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diff --git a/37797.txt b/37797.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a71fd9c --- /dev/null +++ b/37797.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9075 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, +No. 373, November 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. 373, November 1846 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: October 19, 2011 [EBook #37797] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Ron Stephens, 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.) + + + + + + + + +BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + +NO. CCCLXXIII. NOVEMBER, 1846. VOL. LX. + + +CONTENTS. + + MARLBOROUGH'S DISPATCHES. 1710-1711, 517 + + MOHAN LAL IN AFGHANISTAN, 539 + + ON THE OPERATION OF THE ENGLISH POOR-LAWS, 555 + + PRUSSIAN MILITARY MEMOIRS, 572 + + ADVICE TO AN INTENDING SERIALIST, 590 + + A NEW SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, 606 + + HONOUR TO THE PLOUGH, 613 + + LUIGIA DE' MEDICI, 614 + + THINGS IN GENERAL, 625 + + +EDINBURGH: + +WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, +LONDON. + +_To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed._ + +SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. + +PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH. + + + + +BLACKWOOD'S + +EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. + +No. CCCLXXIII. NOVEMBER, 1846. VOL. LX. + + + + +MARLBOROUGH'S DISPATCHES. + +1710-1711. + +Louis XIV. was one of the most remarkable sovereigns who ever sat upon +the throne of France. Yet there is none of whose character, even at this +comparatively remote period, it is more difficult to form a just +estimate. Beyond measure eulogised by the poets, orators, and annalists +of his own age, who lived on his bounty, or were flattered by his +address, he has been proportionally vilified by the historians, both +foreign and national, of subsequent times. The Roman Catholic writers, +with some truth, represent him as the champion of their faith, the +sovereign who extirpated the demon of heresy in his dominions, and +restored to the church in undivided unity the realm of France. The +Protestant authors, with not less reason, regard him as the deadliest +enemy of their religion, and the cruellest foe of those who had embraced +it; as a faithless tyrant, who scrupled not, at the bidding of bigoted +priests, to violate the national faith plighted by the Edict of Nantes, +and persecute, with unrelenting severity, the unhappy people who, from +conscientious motives, had broken off from the Church of Rome. One set +of writers paint him as a magnanimous monarch, whose mind, set on great +things, and swayed by lofty desires, foreshadowed those vast designs +which Napoleon, armed with the forces of the Revolution, afterwards for +a brief space realised. Another set dwell on the foibles or the vices of +his private character--depict him as alternately swayed by priests, or +influenced by women; selfish in his desires, relentless in his hatred; +and sacrificing the peace of Europe, and endangering the independence of +France, for the gratification of personal vanity, or from the thirst of +unbounded ambition. + +It is the fate of all men who have made a great and durable impression +on human affairs, and powerfully affected the interests, or thwarted the +opinion of large bodies of men, to be represented in these opposite +colours to future times. The party, whether in church or state, which +they have elevated, the nation whose power or glory they have augmented, +praise, as much as those whom they have oppressed and injured, whether +at home or abroad, strive to vilify their memory. But in the case of +Louis XIV., this general propensity has been greatly increased by the +opposite, and, at first sight, inconsistent features of his character. +There is almost equal truth in the magniloquent eulogies of his +admirers, as in the impassioned invectives of his enemies. He was not +less great and magnanimous than he is represented by the elegant +flattery of Racine or Corneille, nor less cruel and hard-hearted than he +is painted by the austere justice of Sismondi or D'Aubigne. Like many +other men, but more than most, he was made up of lofty and elevated, and +selfish and frivolous qualities. He could alternately boast, with truth, +that there were no longer any Pyrenees, and rival his youngest +courtiers in frivolous and often heartless gallantry. In his younger +years he was equally assiduous in his application to business, and +engrossed with personal vanity. When he ascended the throne, his first +words were: "I intend that every paper, from a diplomatic dispatch to a +private petition, shall be submitted to me;" and his vast powers of +application enabled him to compass the task. Yet, at the same time, he +deserted his queen for Madame la Valliere, and soon after broke La +Valliere's heart by his desertion of her for Madame de Montespan. In +mature life, his ambition to extend the bounds and enhance the glory of +France, was equalled by his desire to win the admiration or gain the +favour of the fair sex. In his later days, he alternately engaged in +devout austerities with Madame de Maintenon, and, with mournful +resolution, asserted the independence of France against Europe in arms. +Never was evinced a more striking exemplification of the saying, so well +known among men of the world, that no one is a hero to his +valet-de-chambre; nor a more remarkable confirmation of the truth, so +often proclaimed by divines, that characters of imperfect goodness +constitute the great majority of mankind. + +That he was a great man, as well as a successful sovereign, is +decisively demonstrated by the mighty changes which he effected in his +own realm, as well as in the neighbouring states of Europe. When he +ascended the throne, France, though it contained the elements of +greatness, had never yet become great. It had been alternately wasted by +the ravages of the English, and torn by the fury of the religious wars. +The insurrection of the Fronde had shortly before involved the capital +in all the horrors of civil conflict;--barricades had been erected in +its streets; alternate victory and defeat had by turns elevated and +depressed the rival faction. Turenne and Conde had displayed their +consummate talents in miniature warfare within sight of Notre-Dame. +Never had the monarchy been depressed to a greater pitch of weakness +than during the reign of Louis XIII. and the minority of Louis XIV. But +from the time the latter sovereign ascended the throne, order seemed to +arise out of chaos. The ascendancy of a great mind made itself felt in +every department. Civil war ceased; the rival faction disappeared; even +the bitterness of religious hatred seemed for a time to be stilled by +the influence of patriotic feeling. The energies of France, drawn forth +during the agonies of civil conflict, were turned to public objects and +the career of national aggrandisement--as those of England had been +after the conclusion of the Great Rebellion, by the firm hand and +magnanimous mind of Cromwell. From a pitiable state of anarchy, France +at once appeared on the theatre of Europe, great, powerful, and united. +It is no common capacity which can thus seize the helm and right the +ship when it is reeling most violently, and the fury of contending +elements has all but torn it in pieces. It is the highest proof of +political capacity to discern the bent of the public mind, when most +violently exerted, and, by falling in with the prevailing desire of the +majority, convert the desolating vehemence of social conflict into the +steady passion for national advancement. Napoleon did this with the +political aspirations of the eighteenth, Louis XIV. with the religious +fervour of the seventeenth century. + +It was because his character and turn of mind coincided with the +national desires at the moment of his ascending the throne, that this +great monarch was enabled to achieve this marvellous transformation. If +Napoleon was the incarnation of the Revolution, with not less truth it +may be said that Louis XIV. was the incarnation of the monarchy. The +feudal spirit, modified but not destroyed by the changes of time, +appeared to be concentrated, with its highest lustre, in his person. He +was still the head of the Franks--the lustre of the historic families +yet surrounded his throne; but he was the head of the Franks only--that +is, of a hundred thousand conquering warriors. Twenty million of +conquered Gauls were neither regarded nor considered in his +administration, except in so far as they augmented the national +strength, or added to the national resources. But this distinction was +then neither perceived nor regarded. Worn out with civil dissension, +torn to pieces by religious passions, the fervent minds and restless +ambition of the French longed for a _national_ field for exertion--an +arena in which social dissensions might be forgotten. Louis XIV. gave +them this field: he opened this arena. He ascended the throne at the +time when this desire had become so strong and general, as in a manner +to concentrate the national will. His character, equally in all its +parts, was adapted to the general want. He took the lead alike in the +greatness and the foibles of his subjects. Were they ambitious? so was +he:--were they desirous of renown? so was he:--were they set on national +aggrandisement? so was he:--were they desirous of protection to +industry? so was he:--were they prone to gallantry? so was he. His +figure and countenance tall and majestic; his manner stately and +commanding; his conversation dignified, but enlightened; his spirit +ardent, but patriotic--qualified him to take the lead and preserve his +ascendancy among a proud body of ancient nobles, whom the disasters of +preceding reigns, and the astute policy of Cardinal Richelieu, had +driven into the antechambers of Paris, but who preserved in their ideas +and habits the pride and recollections of the conquerors who followed +the banners of Clovis. And the great body of the people, proud of their +sovereign, proud of his victories, proud of his magnificence, proud of +his fame, proud of his national spirit, proud of the literary glory +which environed his throne, in secret proud of his gallantries, joyfully +followed their nobles in the brilliant career which his ambition opened, +and submitted with as much docility to his government as they ranged +themselves round the banners of their respective chiefs on the day of +battle. + +It was the peculiarity of the government of Louis XIV., arising from +this fortuitous, but to him fortunate combination of circumstances, that +it united the distinctions of rank, family attachments, and ancient +ideas of feudal times, with the vigour and efficiency of monarchical +government, and the lustre and brilliancy of literary glory. Such a +combination could not, in the nature of things, last long; it must soon +work out its own destruction. In truth, it was sensibly weakened during +the course of the latter part of the half century that he sat upon the +throne. But while it endured, it produced a most formidable union; it +engendered an extraordinary and hitherto unprecedented phalanx of +talent. The feudal ideas still lingering in the hearts of the nation, +produced subordination; the national spirit, excited by the genius of +the sovereign, induced unanimity; the development of talent, elicited by +his discernment, conferred power; the literary celebrity, encouraged by +his munificence, diffused fame. The peculiar character of Louis, in +which great talent was united with great pride, and unbounded ambition +with heroic magnanimity, qualified him to turn to the best account this +singular combination of circumstances, and to unite in France, for a +brief period, the lofty aspirations and dignified manners of chivalry, +with the energy of rising talent and the lustre of literary renown. + +Louis XIV. was essentially monarchical. That was the secret of his +success; it was because he first gave the powers of _unity_ to the +monarchy, that he rendered France so brilliant and powerful. All his +changes, and they were many, from the dress of soldiers to the +instructions to ambassadors, breathed the same spirit. He first +introduced a _uniform_ in the army. Before his time, the soldiers merely +wore a banderole over their steel breast-plates and ordinary dresses. +That was a great and symptomatic improvement; it at once induced an +_esprit de corps_ and a sense of responsibility. He first made the +troops march with a measured step, and caused large bodies of men to +move with the precision of a single company. The artillery and engineer +service, under his auspices, made astonishing progress. His discerning +eye selected the genius of Vauban, which invented, as it were, the +modern system of fortification, and wellnigh brought it to its greatest +elevation--and raised to the highest command that of Turenne, which +carried the military art to the most consummate perfection. Skilfully +turning the martial and enterprising genius of the Franks into the +career of conquest, he multiplied tenfold their power, by conferring on +them the inestimable advantages of skilled discipline and unity of +action. He gathered the feudal array around his banner; he roused the +ancient barons from their chateaux, the old retainers from their +villages; but he arranged them in disciplined battalions of regular +troops, who received the pay and obeyed the orders of government, and +never left their banners. When he summoned the array of France to +undertake the conquest of the Low Countries, he appeared at the head of +a hundred and twenty thousand men, all regular and disciplined troops, +with a hundred pieces of cannon. Modern Europe had never seen such an +array. It was irresistible, and speedily brought the monarch to the +gates of Amsterdam. + +The same unity which the genius of Louis and his ministers communicated +to the military power of France, he gave also to its naval forces and +internal strength. To such a pitch of greatness did he raise the marine +of the monarchy, that it all but outnumbered that of England; and the +battle of La Hogue in 1792 alone determined, as Trafalgar did a century +after, to which of these rival powers the dominion of the seas was to +belong. He reduced the government of the interior to that regular and +methodical system of governors of provinces, mayors of cities, and other +subordinate authorities, all receiving their instructions from the +Tuileries, which, under no subsequent change of government, imperial or +royal, has been abandoned, and which has, in every succeeding age, +formed the main source of its strength. He concentrated around the +monarchy the rays of genius from all parts of the country, and threw +around its head a lustre of literary renown, which, more even than the +exploits of his armies, dazzled and fascinated the minds of men. He +arrayed the scholars, philosophers, and poets of his dominions like his +soldiers and sailors; the whole academies of France, which have since +become so famous, were of his institution; he sought to give discipline +to thought, as he had done to his fleets and armies, and rewarded +distinction in literary efforts, not less than warlike achievement. No +monarch ever knew better the magical influence of intellectual strength +on general thought, or felt more strongly the expedience of enlisting it +on the side of authority. Not less than Hildebrand or Napoleon, he aimed +at drawing, not over his own country alone, but the whole of Europe, the +meshes of regulated and centralised opinion; and more durably than +either he attained his object. The religious persecution, which +constitutes the great blot on his reign, and caused its brilliant career +to close in mourning, arose from the same cause. He was fain to give the +same unity to the church which he had done to the army, navy, and civil +strength of the monarchy. He saw no reason why the Huguenots should not, +at the royal command, face about like one of Turenne's battalions. +Schism in the church was viewed by him in exactly the same light as +rebellion in the state. No efforts were spared by inducements, good +deeds, and fair promises, to make proselytes; and when twelve hundred +thousand Protestants resisted his seductions, the sword, the fagot, and +the wheel were resorted to without mercy for their destruction. + +Napoleon, it is well known, had the highest admiration of Louis XIV. Nor +is this surprising: their principles of government and leading objects +of ambition were the same. "L'etat _c'est moi_," was the principle of +this grandson of Henry IV.: "Your first duty is _to me_, your second to +France," said the Emperor to his nephew Prince Louis Napoleon. In +different words, the idea was the same. To concentrate Europe in France, +France in Paris, Paris in the government, and the government in himself, +was the ruling idea of each. But it was no concentration for selfish or +unworthy purposes which was then desired; it was for great and lofty +objects that this undivided power was desired. It was neither to gratify +the desire of an Eastern seraglio, nor exercise the tyranny of a Roman +emperor, that either coveted unbounded authority. It was to exalt the +nation of which they formed the head, to augment its power, extend its +dominion, enhance its fame, magnify its resources, that they both deemed +themselves sent into the world. It was the general sense that this was +the object of their administration which constituted the strength of +both. Equally with the popular party in the present day, they regarded +society as a pyramid, of which the multitude formed the base, and the +monarch the head. Equally with the most ardent democrat, they desired +the augmentation of the national resources, the increase of public +felicity. But they both thought that these blessings must descend from +the sovereign to his subject, not ascend from the subjects to their +sovereign. "Every thing _for_ the people, nothing _by_ them," which +Napoleon described as the secret of good government, was not less the +maxim of the imperious despot of the Bourbon race. + +The identity of their ideas, the similarity of their objects of +ambition, appears in the monuments which both have left at Paris. Great +as was the desire of the Emperor to add to its embellishment, +magnificent as were his ideas in the attempt, he has yet been unable to +equal the noble structures of the Bourbon dynasty. The splendid pile of +Versailles, the glittering dome of the Invalides, still, after the lapse +of a century and a half, overshadow all the other monuments in the +metropolis; though the confiscations of the Revolution, and the +victories of the Emperor, gave succeeding governments the resources of +the half of Europe for their construction. The inscription on the arch +of Louis, "Ludovico Magno," still seems to embody the gratitude of the +citizens to the greatest benefactor of the capital; and it is not +generally known that the two edifices which have added most since his +time to the embellishment of the metropolis, and of which the revolution +and the empire are fain to take the credit--the Pantheon and the +Madeleine--were begun in 1764 by Louis XV., and owe their origin to the +magnificent ideas which Louis XIV. transmitted to his, in other +respects, unworthy descendant.[1] + +Had one dark and atrocious transaction not taken place, the annalist +might have stopped here, and painted the French monarch, with a few +foibles and weaknesses, the common bequest of mortality, still as, upon +the whole, a noble and magnanimous ruler. His ambition, great as it was, +and desolating as it proved, both to the adjoining states, and in the +end his own subjects, was the "last infirmity of noble minds." He shared +it with Caesar and Alexander, with Charlemagne and Napoleon. Even his +cruel and unnecessary ravaging of the Palatinate, though attended with +dreadful private suffering, has too many parallels in the annals of +military cruelty. His personal vanities and weaknesses, his love of +show, his passion for women, his extravagant expenses, were common to +him with his grandfather Henry IV.; they seemed inherent in the Bourbon +race, and are the frailties to which heroic minds in every age have been +most subject. But, for the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and the +heartrending cruelties with which it was carried into execution, no such +apology can be found. It admits neither of palliation nor excuse. But +for the massacre of St Bartholomew, and the expulsion of the Morescoes +from Spain, it would stand foremost in the annals of the world for +kingly perfidy and priestly cruelty. The expulsion of five hundred +thousand innocent human beings from their country, for no other cause +but difference of religious opinion--the destruction, it is said, of +nearly an hundred thousand by the frightful tortures of the wheel and +the stake--the wholesale desolation of provinces and destruction of +cities for conscience sake, never will and never should be forgotten. It +is the eternal disgrace of the Roman Catholic religion--a disgrace to +which the "execrations of ages have not yet affixed an adequate +censure"--that all these infamous state crimes took their origin in the +bigoted zeal, or sanguinary ambition of the Church of Rome. Nor have +any of them passed without their just reward. The expulsion of the +Moors, the most industrious and valuable inhabitants of the Peninsula, +has entailed a weakness upon the Spanish monarchy, which the subsequent +lapse of two centuries has been unable to repair. The reaction against +the Romish atrocities produced the great league of which William III. +was the head; it sharpened the swords of Eugene and Marlborough; it +closed in mourning the reign of Louis XV. Nor did the national +punishment stop here. The massacre of St Bartholomew, and revocation of +the Edict of Nantes, were the remote, but certain cause of the French +Revolution, and all the unutterable miseries which it brought both upon +the Bourbon race and the professors of the Romish faith. Nations have no +immortality; their punishment is inflicted in this world; it is visited +with unerring certainty on the third and fourth generations. Providence +has a certain way of dealing with the political sins of men--which is, +to leave them to the consequences of their own actions. + +If ever the characters of two important actors on the theatre of human +affairs stood forth in striking and emphatic contrast to each other, +they were those of Louis XIV. and William III. They were, in truth, the +representatives of the principles for which they respectively so long +contended; their characters embodied the doctrines, and were +distinguished by the features, of the causes for which they fought +through life. As much as the character--stately, magnanimous, and +ambitious, but bigoted and unscrupulous--of Louis XIV. personified the +Romish, did the firm and simple, but persevering and unconquerable mind +of William, embody the principles of the Protestant faith. The positions +they respectively held through life, the stations they occupied, the +resources, moral and political, which they wielded, were not less +characteristic of the causes of which they were severally the heads. +Louis led on the feudal resources of the French monarchy. Inured to +rigid discipline, directed by consummate talent, supported by immense +resources, his armies, uniting the courage of feudal to the organisation +of civilised times, like those of Caesar, had at first only to appear to +conquer. From his gorgeous palaces at Paris, he seemed able, like the +Church of Rome from the halls of the Quirinal, to give law to the whole +Christian world. William began the contest under very different +circumstances. Sunk in obscure marshes, cooped up in a narrow territory, +driven into a corner of Europe, the forces at his command appeared as +nothing before the stupendous array of his adversary. He was the emblem +of the Protestant faith, arising from small beginnings, springing from +the energy of the middle classes, but destined to grow with ceaseless +vigour, until it reached the gigantic strength of its awful antagonist. + +The result soon proved the prodigious difference in the early resources +of the parties. Down went tower and town before the apparition of Louis +in his strength. The iron barriers of Flanders yielded almost without a +struggle to his arms. The genius of Turenne and Vauban, the presence of +Louis, proved for the time irresistible. The Rhine was crossed; a +hundred thousand men appeared before the gates of Amsterdam. Dissension +had paralysed its strength, terror all but mastered its resolution. +England, influenced by French mistresses, or bought by French gold, held +back, and ere long openly joined the oppressor, alike of its liberties +and its religion. All seemed lost alike for the liberties of Europe and +the Protestant faith. But William was not dismayed. He had a certain +resource against subjugation left. In his own words, "he could die in +the last ditch." He communicated his unconquerable spirit to his +fainting fellow-citizens; he inspired them with the noble resolution to +abandon their country rather than submit to the invaders, and "seek in a +new hemisphere that liberty of which Europe had become unworthy." The +generous effort was not made in vain. The Dutch rallied round a leader +who was not wanting to himself in such a crisis. The dikes were cut; the +labour of centuries was lost; the ocean resumed its sway over the fields +reft from its domain. But the cause of freedom of religion was gained. +The French armies recoiled from the watery waste, as those of Napoleon +afterwards did from the flames of Moscow. Amsterdam was the limit of the +conquests of Louis XIV. He there found the power which said, "Hitherto +shalt thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be +staid." Long, and often doubtful, was the contest; it was bequeathed to +a succeeding generation and another reign. But from the invasion of +Holland, the French arms and Romish domination permanently receded; and +but for the desertion of the alliance by England, at the peace of +Utrecht, they would have given law in the palace of the Grand Monarque, +bridled the tyranny of Bossuet and Tellier, and permanently established +the Protestant faith in nearly the half of Europe. + +Like many other men who are called on to play an important part in the +affairs of the world, William seemed formed by nature for the duties he +was destined to perform. Had his mind been stamped by a different die, +his character cast in a different mould, he would have failed in his +mission. He was not a monarch of the most brilliant, nor a general of +the most daring kind. Had he been either the one or the other, he would +have been shattered against the colossal strength of Louis XIV., and +crushed in the very outset of his career. But he possessed in the +highest perfection that great quality without which, in the hour of +trial, all others prove of no avail--moral courage, and invincible +determination. His enterprises, often designed with ability and executed +with daring, were yet all based, like those of Wellington afterwards in +Portugal, on a just sense of the necessity of husbanding his resources +from the constant inferiority of his forces and means to those of the +enemy. He was perseverance itself. Nothing could shake his resolution, +nothing divert his purpose. With equal energy he laboured in the cabinet +to construct and keep together the vast alliance necessary to restrain +the ambition of the French monarch, and toiled in the field to baffle +the enterprises of his able generals. With a force generally inferior in +number, always less powerful than that of his adversaries in discipline, +composition, and resources, he nevertheless contrived to sustain the +contest, and gradually wrested from his powerful enemy the more +important fortresses, which, in the first tumult of invasion, had +submitted to his arms. If the treaties of Nimeguen and Ryswick were less +detrimental to the French power than that of Utrecht afterwards proved, +they were more glorious to the arms of the Dutch commonwealth and the +guidance of William; for they were the result of efforts in which the +weight of the conflict generally fell on Holland alone; and its honours +were not to be shared with those won by the wisdom of a Marlborough, or +the daring of a Eugene. + +In private life, William was distinguished by the same qualities which +marked his public career. He had not the chivalrous ardour which bespoke +the nobles of France, nor the stately magnificence of their haughty +sovereign. His manners and habits were such as arose from, and suited, +the austere and laborious people among whom his life was passed. Without +being insensible to the softer passions, he never permitted them to +influence his conduct, or incroach upon his time. He was patient, +laborious, and indefatigable. To courtiers accustomed to the polished +elegance of Paris, or the profligate gallantry of St James's, his +manners appeared cold and unbending. It was easy to see he had not been +bred in the saloons of Versailles or the _soirees_ of Charles II. But he +was steady and unwavering in his resolutions; his desires were set on +great objects; and his external demeanour was correct, and often +dignified. He was reproached by the English, not without reason, with +being unduly partial, after his accession to the British throne, to his +Dutch subjects; and he was influenced through life by a love of money, +which, though at first arising from a bitter sense of its necessity in +his long and arduous conflicts, degenerated in his older years into an +avaricious turn. The national debt of England has been improperly +ascribed to his policy. It arose unavoidably from the Revolution, and is +the price which every nation pays for a lasting change, how necessary +soever, in its ruling dynasty. When the sovereign can no longer depend +on the unbought loyalty of his subjects, he has no resource but in their +interested attachment. Louis Philippe's government has done the same, +under the influence of the same necessity. Yet William was not a perfect +character; more than one dark transaction has left a lasting stain on +his memory; and the massacre of Glencoe, in particular, if it did not +equal the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in the wide-spread misery +with which it was attended, rivalled it in the perfidy in which it was +conceived, and the cruelty with which it was executed. + +On his arrival in Holland on the 18th March 1710, Marlborough again +found himself practically involved in the still pending negotiations for +peace, over which, on the decline of his influence at court, he had +ceased to have any real control. Still exposed to the blasting +imputation of seeking to prolong the war for his own private purposes, +he was in reality doing his utmost to terminate hostilities. As the +negotiation with the ostensible plenipotentiaries of the different +courts was at an end, but Louis still continued to make private +overtures to the Dutch, in the hope of detaching them from the +confederacy, Marlborough took advantage of this circumstance to +endeavour to effect an accommodation. At his request, the Dutch agent, +Petcum, had again repaired to Paris in the end of 1709, to resume the +negotiation; and the _Marlborough Papers_ contain numerous letters from +him to the Duke, detailing the progress of the overtures.[2] On the very +day after Marlborough's arrival at the Hague, the plenipotentiaries made +their report of the issue of the negotiation; but the views of the +parties were still so much at variance, that it was evident no hopes of +peace could be entertained. Louis was not yet sufficiently humbled to +submit to the arrogant demands of the Allies, which went to strip him of +nearly all his conquests; and the different powers of the confederacy +were each set upon turning the general success of the alliance to their +own private advantage. + +Zenzindorf, on the part of Austria, insisted that not the smallest +portion of the Spanish territories in Italy should be ceded to a prince +of the house of Bourbon, and declared the resolution of his imperial +master to perish with arms in his hands, rather than submit to a +partition which would lead to his inevitable ruin. King Charles +expressed the same determination, and insisted further for the cession +of Roussillon, which had been wrested from Spain since the treaty of the +Pyrenees. The Duke of Savoy, who aimed at the acquisition of Sicily from +the spoils of the fallen monarch, was equally obstinate for the +prosecution of the war. Godolphin, Somers, and the Dutch Pensionary, +inclined to peace, and were willing to purchase it by the cession of +Sicily to Louis; and Marlborough gave this his entire support, provided +the evacuation of Spain, the great object of the war, could be +secured.[3] But all their efforts were in vain. The ambitious designs of +Austria and Savoy prevailed over their pacific counsels; and we have the +valuable authority of Torcy, who, in the former congress, had accused +the Duke of breaking off the negotiation, that in this year the rupture +was entirely owing to the efforts of Count Zenzindorf.[4] Marlborough, +however, never ceased to long for a termination of hostilities, and took +the field with a heavy heart, relieved only by the hope that one more +successful campaign would give him what he so ardently desired, the rest +consequent upon a general peace.[5] + +War being resolved on, Marlborough and Eugene met at Tournay on the +28th April, and commenced the campaign by the capture of the fort of +Mortagne, which capitulated on the same day. Their force already +amounted to sixty thousand men, and, as the troops were daily coming up +from their cantonments, it was expected soon to amount to double the +number. The plan of operations was soon settled between these two great +men; no difference of opinion ever occurred between them, no jealousy +ever marred their co-operations. They determined to commence serious +operations by attacking Douay--a strong fortress, and one of the last of +the first order which, in that quarter, guarded the French territory. To +succeed in this, however, it was necessary to pass the French lines, +which were of great strength, and were guarded by Marshal Montesquieu at +the head of forty battalions and twenty squadrons. Douay itself also was +strongly protected both by art and nature. On the one side lay the Haine +and the Scarpe; in the centre was the canal of Douay; on the other hand +were the lines of La Bassie, which had been strengthened with additional +works since the close of the campaign. Marlborough was very sanguine of +success, as the French force was not yet collected, and he was +considerably superior in number; and he wrote to Godolphin on the same +night--"The orders are given for marching this night, so that I hope my +next will give you an account of our being in Artois."[6] + +The Duke operated at once by both wings. On the one wing he detached the +Prince of Wirtemberg, with fifteen thousand men, by Pont-a-Tessin to +Pont-a-Vendin, where the French lines met the Dyle and the canal of +Douay; while Prince Eugene moved forward Count Fels, with a considerable +corps, towards Pont Auby on the same canal. The whole army followed in +two columns, the right commanded by Eugene, and the left by Marlborough. +The English general secured the passage at Pont-a-Vendin without +resistance; and Eugene, though baffled at Pont Auby, succeeded in +passing the canal at Sant and Courieres without serious loss. The first +defences were thus forced; and that night the two wings, having formed a +junction, lay on their arms in the plain of Lens, while Montesquieu +precipitately retired behind the Scarpe, in the neighbourhood of Vitry. +Next morning the troops, overjoyed at their success, continued their +advance. Marlborough sent forward General Cadogan, at the head of the +English troops, to Pont-a-Rache, to circumscribe the garrison of Douay, +on the canal of Marchiennes on the north; while Eugene, encamping on the +other side of the Scarpe, completed the investment on the west. The +perfect success of this enterprise without any loss was matter of equal +surprise and joy to the Duke, who wrote to the Duchess in the highest +strain of satisfaction at his bloodless triumph. It was entirely owing +to the suddenness and secresy of his movements, which took the enemy +completely unawares; for, had the enterprise been delayed four days +longer, its issue would have been extremely doubtful, and thousands of +men must, at all events, have been sacrificed.[7] + +Douay, which was immediately invested after this success, is a fortress +of considerable strength, in the second line which covers the French +province of Artois. Less populous than Lille, it embraces a wider +circuit within its ample walls. Its principal defence consists in the +marshes, which, on the side of Tournay, where attack might be expected, +render it extremely difficult of access, especially in the rainy season. +Access to it is defended by Fort Scarpe, a powerful outwork, capable of +standing a separate siege. The garrison consisted of eight thousand men, +under the command of the Marquis Albergotti, an officer of the highest +talent and bravery; and under him were the renowned Valory, to direct +the engineers, and the not less celebrated Chevalier de Jaucourt, to +command the artillery. From a fortress of such strength so defended, the +most resolute resistance might be expected, and no efforts were spared +on the part of the Allied generals to overcome it. + +The investment was completed on the 24th, and the trenches opened on the +5th May. On the 7th, the head of the sap was advanced to within two +hundred and fifty yards of the exterior palisades; but the besiegers +that night experienced a severe check from a vigorous sally of the +besieged with twelve hundred men, by which two English regiments were +nearly cut to pieces. But, on the 9th, a great train of artillery, +consisting of two hundred pieces, with a large supply of artillery, +arrived from Tournay; on the 11th, the advanced works were strongly +armed, and the batteries were pushed up to the covered way, and +thundered across the ditch against the rampart. The imminent danger of +this important stronghold now seriously alarmed the French court; and +Marshal Villars, who commanded their great army on the Flemish frontier, +received the most positive orders to advance to its relief. By great +exertions, he had now collected one hundred and fifty-three battalions +and two hundred and sixty-two squadrons, which were pompously announced +as mustering one hundred and fifty thousand combatants, and certainly +amounted to more than eighty thousand. The Allied force was almost +exactly equal; it consisted of one hundred and fifty-five battalions and +two hundred and sixty-one squadrons. Villars broke up from the vicinity +of Cambray on the 21st May, and advanced in great strength towards +Douay. Marlborough and Eugene immediately made the most vigorous +preparations to receive him. Thirty battalions only were left to +prosecute the siege; twelve squadrons were placed in observation at +Pont-a-Rache; and the whole remainder of the army, about seventy +thousand strong, concentrated in a strong position, covering the siege, +on which all the resources of art, so far as the short time would admit, +had been lavished. Every thing was prepared for a mighty struggle. The +whole guns were mounted on batteries four hundred paces from each other; +the infantry was drawn up in a single line along the intrenchment, and +filled up the whole interval between the artillery; the cavalry were +arranged in two lines, seven hundred paces in rear of the foot-soldiers. +It seemed another Malplaquet, in which the relative position of the two +armies was reversed, and the French were to storm the intrenched +position of the Allies. Every man in both armies fully expected a +decisive battle; and Marlborough, who was heartily tired of the war, +wrote to the Duchess, that he hoped for a victory, which should at once +end the war, and restore him to private life.