of his day!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Three Earls, without an appetite,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gazing, in spleen.—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Ye dear, delicious memories!<br /></span> +<span class="i7">That to our midriffs cling<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As children to their Christmas pies,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">(So, all the New-School sing;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In collars loose, and waistcoats white,)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All, all farewell!—Good-night, good-night!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The charming author of that most +charming of all brochures, <i>Le Voyage +autour de ma Chambre</i>, says, that the +less a man has to write about, the +better he writes. But this charming +author was a Frenchman; he was born +in the land where three dinners can +be made of one potato, and where +moonshine is a substantial part of +every thing. He performed his voyage, +standing on a waxed floor, and making +a circuit of his shelves; the titles +of his books had been his facts, and +the titillations of his snuff the food of +his fancy. But John Bull is of another +style of thinking. His appetite +requires solid realities, and I give him +docks, wharfs, steam-engines, and +manufactures, for his powerful mastication.—But, +what scents are these, +rising with such potentiality upon the +morning breeze? What sounds, "by +distance made more sweet?" What +a multitude of black, brown, bustling +beings are crushing up that narrow +avenue, from these open boats, like +a new invasion of the pirate squadrons +from the north of old. Oh, Billingsgate!—I +scent thee—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">——"As when to them who sail<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mozambic, far at sea the north winds blow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sabæan odours from the spicy shore<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Araby the Blest. With such delay<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Well-pleased, they slack their course, and many a league,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Cheer'd with the grateful smell, old Ocean smiles."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The effect was not equally rapturous +in the Thames; but on we flew, +passing groups of buildings which +would have overtopped all the castles +on the Rhine, had they but been on +fair ground; depots of wealth, which +would have purchased half the provinces +beyond the girdle of the Black +Forest; and huge steamers, which +would have towed a captive Armada +to the Tower.</p> + +<p>The <span class="smcap">Tower</span>! what memories are +called up by the name! How frowning +are those black battlements, how +strong those rugged walls, how massive +those iron-spiked gates! Every +stone is historical, and every era of +its existence has been marked by the +mightiest changes of men, monarchs, +and times; then I see the fortress, +the palace and the prison of kings!</p> + +<p>But, let me people those resounding +arches, dim passages, and solemn +subterraneans, with the past. Here, +two thousand years ago, Julius Cæsar +kept his military court, with Quæstors, +Prefects, and Tribunes, for his secretaries +of state; Centurions for his +chamberlains; and Augurs for his +bishops. On this bank of the stately +river, on which no hovel had encroached, +but which covered with its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_733" id="Page_733">[733]</a></span> +unpolluted stream half the landscape, +and rolled in quiet majesty to +meet the ocean; often stood the man, +who was destined to teach the Republican +rabble of Rome that they had a +master. I leave antiquarians to settle +the spot trodden by his iron sandal. +I disdain the minute meddling of the +men of <i>fibulæ</i> and <i>frustums</i> of pitchers. +But I can see—"in my mind's eye, +Horatio"—the stately Roman casting +many an eager glance eastward, and +asking himself, with an involuntary +grasp of his hilt, and an unconscious +curl of his lip, how long he was to +suffer the haranguers of the populace, +the pilferers of the public, the hirelings +of Cinna and Sylla, and of every +man who would hire them, the whole +miry mass of reformers, leaguers, and +cheap-bread men, to clap their wings +like a flight of crows over the bleeding +majesty of Rome.</p> + +<p>Then the chance sound of a trumpet, +or the tread of a cohort along the +distant rampart, would make him turn +back his glance, and think of the +twenty thousand first-rate soldiers +whom a wave of his finger would +move across the Channel, send +through Gaul, sacking Lutetia, darting +through the defiles of the Alps, and +bringing him in triumph through the +Janiculum, up to the temple of the +Capitoline Jove. Glorious dreams, and +gloriously realised! How vexatious +is it that we cannot see the past, that +we cannot fly back from the bustle of +this blacksmith world, from the jargon +of public life, and the tameness +of private toil; into those majestic +ages, when the world was as magnificent +as a theatre; when nations +were swallowed up in the shifting of +a scene; when all were fifth acts, and +when every catastrophe broke down +an empire!</p> + +<p>But, what sounds are these? The +steamer had shot along during my +reverie, and was now passing a long +line of low-built strong vessels, moored +in the centre of the river. I looked +round, and here was more than a +dream of the past; here was the past +itself—here was man in his primitive +state, as he had issued from the forest, +before a profane axe had cropped its +brushwood. Here I saw perhaps five +hundred of my fellow-beings, no more +indebted to the frippery of civilisation +than the court of Caractacus.—Bold +figures, daring brows, Herculean +shapes, naked to the waist, and with +skins of the deepest bronze. Cast in +metal, and fixed in a gallery, they +would have made an incomparable +rank and file of gladiatorial statues.</p> + +<p>The captain of the steamer explained +the phenomenon. They were +individuals, who, for want of a clear +perception of the line to be drawn between +<i>meum</i> and <i>tuum</i>, had been sent +on this half-marine half-terrestrial +service, to reinforce their morals. +They were now serving their country, +by digging sand and deepening the +channel of the river. The scene of +their patriotism was called the "hulks," +and the patriots themselves were +technically designated felons.</p> + +<p>Before I could give another glance, +we had shot along; and, to my surprise, +I heard a chorus of their voices in the +distance. I again applied to my Cicerone, +who told me that all other +efforts having failed to rectify their +moral faculties; a missionary singing-master +had been sent down among +them, and was reported to be making +great progress in their conversion.</p> + +<p>I listened to the sounds, as they followed +on the breeze. I am not romantic; +but I shall say no more. +The novelty of this style of reformation +struck me. I regarded it as one +of the evidences of national advance.—My +thoughts instinctively flowed +into poetry.</p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Song For The Million.</span><br /> + +<i>"Mirth, admit me of thy crew."</i></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Song, admit me of thy crew!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Minstrels, without shirt or shoe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Geniuses with naked throats,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bare of pence, yet full of <i>notes</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bards, before they've learn'd to write,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Issuing their notes at <i>sight</i>;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Notes, to tens of thousands mounting,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Careless of the Bank's discounting.<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_734" id="Page_734">[734]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Leaving all the world behind,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, in thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now, the carter drives his cart,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whistling, as he goes, Mozart.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now, a shilling to a guinea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dolly cook, <i>sol-fas</i> Rossini.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While the high-soul'd housemaid, Betty,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Twirls her mop to Donizetti.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or, the scullion scrubs her oven<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To thy Runic hymns, Beethoven.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All the sevants' hall combined,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, in thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now, may maidens of all ages<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Look unharm'd on pretty <i>pages</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now, may paupers "<i>raise the wind</i>,"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now, may <i>score</i> the great undined.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now, unblamed, may tender pairs<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Give themselves the tenderest <i>airs</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now, may half-pay sons of Mars<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Look in freedom through their <i>bars</i>,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Though upon a <i>Bench</i> reclined,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, in thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Soon we'll hear our "London cries"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dulcified to harmonies;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mackerel sold in canzonets,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Milkmen "calling," in duets.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Postmen's bells no more shall bore us,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When their clappers ring in chorus.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ears no more shall start at, Dust O!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When the thing is done with <i>gusto</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">E'en policemen grow refined,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, in thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Song shall settle Church and State,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Song shall supersede debate.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Owlet Joe no more shall screech,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We shall make him sing his speech.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Even the Iron Duke's "sic volo"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall be soften'd to a <i>solo</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Discords then shall be disgrace,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Statesmen shall play <i>thorough base</i>;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whigs and Tories intertwined,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, in thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Sailors, under canvass stiff,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Now no more shall dread a <i>cliff</i>.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From Bombay to Coromandel,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The Faqueers shall chorus Handel.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Arab sheik, and Persian maiden,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Simpering serenades from Haydn.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Crossing then the hemisphere,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Jonathan shall chant Auber,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All his love of pelf resign'd,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">England, to thy march of Mind.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noind">—Still moving on, still passing multitudinous +agglomerations of brick, +mortar, stone, and iron, rather than +houses.—Docks crowded with masts,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_735" id="Page_735">[735]</a></span> +thicker than they ever grew in a +pine forest, and echoing with the +sounds of hammers, cranes, forges +and enginery, making anchors for all +the ships of ocean, rails for all the +roads of earth, and chain-cables for a +dozen generations to come. In front +of one of those enormous forges, +which, with its crowd of brawny +hammerers glaring in the illumination +of the furnace, gave me as complete a +representation of the Cyclops and +their cave, as any thing that can be +seen short of the bowels of Ætna; +stood a growing church, growing of +iron; the walls were already half-way +grown up. I saw them already pullulating +into windows, a half-budded +pulpit stood in the centre, and a +Gothic arch was already beginning +to spread like the foliage of a huge +tree over the aisle. It was intended +for one of the colonies, ten thousand +miles off.</p> + +<p>As the steamer is not suffered in +this part of the river to run down +boats at the rate of more than five +miles an hour; I had leisure to see the +operation. While I gazed, the roof had +<i>leaved</i>; and my parting glance showed +me the whole on the point of flourishing +among the handsomest specimens +of civic architecture.</p> + +<p>In front of another forge stood a +lighthouse; it was consigned to the +West Indies. Three of its stone predecessors +had been engulfed by +earthquakes, a fourth had been swept +off by a hurricane. This was of iron, +and was to defy all the chances of +time and the elements, by contract, +for the next thousand years. It was +an elegant structure, built on the +plan of the "Tower of the Winds." +Every square inch of its fabric, from +the threshold to the vane, was iron! +"What will mankind come to," said +George Canning, "in fifty years +hence? The present age is impudent +enough, but I foresee that the next +will be all <i>Irony</i> and <i>Raillery</i>."</p> + +<p>But all here is a scene of miracle. +In our perverseness we laugh at our +"Lady of Loretto," and pretend to +doubt her house being carried from +Jerusalem on the backs of angels. +But what right have I to doubt, where +so many millions are ready to take +their oaths to the fact? What is it +to us how many angels might be +required for the operation? or how +much their backs may have been +galled in the carriage? The result is +every thing. But here we have before +our sceptical eyes the very same result. +We have St Catherine's hospital, fifty +times the size, transported half-a-dozen +miles, and deposited in the +Regent's Park. The Virgin came +alone. The hospital came, with all +its fellows, their matrons, and their +master. The virgin-house left only a +solitary excavation in a hillside. The +hospital left a mighty dock, filled +with a fleet that would have astonished +Tyre and Sidon, buildings +worthy of Babylon, and a population +that would have sacked Persepolis.</p> + +<p>But, what is this strangely shaped +vessel, which lies anchored stem and +stern in the centre of the stream, and +bearing a flag covered over with characters +which as we pass look like hieroglyphics? +The barge which marks +the Tunnel. We are now moving +above the World's Wonder! A thousand +men, women, and children, have +marched under that barge's keel since +morning; lamps are burning fifty feet +under water, human beings are breathing, +where nothing but the bones of a +mammoth ever lay before, and check-takers +are rattling pence, where the +sound of coin was never heard since +the days of the original Chaos.</p> + +<p>What a field for theory! What +a subject for a fashionable Lecturer! +What a topic for the gossipry of itinerant +science, telling us (on its own +infallible authority) how the globe +has been patched up for us, the degenerated +and late-born sons of Adam! +How glowingly might their fancy lucubrate +on the history of the prior +and primitive races which may now +be perforating the interior strata of +the globe—working by their own gas-light, +manufacturing their own metals, +and, from their want of the Davy-lamp, +(and of an Act of Parliament, +to make it burn,) producing those +explosions which <i>we</i> call earthquakes, +while our volcanoes are merely the +tops of their chimneys!</p> + +<p>I gave the Tunnel a parting aspiration—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_736" id="Page_736">[736]</a></span></p> + + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">The Tunnel.</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Genii of the Diving-bell!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sing Sir Is-mb-rt Br-n-l,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whether ye parboil in steam,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whether float in lightning's beam,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whether in the Champs Elysés<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dance ye, like Carlotta Grisi.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Take your trumps, the fame to swell,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Sir Is-mb-rt Br-n-l.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Phantoms of the fiery crown!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Plunged ten thousand fathoms down<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the deep Pacific's wave,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the Ocean's central cave,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where the infant earthquakes sleep,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where the young tornadoes creep.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Chant the praise, where'er ye dwell,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of Sir Is-mb-rt Br-n-l.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What, if Green's Nassau balloon<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(Ere its voyage to the moon)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">'Twixt Vauxhall and Stepney plies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Straining London's million eyes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dropping on the breezes bland,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(Good for gazers,) bags of sand;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Green's a blacksmith to a belle,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To Sir Is-mb-rt Br-n-l.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Great magician of the Tunnel!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Earth bows down before thy funnel,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Darting on through swamp and crag,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Faster than a Gaul can brag;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All Newmarket's tip-top speed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To thy stud is broken-knee'd;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Zephyr spavin'd, lightning slow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To thy fiery rush below.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Ships no more shall trust to sails,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Boats no more be swamp'd by whales,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sailors sink no more in barks,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">(Built by contract with the sharks,)<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Though the tempest o'er us roar;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flying through thy Tunnel's bore,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What care we for mount or main,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">What can stop the Monster-Train?<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">There let Murchison and Lyell<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of our Tunnel make the trial.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We shall make them cross the Line,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fifty miles below the brine—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Leaving blockheads to discuss<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Paving-stones with Swiss or Russ,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or in some Cathedral stall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Still to play their cup and ball.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">What, if rushes the Great Western<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rapid as a racer's pastern,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At each paddle's thundering stroke,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Blackening hemispheres with smoke,<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_737" id="Page_737">[737]</a></span>Bouncing like a soda-cork;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Raising consols in New York,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">E'er the lie has time to cool,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Forged in bustling Liverpool.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Yet, a river to a runnel,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the steamer is the Tunnel;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Screw and sail alike shall lag,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To the "Rumour" in thy bag.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While <i>she</i> puffs to make the land,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thou shalt have the Stock in hand,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Smashing bill-broker and banker<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Days, before she drops her anchor.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Then, if England has a foe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We shall rout him from below.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through our Ocean tunnel's arch,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall the bold battalions march,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Piled upon our flying waggons,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spouting fire and smoke like dragons;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sweeping on, like shooting-stars,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Guardsmen, rifles, and hussars.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We shall <i>tunnelize</i> the Poles,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bringing down the cost of coals;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Making Yankees sell their ice<br /></span> +<span class="i0">At a Christian sort of price;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Making China's long-tail'd Khan<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sell his Congo as he can,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In our world of fire and shade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Carrying on earth's grand "Free Trade."<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We shall bore the broad Atlantic,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Making every grampus frantic;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Killing Jonathan with spite,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As the Train shoots up to light.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Mexico her hands shall clap,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tahiti throw up her cap,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till the globe one shout shall swell<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To Sir Is-mb-rt Br-n-l.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>But this scene is memorable for +more ancient recollections. It was in +this spot, that once, every master of +a merchant ship took off his hat in +reverence to the <i>genius loci</i>; but never +dared to drop his anchor. It was +named the Pool, from the multitude +of wrecks which had occurred there +in the most mysterious manner; until +it was ascertained that it was the +chief resort of the mermen and mermaids, +who originally haunted the +depths of the sylvan Thamesis.</p> + +<p>There annually, from ages long before +the Olympiads, the youths and +maidens came, to fling garlands into +the stream, and inquire the time proper +for matrimony. It was from one +of their chants, that John Milton +borrowed his pretty hymn to the presiding +nymph—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">"Listen, where thou art sitting,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In twisted braids of lilies knitting<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The loose trains of thy amber-dropping hair.<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Listen, for dear honour's sake,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Goddess of the Silver Lake,<br /></span> +<span class="i6">Listen and save!"<br /></span> +</div></div> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_738" id="Page_738">[738]</a></span></p> +<p>On the coast of Norway there is +another Pool, entitled the Maelstrom, +where ships used to disappear, no +one knew why. But the manner was +different; they no sooner touched the +edge of the prohibited spot than they +were swept with the fury of a hurricane +into the centre, where they no +sooner arrived than they were pulled +down, shattered into a thousand fragments, +and never heard of more. +This was evidently the work of the +mermen, who however, being of Northern +breed, had, like the usual generation +of that wild and winterly region, +tempers of indigenous ferocity. But +the tenants of the Thames, inheriting +the softer temper of their clime, were +gentler in their style of administering +justice, which they administered effectually, +notwithstanding. Every unlucky +vessel which stopped upon the +exclusive spot, quietly sank. The +operation regularly took place in the +night. By morning the only remnant +of its existence was discoverable +among the huts along the shore, exhibiting +foreign silks, Dutch drams, +French brandy, and other forbidden +articles, which, somehow or other, had +escaped from the bosom of the deep.