[8] + + +Yet there was no battle. The lustre of Blenheim and Ramilies played +round Marlborough's bayonets; the recollection of Turin tripled the +force of Eugene's squadrons. Villars advanced on the 1st June, with all +the pomp and circumstance of war, to within musket-shot of the Allied +position; and he had not only the authority but the recommendation of +Louis to hazard a battle. He boasted that his force amounted to a +hundred and sixty thousand men.[9] But he did not venture to make the +attack. To Marlborough's great regret, he retired without fighting; and +the English general, at the age of threescore, was left to pursue the +fatigues and the labours of a protracted campaign, in which, for the +first time in his life, he was doubtful of success, from knowing the +malignant eyes with which he was regarded by the ruling factions in his +own country. "I long," said he, "for an end of the war, so God's will be +done; whatever the event may be, I shall have nothing to reproach myself +with, having, with all my heart, done my duty, and being hitherto +blessed with more success than was ever known before. My wishes and duty +are the same; but I can't say I have the same prophetic spirit I used to +have; for in all the former actions I never did doubt of success, we +having had constantly the great blessing of being of one mind. I cannot +say it is so now; for I fear some are run so far into villanous faction, +that it would more content them to see us beaten; but if I live I will +be watchful that it shall not be in their power to do much hurt. The +discourse of the Duke of Argyle is, that when I please there will then +be peace. I suppose his friends speak the same language in England; so +that I must every summer venture my life in a battle, and be found fault +with in winter for not bringing home peace. No, I wish for it with all +my heart and soul."[10] + +Villars having retired without fighting, the operations of the siege +were resumed with redoubled vigour. On the 16th June, signals of +distress were sent up from the town, which the French marshal perceived, +and he made in consequence a show of returning to interrupt the siege, +but his movements came to nothing. Marlborough, to counteract his +movement, repassed the Scarpe at Vitry, and took up a position directly +barring the line of advance of the French marshal, while Eugene +prosecuted the siege. Villars again retired without fighting. On the +22d, the Fort of Scarpe was breached, and the sap was advanced to the +counterscarp of the fortress, the walls of which were violently shaken; +and on the 26th, Albergotti, who had no longer any hope of being +relieved, and who saw preparations made for a general assault, +capitulated with the garrison, now reduced to four thousand five hundred +men.[11] + +On the surrender of Douay, the Allied generals intended to besiege +Arras, the _last_ of the triple line of fortresses which on that side +covered France, and between which and Paris no fortified place remained +to arrest the march of an invader. On the 10th July, Marlborough crossed +the Scarpe at Vitry, and, joining Eugene, their united forces, nearly +ninety thousand strong, advanced towards Arras. But Villars, who felt +the extreme importance of this last stronghold, had exerted himself to +the utmost for its defence. He had long employed his troops on the +construction of new lines of great strength on the Crinchon, stretching +from Arras and the Somme, and he had here collected nearly a hundred +thousand men, and a hundred and thirty pieces of cannon. After +reconnoitring this position, the Allied generals concurred in thinking +that it was equally impossible to force them, and undertake the siege of +Arras, while the enemy, in such strength, and so strongly posted, lay on +its flank. Their first intention, on finding themselves baffled in this +project, was to seize Hesdin on the Cancher, which would have left the +enemy no strong place between them and the coast. But the skilful +dispositions of Villars, who on this occasion displayed uncommon +abilities and foresight, rendered this design abortive, and it was +therefore determined to attack Bethune. This place, which was surrounded +with very strong works, was garrisoned by nine thousand men, under the +command of M. Puy Vauban, nephew, of the celebrated marshal of the same +name. But as an attack on it had not been expected, the necessary +supplies for a protracted resistance had not been fully introduced when +the investment was completed on the 15th July.[12] + + +Villars, upon seeing the point of attack now fully declared, moved in +right columns upon Hobarques, near Montenencourt. Eugene and Marlborough +upon this assembled their covering army, and changed their front, taking +up a new line stretching from Mont St Eloi to Le Comte. Upon advancing +to reconnoitre the enemy, Marlborough discovered that the French, +advancing to raise the siege, were busy strengthening a new set of +lines, which stretched across the plain from the rivulet Ugie to the +Lorraine, and the centre of which at Avesnes Le Comte was already +strongly fortified. It now appeared how much Villars had gained by the +skilful measures which had diverted the Allies from their projected +attack upon Arras. It lay upon the direct road to Paris. Bethune, though +of importance to the ultimate issue of the war, was not of the same +present moment. It lay on the flank on the second line, Arras in front, +and was the only remaining fortress in the last. By means of the new +lines which he had constructed, the able French marshal had erected a +fresh protection for his country, when its last defences were wellnigh +broken through. By simply holding them, the interior of France was +covered from incursion, and time gained for raising fresh armaments in +the interior for its defence, and, what was of more importance to Louis, +awaiting the issue of the intrigues in England, which were expected soon +to overthrow the Whig cabinet. Villars, on this occasion, proved the +salvation of his country, and justly raised himself to the very highest +rank among its military commanders. His measures were the more to be +commended that they exposed him to the obloquy of leaving Bethune to its +fate, which surrendered by capitulation, with its numerous garrison and +accomplished commander, on the 28th August.[13] + +Notwithstanding the loss of so many fortresses on the endangered +frontier of his territory, Louis XIV. was so much encouraged by what he +knew of the great change which was going on in the councils of Queen +Anne, that, expecting daily an entire revolution in the ministry, and +overthrow of the war party in the Cabinet, he resolved on the most +vigorous prosecution of the contest. He made clandestine overtures to +the secret advisers of the Queen, in the hope of establishing that +separate negotiation which at no distant period proved so successful. +Torcy, the Duke's enemy, triumphantly declared, "what we lose in +Flanders, we shall gain in England."[14] To frustrate these +machinations, and if possible rouse the national feeling more strongly +in favour of a vigorous prosecution of the war, Marlborough determined +to lay siege to Aire and St Venant, which, though off the line of direct +attack on France, laid open the way to Calais, which, if supported at +home, he hoped to reduce before the conclusion of the campaign.[15] He +entertained the most sanguine hopes of success from this design, which +was warmly supported by Godolphin; but he obtained at this time such +discouraging accounts of the precarious condition of his influence at +court, that he justly concluded he would not be adequately supported in +them from England, from which the main supplies for the enterprise must +be drawn. He wisely, therefore, resolved, in concert with Eugene, to +forego this dazzling but perilous project for the present, and to +content himself with the solid advantages, unattended with risk, of +reducing Aire and St Venant. + +Having takes their resolution, the confederate generals began their +march in the beginning of September, and on the 6th of that month, both +places were invested. Aire, which is comparatively of small extent, was +garrisoned by only five thousand seven hundred men; but Venant was a +place of great size and strength, and had a garrison of fourteen +battalions of foot and three regiments of dragoons, mustering eight +thousand combatants. They were under the command of the Count de +Guebriant, a brave and skillful commander. Both were protected by +inundations, which retarded extremely the operations of the besiegers, +the more especially as the autumnal rains had early set in this year +with more than usual severity. While anxiously awaiting the cessation of +this obstacle, and the arrival of a great convoy of heavy cannon and +ammunition which was coming up from Ghent, the Allied generals received +the disheartening intelligence of the total defeat of this important +convoy, which, though guarded by sixteen hundred men, was attacked and +destroyed by a French corps on the 19th September. This loss affected +Marlborough the more sensibly, that it was the first disaster of moment +which had befallen him during nine years of incessant warfare.[16] But, +notwithstanding this disaster, St Venant was so severely pressed by the +fire of the besiegers, under the Prince of Anhalt, who conducted the +operations with uncommon vigour and ability, that it was compelled to +capitulate on the 29th, on condition of its garrison being conducted to +St Omer, not to serve again till regularly exchanged. + +Aire still held out, as the loss of the convoy from Ghent, and the +dreadful rains which fell almost without intermission during the whole +of October, rendered the progress of the siege almost impossible. The +garrison, too, under the command of the brave governor, made a most +resolute defence. Sickness prevailed to a great extent in the Allied +army; the troops were for the most part up to the knees in mud and +water; and the rains, which fell night and day without intermission, +precluded the possibility of finding a dry place for their lodging. It +was absolutely necessary, however, to continue the siege; for, +independent of the credit of the army being staked on its success, it +had become impossible, as Marlborough himself said, to draw the cannon +from the trenches.[17] The perseverance of the Allied commanders was at +length rewarded by success. On the 12th November the fortress +capitulated, and the garrison, still three thousand six hundred and +twenty-eight strong, marched out prisoners, leaving sixteen hundred sick +and wounded in the town. This conquest, which concluded the campaign, +was, however, dearly purchased by the loss of nearly seven thousand men +killed and wounded in the Allied ranks, exclusive of the sick, who, +amidst those pestilential marshes, had now swelled to double the +number.[18] + +Although the capture of four such important fortresses as Douay, +Bethune, St Venant, and Aire, with their garrisons, amounting to thirty +thousand men, who had been taken in them during the campaign, was a most +substantial advantage, and could not fail to have a most important +effect on the final issue of the war; yet it did not furnish the same +subject for national exultation which preceding ones had done. There had +been no brilliant victory like Blenheim, Ramilies, or Oudenarde, to +silence envy and defy malignity; the successes, though little less real, +had been not so dazzling. The intriguers about the court, the +malcontents in the country, eagerly seized on this circumstance to +calumniate the Duke, and accused him of unworthy motives in the conduct +of the war. He was protracting it for his own private purposes, reducing +it to a strife of lines and sieges, when he might at once terminate it +by a decisive battle, and gratifying his ruling passion of avarice by +the lucrative appointments which he enjoyed himself, or divided among +his friends. Nor was it only among the populace and his political +opponents that these surmises prevailed; his greatness and fame had +become an object of envy to his own party. Orford, Wharton, and Halifax +had on many occasions evinced their distrust of him; and even Somers, +who had long stood his friend, was inclined to think the power of the +Duke of Marlborough too great, and the emoluments and offices of his +family and connexions immoderate.[19] The Duchess inflamed the discord +between him and the Queen, by positively refusing to come to any +reconciliation with her rival, Mrs Masham. The discord increased daily, +and great were the efforts made to aggravate it. To the Queen, the +never-failing device was adopted of representing the victorious general +as lording it over the throne; as likely to eclipse even the crown by +the lustre of his fame; as too dangerous and powerful a subject for a +sovereign to tolerate. Matters came to such a pass, in the course of the +summer of 1710, that Marlborough found himself thwarted in every request +he made, every project he proposed; and he expressed his entire nullity +to the Duchess, by the emphatic expression, that he was a "mere sheet of +white paper, upon which his friends might write what they pleased."[20] + +The spite at the Duke appeared in the difficulties which were now +started by the Lords of the Treasury in regard to the prosecution of the +works at Blenheim. This noble monument of a nation's gratitude had +hitherto proceeded rapidly; the stately design of Vanburgh was rapidly +approaching its completion, and so anxious had the Queen been to see it +finished, that she got a model of it placed in the royal palace of +Kensington. Now, however, petty and unworthy objections were started on +the score of expense, and attempts were made, by delaying payment of the +sums from the Treasury, to throw the cost of completing the building on +the great general. He had penetration enough, however, to avoid falling +into the snare, and actually suspended the progress of the work when the +Treasury warrants were withheld. He constantly directed that the +management of the building should be left to the Queen's officers; and, +by steadily adhering to this system, he shamed them into continuing the +work.[21] + +Marlborough's name and influence, however, were too great to be entirely +neglected, and the party which was now rising into supremacy at court +were anxious, if possible, to secure them to their own side. They made, +accordingly, overtures in secret to him; and it was even insinuated +that, if he would abandon the Whigs, and coalesce with them, he would +entirely regain the royal favour, and might aspire to the highest +situation which a subject could hold. Lord Bolingbroke has told us what +the conditions of this alliance were to be:--"He was to abandon the +Whigs, his new friends, and take up with the Tories, his old friends; to +engage heartily in the true interests, and no longer leave his country +a prey to rapine and faction. He was, besides, required to restrain the +rage and fury of his wife. Their offers were coupled with threats of an +impeachment, and boasts that sufficient evidence could be adduced to +carry a prosecution through both Houses."[22] To terms so degrading, the +Duke answered in terms worthy of his high reputation. He declared his +resolution to be of no party, to vote according to his conscience, and +to be as hearty as his new colleagues in support of the Queen's +government and the welfare of the country. This manly reply increased +the repulsive feelings with which he was regarded by the ministry, who +seem now to have finally resolved on his ruin; while the intelligence +that such overtures had been made having got wind, sowed distrust +between him and the Whig leaders, which was never afterwards entirely +removed. But he honourably declared that he would be governed by the +Whigs, from whom he would never depart; and that they could not suspect +the purity of his motives in so doing, as they had now lost the majority +in the House of Commons.[23] + +Parliament met on the 25th November; and Marlborough, in the end of the +year, returned to London. But he soon received decisive proof of the +altered temper both of government and the country towards him. In the +Queen's speech, no notice was taken of the late successes in Flanders, +no vote of thanks for his services in the campaign moved by ministers; +and they even contrived, by a sidewind, to get quit of one proposed, to +their no small embarrassment, by Lord Scarborough. The Duchess, too, was +threatened with removal from her situation at court; and Marlborough +avowed that he knew the Queen was "as desirous for her removal as Mr +Harley and Mr Masham can be." The violent temper and proud unbending +spirit of the Duchess were ill calculated to heal such a breach, which, +in the course of the winter, became so wide, that her removal from the +situation she held, as mistress of the robes, was only prevented by the +fear that, in the vehemence of her resentment, she might publish the +Queen's correspondence, and that the Duke, whose military services could +not yet be spared, might resign his command. Libels against both the +Duke and the Duchess daily appeared, and passed entirely unpunished, +though the freedom of the press was far from being established. Three +officers were dismissed from the army for drinking his health. When he +waited on the Queen, on his arrival in England, in the end of December, +she said--"I must request you will not suffer any vote of thanks to you +to be moved in Parliament this year, _as my ministers will certainly +oppose it_." Such was the return made by government to the hero who had +raised the power and glory of England to an unprecedented pitch, and in +that very campaign had cut deeper into the iron frontier of France than +had ever been done in any former one.[24] + +The female coterie who aided at St James's the male opponents of +Marlborough, were naturally extremely solicitous to get the Duchess +removed from her situations as head of the Queen's household and keeper +of the privy purse; and ministers were only prevented from carrying +their wishes into effect by their apprehension, if executed, of the +Duke's resigning his command of the army. In an audience, on 17th +January 1711, Marlborough presented a letter to her Majesty from the +Duchess, couched in terms of extreme humility, in which she declared +that his anxiety was such, at the requital his services had received, +that she apprehended he would not live six months.[25] The Queen at +first refused to read it; and when at length, at the Duke's earnest +request, she agreed to do so, she coldly observed--"I cannot change my +resolution." Marlborough, in the most moving terms, and with touching +eloquence, intreated the Queen not to dismiss the Duchess till she had +no more need of her services, by the war being finished, which, he +hoped, would be in less than a year; but he received no other answer, +but a peremptory demand for the surrender of the gold key, the symbol of +her office, within three days. Unable to obtain any relaxation in his +sovereign's resolution, Marlborough withdrew with the deepest emotions +of indignation and sorrow. The Duchess, in a worthy spirit, immediately +took his resolution; she sent in her resignation, with the gold key, +that very night. So deeply was Marlborough hurt at this extraordinary +ingratitude for all his services, that he at first resolved to resign +his whole command, and retire altogether into private life. From this +intention he was only diverted, and that with great difficulty, by the +efforts of Godolphin and the Whigs at home, and Prince Eugene and the +Pensionary Heinsius abroad, who earnestly besought him not to abandon +the command, as that would at once dissolve the grand alliance, and ruin +the common cause. We can sympathise with the feelings of a victorious +warrior who felt reluctant to forego, by one hasty step, the fruit of +nine years of victories: we cannot but respect the self-sacrifice of the +patriot who preferred enduring mortifications himself, to endangering +the great cause of religious freedom and European independence. +Influenced by these considerations, Marlborough withheld his intended +resignation. The Duchess of Somerset was made mistress of the robes, and +Mrs Masham obtained the confidential situation of keeper of the privy +purse. Malignity, now sure of impunity, heaped up invectives on the +falling hero. His integrity was calumniated, his courage even +questioned, and the most consummate general of that, or perhaps any +other age, represented as the lowest of mankind.[26] It soon appeared +how unfounded had been the aspersions cast upon the Duchess, as well as +the Duke, for their conduct in office. Her accounts, after being rigidly +scrutinised, were returned to her without any objection being stated +against them; and Marlborough, anxious to quit that scene of ingratitude +and intrigue for the real theatre of his glory, soon after set out for +the army in Flanders.[27] + +Marlborough arrived at the Hague on the 4th March; and, although no +longer possessing the confidence of government, or intrusted with any +control over diplomatic measures, he immediately set himself with the +utmost vigour to prepare for military operations. Great efforts had been +made by both parties, during the winter, for the resumption of +hostilities, on even a more extended scale than in any preceding +campaign. Marlborough found the army in the Low Countries extremely +efficient and powerful; diversions were promised on the side both of +Spain and Piedmont; and a treaty had been concluded with the Spanish +malcontents, in consequence of which a large part of the Imperial forces +were rendered disposable, which Prince Eugene was preparing to lead into +the Low Countries. But, in the midst of these flattering prospects, an +event occurred which suddenly deranged then all, postponed for above a +month the opening of the campaign, and, in its final result, changed the +fate of Europe. This was the death of the Emperor Joseph, of the +smallpox, which happened at Vienna on the 16th April--an event which was +immediately followed by Charles, King of Spain, declaring himself a +candidate for the Imperial throne. As his pretensions required to be +supported by a powerful demonstration of troops, the march of a large +part of Eugene's men to the Netherlands was immediately stopped, and +that prince himself was hastily recalled from Mentz, to take the command +of the empire at Ratisbon, as marshal. Charles was soon after elected +Emperor. Thus Marlborough was left to commence the campaign alone, which +was the more to be regretted, as the preparations of Louis, during the +winter, for the defence of his dominions had been made on the most +extensive scale, and Marshal Villars' lines had come to be regarded as +the _ne plus ultra_ of field fortification. Yet were Marlborough's +forces most formidable; for, when reviewed at Orchies on the 30th April, +between Lille and Douay, they were found, including Eugene's troops +which had come up, to amount to one hundred and eighty-four battalions, +and three hundred and sixty-four squadrons, mustering above one hundred +thousand combatants.[28] But forty-one battalions and forty squadrons +were in garrison, which reduced the effective force in the field to +eighty thousand men. + +The great object of Louis and his generals had been to construct such a +line of defences as might prevent the irruption of the enemy into the +French territory, now that the interior and last line of fortresses was +so nearly broken through. In pursuance of this design, Villars had, with +the aid of all the most experienced engineers in France, and at a vast +expense of labour and money, constructed during the winter a series of +lines and field-works, exceeding any thing yet seen in modern Europe in +magnitude and strength, and to which the still more famous lines of +Torres Vedras have alone, in subsequent times, afforded a parallel. The +works extended from Namur on the Meuse, by a sort of irregular line, to +the coast of Picardy. Running first along the marshy line of the Canche, +they rested on the forts of Montreuil, Hesdin, and Trevant; while the +great fortresses of Ypres, Calais, Gravelines, and St Omer, lying in +their front, and still in the hands of the French, rendered any attempt +to approach them both difficult and hazardous. Along the whole of this +immense line, extending over so great a variety of ground, for above +forty miles, every effort had been made, by joining the resources of art +to the defences of nature, to render the position impregnable. The lines +were not continuous, as in many places the ground was so rugged, or the +obstacles of rocks, precipices, and ravines were so formidable, that it +was evidently impossible to overcome them. But whereever a passage was +practicable, the approaches to it were protected in the most formidable +manner. If a streamlet ran along the line, it was carefully dammed up, +so as to be rendered impassible. Every morass was deepened, by stopping +up its drains, or letting in the water of the larger rivers by +artificial canals into it; redoubts were placed on the heights, so as to +enfilade the plains between them; while in the open country, where no +advantage of ground was to be met with, field-works were erected, armed +with abundance of heavy cannon. To man these formidable lines, Villars +had under his command one hundred and fifty-six battalions, and two +hundred and twenty-seven squadrons in the field, containing seventy +thousand infantry, and twenty thousand horse. He had ninety field guns +and twelve howitzers. There was, besides, thirty-five battalions and +eighty squadrons detached or in the forts; and, as Eugene soon took away +twelve battalions and fifty squadrons from the Allied army, the forces +on the opposite side, when they came to blows, were very nearly +equal.[29] + +Marlborough took the field on the 1st May, with eighty thousand men; +and his whole force was soon grouped in and around Douay. The +headquarters of Villars were at Cambray; but, seeing the forces of his +adversary thus accumulated in one point, he made a corresponding +concentration, and arranged his whole disposable forces between Bouchain +on the right, and Monchy Le Preux on the left. This position of the +French marshal, which extended in a concave semicircle with the +fortresses, covering either flank, he considered, and with reason, as +beyond the reach of attack. The English general was meditating a great +enterprise, which should at once deprive the enemy of all his defences, +and reduce him to the necessity of fighting a decisive battle, or losing +his last frontier fortresses. But he was overwhelmed with gloomy +anticipations; he felt his strength sinking under his incessant and +protracted fatigues, and knew well he was serving a party who, envious +of his fame, were ready only to decry his achievements.[30] He lay, +accordingly, for three weeks awaiting the arrival of his illustrious +colleague, Prince Eugene, who joined on the 23d May, and took part in a +great celebration of the anniversary of the victory at Ramilies, which +had taken place on that day. The plans of the Allied generals were soon +formed; and, taking advantage of the enthusiasm excited by that +commemoration, and the arrival of so illustrious a warrior, preparations +were made for the immediate commencement of active operations. On the +28th, the two generals reviewed the whole army. But their designs were +soon interrupted by an event which changed the whole fortune of the +campaign. Early in June, Eugene received positive orders to march to +Germany, with a considerable part of his troops, to oppose a French +force, which was moving towards the Rhine, to influence the approaching +election of Emperor. On the 13th June, Eugene and Marlborough separated, +for _the last time_, with the deepest expressions of regret on both +sides, and gloomy forebodings of the future. The former marched towards +the Rhine with twelve battalions and fifty squadrons, while +Marlborough's whole remaining force marched to the right in six +divisions.[31] + +Though Villars was relieved by the departure of Eugene from a +considerable part of the force opposed to him, and he naturally felt +desirous of now measuring his strength with his great antagonist in a +decisive affair, yet he was restrained from hazarding a general +engagement. Louis, trusting to the progress of the Tory intrigues in +England, and daily expecting to see Marlborough and the war-party +overthrown, sent him positive orders not to fight; and soon after +detached twenty-five battalions and forty squadrons, in two divisions, +to the Upper Rhine, to watch the movements of Eugene. Villars encouraged +this separation, representing that the strength of his position was +such, that he could afford to send a third detachment to the Upper +Rhine, if it was thought proper. Marlborough, therefore, in vain offered +battle, and drew up his army in the plain of Lens for that purpose. +Villars cautiously remained on the defensive; and, though he threw +eighteen bridges over the Scarpe, and made a show of intending to fight, +he cautiously abstained from any steps which might bring on a general +battle.[32] It was not without good reason that Louis thus enjoined his +lieutenant to avoid compromising his army. The progress of the +negotiations with England gave him the fairest ground for believing that +he would obtain nearly all he desired from the favour with which he was +regarded by the British cabinet without running any risk. He had +commenced a _separate_ negotiation with the court of St James's, which +had been favourably received; and Mr Secretary St John had already +transmitted to Lord Raby, the new plenipotentiary at the Hague, a sketch +of six preliminary articles proposed by the French king, which were to +be the basis of a general peace.[33] + +The high tone of these proposals proved how largely Louis counted upon +the altered dispositions of the British cabinet. The Spanish succession, +the real object of the war, was evaded. Every thing was directed to +British objects, and influenced by the desire to tempt the commercial +cupidity of England to the abandonment of the great objects of her +national policy. Real security was tendered to the British commerce with +Spain, the Indus, and the Mediterranean; the barrier the Dutch had so +long contended for was agreed to; a reasonable satisfaction was tendered +to the allies of England and Holland; and, as to the Spanish succession, +it was to be left to "new expedients, to the satisfaction of all parties +interested." These proposals were favourably received by the British +ministry; they were in secret communicated to the Pensionary Heinsius, +but concealed from the Austrian and Piedmontese plenipotentiaries; and +they were _not communicated to Marlborough_--a decisive proof both of +the altered feeling of the cabinet towards that general, and of the +consciousness on their part of the tortuous path on which they were now +entering.[34] + +After much deliberation, and a due consideration of what could be +effected by the diminished force now at his disposal, which, by the +successive drafts to Eugene's army, was now reduced to one hundred and +nineteen battalions, and two hundred and fifty-six squadrons, not +mustering above seventy-five thousand combatants, Marlborough determined +to break through the enemies' boasted lines; and, after doing so, +undertake the siege of Bouchain, the possession of which would give him +a solid footing within the French frontier. With this view, he had long +and minutely studied the lines of Villars; and he hoped that, even with +the force at his disposal, they might be broken through. To accomplish +this, however, required an extraordinary combination of stratagem and +force; and the manner in which Marlborough contrived to unite them, and +bring the ardent mind and lively imagination of his adversary to play +into his hands, to the defeat of all the objects he had most at heart, +is perhaps the most wonderful part of his whole military +achievements.[35] + +During his encampment at Lewarde, opposite Villars, the English general +had observed that a triangular piece of ground in front of the French +position, between Cambray, Aubanchocil-au-bac, and the junction of the +Sauzet and Scheldt, offered a position so strong, that a small body of +men might defend it against a very considerable force. He resolved to +make the occupation of this inconsiderable piece of ground the pivot on +which the whole passage of the lines should be effected. A redoubt at +Aubigny, which commanded the approach to it, was first carried without +difficulty. Arleux, which also was fortified, was next attacked by seven +hundred men, who issued from Douay in the night. That post also was +taken, with one hundred and twenty prisoners. Marlborough instantly used +all imaginable expedition in strengthening it; and Villars, jealous of a +fortified post so close to his lines remaining in the hands of the +Allies, attacked it in the night of the 9th July; and, though he failed +in retaking the work, he surprised the Allies at that point, and made +two hundred men and four hundred horses prisoners. Though much chagrined +at the success of this nocturnal attack, the English general now saw +his designs advancing to maturity. He therefore left Arleux to its own +resources, and marched towards Bethune. That fort was immediately +attacked by Marshal Montesquieu, and, after a stout resistance, carried +by the French, who made the garrison, five hundred strong, prisoners. +Villars immediately razed Arleux to the ground, and withdrew his troops; +while Marlborough, who was in hopes the lure of these successes would +induce Villars to hazard a general engagement, shut himself up in his +tent, and appeared to be overwhelmed with mortification at the checks he +had received.[36] + +Villars was so much elated with these successes, and the accounts he +received of Marlborough's mortification, that he wrote to the king of +France a vain-glorious letter, in which he boasted that he had at length +brought his antagonist to a _ne plus ultra_. Meanwhile, Marlborough sent +off his heavy baggage to Douay; sent his artillery under a proper guard +to the rear; and, with all imaginable secresy, baked bread for the whole +troops for six days, which was privately brought up. Thus disencumbered +and prepared, he broke up at four in the morning on the 1st of August, +and marched in eight columns towards the front. During the three +following days, the troops continued concentrated, and menacing +sometimes one part of the French lines and sometimes another, so as to +leave the real point of attack in a state of uncertainty. Seriously +alarmed, Villars concentrated his whole force opposite the Allies, and +drew in all his detachments, evacuating even Aubigny and Arleux, the +object of so much eager contention some days before. On the evening of +the 4th, Marlborough, affecting great chagrin at the check he had +received, spoke openly to those around him of his intention of avenging +them by a general action, and pointed to the direction the attacking +columns were to take. He then returned to the camp, and gave orders to +prepare for battle. Gloom hung on every countenance of those around him; +it appeared nothing short of an act of madness to attack an enemy +superior in number, and strongly posted in a camp surrounded with +entrenchments, and bristling with cannon. They ascribed it to +desperation, produced by the mortifications received from the +government, and feared that, by one rash act, he would lose the fruit of +all his victories. Proportionally great was the joy in the French camp, +when the men, never doubting they were on the eve of a glorious victory, +spent the night in the exultation which, in that excitable people, has +so often been the prelude to disaster.