</p> + +<p>The legend goes on to say, that +from those fatalities the place was +cautiously avoided, until, about a +hundred and fifty years ago, one fine +evening in May, a large merchantman +came in full sail up the river, and +dropped her anchor exactly in the +spot of peril. All the people of the +shore were astounded at this act of +presumption, and numberless boats +put off to acquaint the skipper with his +danger. But, as the legend tells, "he +was a bold vain man, with a huge +swaggering sword at his side, a purse +in his girdle, and a pipe in his mouth. +Upon hearing of the aforesaid tale, +he scoffed greatly, saying, in most +wicked and daring language, that he +had came from the East Indian possessions +of the Dutch republic, where +he had seen jugglers and necromancers +of all kinds; but he defied them all, +and cared not the lighting of his meerscham +for all the mermaids under the +salt seas." Upon the hearing of +which desperate speech all the bystanders +took to their boats, fearing +that the good ship would be plucked +to the bottom of the river without +delay.</p> + +<p>But at morning dawn the good ship +still was there, to the surprise of +all. However, the captain was to have +a warning. As he was looking over +the stern, and laughing at the story, +the steersman saw him suddenly turn +pale and fix his eyes upon the water, +then running by at the rate of about +five knots. The crew hurried forward, +and lo and behold! there arose close to +the ship a merman, a very respectable-looking +person, in Sunday clothes and +with his hair powdered, who desired +the captain to carry his vessel from +the place, because "his anchor had +dropt exactly against his hall door, +and prevented his family from going +to church."</p> + +<p>The whole history is well known +at Deptford, Rotherhithe, and places +adjacent; and it finishes, by saying, +that the captain, scoffing at the request, +the merman took his leave with +an angry expression on his countenance, +a storm came on in the night, +and nothing of captain, crew, or ship, +as ever heard of more.</p> + +<p>But the spot is boundless in legendary +lore. A prediction which had +for centuries puzzled all the readers +of Mother Shipton, was delivered by +her in the small dwelling whose ruins +are still visible on the Wapping shore. +The prophecy was as follows:—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Eighteene hundred thirty-five,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Which of us shall be alive?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a king shall ende his reign;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a knave his ende shall gain;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a statesman be in trouble;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a scheme the worlde shall bubble;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a man shall selle his vote;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many a man shall turne his coat.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Righte be wronge, and wronge be righte,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By Westminster's candle-lighte.<br /></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_739" id="Page_739">[739]</a></span> +<span class="i0">But, when from the top of Bow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall the dragon stoop full low.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When from church of holy Paul<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall come down both crosse and ball.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When all men shall see them meete<br /></span> +<span class="i0">On the land, yet by the Fleet.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When below the Thamis bed<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall be seen the furnace red;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When its bottom shall drop out,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Making hundreds swim about,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where a fishe had never swum,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then shall doleful tidings come.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Flood and famine, woe and taxe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Melting England's strength like waxe;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till she fights both France and Spain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then shall all be well again!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I shall have an infinite respect for +Mother Shipton in future. All was +amply verified. The repairs of St +Paul's, in the year stated, required that +the cross and ball should be taken +down, which was done accordingly. +Bow Church, whose bells are supposed +to thrill the <i>intima præcordia</i> of every +Londoner's memory in every part of +the globe, happening to be in the +same condition, the dragon on the +spire was also taken down, and cross, +ball, and dragon, were sent to a +coppersmith's, in Ludgate Hill, beside +the Fleet prison, where they were to +be seen by all the wondering population, +lying together. The third feature +of the wisdom of Mother Shipton +was fulfilled with equal exactitude. +The Thames Tunnel had been pushed +to the middle of the river's bed, when, +coming to a loose portion of the clay, +the roof fell in; the Thames burst +through its own bottom, the Tunnel +was instantly filled, and the workmen +were forced to swim for their lives. +The remainder of the oracle, partly +present, is undeniable while we have +an income tax, and the <i>finale</i> may be +equally relied on, to the honour of the +English Pythonness.</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_740" id="Page_740">[740]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>RECENT ROYAL MARRIAGES.</h2> + + +<p>At this dull season, the long +vacation of legislators, when French +deputies and English members, weary +of bills and debates, motions and +amendments, take their autumnal +ramble, or range their well-stocked +preserves, and when newspapers are +at their wits' end for subjects of discussion, +a topic like the Spanish marriages, +intrinsically so important, in +arrival so opportune, has naturally +monopolised the attention of the daily +press. For some time previously, the +English public had paid little attention +to Spanish affairs. Men were weary +of watching the constant changes, +the shameless corruption, the scandalous +intrigues, from which that +unfortunate country and its unquiet +population have so long suffered; +they had ceased in great measure +to follow the thread of Peninsular +politics. The arbitrary and unconstitutional +influences employed at the +last elections, and the tyranny exercised +towards the press, deprived +foreigners of the most important data +whence to judge the real state of +public feeling and opinion south of +the Pyrenees. The debates of Cortes +elected under circumstances of flagrant +intimidation, and whose members, +almost to a man, were creatures of a +<i>Camarilla</i>, were no guide to the sentiments +of a nation: journalists, sorely +persecuted, writing in terror of bayonets, +in peril of ruinous fine and +arbitrary imprisonment, dared not +speak the voice of truth, and feared +to echo the wishes and indignation of +the vast but soldier-ridden majority +of their countrymen. Thus, without +free papers or fair debates to guide +them, foreigners could attain but an +imperfect perception of the state of +Spanish affairs. The view obtained +was vague—the outline faint and +broken—details were wanting. Hence +the Spanish marriages, although so +much has been written about them, +have in England been but partially +understood. Much indignation and +censure have been expended upon +those who achieved them; many conjectures +have been hazarded as to +their proximate and remote consequences; +but one very curious point +has barely been glanced at. Scarcely +an attempt has been made to investigate +the singular state of parties, and +strange concurrence of circumstances, +that have enabled a few score persons +to overbalance the will of a nation. +How is it that a people, once so great +and powerful, still so easy to rouse, +and jealous of its independence, has +suffered itself to be fooled by an +abandoned Italian woman, and a wily +and unscrupulous foreign potentate—by +a corrupt <i>Camarilla</i>, and a party +that is but a name? How is it that +Spain has thus unresistingly beheld +the consummation of an alliance so +odious to her children, and against +which, from Portugal to the Mediterranean, +from Gibraltar's straits to +Cantabria's coast, but one opinion is +held, but one voice heard—a voice of +reprobation and aggrieved nationality?</p> + +<p>Yes, within the last few weeks, +wondering Europe has witnessed a +strange spectacle. A queen and her +sister, children in years and understanding, +have been wedded—the +former completely against her inclinations, +the latter in direct opposition +to the wishes and interests of her +country, and in defiance of stern +remonstrance and angry protest from +allied and powerful states—to most +unsuitable bridegrooms. The queen, +Isabella of Spain, has, it is true, a +Spaniard for her husband; and him, +therefore, her jealous and suspicious +subjects tolerate, though they cannot +approve. Feeble and undecided of +character, unstable in his political +opinions—if, indeed, political opinions +he have other than are supplied to +him, ready formed, by insidious and +unworthy advisers—Don Francisco +de Assis is the last man to sit on +the right hand of a youthful queen, +governing an unsettled country and a +restless people, to inspire her with +energy and assist her with wise counsels. +It redounds little to the honour +of the name of Bourbon, that if it +was essential the Queen should marry +a member of that house, her present +husband was, with perhaps one exception,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_741" id="Page_741">[741]</a></span> +as eligible a candidate as could +be selected. That marriage decided +upon, however, it became doubly +important to secure for the Infanta +Luisa—the future Queen of Spain +should her sister die without issue—a +husband in all respects desirable; and, +above all, one agreeable to the Spanish +nation. Has this been done? What +advantages does the husband of the +girl of fourteen, of the heir-presumptive +to the Spanish crown, bring to +Spain, in exchange for the rich dowery +of his child-bride—for the chance, not +to say the probability, of being a +queen's husband—and for an immense +accession of influence to his dynasty +in the country where that dynasty +most covets it? The advantages are +all of a negative kind. By that marriage, +Spain, delivered over to French +intrigues, exposed to the machinations +and vampire-like endearments of an +ancient and hereditary foe, becomes +<i>de facto</i> a vassal to her puissant +neighbour.</p> + +<p>The question of the Queen of Spain's +marriage was first mooted within a +very few days after her birth. In +the spring of 1830, Queen Christina +found herself with child for the first +time; and her husband, Ferdinand +VII., amongst whose many bad and +unkingly qualities want of foresight +could not be reckoned, published the +Pragmatic Sanction that secured the +crown to his offspring should it prove +a girl. A girl it was; and scarcely +had the infant been baptised, when +her father began to think of a husband +for her. "She shall be married," he +said, "to a son of my brother Francisco." +By and by Christina bore +a second daughter, and then the King +said—"They shall be married to the +two eldest sons of my brother Francisco."</p> + +<p>Ferdinand died; and, as he had +often predicted—comparing himself +to the cork of a bottle of beer, which +restrains the fermented liquor—at his +death civil war broke out. Isabella +was still an infant; the first thing to +be done was to secure her the crown; +and for the time, naturally enough, +few thought about her marriage. +Queen Christina was an exception. +She apparently remembered and respected +her husband's wishes; and in +her conversations and correspondence +with her sister, Luisa Carlota, wife of +the Infante Don Francisco de Paulo, +she frequently referred to them, and +expressed a strong desire for their +fulfilment. In the month of June of +the present year, a Madrid newspaper, +the <i>Clamor Publico</i>, published +a letter of hers, written most strongly +in that sense. It bears date the 23d +of January 1836, and is the reply to +one from Doña Luisa Carlota, in +which reference was made to conversations +between the two sisters and +Ferdinand, respecting the marriage of +his daughters to the sons of Don +Francisco. "The idea has always +flattered my heart," Christina wrote, +"and I would fain see its realisation +near at hand; for it was the wish and +will of the beloved Ferdinand, which +I will ever strive to fulfil in all that +depends on me. * * * Besides +which, I believe that the national representation, +far from opposing, will +approve these marriages, as advantageous +not only to our family, but to +the nation itself, your sons being +Spanish princes. I will not fail to +propose it when the moment arrives." +Notwithstanding these fair promises, +and her respect for the wishes of +Ferdinand the well-beloved, we find +Christina, less than two years later, +negotiating for her royal daughter a +very different alliance. Irritated, on +the one hand, against the Liberal +party, to whose demands she had +been compelled to yield; and alarmed, +upon the other, at the progress of the +Carlist armies, which were marching +upon Madrid, then defended only by +the national guards, she treated with +Don Carlos for a marriage between +the Queen and his eldest son. The +Carlists were driven back to their +mountain strongholds, and, the pressing +danger over—although the war +still continued with great fury—that +project of alliance was shelved, and +another, a very important one, broached. +It was proposed to marry the +Queen of Spain to an archduke of +Austria, who should command the +Spanish army, and to whom Christina +expressed herself willing to give a +share of the Regency, or even to yield +it entirely. This was the motive of +the mission of Zea Bermudez to Vienna. +That envoy stipulated, as an +indispensable condition of the success<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_742" id="Page_742">[742]</a></span> +of his negotiations, that they should +be kept a profound secret from the +King of the French. The condition +was not observed. Christina herself, +it is said, unable to keep any thing +from her dear uncle, told him all, and +Bermudez had to leave Vienna almost +before the matter in hand had been +entered upon. Thereupon the queen-mother +reverted to the marriage with +a son of Don Carlos. The Conde de +Toreno, for a moment weak enough +to enter into her views, endeavoured +to prepare the public for their disclosure, +by announcing in the Cortes, +that wars like the one then devastating +Spain could only be terminated by +a compromise—meaning a marriage. +The Cortes thought differently, and, +by other means, the war was brought +to a close.</p> + +<p>The year 1840 witnessed the expulsion +of Christina from Spain, and the +appointment of Espartero to the Regency. +During his three years' sway, +that general refused to make or meddle +in any way with the Queen's marriage. +He said, that as she was not +to marry till her majority, and as +he should then no longer be Regent, +his government had no occasion to +busy itself with the matter. The +friends of Spain have reason to wish +that the Duke de la Victoria had +shown himself less unassuming and +reserved with respect to that most +important question. Whilst it was +thus temporarily lost sight of at +Madrid, the queen-mother, in her retirement +at Paris, took counsel with +the most wily and far-sighted sovereign +of Europe, and from that time +must doubtless be dated the plans +which Christina and Louis Philippe +have at last so victoriously carried +out. They had each their own interests +in view—their own objects to +accomplish—and it so chanced that +those interests and objects were easily +made to coincide. Concerning those +of Christina, we shall presently speak +at some length; those of the French +king are now so notorious, that it is +unnecessary to do more than glance +at them. His first plan—a bold one, +certainly—was to marry the Queen of +Spain to the Duke d'Aumale. To +this, Christina did not object. Her +affection for her daughter—since then +grievously diminished—prompted her +to approve the match. The duke was +a fine young man, and very rich. To +a tender mother—which she claimed +to be—the temptation was great. +Doubtless, also, she received from +Louis Philippe, as price of her concurrence, +an assurance that certain +private views and arrangements of +her own should not to be interfered +with—certain guardianship accounts +and unworthy peculations not too +curiously investigated. Of this, more +hereafter. The result of the intrigues +and negotiations between the Tuileries +and the Hotel de Courcelles, was +the diplomatic mission of M. Pageot, +who was sent to London and to the +principal continental courts, to announce, +on the part of the King of +the French, that, considering himself +the chief of the Bourbon family, he +felt called upon to declare that, according +to the spirit of the treaty of +Utrecht, the Queen of Spain could +marry none but a Bourbon prince. +The success of this first move, intended +as a feeler to see how far he +could venture to put forward a son of +his own, was not such as to flatter the +wishes of the French monarch. The +reply of the British government was, +that, according to the constitution of +Spain, the Cortes must decide who +was to be the Queen's husband and +that he whom the Cortes should select, +would, for England, be the legitimate +aspirant. Without being so +liberal in tone, the answers given by +the cabinets of Vienna and Berlin +were not more satisfactory; and the +spleen of the French king manifested +itself by the mouth of M. Guizot, who, +with less than his usual prudence, +went so far as to menace Spain with +a war, if the Queen married any but +a Bourbon. This occurred in March +1843.</p> + +<p>In the following June, Espartero, +in his turn, was driven from power +and from his country. Well known +as it was, that French manœuvres and +French gold had, by deluding the +nation, and corrupting the army, +powerfully contributed to the overthrow +of the only conscientious and +constitutional ruler with whom Spain +had for a long period been blessed, it +was expected that Christina and her +friends would do their utmost to bring +about the immediate marriage of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_743" id="Page_743">[743]</a></span> +Queen and the Duke d'Aumale. Then +occurred the long projected and much +talked of visit of Queen Victoria to the +castle of Eu, where the question of Isabella's +marriage was made the subject +of a conference between the sovereigns +of France and England, assisted +by their ministers for foreign affairs, +M. Guizot and Lord Aberdeen. It was +shortly afterwards known that the +King of the French had given the +most satisfactory pledges, which were +communicated to the principal foreign +courts, that he not only would not +strive to effect a marriage between the +Queen of Spain and a son of his, but +that he would positively refuse his +consent to any such union. Further +that if a marriage should be arranged +between the Duke of Montpensier and +the Infanta Luisa, it should not take +place till Isabella was married and +had issue. As an equivalent to these +concessions, the English minister for +foreign affairs had to declare, that +without entering into an examination +of the Treaty of Utrecht, or recognising +any right contrary to the complete +independence of the Spanish +nation, it was desirable that the +Queen should wed a descendant of +Philip the Fifth, provided always such +marriage was brought about conformably +with the rules prescribed by +the constitution of Spain.</p> + +<p>Compelled to abandon the design +of marrying Isabella to a French +prince, Louis Philippe, like a wary +and prudent general, applied himself +to improve the next best position, to +which he had fallen back, and where +he determined to maintain himself. +Aumale could not have the Queen, +but Montpensier should have the +Infanta; and the aim must now be to +increase the value of prize No. 2, by +throwing prize No. 1 into the least +worthy hands possible. In other +words, the Queen must be married to +the most incapable and uninfluential +blockhead, who, being of Bourbon +blood, could possibly be foisted upon +her and the Spanish nation. To this +end Count Trapani was pitched upon; +and the first Narvaez ministry—including +Señor Pedal and other birds +of the same disreputable feather—which +succeeded the one presided +over by that indecent charlatan +Gonzales Bravo, did all in its power +to forward the pretensions of the +Neapolitan prince, and accomplish his +marriage with the Queen. To this +end it was absolutely necessary to +dispense with the approbation of the +Cortes, required by the constitution. +For although those Cortes had been +chosen without the concurrence of the +Progresista party—whose chiefs were +all in exile, in prison, or prevented by +the grossest intimidation from voting +at the elections—on the question of +the Trapani marriage they were found +indocile. This profound contempt +and marked antipathy with which +Spaniards view whatever comes from +Naples, and the offence given to the +national dignity by the evident fact, +that this candidate was imposed upon +the country by the French government, +convinced the latter, and that +of Spain, which was its instrument, +that even the Cortes they themselves +had picked and chosen, lacked baseness +or courage to consent to the +Trapani alliance. Then was resolved +upon and effected the constitutional +<span class="smcap">Reform</span>, suppressing the article that +required the approbation of the +Cortes, and replacing it by another, +which only rendered it compulsory to +<i>announce</i> to them the husband chosen +by the Queen. But the manœuvres +of France were too clumsy and palpable. +It was known that Christina +had promised the hand of the Infanta +to the Duke of Montpensier; Louis +Philippe's object in backing Trapani +was easily seen through; and so +furious was the excitement of the +public mind throughout Spain, so +alarming the indications of popular +exasperation, that the unlucky Neapolitan +candidate was finally thrown +overboard.</p> + +<p>Here we must retrace our steps, and +consider Queen Christina's motives in +sacrificing what remained to her of +prestige and popularity in her adopted +country, to assist, through thick and +thin, by deceit, subterfuge, and +treachery, the ambitious and encroaching +views of her French uncle. +There was a time—it is now long +past—when no name was more loved +and respected by the whole Spanish +nation, excluding of course the Carlist +party, than that of Maria Christina +de Borbon. She so frankly +identified herself with the country in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_744" id="Page_744">[744]</a></span> +which marriage fixed her lot, that in +becoming a Spanish queen she had +apparently become a Spanish woman; +and, in spite of her Neapolitan birth, +she speedily conquered the good-will +of her subjects. Thousands of political +exiles, restored to home and +family by amnesties of her promotion, +invoked blessings on her head: the +great majority of the nation, anxious +to see Spain governed mildly and constitutionally, +not despotically and +tyrannically, hailed in her the good +genius who was to accord them their +desires. Her real character was not +yet seen through; with true Bourbon +dissimulation she knew how to veil +her vices. She had the credit also of +being a tender and unselfish parent, +ever ready to sacrifice herself to the +interests of her children. Her egotism +was as yet unsuspected, her avarice +dormant, her sensuality unrevealed; +and none then dreamed that a day +would come, when, impelled by the +meanest and most selfish motives, she +would urge her weeping daughter into +the arms of a detested and incompetent +bridegroom.</p> + +<p>By her <i>liaison</i> with Muñoz, the first +blow was given to Christina's character +and popularity. This scandalous +amour with the son of a cigar-seller at +Tarançon, a coarse and ignorant man, +whose sole recommendations were +physical, and who, when first noticed +by the queen, occupied the humble +post of a private garde-de-corps, commenced, +in the belief of many, previously +to the death of Ferdinand. +Be that true or not, it is certain that +towards the close of the king's life, +when he was helpless and worn out +by disease, the result of his reckless +debaucheries, she sought the society +of the stalwart lifeguardsman, and +distinguished him by marks of favour. +It was said to be through her interest +that he was promoted to the rank of +cadet in the body-guard, which gave +him that of captain in the army. +Ferdinand died, and her intrigue was +speedily manifest, to the disgust and +grief of her subjects. In time of peace +her degrading devotion to a low-born +paramour would doubtless have called +forth strong marks of popular indignation; +but the anxieties and horrors +of a sanguinary civil war engrossed +the public attention, and secured her +a partial impunity. As it was, her +misconduct was sufficiently detrimental +to her daughter's cause. The +Carlists taunted their opponents with +serving under the banner of a wanton; +and the Liberals, on their part, +could not but feel that their infant +queen was in no good school or safe +keeping.</p> + +<p>The private fortune of Ferdinand +the Seventh was well known to be +prodigious. Its sources were not +difficult to trace. An absolute monarch, +without a civil list, when he +wished for money he had but to draw +upon the public revenue for any funds +the treasury might contain. Of this +power he made no sparing use. Then +there was the immense income derived +from the Patrimonia Real, or +Royal Patrimony, vast possessions +which descend from one King of Spain +to another, for their use and benefit +so long as they occupy the throne. +The whole of the town of Aranjuez, +the estates attached to the Pardo, +La Granja, the Escurial, and other +palaces, form only a portion of this +magnificent property, yielding an +enormous annual sum. Add to these +sources of wealth, property obtained +by inheritance, his gains in a nefariously +conducted lottery, and other +underhand and illicit profits, and it +is easy to comprehend that Ferdinand +died the richest capitalist in Europe. +The amount of his savings could but +be guessed at. By some they were +estimated at the incredibly large sum +of eight millions sterling. But no +one could tell exactly, owing to the +manner in which the money was invested. +It was dispersed in the hands +of various European bankers; also in +those of certain American ones, by +whose failure great loss was sustained. +No trifling sum was represented +by diamonds and jewels. It +was hardly to be supposed that the +prudent owner of all this wealth +would die intestate, and there is +scarcely a doubt that he left a will. +To the universal astonishment, however, +upon his decease, none was +forthcoming, and his wole property +was declared at sixty millions of +francs, which, according to the Spanish +law, was divided between his +daughters. No one was at a loss to +conjecture what became of the large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_745" id="Page_745">[745]</a></span> +residue there unquestionably was. It +was well understood, and her subsequent +conduct confirmed the belief, +that the lion's share of the royal +spoils was appropriated by the young +widow, whose grief for the loss of the +beloved Ferdinand was not so violent +and engrossing as to make her +lose sight of the main chance. After +so glorious a haul, it might have been +expected that she would hold her +hand, and rest contented with the +pleasing consciousness, that should she +ever be induced or compelled to leave +Spain, she had wherewithal to live +in queenly splendour and luxury. But +her thirst of wealth is not of those +that can be assuaged even by rivers +of gold. Though the bed of the +Manzanares were of the yellow metal, +and she had the monopoly of its sands, +the mine would be all insufficient +to satiate her avarice. After appropriating +her children's inheritance, she +applied herself to increase her store +by a systematic pillage of the Queen +of Spain's revenues. As Isabella's +guardian, the income derived from the +Patrimonio Real passed through her +hands, to which the gold adhered like +steel-dust to a loadstone. Whilst the +nation strained each nerve, and submitted +to the severest sacrifices, to +meet the expenses of a costly war—whilst +the army was barefoot and +hungered, but still stanch in defence +of the throne of Isabella—Christina, +with her mouth full of patriotism and +love of Spain, remitted to foreign capitalists +the rich fruits of her peculations, +provision for the rainy day +which came sooner than she anticipated, +future fortunes for Muñoz's +children. The natural effect of her +disreputable intrigue or second marriage, +whichever it at that time was +to be called, was to weaken her affection +for her royal daughters, especially +when she found a second and +numerous family springing up around +her. To her anxiety for this second +family, and to the influence of Muñoz, +may be traced her adherence to the +King of the French, and the cruel and +unmotherly part she has recently +acted towards the Queen of Spain.</p> + +<p>Previously to Christina's expulsion +from the Regency in the year 1840, +little was seen or known of her children +by Muñoz. During her three +years' residence at Paris, a similar +silence and mystery was observed +respecting them, and they lived retired +in a country-house near Vevay, +upon the Lake of Geneva, whither +those born in the French capital were +also dispatched. This prudent reserve +is now at an end, and the grandchildren +of the Tarançon tobacconist +sit around, almost on a level with, +the throne of the Spanish Queen. +Titles are showered upon them, cringing +courtiers wait upon their nod, and +the once proud and powerful grandees +of Spain, descendants of the haughty +warriors who drove the Saracens from +Iberian soil, and stood covered in the +presence of the Fifth Charles, adulate +the illegitimate progeny of a Muñoz +and a Christina. Subtile have been +the calculations, countless the intrigues, +shameful the misdeeds that +have led to this result, so much +desired by parents of the ennobled +bastards, so undesirable for the honour +and dignity of Spain. It is +obvious that, with the immense +wealth, whose acquisition has been +already explained, Christina would +have had no difficulty in portioning off +her half-score children, and enabling +them to live rich and independent in +a foreign county. But this arrangement +did not suit her views; still +less did it accord with those of the +Duke of Rianzares. He founded his +objections upon a patriotic pretext. +He wished his children, he said, to be +Spanish citizens, not aliens—to hold +property in their own country—to +live respected in Spain, and not as +exiles in a foreign land. It may be +supposed there was no obstacle to +their so doing, and that in Spain, as +elsewhere, they could reckon at least +upon that amount of ease and consideration +which money can give. But +here came the sticking-point, the +grand difficulty, only to be got over +by grand means and great ingenuity. +Christina had been the guardian of +the Queen and Infanta during their +long minority: guardians, upon the +expiration of their trust, are expected +to render accounts; and this the mother +of Isabel was wholly unprepared +to do, in such a manner as would +enable her to retain the plunder accumulated +during the period of her +guardianship. She had certainly the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_746" id="Page_746">[746]</a></span> +option of declining to render any—of +taking herself and her wealth, her +husband and her children, out of +Spain, and of living luxuriously elsewhere. +But it has already been seen, +that neither she nor Muñoz liked the +prospect of such banishment, however +magnificent and numerous the appliances +brought by wealth to render it +endurable. What, then, was to be +done? It was quite positive that the +husbands of the Queen and Infanta +would demand accounts of their wives' +fortune and of its management during +their minority. How were their +demands to be met—how such difficulties +got over? It was hard to say. +The position resembled what the Yankees +call a "fix." The cruel choice +lay between a compulsary disgorgement +of an amount of ill-gotten gold, +such as no moral emetic could ever +have induced Christina to render up, +and the abandonment of Muñoz's +darling project of making himself and +his children lords of the soil in their +native land. The only chance of an +exit from this circle of difficulties, was +to be obtained by uniting the Queen +and her sister to men so weak and +imbecile, or so under the dominion +and influence of Christina, that they +would let bygones be bygones, take +what they could get and be grateful, +without troubling themselves about +accounts, or claiming arrears. To +find two such men, who should also +possess the various qualifications essential +to the husbands of a Queen +and Infanta of Spain, certainly appeared +no easy matter—to say nothing +of the odious selfishness and sin +of thus sacrificing two defenceless and +inexperienced children. But Christina's +scruples were few; and, as to +difficulties, her resolution rose as they +increased. Had she not also a wise +and willing counsellor in the most +cunning man in Europe? Was not +her dear uncle and gossip at hand to +quiet her qualms of conscience, if by +such she was tormented, and to demonstrate +the feasibility—nay, more, +the propriety of her schemes? To +him she resorted in her hour of need, +and with him she soon came to an +understanding. He met her half-way, +with a bland smile and words of promise. +"Marry one of your daughters," +was his sage and disinterested +advice, "to a son of mine, and be +sure that my boys are too well bred +to pry into your little economics. We +should prefer the Queen; but, if it +cannot be managed, we will take the +Infanta. Isabella shall be given to +some good quiet fellow, not over clever, +who will respect you far too much to +dream of asking for accounts. Of +time we have plenty; be stanch to +me, and all shall go well." What +wonder if from the day this happy +understanding, this real <i>entente cordiale</i>, +was come to, Christina was the +docile agent, the obedient tool, of her +venerable confederate! No general +in the jaws of a defile, with foes in +front and rear, was ever more thankful +to the guide who led him by +stealthy paths from his pressing peril, +than was the daughter of Naples to +her wary adviser and potent ally. +And how charming was the union of +interest—how touching the unanimity +of feeling—how beautifully did +the one's ambition and the other's +avarice dovetail and coincide! The +King's gain was the Queen's profit: +it was the slaughter with one pebble +of two much-coveted birds, fat and +savoury mouthfuls for the royal and +politic fowlers.</p> + +<p>In the secret conclave at the Tuileries, +"all now went merry as a marriage +bell." In the ears of niece and +uncle resounded, by anticipation, the +joyous chimes that should usher in +the Montpensier marriage, proclaim +their triumph, drown the cries of +rage of the Spanish nation, and the +indignant murmurs of Europe;—not +that the goal was so near, the prize +so certain and easy of attainment. +Much yet remained to do; a false step +might be ruinous—over-precipitation +ensure defeat. The King of the French +was not the man to make the one, or +be guilty of the other. With "slow +and sure" for his motto, he patiently +waited his opportunity. In due season, +and greatly aided by French +machinations, the downfall of the impracticable +and incorruptible Espartero +was effected. But the government +of Spain was still in the hands +of the Progresistas. For it will be +remembered that the immediate cause +of Espartero's fall was the opposition +of a section of his own party, which, +united now in their adversity, unfortunately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_747" id="Page_747">[747]</a></span> +tunately knew not, in the days of their +power, how to abstain from internal +dissensions. The Lopez ministry held +the reins of government. It was essential +to oust it. As a first step, a +<i>Camarilla</i> was organised, composed of +the brutal and violent Narvaez, the +daring and disreputable Marchioness +of Santa Cruz, and a few others of the +same stamp, all ultra-Moderados in +politics, and fervent partisans of +Christina. So successfully did they +use their backstairs influence, and +wield their weapons of corruption and +intrigue, that, within four months, +and immediately after the accelerated +declaration of the Queen's majority, +Lopez and his colleagues resigned. +Olozaga succeeded them; but he, too, +was a Progresista and an upholder of +Spanish nationality; there was no +hope of his giving in to the plans of +Christina the Afrancesada. Moreover, +he was hated by the <i>Camarilla</i>, +and especially detested by the Queen-mother, +whose expulsion from Paris +he had demanded when ambassador +there from Espartero's government. +She determined on a signal vengeance. +The Palace Farce, that strange episode +in the history of modern Spanish +courts, must be fresh in every one's +memory. An accusation, as malignant +as absurd, was trumped up against +Olozaga, of having used force, unmanly +and disloyal violence, to compel +Isabella to sign a decree for the dissolution +of the Cortes. No one really +believed the ridiculous tale, or that +Salustiano de Olozaga, the high-bred +gentleman, the uniformly respectful +subject, could have afforded by his +conduct the shadow of a ground for +the base charge. Subsequently, in +the Cortes, he nobly faced his foes, +and, with nervous and irresistible eloquence, +hurled back the calumny in +their teeth. But it had already served +their turn. To beat a dog any stick +will do; and the only care of the +<i>Camarilla</i> was to select the one that +would inflict the most poignant wound. +Olozaga was hunted from the ministry, +and sought, in flight, safety from the +assassin's dagger. Those best informed +entertained no doubt that his +expulsion was intimately connected +with the marriage question. With +him the last of the Progresistas were +got rid of, and all obstacles being removed, +the Queen-mother returned to +Madrid.</p> + +<p>Were the last crowning proof insufficient +to carry conviction, it would +be easy to adduce innumerable minor +ones of Christina's heartless selfishness—of +her disregard to the happiness, +and even to the commonest +comforts, of her royal daughter. We +read in history of a child of France, +the widow of an English king, who, +when a refugee in the capital of her +ancestors, lacked fuel in a French +palace, and was fain to seek in bed +the warmth of which the parsimony +of a griping Italian minister denied +her the fitting means. It is less +generally known, that only six years +ago, the inheritress of the throne of +Ferdinand and Isabella was despoiled +of the commonest necessaries of life +by her own mother, a countrywoman +of the miserly cardinal at whose +hands Henrietta of England experienced +such shameful neglect. When +Christina quitted Spain in 1840, she +not only carried off an enormous +amount of national property, including +the crown jewels, but also her daughter's +own ornaments; and, at the same +time, even the wardrobe of the poor +child was mysteriously, but not unaccountably, +abstracted: Isabella was +left literally short of linen. As to +jewels, it was necessary immediately +to buy her a set of diamonds, in order +that she might make a proper appearance +at her own court. Such was +the considerate and self-denying conduct +of the affectionate mother, who, +in the winter of 1843, resumed her +place in the palace and counsels of +the Queen of Spain. In her natural +protector, the youthful sovereign found +her worst enemy.</p> + +<p>Persons only superficially acquainted +with Spanish politics commonly fall +into two errors. They are apt to +believe, first, that the two great parties +which, with the exception of the +minor factions of Carlists and Republicans, +divide Spain between them, +are nearly equally balanced and national; +secondly, that Moderados and +Progresistas in Spain are equivalent +to Conservatives and Radicals in +other countries. Blunders both. Eccentric +in its politics, as in most +respects, Spain cannot be measured +with the line and compass employed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_748" id="Page_748">[748]</a></span> +to estimate its neighbours. It is +impossible to conceal the fact, that +to-day the numerous and the national +party in Spain is that of the Progresistas. +The tyranny of Narvaez, the +misconduct of Christina, and, above +all, the French marriage, have greatly +strengthened their ranks and increased +their popularity. Their principles are +not subversive, nor their demands +exorbitant: they aim at no monopoly +of power. Three things they earnestly +desire and vehemently claim: the +freedom of election guaranteed by +the existing constitution of Spain, but +which has been so infamously trampled +upon by recent Spanish rulers, +liberty of the press, and the preservation +of Spain from foreign influence +and domination.</p> + +<p>Let us examine the composition +and conduct of the party called Moderado. +This party, now dominant, is +unquestionably the most split up and +divided of any that flourish upon +Spanish soil. It is not deficient in +men of capacity, but upon none of +the grave questions that agitate the +country can these agree. When the +Cortes sit, this is manifest in their +debates. Although purged of Progresistas, +the legislative chambers +exhibit perpetual disagreement and +wrangling. At other times, the dissensions +of the Moderados are made +evident by their organs of the press. +In some of these appear articles +which would not sound discordant in +the mouths of Progresistas; in others +are found doctrines and arguments +worthy of the apostles of absolutism. +Between Narvaez and Pacheco the +interval is wider than between Pacheco +and the Progresistas. The first, in +order to govern, sought support from +the Absolutists; the second could not +rule without calling the Liberals to his +aid. Subdivided into fractions, this +party, whose nomenclature is now +complicated, relies for existence less +upon itself than upon extraneous circumstances, +foreign support, and the +equilibrium of the elements opposed +to it. The anarchy to which it is a +prey, has been especially manifest +upon the marriage question. Whilst +one of its organs shamelessly supported +Trapani, others cried out for a +Coburg; and, again, others insisted +that a Spanish prince was the only +proper candidate—thus coinciding +with the Progresistas. In fact, the +Moderados, afraid, perhaps, of compromising +their precarious existence +had no candidate of their own; and +in their fluctuations between foreign +influence and interior exigencies, between +court and people, between +their wish to remain in power and +the difficulty of retaining it, they left, +in great measure, to chance, the election +in which they dared not openly +meddle. This will sound strange to +the many who, as we have already +observed, imagine the Moderado party +to be the Conservative one of England +or France; but not to those +aware of the fact, that it is a collection +of unities, brought together rather +by accidental circumstances than by +homogeneity of principles, united for +the exclusion of others, and for their +own interests, not by conformity of +doctrines and a sincere wish for their +country's good.</p> + +<p>Such was the party, unstable and +unpatriotic, during whose ascendancy +Christina and her royal confederate +resolved to carry out their dishonest +projects. The Queen-mother well +knew that the mass of the nation +would be opposed to their realisation; +but she reckoned on means sufficiently +powerful to render indignation impotent, +and frustrate revolt. She trusted +to the adherence of an army, purposely +caressed, pampered, and corrupted; +she felt strong in the support of a +monarch, whose interest in the affair +was at least equal to her own; she +observed with satisfaction the indifferent +attitude assumed by the British +government with respect to Spanish +affairs. A Progresista demonstration +in Galicia, although shared in by seven +battalions of the army—an ugly symptom—was +promptly suppressed, owing +to want of organisation, and to the +treachery or incapacity of its leader. +The scaffold and the galleys, prison +and exile, disposed of a large proportion +of the discontented and dangerous. +Arbitrary dismissals, of which, +for the most part, little was heard out +of Spain, purified the army from the +more honest and independent of its +officers, suspected of disaffection to +the existing government, or deemed +capable of exerting themselves to +oppose an injurious or discreditable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_749" id="Page_749">[749]</a></span> +alliance. Time wore on; the decisive +moment approached. Each day it +became more evident that the Queen's +marriage could not with propriety +be much longer deferred. Setting +aside other considerations, she had +already fully attained the precocious +womanhood of her country; and it +was neither safe nor fitting that she +should continue to inhale the corrupt +atmosphere of the Madrid court without +the protection of a husband. At +last the hour came; the plot was ripe, +and nothing remained but to secure +the concurrence of the victim. One +short night, a night of tears and repugnance +on the one hand, of flatteries, +of menaces and intimidation, on +the other decided the fate of Isabella. +With her sister less trouble was requisite. +It needed no great persuasive +art to induce a child of fourteen +to accept a husband, as willingly as +she would have done a doll. It might +have been thought necessary to consult +the will of the Spanish nation, +fairly represented in freely elected +Cortes. Such, at least, was the course +pointed out by the constitution of the +country. It would also have been +but decorous to seek the approval and +concurrence of foreign and friendly +states, to establish beyond dispute, +that the proposed marriages were in +contravention of no existing treaties; +for, with respect to one of them, this +doubt might fairly be raised. But +all such considerations were waived; +decency and courtesy alike forgotten. +The double marriage was effected in +the manner of a surprise; and, if creditable +to the skill, it most assuredly +was dishonourable to the character of +its contriver. Availing himself of the +moment when the legislative chambers +of England, France, and Spain, +had suspended their sittings; although, +as regards those of the latter country, +this mattered little, composed, as they +are, of venal hirelings—the French +King achieved his grand stroke of +policy, the project on which, there +can be little doubt, his eyes had for +years been fixed. His load of promises +and pledges, whether contracted +at Eu or elsewhere, encumbered him +little. They were a fragile commodity, +a brittle merchandise, more for +show than use, easily hurled down +and broken. Striding over their +shivered fragments, the Napoleon of +Peace bore his last unmarried son to +the goal long marked out by the paternal +ambition. The consequences +of the successful race troubled him +little. What cared he for offending +a powerful ally and personal friend? +The arch-schemer made light of the +fury of Spain, of the discontent of +England, of the opinion of Europe. +He paused not to reflect how far his +Machiavelian policy would degrade him +in the eyes of the many with whom +he had previously passed for wise and +good, as well as shrewd and far-sighted. +Paramount to these considerations was +the gratification of his dynastic ambition. +For that he broke his plighted +word, and sacrificed the good understanding +between the governments of +two great countries. The monarch of +the barricades, the <i>Roi Populaire</i>, the +chosen sovereign of the men of July, +at last plainly showed, what some +had already suspected, that the aggrandisement +of his family, not the +welfare of France, was the object he +chiefly coveted. Conviction may later +come to him, perhaps it has already +come, that <i>le jeu ne valoit pas la chandelle</i>, +the game was not worth the wax-lights +consumed in playing it, and +that his present bloodless victory +must sooner or later have sanguinary +results. That this may not be the +case, we ardently desire; that it will +be, we cannot doubt. The peace of +Europe may not be disturbed—pity +that it should in such a quarrel; but +for poor Spain we foresee in the Montpensier +alliance a gloomy perspective +of foreign domination and still recurring +revolution.</p> + +<p>A word or two respecting the King-consort +of Spain, Don Francisco de +Assis. We have already intimated +that, as a Spanish Bourbon, he may +pass muster. 'Tis saying very little. +A more pitiful race than these same +Bourbons of Spain, surely the sun +never shone upon. In vain does one +seek amongst them a name worthy of +respect. What a list to cull from! +The feeble and imbecile Charles the +Fourth; Ferdinand, the cruel and treacherous, +the tyrannical and profligate; +Carlos, the bigot and the hypocrite; +Francisco, the incapable. Nor is the +rising generation an improvement upon +the declining one. How should it be,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_750" id="Page_750">[750]</a></span> +with only the Neapolitan cross to improve +the breed? Certainly Don +Francisco de Assis is no favourable +specimen, either physically or morally, +of the young Bourbon blood. For the +sake of the country whose queen is +his wife, we would gladly think well +of him, gladly recognise in him qualities +worthy the descendant of a line +of kings. It is impossible to do so. +The evidence is too strong the other +way. If it be true, and we have reason +to believe it is, that he came forward +with reluctance as a candidate +for Isabella's hand, chiefly through +unwillingness to stand in the light of +his brother Don Enrique, partly perhaps +through consciousness of his +own unfitness for the elevated station +of king-consort, this at least shows +some good feeling and good sense. +Unfortunately, it is the only indication +he has given of the latter quality. +His objections to a marriage with his +royal cousin were overruled in a manner +that says little for his strength of +character. When it was found that +his dislike to interfere with his brother's +pretensions was the chief stumbling-block, +those interested in getting over +it set the priests at him. To their influence +his weak and bigoted mind +was peculiarly accessible. Their task +was to persuade him that Don Enrique +was no better than an atheist, +and that his marriage with the Queen +would be ruinous to the cause of religion +in Spain. This was a mere +fabrication. Enrique had never shown +any particularly pious dispositions, +but there was no ground for accusing +him of irreligion, no reason to believe +that, as the Queen's husband, he would +be found negligent of the church's +forms, or setting a bad example to the +Spanish nation. The case, however, +was made out to the satisfaction of +the feeble Francisco, whose credulity +and irresolution are only to be equalled +in absurdity by the piping treble of +the voice with which, as a colonel of +cavalry, he endeavoured to convey +orders to his squadrons. Sacrificing, +as he thought, fraternal affection to +the good of his country, he accepted +the hand reluctantly placed in his, +became a king by title, but remained, +what he ever must be, in reality a +zero.