[37] + +Having brought the feeling of both armies to this point, and produced a +concentration of Villars's army directly in his front, Marlborough, at +dusk on the 4th, ordered the drums to beat; and before the roll had +ceased, orders were given for the tents to be struck. Meanwhile Cadogan +secretly left the camp, and met twenty-three battalions and seventeen +squadrons, drawn from the garrisons of Lille and Tournay, which +instantly marched; and continuing to advance all night, passed the lines +rapidly to the left, without opposition at Arleux, at break of day. A +little before nine, the Allied main army began to defile rapidly to the +left, through the woods of Villers and Neuville--Marlborough himself +leading the van, at the head of fifty squadrons. With such expedition +did they march, still holding steadily on to the left, that before five +in the morning of the 5th they reached Vitry on the Scarpe, where they +found pontoons ready for their passage, and a considerable train of +field artillery. At the same time, the English general here received the +welcome intelligence of Cadogan's success. He instantly dispatched +orders to every man and horse to press forward without delay. Such was +the ardour of the troops, who all saw the brilliant manoeuvre by which +they had outwitted the enemy, and rendered all their labour abortive, +that they marched _sixteen hours_ without once halting; and by ten next +morning, the whole had passed the enemies' lines without opposition, and +without firing a shot! Villars received intelligence of the night-march +having begun at eleven at night; but so utterly was he in the dark as to +the plan his opponent was pursuing, that he came up to Verger, when +Marlborough had drawn up his army on the _inner_ side of the lines in +order of battle, attended only by a hundred dragoons, and narrowly +escaped being made prisoner. Altogether, the Allied troops marched +thirty-six miles in sixteen hours, the most part of them in the dark, +and crossed several rivers, without either falling into confusion or +sustaining any loss. The annals of war scarcely afford an example of +such a success being gained in so bloodless a manner. The famous French +lines, which Villars boasted would form the _ne plus ultra_ of +Marlborough, had been passed without losing a man; the labour of nine +months was at once rendered of no avail, and the French army, in deep +dejection, had no alternative but to retire under the cannon of +Cambray.[38] + +This great success at once restored the lustre of Marlborough's +reputation, and, for a short season, put to silence his detractors. +Eugene, with the generosity which formed so striking a feature in his +character, wrote to congratulate him on his achievement;[39] and even +Bolingbroke admitted that this bloodless triumph rivalled his greatest +achievements.[40] Marlborough immediately commenced the siege of +Bouchain; but this was an enterprise of no small difficulty, as it was +to be accomplished on very difficult ground, in presence of an army +superior in force. The investment was formed on the very day after the +lines had been passed, and an important piece of ground occupied, which +might have enabled Villars to communicate with the town, and regain a +defensible position. On the morning of the 8th August, a bridge was +thrown over the Scheldt at Neuville, and sixty squadrons passed over, +which barred the road from Douay. Villars upon this threw thirty +battalions across the Seuzet, and made himself master of a hill above, +on which he began to erect works, which would have kept open his +communications with the town on its southern front. Marlborough saw at +once this design, and at first determined to storm the works ere they +were completed; and, with this view, General Fagel, with a strong body +of troops, was secretly passed over the river. But Villars, having heard +of the design, attacked the Allied posts at Ivry with such vigour, that +Marlborough was obliged to counter-march in haste, to be at hand to +support them. Baffled in this attempt, Marlborough erected a chain of +works on the right bank of the Scheldt, from Houdain, through Ivry, to +the Sette, near Haspres, while Cadogan strengthened himself with similar +works on the left. Villars, however, still retained the fortified +position which has been mentioned, and which kept up his communication +with the town; and the intercepting this was another, and the last, of +Marlborough's brilliant field operations.[41] + +Notwithstanding all the diligence with which Villars laboured to +strengthen his men on this important position, he could not equal the +activity with which the English general strove to supplant them. During +the night of the 13th, three redoubts were marked out, which would have +completed the French marshal's communication with the town. But on the +morning of the 14th they were all stormed by a large body of the Allied +troops before the works could be armed. That very day the Allies carried +their zig-zag down to the very edge of a morass which adjoined Bouchain +on the south, so as to command a causeway from that town to Cambray, +which the French still held, communicating with the besieged town. But, +to complete the investment, it was necessary to win this causeway; and +this last object was gained by Marlborough with equal daring and +success. A battery, commanding the road, had been placed by Villars in a +redoubt garrisoned by six hundred men, supported by three thousand more +close in their rear. Marlborough, with incredible labour and diligence, +constructed two roads, made of fascines, through part of the marsh, so +as to render it passable to foot-soldiers; and, on the night of the +16th, six hundred chosen grenadiers were sent across them to attack the +intrenched battery. They rapidly advanced in the dark till the fascine +path ended, and then boldly plunging into the marsh, struggled on, with +the water often up to their arm-pits, till they reached the foot of the +intrenchment, into which they rushed, without firing a shot, with fixed +bayonets. So complete was the surprise, that the enemy were driven from +their guns with the loss only of six men; the work carried; and with +such diligence were its defences strengthened, that before morning it +was in a condition to bid defiance to any attack.[42] + +Villars was now effectually cut off from Bouchain, and the operations of +the siege were conducted with the utmost vigour. On the night of the +21st, the trenches were opened; three separate attacks were pushed at +the same time against the eastern, western, and southern faces of the +town, and a huge train of heavy guns and mortars thundered upon the +works without intermission. The progress of the siege, notwithstanding a +vigorous defence by the besieged, was unusually rapid. As fast as the +outworks were breached they were stormed; and repeated attempts on the +part of Villars to raise the siege were baffled by the skilful +disposition and strong ground taken by Marlborough with the covering +army. At length, on the 12th September, as the counterscarp was blown +down, the rampart breached, and an assault of the fortress in +preparation, the governor agreed to capitulate; and the garrison, still +three thousand strong, marched out upon the glacis, laid down their +arms, and were conducted prisoners to Tournay.[43] The two armies then +remained in their respective positions, the French under the cannon of +Cambray, the Allied in the middle of their lines, resting on Bouchain; +and Marlborough gave proof of the courtesy of his disposition, as well +as his respect for exalted learning and piety, by planting a detachment +of his troops to protect the estates of Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, +and conduct the grain from thence to the dwelling of the illustrious +prelate in that town, which began now to be straitened for +provisions.[44] + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] "La Madeleine comme le Pantheon avait ete commencee la meme annee en +1764, par les ordres de Louis XV., le roi des grand monumens, et dont le +regne a ete travesti par la petite histoire."--CAPEFIGUE, _Histoire de +Louis Philippe_, viii. 281. + +[2] Marlborough to the Earl of Sunderland, 8th Nov. 1709. _Disp._ iv. +647. Coxe, iv. 167. + +[3] Coxe, iv. 169. Lamberti, vi. 37, 49. + +[4] Note to Petcum, August 10, 1710. _Marlborough Papers_; and Coxe, iv. +173. + +[5] "I am very sorry to tell you that the behaviour of the French looks +as if they had no other desire than that of carrying on the war. I hope +God will bless this campaign, for I see nothing else that can _give us +peace either at home or abroad_. I am so discouraged by every thing I +see, that I have never, during this war, gone into the field with so +heavy a heart as at this time. I own to you, that the present humour in +England gives me a good deal of trouble; for I cannot see how it is +possible they should mend till every thing is yet worse." _Marlborough +to Duchess Marlborough_, Hague, 14th April 1710. Coxe, iv. 179. + +[6] Marlborough to Godolphin, 20th April, iv. 182. + +[7] "In my last, I had but just time to tell you we had passed the +lines. I hope this happy beginning will produce such success this +campaign as must put an end to the war. I bless God for putting it into +their heads not to defend their lines; for at Pont-a-Vendin, when I +passed, the Marshal D'Artagnan was with twenty thousand men, which, if +he had staid, must have rendered the event very doubtful. But, God be +praised, we are come without the loss of any men. The excuse the French +make is, that we came four days before they expected us."--_Marlborough +to the Duchess_, 21st April 1710. Coxe, ix. 184. + +[8] "I hope God will so bless our efforts, that if the Queen should not +be so happy as to have a prospect of peace before the opening of the +next session of parliament, she and all her subjects may be convinced we +do our best here in the army to put a speedy and good period to this +bloody war." _Marlborough to the Duchess_, May 12, 1710. + +"I hear of so many disagreeable things, that make it very reasonable, +both for myself and you, to take no steps but what may lead to a quiet +life. This being the case, am I not to be pitied that am every day in +danger of exposing my life for the good of those who are seeking my +ruin? God's will be done. If I can be so blessed as to end this campaign +with success, things must very much alter to persuade me to come again +at the head of the army." _Marlborough to the Duchess_, 19th May 1710. +Coxe, iv. 191, 192. + +[9] Marlborough to Godolphin, 26th May and 2d June 1710. + +[10] Marlborough to the Duchess, 12th June 1710. Coxe, iv. 197. + +[11] Marlborough to Godolphin, 26th June 1710. _Disp._ iv. 696. + +[12] _Considerat. sur la Camp. de 1710, par M. le Marshal Villars_; and +Coxe, iv. 192. + +[13] Marlborough to Godolphin, 29th August 1710. _Disp._ iv. 581. Coxe, +iv. 294. + +[14] Coxe, iv. 343, 344. + +[15] "I am of opinion that, after the siege of Aire, I shall have it in +my power to attack Calais. This is a conquest which would very much +prejudice France, and ought to have a good effect for the Queen's +service in England; but I see so much malice levelled at me, that I am +afraid it is not safe for me to make any proposition, lest, if it should +not succeed, my enemies should turn it to my disadvantage." _Marlborough +to Godolphin_, 11th August 1710. Coxe, iv. 343. + +[16] "Till within these few days, during these _nine years_ I have never +had occasion to send ill news. Our powder and other stores, for the +carrying on these two sieges, left Ghent last Thursday, under the convoy +of twelve hundred foot and four hundred and fifty horse. They were +attacked by the enemy and beaten, so that they blew up the powder, and +sunk the store-boats." _Marlborough to the Duchess_, 22d September 1710. +Coxe, iv. 365. + +[17] "Take it we must, for we cannot draw the guns from the batteries. +But God knows when we shall have it: night and day our poor men are up +to the knees in mud and water." _Marlborough to Godolphin_, 27th October +1710. + +[18] Marlborough to Godolphin, 13th November 1710. _Disp._ iv. 685, 689. +Coxe, iv. 366, 367. + +[19] Cunningham, ii. 305. + +[20] Marlborough to the Duchess, 26th July 1710. Coxe, iv. 299. + +[21] Marlborough to the Duchess, 25th October and 24th November 1710. +Coxe, iv. 351, 352. + +[22] Bolingbroke's _Corresp._, i. 41; Mr Secretary St John to Mr +Drummond, 20th Dec. 1710. + +[23] "I beg you to lose no time in sending me, to the Hague, the opinion +of our friend mentioned in my letter; for I would be governed by the +Whigs, from whose principle and interest I will never depart. Whilst +they had a majority in the House of Commons, they might suspect it might +be my interest; but now they must do me the justice to see that it is my +inclination and principle which makes me act." _Marlborough to the +Duchess_, Nov. 9, 1710. Coxe, iv. 360. + +[24] Coxe, iv. 405. + +[25] "Though I never thought of troubling your Majesty again in this +manner, yet the circumstances I see my Lord Marlborough in, and the +apprehension I have that he cannot live six months, if there is not some +end put to his sufferings on my account, make it impossible for me to +resist doing every thing in my power to ease him." _Duchess of +Marlborough to Queen Anne_, 17th Jan. 1711. Coxe, iv. 410. + +[26] Smollett, c. x. Sec. 20. + +[27] Marlborough to the Duchess, 24th May 1711. Coxe, v. 417-431. + +[28] Eugene to Marlborough, 23d April 1710; Marlborough to St John, 29th +April 1710. Coxe, vi. 16. _Disp._ v. 319. + +[29] Lidiard, ii. 426. Coxe, vi. 21. 22. + +[30] "I see my Lord Rochester has gone where we all must follow. I +believe my journey will be hastened by the many vexations I meet with. I +am sure I wish well to my country, and if I could do good, I should +think no pains too great; but I find myself decay so very fast, that +from my heart and soul I wish the Queen and my country a peace by which +I might have the advantage of enjoying a little quiet, which is my +greatest ambition." _Marlborough to the Duchess_, 25th May, 1711. Coxe, +vi. 28. + +[31] Marlborough to St John, 14th June 1711. _Disp_. v. 428. Coxe, vi. +29, 30. + +[32] _Villars' Mem._ tom. ii. ann. 1711. + +[33] _Bolingbroke's Corresp._ i. 172. + +[34] "The Duke of Marlborough has no communication from home on this +affair; I suppose he will have none from the Hague." _Mr Secretary St +John to Lord Raby_, 27th April 1711. _Bolingbroke's Corresp._ i. 175. + +[35] Coxe, vi. 52-54. + +[36] Kane's _Memoirs_, p. 89. Coxe, vi. 53, 55; _Disp._ v. 421, 428. + +[37] Kane's _Memoirs_, p. 92. Marlborough to Mr Secretary St John, 6th +August, 1711. _Disp._ v. 428. + +[38] Marlborough to Mr Secretary St John, 6th August 1711. _Disp._ v. +428. Coxe, vi. 60-65. _Kane's Mil. Mem._ 96-99. + +[39] "No person takes a greater interest in your concerns than myself; +your highness has penetrated into the _ne plus ultra_. I hope the siege +of Bouchain will not last long." _Eugene to Marlborough_, 17th August +1711. Coxe, vi. 66. + +[40] "My Lord Stair opened to us the general steps which your grace +intended to take, in order to pass the lines in one part or another. It +was, however, hard to imagine, and too much to hope, that a plan, which +consisted of so many parts, wherein so many different corps were to +co-operate personally together, should entirely succeed, and no one +article fail of what your grace had projected. I most heartily +congratulate your grace on this great event, of which I think no more +needs be said, than that you have obtained, without losing a man, such +an advantage, as we should have been glad to have purchased with the +loss of several thousand lives." _Mr Secretary St John to Marlborough_, +31st July 1711. _Disp._ v. 429. + +[41] Marlborough to Mr Secretary St John, 10th August 1711. _Disp._ v. +437. + +[42] Coxe, vi. 71-80; Marlborough to Mr Secretary St John, 14th, 17th, +and 20th August 1711; _Disp._ v. 445, 450, 453. + +[43] Marlborough to Mr Secretary St John, 14th Sept. 1711. _Disp._ v. +490. _Coxe_, vi. 78-88. + +[44] _Victoires de Marlborough_, iii. 22. Coxe, vi. 87. + + + + +MOHAN LAL IN AFGHANISTAN. + + + _The Life of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Kabul._ By MOHAN LAL, + Esq., Knight of the Persian order of the Lion and Sun, lately + attached to the Mission at Kabul, &c. &c. London: 1846. + +We have arrived at an age when striking contrasts and seeming +incongruities cease to startle and offend. If we have not yet attained +the promised era when the lion shall lie down with the lamb--and even of +that day a VAN AMBURGH and a CARTER have given us significant +intimations--we have certainly reached an epoch quite as extraordinary, +and behold things as opposite conciliated, as hostile reconciled. We +need not go far for illustrations: in the columns of newspapers, in the +public market-place, at each street-corner, they force themselves upon +us. The EAST and the WEST are brought together--the desert and the +drawing-room are but a pace apart--European refinements intrude +themselves into the haunts of barbarism--and bigoted Oriental potentates +learn tolerance from the liberality of the Giaour. An article upon +contrasts would fill a magazine. Ibrahim Pasha and religious liberty, +the Red Sea and the Peninsular Steam Company, the Great Desert and the +Narrow Gauge, are but one or two of a thousand that suggest themselves. +On all sides Europe thrusts out the giant arms of innovation, spanning +the globe, encompassing the world. England, especially, ever foremost in +the race, by enterprise and ingenuity achieves seeming miracles. With +steam for her active and potent agent, she drives highways across the +wilderness, covers remote seas with smoky shipping, replaces dromedaries +by locomotives, runs rails through the Arab village and the lion's lair. +From his carpet and coffee, his pipe and _farniente_, the astonished +Mussulman is roused by the rush and rattle of the train. On the sudden, +by no gradual transition or slow approach, is this semi-savage brought +in contact with the latest refinements and most astounding discoveries +of civilisation. He is bewildered by sights and sounds of which +yesterday he had not the remotest conception. Couriers traverse the +desert with the regularity of a London and Edinburgh mail; caravans of +well-dressed ladies and gentlemen ramble leisurely over the sands, and +brave the simoon on a trip of pleasure to the far East; omnibuses, after +the fashion of Paddington, have their stations on the Isthmus of Suez. +Every where the hat is in juxtaposition with the turban, and the boot of +the active Christian galls the slippered heel of Mahomet's indolent +follower, spurring him to progress and improvement. + +As strange as any of the incongruous associations already hinted at, is +one that we are about to notice. That an Oriental should write a book, +is in no way wonderful; that he should write it in English, more or less +correct, may also be conceived, since abundant opportunities are +afforded to our Eastern fellow-subjects for the acquirement of that +language; but that he should write it, not out of the fulness of his +knowledge, or to convey the results of long study and profound +meditation, but merely, as the razors were made, to sell, does seem +strangely out of character, sadly derogatory to the gravity and dignity +of a Wise Man of the East. We have really much difficulty in portraying +upon our mental speculum so anomalous an animal as an Oriental +bookmaker. We cannot fancy a Knight of the very Persian order of the +Lion and Sun transformed into a publisher's hack, driving bargains with +printers, delivered over to devils, straining each nerve, resorting to +every stale device to swell his volumes to a presentable size, as if +bulk would atone for dulness, and wordiness for lack of interest. Such, +nevertheless, is the painful picture now forced upon us by a Kashmirian +gentleman of Delhi, Mohan Lal by name. Encouraged by the indulgent +reception accorded to an earlier, less pretending, and more worthy +literary attempt--allured also, perhaps, by visions of a shining river +of rupees pleasantly flowing into his purse, the aforesaid Lal, +Esquire--so does his title-page style him--has committed himself by the +fabrication of two heavy volumes, whose interesting portions are, for +the most part stale, and whose novelties are of little interest. Neither +the fulsome dedication, nor the humility of the preface, nor the +indifferent lithographs, purporting to represent notable Asiatics and +Europeans, can be admitted in palliation of this Kashmirian scribbler's +literary misdemeanour. It is impossible to feel touched or mollified +even by the plaintive tone in which he informs us that he has disbursed +three hundred pounds for payment of copyists, paper, and portraits. The +latter, by the bye, will hardly afford much gratification to their +originals, at least if they be all as imperfect and unflattering in +their resemblance as some two or three which we have had opportunities +of comparing. But that is a minor matter. Illustration is a mania of the +day--a crotchet of a public whose reading appetite, it is to be feared, +is in no very healthy state. From penny tracts to quarto volumes, every +thing must have pictures--the more the better--bad ones rather than +none. Turning from the graphic embellishments of the books before us, we +revert to the letterpress, and to the endeavour to sift something of +interest or value out of the nine hundred pages through which, in +conscientious fulfilment of our critical duties, we have wearisomely +toiled. + +The work in question purports to be a life of Dost Mohammed Khan, the +well-known Amir of Kabul. It is what it professes to be, but it is also +a great deal more; the whole has been named from a part. A history of +the affairs of Sindh occupies nearly half a volume, and consists chiefly +of copious extracts from works already published--such as _Pottinger's +Bilochistan_, _Dr Burnes' Visit to the Court of Sindh_, _Sir A. Burnes' +Travels in Bokhara_, _Thornton's British India_--from which sources the +unscrupulous Lal helps himself unsparingly, and with scarce a word of +apology either to reader or writer. We have long accounts of Russian +intrigues, and of those alarming plots and combinations which frightened +Lords Auckland and Palmerston from their propriety, and led to our +interference and reverses in Afghanistan--interference so impotently +followed up, reverses which neither have been nor ever can be fully +redeemed. The mismanagement or incapacity of our political agents during +the short time that we maintained the unfortunate Shah Shuja on the +throne of Kabul, is another fertile topic for the verbose Kashmirian; +but this, it must be observed, is one of the best portions of his book, +although it has no very direct reference to Dost Mohammed, "the lion of +my subject and hero of my tale," as his historian styles him. Numerous +copies of despatches, treaties and diplomatic correspondence, sundry +testimonies of Mr. Lal's abilities and services, and various extraneous +matters, complete the volumes. To give the barest outline of so +voluminous a work would lead us far beyond our allotted limits. We +should even be puzzled to effect the analysis of the first half volume, +which sketches the history of Afghanistan from the period when Payandah +Khan, chief of the powerful Barakzai tribe and father of Dost Mohammed, +was the prime favourite and triumphant general of Taimur Shah, up to the +date when the Dost himself, after a long series of bloody wars, sat upon +the throne, was in the zenith of his prosperity, and when British +diplomatists first began to make and meddle in the affairs of his +kingdom. The perpetually recurring changes, the revolts, revolutions, +and usurpations of which Afghanistan was the scene with little +intermission during the whole of that period, the absence of dates, +which Mohan Lal accounts for by the loss of his manuscripts during the +Kabul insurrection, and the host of proper names introduced, render this +part of the work most perplexingly confused. The reader, however +attentive to his task, becomes fairly bewildered amidst the multitude of +Khans, Shahs, Vazirs, Sardars, and other personages, who pass in hurried +review before his eyes, and utterly puzzled by the strange manoeuvres +and seemingly unaccountable treasons of the actors in this great +Eastern melodrama. In glancing at the book, we shall confine ourselves +more strictly than Mohan Lal has done, to the personal exploits and +history of Dost Mohammed. + +On the death of Taimur Shah, leaving several sons, there was much +difference of opinion amongst the nobles as to who should succeed him. +Payandah Khan, who had received from the sovereign he had so faithfully +served, the title of Sarfraz, or, the Lofty, and whose position and +influence in the country enabled him in some sort to play the part of +king-maker, solved the difficulty by placing Prince Zaman upon the +throne. For a time Zaman was all gratitude, until evil advisers poisoned +his mind, and accused Payandah and other chiefs of plotting to transfer +the crown to Shah Shuja, another son of Taimur. Without trial or +investigation, the persons accused were put to death; and the sons and +nephews of Payandah became fugitives, and suffered great misery. Some +were taken prisoners, others begged their bread, or took shelter in the +mausoleum of Ahmad Shah, in order to receive a share of the food there +doled out for charity's sake. Fatah Khan, the eldest son of Payandah, +fled to Persia; Dost Mohammed, the twentieth son of the same father, +found protection in a fortress belonging to the husband of his mother, +who, in conformity with an Afghan custom, had been claimed by and +compelled to marry one of the nearest relatives of her deceased lord. +This occurred when Dost was a child of seven or eight years old. After a +while, Fatah Khan returned from Persia with an army, and accompanied by +Mahmud Shah, another of Taimur's sons who pretended to the crown of +Afghanistan. His first encounter with the troops of Shah Zaman was a +triumph; and now, says the figurative Lal, the stars of the descendants +of the Sarfraz began to shine. Fatah sought out his young brother, Dost +Mohammed, gave him in charge to a trusty adherent, fixed an income for +his support, and marched away to besiege Qandhar, which he took by +escalade. This was the commencement of a war of succession, or rather of +a series of wars, in which the two sons of Payandah played important +parts. The elder met his death, the younger gained a crown. At first the +contest was amongst the sons and grandsons of Taimur; to several of whom +in turn Fatah and Dost gave their powerful support. It was not till +after many years of civil strife that the last-named chief, prompted by +ambition, and presuming on his popularity and high military reputation, +set up on his own account, and bore away the prize from the more +legitimate competitors. + +When only in his twelfth year, Dost Mohammed Khan was attached to the +retinue of his brother as _abdar_, or water-bearer. He soon acquired +Fatah's confidence, and was admitted to share his secrets. Before he was +fourteen years old, he displayed great energy and intrepidity, which +qualities, added to his remarkable personal beauty, rendered him +exceedingly popular in the country and a vast favourite with Fatah, but +excited the jealousy of his other brothers--men of little more than +ordinary capacity, totally unable to compete with him in any respect. +Whilst still a mere lad, Dost, by his courage and sagacity, delivered +Fatah from more than one imminent peril. At last Shah Zaman, who had +been deposed and blinded, and his son Shah Zadah, laid a snare for Fatah +in the palace-gardens at Qandhar. Ambushed men suddenly seized him, +hurled him to the ground with such violence as to break his teeth, and +kept him prisoner. Dost Mohammed made a dashing attempt at a rescue; but +he had only five hundred followers, the palace was strongly garrisoned, +and a heavy fire of matchlocks repelled him. Meanwhile large bodies of +troops marched to occupy the city gates; and, for his own safety's sake, +he was compelled to leave his brother in captivity, and cut his way out. +Retreating to his stronghold of Giriskh, he awaited the passage of a +rich caravan from Persia. This he plundered, thereby becoming possessed +of about four lakhs of rupees, which he employed in raising troops. With +these he invested Qandhar. After a three months' siege, the garrison had +exhausted its provisions and ammunition; and Zadah, to get rid of the +terrible Dost, released Fatah Khan. The prisoner's liberation was also +partly owing to the intercession of Shah Shuja; notwithstanding which, +Fatah and Dost, with an utter contempt of gratitude and loyalty, soon +afterwards turned their arms against that prince. A great cavalry fight +took place, in which the brave but unprincipled brothers were +victorious. Dost Mohammed was made a field-marshal, and marched against +an army commanded by Shah Shuja in person; a desperate battle ensued, +terminated by negotiation, and once more Dost and the Shah were allies. +But no sooner had poor Shuja gained over his enemies, than his friends +revolted against him, and set up his nephew Zadah as king of +Afghanistan; and very soon his new allies, with unparalleled treachery, +and despite of the titles and presents he had showered upon them, once +more abandoned him. Friend Lal, we are sorry to perceive, seems struck +rather with admiration than horror of these double-dyed traitors, and +talks of the brave heart and wise head of Dost Mohammed, and of the +noble and independent notions which nature had cultivated in him; thus +betraying a certain Oriental laxity of principle which European +education and society might have been expected to eradicate. But he is +perhaps dazzled and blinded by the brilliant military prowess of Dost, +who, at the head of only three thousand men, fell upon the +advanced-guard of the Shah's army, ten thousand strong, and, after a +terrible slaughter, completely routed it. The news of this reverse +greatly incensed and alarmed Shuja, who said confidentially to his +minister, that whilst Dost Mohammed was alive and at large, he (Shuja) +could never expect victory or the enjoyment of his crown. A wonderful +and true prophecy, observes Mohan Lal. Shortly afterwards, the remainder +of the Shah's troops were defeated by Dost, and the Shah himself was +once more a fugitive. + +Shah Mahmud was now placed upon the throne; Vazir Fatah Khan was his +prime minister, and Dost received the title of Sardar, or chief. It was +about this time that the "Sardar of my tale," as the worthy Lal +affectionately styles his hero, committed the first of a series of +murders which, were there no other infamous deeds recorded of him, would +stamp him as vile, and destroy any sympathy that his bravery in the +field and notable talents might otherwise excite in his favour. A +Persian secretary, one Mirza Ali Khan, by his skill and conduct as a +politician, and by his kindly disposition, gained a popularity and +influence which offended the ambitious brothers, and Fatah desired Dost +to make away with him. + +"On receiving the orders of the Vazir, Dost Mohammed armed himself +cap-a-pie, and taking six men with him, went and remained waiting on the +road between the house of Mohammed Azim Khan and the Mirza. It was about +midnight when the Mirza passed by Dost Mohammed Khan, whom he saw, and +said, 'What has brought your highness here at this late hour? I hope all +is good.' He also added, that Dost Mohammed should freely command his +services if he could be of any use to him. He replied to the Mirza that +he had got a secret communication for him, and would tell him if he +moved aside from the servants. He stopped his horse, whereupon Dost +Mohammed, holding the mane of the horse with his left hand, and taking +his dagger in his right, asked the Mirza to bend his head to hear him. +While Dost Mohammed pretended to tell him something of his own +invention, and found that the Mirza was hearing him without any +suspicion, he stabbed him between the shoulders, and throwing him off +his horse, cut him in many places. This was the commencement of the +murders which Dost Mohammed Khan afterwards frequently committed." + +Notwithstanding his high military rank and great services, Dost was very +submissive to Fatah, who was greatly his senior. He acted as his +cup-bearer, and was a constant attendant at his nocturnal carouses, +carrying a golden goblet, and helping him to wine. The morals of both +brothers were as exceptionable in private as in public life. Their +biographer gives details of an intrigue between Dost and the favourite +wife of Fatah; and even hints a doubt whether the Vazir was not +cognizant of the intercourse, which he took no steps to check or punish. +Both brothers were fond of wine, and indulged in it to excess. Dost, +especially, was at one time a most unmitigated sot, although his +bibulous propensities had apparently no permanent effect upon his +intellects and energies. His capacity for liquor, if Lal's account be +authentic, was extraordinary. "It is said that he has emptied several +dozens of bottles in one night, and did not cease from drinking until he +was quite intoxicated, and could not drink a drop more. He has often +become senseless from drinking, and has, on that account, kept himself +confined in bed during many days. He has been often seen in a state of +stupidity on horseback, and having no turban, but a skull-cap, on his +head." At a later period of his life, Dost Mohammed, being abroad one +evening, met two of his sons, Afzal Khan, and the well-known Akhbar +Khan, in an intoxicated state. Less tolerant for his children than for +himself, he gave them a sound thrashing, and, not satisfied with that, +took them up to the roof of a house, and threw them down on stony +ground, to the risk of their lives. The mother of Akhbar heard of this, +and reproached her husband with punishing others for a vice he himself +was prone to. Dost hung his head, and swore to drink wine no more. We +are not told whether he kept the vow, but subsequently, when he was made +Amirul-Momnim, or Commander of the Faithful, he did forsake his drunken +habits. On his reinstatement at Kabul, after its final abandonment by +the British, he relapsed into his old courses, saying, that whilst he +was an enemy to wine, he was always unlucky; but that since he had +resumed drinking, his prosperity had returned, and he had gained his +liberty after being in "Qaid i Frang," which, being interpreted, means +an English prison. When sitting over his bottle, he can sing a good +song, and play upon the _rabab_, a sort of Afghan fiddle, with very +considerable skill. Altogether, and setting aside his throat-cuttings, +and a few other peculiarities, Dost Mohammed must be considered as +rather a jovial and good-humoured barbarian. + +Although a fervent admirer of the fair sex, the valiant Sardar +occasionally, in the hurry and excitement of war and victory, forgot the +respect to which it is entitled. A blunder of this description was +productive of fatal consequences to his brother the Vazir. A breach of +decorum overthrew a dynasty: a lady's girdle changed the destinies of a +kingdom. The circumstances were as follows:--By a well-executed +stratagem, Dost Mohammed surprised the city of Hirat, seized Shah Zadah +Firoz, who ruled there, and plundered the palace. Not content with +appropriating the rich store of jewels, gold, and silver, found in the +treasury, he despoiled the inmates of the harem, and committed an +offence unpardonable in Eastern eyes, by taking off the jewelled band +which fastened the trowsers of the daughter-in-law of Shah Zadah. The +insulted fair one sent her profaned inexpressibles to her brother, a son +of Mahmud Shah, known by the euphonious appellation of Kam Ran. Kam +swore to be revenged. Even Fatah Khan was so shocked at the unparalleled +impropriety of his brother's conduct, that he threatened to punish him; +whereupon Dost, with habitual prudence, avoided the coming storm, and +took refuge with another of his brothers, then governor of Kashmir. Kam +Ran came to Hirat, found that Dost had given him the slip, and consoled +himself by planning, in conjunction with some other chiefs, the +destruction of Fatah Khan. They seized him, put out his eyes, and +brought him pinioned before Mahmud Shah, whom he himself had set upon +the throne. The Shah desired him to write to his rebellious brothers to +submit: he steadily refused, and Mahmud then ordered his death. "The +Vazir was cruelly and deliberately butchered by the courtiers, who cut +him limb from limb, and joint from joint, as was reported, after his +nose, ears, fingers, and lips, had been chopped off. His fortitude was +so extraordinary, that he neither showed a sign of the pain he suffered, +nor asked the perpetrators to diminish their cruelties; and his head was +at last sliced from his lacerated body. Such was the shocking result of +the misconduct of his brother, the Sardar Dost Mohammed Khan, towards +the royal female in Hirat. However, the end of the Vazir, Fatah Khan, +was the end of the Sadozai reign, and an omen for the accession of the +new dynasty of the Barakzais, or his brothers, in Afghanistan." + +It would be tiresome to trace in detail the events that followed the +Vazir's death,--the numerous battles--the treaties concluded and +violated--the reverses and triumphs of the various chiefs who contended +for the supremacy. To revenge their brother, and gratify their own +ambition, the Barakzais united together, expelled Mahmud, and divided +the country amongst themselves. Mohammed Azim, the eldest brother, took +Kabul, Sultan Mohammed had Peshavar, Purdil Khan received Qandhar, and +to the Sardar Dost Mohammed Ghazni was allotted. Apparently all were +content with this arrangement; but, in secret, Dost was far from +satisfied, and plotted to improve his share. With this view, he entered +into negotiations with Ranjit Singh and the Lahore chiefs; and at last, +by intrigue and treachery, rather than by force of arms, he reduced +Mohammed Azim to such extremities and despair, that he retired to Kabul, +and there died broken-hearted. His son, Habib-Ullah, who succeeded him, +fared no better. He was turned out of Kabul, and exposed to want and +misery, which broke his spirit, and rendered him insane. He left the +country with his wives and children, whom he murdered on the banks of +the Indus, and threw into the river. + +Whilst Dost was in full career of success and aggrandisement, achieved +by the most treacherous and sanguinary means, Shah Shuja raised an army +in Sindh, intending to invade Qandhar and recover his dominions. A +report was spread by certain discontented chiefs in Dost Mohammed's and +the Qandhar camps that the English favoured Shuja's attempt. To +ascertain the truth of this, Dost Mohammed addressed a letter to Sir +Claude Wade, then political agent at Loodianah, requesting to know +whether the Shah was supported by the English. If so, he said, he would +take the state of affairs into his deliberate consideration; but if the +contrary was the case, he was ready to fight the Shah. Sir Claude Wade +replied, that the British government took no share in the king's +expedition against the Barakzai chief, but that it wished him well. +Thereupon Dost and his son Akhbar Khan marched to meet the Shah. A +battle was fought in front of Qandhar, and at first victory seemed to +incline to Shuja; but by the exertions and valour of the Sardar and his +son, the tide was turned, and the threatened defeat converted into a +signal victory. "All the tents, guns, and camp equipage of the +ever-fugitive Shah Shuja fell into the hands of the Lion of Afghanistan, +and a large bundle of the