</p> + +<p>It was during the intrigues put in +practice to force the Trapani alliance +upon Spain, that the Spanish people +turned their eyes to Don Francisco +de Paulo's second son, who lived +away from the court, following with +much zeal his profession of a sailor. +Not only the Progresistas, but that +section of the Moderados whose principles +were most assimilated to theirs, +looked upon Don Enrique as the candidate +to be preferred before all +others. For this there were many +reasons. As a Spaniard he was naturally +more pleasing to them than a +foreigner; in energy and decision of +character he was far superior to his +brother. Little or nothing was known +of his political tendencies; but he had +been brought up in a ship and not in +a palace, had lived apart from <i>Camarillas</i> +and their evil influences, +and might be expected to govern the +country constitutionally, by majorities +in the Cortes, and not by the aid and +according to the wishes of a pet party. +The general belief was, that his marriage +with Isabella would give increased +popularity to the throne, +destroy illegitimate influences, and +rid the Queen of those interested and +pernicious counsellors who so largely +abused her inexperience. These +very reasons, which induced the +great mass of the nation to view Don +Enrique with favour, drew upon him +the hatred of Christina and her +friends. He was banished from +Spain, and became the object of +vexatious persecutions. This increased +his popularity; and at one time, if his +name had been taken as a rallying +cry, a flame might have been lighted +up in the Peninsula which years +would not have extinguished. The +opportunity was inviting; but, to their +honour be it said, those who would +have benefited by embracing it, resisted +the temptation. It is no secret +that the means and appliances of a +successful insurrection were not wanting; +that money wherewith to buy +the army was liberally forthcoming; +that assistance of all kinds was offered +them; and that their influence in Spain +was great; for in the eyes of the nation +they had expiated their errors, +errors of judgment only, by a long +and painful exile. But, nevertheless, +they would not avail themselves of +the favourable moment. So long as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_751" id="Page_751">[751]</a></span> +hope remained of obtaining their just +desires by peaceable means, by the +force of reason and the <i>puissante propagande +de la parole</i>, they refused +again to ensanguine their native soil, +and to re-enter Spain on the smoking +ruins of its towns, over the lifeless +bodies of their mistaken countrymen.</p> + +<p>By public prints of weight and information, +it has been estimated, that +during Don Enrique's brief stay at +Paris, he indignantly rejected certain +friendly overtures made to him by the +King of the French. The nature of +these overtures can, of course, only +be conjectured. Perhaps, indeed, +they were but a stratagem, employed +by the wily monarch to detain his +young cousin at Paris, that the apparent +good understanding between +them might damp the courage of the +national party in Spain, and win the +wavering to look with favour upon the +French marriage. There can be little +question that in the eyes of Louis +Philippe, as well as of Christina, Don +Francisco is a far more eligible husband +for the Queen than his brother would +have been, even had the latter given +his adhesion to the project of the +Montpensier alliance. Rumour—often, +it is true, a lying jade—maintained +that at Paris he firmly refused +to do so. She now whispers that at +Brussels he has been found more +pliant, and that, within a brief delay, +the happy family at Madrid will be +gratified by the return of that truant +and mutinous mariner, Don Enrique +de Borbon, who, after he has been +duly scolded and kissed, will doubtless +be made Lord High Admiral, or +rewarded in some equally appropriate +way for his tardy docility. We vouch +not for the truth of this report; but +shall be noway surprised if events +speedily prove it well founded. Men +there are with whom the love of +country is so intense, that they would +rather live despised in their own land +than respected in a foreign one. And +when, to such flimsy Will-o'-the-wisp +considerations as the esteem and love +of a nation, are opposed rank, money, +and decorations, a palace to live in, +sumptuous fare, and a well-filled +purse, and perhaps, ere long, a wealthy +bride, who would hesitate? If any +would, seek them not amongst the +Bourbons. Loath indeed should we +be to pledge ourselves for the consistency +and patriotism of a man whose +uncle and grandfather betrayed their +country to a foreign usurper. The +fruit of a corrupt and rotten stem +must ever be looked upon with suspicion. +It is the more prized when +perchance it proves sound and wholesome.</p> + +<p>Of the Duke of Montpensier, previously +to his marriage, little was heard, +and still, little is generally known of +him, except that his exterior is agreeable, +and that he had been rapidly +pushed through the various military +grades to that of general of artillery. +That any natural talents he may be +endowed with, have been improved +to the utmost by careful education, +is sufficiently guaranteed by the fact +of his being a son of Louis Philippe. +We are able to supply a few further +details. The Infanta's husband is a +youth of good capacity, possessing a +liberal share of that mixture of sense, +judgment, and wit, defined in his +native tongue by the one expressive +word <i>esprit</i>. His manners are pleasant +and affable; he is a man with whom +his inferiors in rank can converse, +argue, even dispute—not a stilted +Spanish Bourbon, puffed up with +imaginary merit, inflated with +etiquette, and looking down, from the +height of his splendid insignificance +and inane pride, upon better men +then himself. He is one, in short, +who rapidly makes friends and partisans. +Doubtless, during his late +brief visit to Spain, he secured some; +hereafter he will have opportunities +of increasing their number; and the +probabilities are, that in course of +time he will acquire a dangerous influence +in the Peninsula. The lukewarm +and the vacillating, even of the +Progresista party, will be not unlikely, +if he shows or affects liberalism +in his political opinions, to take +him into favour, and give him the +weight of their adherence; forgetting +that by so doing they cherish an anti-national +influence, and twine more securely +the toils of France round the +recumbent Spanish lion. On the +other hand, there will always be a +powerful Spanish party, comprising a +vast majority of the nation, and by +far the largest share of its energy and +talent, distinguished by its inveterate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_752" id="Page_752">[752]</a></span> +dislike of French interlopers, repulsing +the duke and his advances by every +means in their power, and branding +his favourers with the odious name of +<span class="smcap">Afrancesados</span>. To go into this subject, +and enlarge upon the probable +and possible results of the marriage, +would lead us too far. Our object in +the present article has rather been to +supply <small>FACTS</small> than indulge in speculations. +For the present, therefore, +we shall merely remind our readers, +that jealousy of foreign interference is +a distinguishing political characteristic +of Spaniards; and that, independently +of this, the flame of hatred to France +and Frenchmen still burns brightly in +many a Spanish bosom. Spain has +not yet forgiven, far less forgotten, +the countless injuries inflicted on her +by her northern neighbours: she still +bears in mind the insolent aggressions +of Napoleon—the barbarous cruelties +of his French and Polish legions—the +officious interference in '23. These +and other wrongs still rankle in her +memory. And if the effacing finger +of Time had begun to obliterate their +traces, the last bitter insult of the +forced marriage has renewed these in +all their pristine freshness.</p> + +<p>We remember to have encountered, +in a neglected foreign gallery, an ancient +picture of a criminal in the hands +of torturers. The subject was a painful +one, and yet the painting provoked +a smile. Some wandering brother of +the brush, some mischievous and idly-industrious +<span class="smcap">Tinto</span>, had beguiled his +leisure by transmogrifying the costumes +both of victim and executioners, +converting the ancient Spanish garb +into the stiff and unpicturesque apparel +of the present day. The vault +in which the cruel scene was enacted, +remains in all its gloomy severity of +massive pillars, rusty shackles, and +cobwebbed walls; the grim unshapely +instruments of torture were there; +the uncouth visages of the executioners, +the agonised countenance of the +sufferer, were unaltered. But, contrasting +with the antique aspect and +time-darkened tints of these details, +were the vivid colouring and modern +fashions of Parisian <i>paletots</i>, trim pantaloons, +and ball-room waistcoats. We +have been irresistibly reminded of this +defaced picture by the recent events +in Spain. They appear to us like a +page from the history of the middle +ages transported into our own times. +The daring and unprincipled intrigue +whose <i>dénoûment</i> has just been witnessed, +is surely out of place in the +nineteenth century, and belongs more +properly to the days of the Medicis +and the Guise. A review of its circumstances +affords the elements of +some romantic history of three hundred +years ago. At night, in a palace, we +see a dissolute Italian dowager and a +crafty French ambassador coercing a +sovereign of sixteen into a detested +alliance. The day breaks on the +child's tearful consent; the ambassador, +the paleness of his vigil chased +from his cheek by the flush of triumph, +emerges from the royal dwelling. +Quick! to horse!—and a courier starts +to tell the diplomat's master that the +glorious victory is won. A few days—a +very few—of astonishment to +Europe and consternation to Spain, +and a French prince, with gay and +gallant retinue, stands on the Bidassoa's +bank and gazes wistfully south-wards. +Why does he tarry; whence +this delay? He waits an escort. +Strange rumours are abroad of ambuscade +and assassination; of vows +made by fierce guerillas that the Infanta's +destined husband shall never see +Madrid. At last the escort comes. +Enclosed in serried lines of bayonets +and lances, dragoons in van, artillery +in rear, the happy bridegroom prosecutes +his journey. What is his welcome? +Do the bright-eyed Basque +maidens scatter flowers in his path +and Biscay's brave sons strain their +stout arms to ring peals in his honour? +Do the poor and hardy +peasantry of Castile line the highway +and shout <i>vivas</i> as he passes? +Not so. If bells are rung and flowers +strewn, it is by salaried ringers and by +women hired, not to wail at a funeral, +but to celebrate a marriage scarcely +more auspicious. If hurrahs, few +and faint, are heard, those who utter +are paid for them. Sullen looks and +lowering glances greet the Frenchman, +as, guarded by two thousand men-at-arms, +he hurries to the capital where +his bride awaits him. In all haste, +amidst the murmurs of a deeply +offended people, the knot is tied. +Not a moment must be lost, lest +something should yet occur to mar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_753" id="Page_753">[753]</a></span> +the marriage feast. And now for +the rewards, shamefully showered +upon the venal abettors of this unpopular +union. A dukedom and +grandeeship of Spain for the ambassador's +infant son; titles to mercenary +ministers; high and time-honoured +decorations, once reserved as the premium +for exalted valour and chivalrous +deeds—to corrupt deputies; diamond +snuff-boxes, jewels and gold, to the +infamous writers of prostituted journals; +Christina rejoices; her <i>Camarilla</i> +are in ecstasies; Bresson rubs +his hands in irrepressible exultation; +in his distant capital the French monarch +heaves a sigh of relief and satisfaction +as his telegraph informs him +of the <i>fait accompli</i>. Then come +splendid bullfights and monster <i>pucheros</i>, +to dazzle the eyes and stop +the mouths of the multitude. <i>Pan y +toros—panisac circenses</i>—to the many-headed +beast. And in all haste the +prince hurries back to Paris with his +bride, to receive the paternal benediction, +the fraternal embrace, and the +congratulations of the few score individuals, +who alone, in all France, feel +real pleasure and profit in his marriage. +And thus, by foreign intrigue +and domestic treachery, has the independence +of Spain been virtually +bought and sold.</p> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> +<h2>ST MAGNUS', KIRKWALL.</h2> + + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">See yonder, on Pomona's isle—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Where winter storms delight to roam;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">But beaming now with summer's smile—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The Sainted Martyr's sacred dome!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Conspicuous o'er the deep afar<br /></span> +<span class="i2">It sheds a soft and saving ray,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A landmark sure, a leading star,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">To guide the wanderer on his way.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">It tells the seaman how to steer<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Through swelling seas his labouring bark<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It helps the mourner's heart to cheer,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And speeds him to his heavenly mark.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">With joy of old this northern sky<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Saw holy men the fabric found,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To lift the Christian Cross on high,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And spread the Healer's influence round.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">By beauty's power they sought to raise<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Rude eyes and ruder hearts to Heaven:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">They sought to speak their Maker's praise<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With all the skill His grace had given.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And now, where passions dark and wild<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Were foster'd once at Odin's shrine,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">A people peaceful, just, and mild,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Live happy in that light divine.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Preserved through many a stormy age,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Let pious zeal the relic guard:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Nor Time with slow insidious rage<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Destroy what fiercer foes have spared.<br /></span> +</div></div> +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_754" id="Page_754">[754]</a></span></p> + + + +<h2>THE GAME LAWS.</h2> + + +<p>From our youth upwards we have +entertained a deep feeling of affection +for the respectable fraternity +of the Quakers. Our love, probably, +had its date and origin from very +early contemplation of a print, which +represented an elderly pot-bellied individual, +with a broad-brimmed hat and +drab terminations, in the act of concluding +a treaty with several squatting +Indians, only redeemed from a +state of nature by a slight garniture +of scalps and wampum. Underneath +was engraved a legend which our +grand-aunt besought us to treasure in +our memory as a sublime moral lesson. +It ran thus:—<span class="smcap">The Bloodless +Triumph, or Penn's Treaty with +the Chiefs</span>; and we were told that +the fact thereby commemorated was +one of the most honourable achievements +to be found in the pages of +general history. With infantine facility +we believed in the words of the +matron. No blood or rapine—no +human carcasses or smoking wigwams, +deformed the march of the +Quaker conqueror. Beneath a mighty +tree, in the great Indian wilderness, +was the patriarchal council held; and +the fee-simple of a territory, a good +deal larger than an average kingdom, +surrendered, with all its pendicles of +lake, prairie, and hunting-ground, to +the knowing philanthropist, in exchange +for some bales of broad-cloth, +a little cutlery, a liberal allowance of +beads, and a very great quantity, indeed, +of adulterated rum and tobacco. +Never, we believe, since Esau sold his +birth-right, was a tract of country +acquired upon terms so cheap and +easy. Some faint idea of this kind +appears to have struck us at the +time; for, in answer to some question +touching the nature of the goods supposed +to be contained in several bales +and casks which were prominently represented +in the picture, our relative +hastily remarked, that she did not +care for the nature of the bargain—the +principle was the great consideration. +And so it is. William Penn +unquestionably acted both wisely and +well: he brought his merchandise to +a first-rate market, and left a valuable +legacy of acuteness to his children and +faithful followers. Our grand-aunt—rest +her soul!—died in the full belief +of ultimate Pennsylvanian solvency. +She could not persuade herself, that +the representatives of the man who +had acquired a principality at the expense +of a ship-load of rubbish, would +prove in any way untrue to their bonds; +and by her last will and testament, +whereof we are the sole executor, she +promoted us to the agreeable rank of +a creditor on the Pennsylvanian government. +If any gentleman is desirous +to be placed in a similar position, +with a right to the new stock +which has been recently issued in +lieu of a monetary dividend, he may +hear of an excellent investment by an +early application to our brokers. We +also are most firm believers in the +fact of American credit, and we shall +not change our opinion—at least until +we effect the sale.</p> + +<p>All this, however, is a deviation +from our primary purpose, which was +to laud and magnify the Brotherhood. +We repeat that we loved them early, +and also that we loved them long. It +is true that some years ago a slight +estrangement—the shadow of a summer +cloud—disturbed the harmony +which had previously existed between +Maga and the Society of Friends. A +gentleman of that persuasion had +been lost somewhere upon the skirts +of Helvellyn, and our guide and +father, Christopher, in one of those +sublime prose-pœans which have entranced +and electrified the world, +commemorated that apotheosis so +touchingly, that the whole of Christendom +was in tears. Unfortunately, +some passing allusion to the garments +of the defunct Obadiah, grated uncomfortably +on the jealous ear of +Darlington. An affecting picture of +some ravens, digging their way +through the folds of the double-milled +kerseymere, was supposed to +convey an occult imputation upon +the cloth, and never, since then, have +we stood quite clear in the eyes of +the offended Conventicle. Still, that +unhappy misunderstanding has by no +means cooled our attachment. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_755" id="Page_755">[755]</a></span> +honour and revere the Friends; and it +was with sincere pleasure that we +saw the excellent Joseph Pease take +his seat and lift up his voice within +the walls of Parliament. Had Pease +stood alone, we should not now, in all +human probability, have been writing +on the subject of the game laws.</p> + +<p>We are, however, much afraid +that a great change has taken place +in the temper and disposition of the +Society. Formerly a Quaker was +considered most essentially a man +of peace. He was reputed to abhor +all strife and vain disputation—to be +laconic and sparing in his speech—and +to be absolutely crapulous with +humanity. We would as soon have +believed in the wrath of doves as in +the existence of a cruel Quaker; nor +would we, during the earlier portion +of our life, have entrusted one of that +denomination with the drowning of a +superfluous kitten. Barring a little +absurd punctilio in the matter of payment +of their taxes—at all times, we +allow, a remarkably unpleasant ceremony—the +public conduct of our +Friends was blameless. They seldom +made their voices heard except in the +honourable cause of the suffering or +the oppressed; and with external politics +they meddled not at all, seeing +that their fundamental ideas of a social +system differed radically from those +entertained by the founders of the +British constitution. Such, and so +harmless, were the lives of our venerated +Friends, until the demon of discord +tempted them by a vision of the +baleful hustings.</p> + +<p>Since then we have remarked, with +pain, a striking alteration in their +manner. They are bold, turbulent, +and disputatious to an almost incredible +extent. If there is any row +going on in the parish, you are sure +to find that a Quaker is at the bottom +of it. Is there to be a reform in +the Police board—some broad-brimmed +apostle takes the chair. Are +tithes obnoxious to a Chamber of +Commerce—the spokesman of the +agitators is Obadiah. Indeed, we are +beginning to feel as shy of a quarrel +with men of drab as we formerly were +with the militant individuals in scarlet. +We are not quite so confident as +we used to be in their reliance upon +moral force, and sometimes fear the +latent power which lurks in the physical +arm.</p> + +<p>Of these champions, by far the +most remarkable is Mr John Bright, +who, in the British House of Commons, +represents the town of Durham. +The tenets of his peaceful +and affirmative creed, are, to say the +least of it, in total antagonism to his +character. Ever since he made his +first appearance in public, he has kept +himself, and every one around him, +in perpetual hot-water. In the capacity +of Mr Cobden's bottle-holder, he +has displayed considerable pluck, for +which we honour him; and he is not +altogether unworthy to have been +included in that famous eulogy which +was passed by the late Premier—no +doubt to the cordial satisfaction of his +friends—upon the Apostle of cotton +and free-trade. The name of John is +nearly as conspicuous as that of Richard +in the loyal annals of the League; and +we are pleased to observe, that, like +his great generalissimo, Mr Bright +has preferred his claim for popular +payment, and has, in fact, managed +to secure a few thousands in return +for the vast quantity of eloquence +which he has poured into the pages +of Hansard. We are not of that old-fashioned +school who object to the +remuneration of our reformers. On +the contrary, we think that patriotism, +like every other trade, should +be paid for; and with such notable +examples, as O'Connell in Ireland, +and the Gamaliel of Sir Robert in the +south, we doubt not that the principle +hereafter will be acted upon in +every case. The man who shall +be fortunate enough to lead a successful +crusade against the established +churches, and to sweep away +from these kingdoms all vestiges both +of the mitre and the Geneva gown, +will doubtless, after sufficient laudation +by the then premier, of the talent +and perseverance which he has exhibited +throughout the contest, receive +from his liberated country something +of an adequate douceur. What precise +pension is due to him who shall +deliver us from the thraldom of the +hereditary peerage, is a question which +must be left to future political arithmetic. +In the mean time, there are +several minor abuses which may be +swept away on more moderate scavenger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_756" id="Page_756">[756]</a></span> +wages; and one of these which +we fully expect to hear discussed in +the ensuing session of Parliament, is +the existence of the Game laws.</p> + +<p>Mr Bright, warned by former experience, +has selected a grievance for +himself, and started early in his expedition +against it. The part of jackal +may be played once, but it is not a +profitable one; and we can understand +the disappointed feelings of the +smaller animal, when he is forced to +stand by an-hungered, and behold +the gluttonous lion gorging himself +with the choicest morsels of the chase. +It must be a sore thing for a patriot +to see his brother agitator pouching +his tens and hundreds of thousands; +whilst he, who likewise has +shouted in the cause, and bestowed +as much of his sweet breath as would +have served to supply a furnace, must +perforce be contented with some stray +pittances, doled hesitatingly out, and +not altogether given without grudging. +No independent and thoroughgoing +citizen will consent, for a second time, +to play so very subsidiary a part; +therefore he is right in breaking fresh +ground, and becoming the leader of a +new movement. It may be that his +old monopolising ally shall become +too plethoric for a second contest. +Like the desperate soldier who took +a castle and was rewarded for it, he +may be inclined to rest beneath his +laurels, count his pay, and leave the +future capture of fortalices to others +who have less to lose. A hundred +thousand pounds carry along with +them a sensation of ease as well as +dignity. After such a surfeit of Mammon, +most men are unwilling to work. +They unbutton their waistcoats, eschew +agitation, eat, drink, are merry, +and become fat.</p> + +<p>Your lean Cassius, on the contrary, +has all the pugnacity of a terrier. He +yelps at every body and every thing, +is at perpetual warfare with the whole +of animated nature, and will not be +quieted even by dint of much kicking. +The only chance you have of relieving +yourself from his everlasting yammering +and impertinence, is to throw him +an unpicked bone, wherewith he will +retreat in double-quick time to the +kennel. And of a truth the number +of excellent bones which are sacrificed +to the terriers of this world, is absolutely +amazing. Society in general +will do a great deal for peace; and +much money is doled out, far less for +the sake of charity, than as the price +of a stipulated repose.</p> + +<p>It remains, however, to be seen +whether Mr Bright, under any circumstances, +will be quiet. We almost +doubt it. In the course of his stentorial +and senatorial career, he has +more than once, to borrow a phrase +from <i>Boxiana</i>, had his head put into +chancery; and some of his opponents, +Mr Ferrand for example, have fists +that smite like sledge-hammers. But +Friend John is a glutton in punishment; +and though with blackened +eyes and battered lips, is nevertheless +at his post in time. The best pugilists +in England do not know what +to make of him. He never will admit +that he is beaten, nor does he seem +to know when he has enough. It is +true that at every round he goes +down before some tremendous facer +or cross-buttock, or haply performs +the part of Antæus in consequence of +the Cornish hug. No matter—up he +starts, and though rather unsteady +on his pins, and generally groggy in +his demeanour, he squares away at +his antagonist, until night terminates +the battle, and the drab flag, still +flaunting defiance, is visible beneath +the glimpses of the maiden moon.</p> + +<p>At present, Mr Bright's senatorial +exertions appear to be directed towards +the abolition of the Game laws. +Early in 1845, and before the remarkable +era of conversion which must +ever render that year a notorious one +in the history of political consistency, +he moved for and obtained a select +committee of the House to inquire +into the operation of these laws. Mr +Bright's speech upon that occasion +was, in some respects, a sensible +one. We have no wish to withhold +from him his proper meed of praise; +and we shall add, that the subject +which he thus virtually undertook to +expiscate, was one in every way +deserving of the attention of the +legislature. Of all the rights of property +which are recognised by the +English law, that of the proprietor or +occupier of the land to the <i>feræ naturæ</i> +or game upon it, is the least generally +understood, and the worst defined. +It is fenced by, and founded upon, statutes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_757" id="Page_757">[757]</a></span> +which, in the course of time, +have undergone considerable modification +and revision; and the penalties +attached to the infringement of it are, +in our candid opinion, unnecessarily +harsh and severe. Further, there can +be no doubt, that in England the vice +of poaching, next to that of habitual +drinking, has contributed most largely +to fill the country prisons. Instances +are constantly occurring of ferocious +assault, and even murder, arising +from the affrays between gamekeepers +and poachers; nor does it appear that +the statutory penalties have had the +effect of deterring many of the lower +orders from their violent and predatory +practices. On these points, we +think an inquiry, with a view to the +settlement of the law on a humane +and equitable footing, was highly +proper and commendable; nor should +we have said a single word in depreciation +of the labours of Mr Bright, +had he confined himself within proper +limits. Such, however, is not the +case.</p> + +<p>An abridgement of, or rather extracts +from, the voluminous evidence +which was taken before that select +committee, has been published by a +certain Richard Griffiths Welford, +Esq., barrister at law, and member +of the Royal Agricultural Society +of England. With this gentleman +hitherto, it is our misfortune or our +fault that we have had no practical +acquaintance; and judging from the +tone, humour, and temper of the text +remarks which are scattered throughout +the volume, and the taste of the +foot-notes appended, we do not see +any reason to covet exuberant intimacy +for the future. The volume is +prefaced by a letter from Mr John +Bright to the Tenant Farmers of +Great Britain, which is of so remarkable +a nature that it justly challenges +some comment. The following extract +is the commencement of that address:— +"I am invited by my friend Mr +Welford, the compiler of the abstract +of the evidence given before the committee +on the Game laws, to write a +short address to you on the important +question which is treated of in this +volume. I feel that an apology is +scarcely necessary for the liberty I +am taking; the deep interest I have +long felt in the subject of the Game +laws, my strong conviction of its +great importance to you as a class, +and the extensive correspondence in +reference to it which I have maintained +with many of your respected +body in almost every county of England +and Scotland, seem to entitle +me to say a few words to you on this +occasion.</p> + +<p>"From the perusal of this evidence—and +it is but a small portion +of that which was offered to the committee—you +will perceive that, as +capitalists and employers of labour, +<i>you are neither asserting your just +rights, nor occupying your proper position</i>. +By long-continued custom, +which has now obtained almost the +force of law, when you became tenants +of a farm, you were not permitted to +enjoy the advantages which pertain +to it so fully as is the case with the +occupiers of almost every other description +of property. A farmer +becomes the tenant of certain lands, +which are to be the basis of his future +operations, and the foundation of that +degree of prosperity to which he may +attain. To secure success, it is needful +that capital should be invested, +and industry and skill exercised; and +in proportion as these are largely +employed, in order to develop to the +utmost extent the resources of the +soil, will be the amount of prosperity +that will be secured. The capital, +skill, and industry, will depend upon +the capacity of the farmer; but the +reward for their employment will depend +in no small degree upon the free +and unfettered possession of the land—of +its capabilities, of all that it produces, +and of all that is sustained +upon its surface. There is a mixture +of feudalism and of commercial principles +in your mode of taking and +occupying land, which is in almost all +cases obstructive, and in not a few +utterly subversive, of improvement. +You take a farm on a yearly tenantry, +or on a lease, with an understanding, +or a specific agreement, that the game +shall be reserved to the owner; that +is, you grant to the landlord the right +to stock the farm—for which you are +to pay him rent for permission to cultivate, +and for the full possession of +its produce—with pheasants, partridges, +hares, and rabbits, to any +extent that may suit his caprice.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_758" id="Page_758">[758]</a></span> +There may be little game when you +enter upon the farm; but in general +you reserve to yourselves no power +to prevent its increase, and it may +and often does increase so, as to destroy +the possibility of profit in the +cultivation of the farm. You plough, +and sow, and watch the growing crops +with anxiety and hope; you rise early, +and eat the bread of carefulness; rent-day +comes twice a-year with its inexorable +demand; and yet you are +doomed too frequently to see the fertility +which Providence bestows and +your industry would secure, blighted +and destroyed <i>by creatures which would +be deemed vermin</i>, but for the sanction +which the law and your customs give +to their preservation, and which exist +for no advantage to you, and for no +good to the public, but solely to afford +a few day's amusement in the year to +the proprietors of the soil. The seed +you sow is eaten by the pheasants; +your young growing grain is bitten +down by the hares and rabbits; and +your ripening crops are trampled and +injured by a live stock which yields +you no return, and which you cannot +kill and take to market. No other +class of capitalists are subjected to +these disadvantages—no other intelligent +and independent class of your +countrymen are burdened with such +impositions."</p> + +<p>We pity the intelligence of the +reader who does not behold in these +introductory paragraphs the symbol +of the cloven foot. The sole object +of the volume, for which Mr Bright +has the assurance to stand as sponsor, +is to sow the seeds of discord between +the landowners and the tenants of +England, by representing the former +to the latter in the light of selfish +monopolists, who, for the sake of some +little sport or yearly battue, or, it +may be, from absolute caprice, make +havoc throughout the year, by proxy, +of the farmers' property, and increase +their stock of game whenever they +have an opportunity, at his expense, +and sometimes to his actual ruin. +Such is the tendency of this book, +which is compiled for general circulation; +and which, we think, in many +respects is calculated to do a deal of +harm. As a real treatise or commentary +upon the Game laws, it is +worthless; as an attack upon the +landed gentry, it will doubtless be +read in many quarters with extreme +complacency. Already, we observe, +a portion of the press have made it a +text-book for strong political diatribes; +and the influence of it will no doubt +be brought to bear upon the next +general election. As we ourselves +happen to entertain what are called +very liberal opinions upon this subject +of the Game laws, and as we +maintain the principle that in this, +as in every other matter, the great +interests and rights of the community +must be consulted, without reference +to class distinctions—as we wish to +see the property of the rich and the +liberties of the poor respected—as we +consider the union and cordial co-operation +between landlord and tenant +the chief guarantee which this country +yet possesses against revolution, and +the triumph of insolent demagogues—our +remarks upon the present subject +may not be ill-timed, or unworthy of +the regard of those who think with +us, that, in spite of recent events, +there yet may be something to preserve.</p> + +<p>But, first, let us consider who this +gentleman is that comes forward, unsolicited, +to tender his advice, and to +preach agitation to the tenantry of +Great Britain. He is one of those +persons who rose with the League—one +of those unscrupulous and ubiquitous +orators who founded and +reared their reputation upon an avowed +hostility to the agricultural interests +of the country. Upon this point +there can be no mistake. John +Bright, member for Durham, is a +child of the corn, or rather the potato +revolution, as surely as Anacharsis +Clootz was the <i>enfant trouvé</i> of the +Reign of Terror. With the abstract +merits of that question we have nothing +to do at present. It is quite +sufficient for us to note the fact, that +he, in so far as his opportunities and +his talents went, was amongst the +most clamorous of the opponents to +the protection of British agriculture; +and that fact is a fair and legitimate +ground for suspicion of his motives, +when we find him appearing in the +new part of an agricultural champion +and agitator. It is not without considerable +mistrust that we behold this +slippery personage in the garb and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_759" id="Page_759">[759]</a></span> +character of Triptolemus. He does +not act it well. The effects of the +billy-roller are still conspicuous upon +his gait—he walks ill on hobnails—and +is clearly more conversant with +devil's-dust and remnants than with +tares. Some faint suspicion of this +appears at times to haunt even his +own complacent imagination. He is +not quite sure that the farmers—or, +in the elegant phraseology of the +League, the hawbucks and chawbacons—whom +he used to denounce as +a race of beings immeasurably inferior +in intellectual capacity to the +ricketty victims of the factories, will +believe all at once in the cordiality +and disinterestedness of their adviser; +and therefore he throws out for their +edification a specious bit of pleading, +which, no doubt, will be read with conflicting +feelings by some of those who +participated in the late conversion. +"You have been taught to consider +me, and those with whom I have +acted, as your enemies. You will +admit that we have never deceived you—that +we have never <small>TAMELY SURRENDERED</small> +that which we have taught +you to rely upon as the basis of your +prosperity—that we have not pledged +ourselves to a policy you approved, and +then abandoned it; and as you have +found me persevering in the promotion +of measures, which many of you +deemed almost fatal to your interests, +but which I thought essential to the +public good, so you will find me as +resolute in the defence of those rights, +which your own or your country's interests +alike require that you should +possess."</p> + +<p>All this profession, however, we +hope, will fail to persuade the farmers +that their late enemy has become their +sudden friend; and they will doubtless +look with some suspicion upon +the apocryphal catalogue of grievances +which Mr Bright has raked together, +and, with the aid of his associate, +promulgated in the present volume. +It is not our intention at present to +extract or go over the evidence at +large. We have read it minutely, +and weighed it well. A great part of +it is utterly irrelevant, as bearing +upon questions of property and contract +with which the legislature of no +country could interfere, and which +even Mr Bright, though not over +scrupulous in his ideas of parliamentary +appropriation, has disregarded +in framing the conclusions of the +rejected report which he proposed +for the adoption of the committee. +That portion, however, we shall +not pass over in silence. It is +but right that the country at large +should see that this volume has been +issued, not so much for the purpose of +obtaining a revision of the law, as of +sowing discord amongst the agriculturists +themselves; and it is very remarkable +that Mr Bright, throughout +the whole of his inflammatory address, +<i>takes no notice whatever of the +Game laws</i>, or their prejudicial effect, +or their possible remedy by legislative +enactment, but confines himself to +denunciation of the landlords as a +class antagonistic to the tenantry, +and advice to the latter to combine +against the game-preserving habits of +the gentry.</p> + +<p>Now this question between landlord +and tenant has nothing to do +with the Game laws. The man who +purchases an estate, purchases it with +every thing upon it. He has, strictly +speaking, as much right to every wild +animal which is bred or even lodges +there—if he can only catch or kill +them—as he has to the trees, or the +turf, or any other natural produce. The +law protects him in this right, in so far, +that by complying with certain statutory +regulations—one of which relates +to revenue, and requires from him a +qualification to sport, and another +prescribes a period or rotation for +shooting—he may, within his own +boundaries, take every animal which +he meets with, and may also prevent any +stranger from interfering with or +encroaching upon that privilege. We +do not now speak of penalties for +which the intruder may be liable. +That is a separate question; at present +we confine ourselves to the abstract +question of right.</p> + +<p>But neither game nor natural produce +constitute that thing called +<small>RENT</small>, without which, since the days +of forays have gone by, a landowner +cannot live. Accordingly, he proposes +to let a certain portion of his domains +to a farmer, whose business is to cultivate +the soil, and to make it profitable. +He does so; and unless a distinct +reservation is made to the contrary,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_760" id="Page_760">[760]</a></span> +the right to take the game upon +the farm so let, passes to the tenant, +and can be exercised by him irrespective +of the wish of the landlord. If, +on the contrary, the landlord refuses +to part with that right which is primarily +vested in his person, and which, +of course, he is at full liberty either +to reserve or surrender, the proposing +tenant must take that circumstance +into consideration in his offer of rent +for the farm. The game then becomes +as much a matter of calculation +as the nature of the soil, the necessity +of drainage, or the peculiar climate of +the farm. The tenant must be guided +by the principles of ordinary prudence, +and make such a deduction +from his offer as he considers will +compensate him for the loss which his +crop may sustain through the agency +of the game. If he neglects to do +this, he has no reasonable ground for +murmuring—if he does it, he is perfectly +safe. Such is the plain simple +nature of the case, from which one +would think it difficult to extract any +clamant grievance, at least between the +landlord and the tenant. No doubt the +tenantry of the country individually +and generally may, if they please, insist +in all cases on a complete surrender +of the game; and if they do, it is far +more than possible that their desire +will be universally complied with. +But, then, they will have to pay higher +rents. The landlord is no gainer in +respect of game, nay, he is a direct +loser; for the fact of his preservation +and reserval of it reduces the amount +of rent which he otherwise would receive, +and, besides this, he is at much +expense in preserving. Game is his +hobby which he insists upon retaining: +he does so, and he actually pays for +it. Therefore, when a tenant states +that he has lost so much in a particular +year in consequence of the game +upon his farm, that statement must +be understood with a qualification. +His crop may indeed have suffered +to a certain extent; but then he has +been paid for that deterioration already, +the payment being the difference +of rent, fixed between him and +the landlord for the occupation of a +game farm, less than what he would +have offered for it had there been no +game there, or had the right to kill it +been conceded.</p> + +<p>"O but," says Mr Bright, or some +other of the <i>soi-disant</i> friends of the +farmer, "there is an immense competition +for land, and the farmers will +not make bargains!" And whose +fault is that? We recollect certain +apothegms rather popular a short +while ago, about buying in the cheapest +and selling in the dearest market, +and so forth, and we have always +understood that the real price of an +article is determined by the demand +for it. If any farm is put up to auction +under certain conditions, there is +no hardship whatever in exacting the +rent from the highest successful competitor. +The reservation of the right +to kill game is as competent to the +proprietor as the fixing the rotation +of the crops, or the conditions against +scourging the soil. The landlord, +when he lets a farm, does not by any +means, as Mr Bright and his legal +coadjutor appear to suppose, abandon +it altogether to the free use of the +tenant. He must of necessity make +conditions, because he still retains his +primary interest in the soil; and if +these were not made, the land would +in all probability be returned to him +after the expiry of the lease, utterly +unprofitable and exhausted, it being +the clear interest of the tenant to take +as much out of it as possible during +the currency of his occupation. Now +all these conditions are perfectly well +known to the competing farmer, and +if he is not inclined to assent to them, +he need not make an offer for the +land. Does Mr Bright mean to assert +that the competition for land is so +great, that the tenant-farmers are +absolutely offering more than the +subjects which they lease are worth? +If so, the most gullible person on the +face of this very gullible earth would +not believe him. To aver that any +body of men in this country, are wilfully +and avowedly carrying on a trade +or profession at a certain loss, is to +utter an absurdity so gross as to be +utterly unworth a refutation. And if +Mr Bright does not mean this, we +shall thank him to explain how the +competition for land is a practical +grievance to the farmer.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, we are far from maintaining +that the system of strict game +preservation is either wise or creditable, +and we shall state our arguments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_761" id="Page_761">[761]</a></span> +to the contrary hereafter. At present +let us proceed with Mr Welford.</p> + +<p>About one-half, or even more, of +this volume, is occupied with evidence +to prove that the preservation of +game upon an estate is more or less +detrimental to the crops. Who denies +it? Pheasants, though they may feed +a great deal upon wild seeds and insects, +are unquestionably fond of corn—so +are partridges; and hares and +rabbits have too good taste to avoid +a field of clover or of turnips. And +shall this—says Mr Bright, having +recourse to a late rhetoric—shall this +be permitted in a Christian or a civilised +country? Are there not thousands +of poor to whom that grain, +wasted upon mere vermin, would be +precious? Are our aristocracy so selfish +as to prefer the encouragement of +brute animals to the lives of their fellow +men? &c. &c; to all of which +eloquent bursts the pious Mr Welford +subjoins his ditto and Amen. +For our own part, we can see no +reason why hares, and pheasants, +and partridges, should not be fed as +well as Quakers. While living they +are undoubtedly more graceful creatures, +when dead they are infinitely +more valuable. When removed from +this scene of transitory trouble, Mr +Bright, except in an Owhyhean market, +would fetch a less price than an +ordinary rabbit. Our taste may be +peculiar, but we would far rather see +half-a-dozen pretty leverets at play in +a pasture field of an evening, than as +many hulking members of the Anti-Corn-Law +League performing a ponderous +saraband. Vermin indeed! +Did Mr Bright ever see a Red-deer? +We shrewdly suspect not; and if, +peradventure, he were to fall in with +the monarch of the wilderness in the +rutting season, somewhere about the +back of Schehallion or the skirts of +the moor of Rannoch, there would be +a yell loud enough to startle the cattle +on a thousand hills, and a rapid +disparition of the drab-coloured integuments +into the bosom of a treacherous +peat-bog. But a Red-deer, too, +will eat corn, and often of a moonlight +night his antlers may be seen +waving in the crofts of the upland +tenant; therefore, according to Mr +Bright, he too is vermin, and must +be exterminated accordingly.</p> + +<p>And this brings us to Mr Welford's +grand remedy, which is abundantly +apparent from the notes and commentaries +interspersed throughout the +volume. This gentleman, in the plenitude +of his consideration for the +well-being of his country, is deliberately +of opinion that game should be +exterminated altogether! Here is a +bloody-minded fellow for you with a +vengeance!</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"What! all my pretty chickens and their dam!<br /></span> +<span class="i1">Did you say all?"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>What! shall not a single hare, or +pheasant, or partridge, or plover, or +even a solitary grouse, be spared from +the swoop of this destroying kite? +Not one. Richard Griffiths Welford, +Esquire, Barrister-at-law, has undertaken +to rouse the nation from its +deadly trance. Yet a few years, and +no more shall the crow of the gorcock +be heard on the purple heath, or +the belling of the deer in the forest, +or the call of the landrail in the field. +No longer shall we watch at evening +the roe gliding from the thicket, or +the hare dancing across the lawn. +They have committed a crime in a +free-tradeland—battened incontinently +upon corn and turnips—and, therefore, +they must all die! Grain, although +our ports are to be opened, +has now become a sacred thing, and +is henceforward to be dedicated to +the use of man alone. Therefore we +are not without apprehension that the +sparrows must die too, and the +thrushes and blackbirds—for they +make sad havoc in our dear utilitarian's +garden—and the larks, and the +rooks, and the pigeons. Voiceless +now must be our groves in the green +livery of spring. There shall be no +more chirping, or twittering, or philandering +among the branches—no +cooing or amorous dalliance, or pairing +on the once happy eve of St Valentine. +All the <i>fauna</i> of Britain—all +the melodists of the woods—must die! +In one vast pie must they be baked, +covered in with a monumental crust of +triumphant flour, through which their +little claws may appear supplicantly +peering upwards, as if to implore some +mercy for the surviving stragglers of +their race. But stragglers there cannot +be many. Timber, according to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_762" id="Page_762">[762]</a></span> +our patriotic Welford, is, "next to +game, the farmer's chief enemy!" +What miserable idiots our infatuated +ancestors must have been! They +thought that by planting they were +conferring a boon upon their country; +and in Scotland in particular they +strove most anxiously to redeem the +national reproach. But they were +utterly wrong: Welford has said it. +Timber is a nuisance—a sort of vegetable +vermin, we suppose—so down +must go Dodona and her oaks; and +the pride of the forests be laid for +ever low. Nothing in all broad England—and +we fear also with us—must +hereafter overtop the fields of wheat +except the hedgerows! Timber is +inimical to the farmer; therefore, free +be the winds to blow from the German +ocean to the Atlantic, without +encountering the resistance of +a single forest—no more tossing of +the branches or swaying of the stems—or +any thing save the steeples, fast +falling in an age of reason into decay, +the bulk of some monstrous workhouse, +as dingy and cheerless as a +prison, and the pert myriads of chimney-stalks +of the League belching +forth, in the face of heaven, their columns +of smoke and of pollution! +Happy England, when these things +shall come to pass, and not a tree or +a bush be left as a shelter for the +universal vermin! No—not quite +universal, for a respite will doubtless +be given to the persecuted races of +the badger, the hedgehog, the polecat, +the weasel, and the stoat. All these +are egg-eaters or game-consumers, +and so long as they keep to the hedgerows +and assist in the work of extermination, +they will not only be spared +but encouraged. Let them, however, +beware. So soon as the last egg of +the last English partridge is sucked, +and the last of the rabbits turned over +in convulsive throes, with the teeth of a +fierce little devil inextricably fastened +in its jugular—so soon as the rage of +hunger drives the present Pariahs of +the preserve to the hen-roost—human +forbearance is at an end, and their fate +also is sealed. The hen-harrier and +the sparrowhawk, so long as they +quarter the fields, pounce upon the +imprudent robin, or strike down the +lark while caroling upon the verge of +the cloud, will be considered in our +new state of society, as sacred animals +as the Ibis. But let them, after +having fulfilled their mission, deviate +from the integrity of their ways, and +come down upon a single ginger-pile, +peeping his dirty way over the shards +of a midden, towards his scrauching +and be-draggled mother—and the race +will be instantly proscribed. A few +years more, and, according to the +system of Messrs Bright and Welford, +not a single wild animal—could we +not also get rid of the insects?—will +be found within the confines of Great +Britain, except the gulls who live +principally upon fish; and possibly, +should there be a scarcity of herring, +it may be advisable to exterminate +them also.