papers and correspondence of various chiefs in +his country with the Shah. Among these he found many letters under the +real or forged seal of Sir Claude Wade, to the address of certain +chiefs, stating that any assistance given to Shah Shuja should be +appreciated by the British government." + +Whilst Mohammed thus successfully assisted his brothers, the Qandhar +chiefs, against their common foe, Shah Shuja, his other brothers, the +Peshavar chiefs, were dispossessed by the Sikhs, and compelled to take +refuge at Jellalabad. There, expecting that Dost would be beaten by the +Shah, they planned to seize upon Kabul. Their measures were taken, and +in some districts they had actually appointed governors, when they +learned Shuja's defeat, and their brother's triumphant return. This was +the destruction of their ambitious projects; but with true Afghan craft +and hypocrisy, they put a good face upon the matter, fired salutes in +honour of the victory, disavowed the proceedings of those officers who, +by their express order, had taken possession of the Sardar's villages, +and went out to meet him with every appearance of cordiality and joy. +Although not the dupe of this seeming friendship, Dost Mohammed received +them well, and declared his intention of undertaking a religious war +against the Sikhs to revenge their aggressions at Peshavar, and to +punish them for having dared, as infidels, to make an inroad into a +Mahomedan land. In acting thus, the cunning Sardar had two objects in +view. One was to obtain recruits by appealing to the fanaticism of the +people, for his funds were low, and the Afghans were weary of war; the +other, which he at once attained, was to get himself made king, on the +ground that religious wars, fought under the name and flag of any other +than a crowned head, do not entitle those who fall in them to the glory +of martyrdom. The priests, chiefs, and counsellors, consulted together, +and agreed that Dost Mohammed ought to assume the royal title. The +Sardar, without any preparation or feast, went out of the Bala Hisar +with some of his courtiers; and in Idgah, Mir Vaiz, the head-priest of +Kabul, put a few blades of grass on his head, and called him +"Amirul-Momnin," or, "Commander of the Faithful." Thus did the wily and +unscrupulous Dost at last possess the crown he so long had coveted. +Instead, however, of being inflated by his dignity, the new Amir became +still plainer in dress and habits, and more easy of access than before. +Finding himself in want of money for his projected war, and unable to +obtain it by fair means, he now commenced a system of extortion, which +he carried to frightful lengths, pillaging bankers and merchants, +confiscating property, and torturing those who refused to acquiesce in +his unreasonable demands. One poor wretch, a trader of the name of Sabz +Ali, was thrown into prison, branded and tormented in various ways, +until he expired in agony. His relatives were compelled to pay the +thirty thousand rupees which it had been the object of this barbarous +treatment to extort. At last five lakhs of rupees were raised, wherewith +to commence the religious war. Its result was disastrous and +discreditable to the Amir. Without having fought a single battle, he was +outwitted and outmanoeuvred, and returned crestfallen to Kabul--his +brothers, the Peshavar chiefs, who were jealous of his recent elevation, +having aided in his discomfiture. + +Although the Amir had many enemies both at home and abroad--the most +inveterate amongst the former being some of his own brothers--and +although he was often threatened by great dangers, he gradually +succeeded in consolidating his power, and fixing himself firmly upon the +throne he had usurped. Himself faithless and treacherous, he distrusted +all men; and gradually removing the governors of various districts, he +replaced them by his sons, who feared him, scrupulously obeyed his +orders, and followed his system of government. In time his power became +so well established that the intrigues of his dissatisfied brethren no +longer alarmed him. The Sikhs gave him some uneasiness, but in a battle +at Jam Road, near the entrance of the Khaibar Pass, his two sons, Afzal +and Akhbar, defeated them and killed their general, Hari Singh. The +victory was chiefly due to Afzal, but Akhbar got the credit, through the +management of his mother, the Amir's favourite wife. This unjust +partiality, to which we shall again have occasion to refer when touching +upon the future prospects of Afghanistan, greatly disheartened Afzal and +his brothers, and indisposed them towards their father. + +The brief and imperfect outline which we have been enabled to give of +the career of Dost Mohammed, and of his arrival at the supreme power in +Kabul, is entirely deficient in dates. The Afghans have no records, but +preserve their history solely by tradition and memory. Mohan Lal having, +as before mentioned, lost his manuscripts, containing information +supplied by the Amir's relations and courtiers, was afterwards unable to +place the circumstances of his history in chronological order. The +deficiency is not very important, since it naturally ceases to exist +from the time that British India became mixed up in the affairs of +Afghanistan. The fight of Jam Road, in which the Afghans were the +aggressors, and which was occasioned by the Amir's cravings after the +province of Peshavar, brings us up to the latter part of the year 1836. +Previously and subsequently to that battle, Dost Mohammed wrote several +letters to the Governor-general of India, Lord Auckland, expressing his +fear of the Sikhs, and asking advice and countenance. Lord Auckland +resolved to accord him both, and dispatched Sir Alexander Burnes to +Kabul to negotiate the opening of the Indus navigation. The presence of +the British mission at the Amir's court, and the proposals made by the +Governor-general to the Maharajah to mediate between him and Dost +Mohammed, sufficed to check the advance of a powerful Sikh army which +Ranjit Singh had assembled to revenge the reverse of Jam Road. The Amir +was not satisfied with this protection; but urged Sir Alexander Burnes +to make the Sikhs give up Peshavar to him. The reply was, that Peshavar +had never belonged to the Amir, but to his brothers; that Ranjit Singh +was a faithful ally of the English government, which could not use its +authority directly in the case; but that endeavours should be made to +induce the Maharajah amicably to yield Peshavar to its former chief, +Sultan Mohammed Khan. This mode of viewing the question by no means met +the wishes of the ambitious Amir; for he coveted the territory for +himself, and would rather have seen it remain in the hands of the Sikhs +than restored to Sultan Mohammed, who was his deadly enemy.[45] He +expressed his dissatisfaction in very plain terms to Sir Alexander +Burnes; and perceiving that the English were not disposed to aid him in +his unjustifiable projects of aggrandisement, he threw himself into the +arms of Russia and Persia, to which countries he had, with +characteristic duplicity, communicated his grievances and made offers of +alliance, at the same time that he professed, in his letters to Lord +Auckland, to rely entirely upon British counsels and friendship. + +And now commenced those intrigues and machinations of Russia, of which +so great a bugbear was made both in India and England. Mohan Lal +maintains that the apprehensions occasioned by these manoeuvres were +legitimate and well-founded; that the views of Russia were encroaching +and dangerous; and that her name and influence were already seriously +injurious to British interests, as far even as the eastern bank of the +Indus. Vague rumours of Russian power and valour had spread through +British India; had been exaggerated by Eastern hyperbole, and during +their passage through many mouths; and had rendered numerous chiefs, +Rajput as well as Mahomedan, restless and eager for a fray. Throughout +the country there was a growing belief that English power was on the eve +of a reverse. We are told of the mission of Captain Vikovich, of +Muscovite ducats poured into Afghan pockets, of an extension of +influence sought by Russia in Turkistan and Kabul, of arms to be +supplied by Persia, and of a Persian army to be marched into Afghanistan +to seize upon the disputed province of Peshavar. As the companion and +friend of Sir Alexander Burnes during his mission to Kabul, Mohan Lal +coincides in the opinions of that officer with respect to the necessity +of taking vigorous and immediate steps to counteract the united +intrigues of the Shah of Persia and Count Simonich, the Russian +ambassador at Tehran. This necessity was pressed upon Lord Auckland in +numerous and alarming despatches from Sir A. Burnes and other +Anglo-Indian diplomatists. + +With such opinions and prognostications daily ringing in his ears, Lord +Auckland, who at first, we are told, did not attach much importance to +the Vikovich mission and the Russian intrigues, at last took fright, and +prepared to adopt the decisive measures so plausibly and perseveringly +urged by the alarmists. The well-known and notable plan to be resorted +to, was the expulsion of the Amir Dost Mohammed and of the other +Barakzai chiefs inimical to the British, and the establishment of a +friendly prince upon the throne of Kabul. Who was to be chosen? Two +candidates alone appeared eligible--Sultan Mohammed Khan, chief of +Peshavar, brother and bitter foe of the Amir, and Shah Shuja, the +deposed but legitimate sovereign of Afghanistan. The Shah, who had long +lived inactive and retired at Loodianah, was believed, not without +reason, to have lost any ability or talent for reigning which he had +ever possessed; nevertheless, his name and hereditary right caused him +to be preferred by Lord Auckland, whose advisers also were unanimous in +their recommendation of Shuja. "As for Shah Shuja," wrote Sir Alexander +Burnes, who had now left Kabul, in his letter to the Governor-general, +dated 3d June 1838, "the British government have only to send him to +Peshavar with an agent, one or two of its own regiments as an honorary +escort, and an avowal to the Afghans that we have taken up his cause, to +ensure his being fixed _for ever_ on his throne." + +"The British government," said one of those on whose information that +government acted, (Mr Masson,) "could employ interference without +offending half-a-dozen individuals. Shah Shuja, under their auspices, +would not even encounter opposition," &c.--(_Thornton's British India_, +vol. vi. p. 150.) + +"Annoyed at Dost Mohammed's reception of Vikovich, the Russian emissary, +and disquieted by the departure of the British agent, they (the +Afghans)" says Lieutenant Wood, "looked to the Amir as the sole cause of +their troubles, and thought of Shah Shuja and redress." + +Sir C. Wade, Mr Lord, and other authorities supposed to be well versed +in the politics of the land where mischief was imagined to be brewing, +expressed opinions similar in substance to those just cited. It was +decided that Shuja was the man; and Sir William M'Naghten started for +the court of Lahore to negotiate a tripartite treaty between the +Maharajah, the Shah, and the British government. Wade and Burnes were to +co-operate with the envoy. The treaty was concluded and signed, advices +from Lord Palmerston strengthened and confirmed Lord Auckland in his +predilection for "vigorous measures," and a declaration of war was +proclaimed and circulated throughout India and Afghanistan. + +Lord Auckland is, we dare to say, a very well-meaning man--albeit not +exactly of the stuff of which viceroys of vast empires ought to be made; +and we willingly believe that he acted to the best of his judgment in +undertaking the Afghan war. Unfortunately, that is not saying much. His +lordship's advisers may have been right in supposing that the people of +Kabul were weary of the Amir's extortionate and tyrannical rule, and +desired the milder government of Shah Shuja; but if so, it is the more +to be regretted that, when we had established Shuja on the throne, the +mismanagement and want of unity of British agents--amongst whom were +some of those very advisers--should so rapidly have changed the +partiality of the Afghans for the Shah into contempt, their friendly +dispositions towards the British into aversion and fierce hatred. Mohan +Lal strenuously insists upon the blamelessness of Lord Auckland in the +whole of the unfortunate affairs of Afghanistan; lauds his judicious +measures, and maintains that had they not been adopted, "disasters and +outbreaks would soon have appeared in the very heart of India. The +object of the governor-general was to annihilate the Russian and Persian +influence and intrigues in Afghanistan, both at that time, and for all +time to come, unless they adopt open measures; and this object he +fortunately and completely attained, in a manner worthy of the British +name, and laudable to himself as a statesman." We could say a word or +two on this head, but refrain, not wishing to rake up old grievances, or +discuss so uninteresting a subject as Lord Auckland's merits and +abilities. Mr Lal admits that his lordship made two enormous blunders: +one "in appointing two such talented men as Sir William M'Naghten and +Sir Alexander Burnes, to act at the same time, in one field of honour; +the second was, that on hearing of the outbreak at Kabul, he delayed in +insisting upon the commander-in-chief to order an immediate despatch of +the troops towards Peshavar." "He being the superior head of the +government," continues this long-winded Kashmirian, "he ought not to +allow hesitation to approach and to embarrass his sound judgement, at +the crisis when immediate and energetic attention was required." _De +mortuis nil_, &c.; and therefore, of the two unfortunate gentlemen above +referred to, we will merely say, that many have considered their talents +far less remarkable than their blunders. As to the Earl of +Auckland--"Save me from my friends!" his lordship might well exclaim. +Indecision and lack of discrimination compose a nice character for a +governor-general. One great criterion of ability to rule is a judicious +choice of subordinate agents. Lord Auckland's reason for not sending the +reinforcements so terribly required by our troops in Kabul, is thus +curiously rendered by his Eastern advocate:--"His lordship had already +made every arrangement to retire from the Indian government, and +therefore did not wish to prolong the time for his departure by +embarking in other and new operations." Truly a most ingenious defence! +So, because the governor-general was in haste to be off, an army must be +consigned to destruction. Most sapient Lal! his lordship is obliged to +you. "Call you that backing your friends?" May our worst enemy have you +for his apologist. + +We return to Dost Mohammed and his fortunes. Shah Shuja was publicly +installed upon the throne; numerous chiefs tendered him their +allegiance; Kalat, Qandhar, and Ghazni fell into the hands of his +British allies, before the Amir himself gave sign of life. This he did +by sending his brother, Navab Jabbar Khan, who was considered a stanch +friend of Europeans, and especially of the English, to treat with Sir +William M'Naghten. The Navab stated that the Amir was desirous to +surrender, on condition that he should be made Vazir or Prime Minister +of the Shah, to which post he had an hereditary claim. The condition was +refused; as was also the Navab's request that his niece, the wife of +Haidar Khan, the captured governor of Ghazni, should be given up to him. +Altogether, the poor Navab was treated in no very friendly manner; and +he returned to Kabul with his affection for the English considerably +weakened. As he had long been suspected of intriguing against the Amir, +he took this opportunity to wipe off the imputation, by encouraging the +people to rise and oppose his brother's enemies. "The Amir called an +assembly in the garden which surrounds the tomb of Taimur Shah, and made +a speech, petitioning his subjects to support him in maintaining his +power, and in driving off the infidels from the Mahomedan country. Many +people who were present stated to me that his words were most touching +and moving, but they gained no friends." He also invented various +stories to frighten the lower orders into resistance, saying that during +their march from Sindh to Ghazni, the English had ill-treated the women, +and boiled and eaten the young children. Arguments and lies--all were in +vain. The Kohistanis, his own subjects, who had been induced to rise +against him, descended from their valley, and threatened to attack the +Kabulis, if they allowed the Amir to remain amongst them. The army of +the Indus drew near, and at last Dost Mohammed abandoned the city, and +fled to Bamian, leaving his artillery and heavy baggage at Maidan. There +it was taken possession of by the British, and given up to Shah Shuja; +and on the 7th of August 1839, that prince, after an exile of thirty +years, re-entered the capital of his kingdom. + +Hard upon the track of the fugitive Amir, followed Colonel Outram, with +several other officers, and some Afghans under Haji Khan Kaker, in all +about eight hundred foot and horse. Dost Mohammed had with him a handful +of followers, including the Navab Jabbar Khan and Akhbar Khan, the +latter of whom was sick and travelled in a litter. On the 21st August, +Colonel Outram was informed that he was within a day's march of the +object of his pursuit, whose escape, on that occasion, he attributes to +the treachery of Haji Khan. One night the Hazarahs stole twenty of the +Amir's horses, which greatly reduced the numbers of his little escort. +At last, however, he found himself in safety amongst the Uzbegs, and +thence wished to proceed to Persia; but the difficulties of the road, +already nearly impassible on account of the snow, decided him to accept +the proferred protection of the Amir of Bokhara. By this half-mad +monarch he was very queerly treated; at one time his life was in +peril--a treacherous attempt being made to drown him, his sons, and +relations, whilst crossing the river Oxus in a boat. At last he was +forbidden to leave his house, even to make his prayers at the mosque, +and was in fact a prisoner. His two sons, Afzal and Akhbar, shared his +captivity. + +For the easy conquest of Afghanistan, and for the popularity of the +English during the early days of its occupation, a long string of +reasons is given by Mohan Lal. By various parts of his conduct, +especially by his injustice and extortions, the Amir had made himself +unpopular with the Afghans, who, on the other hand, remembered the +liberality displayed by the Honourable Montstuart Elphinstone in the +days of his mission to Kabul, and being by nature exceedingly +avaricious, hoped to derive immense profit and advantage from British +occupation of their country. The recent intercourse and friendship of +the Amir with the Shah of Persia had also excited the indignation of his +subjects, who, being Sunnies by sect, were deadly enemies of the Persian +Shias. The English, in short, were as popular as the Barakzais were +detested. Nevertheless it behoved the Shah Shuja and his European +supporters to be circumspect and conciliatory; for Dost Mohammed was +still at large, and lingering on the frontier, and any offence given to +the Kabulis might be the signal for his recall. "Notwithstanding," says +Mohan Lal, "all these points of grave concern, we sent a large portion +of the army back, with Lord Keane, to India; and yet we interfered in +the administration of the country, and introduced such reforms amongst +the obstinate Afghans just on our arrival, as even in India, the +quietest part of the world, Lords Clive and Wellesley had hesitated to +do but slowly." The administration of the principal frontier towns was +now confided to the Shah's officers; but these were not suffered to rule +undisturbed, for Sir W. MacNaghten's political assistants every where +watched their conduct and interfered in their jurisdictions. The occult +nature of this interference prevented benefit to the people, whilst it +caused a disregard for the local authorities. An undecided course was +the bane of our Afghanistan policy. The government was neither entirely +taken into the hands of the British, nor wholly left in those of the +Shah. Outwardly, we were neutral; in reality, we constantly interfered: +thus annoying the king and disappointing the people. Shah Shuja grew +jealous of British influence, and began to suspect that he was but the +shadow of a sovereign, a puppet whose strings were pulled for foreign +advantage. Sir A. Burnes introduced reductions in the duties on all +articles of commerce. Trade improved, but the Shah's servants frequently +deviated from the new tariff, and extorted more than the legal imposts. +When complaints were made to the English, they were referred to the +Shah's Vazir, Mulla Shakur, who, instead of giving redress, beat and +imprisoned the aggrieved parties for having appealed against the king's +authority. Persons known to be favoured by the English were vexed and +annoyed by the Shah's government; and it soon became evident that Mulla +Shakur was striving to form a party for Shuja, in order to make him +independent of British support. The people began to look upon the Shah +as the unwilling slave of the Europeans; the priests omitted the +"Khutbah," or prayer for the king, saying that it could only be recited +for an independent sovereign. Soon the high price of provisions gave +rise to grave dissensions. The purchases of grain made by the English +commissariat raised the market, and placed that description of food out +of reach of the poorer classes. Forage, meat, and vegetables, all rose +in proportion, and a cry of famine was set up. Both in town and country, +the landlords and dealers kept back the produce, or sent the whole of +it to the English camp. A proclamation made by Mulla Shakur, forbidding +the hoarding of provisions, or their sale above a fixed price, was +disregarded. The poor assembled in throngs before the house of Sir A. +Burnes, who was compelled to make gratuitous distributions of bread. At +last the Shah's government adopted the course usual in Afghanistan in +such emergencies; the store-keepers were seized, and compelled to sell +their grain at a moderate price. They complained to the English agents, +who unwisely interfered. Mohan Lal was ordered to wait upon Mulla +Shakur, and to request him to release the traders. The result of this +was a universal cry throughout the kingdom, that the English were +killing the people by starvation. What wretched work was this? what +miserable mismanagement? and how deluded must those men have been who +thought it possible, by pursuing such a course, to conciliate an +ignorant and barbarous people, and secure the permanence of Shah Shuja's +reign? "After the outbreak of Kabul," says Mohan Lal, whose evidence on +these matters must have weight, as that of an eyewitness, and of one +who, from his position as servant of the East India Company, would not +venture to distort the truth, "when I was concealed in the Persian +quarters, I heard both the men and the women saying that the English +enriched the grain and the grass-sellers, &c., whilst they reduced the +chiefs to poverty and killed the poor by starvation." + +It is a well-known English foible to think nothing good unless the price +be high. This was strikingly exemplified in Afghanistan, where every +thing was done virtually to lower the value of money. The labourers +employed by our engineer officers were paid at so high a rate that there +was a general strike, and agriculture was brought to a stand-still. The +king's gardens were to be put in order, but not a workman was to be had +except for English pay. The treasury could not afford to satisfy such +exorbitant demands, and the people were made to work, receiving the +regular wages of the country. Clamour and complaint were the +consequence, and the English authorities informed Mullah Shakur, that if +he did not satisfy the grumblers, they would pay them for the Shah, thus +constituting him their debtor. Shuja's jealousy increased, and he showed +his irritation by various petty attempts at annoyance. Discontent was +rife in Afghanistan, even when the general impression amongst the +English officers there, was, that the country was quiet and the people +satisfied. Colonel Herring was murdered near Ghazni; a chief named Sayad +Hassim rebelled, but was subdued, and his fort taken, by Colonel Orchard +and the gallant Major Macgregor. + +It was at this critical period that news came to Kabul of Dost +Mohammed's escape from Bokhara. The Shah of Persia had rebuked the +Bokhara ambassador for his master's harsh treatment of the Amir, +whereupon the latter was allowed more liberty, of which he took +advantage to escape. On the road his horse knocked up, but he luckily +fell in with a caravan, and obtained a place in a camel-basket. The +caravan was searched by the emissaries of the King of Bokhara, but the +Amir had coloured his white beard with ink, and thus avoided detection. +He was received with open arms by the Mir of Shahar Sabz and the Vali of +Khulam, and held counsel with those two chiefs and some other adherents +as to the course he should adopt. It was resolved to make an attempt to +recover Kabul, and measures were taken to collect money, men, and +horses. The moment appeared favourable for the enterprise; the Afghan +chiefs and people were discontented, and there were disturbances in +Kohistan. Sir William MacNaghten knew not whom to trust; and a vast +number of arrests were made on suspicion, some without the slightest +cause, which increased the disaffection and want of confidence. On the +30th of August hostilities commenced with an attack by Afzal Khan on the +British post at Bajgah. It was repulsed, and on the 18th of September +the Amir and the Vali of Khulam were routed by Colonel Dennie. Dost +Mohammed fled to Kohistan, many of whose chief inhabitants rallied round +his standard, until he found himself at the head of five thousand men. +He might have augmented this number, but for the exertions of Sir A. +Burnes and Mohan Lal, who sent agents into the revolted country with +money to buy up the inhabitants. This became known amongst the Amir's +followers, and rendered him distrustful of them; for he feared they +would be unable to withstand the temptations held out, and would betray +him, in hopes of a large reward. On the 2d of November occurred a +skirmish between the Amir's forces and the troops under General Sale and +Shah Zadah, in which the 2d cavalry were routed, and several English +officers killed, or severely wounded. Notwithstanding this slight +advantage, and a retrograde movement effected the same night by the +united British and Afghan division, the Amir felt himself so insecure, +fearing even assassination at the hand of the Kohistanis, that, on the +evening of the 30th November, he gave himself up to Sir William +MacNaghten at Kabul. He was delighted with the kind and generous +reception he met, and wrote to Afzal Khan and his other sons to join +him. After a few days, the necessary arrangements being completed, he +was sent to India. + +The Amir a prisoner, the chief apparent obstacle to the tranquillity of +Afghanistan was removed, and it was not unreasonable to suppose that +Shah Shuja would thenceforward sit undisturbed upon the throne of his +ancestors. Unfortunately such anticipations were erroneous. Had Dost +Mohammed remained at large, any harm he could have done would have been +inferior to that occasioned by the injudicious measures of the British +agents. These measures, as Mohan Lal asserts, with, we fear, too much +truth, were the very worst that could be devised for the attainment of +the ends proposed. The Afghan character was misunderstood, Afghan +customs and institutions were interfered with, and Afghan prejudices +shocked. Certain things there were, which it would have been good policy +to wink at, or appear ignorant of. The contrary course was adopted. On +the field of Parvan, where the combat of the 2d November took place, a +bag of letters was found, compromising a large number of chiefs and +influential Kabulis. The Amir having surrendered, and as it was not +intended to punish these persons, the wisest plan would have been to +suppress the letters entirely; but this was not done, and the disclosure +caused a vast deal of mistrust on the part of the suspected chiefs +towards the English. It also gave a stimulus to a practice then very +prevalent in Kabul, that of forging letters from persons of note, with a +view to compromise the supposed writers, and to procure for the forgers +money and English friendship. Much mischief was done by these letters, +some of which were fabricated by Afghans enjoying the favour and +confidency of Sir A. Burnes and Sir W. MacNaghten. + +On the repeated solicitations of the English, the Vazir Mulla Shakur was +dismissed. His successor, Nizam-ul-Daulah, was almost forced upon the +Shah, whose power was thus rendered contemptible in the eyes of the +Afghans. The new minister took his orders rather from the British agents +than from his nominal master--going every day to the former to report +what he had done, caring nothing for the good or bad opinion of the +nation, or for the will of the Shah, whose mandates he openly disobeyed. +Having committed an oppressive act, by depriving a Sayad of his land, +Shuja repeatedly enjoined him to restore the property to its rightful +owner. He paid no attention to these injunctions; and at last the Shah +told the suppliant, when he again came to him for redress, "that he had +no power over the Vazir, and therefore that the Sayad should curse him, +and not trouble the Shah any more, because he was no more a king but a +slave." By bribes to the newswriters of the envoy and Sir A. Burnes, +Nizam-ul-Daulah endeavoured to keep his misdeeds from the ears of those +officers. Nevertheless, they became known to them through Mohan Lal and +others; but Sir A. Burnes "felt himself in an awkward position, and +considered it impossible to cause the dismissal of one whose nomination +he had with great pains so recently recommended." + +A reform in the military department, recommended by Sir A. Burnes, +caused immense bitterness and ill-blood amongst the chiefs, whose +retinues were compulsorily diminished, the men who were to be retained, +and those who were to be dismissed, being selected by a British officer. +This was looked upon as an outrageous insult and grievous humiliation. +The reduction was effected, also, in a harsh and arbitary manner, +without consideration for the pride of the chiefs and warriors, by whom +all these offences were treasured up, to be one day bloodily revenged. +Other innovations speedily followed and increased their discontent; +until at last they were reduced to so deplorable a position that they +waited in a body upon Shah Shuja to complain of it. The Shah imprudently +replied, that he was king by title only, not by power, and that the +chiefs were cowards, and could do nothing. These words Mohan Lal +believes were not spoken to stimulate the chiefs to open rebellion, but +merely to induce them to such acts as might convince the English of the +bad policy of their reforms and other measures. But the Shah had +miscalculated the effect of his dangerous hint. After the interview with +him, at the end of September 1841, the chiefs assembled, and sealed an +engagement, written on the leaves of the Koran, binding themselves to +rebel against the existing government, as the sole way to annihilate +British influence in Kabul. Mohan Lal was informed of this plot, and +reported it to Sir A. Burnes, who attached little importance to it, and +refused to permit the seizure of the Koran, whence the names of the +conspirators might have been learned. It has been frequently stated, +that neither Burnes nor MacNaghten had timely information of the +discontent and conspiracy of the chiefs. Mohan Lal affirms the contrary, +and supports his assertion by extracts from letters written by those +gentlemen. Pride of power, he says, and an unfortunate spirit of +rivalry, prevented them from taking the necessary measures to meet the +outbreak. Sir A. Burnes thought that to be on the alert would show +timidity, whilst carelessness of the alarming reports then afloat would +prove intrepidity, and produce favourable results. But it was not the +moment for such speculations. A circular letter was secretly sent round +to all the Durrani and Persian chiefs in Kabul and the suburbs, falsely +stating that a plan was on foot to seize them and send them to India, +whither Sir W. MacNaghten was about to proceed as governor of Bombay. +The authors of this atrocious forgery were afterwards discovered. They +were three Afghans of bad character and considerable cunning, who had +been employed by the Vazir, by the envoy, and by Sir A. Burnes. Their +object was to produce a revolt, in which they might make themselves +conspicuous as friends of the English, and so obtain reward and +distinction. They had been wont to derive advantage from revolutions and +outbreaks, and were eager for another opportunity of making money. Their +selfish and abominable device was the spark to the train. It caused a +prompt explosion. The chiefs again assembled, resolved upon instant +action, and fixed upon its plan. It was decided to begin by an attack +upon the houses of Sir A. Burnes and the other English officers resident +in the city. For fear of discovery, not a moment was to be lost. The +following day, the 2d of November, was to witness the outbreak. + +And now, at the eleventh hour, fresh intimations of the approaching +danger were conveyed to those whom it threatened. Two persons informed +Sir A. Burnes of it; and one of the conspirators more than hinted it to +Mohan Lal, who had boasted to him that the Ghilzais were pacified by +Major Macgregor, and that Sir Robert Sale was on his victorious march to +Jellalabad. The conspirator laughed. "To-morrow morning," he said, "the +very door you now sit at will be in flames of fire; and yet still you +pride yourselves in saying that you are safe!" + +"I told all this," says Mohan Lal, "to Sir Alexander Burnes, whose reply +was, that we must not let the people suppose we were frightened, and +that he will see what he can do in the cantonment, whither he started +immediately. Whilst I was talking with Sir A. Burnes, an anonymous note +reached him in Persian, confirming what he had heard from me and from +other sources, on which he said, 'The time is arrived that we must leave +this country.'" The time for that was already past. + +The disastrous occurrences in Afghanistan, on and subsequently to the 2d +of November 1841, are so recent, so well-known, and have been so much +written about, that any thing beyond a passing reference to them is here +unnecessary. Mohan Lal's account of the deaths of Sir A. Burnes, Charles +Burnes, Sir W. MacNaghten, and Shah Shuja, is interesting, as are also +some details of his own escapes and adventures during the insurrection. +From the roof of his house he witnessed the attack upon that of Sir A. +Burnes, and the death of Lieutenant H. Burnes, who slew six Afghans +before he himself was cut to pieces. Sir Alexander was murdered without +resistance, having previously tied his cravat over his eyes, in order +not to see the blows that put an end to his existence. Mohan Lal himself +narrowly escaped death at the hands of the man who subsequently murdered +Shah Shuja; but he was rescued by an Afghan friend, and concealed in a +harem. Afterwards, whilst prisoner to Akhbar Khan, he did good service +in sending information to the English generals and political agents, and +finally in negotiating the release of the Kabul captives. For all these +matters we refer our readers to the closing chapters of his book, and +return to Dost Mohammed. + +On his arrival at Calcutta, the Amir was treated by Lord Auckland with +great attention and respect, an income of three lakhs of rupees was +allotted to him, and he was taken to see the curiosities of the city, +the naval and military stores, &c. All these things greatly struck him, +and he was heard to say, that had he known the extraordinary power and +resources of the English, he would never have opposed them. After a +while, his health sufferred from the Calcutta climate; he became greatly +alarmed about himself, and begged to be allowed to join his family at +Loodianah. He was sent to the upper provinces, and afterwards to the +hills, where the temperature was cool and somewhat similar to that of +his own country. During the Kabul insurrection he managed to keep up a +communication with his son Akhbar, whom he strongly advised to destroy +the English by every means in his power. + +When the British forces re-entered Afghanistan to punish its inhabitants +for the Kabul massacres, Prince Fatah Jang, son of the murdered Shah +Shuja, was placed upon the throne. But when he found that his European +supporters, after accomplishing the work of chastisement, were about to +evacuate the country with a precipitation which, it has been said, +"resembled almost as much the retreat of an army defeated as the march +of a body of conquerors,"[46] he hastened to abdicate his short-lived +authority. He was too good a judge of the chances, to await the +departure of the British and the arrival of Akhbar Khan, and preferred +taking off his crown himself to having it taken off by somebody else, +with his head in it. His brother, Prince Shahpur, a mere boy, was then +seated upon the throne, and left at the mercy of his enemies. His reign +was very brief. As the English marched from Kabul, Akhbar Khan +approached it, and the son of Shuja had to run away, with loss of +property and risk of life. "By such a precipitate withdrawal from +Afghanistan," says Mohan Lal, "we did not show an honourable sentiment +of courage, but we disgracefully placed many friendly chiefs in a +serious dilemma. There were certain chiefs whom we detached from Akhbar +Khan, pledging our honour and word to reward and protect them; and I +could hardly show my face to them at the time of our departure, when +they came full of tears, saying, that 'we deceived and punished our +friends, causing them to stand against their own countrymen, and then +leaving them in the mouths of lions.' As soon as Mohammed Akhbar +occupied Kabul, he tortured, imprisoned, extorted money from, and +disgraced, all those who had taken our side. I shall consider it indeed +a great miracle and a divine favour, if hereafter any trust ever be +placed in the word and promise of the authorities of the British +government throughout Afghanistan and Turkistan." + +When it at last became evident that the feeble and talentless Sadozais +were unable to hold the reins of power in Afghanistan, or to contend, +with any chance of success, against the energy and influence of the +Barakzai chiefs, Dost Mohammed was released, and allowed to return to +his own country. On his way he concluded a secret treaty of alliance +with Sher Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjaub, and from Lahore was +escorted by the Sikhs to the Khaibar pass, where Akhbar Khan and other +Afghan chiefs received him. The Amir's exultation at again ascending his +throne knew no bounds. Unschooled by adversity, he very soon recommenced +his old system of extortion, and made himself so unpopular, that he was +once fired at, but escaped. He now enjoys his authority and the +superiority of his family, fearless of invasion from West or East. + +Although Akhbar Khan, of all the Amir's sons, has the greatest influence +in Afghanistan, and renown out of it, his elder brother, Afzal Khan, is, +we are informed, greatly his superior in judgment and nobility of +character. Mohan Lal predicts a general commotion in Kabul when Dost +Mohammed dies. If any one of his brothers, the chiefs of Qandhar, or +Sultan Mohammed Khan, the ex-chief of Peshavar, be then alive, he will +attempt to seize Kabul, and many of the Afghan nobles, some even of the +Amir's sons, will lend him their support against Akhbar Khan. The +popular candidate, however, the favourite of the people, of the chiefs, +and of his relations, the Barakzais, is Afzal Khan. Akhbar will be +supported by his brothers--the sons, that is to say, of his own mother +as well as of the Amir. Perhaps the whole territory of Kabul will be +divided into small independent principalities, governed by the different +sons of Dost Mohammed. At any rate, there can be little doubt that at +his death wars and intrigues, plunderings and assassinations, will again +distract the country. The crown that was won by the crimes of the +father, will, in all probability, be shattered and pulled to pieces by +the dissensions and rivalry of the children. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[45] There were special reasons for the mutual hatred of these two +brothers. One of the Amir's wives was a lady of the royal family of +Sadozai, who, when the decline of that dynasty commenced, had attracted +the attention of Sultan Mohammed Khan, and a correspondence took place +between them. She prepared to leave Kabul to be married to him, when the +Amir, who was also smitten with her charms, forcibly seized her and +compelled her to become his wife. This at once created, and has ever +since maintained, a fatal animosity between the brothers; and Sultan +Mohammed Khan has often been heard to say, that nothing would afford him +greater pleasure, even at breathing his last, than to drink the blood of +the Amir. Such is the nature of the brotherly feeling now existing +between them.--See _Life of Dost Mohammed Khan_, vol. i. p. 222, 223. + +[46] _Sale's Brigade in Afghanistan._ By the Rev. G.R. GLEIG. + + + + +ON THE OPERATION OF THE ENGLISH POOR-LAWS. + + +The time has arrived when the modes of administering the poor-law in +England and Wales must undergo inquiry and revision. Twelve years have +elapsed since the Poor-Law Amendment Act became the law of the land; and +during the period many changes have been made. In many cases, the new +arrangements of the Poor-Law Commissioners have been adopted without a +murmur. In some cases, they have met with continued but fruitless +opposition. In others, they have been resisted with success. During the +whole period a war has raged, in which no two of the combatants have +used the same weapons, or drawn them in the same cause. One has adduced +particular cases of hardship, suffering, and death, as the results of +the new system. Another has collected statistics, and referred to +depauperised counties. And yet the same number of cases of hardship and +suffering may have occurred before 1834, although unrecorded and +unknown. Nor does it follow, because the official returns from +agricultural counties may show a diminished number of paupers, or a +diminished expenditure, that the residue have been able to earn their +bread as independent labourers. No period appears to have been assigned +when the results of the new system should be examined. Successive +governments have kept aloof from fear, until an accident led to +important disclosures, and an inquiry is now inevitable. The Poor-Law +Commissioners have been invested with extraordinary and dangerous +powers. They possess the united powers of Queen, Lords, and Commons. +Their most imperfectly-considered resolutions have the force of an act +of parliament, or rather, ten-fold more force--it being their duty, +first, to ascertain _what ought to be the law--then to make the +law--then to enforce it--and then, after the elapse of time, to report +upon its success or failure_. It would be difficult for the wisest to +exercise powers like these beneficially; and it is to be feared that +abuses have crept in. And when we find that men, who have hitherto +upheld the system, now demand inquiry in their place in parliament, and +the ministers who were concerned in the establishment of the system, +promising, either to withdraw opposition to the demand, or to amend the +laws themselves so we may be assured that the topic at the present time, +as regards the administration of Relief to the Poor in England and +Wales, is Inquiry and Revision. + +The subject matter of this article must be suggestive, rather than +affirmative. Even at this time of day, it would be presumptuous to take +up a commanding or decided position. The old system was rotten. The good +it contained was choked up with weeds; the pruning-knife has been +applied unsparingly; and it is to be feared that good wood has been cut +away. New arrangements have been devised with practical shrewdness, to +displace clearly recognised evils; but, with these practical +improvements, certain economic theories have been speculatively, tried; +and it is likely that evils have sprung up; so that those who proclaim +so loudly that every part of the new arrangements is either naught or +vicious, and those who affirm that the old methods were all good, are +both remote from the truth, which, probably, lies somewhere between the +two. + +The subject being set apart for inquiry, the question arises--How can a +subject which has so many phases be advantageously considered; to whom +must we go for information; and to what matters should the attention be +chiefly directed? It is to these questions this article will attempt to +provide answers. To the first question--To whom must we go for +information?--the answer is obvious. To all who are engaged in the +administration of the law, and chiefly to those who have to do with +those departments where evils may be supposed to exist. And, in order to +answer the second, the subject must be divided into classes, and the +mode of operation of the law in each must be sketched. The reader will +then be able to see for himself, and judge whether the matters referred +to are not those which most imperatively demand inquiry. + +The several parishes, townships, chapelries, and hamlets of England and +Wales, whether grouped into Unions or not, may be usefully distributed +into three classes. + +_The First Class_ includes "parishes, townships, chapelries, and +hamlets," grouped into Unions, in which the _population bears a small +proportion to the number of acres they comprise_. + +_The Second Class_ includes small populous parishes, grouped into +Unions, in which the _population bears a large proportion to the number +of statute acres they cover_. + +_The Third Class_ consists of _large single parishes_, in which the +_population bears a large proportion to the number of acres_. + +The following diagram will explain this classification: + + _____________________________________________________________________ +| | | |Population| |Area of|No. of | +| COUNTY. | UNION. |No. of| of |Popula-|Union, |Relieving| +| | |Par- |Parishes |tion of|Statute|Officers.| +| | |ishes |__________|Union |Acres. | | +| | | |High |Low | | | | +|______________|__________|______|_____|____|_______|_______|_________| +|FIRST CLASS, | | | | | | | | +|Denbigh, |Ruthin, | 21 | 2066| 97| 16,019|166,619| 2 | +|Durham, |Easington,| 19 | 2976| 10| 6,984| 34,660| 1 | +|Staffordshire,|Uttoxeter,| 16 | 4864| 116| 12,837| 56,685| 1 | +|Derbyshire, |Shardlow, | 46 | 3182| 23| 29,812| 66,974| 2 | +|Lincoln |Louth | 88 | 6927| 24| 25,214|152,251| 3 | +|______________|__________|______|_____|____|_______|_______|_________| +|SECOND CLASS, | | | | | | | | +|Middlesex |City of | | | | | | | +| | London | 98 | 4014| 72| 57,100| 370| 3 | +|______________|__________|______|_____|____|_______|_______|_________| +|THIRD CLASS, |Parish. | | | | | | | +|Middlesex |Marylebone| 1 |.....|....|138,164| 1490| ... | +|______________|__________|______|_____|____|_______|_______|_________| + +These divisions of territory may be regarded from different points of +view. They may be seen through the media of statute-books, reports, +returns, and statistics; or they may be actually surveyed. Each course +has its peculiar dangers. The mind, occupied with matters of detail and +routine occurrences, is apt to lose in comprehensiveness as much as it +gains in minute exactness. To avoid this danger the mind must soar as +the facts accumulate. It must regard them, sometimes from the height of +one theory, and sometimes from the height of another. For the mind +becomes tinged with the hue of whatever is frequently presented to it. +Opinions even are hereditary. And every set of facts leads to a +different conclusion, according to the texture of the minds they pass +through. Refer to the facts connected with the condition of the poor, +which have been proclaimed during the last few years; and then reflect +to what contradictory opinions they have led. The man of strong +benevolent feelings deduces one inference. The politico-economical +theorist deduces another. And the man of practice and experience is as +likely to be deluded as either. He sees destitution so frequently +connected with imprudence, laziness, and crime, that he is apt to +believe that the union is indissoluble. His mind has never embraced a +general idea, or traced effects to causes, or distinguished them, the +one from the other. And in this matter, where the causes and effects are +so complicated, and entangled by their mutual reaction, he is likely to +be at fault. Then the man of pure benevolence sees only the pain, and +demands only the means of immediate relief. And the political economist +tells us, "That the law which would enforce charity can fix no limits, +either to the ever-increasing wants of a poverty which itself has +created, or to the insatiable desires and demands of a population which +itself hath corrupted and led astray." + +In the First Class, the parishes are large, thinly populated, and +situated generally in rural districts. In some cases, the Union includes +a country town; the neighbouring parishes and hamlets being connected +with it. The total number of parishes may be eighteen or twenty. In +other cases, the Union consists of about twenty-five parishes, +townships, hamlets, and chapelries. In some instances, the population of +the parishes are collected into so many villages, which are distant from +each other. In others, the entire surface of the country is sprinkled +thinly with cottages. The communications are by high-roads, and muddy +lanes, over high hills, and through bogs and marshes, and by +bridle-roads and footpaths-- + + "O'er muirs and mosses many, O." + +In each of these Unions, the management of the relief fund is confided +to a Board, consisting of resident rate-payers, and resident country +magistrates. The former are guardians by election, and the latter +ex-officio. The Board is completed by the addition of the churchwardens +and overseers. The chairman is generally the most distinguished, and the +vice-chairman the most active man in the Union. The chairman regulates +the proceedings of the Board, and ascertains its resolutions. The clerk +records them. The relief which applicants are to receive, is determined +by the Board; except that which is given by certain officers in cases of +"sudden and urgent necessity." The management of the Union-house is +invested in the master--a paid officer. His duties are ascertained and +fixed. He is liable to dismissal by the joint resolution of the Poor-Law +Commissioners and the Guardians, or by the order of the Commissioners +alone. It is also the duty of the master to attend to such cases of +destitution as may be presented at the Union-House gate; and, if their +necessities be of a sudden and urgent character, to admit them into the +house. It may be remarked here, that information is wanted upon this +point. The question is not, by what general term may the cases be +designated, whether sudden or urgent, but what the circumstances of the +cases really are, which are so relieved. The answers to the question +would throw light upon the relation subsisting between a strict +work-house system and the increase of vagrancy. To continue. The sick +poor are confided to the care of the medical officer; and the out-door +relief is chiefly administered by the relieving-officer. His duties in +rural Unions are as follows:--To pay or deliver such amounts of money or +food as the Board may have ordered the poor to receive, at the villages, +hamlets, and cottages where they may reside. He must visit the poor at +their homes. He receives applications for relief; and when the necessity +is sudden and urgent, he relieves the case promptly with food. He must +report upon the circumstances of each case, and keep accounts. For +neglect of duty, he is liable to penal consequences, and to dismissal, +in the same way as the master. The average number of parishes, +townships, and hamlets committed to the care of the relieving-officer +may be about twenty. The reader may be able, from his local knowledge, +to picture this Union, and give it a name. + +The Union then consists of twenty parishes. The Union-house is pretty +central, and situated near a small market-town. The meetings of the +Board are held in the Union-house, and upon the market-day; because then +the guardians, churchwardens, and overseers, after having transacted +their private business, may conveniently perform their public duties. At +the last meeting of the Board of Guardians, certain poor persons +appeared before them, and were ordered to be relieved with money or +food, at a specific rate, and for a specified time. The +relieving-officer resides in that part of the Union from whence he can +reach the most distant and opposite points with nearly equal facility. +He divides his district into rounds, and each occupies the greatest +portion of a day. At the end of each week he will have visited the whole +of the twenty parishes. + +The Board met yesterday, and to-day the relieving-officer's week began. +By the conditions of his appointment, he must have a horse and chaise. +The contractor for bread is bound to deliver it at the home of the +pauper; he must therefore provide man and horse, and they accompany the +relieving-officer. They set out on the first day's journey; they arrive +at the first hamlet on the route, and stop at a cottage door. Around it +and within it the destitute poor of the hamlet are assembled. Each +receives his allowance of money and bread. But a group has collected +about the door, whose names are not on the relief-list. One woman tells +the relieving-officer that her husband is ill with fever, and her +children are without food. He knows the family; he hastens down the +lane, and across the field, and enters the labourer's hut. The man is +really ill, and there are too evident signs of destitution. A written +order is given on the medical officer to attend the case, and necessary +relief is given. The man who now approaches the officer with such an air +of overbearing insolence, or fawning humility, is also an applicant. He +is known at the village beer-shop, and by the farmer as a man who can +work, but will not; he is the last man employed in the parish; his hovel +is visited--it is a scene of squalid misery. What is to be done? He may +be relieved temporarily with bread, or admitted into the Union-house, or +he is directed to attend the Board. The relieving officer then proceeds +to his next station. There a larger supply of bread awaits him, for he +is now in a populous parish. The poor of the place are assembled at the +church door, and the relief is given in the vestry-room. The +applications are again received and disposed of. He then rides to the +cottages of the sick and the aged, and again continues his route. He +does not proceed far before he is hailed by the labourer in the field, +who tells him of some solitary person who is without medical aid. +By-and-by, he is stopped by the boy who has long waited for him on the +stile, and begs him to come and see his mother; and the farmer's man, on +the farmer's horse, gives him further news of disease, destitution, or +death. He completes his day's journey before the evening. To-morrow +another route is taken; and thus he proceeds from day to day, and from +month to month, through summer's heat and winter's cold. + +The number of medical officers in a Union varies. In some cases, where +there are two relieving-officers, there are four medical officers. The +medical officer resides within the limits of the Union. He is not +prevented from attending to his private practice, and he does not +therefore reside in a central position, or at the nearest point to his +pauper patients; he is supplied with a list of persons who are in +receipt of relief, and he is bound to attend these without an order; he +must also attend to cases upon the receipt of a written order from the +relieving-officer or the overseer; he regulates the diet of his +patients, and he is paid by a salary, and by fees in certain cases. + +There are contradictory opinions respecting the efficiency of this +system. Some say that the amount of remuneration is inadequate to insure +qualified persons, and others that the qualifications are secured by the +requisition of recognised diplomas. + +If we inquire of those among the peasantry who have never received +parochial relief, or even of the yeomanry, we find that in many +districts, and especially those of which we are now speaking, it is a +difficult matter to obtain immediate medical aid; and if this +consideration have any weight, the system would appear satisfactory, +providing always the overseers perform their duty when applied to. It +would be desirable to ascertain whether there are any restrictions in +the issue of medical orders. As regards relieving the poor with food, +there are many who say, that, in so doing, the very evil is created +which we are endeavouring to destroy. But this is not said with respect +to medical relief. The labouring man with his family may earn an average +wage of from 7s. to 12s. per week. The most prudent cannot save much, +and those savings are invested in the purchase of a stack of wood, a +sack of meal, a crop of potatoes, a stye of pigs, or a cow. His savings +might enable him to provide food for his family during illness, but they +would be totally insufficient to pay for medicine and medical aid. It +would be desirable to ascertain where and to what extent medical clubs +and dispensaries exist, and what means the agricultural labourer, in +thinly populated districts, possesses for obtaining gratuitous medical +aid. + +It would be well, too, if Boards of Guardians would remember that their +duties have not ended when they have disposed of the cases on each +board-day. They have to do with pauperism, not only as it exists to-day, +but as it may exist next month or next year; and therefore they have to +do with its causes, as well as its existing results. This truth is just +now occupying the minds of statesmen, and it is to be hoped that it may +receive the attention of Boards of Guardians. Sanatory regulations will +decrease pauperism. Many men have been destroyed, and their families +pauperised, by uncovered sewers in thickly populated lanes and alleys; +and much disease has been engendered by the want of facilities for +cleanliness. And so also has much pauperism been engendered by the drain +upon the resources of the poor man during a long illness. Could not this +be remedied, and that without weakening the feeling of independence? And +why might not a Board of Guardians be allowed, or compelled, to +contribute a given sum to any dispensary or medical club which may be +governed by certain rules duly certified? + +We must now refer to the churchwardens and overseers of the several +parishes of this rural Union. The question with respect to them is, do +they receive the applications of the poor in their respective parishes, +and deal with them in the same way as the relieving-officer? It would +not be a sufficient answer to quote acts of parliament, or lists of +duties. It is doubtless of importance to know that, according to law, +the duty of relieving in cases of sudden and urgent necessity is still +reserved to the overseer. But it is of equal importance to ascertain +whether, in those extensive or thinly populated parishes where the +relieving-officer may reside many a weary mile distant from the cottage +of the destitute, any check, or hinderance, or heavy discouragement has +been offered to the overseer in his attempt to perform his duty. We can +easily conceive the farmer overseer, before 1834, riding over the fields +of his parish, and meeting one of the poor cottagers, at once relieving +him with a piece of money, and taking no further note of the +circumstance than was necessary to prevent his forgetting to repay +himself. And we can understand how the same overseer, under the new +system, when men to whom he has been accustomed to look up with +deference are united with him in the administration of relief, may not +trouble himself to inquire into, or care to exercise, the rights +reserved to him. Or he may find that he has something more to do than +merely to enter the amount in his pocket-book. He may have to report the +case to the relieving-officer, or to defend it at the Board--neither of +which acts his literary habits, his opportunities, his patience, or his +ability to speak before the magnates of his district in Board assembled, +may dispose him to perform. In other cases, where these considerations +may have no weight, the overseer may be of opinion, since paid officers +have been appointed to do the duty, and are paid to do it, that they are +the proper persons to perform it. + +In thus referring to the duties of overseers, it must not be supposed +that a recurrence to the old system is aimed at. It is a common opinion +that the Union system is diametrically opposed to the old parochial +system. And it seems to be too generally thought that relief should be +given through paid agency. But this is not so. The power to relieve, in +cases of sudden and urgent necessity, still rests with the overseers. +But the law has deprived the overseer of the power to give permanent +relief. It will not allow him to give a regular weekly allowance. The +question the overseer has to do with is not whether labourer Miles shall +receive, for a number of consecutive weeks or months, a certain sum, but +whether he should not receive relief at this moment, his necessities +being sudden and urgent. The question of permanent relief is no longer a +subject of personal controversy and irritation between the labourer and +the farmer. It is now a question between the labourer and the Board. +What he shall receive no longer depends upon the will of a single +person, but upon the collective will of a number so great, that personal +partialities and prejudices can scarcely have place. The system, in this +respect, assures justice alike to the rate-payer and the indigent poor. +It stands between the poor man and the overseer; and also between the +overseer and the sturdy threatening vagrant. + +But it is desirable to know whether the dereliction of duty by overseers +has been of frequent occurrence, and whether there has been any want of +care or disposition on the part of the authorities to facilitate its +exercise. That the relief given must be duly recorded and accounted for, +is quite clear. Now, do the means for doing this equal those given to +the relieving-officer, who requires them less? Then, again, have +arrangements been duly made to enable overseers to relieve in food? Is +the loaf or the meat at hand? Can it be had from the nearest shop? Or +must it be brought from the store of the contractor, who cannot always +reside in the next village? In fact, must the destitute person wait for +the periodical visit of the relieving-officer, and is the duty of the +overseer thus made a superfluity? + +It is likely that the dweller in cities may not sufficiently estimate +the importance of this topic. In a populous city, however sudden the +casualty may be to which a fellow-creature may fall a victim, the means +of relief are within a stone's-throw from the spot. But the case is +different in that wide expanse of level country which opens to the view +of the pedestrian as he gains the summit of the hill. The plain is +dotted with solitary cottages, hamlets, and villages. The town is just +perceptible in the distance. But its hum and its chimes are unheard. The +Union-house loses its barrack-like appearance by its remoteness. He +descends, and its "goes on his way." He hears the voices of children, +the song of birds; and he sees cottages "embosomed" in trees, and those +pictures which pastoral poets have so loved to paint, pass in panoramic +order before him. He enters the cottage door; he sees the dampness of +the walls; he feels the clayey coldness of the floors, and observes the +signs of poverty. While pondering upon these things, sensation vacates +its office, and imagination rules in the ascendant; material images fade +away. Now the fields, the trees, and the entire air become covered and +filled with drifting snow. Or, + + "The stillness of these frosty plains, + Their utter stillness, and the silent grace + Of yon ethereal summits, white with snow, + (Whose tranquil pomp and spotless purity + Report of storms gone by + To those who tread below.") + +Or the winds howl, the biting sharpness of the frosty air nips the +joints and shrivels the flesh, and the smoking smouldering fire has no +power to control the winds which rush across the room. The scene +changes. The lowlands are flooded, and the waters reach to, and stagnate +at the cottage door. The rains descend; the air is saturated with water; +it chills the frame; the heart beats languidly, and the soul of man +stoops to the deadening influence of the elements. Agues, rheumatism, +and fevers prevail. The hardships of the season bear down old and young; +for the want of sufficient or nutritious food has shorn them of their +strength. + +Upon awakening from this trance, "which was not all a dream," and +reflecting how far aid is distant, even if it can be obtained from the +nearest overseer, how forcibly must the thought occur--what numbers +suffer and die whose suffering is unrelieved and unknown! If our +pedestrian learn nothing from his trip for health and pleasure more than +this, he will have learnt enough to satisfy him that the point we have +directed his attention to, viz. that the means of relief in rural +districts should be made as ample as possible; and that, therefore, the +right and duty of the overseers to relieve promptly should be encouraged +and zealously guarded. + +Reference must now be made to the notorious "Prohibitory Order." And in +doing so, it is not to the order itself, either in its original or +amended form, that the following remarks are especially made, but to the +practices which owe their origin to the enactments of the Poor-Law +Amendment Act, to the Utopian expectations of many, that a strict +work-house test would destroy pauperism, and to the explanations and +reports of the Commissioners themselves. The following is the +prohibitory in its latest and most humanised form:-- + + "Article I.--Every able-bodied person, male or female, requiring + relief from any parish within any of the said Unions, shall be + relieved wholly in the work-house of the said Unions, together with + such of the family of every such able-bodied person as may be + resident with him or her, and may not be in employment, and + together with the wife of every such able-bodied male person, if he + be a married man, and if she be resident with him; save and except + in the following cases:-- + + 1st, Where such person shall require relief on account of sudden + and urgent necessity.[47] + + 2d, Where such person shall require relief on account of any + sickness, accident, or bodily or mental infirmity, affecting such + person, or any of his or her family. + + 3d, Where such person shall require relief, for the purpose of + defraying the expenses, either wholly or in part, of the burial of + his or her family. + + 4th, Where such person, being a widow, shall be in the first six + months of her widowhood. + + 5th, Where such person shall be a widow, and have a legitimate + child or legitimate children dependent upon her, and incapable of + earning his, her, or their livelihood, and no illegitimate child + born after the commencement of her widowhood. + + 6th, Where such person shall be confined in any jail or place of + safe custody. + + 7th, Where the relief shall be required by the wife, child, or + children of any able-bodied man who shall be in the service of her + Majesty, as a soldier, sailor, or marine. + + 8th, Where any able-bodied person, not being a soldier, sailor, or + marine, shall not reside within the Union, but the wife, child, or + children, of such person shall reside within the same, the Board of + Guardians of the Union, according to their discretion, may afford + relief in the work-house to such wife, child, or children, or may + allow out-door relief for any such child or children, being within + the age of nurture, and resident with the mother within the Union." + +The fifth exception, relating to widows, is accompanied with a course of +reasoning directed against its application; and as it is to be feared +that the practice engendered by a former order, in which this exception +had no place, may have become habitual, this exception will be treated +as if it did not exist. Especial inquiries ought to be made, in order to +ascertain whether widows with children are generally allowed out-door +relief. + +The immediate effect of this system of relief is a diminution of +expenditure. But we must look beyond the immediate effects. It is to be +feared that great politico-social evils result from this system. They +have been somewhat reduced in number, perhaps, by the new prohibitory +order. But it is too probable that the original wound has left a scar. +The evils are not on the surface, and strike the mind at intervals. +Perhaps we may be struck with the fact, that our prisons are filled with +individuals who have been committed for slight offences, and for short +periods; and it may casually appear, that the work-house has something +to do with it. Then the question may occur, why the ordinary +accommodation for wayfarers in the casual wards of work-houses has +become insufficient or less ample than formerly? Or, when travelling, we +may see whole families creeping along the roads apparently without +object or aim; and if, after giving them a coin, you ask them where they +are going to, and why they are going? you will be struck with the +vagueness of their replies. Wherever you meet them, you find they are +going from this place to that; and if you were to meet them every day +for a twelvemonth, the answers would always be as indefinite. At another +time, we may be deeply concerned in the subject of prison discipline; +and while studying reports, returns, and dietaries, the subject of +workhouse discipline may become associated with it, and induce +comparisons. And it may come to our knowledge, that there is a vast body +of persons to whom it is a matter of indifference whether they are +inmates of a prison or a workhouse. Or the mind may soar above the dull, +cold, field of politics, and extend its researches to the pure regions +of morality, leaving the questions of science for those of philosophy; +and then it will appear that there are causes in operation, and results +constantly flowing, which escape the "economic" eyes of assistant +Commissioners. + +But we must avoid generalities. We still retain our original ground, +viz. the rural Union, with its large area and its thinly scattered +population. The reader must accompany us to the rural Union, where the +spirit of the prohibitory order exercises its most baneful influence. + +We saw the relieving-officer performing his round of duties. The poor +were assembled at the cottage door. Two classes of applicants were then +given. We must now, however, look deeper into human nature. The +destitute consist of the virtuous and the vicious, the vulgar and the +refined. There stands an able-bodied man with his able-bodied wife, and +his large healthy family. His weekly wages amount to nine shillings per +week. If he loses a week's work he is destitute. He is now making an +application to the relieving-officer. But it is useless. He must walk to +the Union, and become an inmate, where his dinner awaits him. The man +who now approaches the officer is like the last, able-bodied and out of +work; but, unlike him, he has an idle, unthrifty, drunken wife. He is +always trembling on the confines of destitution; and the instant he is +without work he is on the brink of starvation. His spirit is broken. His +children are dirty and ragged, and appear emaciated without disease. He, +too, must enter the Union. The next is a hard-featured man;-- + + "A savage wildness round him hung + As of a dweller out of doors; + In his whole figure, and his mien, + A savage character was seen + Of mountains and of dreary moors." + +He does not seem to care whether relief is granted or not; and we may +hear him say, "I don't want relief for myself, I can get my living +somehow or other--but my wife and child musn't starve. I shan't go to +the Union--I shall be off--and catch me who can."--In the cottage, a +woman is seated with her children, whose husband has done that which the +other has threatened to do. She may be industrious or idle, but she +cannot support herself, thus suddenly thrown upon her own resources. Let +us hope that she is allowed the benefit of the amended order.--There is +the man whose children are approaching the state of womanhood or +manhood. He has work to do, and he does it. He could manage to eke out a +subsistence for himself--for his habits are simple and frugal; but his +children are now a sore trial to him. His daughter has returned to his +cottage with a child of shame. She has erred, but she cannot be turned +from his door. She has tried to make the father contribute to the +support of the child, but without success. Poor ignorant creature, +instead of taking a competent witness with her, when she asked the man +to assist her, she was too anxious to hide her shame. Instead of putting +questions to him, in order "to get up" the corroborative evidence, she +was too apt to spoil all by passionate upbraidings. And then, when she +appeared before their worships the justices, she was too much abashed or +excited, to enable her to develope those latent powers of examination +and cross-examination which the law supposes her to possess. Those who +have witnessed those humiliating proceedings in our petty courts of +justice, and seen the magistrate at one moment kindly acting as counsel +for the girl, then falling back to his position as judge, and observed +the evident helplessness of the girl, must have left the court with the +impression that the whole affair is a disgusting farce. She departs +without redress. The "corroborative evidence" is declared insufficient. +She goes to her father's cottage. His heart compels him to give her +shelter, and a place at his scanty board. But the smallest assistance +cannot be rendered with impunity. And there he stands an applicant. He +is told, "you must come into the house." "But it is my daughter." "Then +she must enter the Union." And, if she does, there she must remain until +her child dies, or her hair grows grey.--On the other side, and away +from the rest, stands a coarse-featured man, who has often been an +inmate of the county jail. He is the smuggler on the coast, the footpad +on the common, the poacher in the forest, the housebreaker, the +horse-stealer, the sheep-slayer, or the incendiary. He may be any of +these. He demands his rights, and threatens vengeance if refused.