</p> + +<p>Here is a pretty state of matters! +First, there is to be no more sporting. +That, of course, in the eyes of Messrs +Bright and Welford, who know as +much about shooting as they do of +trigonometry, is a very minor consideration; +but even there we take +leave to dissent. Gouty and frail +as we are, we have yet a strong natural +appetite for the moors, and we shall +wrestle to the last for our privilege +with the sturdiest broadbrim in Quakerdom. +Our boys shall be bred as we +were, with their foot upon the heather, +in the manliest and most exhilarating +of all pastimes; and that because +we wish to see them brought up as +Christians and gentlemen, not as +puzzle-pated sceptics or narrow-minded +utilitarian theorists. We desire +to see them attain their full development, +both of mind and body—to +acquire a kindly and a keen relish +for nature—to love their sovereign +and their country—to despise all +chicanery and deceit—and to know +and respect the high-minded peasantry +and poor of their native land. +We have no idea that they shall be +confined in their exercise or their sports +to the public highway. We do not +look upon this earth or island as made +solely to produce corn for the supply +of Mr Bright and his forced population. +We wish that the youth of our +country should be taught that God has +created other beings besides the master +and the mechanic—that the beasts +of the field and the fowls of the air +have a value in their Maker's eye, +and that man has a commisson to use<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_763" id="Page_763">[763]</a></span> +them, but not to exterminate and +destroy. "My opinion is," says Mr +Bright, speaking with a slight disregard +to grammar, of the sporting propensities +of the landed gentry—"my +opinion is, that there are other pursuits +which it will better become them +to follow, and which it will be a thousand +times better for the country if +they turn their attention to them." +For Mr Bright's opinion, we have not +the smallest shadow of respect. We +can well believe that, personally, he +has not the slightest inclination to +participate in the sports of the field. +We cannot for a moment imagine +him in connexion with a hunting-field, +or toiling over moor or mountain +in pursuit of his game, or up to +his waist in a roaring river with a +twenty-pound salmon on his line, +making its direct way for the cataract. +In all and each of these situations we +are convinced that he would be utterly +misplaced. We can conceive him, and +no doubt he is, much at home in the +superintendence of the gloomy factory—in +the centre of a hecatomb of +pale human beings, who toil on day and +night in that close and stifling atmosphere, +as ceaselessly and almost as mechanically +as the wheels which drone +and whistle and clank above and +around them—in the midst of his +stores of calico, and cotton, and corduroy—in +the midnight councils of +the grasping League, or the front of +a degraded hustings. But from none +of these situations whatever, has he +any right to dictate to the gentlemen +of Britain what they should do, or +what they should leave undone. He +has neither an eye for nature, nor a +heart to participate in rural amusements. +And a very nice place an +English manor-house would be under +his peculiar superintendence and the +operation of the new regime! In the +morning we should meet, ladies and +gentlemen, in the breakfast-room, +all devoutly intent upon the active +demolition of the muffins. Tea and +coffee there are in abundance—but +not good, for the first has the +flavour of the hedges, and the second +reminds us villanously of Hunt's +roasted corn. There are eggs, however, +and on the sideboard rest a +large round of beef, with a thick margin +of rancid yellow fat, and a ham +which is literal hog's-lard. There are +no fish. The trouting stream has been +turned from its natural course to move +machinery, and now rolls to the +shrinking sea, not in native silver, +but in alternate currents of indigo, +ochre, or cochineal, according to the +hue most in request for the moment +at the neighbouring dye-work. In +vain you look about for grouse-pie, +cold partridge, snipe, or pheasant. +You might as well ask for a limb of +the ichthyosaurus as for a wing of +these perished animals. Deuce a creature +is there in the room except +bipeds, and they are all of the manufacturing +breed. You recollect the +days of old, when your entry into the +breakfast-room used to be affectionately +welcomed by terrier, setter, and spaniel, +and you wonder what has become +of these ancient inmates of the +family. On inquiry you are informed, +that—being non-productive animals, +and mere consumers of food which +ought to be reserved for the use of +man alone—they have one and all of +them been put to death: and your +host points rather complacently to +the effigy of old Ponto, who has been +stuffed by way of a specimen of an +extinct species, and who now glares +at you with glassy eyes from beneath +the shelter of the mahogany sideboard. +Tired of the conversation, +which is principally directed towards +the working of the new tariff, the last +improvement in printed calicoes, and +the prices of some kind of stock which +appears to fluctuate as unaccountably +as the barometer, you rise from table +and move towards the window in +hopes of a pleasant prospect. You +have it. The old park, which used to +contain some of the finest trees in +Britain—oaks of the Boscobel order, +and elms that were the boast of the +country—is now as bare as the palm +of your hand, and broken up into potato +allotments. The shrubbery and +flower parterres, with their elegant +terrace vases and light wire fences, +have disappeared. There is not a +bush beyond a few barberries, evidently +intended for detestable jam, nor +a flower, except some chamomiles, +which may be infused into a medicinal +beverage, and a dozen great +stringy coarse-looking rhubarbs, +enough to give you the dyspepsia, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_764" id="Page_764">[764]</a></span> +you merely imagine them in a tart. +At the bottom of the slope lies the +stream whereof we have spoken already, +not sinuous or fringed with +alders as of yore; but straight as an +arrow, and fashioned into the semblance +of a canal. It is spanned on +the part which is directly in front of +the windows, by a bridge on the skew +principle, the property of a railway +company; and at the moment you are +gazing on the landscape in a sort +of admiring trance, an enormous train +of coal and coke waggons comes rushing +by, and a great blast of smoke +and steam rolling past the house, +obscures for a moment the utilitarian +beauty of the scene. That dissipated, +you observe on the other side of the +canal several staring red brick buildings, +with huge chimney-stalks stinking +in the fresh, frosty morning air. +These are the factories of your host, +the source of his enviable wealth; +and yonder dirty village which you +see about half a mile to the right, +with its squab Unitarian lecture room, +is the abode of his honest artisans. +Nevertheless, you see nobody +stirring about. How should you? +The whole population is comfortably +housed, for the next twelve hours at +least, within brick, and assisting the +machinery to do its work. No idleness +now in England. Had you, indeed, +risen about five or six in the morning, +when the clatter of a sullen bell roused +you from your dreams of Jemima, +you might have seen some scores of +lanterns meandering like glow-worms +along the miry road which leads from +the village to the factories, until absorbed +within their early jaws. That +is the appointed time for the daily +emigration, and until all the taskwork +is done, no straggling whatever is +permitted. The furthest object in +view is a parallelogram Bastile on the +summit of a hill, once wooded to the +top, and well known to the rustics as +the place where the fullest nuts and +the richest May-flowers might be +gathered, but now in turnips, and you +are told that the edifice is the Union +Workhouse.</p> + +<p>Breakfast over, you begin to consider +how you shall fill up the dreary +vacuum which still yawns between +you and dinner. Of course you cannot +shoot, unless you are inclined to +take a day at the ducks and geese, +which would be rather an expensive +amusement. You covet a ride, and +propose a scamper across the country. +Our dear sir, it is as much as your life +is worth! What with canals and viaducts, +and railways and hedgerows, +you could not get over a mile without +either being plunged into water, or +knocked down by tow ropes, or run +into by locomotives, or pitched from +embankments, or impaled alive, or slain +by a stroke of electricity from some +telegraphic conductor! Recollect that +we are not now living in the days +of steeple-chasing. Then as to horses, +are you not aware that our host keeps +only two—and fine sleek, sturdy Flanders +brutes they are—for the purpose +of conveying Mrs Bobbins and her +progeny to the meeting-house? There +is no earthly occasion for any more +expensive stud. The railway station +is just a quarter of a mile from the +door, and Eclipse himself could never +match our new locomotives for speed. +But you may have a drive if you +please, and welcome. Where shall we +go to? There used to be a fine waterfall +at an easy distance, with rocks, +and turf, and wildflowers, and all that +sort of thing; and though the season +is a little advanced, we might still +make shift under the hazels and the +hollies; could we not invite the ladies +to accompany us, and extemporise a +pic-nic? Our excellent friend! that +waterfall exists no longer. It was a +mere useless waste; has been blown +up with gun-cotton; and the glen below +it turned into a reservoir for the +supply of a manufacturing town. The +hazels are all down, and the hollies +pounded into birdlime. And that fine +old baronial residence, where there +were such exquisite Claudes and +Ruysdaels? Oh! that estate was +bought by Mr Smalt the eminent +dyer, from the trustees of the late +Lord—the old mansion has been +pulled down, a cottage <i>ornée</i> built in +its place, and the pictures were long +ago transferred to the National Gallery. +And is there nothing at all +worth seeing in the county? Oh yes! +There is Tweel's new process for making +silk out of sow's ears, and Bottomson's +clothing mills, where you +see raw wool put into one end of the +machinery, and issue from the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_765" id="Page_765">[765]</a></span> +in the shape of ready-made breeches. +Then a Socialist lecture on the sin +and consequences of matrimony will +be delivered in the market-town at +two o'clock precisely, by Miss Lewdlaw—quite +a lady, I assure you—whom +you will afterwards meet at +dinner. Or you may, if you please, +attend the meeting of the Society for +the Propagation of a Natural Religion, +at which the Rev. Mr Scampson +will preside; or you may go down to +the factories, or any where else you +please, except the village, for there is +a great deal of typhus fever in it, and +we are a little apprehensive for the +children! You decline these tempting +offers, and resolve to spend the morning +in the house. Is there a billiard +room? How can you possibly suppose +it? Time, sir, is money; and +money is not to be made by knocking +about ivory balls. But there is the +library if you should like to study, +and plenty material within it. Delighted +at the prospect of passing +some congenial though solitary hours, +you enter the apartment, and, disregarding +the models upon the table, +which are intended to elucidate the +silk and sow's-ear process, you ransack +the book-shelves for some of your +ancient favourites. But in vain you +will search either for Shakspeare or +Scott, Milton or Fielding, Jeremy +Taylor or Blackwood's Edinburgh +Magazine: all these are proscribed +antiquities. Instead of these you will +find Essays by Hampden, junior, and +Ethics by Thistlewood, senior, Paine's +Age of Reason, Jeremy Bentham's +Treatises, Infanticide Vindicated, by +Herod Virginius Cackell, Esq., Member +of the Literary Institute of Owenstown, +Cobden's Speeches, Wheal's +Exposition of the Billy-roller, Grubb's +Practical Deist, Welford's Influences +of the Game Laws, and much more +such profitable reading. What would +you not give for a volume by Willison +Glass! Disgusted with this literary +miscellany, you chuck the Practical +Deist into the fire, and walk up-stairs +to rejoin the ladies. You find them +in the drawing-room hard at work +upon cross-stitch and pincushions for +the great Bazar which is shortly to +be opened under the auspices of the +Anti-Christian League, and you feel +for a moment like an intruder. But +Emily Bobbins, a nice girl, who will +have thirty thousand pounds when +her venerated sire is conveyed to +the Mausoleum of the Bobbinses, +and who has at this present moment +a very pretty face, trips up and +asks you for a contribution to her +yearly album. Yearly?—the phrase +is an odd one, and you crave explanation. +The blooming virgin informs you +that she edits an annual volume, popular +in certain circles, for the Society +for the Abolition of all Criminal +Punishment, she being a corresponding +Member; and she presents you with +last year's compilation. You open +the work, and find some literary <i>bijouterie</i> +by the disciples of the earnest +school, poems on the go-a-head principle, +and tales under such captivating +titles as the Virtuous Poacher, +Theresa, or the Heroine of the Workhouse, +and Walter Truck, an Easy +Way with the Mechanic. There are +also sundry political fragments by +the deep-thinkers of the age, from +which you discover that Regicide is +the simplest cure for "Flunkeyism, +Baseness, and Unveracity," and that +the soundest philosophers of the +world are two gentlemen, rejoicing +in the exotic names of Sauerteig and +Teufelsdröckh. You, being a believer +in the Book of Common Prayer, decline +to add your contribution to the +Miscellany, and make the best of +your way from the house for a stroll +upon the public highway. For some +hours you meander through the mud, +between rows of stiff hedges; not a +stage-coach, nor even a buggy is to +be seen. You sigh for the old green +lanes and shady places which have +now disappeared for ever, and you +begin to doubt whether, after all, regenerated +England is the happiest +country of the universe. It appears +an absolute desert. At a turn of a +road you come in sight of a solitary +venerable crow—the sole surviving +specimen of his race still extant in +the county—whose life is rendered +bitter by a system of unceasing persecution. +He mistakes you for Mr +Richard Griffiths Welford, and, with +a caw of terror, takes flight across +a Zahara of Swedish turnips. On +your way home you meet with three +miserable children who are picking +the few unwithered leaves from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_766" id="Page_766">[766]</a></span> +hedges. You cross-question them, +and ascertain that they receive a +salary of twopence a-day from the +owner of the truck-shop at the factory, +in return for their botanical collections. +You think of China, with a +strong conviction of the propriety of +becoming a Mandarin.</p> + +<p>At dinner you are seated betwixt +Miss Lewdlaw and the Rev. Mr +Scampson. The appearance of the +lady convinces you that she has excellent +reasons for her deep-rooted +hatred of matrimony—for what serpent +(in his senses) would have tempted +that dropsical Eve? The gentleman +is a bold, sensual-lipped, pimply +individual, attired in a rusty suit +of black, the very picture of a brutal +Boanerges. He snorts during his +repast, clutches with his huge red +fingers, whereof the nails are absolute +ebony, at every dish within his reach, +and is constantly shouting for a dram. +The dinner is a plentiful one, but ill-cooked +and worse served; and the +wines are simply execrable. Very +drearily lags the time until the ladies +rise to retire, a movement which is +greeted by Mr Scampson with a coarse +joke and a vulgar chuckle. Then begin +the sweets of the evening. Old +Bobbins draws your especial attention +to his curious old free-trade port, +at eighteen shillings the dozen; and +very curious, upon practical examination, +you will find it. After three +glasses, you begin to suspect that you +have swallowed a live crab unawares, +and you gladly second Mr Scampson +in his motion for something hot. The +conversation then becomes political, +and, to a certain extent, religious. +Bobbins, who has a brother in Parliament, +is vehement in his support of +the Twenty Hours' Labour Bill, and +insists upon the necessity of a measure +for effectually coercing apprentices. +Bugsley, his opposite neighbour, +can talk of nothing but stock +and yarn. But Scampson, in right of +his calling, takes the lion's share of +the conversation. He denounces the +Church, not yet dis-established—hopes +to see the day when every Bishop +upon the Bench shall be brought to +the block—and stigmatises the Universities +as the nests of bigotry and +intolerance. With many oaths, he +declares his conviction that Robespierre +was a sensible fellow—and as +he waxes more furious over each +successive tumbler, you wisely think +that there may be some danger +in contradicting so virulent a champion, +and steal from the room at +the first convenient opportunity. In +the drawing-room you find Miss +Lewdlaw descanting upon her favourite +theories. She is expounding +to Emily Bobbins her rights as a +socialist and a woman, and illustrating +her lecture by some quotations +from the works of Aurora Dudevant. +The sweet girl, evidently under the +magnetic influence of her preceptress, +regards you with a humid eye and +flushed cheek as you enter; but having +no fancy to approach the charmed +circle of the Lewdlaw, you keep at +the other end of the room, and amuse +yourself with an illustrated copy of +Jack Sheppard. In a short time, +Bobbins, Bugsley, and Scampson, the +last partially inebriated, make their +appearance; and an animated erotic +dialogue ensues between the gentleman +in dubious orders, and the disciple +of Mary Wolstonecraft. You +begin to feel uncomfortable, and as +Bugsley is now snoring, and Bobbins +attempting to convince his helpmate +of the propriety of more brandy and +water, you desert the drawing-room, +bolt up-stairs, pack your portmanteau, +and go to bed with a firm resolution +to start next morning by the earliest +train; and as soon as possible to ascertain +whether Jemima will consent +to accompany you to Canada or Australia, +or some other uncivilised part +of the world where trees grow, waters +run, and animals exist as nature has +decreed, and where the creed of the +socialist and jargon of the factory +are fortunately detested or unknown.</p> + +<p>Such, gentle reader, is the England +which the patriots of the Bright school +are desirous to behold; and such it +may become if we meekly and basely +yield to revolutionary innovations, +and conciliate every demagogue by +adopting his favourite nostrum. We +have certainly been digressing a good +deal further than is our wont; but we +trust you will not altogether disapprove +of our expedition to the new +Utopia. We hope that your present, +and a great many future Christmasses +may be spent more pleasantly; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_767" id="Page_767">[767]</a></span> +that, in your day at least, peace may +never be effected at the expense of a +virtual solitude. Let us now consider +what alterations may properly +and humanely be made upon the present +existing Game laws.</p> + +<p>On the whole, we are inclined to +agree with the resolutions adopted by +the committee. These appear to recognise +the principle of a qualified +right of property in game, and that +this property is now vested in the +<i>occupier</i> of the soil. By this rule +which may if necessary be declared +by enactment, the tenant has at all +times the power to secure the game +to himself, unless he chooses to part +with that right by special bargain. It +is of course inconsistent with this +qualified right of property, that any +person should kill game upon lands +which he is not privileged to enter; +and the committee are therefore of +opinion, that the violation of that +right should still continue to be visited +with legal penalties. But they +think—and in this we most cordially +agree with them—that considerable +alteration should be made in the present +penal code, and that, in particular, +cumulative penalties for poaching +should be abolished. It is monstrous +that such penalties, to which the +poorer classes in this country are +most peculiarly liable, should be any +longer allowed to exist, while the +offence which these are intended to +punish is in every proper sense a +single one. We are inclined to get +rid of every difficulty on this head by +an immediate discontinuance of the +certificates. The amount of revenue +drawn from these is really insignificant, +and in many cases it must stand +in the way of a fair exercise of his +privilege by the humbler occupant of +the soil. If a poor upland crofter, who +rents an acre or two from a humane +landlord, and who has laid out part +of it in a garden, should chance to +see, of a clear frosty night, a hare +insinuate herself through the fence, +and demolish his winter greens—it is +absolute tyranny to maintain, that he +may not reach down the old rusty +fowling-piece from the chimney, take +a steady vizzy at puss, and tumble +her over in the very act of her delinquency, +without having previously +paid over for the use of her gracious +Majesty some four pounds odds; or +otherwise to be liable in a penalty of +twenty pounds, with the pleasant +alternative of six months' imprisonment! +In such a case as this the man +is not sporting; he is merely protecting +his own, is fairly entitled to convert +his enemy into wholesome soup, +and should be allowed to do so with a +conscience void of offence towards +God or man. We must have no +state restrictions or qualifications to +a right of property which may be enjoyed +by the smallest cotter, and no +protective laws to debar him from the +exercise of his principle. And therefore +it is that we advocate the immediate +abolition of the certificate.</p> + +<p>What the remaining penalty should +be is matter for serious consideration. +It appears evident that the common +law of redress is not sufficient. Game +is at best but a qualified property; for +your interest in it ceases the moment +that it leaves your land; but still you +<i>have</i> an interest, may be a considerable +pecuniary loser by its infringement, +and therefore you are entitled +to demand an adequate protection. +But then it is hardly possible, when +we consider what human nature with +all its powerful instincts is, to look +upon poaching in precisely the same +light with theft. By no process of +mental ratiocination can you make a +sheep out of a hare. You did not +buy the creature, it is doubtful +whether you bred it, and in five +minutes more it may be your neighbour's +property, and that of its own +accord. You cannot even reclaim it, +though born in your private hutch. +Now this is obviously a very slippery +kind of property; and the poor man—who +knows these facts quite as well +as the rich, and who is moreover +cursed with a craving stomach, a +large family, and a strong appetite +for roast—is by no means to be considered, +morally or equitably, in the +same light with the ruffian who commits +a burglary for the sake of your +money, or carries away your sheep +from the fold. It ought to be, if it is +not, a principle in British law, that the +temptation should be considered before +adjudging upon the particular offence. +The schoolboy—whose natural +propensity for fruit has been roused +by the sight of some far too tempting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_768" id="Page_768">[768]</a></span> +pippins, and who, in consequence, +has undertaken the hazard of a midnight +foray—is, if detected in the act, +subjected to no further penalty than +a pecuniary mulct or a thrashing, especially +if his parents belong to the more +respectable classes of society. And +yet this is a theft as decided and more +inexcusable, than if the nameless +progeny of a vagrant should, hunger-urged, +filch a turnip or two from +a field, and be pounced upon by some +heartless farmer, who considers that +he is discharging every heavenly and +earthly duty if he pays his rent and +taxes with unscrupulous punctuality. +It is a crying injustice that any +trifling piccadillo on the part of the +poor or their children, should be treated +with greater severity than is used in +the case of the rich. This is neither +an equitable nor a Christian rule. We +have no right to subject the lowest of +the human family to a contamination +from which we would shrink to expose +the highest; and the true sense of +justice and of charity, which, after +all, we believe to be deeply implanted +in the British heart, will, we trust, +before long, spare us the continual +repetition of class Pariahs of infant +years brought forward in small courts +of justice for no other apparent reason +than to prove, that our laws care more +leniently for the rich than they do for +the offspring of the poor.</p> + +<p>While, therefore, we consider it just +that game should be protected otherwise +than by the law of trespass, we +would not have the penalty made, in +isolated cases, a harsh one. A trespass +in pursuit of game should, we think, +be punished in the first instance by a +fine, not so high as to leave the +labourer no other alternative than the +jail, or so low as to make the payment +of it a matter of no importance. Let +Giles, who has intromitted with a +pheasant, be mulcted in a week's +wages, and let him, at the same time, +distinctly understand the nature and +the end of the career in which he has +made the incipient step. Show him +that an offence, however venial, becomes +materially aggravated by repetition; +for it then assumes the character +of a daring and wilful defiance of +the laws of the realm. For the second +of offence mulct him still, but higher, and +let the warning be more solemnly +repeated. These penalties might be inflicted +by a single justice of the peace. +But if Giles offends a third time, his +case becomes far more serious, and he +should be remitted to a higher tribunal. +It is now almost clear that he has become +a confirmed poacher, and determined +breaker of the laws—it is more than +likely that money is his object. Leniency +has been tried without success, +and it is now necessary to show him that +the law will not be braved with impunity. +Three months' imprisonment, +with hard labour, should be inflicted +for the purpose of reclaiming him; and +if, after emerging from prison, he +should again offend, let him forthwith +be removed from the country.</p> + +<p>Some squeamish people may object +to our last proposal as severe. We +do not think it so. The original +nature of the offence has become +entirely changed; for it must be +allowed on all hands, that habitual +breach of the laws is a very different +thing from a casual effraction. It +would be cruelty to transport an +urchin for the first handkerchief he +has stolen; but after his fourth +offence, that punishment becomes an +actual mercy. Nor should the moral +effect produced by the residence of +a determined poacher in any neighbourhood +be overlooked. A poacher +can rarely carry on his illicit trade +without assistance: he entices boys +by offering them a share in his gains, +introduces them to the beer and the +gin shop, and thus they are corrupted +for life. It is sheer nonsense to say +that poaching does not lead to other +crimes. It leads in the first instance +to idleness, which we know to be the +parent of all crime; and it rapidly +wears away all finer sense of the +distinction between <i>meum</i> and <i>tuum</i>. +From poacher the transition to smuggler +is rapid and easy, and your smuggler +is usually a desperado. With all +deference to Mr Welford, his conclusion, +that poaching should be prevented +by the entire extermination of +game, is a most pitiable instance of +calm imperturbable imbecility. He +might just as well say that the only +means of preventing theft is the total +destruction of property, and the true +remedy for murder the annihilation +of the human race.</p> + +<p>We agree also with the committee,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_769" id="Page_769">[769]</a></span> +that some distinction must be made +between cases of simple poaching, +and those which are perpetrated by +armed and daring gangs. To these +banditti almost every instance of assault +and murder connected with +poaching is traceable, and the sooner +such fellows are shipped off to hunt +kangaroos in Australia the better. +But we think that such penalties as +we have indicated above, would in +most cases act as a practical detention +from this offence, and would certainly +remove all ground for complaint +against the unnecessary severity of +the law.</p> + +<p>With regard to the destruction of +crops by game, especially when caused +by the preserves of a neighbouring +proprietor, the committee seems to +have been rather at a loss to deal. +And there is certainly a good deal of +difficulty in the matter. For on the +one hand, the game, while committing +the depredation, is clearly not the +property of the preserver, and may +of course be killed by the party to +whose ground it passes: on the other +hand, it usually returns to the preserve +after all the damage has been done. +This seems to be one of the few instances +in which the law can afford no +remedy. The neighbouring farmer may +indeed either shoot in person, or let +the right of shooting to another; and +in most cases he has the power to do +so—for if his own landlord is also a +preserver, it is not likely that the +damage will be aggravated—and he +has taken his farm in the full knowledge +of the consequences of game preservation. +Still there must always +remain an evil, however partial, and +this leads us to address a few words +to the general body of the game-preservers.</p> + +<p>Gentlemen, some of you are not altogether +without fault in this matter. +You have given a handle to accusations, +which your enemies—and they +are the enemies also of the true +interests of the country—have been +eager and zealous in using. You +have pushed your privileges too far, +and, if you do not take care, you will +raise a storm which it may be very +difficult to allay. What, in the name +of common sense, is the use of this +excessive preserving? You are not +blamed, nor are you blamable, for +reserving the right of sporting in your +own properties to yourselves; but why +make your game such utterly sacred +animals? Why encourage their over-increase +to such a degree as must naturally +injure yourselves by curtailing +your rent; and which, undoubtedly, +whatever be his bargain, must irritate +the farmer, and lessen that harmony +and good-will which ought to exist betwixt +you both? Is it for sport you do +these things? If so, your definition +of sport must be naturally different +from ours. The natural instinct of +the hunter, which is implanted in the +heart of man, is in some respects +a noble one. He does not, even +in a savage state, pursue his game, +like a wild beast of prey, merely for +the sake of his appetite—he has a joy +in the strong excitement and varied +incidents of the chase. The wild +Indian and the Norman disciple of St +Hubert, alike considered it a science; +and so it is even now to us who follow +our pastime upon the mountains, and +who must learn to be as wary and alert +as the creatures which we seek to kill. +The mere skill of the marksman has +little to do with the real enjoyment of +sport. That may be as well exhibited +upon a target as upon a living +object, and surely there is no pleasure +at all in the mere wanton destruction +of life. The true sportsman takes +delight in the sagacity and steadiness +of his dogs—in seeking for the different +wild animals each in its peculiar +haunt—and his relish is all the keener +for the difficulty and uncertainty of +his pursuit. Such at least is our idea +of sport, and we should know something +about it, having carried a gun +almost as long as we can remember. +But it is possible we may be getting +antiquated in our notions. Two +months ago we took occasion to make +some remarks upon the modern +murders on the moors, and we are +glad to observe that our humane +doctrine has been received with almost +general acquiescence. We must +now look to the doings at the Manor +House, at which, Heaven be praised, +we never have assisted; but the bruit +thereof has gone abroad, and we believe +the tidings to be true.</p> + +<p>We have heard of game preserved +over many thousands of acres, not +waste, but yellow corn-land, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_770" id="Page_770">[770]</a></span> +many an intervening belt of noble +wood and copse, until the ground +seems actually alive with the number +of its animal occupants. The large, +squat, sleek hares lie couched in every +furrow; each thistle-tuft has its lurking +rabbit; and ceaseless at evening +is the crow of the purple-necked +pheasant from the gorse. The crops +ripen, and are gathered in, not so +plentifully as the richness of the land +would warrant, but still strong and +heavy. The partridges are now seen +running in the stubble-fields, or sunning +themselves on some pleasant +bank, so secure that they hardly will +take the trouble to fly away as you +approach, but generally slip through +a hedge, and lie down upon the other +side. And no wonder; for not only +has no gun been fired over the whole +extensive domain, though the autumn +is now well advanced; but a cordon +of gamekeepers extends along the +whole skirts of the estate, and neither +lurcher nor poacher can manage to +effect an entrance. Within ten minutes +after they had set foot within +the guarded territory, the first would +be sprawling upon his back in the +agonies of death, and the second on +his way to the nearest justice of peace, +with two pairs of knuckles uncomfortably +lodged within the innermost folds +of his neckcloth. The proprietor, a +middle-aged gentleman of sedentary +habits, does not, in all probability, +care much about sporting. If he does, +he rents a moor in Scotland, where he +amuses himself until well on in October, +and then feels less disposed for a +tamer and a heavier sport. But in +November he expects, after his ancient +hospitable fashion, to have a select +party at the manor-house, and he is +desirous of affording them amusement. +They arrive, to the number, perhaps, +of a dozen males, some of then persons +of an elevated rank, or of high +political connexion. There is considerable +commotion on the estate. +The staff of upper and under keepers +assemble with a large train of beaters +before the baronial gateway. They +bring with them neither pointers nor +setters—these old companions of the +sportsman are useless in a battue; +but there are some retrievers in the +leash, and a few well-broken spaniels. +It is quite a scene for Landseer—that +antique portico, with the group before +it, and the gay and sloping uplands +illuminated by a clear winter's sun. +The guests sally forth, all mirth +and spirits, and the whole party proceed +to an appointed cover. Then +begins the massacre. There is a +shouting and rustling of beaters: at +every step the gorgeous pheasant +whirs from the bush, or the partridge +glances slopingly through the trees, +or the woodcock wings his way on +scared and noiseless pinion. Rabbits +by the hundred are scudding distractedly +from one pile of brushwood +to another. Loud cries of "Mark!" are +heard on every side, and at each shout +there is the explosion of a fowling-piece. +No time now to stop and load. +The keeper behind you is always ready +with a spare gun. How he manages +to cram in the powder and shot so +quickly is an absolute matter of marvel; +for you let fly at every thing, and +have lost all regard to the ordinary +calculations of distance. You had +better take care of yourself, however, +for you are getting into a thicket, and +neither Sir Robert, who is on your +right, nor the Marquis, who is your +left-hand neighbour, are remarkable +for extra caution, and the Baronet, +in particular, is short-sighted. We +don't quite like the appearance of that +hare which is doubling back. You had +better try to stop her before she reaches +that vista in the wood. Bang!—you +miss, and, at the same moment, a +charge of number five, from the weapon +of the Vavasour, takes effect +upon the corduroys of your thigh, +and, though the wound is but skin-deep, +makes you dance an extempore +fandango.</p> + +<p>And so you go on from cover +to cover, for five successive hours, +through this rural poultry-yard, slaying, +and, what is worse, wounding +without slaying, beyond all ordinary +calculation. You have had a good +day's amusement, have you? Our +dear sir, in the estimation of any +sensible man or thorough sportsman, +you might as well have been amusing +yourself with a ride in the heart of +Falkirk Tryst, or assisting at one of +those German Jagds, where the deer +are driven into inclosures, and shot +down to the music of lute, harp, +cymbal, dulcimer, sackbut, and psaltery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_771" id="Page_771">[771]</a></span> +In fact, between ourselves, it +is not a thing to boast of, and the +amusement is, to say the least of it, +an expensive one. For the sake of +giving you, and the Marquis, and Sir +Robert, and a few more, two or three +days' sport, your host has sacrificed a +great part of the legitimate rental of +his estate—has maintained, from one +end of the year to the other, all those +personages in fustian and moleskin—and +has, moreover, made his tenantry +sulky. Do you think the price paid +is in any way compensated by the +value received? Of course not. You +are a man of sense, and therefore, +for the future, we trust that you will +set your face decidedly against the +battue system: shoot yourself, as a +gentleman ought to do—or, if you do +not care about it, give permission to +your own tenantry to do so. Rely +upon it, they will not abuse the +privilege.</p> + +<p>The fact is, there never should be +more than two coveys in one field, or +half-a-dozen hares in each moderate +slip of plantation. That, believe us, +with the accession you will derive from +your neighbours, is quite sufficient +to keep you in exercise during the +season, and to supply your table with +game. No tenant whatever will object +to find food for such a stock. If +you want more exciting sport, come +north next August, and we shall take +you to a moor which is preserved by +a single shepherd's herd, where you +may kill your twenty brace a-day for +a month, and have a chance of a red-deer +into the bargain. But, if you +will not leave the south, do not, we +beseech you, turn yourself into a hen-wife, +and become ridiculous as a +hatcher of pheasants' eggs. The thing, +we are told, has been done by gentlemen +of small property, for the purpose +of getting up an appearance of +game: it would be quite as sane a +proceeding to improve the beauty of a +prospect by erecting cast-iron trees. +Above all things, whatever you do, +remember that you are the denizen of +a free country, where individual rights, +however sacred in themselves, must +not be extended to the injury of those +around you.</p> + +<p>To say the truth, we have observed +with great pain, that a far too exclusive +spirit has of late manifested itself +in certain high places, and among persons +whom we regard too much to be +wholly indifferent to their conduct. +This very summer the public press has +been indignant in its denunciation of +the Dukes of Atholl and Leeds—the one +having, as it is alleged, attempted to +shut up a servitude road through Glen +Tilt, and the other established a cordon +for many miles around the skirts +of Ben-na-Mac-Dhui, our highest +Scottish mountain. We are not fully +acquainted with the particulars; but +from what we have heard, it would +appear that this wholesale exclusion +from a vast tract of territory is intended +to secure the solitude of two +deer-forests. Now, we are not going +to argue the matter upon legal +grounds—although, knowing something +of law, we have a shrewd suspicion +that both noble lords are in +utter misconception of their rights, +and are usurping a sovereignty which +is not to be found in their charters, +and which was never claimed or +exercised even by the Scottish Kings. +But the churlishness of the step is +undeniable, and we cannot but hope +that it has proceeded far more on +thoughtlessness than from intention. +The day has been, when any clansman, +or even any stranger, might +have taken a deer from the forest, +tree from the hill, or a salmon from +the river, without leave asked or +obtained: and though that state of +society has long since passed away, +we never till now have heard that the +free air of the mountains, and their +heather ranges, are not open to him +who seeks them. Is it indeed come +to this, that in bonny Scotland, the +tourist, the botanist, or the painter, +are to be debarred from visiting the +loveliest spots which nature ever +planted in the heart of a wilderness, +on pretence that they disturb the +deer! In a few years we suppose Ben +Lomond will be preserved, and the +summit of Ben Nevis remain as unvisited +by the foot of the traveller +as the icy peak of the Jungfrau. Not +so, assuredly, would have acted the +race of Tullibardine of yore. Royal +were their hunting gatherings, and +magnificent the driving of the Tinchel; +but over all their large territory +of Atholl, the stranger might have +wandered unquestioned, except to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_772" id="Page_772">[772]</a></span> +know if he required hospitality. It is +not now the gate which is shut, but +the moor; and that not against the +depredator, but against the peaceful +wayfaring man. Nor can we as +sportsmen admit even the relevancy +of the reasons which have been assigned +for this wholesale exclusion. We +are convinced, that in each season +not above thirty or forty tourists +essay the ascent of Ben-na-Mac-Dhui, +and of that number, in all probability, +not one has either met or startled a +red deer. Very few men would venture +to strike out a devious path for +themselves over the mountains near +Loch Aven, which, in fact, constitute +the wildest district of the island. The +Quaker tragedy of Helvellyn might +easily be re-enacted amidst the dreary +solitudes of Cairn Gorm, and months +elapse before your friends are put in +possession of some questionable bones. +Nothing but enthusiasm will carry a +man through the intricacies of Glen +Lui, the property of Lord Fife, to +whom it was granted at no very distant +period of time out of the forfeited +Mar estates, and which is presently +rented by the Duke of Leeds; and +nothing more absurd can be supposed, +than that the entry of a single wanderer +into that immense domain, can +have the effect of scaring the deer +from the limits of so large a range. +This is an absurd and an empty excuse, +as every deer-stalker must know. +A stag is not so easily frightened, nor +will he fly the country from terror +at the apparition of the Cockney. +Depend upon it, the latter will be a +good deal the more startled of the two. +With open mouth and large gooseberry +eyes, he will stand gazing upon +the vision of the Antlered Monarch; +the sketch-book and pencil-case drop +from his tremulous hands, and he +stands aghast in apprehension of a +charge of horning, against which he +has no defence save a cane camp-stool, +folded up into the semblance of +a yellow walking-stick. Not so the +Red-deer. For a few moments he will +regard the Doudney-clad wanderer +of the wilds, not in fear but in surprise; +and then, snuffing the air which +conveys to his nostrils an unaccustomed +flavour of bergamot and lavender, +he will trot away over the +shoulder of the hill, move further up +the nearest corrie, and in a quarter of +an hour will be lying down amidst +his hinds in the thick brackens that +border the course of the lonely burn.</p> + +<p>We could say a great deal more +upon this subject; but we hope that +expansion is unnecessary. Throughout +all Europe the right of passage +over waste and uncultivated land, +where there never were and never +can be inclosures, appears to be +universally conceded. What would +his Grace of Leeds say, if he were +told that the Bernese Alps were shut +up, and the liberty of crossing them +denied, because some Swiss seigneur +had taken it into his head to establish +a chamois preserve? The idea of +preserving deer in the way now attempted +is completely modern, and +we hope will be immediately abandoned. +It must not, for the sake of +our country, be said, that in Scotland, +not only the inclosures, but the wilds +and the mountains are shut out from +the foot of man; and that, where no +highway exists, he is debarred from +the privilege of the heather. Whatever +may be the abstract legal +rights of the aristocracy, we protest +against the policy and propriety of a +system which would leave Ben +Cruachan to the eagles, and render +Loch Ericht and Loch Aven as inaccessible +as those mighty lakes +which are said to exist in Central +Africa, somewhere about the sources +of the Niger.</p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_773" id="Page_773"> </a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>INDEX TO VOL. LX.</h2> + + +<div class="noind"> +Abd-el-Kader, sketches of, 348.<br /> +<br /> +Adelaide, Queen, anecdote of, 584.<br /> +<br /> +Advice to an intending Serialist, 590.<br /> +<br /> +Affghanistan, sketch of the recent history of, 540.<br /> +<br /> +Agave Americana, the, 266.<br /> +<br /> +Agriculture in Mexico, 266.<br /> +<br /> +Aird, Thomas, a summer day by, 277.<br /> +<br /> +Aire, siege of, 529.<br /> +<br /> +Algeria, 534.<br /> +<br /> +America, effects of the discovery of, 261.<br /> +<br /> +Americans and Aborigines, the, a tale of the short war—Part Last, 45.<br /> +<br /> +Anhalt, Prince of, 529.<br /> +<br /> +Annals and antiquities of London, , <a href="#Page_673">673</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Anti-corn-law league, the, 250.<br /> +<br /> +Arabs, sketches of the, 341.<br /> +<br /> +Army, the, 129<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—present defects in, and their improvement, 131</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—punishments, 133</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—rewards, 136</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—sale of commissions, 137</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—education, 138</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—dress, 142.</span><br /> +<br /> +Arras, siege of, 527.<br /> +<br /> +Ascherson, Herr, 101.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Badger, habits of the, 497.<br /> +<br /> +Barrados, General, defeat of, 274.<br /> +<br /> +Barrett, Miss, poems by, 488.<br /> +<br /> +Bautzen, battle of, 579.<br /> +<br /> +Ben Douda, an Arab chief, 341.<br /> +<br /> +Bethune, capture of, 528.<br /> +<br /> +Blanco, General, 2.<br /> +<br /> +Blidah, town of, 339.<br /> +<br /> +Bocca di Cattaro, the, 431.<br /> +<br /> +Bona, town of, 344.<br /> +<br /> +Boston, town of, 474.<br /> +<br /> +Bouchain, siege of, 537.<br /> +<br /> +Bright, Mr, on the game laws, , <a href="#Page_757">757</a>.<br /> +<br /> +British Association, remarks on the, 640.<br /> +<br /> +Burnes, Sir Alexander, murder of, 553.<br /> +<br /> +Bustamente, president of Mexico, 274.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Cabanero, General, 302.<br /> +<br /> +Cabellos' life of Cabrera, 295.<br /> +<br /> +Cabrera, sketch of the career of, 293.<br /> +<br /> +Callao, fort of, 3.<br /> +<br /> +Canada, sketches of, 464.<br /> +<br /> +Carbunculo of Peru, the, 193.<br /> +<br /> +Carlist war, sketches of the, 293.<br /> +<br /> +Carnicer, Colonel, 293, 294.<br /> +<br /> +Carnival in Peru, the, 9.<br /> +<br /> +Castel Fuerte, viceroy of Peru, 7.<br /> +<br /> +Cathedral of Mexico, the, 269.<br /> +<br /> +Cattaro, town of, 431.<br /> +<br /> +Cerro de Parco, silver mines of, 182.<br /> +<br /> +Change on Change, 492.<br /> +<br /> +Charles Russell, the gentleman commoner, Chap. I., 145<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. II., 309.</span><br /> +<br /> +Chili, war of, with Peru, 2.<br /> +<br /> +Christina of Spain, notices of, , <a href="#Page_741">741</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Coco-tree of Peru, the, 189.<br /> +<br /> +Columbus, from Schiller, 333.<br /> +<br /> +Commissions, sale of, in the army, 137.<br /> +<br /> +Condé, Prince of, , <a href="#Page_704">704</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Conde's Daughter, the, 496.<br /> +<br /> +Condor, the, 3.<br /> +<br /> +Cookery and Civilisation, 238.<br /> +<br /> +Cordilleras of Peru, the, 181.<br /> +<br /> +Corn-law repeal, on the, 249.<br /> +<br /> +Cortes, armour of, 270<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—conquest of Mexico by, 272.</span><br /> +<br /> +Coursing, passion for, in Peru, 15.<br /> +<br /> +Creoles of Peru, the, 8.<br /> +<br /> +Criminal law, on the, , <a href="#Page_721">721</a>.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Dance, the, from Schiller, 480.<br /> +<br /> +Dead Rose, a, by E. B. Barrett, 491.<br /> +<br /> +Death of Zumalacarregui, the, 56.<br /> +<br /> +Dedomenicis, Signor, 103.<br /> +<br /> +Dejazet the actress, 413.<br /> +<br /> +Denmark, sketches of, , <a href="#Page_645">645</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Diseases of Peru, the, 179, 181.<br /> +<br /> +Ditmarschers, the, , <a href="#Page_646">646</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Dost Mohammed, sketch of the life of, 540.<br /> +<br /> +Douay, siege of, 525.<br /> +<br /> +Drama, the romantic, 161.<br /> +<br /> +Dramatic mysteries in Peru, 187.<br /> +<br /> +Dress of the army, the, 143.<br /> +<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_774" id="Page_774">[774]</a></span>Dudevant, Madame, 423.<br /> +<br /> +Dumas, Alexander, notices of, 417.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Earthquakes in Lima, 13.<br /> +<br /> +Education of the soldier, on the, 138.<br /> +<br /> +Elinor Travis, a tale, Chap. II., 83.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chapter the Last, 444.</span><br /> +<br /> +England in the new world, 464.<br /> +<br /> +English Hexameters, letters on,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter I., 19</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter II., 327</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter III., 477.</span><br /> +<br /> +English Poor laws, operation of the, 555.<br /> +<br /> +Epic poem, on the, 163.<br /> +<br /> +Espartero, General, 301.<br /> +<br /> +Espinoza, Major, anecdote of, 303.<br /> +<br /> +Esteller, death of, 303.<br /> +<br /> +Eugene, Prince, 34, , <a href="#Page_698">698</a>.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Fergusson's notes of a professional life, review of, 129.<br /> +<br /> +Fishes of Peru, the, 18.<br /> +<br /> +Flogging in the army, on, 133.<br /> +<br /> +France, state of criminal procedure in, , <a href="#Page_721">721</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Free trade, on, 249.<br /> +<br /> +Frieslanders, the, , <a href="#Page_651">651</a>.<br /> +<br /> +From Schiller, 333.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Game laws, on the, , <a href="#Page_754">754</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Gaming, prevalence of, in Mexico, 267.<br /> +<br /> +Germany, state of criminal law in, , <a href="#Page_721">721</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Ghent, capture of, by Marlborough, 23.<br /> +<br /> +Girardin, M., 420.<br /> +<br /> +Gomez, General, 299.<br /> +<br /> +Guano deposits in Peru, the, 17.<br /> +<br /> +Gutzkow's Paris, review of, 411.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Hanging bridges of Peru, the, 182.<br /> +<br /> +Hector in the garden, by Elizabeth B. Barrett, 493.<br /> +<br /> +Heron, habits of the, 397.<br /> +<br /> +Hexameters, English, letters on<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter I., 19.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter II., 327.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter III., 477.</span><br /> +<br /> +Hidalgos, insurrection of, in Mexico, 272.<br /> +<br /> +Highland wild sports, 389.<br /> +<br /> +Historical romance, on the, 162.<br /> +<br /> +Hochelaga, or England in the New World, review of, 464.<br /> +<br /> +Holsche, Lieutenant, anecdotes of, 587, 588.<br /> +<br /> +Holstein, sketches of, , <a href="#Page_645">645</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Honour to the Plough, 613.<br /> +<br /> +Horses of Algeria, the, 345<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—of Peru, 11.</span><br /> +<br /> +How I became a Yeoman—Chap. I., 358<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. II., 362</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. III., 366</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. IV., 371.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. V., 374.</span><br /> +<br /> +How to build a house and live in it—No. II., 349.<br /> +<br /> +Howden, Lord, death of Zumalacarregui by, 56.<br /> +<br /> +Hydropathy, on, 376.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Ignazio, 102.<br /> +<br /> +Imprisonment as a punishment, on, , <a href="#Page_722">722</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Indians of Peru, the, 183, 185.