--We +turn from this group, and walk slowly to the Union-house, now visible in +the distance; and, in walking, the time may be well employed in +reflection. The thought which occurs with the greatest vividness is +this--for the reception of such a group, what must the arrangements be? +There is the old man, honest but poor, who seeks there an asylum. There +is the man old in sin and iniquity, as well as years. There is the +able-bodied man and woman with their family. There is the able-bodied +man with his drunken, unthrifty wife, and his emaciated children. There +is the young girl, whom the season has thrown out of her ordinary field +employment. There is the woman with her illegitimate child, either +heart-broken, or glorying in her shame. There is the girl, young in +years but old in profligacy, suffering for her sins. There is the matron +in her green old age, the result of a life of industry and prudence. And +there is the ruffian, and the thief, and the profligate vagrant, male +and female. Now what arrangements can be made for this assemblage--the +bad anxious to obtain temporary quarters, the good anxious to retain +their homes? + +Surely they are not classed according to rules in which age, and sex, +and state of health are the only principles? The widow with the +prostitute, the aged cottar with the aged vagrant. If this were all, the +moral consequences would not be so fearful. Does the young girl, who is +now innocent, associate daily with her who has wandered over half the +neighbouring counties, sinking lower and lower each journey? If so, +poison will be instilled, which produces certain moral death. Refer to +any list, now seven years old, of the inmates of a workhouse, who were +then aged from twelve to eighteen years, and then inquire what has +become of them. Or inquire of those who have the administration in +metropolitan parishes, or in manufacturing and sea-port towns, how many +of those unfortunates, scarcely yet arrived at the state of womanhood, +and suffering from loathsome diseases, were brought up, or were sometime +inmates of one of these Unions. Then there are the children of all +these;--the children of the farm-labourer associating with those of the +vagrant, who has quartered himself in the Union during the rains. + +The evils which this system occasions are not, unfortunately, either to +be seen or understood by the casual observer. Even our observer may +suppose that all is well, after he has inspected the place. He sees +every thing clean and in order. There are no rags, no unshorn beards, no +unclean flesh. The ordinary concomitants of virtue are here present--by +compulsion. The rags, the filthiness of place and person, are absent--by +order. This is forgotten; and, allowing the outward and visible to +govern his judgment rather than the inward and spiritual, he leaves the +place exclaiming, "Well! this is not so bad after all!" The outside is +indeed white, but it is the whiteness of the sepulchre. + +If this group is to be received into one building, there must be +something peculiar in its arrangements. All these persons are suffering, +more or less, from the want of food, or lodging, or clothing, or medical +aid. They are now offered the whole of these blessings, and yet they do +not feel blessed thereby. He has now that livelihood freely offered to +him which had cost him many a sigh to procure, and he has often sighed +in vain. What then can or must be the nature of the arrangements? It +must be remembered that this Union is presumed to be a test of poverty, +and therefore the condition of its inmates must be inferior to that of +the independent labourer. + +To effect this, how must the authorities proceed? In the first place, +there are arrangements which they cannot make. They cannot altogether +dispense with the counsels of the medical man, while the matter is under +discussion. And an inspector of prisons should be admitted, certainly, +as far as the ante-room. Then the locality of the Union-house must not +be unhealthy. The internal parts of the building must not be exposed to +the inclemency of the seasons. + +The rooms cannot be badly warmed or ventilated. They must not be allowed +to become filthy. The inmates must not sleep on a damp floor, with loose +straw for a bed, or an old carpet for a coverlid. Their clothes must not +be permitted to fall from them in tatters. They must not remain +twenty-four hours without food. And they cannot experience that gnawing +anxiety--that sickness of heart which those thousands suffer who rise in +the morning without knowing where they can obtain a meal, or lay down +their head at night. These "ills," which constitute so large a portion +of the poor man's lot, the inmate of this Union cannot be _made_ to +suffer. Nor can they be detained like prisoners. He must not be confined +for a longer period, after an application to leave has been made, than +will allow for forms and casualties. So in three hours he is a free man +again. What is to be done? Might not his food be touched? Might he not +be allowed food which, although possessing nutritious qualities, should +not be palatable? At this point, the prison inspector should be +consulted. This experiment upon the dietaries has been tried, and with +what success let public opinion trumpet-tongued proclaim. What must then +be done? First, the family may, nay, must be divided and distributed +over the building. The husband is sent to the "Man's Hall," the wife to +the "Woman's Ward," and the male and female children each to their's. +This arrangement is inevitable, but is fraught with dangers. The man who +has lived for months estranged from his wife and children--for seeing +them at certain times cannot be considered the same thing as living with +them--may learn to believe that their presence is not necessary to his +existence. And then it should not be forgotten, that the pain here +introduced is the pain arising from the infliction of a moral wound. An +attempt has been made to disturb a set of virtuous emotions in their +healthy exercise. By this separation they are deprived of their +necessary aliment; and, if they are not strong, will soon sicken and +die. Now, those moral feelings which preside over the social hearth are +those which exercise the greatest influence over the heart of the poor +man, and bind, and strengthen, and afford opportunities for the +development of the rest. They are in general the last that leave him. +And when they are gone, he is bankrupt indeed. It is a pain, too, which +only the virtuous feel. The lawless, the debauched, and the drunken pass +unscathed. Is there not danger? + +In the second place, the inmates of the Union must work. And here also +there are limits which a Board cannot pass. Labour cannot be enforced +from a diseased man. The prudent master of a Union will not require a +task to be performed which he cannot enforce. The question is, what work +can the inmates be set to do? Not to lace-making or stocking-weaving, +for that is the staple of the neighbourhood. To give them this work +would diminish the demand for labour out of doors. What labour then must +it be? Here is the rock upon which the vessel is now driving. It must +certainly be real work. Must it, then, be disagreeable work? It must. +But there is no work so disagreeable that willing labourers cannot be +found to do it, and that at a rate of wages reduced by competition. +Then, again, the most disagreeable kind of labour cannot be done in a +Union-house. And experience proves, that the number of such employments +is extremely limited. + +There are, however, certain kinds of labour that require no exertion of +skill--no variety of operation--and consisting of the mechanical and +monotonous operation of picking, which, if performed in the same room +during a certain number of hours of each day, and from day to day, and +from week to week, will become so sickening and wearying, that life with +all its miseries, doubts, and anxieties, and impending starvation, will +be welcomed in exchange. + +This labour women may perform. Now, in what way can the men be tasked? +There are certain kinds of mere labour, hard and monotonous, such as +grinding--or rather turning a handle all day long--without seeing the +progress or result of the toil. He might also be employed in breaking +bones. This has been tried, and received a check. + +But while the conclave are sitting in "consultation deep" upon this +knotty question, let us turn to another conclave, and mark their doings. +They know nothing of the poor-law, or paupers. The two authorities are +separated, the one from the other, by a gulf, the depth of which +official persons alone know. _They_ have to do with crime. They have to +punish the offender. And not only to punish the offender who has +committed acts which require long imprisonment, but those also who have +committed petty offences. Upon this latter subject they are engaged. The +prisoner must be set to work. And then arise the old questions, and with +the same result. What do they determine? + +What has been done? Surely the two bodies have not each issued the same +regulations to paupers and prisoners. If this be so, the matter cannot +rest. And that it must be so, is obvious from a mere inspection of the +means which the workhouse master and the jailer have at their disposal. +It is not an oversight or an abuse. The data being given, the +consequences are inevitable. Each conclave has separately arrived at +nearly the same conclusion. In one case a prison and a prisoner, and a +brief period of incarceration is given, with the condition, that his +punishment shall not be so severe as that of the criminal deeply dyed in +crime; and yet his circumstances shall be less desirable than those of +the independent labourer. In the other case, a pauper and a Union-house +is given; and if the condition of the problem be, that the pauper's +situation shall be less disagreeable than that of the independent +labourer, the solution becomes impossible; and, if this latter condition +be left out or forgotten, the result is, that the prisoner and the +pauper are in the same position. This mode of treating the matter has +been preferred to that of comparing dietaries and labour-tables, and to +quoting from evidence showing the indifference with which the prison and +the workhouse are regarded by the lower class of paupers. Our object has +been to show that the strict workhouse system leads necessarily to these +evils. + +It is argued, on the other side, that pauperism has diminished in those +Unions where the "prohibitory order" has been issued; and, in proof +thereof, we are referred to reports and tables showing diminished +expenditure. A family, with a judicious out-door management, would be +able to subsist with the occasional assistance of two, three, or four +shillings' worth of food weekly. The cost of the family in the house +would be about 18s. weekly; and yet the expenditure in the rural Union, +where the "prohibitory order" is in force, has been reduced. No especial +reference can now be made to the amount of unrelieved suffering which +this fact discloses. Those who decline the order cannot now be followed +to their homes; nor can another incident of this system be dwelt +upon--its tendency to reduce the standard of wages. The employer is +likely to get labour cheap, when he has a number of unemployed labourers +to choose from, who have just preferred to "live on" in a half-starved +condition, rather than submit to a system of prison discipline. To +return to the allegation, that pauperism has been diminished in those +Unions where the order is in operation. The reply is--that the +statistics do not touch the question. They ought to be thrown aside as +useless, until the condition of those who have refused to enter the +Union walls has been ascertained. Have their numbers become thinned by +the ravages of the fever, which their "houseless heads and unfed sides" +have unfitted them to resist? Have they been unable to pay their +pittance of rent; and is the cottage, which was once theirs, now falling +to decay? Have estates thus been thinned without the formality and +notoriety of a warrant? Have the able-bodied left the Union, and become +wanderers, seeking for an understocked labour-market; and, finding it +not, are they becoming, through common lodging-house associations, half +labourers, half vagrants--labouring to-day, begging to-morrow, and +stealing the next? Is the inclination to wander growing into a passion? +Are habits of strolling being formed? Is he gradually deteriorating to +the half-savage state? Is this so? A great national question is +involved. The French government know, by experience, the importance of a +true knowledge of "Les Classes Dangereuses." + +Now, if any of these applicants have become wanderers, or have migrated +to distant towns where charities abound, or have been cut off by +sickness, or have remained in a state of semi-starvation, the statistics +would remain the same. Besides, these statistics embrace two periods; +the present time, when an extremely rigid system of out-door relief is +in action; and a past time, when the out-door management was loose, +irregular, and rotten; and for the diminution of expenditure, arising +from a sound system of out-door relief, no allowance has been made, the +whole benefit of the economy being referred to the workhouse test. + +It is probable much of the evil has been stayed, from the circumstance +that the "system" has been carried into effect by human agency. A +certificate of illness from the medical officer would exempt the +individual from the operation of the rule. Now, the seeds of disease are +oftentimes deeply hidden in the bodily frame; and the alleged throbbing +or shooting pain, although the symptoms may not be seen, may have an +existence, and be certified accordingly. + +Then the relieving-officer, after relieving the case as one of sudden +and urgent necessity to-day, may see the applicant again upon his next +visit; and knowing that a case is urgent after forty-eight hours' +fasting, and may be considered sudden, if two days' work only was +obtained when four days was expected, he may be relieved on the same +plea again, and again, and again. In point of fact, the relief is an +allowance. + +If this be the practice, a bad mode of out-door relief has grown into +use, the worst peculiarities of the old method being involved in it. It +is irregular, partial, and dependent on personal partialities and +prejudices; and, if persisted in, would revive old times, when the +overseer gave away, in the first place, to the bold, the insidious, and +the designing, and modest merit was left to pick up the crumbs. + +The result of an inquiry into the two other classes into which England +is parochially divided would probably be, that many evils have been +removed or lessened, that others have remained untouched, that much good +has been secured, and that new abuses have crept in. + +Take the Union of small parishes. An improvement has certainly been +effected by the Union of these. A city or town, because it happened to +be composed of a large number of small parishes, having no perceptible +boundaries, but, in virtue of ancient usage or statute-law, was governed +by so many independent petty powers. It does not require much study to +ascertain what abuses would be likely to arise, or from what quarter +they would probably come. It is likely that the round of petty magnates +would be a small and cozy party; that a man, the moment he became +initiated, would begin to ascend the ladder of fortune. Jobbery would +flourish. Such things are not peculiar to England. In Spain and France +they have been matter of observation. Read the following extract from +Fabrice's account of the masters he served:--"Le Seigneur Manuel +Ordonnez, mon maitre, est un homme d'une piete profonde. On dit que, des +sa jeunesse, n'ayant en vue que le _bien_ des pauvres, il s'y est +attache avec un zele infatigable. Aussi ses soins ne sont-ils pas +demeures sans recompense: tout lui a prospere. Quelle benediction! En +faisant les affaires des pauvres, il s'est enriche." + +These abuses belong to the past, but their existence should not be +forgotten. Pauperism would flourish. For a system of management, +proverbially jealous of having its affairs exposed to the gaze of the +ignorant vulgar, could not look with too curious an eye into the +circumstances of those who applied for relief. The beadle who flourished +in those days did not, as some affirm, derive his authority from his +cocked hat or his gilded coat, but from the real power he exercised. + +The overseers were elected with their will, or against it. They often +served in a perpetual circle. The duty of relieving the poor was too +often left to subordinate irresponsible officers, whose duties were +neither expressed nor recognised. Their most arduous task was to keep +their superior out of hot water. But what kind of cases were relieved, +and under what circumstances, and what kind of cases were refused, and +under what circumstances, is now mere matter--matter of tradition, and +will become a mystery in the course of a few years. Many poor were +relieved; but the bold, the idle, and the squalid had the best chance. +Honest, humble poverty approached the overseer's door with fear and +trembling, and the slightest rebuff or harsh word, which an importune +application might occasion, would be sufficient to make her leave the +door unrelieved. While the destitute confirmed pauper would annoy, +insult, and extract relief, by the scandal of so much squalid +destitution lying and crouching about the overseer's door. + +Now what change has taken place? These parishes have been formed into +Unions. The churchwardens and overseers of each parish form part of a +Board of management. This Board of management is completed by the +addition of a class hitherto unknown in parish matters, viz. the +guardians who are elected from the parishioners, on grounds in which +wealth, station, and public importance are elements. All repairs and +alterations, and the supply of provisions, are subject to contract, and +open to competition. The parish plumber can no longer make his fortune +by the repair of the parish pump. All disbursements are recorded, and +subjected to rigid inspection, and all receipts are duly accounted for. + +But the poor, how do they fare? It is necessary to state, with reference +to this point, that the peculiar politico-economic theories which have +had such frequent expression in the letters, reports, and orders of the +Poor-Law Commissioners, have also had their influence upon all persons +connected with the administration of relief. The idea was, that a severe +"house test" would nearly destroy pauperism. This dream, however, is +passing away, and a more humane set of opinions are being engendered. + +The circumstances of a city Union are widely different from those of the +rural Union; and, therefore, many suggestions and strictures which have +been made against the mode of administering relief in the latter are +inapplicable to the former. In the rural Union, the chief difficulty is, +that a long distance must be travelled before the application to the +relieving-officer can be made, and relief obtained. And it becomes a +matter of importance to know to what extent the local officers are able +to perform their duty. In the Union of small parishes, these +difficulties cannot exist, for the whole diameter may be traversed in +half-an-hour. Then a relief office is built. It is situated in a poor +neighbourhood. It is open a certain number of hours in each day; an +officer is in attendance; and the bread and meat, and other kind of +food, are in the building. These facts are known to the poor, to the +magistrates, and to the police. The individual power of the overseer in +these little parishes falls daily into disuetude. The poor man can +obtain relief most readily at the office. He need not wait for the +leisure moment of an overseer--deeply engaged in his private affairs. +The poor know this, and do not apply to him. Occasionally an application +is made to an overseer, and if he wish the case to be relieved, his most +convenient practical course, is to submit the case to the +relieving-officer, by a note, and then to put a question to the chairman +at the next board-day. + +It will be found that the evil to be apprehended is, that relief in +certain cases may be too easily obtained, and a class of paupers +improperly encouraged. This, however, does not necessarily proceed from +the Union, but from certain other wise notions respecting mendicancy and +vagrancy. + +A certain part of every workhouse is separated from the rest of the +building, and appropriated to wayfarers. Formerly, at the close of day, +a number of persons usually applied to the officers for lodging for the +night. They were questioned as to their mode of livelihood, their object +in travelling, the distance they had travelled, and the route; and these +answers were tested by any means at hand. If the result was +satisfactory, they were admitted, and allowed to pursue their way at an +early hour in the morning, with an allowance of food. If the result was +doubtful, or they were convicted of deceit, their application was either +deferred, refused, or they were required to do work for the relief +given. Then questions of age, sex, and degrees of health were +considered. Now, relief precedes inquiry; and as these persons are +relieved but once, no inquiry is made, and is in fact impossible. Now, +if a man appears before an officer apparently destitute, he must be +relieved forthwith. If the man is not relieved, the relieving-officer's +situation and character are in jeopardy. And so the workhouse at night +has become open house to all comers. The wards are filled with a strange +group of beings. The very scum, not of the poor, but the vicious, are to +be found in these wards. The man who attends these dens does his duty in +the midst of revilings and cursings, and at the risk of his life. The +poor man who is really "tramping" in search of work, and has not been +able to get the threepence for his night's lodging, has not the benefit +of this change. Fevers and other contagious diseases are likely to be +generated and spread. Some inquiry has been made into this subject, but +is by no means exhausted. Further inquiry should be made, and the +connexion between vagrancy and a strict workhouse system should not be +overlooked. + +The third class into which the parishes and Unions of England have been +divided in this article, viz. that of populous single parishes, differs +from that which comprises Unions of small parishes in but few +particulars. These parishes are generally very populous, and cover a +small area. The duty of administering relief has always been heavy and +onerous. The mode of management has generally been determined by local +acts. A board of management has always existed. In some cases the +overseers have been elected and paid, because much experience, and the +devotion of much time, is necessary for the due performance of the +duties. In other instances, unpaid overseers hold the responsibility, +and are assisted by subordinate officers. Many of these parishes have +defied the power of the Commissioners, and retained their independent +authority. The Boards are composed of men of standing and business +habits. They are generally well acquainted with the poor, and know much +better how the relief fund should be expended, than those who see them +only through the imperfect media of reports and statistics. Many +novelties in management, enforced on Unions by the Commissioners, have +been voluntarily adopted, and many time-honoured fictions have been +exploded. In general, the proceedings of the Commissioners have not been +to them satisfactory. The new project of district asylums for the +reception of wayfarers may be given as an example. + +These parishes, however, should not escape the inquiry; and a useful +direction might be given to it, if the subject of classifications in +workhouses were to be considered in connexion with these populous +places. Not that special evils exist, but because the subject of +classification on moral grounds might be more conveniently considered, +and more severely tested. + +We think that an improved classification in workhouses, in which moral +consideration might be allowed to form an element, might be attempted. +Very decided opinions have been expressed to the contrary. It is +generally believed, and has been declared by high authorities, that the +poor fund is a statutable fund, raised by compulsion, for the relief of +destitution; and, therefore, the statutable purpose of the fund has +reference only to the fact of destitution, and not to moral qualities. +That this may be true in cases of _sudden_ necessity is not denied; but +with respect to those cases where relief is likely to be permanent--as +old age--or in those cases in which a period must elapse before the +relief is withdrawn, the moral character of the individual must, and +does, form a leading circumstance in the treatment. It is not said that +the fact of giving or refusing relief should depend on moral +considerations, but that the mode or manner should be determined by +them. Take a case. A widow with a family, in the first month of her +widowhood, applies for relief. During the first three months of her +husband's illness, his savings were adequate to his necessities. And +during the last three months, the weekly voluntary gathering of his +brother workmen, or the allowance from his club, has sufficed; and he +died without destitution actually coming to his door. His remains have +been conveyed to the grave; and, with the balance of money from the +friendly society, or trades' club, she has been supported to the end of +the first month of her widowhood. + +The other case is also a widow. But, as a wife, she was unthrifty and +drunken, and she has not changed, for her sobriety was more than +suspected on the day of the funeral. Here, there are no savings, no +donations from friends, no allowance from a club. Her husband lived and +died a pauper, was buried as a pauper, and his widow has determined to +make the most of her destitution, and extract the utmost farthing from +the reluctant guardians. Each of these cases must be relieved. As +regards the fact of destitution, the latter case is the worst; but the +frugal widow suffers the greatest deprivation. To the common observer, +the state of the bad is one of pure misery, and the state of the other +simply quiet, frugal, lowliness of condition. The fact, however, really +is, that the good widow suffers the most keenly; and, excepting certain +little matters of decency and cleanliness, is really the most destitute. +The cry, "What will become of my children?" implies in itself a large +amount of suffering. The thought scarcely occurs to the mind of the +other. The treatment of these cases must be, and is different; and the +difference is founded on moral grounds. In one case, if the relief were +in money, it would be instantly transmitted into gin. Relief in kind +must be resorted to, and be given in small quantities, and frequently; +and even then she must be watched, or the bread would never reach the +mouths of her children. In the other case, a liberal allowance in money, +given in the first month of her widowhood, would be expended carefully, +and if given promptly, before her "little home" has been broken up, she +may be able in a few months to insure a livelihood, and become +independent of the parish. These cases represent extremes. There is +every variety of shade between them; and sometimes the case presents so +mingled a yarn of laziness, and bodily weakness, ignorance, cunning, and +imprudence, that the guardians scarcely know the proper treatment. +Boards of guardians have frequently to deal with such cases, and do, +without expressing it in words, dispose of them on moral grounds, +although those in high places may be too much occupied with statistics +and generalities to be aware of the fact. + +The question, how far moral considerations can be allowed in the +classification of workhouses, is one of difficulty, and all opinions and +suggestions require to be cautiously and guardedly stated. This cannot +be done now. It may, however, be thought that, in suggesting a moral +classification, we are getting rid of some of our objections to the +"strict workhouse system." We may therefore say, that while we think a +sound system of out-door relief is the preferable mode of dealing with +poverty and pauperism, yet we believe the workhouse to be a necessary +adjunct. Under the most favourable circumstances, the Union-house or +workhouse is a moral pest-house; but, in the large manufacturing town or +populous metropolitan parish, it is a necessary evil. In cities, where +wretchedness is seen in its most squalid condition, and where crime +assumes its most varied and darkest hues, there must always be a +multitude of human beings whose necessities the public charities cannot +reach. There are diseases which hospitals will not admit, because they +can end only in speedy dissolution, or because they are incurable and +lingering. There are cases, compounded of deceit and misery, which +private charity passes by. There are aged men and women who have either +outlived their children or their affection, or who saw them depart many +years since to foreign lands as emigrants, soldiers, sailors, or +convicts. And there are young children whose parents have been cut off +by fever. There are the children of sin and shame. There is the young +woman, overtaken in her downward career by horrible diseases, and who is +now pitilessly turned from the door of her who taught her to sin for +money. There is the vagrant, the debauched, and the criminal, who are +approaching the end of their career. There are those who, by unexpected +circumstances, have been deprived of a shelter. And there are those who +will not work, who have absconded, and whose wives and children are +without home or food. For all these, and many more, an asylum must +exist, and this asylum is the workhouse. Is it quite clear that this +collection of human beings, representing so many varieties of virtue and +vice, cannot be divided and distributed over the building on principles +of classification, in which other elements than those of age, sex, and +healthiness might be admitted? The subject is worthy of full +investigation. + +The subject of out-door relief might also be considered by the +committee, not so much with a view to ascertain the actual mode in which +it is dispensed, as to obtain suggestions from subordinate officers of +improvement in its administration. The stoker of steam-engine can point +out defects, and suggest simple remedies, which might escape the utmost +penetration and official research of the principal engineer. This +subject may be most conveniently considered under this head, because, in +populous parishes, out-door relief is a prominent feature. In many +cases, an apparently trivial change, which might be treated very +contemptuously as a mere affair of detail, would lead to important +reforms. In the report upon the Andover case, certain stringent remarks +appear upon the neglect of the relieving-officer in not filling up the +columns in his report-book headed "wages." Now, to those engaged in the +administration of relief, the omission is not considered a great fault, +it being in fact an omission of a mere form. Refer to the application +and report-book, and the pauper description-book, prepared by the +Commissioners, and the use of which _is enforced in all Unions_. They +consist in a series of narrow columns. Each column is headed by an +interrogatory, and appears to require a very brief answer. Refer to the +column headed "weekly earning," &c. In this column, it is the duty of +the relieving-officer to enter the amount of wages earned by the pauper. +Now, in most populous parishes, the mode of living of those who receive +relief is so irregular and precarious, as to preclude the possibility of +ascertaining the amount of their earnings. The number of carpenters, +bricklayers, smiths, and masons who receive relief is almost incredibly +few. There are many who style themselves carpenters, &c. who have no +knowledge of the trade. The bulk of the relieved poor consists of such a +group as this--jobbing-smiths and carpenters, who are generally old or +unskilful; aged men and women, and infirm persons, who do certain kinds +of rough needlework, take care of children and sick people. There are +cases where the head of the family is sickly, and whose employ is +occasional. There are widows who do needlework by the piece--not for +tradesmen, but for those who have received the work for those who +received it from the tradesmen. There are those who wash and charr by +the half or quarter of a day. There are men who make money-boxes, +cigar-cases, children's toys, list-shoes, and cloth caps, and send their +wives and children to sell them in the streets. If the weather is fine, +they go singly; if the night be rainy, they form a miserable group at +the corner of great thoroughfares. There are men who frequent quays, +docks, markets, and coach-offices. There are those who sell in the +streets, fruit, vegetables, and fish. There are those who sweep +crossings, and pick up bones, rags, and excrement; and there are those +who say they do nothing; and the most searching inquiry is at fault, and +yet they appear to thrive. In this multitude, there are thousands who do +not apply for parochial relief once in ten years. Now, try to fix the +wages of those who really compose the mass of pauperism in towns. Who +can conscientiously do it? The most correct statement must be erroneous. +By frequent visitation, the officer acquires an intimate knowledge of +their condition. When the Board are disposing of the out-relief cases, +it is by this knowledge the Board are guided. The column of brief +answers, read by the clerk, are so many algebraic symbols to the +majority, and convey no particular meaning; and this explains the +conduct of the Andover Guardians, which is otherwise inexplicable. They +must have had some data before them in dealing with cases, and the +earnings of the paupers could not possibly be omitted. There is no doubt +that the report-book was tacitly considered as a form necessary to be +filled up, because there were orders to that effect, but as having no +practical utility. And yet, how easily might the evil have been avoided! +The individual who devised and drew up the form should have thought less +of its statistical completeness, and more of its practical use. He +should have seated himself in the Boardroom, while the business of the +week was being transacted, a silent but observant spectator; and then, +with his mind imbued with the fact, he might have drawn up a form of +report-book which would have been useful, statistically and practically. +The principle of the book would have been that of the merchant's ledger, +in which, upon reference to a particular folio, an account of business +transactions with a person during many years may be seen at a glance. +Its construction would be obvious, and its chief feature might be easily +shown. It would be a book of the largest size. Each case would have its +own double page. On the left side, columns, as at present, might appear; +and on the right would appear a most circumstantial account of the +pauper's circumstances. If this page had been commenced in 1836, and +Mary Miles had received relief, either continuously or from time to +time, until 1846, the page would probably be filled; and its contents +being read by the clerk upon each appearance of the pauper before the +Board, a minute account of the character and circumstances of the case +would be disclosed, together with the several amounts of relief ordered +or refused, and the several opinions of the Board, as recorded at +different times, which would enable the Board to dispense with the +verbal statements of the relieving-officer. At present, a case, however +often relieved, is essentially a new one. The Board of Guardians is a +changing body; the individuals composing it may not attend regularly; +and thus the relieving-officer becomes the only person conversant with +the facts and merits of the case, and he is enabled, or compelled, to +exercise a degree of authority or influence which is highly inexpedient. + +How easily may these and other evils be remedied! But how, and by whom? +This brings us back to our starting-point. An inquiry must be instituted +into the actual working of the existing machinery. It must be conducted +in a sober spirit, and without reference to theories; not in a reckless +spirit of destruction, but of improvement. The question is, What +remedial measures or improvement can be adopted in the administration of +the English Poor-Laws? And if this paper has shown any imperfections, +suggested any improvement, or should give the inquiry a useful +direction, its object would be gained. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[47] "By sudden and urgent necessity, the Commissioners understand any +case of destitution requiring instant relief, before the person can be +received into the workhouse; as, for example, when a person is deprived +of the usual means of support, by means of fire, or storm, or +inundation, or robbery, or riot, or any other similar cause, which he +could not control, where it had occurred, and which it would have been +impossible or very difficult for him to foresee and prevent."