<br /> +<br /> +Inns of Peru, the, 181.<br /> +<br /> +Inquisition in Peru, the, 7.<br /> +<br /> +Isabella of Spain, marriage of, , <a href="#Page_740">740</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Iturbide, rise and fall of, 273.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Jalapa, city of, 265.<br /> +<br /> +Jamaica, Metcalfe's government of, , <a href="#Page_662">662</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Janin, Jules, 421.<br /> +<br /> +Jesuits, expulsion of the, from Peru, 6.<br /> +<br /> +Jews in Algiers, the, 344.<br /> +<br /> +Juan Fernandez, island of, 3.<br /> +<br /> +Juan Santos, insurrection of, 190.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Kabyles, the, 345.<br /> +<br /> +Kennedy's Algeria, review of, 334.<br /> +<br /> +Kingston, town of, 470.<br /> +<br /> +Kleist, General, 579.<br /> +<br /> +Kohl in Denmark and the Marshes, review of, , <a href="#Page_645">645</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Kulm, battle of, 581.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Lal, Mohan, Life of Dost Mahommed by, 539.<br /> +<br /> +Last recollections of Napoleon, 110.<br /> +<br /> +Late and present Ministry, the, 249.<br /> +<br /> +Lays and legends of the Thames, , <a href="#Page_729">729</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Law, the, and its punishments, , <a href="#Page_721">721</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Letters and impressions from Paris, 411.<br /> +<br /> +Letters on English Hexameters<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter I., 19.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter II., 327.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Letter III., 477.</span><br /> +<br /> +Life at the water cure, review of, 376.<br /> +<br /> +Lille, siege and citadel of, 22.<br /> +<br /> +Lima, town of, 5.<br /> +<br /> +Lodge, A., the Minstrel's Curse, by, 177.<br /> +<br /> +London, annals and antiquities of, , <a href="#Page_673">673</a>.<br /> +<br /> +London Bridge, , <a href="#Page_730">730</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Louis XIV., character of, 517<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—contrasted with William III., 522.</span><br /> +<br /> +Louis Philippe and the Spanish marriages, , <a href="#Page_742">742</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Lowe, Sir Hudson, 122, 126.<br /> +<br /> +Luigia de Medici, 614.<br /> +<br /> +Lutzen, battle of, 578.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Maconochie, Captain, on punishment, , <a href="#Page_725">725</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Malplaquet, battle of, 33.<br /> +<br /> +Man's requirements, by Elizabeth B. Barrett, 489.<br /> +<br /> +Marey, General, 340.<br /> +<br /> +Market of Lima, the, 12.<br /> +<br /> +Marlborough's Dispatches, 1708, 1709, 22<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—1710, 1711, 517</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—1711, 1712, , <a href="#Page_690">690</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—his death and character, , <a href="#Page_702">702</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Marshall's Military Miscellany, review of, 129.<br /> +<br /> +Maude's Spinning, by E. B. Barrett, 490.<br /> +<br /> +Medeah, town of, 340.<br /> +<br /> +Mesmeric mountebanks, 223.<br /> +<br /> +Metcalfe, Lord, government of Jamaica by, , <a href="#Page_662">662</a>.<br /> +<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_775" id="Page_775">[775]</a></span>Mexico, its history and people, 261<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—valley and city of, 269.</span><br /> +<br /> +Mildred, a tale—Part I., chapter I., , <a href="#Page_709">709</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—chapter II., , <a href="#Page_713">713</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—chapter III., , <a href="#Page_711">718</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Military Education in Prussia, 573.<br /> +<br /> +Mine, forest, and cordillera, the, 172.<br /> +<br /> +Minstrel's Curse the, from Uhland, 177.<br /> +<br /> +Mohan Lal in Affghanistan, 539.<br /> +<br /> +Monasteries of Spain, state of, when suppressed, 295.<br /> +<br /> +Mons, siege of, 31.<br /> +<br /> +Montalban, siege of, 305.<br /> +<br /> +Montenegro, visit to the Vladika of, 428.<br /> +<br /> +Montesquieu, Marshal, 525.<br /> +<br /> +Montholon's Napoleon, review of, 110.<br /> +<br /> +Montpensier, Duke of, , <a href="#Page_751">751</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Montreal, town of, 470.<br /> +<br /> +More Rogues in Outline—the sick antiquary, 101<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Signor Dedomenicis, 103</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Scaling a coin, 107.</span><br /> +<br /> +Moreau, death of, 580.<br /> +<br /> +Morella, capture of, by Cabrera, 301.<br /> +<br /> +Morellos, insurrection of, 272.<br /> +<br /> +Moriamur pro Rege Nostro—Chap. I., 194<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. II., 201</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. III., 210</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. IV., 216</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Conclusion, 221.</span><br /> +<br /> +Morning and other poems, review of, 62.<br /> +<br /> +Mules of Peru, the, 12.<br /> +<br /> +Museum of Mexico, the, 270.<br /> +<br /> +My College Friends—No. IV., Charles Russell, the gentleman commoner<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. I., 145</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Chap. II., 309.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Napoleon and Louis XIV., parallel between, 520<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—last recollections of, 110.</span><br /> +<br /> +Negro carnival in Peru, the, 17.<br /> +<br /> +Negroes of Peru, the, 9.<br /> +<br /> +Niagara, Falls of, 471.<br /> +<br /> +Nogueras, General, 297.<br /> +<br /> +North America, features of, 262.<br /> +<br /> +New Scottish Plays and Poems, 62.<br /> +<br /> +New Sentimental Journey, a—At Moulins, 481<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Clermont, 484</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—on a stone, 606</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—the Philosopher, 608</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a Shandrydan, 611.</span><br /> +<br /> +Newspapers, on, 629.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Odysseus, from Schiller, 333.<br /> +<br /> +Ogilvy's Highland Minstrelsy, review of, 62.<br /> +<br /> +Old Ignazio, 102.<br /> +<br /> +Opera in Paris, state of the, 415.<br /> +<br /> +Operation of the English Poor-laws, 555.<br /> +<br /> +Orizaba, mountain of, 265.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Palace of Mexico, the, 269.<br /> +<br /> +Pardinas, General, defeat and death of, 303.<br /> +<br /> +Paredes, General, 275.<br /> +<br /> +Paris, letters and impressions from, 411.<br /> +<br /> +Peel, Sir Robert, policy of, 249<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—his financial system, 252.</span><br /> +<br /> +Pellicer, Colonel, cruelties of, 306.<br /> +<br /> +Perote, town of, 265.<br /> +<br /> +Peru, 1<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—the mine, forest, and cordillera, 179.</span><br /> +<br /> +Poaching in the Highlands, 403.<br /> +<br /> +Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Barrett<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a woman's shortcomings, 488</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a man's requirements, 489</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Maude's spinning, 490</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a dead rose, 491</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—change on change, 492</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a reed, ib.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Hector in the garden, 493.</span><br /> +<br /> +Poetry—The minstrel's curse, 177<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—a summer day, by Thomas Aird, 277</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Columbus, &c., from Schiller, 333</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—the Dance, from Schiller, 480</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—poems by Miss Barrett, 488</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—honour to the plough, 613</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—London Bridge, , <a href="#Page_730">730</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Song for the million, , <a href="#Page_733">733</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Thames Tunnel, , <a href="#Page_736">736</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—St Magnus', Kirkwall, , <a href="#Page_753">753</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Poor-Law, operation of the, 555.<br /> +<br /> +Prussian military memoirs, 572.<br /> +<br /> +Puebla, city of, 268.<br /> +<br /> +Pulque, manufacture of, 266.<br /> +<br /> +Puna of Peru, the, 186.<br /> +<br /> +Punishment, state of, under the English law, , <a href="#Page_722">722</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—objects of, , <a href="#Page_724">724</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Punishments in the army, 134<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—of the law, , <a href="#Page_721">721</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Quebec, city of, 465.<br /> +<br /> +Quesnoy, capture of, , <a href="#Page_694">694</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Quinté, bay of, 470.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Rachel the actress, 413.<br /> +<br /> +Rahden's wanderings of a soldier, review of, 572.<br /> +<br /> +Raven, anecdotes of the, 402.<br /> +<br /> +Recent royal marriages, on , <a href="#Page_740">740</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Red deer, habits of the, 408.<br /> +<br /> +Reed, a, by Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, 492.<br /> +<br /> +Reichenbach, count, anecdote of, 577, 584.<br /> +<br /> +Requiera, Padre, 15.<br /> +<br /> +Rewards for the army, on, 136.<br /> +<br /> +Roads of Peru, the, 80.<br /> +<br /> +Robbers of Mexico, the, 267<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—of Peru, 14.</span><br /> +<br /> +Romantic drama, the, 161.<br /> +<br /> +Russell minstry, the, 257.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +St John's wild sports of the Highlands, review of, 389.<br /> +<br /> +St John's, town of, 464.<br /> +<br /> +St Juan D'Ulloa, fort of, 265.<br /> +<br /> +St Magnus', Kirkwall, , <a href="#Page_753">753</a>.<br /> +<br /> +St Marie's Algeria, review of, 334.<br /> +<br /> +St Venant, capture of, 529.<br /> +<br /> +Salcedo silver mine, the, 184.<br /> +<br /> +San Jose silver mine, 185.<br /> +<br /> +Sand, George, 423.<br /> +<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_776" id="Page_776">[776]</a></span>Santa Anna, rise of, 273.<br /> +<br /> +Santa Cruz, protector of Peru, 2.<br /> +<br /> +Santos, Juan, 190.<br /> +<br /> +Scaling a coin, 107.<br /> +<br /> +Schiller, translations from, 333, 480.<br /> +<br /> +Scorpion eaters among the Arabs, 342.<br /> +<br /> +Scottish plays and poems, 62.<br /> +<br /> +Seal, habits of the, 401.<br /> +<br /> +Segura, destruction of the town of, 304.<br /> +<br /> +Serialist, advice to an intending, 590.<br /> +<br /> +Shark, combat with a, 3.<br /> +<br /> +Short enlistments, advantages of, 132.<br /> +<br /> +Shujah, Shah, sketches of, 541.<br /> +<br /> +Sick antiquary, the, 101.<br /> +<br /> +Signor Dedomenicis, 103.<br /> +<br /> +Silver mines of Mexico, the, 271<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—of Peru, 182.</span><br /> +<br /> +Smith, Hannibal, letter to, 590.<br /> +<br /> +Smith's antiquarian ramble in the streets of London, review of, , <a href="#Page_673">673</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Solitary confinement, on, , <a href="#Page_725">725</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Song for the million, , <a href="#Page_733">733</a>.<br /> +<br /> +South America, features of, 262.<br /> +<br /> +Soyer's cookery, review of, 238.<br /> +<br /> +Spanish marriage, on the, 631-, <a href="#Page_740">740</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Steffens, Professor, anecdote of, 577.<br /> +<br /> +Storms of Peru, the, 182.<br /> +<br /> +Summer day, a, by Thomas Aird, 277.<br /> +<br /> +Superstitions of Mexico, the, 275.<br /> +<br /> +Surville, defence of Tournay by, 29.<br /> +<br /> +Swan, wild, habits of the, 398.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Thames, Lays and Legends of the, , <a href="#Page_729">729</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—tunnel, , <a href="#Page_735">735</a>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Things in general, 625.<br /> +<br /> +Tournay, siege of, 28.<br /> +<br /> +Tower of London, the, , <a href="#Page_732">732</a>.<br /> +<br /> +Tschudi's Peru, review of, 1, 179.<br /> +<br /> +Tupac Amaru, 191.<br /> +<br /> +Turenne, Marshal, , <a href="#Page_704">704</a>.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Uhland, the minstrel's curse by, 177.<br /> +<br /> +United States, sketches of the, 471.<br /> +<br /> +Utrecht, peace of, , <a href="#Page_693">693</a>.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Valparaiso, town of, 3.<br /> +<br /> +Vampire bat of Peru, the, 192.<br /> +<br /> +Vandamme, General, 581.<br /> +<br /> +Vera Cruz, town of, 263.<br /> +<br /> +Vigo, General, death of, 304.<br /> +<br /> +Villars, Marshal, 33, 526.<br /> +<br /> +Visit to the Vladika of Montenegro, a, 428.<br /> +<br /> +Von Rahden's wanderings of a soldier, review of, 575.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Water cure, the, 376.<br /> +<br /> +Waterloo, Napoleon on, 123.<br /> +<br /> +Welford's evidence on the game laws, , <a href="#Page_757">757</a>.<br /> +<br /> +West Indies, recent history of the, , <a href="#Page_662">662</a>.<br /> +<br /> +White's Earl of Gowrie, &c., review of, 62.<br /> +<br /> +Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands, 389.<br /> +<br /> +Wild swan, habits of the, 398.<br /> +<br /> +William III., parallel between, and Louis XIV., 522.<br /> +<br /> +Woman's shortcomings, by E. B. Barrett, 488.<br /> +<br /> +Woods of Peru, the, 192.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Yanez, colonel, death of, 268.<br /> +<br /> +Yca, province of, 17.<br /> +<br /> +Yussuf, an Arab leader, 347<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +Zettinié, city of, 439<br /> +<br /> +Zumalacarregui, death of, 56.<br /> +</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p class="center"><i>Edinburgh: Printed by Ballantyne and Hughes, Paul's Work, Canongate.</i></p> +<hr class="chap" /> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Mr Kohl fixes the date of the "melted lead" day at 1319, forgetting that +Margaret, the Semiramis of the North, in whose reign the event occurred, did not +reign in Denmark until about 1375. She died in 1412.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> In the year 1660, the different estates of Denmark made a voluntary surrender +of their rights into the hands of their sovereign, who became by that act +<i>absolute</i>: it is a fact unparalleled in the history of any other country. Up to the +year 1834, this unlimited power was exercised by the kings, who, it must be said +to their honour, never abused it by seeking to oppress or enslave their subjects. +In the year 1834, however, Frederic VI., of his own free will and choice, established +a representative government. The gift was by no means conferred in +consequence of any discontent exhibited under the hitherto restrictive system. +The intentions of the monarch were highly praiseworthy; their wisdom is not so +clear, as, under the new law, the kingdom is divided into four parts—1. The +Islands; 2. Sleswig; 3. Jutland; 4. Holstein; each having its own provincial +assembly. The number of representatives for the whole country amounts to 1217. +Each representative receives four rix-dollars a-day (a rix-dollar is 2s. 2<sup><small>1</small></sup>⁄<sub><small>2</small></sub>d.) for +his services, besides his travelling expenses. The communication between the +sovereign and the assembly is through a royal commissioner, who is allowed to +vote, but not to speak.—See <i>Wheaton's History of Scandinavia</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Whilst in this neighbourhood, Mr Kohl should have explored the Gunderler +Wood, where stone circles and earth mounds are yet carefully preserved, marking +the site of one of the principal places of sacrifice in heathen times. At <i>Gysselfelt</i>, +a lay nunnery exists, founded as recently as the year 1799.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> It was by the Duchess of Newcastle, according to Pepys, that this play was +written. In his Diary he says, under date of the 11th April 1667:—"To +Whitehall, thinking there to have seen the Duchess of Newcastle coming this +night to court to make a visit to the Queen. The whole story of this lady is a +romance, and all she does is romantic. Her footmen in velvet coats, and herself +in an antique dress, as they say; and was the other day at her own play, <i>The</i> +<i>Humorous Lovers</i>, the most ridiculous thing that ever was wrote, but yet she and +her lord mightily pleased with it; and she at the end made her respects to the +players from her box, and did give them thanks." This was the eccentric dame +who kept a maid of honour sitting up all night, to write down any bright idea or +happy inspiration by which she might be visited.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> "The siege, so far as it depends on me, shall be pushed with all possible vigour, +and I do not altogether despair but that, from the success of this campaign, +we may hear of some advances made towards that which we so much desire. And +I shall esteem it much the happiest part of my life, if I can be instrumental in +putting a good end to the war, which grows so burdensome to our country, as well +as to our allies."—<i>Marlborough to Lord Oxford</i>, Aug. 20, 1711; Coxe, vi. 92.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 93.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> "As you have given me encouragement to enter into the strictest confidence +with you, I beg your friendly advice in what manner I am to conduct myself. +You cannot but imagine it would be a terrible mortification for me to pass by +the Hague when our plenipotentiaries are there, and myself a stranger to their +transactions; and what hopes can I have of any countenance at home if I am not +thought fit to be trusted abroad?"—<i>Marlborough to the Lord Treasurer</i>, 21st Oct. +1711.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> I hear, that in his conversation with the Queen, the Duke of Marlborough +has spoken against what we are doing; in short, his fate hangs heavy upon him, +and he has of late pursued every counsel which was worst for him.—<i>Bolingbroke's +Letters</i>, i. 480. Nov. 24, 1711.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, 10th December 1711.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <span class="smcap">Swift's</span> <i>Journal to Stella</i>, Dec. 8, 1711.—Swift said to the Lord Treasurer, +in his usual ironical style, "If there is no remedy, your lordship will lose your +head; but I shall only be hung, and so carry my body entire to the grave."—Coxe, +vi. 148, 157.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Cunningham, ii. 367.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <span class="smcap">Burnet's</span> <i>History of his Own Times</i>, vi. 116.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Mém. de Torcy</i>, iii. 268, 269.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <span class="smcap">Swift's</span> <i>Four Last Years of Queen Anne</i>, 59; <i>Continuation of</i> <span class="smcap">Rapin</span>, xviii. +468. 8vo edit.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> "The French will see that there is a possibility of reviving the love of war +in our people, by the indignation that has been expressed at the plan given in at +Utrecht."—<i>Mr Secretary St John to British Plenipotentiary</i>, Dec. 28, 1711.—<span class="smcap">Bolingbroke's</span> +<i>Correspondence</i>, ii. 93.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 189, 184.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>Mém. de Villars</i>, ii. 197.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> "Her Majesty, my lord, has reason to believe that we shall come to an +agreement upon the great article of the union of the monarchies, as soon as a +courier sent from Versailles to Madrid can return. It is, therefore, the Queen's +<i>positive command</i> to your Grace that <i>you avoid engaging in any siege, or hazarding +a battle</i>, till you have further orders from her Majesty. I am, at the same time, +directed to let your Grace know, that you are <i>to disguise the receipt of this order</i>; +and her Majesty thinks you cannot want pretences for conducting yourself, without +owning that which might at present have an ill effect if it was publicly known. +<i>P.S.</i> I had almost forgot to tell your Grace that communication is made of this +order <i>to the Court of France</i>, so that if the Marshal de Villars takes, in any private +way, notice of it to you, your Grace will answer it accordingly."—<i>Mr Secretary +St John to the Duke of Ormond</i>, May 10, 1712. <span class="smcap">Bolingbroke's</span> <i>Correspondence</i>, +ii. 320.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Eugene to Marlborough, June 9, 1712.—Coxe vi. 199.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <i>Parl. Hist.</i>, May 28, 1712. <i>Lockhart Papers</i>, i, 392</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <i>Coxe</i>, vi. 192, 193.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> "No one can doubt the Duke of Ormond's bravery; but he is not like a certain +general who led troops to the slaughter, to cause a great number of officers to be +knocked on the head in a battle, or against stone walls, in order to fill his pockets +by the sale of their commissions."—Coxe, vi. 196.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> <i>Lockhart Papers</i>, i. 392; Coxe, vi. 196, 199.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> The words of the treaty, which subsequent events have rendered of importance, +on this point, were these:—Philippe V. King of Spain renounced "à toutes pretentions, +droits, et tîtres que lui et sa postérité avaient ou pourraient avoir à +l'avenir à la couronne de France. Il consentit pour lui et sa postérité que ce +droit fût tenu et considéré comme passé au Duc de Berry son frère et à ses +descendans et postérité <i>male</i>; et en defaut de ce prince, et de sa postérité <i>male</i>, au +Duc de Bourbon son cousin et <i>à ses héritiers</i>, et aussi successivement à tous les +princes du sang de France." The Duke of Saxony and his <i>male</i> heirs were called +to the succession, failing Philippe V. and his male heirs. This act of renunciation +and entail of the crown of Spain on <i>male</i> heirs, was ratified by the Cortes of Castile +and Arragon; by the parliament of Paris, by Great Britain and France in the +sixth article of the Treaty of Utrecht.—<i>Vide</i> <span class="smcap">Schoell</span>, <i>Hist. de Trait.</i>, ii. 99, 105, +and <span class="smcap">Dumont</span>, <i>Corp. Dipl.</i>, tom. viii. p. 1. p. 339.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 205.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Cunningham, ii. 432; Milner, 356.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> <i>Mém. de Villars</i>, ii. 396, 421.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Mr Pitt to Sir Benjamin Keene.—<i>Memoirs of the Spanish Kings</i>, c. 57.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> <i>Life of Marlborough</i>, 175.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> "At the future congress, his Imperial Majesty will do all that is possible to +sustain my Lord Duke in the principality of Mendleheim, but if it should so happen +that any invincible difficulty should occur in that affair, his Imperial Highness +will give his Highness an equivalent out of his own hereditary dominions."—<i>Emperor +Charles VI. to Duchess of Marlborough</i>, August 8, 1712.—Coxe, vi. 248.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 249, 251.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Duke of Marlborough's Answer, June 2, 1713.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 369, 373.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 263.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Lediard, 496. Coxe, vi. 384, 385.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Coxe, vi. 384-387.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Marlborough's Dispatches. <i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>, Nov. 1846, p.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Marlborough House in London cost about L.100,000.—Coxe, vi. 399.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> <span class="smcap">Smith's</span> <i>Moral Sentiments</i>, ii. 158.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <span class="smcap">Bolingbroke's</span> <i>Letters on the Study of History</i>, ii. 172.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> "Il existe des malades dont les clous jai'lissent des chaussures quand ils sont +étendus dans la direction du nord."</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + + +<div class="tn"><h3>Transcriber's note</h3> + +<p>Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as +printed.</p> + +<p>Mismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where +the missing quote should be placed.</p> + +<p>The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the +transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> + +<p>Page 727: "that a ower should reside somewhere" ... the transcriber has added the missing "p" in "power".</p> + +<p>Page 734: "All the sevants' hall combined," ... the transcriber has added +"r" to read "servants'".</p> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. +60, No. 374, December, 1846, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE, DEC 1846 *** + +***** This file should be named 44378-h.htm or 44378-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/3/7/44378/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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