--_Eighth +Report of the Poor-Law Commissioners._ App. A.; No. 2. + + + + +PRUSSIAN MILITARY MEMOIRS. + + + _Wanderungen eines alten Soldaten_, von WILHELM BARON VON RAHDEN, + ehemaligem Hauptmann in Koenigl. Preuss. und Konigl. Niederlaend. + Diensten, designirtem Capitain im Kaiserl. Russ. Generalstabe, + zuletzt Brigade-General im Genie-Corps der Spanisch-Carlistischen + Armee von Aragon und Valencia. Erster Theil. Befreiungs Kreig von + 1813, 1814, and 1815. Berlin: 1846. + + +Military memoirs are a popular class of literature. If few non-military +men make them their chief study, still fewer do not upon occasion +willingly take them up and dip with pleasure into their animated pages. +The meekest and most pacific, those in whose composition no spark of the +belligerent and pugnacious is discernible, yet dwell with interest upon +the strivings, dangers, and exploits of more martial spirits. Even the +softer sex, whilst gracefully shuddering at the bloodshed and horrors of +war, will ofttimes seriously incline to read of the disastrous chances, +moving accidents, and hair-breadth 'scapes that checker a soldier's +career. The poetical and the picturesque of military life appeal to the +imagination, and act as counterpoise to the massacres and sufferings +that painfully shock the feelings. Amidst the wave and rustle of silken +banners, the glitter and clash of steel, the clang of the brazen +trumpet, and hurra of the flushed victor, the blood that buys the +triumph and soaks the turf vanishes or is overlooked; the moans of those +who die upon the field, linger in hospital, or pine in stern captivity, +are faintly heard, if not wholly drowned. The pomp and pageantry of war, +the high aspirations and heroic deeds of warriors, too often make us +forget the countless miseries the strife entails--the peaceful peasant's +ravaged homestead, the orphan's tears, the widow's desolation. + +Although the public mind dwells upon military matters less in England +than in France and Germany, neither of these countries has, during the +thirty years' peace, been more prolific than our own in books of a +military character. We speak not of strategical works, but of the +pleasant and sometimes valuable narratives of individual adventure that +have flowed in abundance from the pens of soldiers of every class and +grade. Not a branch of the service, from the amphibious corps of the +marines to the aristocratic cohorts of the guards, but has paid tribute, +in many cases a most liberal one, to the fund of military literature. +The sergeant and the general, the lieutenant and the lieutenant-colonel, +the showy hussar and the ponderous dragoon, the active rifleman and the +stately grenadier--men of all ranks and arms--have, upon hanging up the +sabre, taken up the pen, and laboured more or less successfully to add +their mite to the stores of history and stock of entertainment. The +change from the excitement and bustle of active service to the monotony +and inertion of peacetime, is indeed great, and renders occupation +essential to stave off ennui. In ruder days than the present, the +dice-box and pottle-pot were almost sole resources. In the rare +intervals of repose afforded by a more stirring and warlike age, the +soldier knew no other remedies, against the _taedium vitae_ that assailed +him. When "wars were all over, and swords were all idle," "the veteran +grew crusty as he yawned in the hall," and he drank. Now it is +otherwise. Refinement has driven out debauchery, and the unoccupied +_militaire_, superior in breeding and education to his brother in arms +of a former century, often fills up his leisure by telling of the +battles, sieges, and fortunes he has passed; reciting them, not, like +Othello, verbally and to win a lady's favour, but in more permanent +black and white, for the instruction and amusement of his fellows. + +Whilst paying a well-merited tribute to the talents of our English +military authors, we willingly acknowledge the claims of men, who, +although born in another clime, and speaking a different tongue, are +yet allied to us by blood, have fought under the same standard, and bled +in the same cause. One of these, a German officer who shared the +reverses and triumphs of the three eventful years, 1813 to 1815, +beginning at Lutzen and ending with Waterloo, has recently published a +volume of memoirs. It contains much of interest, and well deserves a +notice in our pages. + +William Baron von Rahden is a native of Silesia. His father, an officer +in the Prussian service, was separated from his wife, after ten years' +wedlock, by one of those divorces so easily procurable in Germany, and +returned to Courland, his native country, leaving his children to their +mother's care. At the age of six years, William, the second son, was +adopted by a Silesian nobleman, a soldier by profession, who had served +under Frederick the Great, and who, although he had long left the +service, still retained in full force his military feelings and +characteristics. The apartments of his country house were hung with +portraits of his warlike ancestors; the officers of the neighbouring +garrison were his constant guests. Thus it is not surprising that young +Rahden's first associations and aspirations were all military, and that +he eagerly looked forward to the day when he should don the uniform and +signalise himself amongst his country's defenders. His wishes were early +gratified. When only ten years old, he was sent to the military school +at Kalisch. + +The novitiate of a Prussian officer at the commencement of the present +century was a severe ordeal, the road to rank any thing but a flowery +path, and it was often with extreme unwillingness that the noble +families of South Prussia yielded their sons to the tender mercies of +the Kalisch college. The boys had frequently to be hunted out in the +forests, where, through terror of the drill or in obedience to their +parents, they had sought refuge, and when caught they were conducted in +troops to their destination. On reaching the Prosna, a little river near +Kalisch, they were stripped naked, their hair was cut close, and they +were then driven into the water, whence, after a thorough washing, they +emerged upon the opposite bank, there to be metamorphosed into Prussian +warriors. The same operation, with the exception of the bath in the +Prosna, was undergone by the willing recruits. Baron von Rahden gives a +humorous account of the equipment of these infant soldiers, and of his +own appearance in particular. + +"The little lad of ten years old, broader than he was long, with his +closely cropped head, upon the hinder part of which a bunch of hair was +left, whereto to fasten a tail eight or ten inches long, and with a +stiff stock over which his red cheeks puffed out like cushions, was +altogether a most comical figure. The old uniform coats originally blue, +but now all faded and threadbare, with facings of a brick-dust colour +and great leaden buttons, never fitted the young bodies to which they +were allotted; they were always either too long and broad, or too narrow +and short. The same was the case with the other portions of the uniform, +which were handed down from one generation of cadets to another, without +reference to any thing but the number affixed to them. I got No. 24; I +was heir to some lanky long-legged urchin, into whose narrow garments I +had to squeeze my unwieldy figure. A yellow waistcoat of immoderate +length, short white breeches, fastened a great deal too tight below the +knee, grey woollen stockings and half-boots, composed the costume, which +was completed by a little three-cornered hat, pressed low down over the +eyes, with the view of imparting somewhat of the stern aspect of a +veteran corporal to the red and white face of the juvenile wearer." + +Such was the clothing of Prussia's future defenders. Their fare was of +corresponding quality; abundant, but coarse in the extreme. The harsh +and unswerving enactments of the great Frederic had as yet been but +little amended. Moreover, by the system of military economy existing in +1804, both food and raiment were lawfully made a source of profit to the +captain of this company of cadets. The director of the establishment +Major Von Berg, was an excellent man, zealous for the improvement of his +pupils, and striving his utmost to instil into them a military spirit. +Under his superintendence strict discipline was maintained, and +instruction advanced apace. + +The year 1806 brought the French into Prussia. Marshal Ney visited +Kalisch, and placed a score of cadets in the newly-formed Polish +regiments. In due time the others, as they were given to understand, +were to be similarly disposed of. Young Rahden wrote to his adopted +father, begging to be removed from the college, lest he should be made +to serve with the enemies of his country. But the old officer looked +further forward than the impatient boy; he knew that it was no time for +the youth of Prussia to abandon the military career; that the day would +come when their country would claim their services. His reply was +prompt, brief, and decided. "I will not take you home," he wrote; "for +then you will learn nothing. Be a Polish or a French cadet, I care not; +only become an honourable soldier, and all that is in my power will I do +for you. But do not come to me like our young officers from Jena; for if +you do, you will get neither bread nor water, but a full measure of +disgrace. Your faithful father, T." This letter made a strong impression +upon Von Rahden, and he nerved himself to endure what he now viewed as +inevitable. For another year he remained at Kalisch, until, in December +1807, news came of the approach of Prince Ferdinand of Pless, who had +thrown himself, with a few thousand men, between the French army, then +on its march to Poland, and the Bavarians and Wurtembergers under Jerome +Buonaparte. This intelligence caused universal alarm in the college of +Kalisch, now become French. + +"On the broad road in front of our barracks, large bodies of Polish +boors, in coarse linen frocks, were drilled for the service of Napoleon +by officers in Prussian uniforms; certainly a singular mixture. At the +cry--'The Prussians are coming!' they all ran away, the officers the +very first, and this might have given me an inkling of the reasons and +motives of my father's severe letter. Under cover of the general +confusion, a Prussian artilleryman muffled me and six other Silesian +cadets in the linen frocks of the recruits, and hurried us off through +field and forest, over bog and sand, to the Prince of Pless, whom we +fell in with after thirty-six hours' wanderings. We were all weary to +death. Nevertheless, five of my companions were immediately placed +amongst the troops, who continued their route without delay; only myself +and a certain Von M----, still younger than me, were left behind, as +wholly unable to proceed. Of what passed during the next six weeks, I +have not the slightest recollection. I afterwards learned that I had +been seized with a violent nervous fever, the result of fatigue and +excitement, and that I was discovered by a Bavarian officer in a Jew +tavern near Medzibor, close to the frontier. The uniform beneath my +smock-frock, and a small pocket-book, told my name and profession, and +under a flag of truce I was sent into Breslaw, then besieged, to my +mother, whom I had not seen for seven years." + +After two years passed in idleness, young Von Rahden was attached as +bombardier to the artillery at Glatz, and found himself under the +command of a certain Lieutenant Holsche, an officer of impetuous +bravery, but somewhat rough and hasty, and apt to show slight respect to +his superiors. At that time, 1809, the Duke of Brunswick was recruiting +at Nachod in Bohemia, within two German miles of Glatz, his famous black +corps, the death's-head and _memento mori_ men--the Corps of Revenge, as +it was popularly called in Germany. Numbers of Prussians, officers of +all arms, left their homes in Silesia, where they vegetated on a scanty +half-pay, to swell his battalions; and even from the garrison of Glatz +officers and soldiers daily deserted to him, eager to exchange inaction +for activity. Subsequently, many of these were tried and severely +punished for their infringement of discipline, and over-eagerness in the +cause of oppressed Germany, but the year 1813 again found them foremost +in the ranks of their country's defenders. + +On a certain morning, subsequent to Von Rahden's arrival at Glatz, the +young artillery cadets were assembled on the parade-ground outside the +gates of the fortress, and went through their exercise with four light +guns, drawn, as was then the custom, by recruits instead of horses. +Holsche, who was also known as the "Straw-bonnet" commandant, from his +desperate defence of a detached work of the fort of Silberberg, which +bore that name, was present. Although usually free and jocose with his +subordinates, on that day he was grave and preoccupied, and twisted his +black mustache with a thoughtful air. It was an oppressive and stormy +morning, and distant thunder mingled with the sound of cannon, which the +wind brought over from Bohemia. + +"By a succession of marches and flank movements, Holsche took us through +the river Neisse, which flowed at the extremity of the parade-ground, +and was then almost dry. We proceeded across the country, and finally +halted in a shady meadow. Here the word of command brought us round the +lieutenant, who addressed us in a suppressed voice:--'Children,' said +he, pointing towards Bohemia, 'yonder will I lead you; there you will be +received with open arms. There, horses, not men, draw the guns, and many +of you will be made sergeants and even officers. Will you follow me?' A +loud and unanimous hurra was the reply. For a quarter of an hour on we +went, over hedge and ditch, at a rapid pace. A heavy rain soaked the +earth and rendered it slippery, the wheels of the gun-carriages cut deep +into the ground, until we panted and nearly fell from our exertions to +get them along. Suddenly the word was given to halt. 'Boys,' cried the +lieutenant, 'many of you are heartily sick of this work; that I plainly +see. Listen, therefore! I will not have it said that I compelled or +over-persuaded any one. He who chooses may return, not to the town, but +home to his mother. You children, in particular,' he added, stepping up +to the first gun, to which five young lads, of whom I was the least, +were attached as bombardiers, 'you children _must_ remain behind.' +Against this decision we all protested. We would not go back, we +screamed at the top of our voices. Holsche seemed to reflect. After a +short pause, the tallest and stoutest fellow in the whole battery came +to the front, and in a voice broken by sobs, begged the lieutenant to +let him go home to his mother. 'Oho!' shouted Holsche, 'have I caught +you, you buttermilk hero? Boys!' he continued, addressing himself to all +of us, 'how could you believe that my first proposal was a serious one? +I only wished to ascertain how many cowards there were amongst you. +Thank God, there is but one! Help me to laugh at the fellow!' A triple +shout of laughter followed the command; then 'Right about' was the word, +and in an hour's time, weary and wet through, we were again in our +barracks." + +The pluck and hardihood displayed on this occasion by the boy-bombardier +won the favour of Holsche, who took him into the society of the +officers, gave him private lessons in mathematics, and did all he could +to bring him forward in his profession. But, soon afterwards, Rahden's +destination was altered, and, instead of continuing in the artillery, he +was appointed to the second regiment of Silesian infantry, now the +eleventh of the Prussian line. In this regiment he made his first +campaigns, and served for nearly twenty years. In the course of the war +he frequently fell in with his friend Holsche, and we shall again hear +of that eccentric but gallant officer. + +The year 1813 found Von Rahden, then nineteen years of age, holding a +commission as second lieutenant in the regiment above named, and +indulging in brilliant day-dreams, in which a general's epaulets, laurel +crowns, and crosses of honour, made a conspicuous figure. But a very +small share of these illusions was destined to realisation. For the +time, however, and until experience dissipated them, they served to +stimulate the young soldier to exertion, and to support him under +hardship and suffering. Such stimulus, however, was scarcely needed. The +hour was come for Germany to start from her long slumber of depression, +and to send forth her sons, even to the very last, to victory or death. +The disasters of the French in Russia served as signal for her uprising. + +"The great events which the fiery sign in the heavens (the comet of +1811) was supposed to forerun, came to pass in the last months of the +following year. The French bulletin of the 5th December 1812, announced +the terrible fate of the Grande Armee, and removed the previously +existing doubt, whether it were possible to humble the invincible +Emperor and his presumptuous legions. It was a sad fate for veteran +soldiers, grown grey in the harness, to be frozen to death, or, numbed +and unable to use their weapons, to be defencelessly murdered. Such was +the lot of the French, and although they were then our bitterest foes, +to-day we may well wish that they had met a death more suitable to brave +men. At Malo-Jaroslawetz, at Krasnoi, and by the Beresina, whole +battalions of those frozen heroes were shot down, unable to resist. Do +the Russians still commemorate such triumphs? Hardly, one would fain +believe. No man of honour, in our sense of the word, would now command +such massacres; for only when our foes are in full possession of their +physical and moral strength, is victory glorious. But at that time I +lacked the five-and-thirty years' experience that has enabled me to +arrive at these conclusions; I was almost a child, and heartily did I +rejoice that the whole of the Grande Armee was captured, slain, or +frozen. The joy I felt was universal, if that may serve my excuse. + +"Like some wasted and ghastly spectre, hung around with rags, its few +rescued eagles shrouded in crape, the remains of the great French army +recrossed the German frontier. Sympathy they could scarce expect in +Germany; pity they found, and friendly arms and fostering care received +the unfortunates. So great a mishap might well obliterate hostile +feelings; and truly, it is revolting to read, in the publications of the +time, that 'at N---- or B---- the patriotic inhabitants drove the French +from their doors, refusing them bread and all refreshment.' Then, +however, I rejoiced at such barbarity, which appeared to me quite +natural and right. One thing particularly astonished me; it was, that +amongst the thirty thousand fugitives, there were enough marshals, +generals, and staff-officers to supply the whole army before its +reverses. Either they had better horses to escape upon, or better cloaks +and furs to wrap themselves in; thus not very conscientiously fulfilling +the duty of every officer, which is to share, in all respects, the +dangers and fatigues of his subordinates."[48] + +The hopes and desires of every Prussian were now concentrated on one +single object--the freedom of the Fatherland. Breslaw again became the +focus of the whole kingdom. From all sides thousands of volunteers +poured in, and the flower of Prussia's youth joyfully exchanged the +comforts and superfluities of home for the perils and privations of a +campaigner's life. Universities and schools were deserted; the last +remaining son buckled on hunting-knife and shouldered rifle and went +forth to the strife, whilst the tender mother and anxious father no +longer sought to restrain the ardour of the Benjamin of their home and +hearts. All were ready to sacrifice their best and dearest for their +country's liberation. Women became heroines; men stripped themselves of +their earthly wealth for the furtherance of the one great end. In +Breslaw the enthusiasm was at the hottest. In an idle hour, Von Rahden +had sauntered to the college, the Aula Leopoldina, and stood at an open +window listening to a lecture on anthropology, delivered by a young, but +already celebrated professor. Little enough of the learned discourse was +intelligible to the juvenile lieutenant, but still he listened, when +suddenly the stillness in the school was broken by the clang of wind +instruments. + +The people shouted joyful hurras, casements were thrown open, and +thronged with women waving their handkerchiefs. Professor and scholars +hurried to the windows and into the street. What had happened? It was +soon known. A score of couriers, blowing furious blasts upon their small +post-horns, dashed through the town-gates, and the next instant a shout +of "War! War!" burst from ten thousand throats. The couriers brought +intelligence of the alliance just contracted at Kalisch between the +Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia. + +When the clamour and rejoicing amongst the students had a little +subsided, their teacher again addressed them. All were silent. Twisting +a small silver pencil-case between his thin fingers, he began as +follows: "My young friends! It would be difficult to resume the thread +of a lecture thus abruptly broken by the sound of the war-trumpet. At +this moment our country demands of us other things than a quiet abode in +the halls of study. I propose to you, therefore, that we all, without +exception, at once join the ranks of our country's defenders, and +henceforward wield the sword instead of the pen." This patriotic +proposal was received with joyous applause. Professor Steffens and +hundreds of his hearers left the lecture-room, exchanged the university +gown for the uniform, and from that day were the pith and marrow of the +black band of Lutzow. It is matter of history how Henry Steffens, at the +head of his wild Jaegers, greatly distinguished himself in the field, won +the Iron Cross, and by his animated eloquence and noble example, drew +thousands of brave defenders around the standard of German independence. +Thirty-two years later, at Berlin, Baron von Rahden followed his mortal +remains to their last resting-place. + +Other examples of devotion, less known but not less touching, are cited +in the volume before us. When the King of Prussia's celebrated +proclamation "TO MY PEOPLE," had raised German enthusiasm to its highest +pitch, and the noble-hearted women of Silesia sent their jewels to the +public treasury, replacing them by iron ornaments, a young girl at +Breslaw, who had nothing of value to contribute, cut off the luxuriant +golden tresses that adorned her graceful head, and sold them, that she +might add her mite to the patriotic fund. The purchaser gave a high +price, but yet made an enormous profit; for no sooner was the story +known, than hundreds of those then arming for the fight flew to obtain a +golden hair-ring, to wear as a talisman in the battle-field. This +heroine, Baron von Rahden believes, was a Fraulein von Scheliha, a name +noted in the annals of Prussian patriotism. The three sons of a Herr von +Scheliha, officers in various regiments, fell in the campaign of 1813. +Their mother and only sister died of broken hearts, and the father, +bowed down under his grief, sold his estate and country-house, which now +only served to remind him of his losses. The King of Prussia sent him +the Iron Cross; and that and the sympathy of all who knew his sad +history, were the only remaining consolations of the bereaved old man. A +Silesian count, named Reichenbach, wrote to the King in the following +terms: "If it please your majesty to allow me, I will send five thousand +measures of corn and my draught oxen to the military stores for rations, +and my best horses to the ---- regiment of cavalry; I will equip all the +men on my estates capable of bearing arms, and they shall join the ---- +regiment of infantry, and I will pay ten thousand thalers into the +military chest. For my three sons I crave admission into the army as +volunteers. And, finally, I humbly implore of your majesty that I +myself; who, although advanced in years, am strong and willing, may be +permitted to march by their side, to teach then to fight and, if needs +be, to die. Meanwhile, my wife and daughters shall remain at home to +prepare lint, sew bandages, and nurse the sick and wounded." + +A Major Reichenbach commanded Von Rahden's battalion, and under his +guidance the young lieutenant first smelled powder. It was at Lutzen, a +bloody fight, and no bad initiation for an unfledged soldier. Although +modest and reserved when speaking of his own exploits, it is not +difficult to discern that on this, as on many subsequent occasions, the +baron bore himself right gallantly. At eleven o'clock the army of the +Allies stood in order of battle, Von Rahden's battalion, which formed +part of General Kleist's division, in the centre, and well to the front. +At a distance of six or eight hundred paces, the hostile masses moved to +and fro, alternately enveloped in clouds of dust, and disappearing +behind trees and houses. The fight began with artillery. "The first +round-shot whizzed close over the heads of the battalion, and buried +itself in the ground a few hundred paces in our rear. A second +immediately followed, carrying away a few bayonets and the drum-major's +cane. Each time the whole battalion, as if by word of command, bobbed +their heads, and the men pressed closer together. In front of us sat our +commandant, Count Reichenbach, reining in his splendid English roan, +which snorted and curveted with impatience. The count had not bowed his +head; he had made the Rhine campaigns, and a cannon-ball was nothing new +to him. He turned to the battalion, slapping his leg with his right +hand, whilst a comical twitching of his nose and at the corner of his +mouth betrayed his discontent. 'Men!' said he, 'balls that whistle do +not hit, so it is useless to fear them. Henceforward, let no one dare to +stoop.' Hardly had the words left his lips when a third shot passed +close over his head and dashed into the battalion. This time very few +made the respectful salutation which had occasioned the count's reproof, +but astonishment and horror were visible on every countenance when we +saw our dear comrades struck down by our side. + +"After an hour's cannonade the infantry advanced. Skirmishers were +thrown out, and the musketry came into play; and truly, often as I have +been in action, such firing as at Lutzen I never since heard. From about +mid-day till nine at night, one uninterrupted roll; not even for a +moment were single shots to be distinguished. My old comrades will bear +witness to the truth of this. + +"Our light company hastened forward as skirmishers, Lieutenant Merkatz +led them on, and, with waving sword and a joyful shout, rushed towards +the foe, full a hundred paces in front of his men. Soon the wounded +straggled, and were carried past us by dozens--amongst others Anselme, +captain of the company. A rifle-ball had shattered his right shoulder. +When I saw him, twenty-five years later, as a general, he still carried +his arm in a sling, fragments of bone frequently came away, and his +sufferings were very great. Such wounds as his no gold, or title, or +decorations can repay; in the consciousness of having done one's duty +the only compensation is to be found." + +Von Rahden was soon called upon to replace a wounded officer, and he +hurried to the front. Before he reached the skirmishers, he met the dead +body of the young prince of Hesse-Homburg, who served as staff-officer +in the first regiment of Silesian infantry. He had entered action as he +would have gone to parade, in full dress, with a star upon his breast, +and wearing all the insignia of his rank. General Ziethen remonstrated +with him on the imprudence of thus rendering himself a conspicuous mark, +but he was deaf to the warning, and refused to take off his star. +"This," said he, "is the soldier's most glorious parade-ground." The +next moment a ball struck him, and he fell mortally wounded from his +horse. + +We shall not follow Baron Von Rahden through the bloody day of Lutzen, +in the course of which he received a wound, not sufficiently severe, +however, to compel him to leave the field. Neither of that action, nor +of any subsequent one, does he give a general account, but professes +merely to relate what he himself saw. As a subaltern officer, his sphere +of observation was, of course, very limited. He recites his own +adventures and the proceedings of his battalion, or, at most, of the +division to which it was attached, and is careful to name those officers +who particularly distinguished themselves. He urges the surviving +veterans of those eventful campaigns to follow his example, and publish +their reminiscences, as a means of rescuing from unmerited oblivion the +names of many who especially signalised themselves whilst defending the +holy cause of German independence. It was a period prolific in heroes; +and if the manoeuvres and discipline of the Prussian army had been +more in proportion with the gallant spirit that animated the majority of +its members, doubtless the struggle would have been briefer. As it was, +the campaign of 1813 opened with a reverse which it was vainly +endeavoured to cloak by mendacious bulletins. "The nobly fought and +gloriously won action of Gross-Groeschen," said the official accounts of +the battle of Lutzen. But stubborn facts soon refuted the well-intended +but injudicious falsehoods, propounded to maintain the moral courage of +the nation. The French entered Dresden, driving out the rear-guard of +the retreating Allies, who, on the evening of the 12th of May, +established their camp, or rather their bivouac, for tents they had +none, near Bautzen, and fortified their position by intrenchments and +redoubts. On the 20th the fight began; 28,000 Prussians and 70,000 +Russians, so says the baron, against 150,000 French. A large +disproportion; and, moreover, the troops of the Allies were not made the +most of by their commanders. General Kleist's corps, consisting of but +5000 men, was left from ten in the morning till late in the afternoon to +defend itself unassisted against over-powering numbers of the French. +And most gallant their defence was. They fought before the eyes of both +armies, on the heights of Burk, which served as a stage for the +exhibition of their courage, and of the calm skill of their commander. +Von Rahden records the fact, that the Emperor Alexander sent several +times to Kleist to express his praise and admiration; and that his last +message was, that he could kiss Kleist's feet (a thorough Russian +testimony of respect) for his splendid behaviour with the advanced +guard. At length large bodies of the French having moved up to support +the assailants, a reinforcement was sent to Kleist to cover his retreat. +It consisted of Von Rahden's battalion, which, on the retrograde +movement being commenced, was for some time completely isolated, and +bore the whole brunt of the fight. Orders were given to clear a +corn-field which afforded shelter to the enemy. Here is a spirited +description of the fight that ensued. + +"I led the skirmishes of the first and second company. We entered the +field, and instantly found ourselves within fifteen or twenty paces of +the French marines, whom Napoleon had attached to the army, and whom we +recognised by the red lace on their shakos. We were so near each other, +that when our opponents fired I felt the heat of the burnt powder. The +battalion was about fifty paces behind us, but on rather higher ground. +It deployed into line, and fired a volley over our heads, which some of +the bullets missed by a trifle. A very unpleasant sensation and critical +moment; and many of my men showed an eagerness to get out of this double +fire, or at least to shelter themselves from it as much as possible. The +bugler tried to run; I caught him by the coat skirt, and ordered him to +sound the assembly, meaning to retire with my skirmishers to the right +flank of the battalion. He obeyed, clapped his bugle to his lips, and +began a quavering call. Suddenly the sounds ceased, and the bugler fell +backwards, spitting and sputtering with his mouth, stamping and striking +out with his feet and hands; then, jumping up, he ran off like a madman. +A bullet had entered the sound-hole of his bugle. At the same moment I +felt a hard rap on the right hip, and was knocked down. It was a +canister-shot; the blood poured out in streams, and, before I could join +the battalion, my boot was full of it. My comrades were hard at work; +after a few volleys, they kept up an incessant file-fire. They were +drawn up in line, only two deep, the third rank having been taken for +skirmishers. Luckily the enemy had no cavalry at hand, or it would have +been all up with us, for we should never have been able to form a +square. It was all that the officers and serrafiles could do to keep the +men in their places. The French infantry surrounded us on three sides, +but they kept behind the hedges, and amongst the high corn, and showed +no disposition to come to close quarters, when the bayonet and but-end +would have told their tale. On the other hand, from the adjacent heights +the artillery mowed us down with their canister. The fight lasted about +an hour; half a one more, and to a certainty we should all have been +annihilated or prisoners, for we were wholly unsupported. Sporschil and +other writers have said that Blucher sent General Kleist a reinforcement +of three thousand infantry. To that I reply that our battalion was at +most six hundred strong, and I did not see another infantry soldier in +the field. The other troops had retired far across the plain. Suddenly +the earth shook beneath our feet, and two magnificent divisions of +Russian cuirassiers charged to the rescue. The French infantry sought +the shelter of their adjacent battery, and we retreated wearily and +slowly towards our lines. The sun, which had shone brightly the whole +day, had already set when we reached a small village, and again extended +our skirmishers behind the walls and hedges. Once more the earth +trembled; and, with unusual rapidity for an orderly retreat, back came +the brilliant cuirassiers, with bloody heads, and in most awful +confusion. The French infantry and artillery had given them a rough +reception. A few hostile squadrons followed, and, as soon as the +Russians were out of the way, I opened fire with my skirmishers; but I +was ordered to cease, for the distance was too great, and it was mere +waste of ammunition." + +Von Rahden's hurt was but a flesh wound, and did not prevent his sharing +in the next day's fight, and in the retreat which concluded it. He was +then obliged to go into hospital, and only on the last day of June +rejoined his regiment in cantonments between Strehlen and Breslaw. At +the latter town he visited his mother. She had mourned his death, of +which she had received a false account from a soldier of his regiment, +who had seen him struck down by a bullet at Lutzen, and had himself been +wounded and carried from the field before Von Rahden regained +consciousness and rejoined his corps. + +The truce which, during the summer of 1813, afforded a brief repose to +the contending armies, was over, and the cause of the Allies +strengthened by the accession of Austria. Hostilities recommenced; and +on the 27th August we find our young lieutenant again distinguishing +himself, at the head of his sharpshooters, in the gardens of Dresden. +Several wet days, bad quarters, and short commons, had pulled down the +strength and lowered the spirits of the Allied troops. Exhausted and +discouraged, they showed little appetite for the bloody banquet to which +they were invited. Suddenly a hurra, but no very joyous one, ran through +the ranks. The soldiers had been ordered to utter it, in honour of the +Emperor Alexander and King of Prussia, who now, with their numerous and +brilliant staff, rode along the whole line of battle, doubtless with the +intention of raising the sunken spirits of the men. Close in front of +the baron's battalion the two monarchs halted; and there it was that +General Moreau was mortally wounded, at Alexander's side, by a French +cannon-shot. The following details of his death are from the work of a +well-known Russian military author, General +Michailefski-Danielefski:--"Moreau was close to the Emperor Alexander, +who stood beside an Austrian battery, against which the French kept up a +heavy fire. He requested the Russian sovereign to accompany him to +another eminence, whence a better view of the battle-field was +obtainable. 'Let your majesty trust to my experience,' said Moreau, and +turning his horse, he rode on, the emperor following. They had proceeded +but a few paces, when a cannon-ball smashed General Moreau's right foot, +passed completely through his horse, tore away his left calf, and +injured the knee. All present hurried to assist the wounded man. His +first words, on recovering consciousness, were--'I am dying; but how +sweet it is to die for the right cause, and under the eyes of so great a +monarch!' A litter was formed of Cossack lances; Moreau was laid upon +it, wrapped in his cloak, and carried to Koitz, the nearest village. +There he underwent, with the courage and firmness of a veteran soldier, +the amputation of both legs. The last bandage was being fastened, when +two round-shot struck the house, and knocked down a corner of the very +room in which he lay. He was conveyed to Laun, in Bohemia, and there +died, on the 2d of September. Such was the end of the hero of +Hohenlinden." + +General Michailofski, it must be observed, has been accused by Sporschil +of stretching the truth a little, when by so doing he could pay a +compliment to his deceased master. The adulatory words which he puts +into Moreau's mouth, may therefore never have been uttered by that +unfortunate officer. Some little inexactitudes in the account above +quoted are corrected by Captain Von Rahden. Moreau's litter was composed +of muskets, and not of lances; he was taken to Raecknitz, and not to +Koitz; and so forth. Upon the 2d of September, Von Rahden and eighteen +other Prussian officers, stood beside the bed whereon Moreau had just +expired, and divided amongst them a black silk waistcoat that had been +worn by the deceased warrior. "I still treasure up my shred of silk," +says the baron, "as a soldierly relic, and as I should a tatter of a +banner that had long waved honourably aloft, and at last tragically +fallen. In these days few care about such memorials, and a railway share +is deemed more valuable. Practically true; but horribly unpoetical!" + +In 1813, one battle followed hard upon the heels of the other. It was a +war of giants, and small breathing-time was given. The echoes of the +fight had scarcely died away at Dresden, when they were reawakened in +the fertile vale of Toeplitz. The action of Kulm was a glorious one for +the Allies. On the first day, the 29th of August, the Russians, under +Ostermann Tolstoy, reaped the largest share of laurels; on the 30th, +Kleist and the Prussians nobly distinguished themselves. The latter, +after burning their baggage, made a forced march over the mountains, and +fell upon the enemy's rear on the afternoon of the second day's +engagement. Here Von Rahden was again opposed to his old and gallant +acquaintances the French marines, who, refusing to retreat, were +completely exterminated. The action over, his battalion took up a +position near Arbesau, with their front towards Kulm. On the opposite +side of the road a Hungarian regiment was drawn up. + +"The sun had set, and distant objects grew indistinct in the twilight, +when we suddenly saw large masses of troops approach us. These were the +French prisoners, numbering, it was said, eight or ten thousand. First +came General Vandamme, on horseback, his head bound round with a white +cloth: a Cossack's lance had grazed his forehead. Close behind him were +several generals, (Haxo and Guyot;) and then, at a short interval, came +twenty or thirty colonels and staff-officers. On the right of these +marched an old iron-grey colonel, with two heavy silver epaulets +projecting forwards from under his light-blue great-coat, the cross of +the Legion of Honour on his breast, a huge chain with a bunch of gold +seals and keys dangling from his fob. He had been captured by very +forbearing foes, and he strode proudly and confidently along. He was +about ten paces from the head of our battalion, which was drawn up in +column of sections, when suddenly three or four of our Hungarian +neighbours leaped the ditch, and one of them, with the speed of light, +snatched watch and seals from the French colonel's pocket. Captain Von +Korth, who commanded our No. 1 company, observed this, sprang forward, +knocked the blue-breeched Hungarians right and left, took the watch from +them, and restored it to its owner. The latter, with the ease of a +thorough Frenchman, offered it, with a few obliging words, to Captain +Von Korth, who refused it by a decided gesture, and hastened back to his +company. All this occurred whilst the French prisoners marched slowly +by, and the captain had not passed the battalion more than ten or +fifteen paces, when he turned about, and with the cry of "_Vive le brave +capitaine Prussien!_" threw chain and seals into the middle of our +company. The watch he had detached and put in his pocket. Von Korth +offered ten and even fifteen _louis d'ors_ for the trinkets, but could +never discover who had got them; whoever it was, he perhaps feared to be +compelled to restore them without indemnification." + +"The Emperor Alexander received Vandamme, when that general was brought +before him as prisoner, with great coolness, but nevertheless promised +to render his captivity as light as possible. Notwithstanding that +assurance, Vandamme was sent to Siberia. On his way thither, the proud +and unfeeling man encountered many a hard word and cruel taunt, the +which I do not mean to justify, although he had richly earned them by +his numerous acts of injustice and oppression. In the spring of 1807, +he had had his headquarters in the pretty little town of Frankenstein in +Silesia, and, amongst various other extortions, had compelled the +authorities to supply him with whole sackfuls of the delicious red +filberts which grow in that neighbourhood. When, upon his way to the +frozen steppes, he chanced to halt for a night in this same town of +Frankenstein, the magistrates sent him a huge sack of his favourite +nuts, with a most submissive message, to the effect that they well +remembered his Excellency's partiality to filberts, and that they begged +leave to offer him a supply, in hopes that the cracking of them might +beguile the time, and occupy his leisure in Siberia." + +At Kulm the captain of Von Rahden's company was slain. He had ridden up +to a French column, taking it, as was supposed, for a Russian one, and +was killed by three of the enemy's officers before he found out his +mistake. Each wound was mortal; one of his assailants shot him in the +breast, another drove his sword through his body, and the third nearly +severed his head from his shoulders with a sabre-cut. The day after the +battle, before sunrise, Von Rahden awakened a non-commissioned officer +and three men, and went to seek and bury the corpse. It was already +stripped of every thing but the shirt and uniform coat; they dug a +shallow grave under a pear-tree, and interred it. The mournful task was +just completed when a peasant came by. Von Rahden called him, showed him +the captain's grave, and asked if he might rely upon its not being +ploughed up. "Herr Preusse," was the answer, "I promise you that it +shall not; for the ground is mine, and beneath this tree your captain +shall rest undisturbed." The promise was faithfully kept. In August +1845, the baron revisited the spot. The tree still stood, and the +soldier's humble grave had been respected. + +Whilst wandering over the field of battle, followed by Zaenker, his +sergeant, Von Rahden heard a suppressed moaning, and found amongst the +brushwood, close to the bank of a little rivulet, a sorely wounded +French soldier. The unfortunate fellow had been hit in three or four +places. One ball had entered behind his eyes, which projected, bloody +and swollen, from their sockets, another had shattered his right hand, +and a third had broken the bones of the leg. He could neither see, nor +move, nor die; he lay in the broad glare of the sun, parched with +thirst, listening to the ripple of the stream, which he was unable to +reach. In heart-rending tones he implored a drink of water. +Six-and-thirty hours had he lain there, he said, suffering agonies from +heat, and thirst, and wounds. "In an instant Zaenker threw down his +knapsack, filled his canteen, and handed it to the unhappy Frenchman, +who drank as if he would never leave off. When at last satisfied, he +said very calmly, 'Stop, friend! one more favour; blow my brains out!' I +looked at Zaenker, and made a sign with my hand, as much as to say, 'Is +your gun loaded?' Zaenker drew his ramrod, ran it into the barrel quite +noiselessly, so that the wounded man might not hear, and nodded his head +affirmatively. Without a word, I pointed to a thicket about twenty paces +off, giving him to understand that he was not to fire till I had reached +it, and, hurrying away, I left him alone with the Frenchman. Ten minutes +passed without a report, and then, on turning a corner of the wood, I +came face to face with Zaenker. 'I can't do it, lieutenant,' said he. +'Thrice I levelled my rifle, but could not pull the trigger.' He had +left the poor French sergeant-major--such four gold chevrons on his +coat-sleeve denoted him to be--a canteen full of water, had arranged a +few boughs above his head to shield him from the sun, and as soon as we +reached the camp, he hastened to the field hospital to point out the +spot where the wounded man lay, and procure surgical assistance." + +The battle of Kulm was lost by the French through the negligence of +Vandamme, who omitted to occupy the defiles in his rear--an +extraordinary blunder, for which a far younger soldier might well be +blamed. The triumph was complete, and, in conjunction with those at the +Katzbach and Gross-Beeren, greatly raised the spirits of the Allies. At +Kulm, the French fought, as usual, most gallantly, but for once they +were outmanoeuvred. A brilliant exploit of three or four hundred +chasseurs, belonging to Corbineau's light cavalry division, is worthy +of mention. Sabre in hand, they cut their way completely through +Kleist's corps, and did immense injury to the Allies, especially to the +artillery. Of themselves, few, if any, escaped alive. "Not only," says +Baron Von Rahden, "did they ride down several battalions at the lower +end of the defile, and cut to pieces and scatter to the winds the staff +and escort of the general, which were halted upon the road, but they +totally annihilated our artillery for the time, inasmuch as they threw +the guns into the ditches, and killed nearly all the men and horses. By +this example one sees what resolute men on horseback, with good swords +in their hands, and bold hearts in their bosoms, are able to +accomplish." In a letter of Prince Augustus of Prussia, we find that +"the artillery suffered so great a loss at Kulm, that there are still +(this was written in the middle of September, fifteen days after the +action) eighteen officers, eighty non-commissioned officers, one hundred +and twenty-six bombardiers, seven hundred and eighteen gunners, besides +bandsmen and surgeons, wanting to complete the strength." In both days' +fight the present King of the Belgians greatly distinguished himself. He +was then in the Russian service, and, on the 29th, fought bravely at the +head of his cavalry division. On the 30th, the Emperor Alexander sent +him to bring up the Austrian cavalry reserves, and the judgment with +which he performed this duty was productive of the happiest results. + +The Russian guards fought nobly at Kulm, and held the valley of Toeplitz +one whole day against four times their numbers. To reward their valour, +the King of Prussia gave them the Kulm Cross, as it was called, which +was composed of black shining leather with a framework of silver. The +Prussians were greatly annoyed at its close resemblance to the first and +best class of the Iron Cross, which order had been instituted a few +months previously, and was sparingly bestowed, for instances of +extraordinary personal daring, upon those only who fought under Prussian +colours. It was of iron with a silver setting, and could scarcely be +distinguished from the Kulm cross. "Many thousands of us Prussians," +says the Baron, "fought for years, poured out our blood, and threw away +our lives, in vain strivings after a distinction which the Muscovite +earned in a few hours. For who would notice whether it was leather or +iron? The colour and form were the same, and only the initiated knew the +difference, which was but nominal. In the severe winter of 1829-30, when +travelling in a Russian sledge and through a thorough Russian +snow-storm, along the shores of the Peipus lake, I passed a company of +soldiers wrapped in their grey coats. On the right of the company were +ten or twelve Knights of the Iron Cross, as it appeared to me, and of +the first class of that order. This astonished me so much the more, that +in Prussia it was an unheard-of thing for more than one or two private +soldiers in a regiment to achieve this high distinction. I started up, +and rubbed my eyes, and thought I dreamed. At Dorpat I was informed that +several hundred men from the Semenofskoi regiment of guards, (the heroes +of Kulm,) had been drafted into the provincial militia as a punishment +for having shared in a revolt at St Petersburg." + +On the 14th of October occurred the battle of cavalry in the plains +between Gueldengossa, Groebern, and Liebertwolkwitz, where the Allied +horse, fifteen thousand strong, encountered ten to twelve thousand +French dragoons, led by the King of Naples, who once, during that day, +nearly fell into the hands of his foes. The incident is narrated by Von +Schoening in his history of the third Prussian regiment of dragoons, then +known as the Neumark dragoons. "It was about two hours after daybreak; +the regiment had made several successful charges, and at last obtained a +moment's breathing-time. The dust had somewhat subsided; the French +cavalry stood motionless, only their general, followed by his staff, +rode, encouraging the men, as it seemed, along the foremost line, just +opposite to the Neumark dragoons. Suddenly a young lieutenant, Guido von +Lippe by name, who thought he recognised Murat in the enemy's leader, +galloped up to the colonel. 'I must and will take him!' cried he; and, +without waiting for a Yes or a No, dashed forward at the top of his +horse's speed, followed by a few dragoons who had been detached from the +ranks as skirmishers. At the same time the colonel ordered the charge to +be sounded. A most brilliant charge it was, but nothing more was seen of +Von Lippe and his companions. Two days afterwards, his corpse was found +by his servant, who recognised it amongst a heap of dead by the scars of +the yet scarcely healed wounds received at Lutzen. A sabre-cut and a +thrust through the body had destroyed life." An interesting confirmation +of this story may be read in Von Odeleben's "Campaign of Napoleon in +Saxony in the year 1813," p. 328. "He (Murat) accompanied by a very +small retinue, so greatly exposed himself, that at last one of the +enemy's squadrons, recognising him by his striking dress, and by the +staff that surrounded him, regularly gave him chase. One officer in +particular made a furious dash at the king, who, by the sudden facing +about of his escort, found himself the last man, a little in the rear, +and with only one horseman by his side. In the dazzling anticipation of +a royal prisoner, the eager pursuer called to him several times, 'Halt, +King, halt!' At that moment a crown was at stake. The officer had +already received a sabre-cut from Murat's solitary attendant, and as he +did not regard it, but still pressed forward, the latter ran him through +the body. He fell dead from his saddle, and the next day his horse was +mounted by the king's faithful defender, from whose lips I received +these details. Their truth has been confirmed to me from other sources. +Murat made his rescuer his equerry, and promised him a pension. The +Emperor gave him the cross of the legion of honour." + +The second Silesian regiment suffered terribly at the great battle of +Leipzig. Von Rahden's battalion, in particular, was reduced at the close +of the last day's fight to one hundred and twenty effective men, +commanded by a lieutenant, the only unwounded officer. Kleist's +division, of which it formed part, had sustained severe losses in every +action since the truce, and after Leipzig it was found to have melted +down to one-third of its original strength. Disease also broke out in +its ranks. To check this, to recruit the numbers, and repose the men, +the division was sent into quarters. Von Rahden's regiment went to the +duchy of Meiningen, and his battalion was quartered in the town of that +name. The friendly and hospitable reception here given to the victors of +Kulm and Leipzig was well calculated to make them forget past hardships +and sufferings. The widowed Duchess of Meiningen gave frequent balls and +entertainments, to which officers of all grades found ready admittance. +The reigning duke was then a boy; his two sisters, charming young women, +were most gracious and condescending. In those warlike days, the +laurel-wreath was as good a crown as any other, and raised even the +humble subaltern to the society of princes. + +"It chanced one evening," says the Baron, "that our major, Count +Reichenbach, stood up to dance a quadrille with the Princess Adelaide of +Meiningen. His toilet was not well suited to the ball-room; his boots +were heavy, the floor was slippery, and he several times tripped. At +last he fairly fell, dragging his partner with him. His right arm was in +a sling, and useless from wounds received at Lutzen, and some short time +elapsed before the princess was raised from her recumbent position by +the ladies and gentlemen of the court, and conducted into an adjoining +apartment. With rueful countenance, and twisting his red mustache from +vexation, Count Reichenbach tried to lose himself in the crowd, and to +escape the annoyance of being stared at and pointed out as the man who +had thrown down the beautiful young princess. It was easy to see that he +would rather have stormed a dozen hostile batteries than have made so +unlucky a _debut_ in the royal ball-room. In a short quarter of an hour, +however, when the fuss caused by the accident had nearly subsided, the +princess reappeared, looking more charming than ever, and sought about +until she discovered poor Count Reichenbach, who had got into a corner +near the stove. With the most captivating grace, she invited him to +return to the dance, saying, loud enough for all around to hear, 'that +she honoured a brave Prussian soldier whose breast was adorned with the +Iron Cross, and whose badly-wounded arm had not prevented his fighting +the fight of liberation at Leipzig, and that with all her heart she +would begin the dance again with him.' The Count's triumph was complete; +the court prudes and parasites, who a moment before had looked down upon +him from the height of their compassion, now rivalled each other in +amiability. With a well-pleased smile the Count stroked his great beard, +led the princess to the quadrille, and danced it in first-rate style." +The reader will have recognised our excellent Queen Dowager in the +heroine of the charming trait which an old soldier thus bluntly +narrates. The kind heart and patriotic spirit of the German Princess +were good presage of the benevolence and many virtues of the English +Queen. "When, in May 1836," continues Captain Von Rahden, "I was +presented, as captain in the Dutch service, to the Princess Adelaide, +then Queen of England, at St James's Palace, her majesty perfectly +remembered the incident I have here narrated to my readers. To her +inquiries after Count Reichenbach, I unfortunately had to reply that he +was long since dead." + +In January 1814, the Baron's regiment left Meiningen, crossed the Rhine, +joined the great Silesian army under old Blucher, and began the campaign +in France. The actions of Montmirail, Mery sur Seine, La Ferte sous +Jouarre, and various other encounters, followed in rapid succession. +Hard knocks for the Allies, many of them. But all Napoleon's brilliant +generalship was in vain; equally in vain did his young troops emulate +the deeds of those iron veterans whose bones lay bleaching on the +Beresina's banks, and in the passes of the Sierra Morena. The month of +February was passed in constant fighting, and was perhaps the most +interesting period of the campaigns of 1813-14. On the 13th, the +Prussian advanced guard, Ziethen's division, was attacked by superior +numbers and completely beaten at Montmirail. Von Rahden's battalion was +one of those which had to cover the retreat of the routed troops, and +check the advance of the exulting enemy. Retiring slowly and in good +order, the rearmost of the whole army, it reached the village of Etoges, +when it was assailed by a prodigious mass of French cavalry. But the +horsemen could make no impression on the steady ranks of Count +Reichenbach's infantry. + +"Here the hostile dragoons, formed in columns of squadrons and +regiments, charged us at least twelve or fifteen times, always without +success. Each time Count Reichenbach let them approach to within fifty +or sixty paces, then ordered a halt, formed square, and opened a heavy +and well-sustained fire, which quickly drove back the enemy. As soon as +they retired, I and my skirmishers sprang forward, and peppered them +till they again came to the charge, when we hurried back to the +battalion. Count Reichenbach himself never entered the square, but +during the charges took his station on the left flank, which could not +fire, because it faced the road along which our artillery marched. Our +gallant commander gave his orders with the same calm coolness and +precision as on the parade ground. His voice and our volleys were the +only sounds heard, and truly that was one of the most glorious +afternoons of Count Reichenbach's life. Our western neighbours love to +celebrate the deeds of their warriors by paint-brush and graver; our +heroes are forgotten, but for the occasional written reminiscences of +some old soldier, witness of their valiant deeds. And truly, if Horace +Vernet has handed Colonel Changarnier down to posterity for standing +_inside_ his square whilst it received the furious but disorderly charge +of semi-barbarous horse, he might, methinks, and every soldier and true +Prussian will share my opinion, find a far worthier subject for his +pencil in Count Reichenbach, awaiting _outside_ his square the +formidable attacks of six thousand French cavalrymen. + +"It became quite dark, and the enemy ceased to charge. Pity it was! for +such was the steadiness and discipline of our men, that the defence went +on like some well-regulated machine, and might have been continued for +hours longer, or till our last cartridge was burnt. The count seemed +unusually well pleased. Twirling his mustache with a satisfied chuckle, +he offered several officers and soldiers a dram from a little flask +which he habitually carried in his holster, and turned to me with the +words, 'Well done, my dear Rahden, bravo!' On hearing this praise, short +and simple as it was, I could have embraced my noble commander for joy, +and with feelings in my heart which only such men as Reichenbach know +how to awaken, I resumed my place on the right of the battalion, which +now marched away." + +Gradually the Allies approached Paris. On the 28th March, at the village +of Claye, only five leagues from the capital, Kleist's division came to +blows with the French troops under General Compan, who had marched out +to meet them. As usual, Von Rahden was with the skirmishers, as was also +another lieutenant of his battalion, a Pole of gigantic frame and +extraordinary strength, who here met his death. He was rushing forward +at the head of his men, when a four-pound shot struck him in the breast. +It went through his body, passing very near the heart, but, strange to +say, without causing instant death. For most men, half an ounce of lead +in the breast is an instant quietus; but so prodigious was the strength +and vitality of this Pole, that he lingered, the baron assures us, full +six-and-thirty hours. + +"We now followed up the French infantry, which hastily retreated to a +farm-yard surrounded by lofty linden and chestnut trees, and situated on +a small vine-covered hill. When half-way up the eminence, we saw, upon +the open space beneath the trees, several companies of the enemy in full +parade uniform, with bearskin caps, large red epaulets upon their +shoulders, and white breeches, form themselves into a sort of phalanx, +which only replied to our fire by single shots. Presently even these +ceased. Scheliha and myself immediately ordered our men to leave off +firing; and Scheliha, who spoke French very intelligibly, advanced to +within thirty paces of the enemy and summoned them to lay down their +arms, supposing that they intended to yield themselves prisoners. They +made no reply, but stood firm as a wall. Scheliha repeated his summons: +a shot was fired at him. This served as a signal to our impatient +followers, who opened a murderous fire upon the dense mass before them. +We tried a third time to get the brave Frenchmen to yield; others of our +battalions had come up, and they were completely cut off; but the sole +reply we received was a sort of negative murmur, and some of them even +threatened us with their muskets. Within ten minutes they all lay dead +or wounded upon the ground; for our men were deaf alike to commands and +entreaties, and to the voice of mercy. Most painful was it to us +officers to look on at such a butchery, impotent to prevent it." It +afterwards appeared that these French grenadiers, who belonged to the +_Jeune Garde_, had left Paris that morning. By some mismanagement their +stock of ammunition was insufficient, and having expended it, they +preferred death, with arms in their hands, to captivity. + +At eight o'clock on the thirtieth, Kleist's and York's corps, now +united, passed the Ourcq canal, and marched along the Pantin road +towards Paris. Upon that morning they saw old Blucher for the first time +for more than a month. He seemed on the brink of the grave, and wore a +woman's bonnet of green silk to protect his eyes, which were dangerously +inflamed. He was on horseback, but was soon obliged to return to his +travelling carriage in rear of the army, and to give up the command to +Barclay de Tolly. "Luckily," says the baron, "the troops knew nothing of +the substitution." Although it would probably hardly have mattered much, +for there was little more work to do. For that year this was the last +day's fight. After some flank movement which took up several hours, the +allied infantry attacked the village of La Villette, but were repulsed +by the artillery from the adjacent barrier. The brigade batteries +loitered in the rear, and Prince Augustus, vexed at their absence, sent +an aide-de-camp to bring them up. One of them was commanded by +Lieutenant Holsche, Von Rahden's former instructor at the artillery +school, of whom we have already related an anecdote. Although an +undoubtedly brave and circumspect officer, on this occasion he remained +too far behind the infantry; and Captain Decker,[49] who was dispatched +to fetch him, was not sorry to be the medium of conveying the Prince's +sharp message, the less so as he had observed a certain nonchalance and +want of deference in the artillery lieutenant's manner of receiving the +orders of his superiors. At a later period, Baron Von Rahden heard from +Decker himself the following characteristic account of his reception by +the gallant but eccentric Holsche. + +"I came up to the battery," said Decker, "at full gallop. The men were +dismounted, and their officer stood chatting with his comrades beside a +newly-made fire. 'Lieutenant Holsche,' said I, rather sharply, 'his +Royal Highness is exceedingly astonished that you remain idle here, and +has directed me to command you instantly to advance your battery against +the enemy.' + +"'Indeed?' was Holsche's quiet reply, 'his Royal Highness is +astonished!' and then, turning to his men with the same calmness of tone +and manner, 'Stand to your horses! Mount! Battery, march!' + +"I thought the pace commanded was not quick enough, and in the same loud +and imperious voice as before, I observed to Lieutenant Holsche that he +would not be up in time; he had better move faster. 'Indeed! not quick +enough?' quietly answered Holsche, and gave the word, 'March, march!' We +now soon got over the ground and within the enemy's fire, and, +considering my duty at an end, I pointed out to the Lieutenant the +direction he should take, and whereabouts he should post his battery. +But Holsche begged me in the most friendly manner to go on and show him +exactly where he should halt. I naturally enough complied with his +request. The nearer we got to the French, the faster became the pace, +until at last we were in front of our most advanced battalions. The +bullets whizzed about us on all sides; I once more made a move to turn +back, and told Holsche he might stop where he was. With the same +careless air as before, he repeated his request that I would remain, in +order to be able to tell his Royal Highness where Lieutenant Holsche and +his battery had halted! What could I do? It was any thing but pleasant +to share so great a danger, without either necessity or profit; and +certainly I might very well have turned back, but Holsche, by whose side +I galloped, fixed his large dark eyes upon my countenance, as though he +would have read my very soul. We were close to our own skirmishers; on +we went, right through them, into the middle of the enemy's riflemen, +who, quite surprised at being charged by a battery, retired in all +haste. It really seemed as if the artillery was going over to the enemy. +At two hundred paces from the French columns, however, Holsche halted, +unlimbered, and gave two discharges from the whole battery, with such +beautiful precision and astounding effect, that he sent the hostile +squadrons and battalions to the right about, and even silenced some of +the heavy guns within the barriers. That done he returned to me, and +begged me to inform the Prince where I had left Lieutenant Holsche and +his battery. 'Perhaps,' added he, 'his Royal Highness will again find +occasion to be astonished; and I shall be very glad of it.' And truly +the Prince and all of us _were_ astonished at this gallant exploit; it +had been achieved in sight of the whole army, and had produced a +glorious and most desirable result." + +For this feat Holsche was rewarded with the Iron Cross of the first +class. He had already at Leipzig gained that of the second, and on +receiving it his ambition immediately aspired to the higher decoration. +Many a time had he been heard to vow, that if he obtained it, he would +have a cross as large as his hand manufactured by the farrier of his +battery, and wear it upon his breast. To this he pledged his word. The +manner in which he kept it is thus related by his old friend and pupil. + +"We were on our march from Paris to Amiens, when we were informed, one +beautiful morning, that our brigade battery, under Lieutenant Holsche, +was in cantonments in the next village. The music at our head, we +marched through the place in parade time, and paid Holsche military +honours as ex-commandant of the Straw-bonnet, which title he still +retained. Intimate acquaintance and sincere respect might well excuse +this little deviation from the regulations of the service. Our hautboys +blew a favourite march, to which Holsche himself had once in Glatz +written words, beginning:-- + + 'Natz, Natz, Annemarie, + Da kommt die Glaetzer Infanterie.' + +In his blue military frock, with forage cap and sword, Holsche stood +upon a small raised patch of turf in front of his quarters, gravely +saluting in acknowledgment of the honours paid him, which he received +with as proud a bearing as if he was legitimately entitled to them. This +did not surprise us, knowing him as we did, but not a little were we +astonished when we saw an Iron Cross of the first class, as large as a +plate, fastened upon his left breast. The orders for the battle of Paris +and the other recent fights in France had just been distributed; Holsche +was amongst the decorated, and the jovial artilleryman took this +opportunity to fulfil his oft-repeated vow. Only a few hours before our +arrival he had had the cross manufactured by his farrier." + +This dashing but wrong-headed officer soon afterwards became a captain, +and subsequently major, but his extravagances, and especially his +addiction to wine, got him into frequent trouble, until at last he was +put upon the retired list as lieutenant-colonel, and died at Schweidnitz +in Silesia. + +At six in the evening of the 30th March, the last fight of the campaign +was over, and aides-de-camp galloped hither and thither, announcing the +capitulation of Paris. Right pleasant were such sounds to the ears of +the war-worn soldiers. Infantry grounded their arms, dragoons +dismounted, artillerymen leaned idly against their pieces; Langeron +alone, who had begun the storm of Montmartre, would not desist from his +undertaking. Officers rode after him, waving their white handkerchiefs +as a signal to cease firing, but without effect. The Russians stormed +on; and if Langeron attained his end with comparatively small loss, the +enemy being already in retreat, there were nevertheless four or five +hundred men sacrificed to his ambition, and that he might have it to say +that he and his Russians carried Montmartre by storm. Whilst the rest of +the troops waited till he had attained his end, and congratulated each +other on the termination of the hardships and privations of the +preceding three months, a Russian bomb-carriage took fire, the drivers +left it, and its six powerful horses, scorched and terrified by the +explosion of the projectiles, ran madly about the field, dragging at +their heels this artificial volcano. The battalions which they +approached scared them away by shouts, until the unlucky beasts knew not +which way to turn. At last, the shells and grenades being all burnt out, +the horses stood still, and, strange to say, not one of them had +received the slightest injury. + +Terrible was the disappointment of Kleist's and York's divisions, when +they learned on the morning subsequent to the capitulation that they +were not to enter Paris; but, after four-and-twenty hours' repose in the +faubourg Montmartre, where they had passed the previous night, were to +march from the capital into country quarters. Their motley and +weather-beaten aspect was the motive of this order--a heart-breaking one +for the brave officers and soldiers who had borne the heat and burden of +the day during a severe and bloody campaign, and now found themselves +excluded on the earthly paradise of their hopes. They had fought and +suffered more than the Prussian and Russian guards; but the latter were +smart and richly uniformed, whilst the poor fellows of the line had +rubbed off and besmirched in many a hard encounter and rainy bivouac +what little gilding they ever possessed. So long as fighting was the +order of the day, they were in request; but it was now the turn of +parades, and on these they would cut but a sorry figure. So "right +about" was the word, and Amiens the route. A second day's respite was +allowed them, however; and although they were strictly confined to their +quarters, lest they should shock the sensitiveness of the Parisian +_bourgeoisie_ by their ragged breeks, long beards, and diversity of +equipment, some of the officers obtained leave to go into Paris. Von +Rahden was amongst these, and, after a dinner at Very's, where his +Silesian simplicity and campaigning appetite were rather astonished by +the exiguity of the _plats_ placed before him, whereof he managed to +consume some five-and-twenty, after admiring the wonders of the Palace +Royal, and the rich uniforms of almost every nation with which the +streets were crowded, he betook himself to the Place Vendome to gaze at +the fallen conqueror's triumphant column. It was surrounded by a mob of +fickle Parisians, eager to cast down from its high estate the idol they +so recently had worshipped. One daredevil fellow climbed upon the +Emperor's shoulders, slung a cord round his neck, dragged up a great +ship's cable and twisted it several times about the statue. The rabble +seized the other end of the rope, and with cries of "_a bas ce +canaille!_" tugged furiously at it. Their efforts were unavailing, +Napoleon stood firm, until the Allied sovereigns, who, from the window +of an adjacent house, beheld this disgraceful riot, sent a company of +Russian grenadiers to disperse the mob. The masses gave way before the +bayonet, but not till the same man who had fastened the rope, again +climbed up, and with a white cloth shrouded the statue of the once +adored Emperor from the eyes of his faithless subjects. It is well known +that, a few weeks later, the figure was taken down by order of the +Emperor Alexander, who carried it away as his sole trophy, and gave it a +place in the winter palace at St Petersburg. When Louis XVIII. returned +to Paris, a broad white banner, embroidered with three golden lilies, +waved from the summit of the column; but this in its turn was displaced, +by the strong south wind that blew from Elba in March 1815, when +Napoleon re-entered his capital. A municipal deputation waited upon him +to know what he would please to have placed on the top of the triumphant +column. "A weathercock" was the little corporal's sarcastic reply. Since +that day, the lilies and the tricolor have again alternated on the +magnificent column, until the only thing that ought to surmount it, the +statue of the most extraordinary man of modern, perhaps of any, times, +has resumed its proud position, and once more overlooks the capital +which he did so much to improve and embellish. + +"I now wandered to the operahouse," says the baron, "to hear Spontini's +_Vestale_. The enormous theatre was full to suffocation; in every box +the Allied uniforms glittered, arms flashed in the bright light, police +spies loitered and listened, beautiful women waved their kerchiefs and +joined in the storm of applause, as if that day had been a most glorious +and triumphant one for France. The consul Licinius, represented, if I +remember aright, by the celebrated St Priest, was continually +interrupted in his songs, and called upon for the old national melody +'Vive Henri Quatre,' which he gave with couplets composed for the +occasion, some of which, it was said, were improvisations. In the midst +of this rejoicing, a rough voice made itself heard from the upper +gallery. '_A bas l'aigle imperial!_' were the words it uttered, and in +an instant every eye was turned to the Emperor's box, whose purple +velvet curtains were closely drawn, and to whose front a large and +richly gilt eagle was affixed. The audience took up the cry and repeated +again and again--'_A bas l'aigle imperial!_' Presently the curtains were +torn asunder, a fellow seated himself upon the cushioned parapet, twined +his legs round the eagle, and knocked, and hammered, till it fell with a +crash to the ground. Again the royalist ditty was called for, with _ad +libitum_ couplets, in which the words '_ce diable a quatre_' were only +too plainly perceptible; the unfortunate consul had to repeat them till +he was hoarse, and so ended the great comedy performed that day by the +'Grande Nation.' Most revolting it was, and every right-thinking man +shuddered at such thorough Gallic indecency." + +Baron Von Rahden tells the story of his life well and pleasantly, +without pretensions to brilliancy and elegance of style, but with +soldierly frankness and spirit. We have read this first portion of his +memoirs with pleasure and interest, and may take occasion again to refer +to its lively and varied contents. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[48] In the third volume of Von Schoening's _History of the Artillery_, +we find the following extract from an official report of Captain +Spreuth, an artillery officer, dated Koenigsberg, 18th December 1812. +"The 'Grand Army' is retreating across the Weichsel, if indeed it may be +called a retreat; it is more like a total rout or disbandment, for the +fugitives came without order or baggage. The post-horses are at work day +and night. From the 16th to the 17th, 71 generals 60 colonels, 1243 +staff and other officers, passed through this place; the majority +continued their route on foot, being unable to procure horses; the +officers' baggage is all lost, some of it has been plundered by their +own men, and we have even seen officers fighting in the streets with the +common soldiers." + +[49] The noted military writer, Carl Von Decker, since General. + + + + +ADVICE TO AN INTENDING SERIALIST. + +A LETTER TO T. SMITH, ESQ., SCENE-PAINTER AND TRAGEDIAN AT THE +AMPHITHEATRE. + + +My dear Smith,--Your complaint of my unwarrantable detention of the +manuscript which, some months ago, you were kind enough to forward for +my perusal, is founded upon a total misconception of the nature of my +interim employments. I have not, as you somewhat broadly insinuate, been +prigging bits of your matchless rhetoric in order to give currency and +flavour to my own more maudlin articles. The lemon-peel of Smith has not +entered into the composition of any of my literary puddings; neither +have I bartered a single fragment of your delectable facetiae for gold. I +return you the precious bundle as safe and undivulged as when it was +committed to my custody, and none the worse for the rather extensive +journey which it has materially contributed to cheer. + +The fact is, that I have been sojourning this summer utterly beyond the +reach of posts. To you, whose peculiar vocation it is to cater for the +taste of the public, I need hardly remark that novelty is, now-a-days, +in literature as in every thing else, an indispensable requisite for +success. People will not endure the iteration of a story, however well +it may be told. The same locality palls upon their ears, and that style +of wit which, last year, was sufficient to convulse an audience, may, if +continued for another session, be branded with the infamy of slang. Even +our mutual friend Barry, whose jests are the life of the arena, is quite +aware of this unerring physiological rule. He does not depend upon +captivating the galleries for ever by his ingenious conundrum of getting +into an empty quart bottle. His inimitable "be quiet, will ye?" as the +exasperated Master of the Ring flicks off an imaginary fly from his +motley inexpressibles, is now reserved as a great point for rare and +special occasions; and he now lays in a new stock of witticisms at the +commencement of each campaign, as regularly as you contract for +lamp-black and ochre when there is an immediate prospect of a grand new +military spectacle. The want of attention to this rule has, I fear, +operated prejudicially upon the fortunes of our agile acquaintance, +Hervio Nano, whom I last saw devouring raw beef in the character of a +human Nondescript. Harvey depended too much upon his original popularity +as the Gnome Fly, and failed through incessant repetition. The public at +length would not stand the appearance of that eternal blue-bottle. The +sameness of his entomology was wearisome. He should have varied his +representations by occasionally assuming the characters of the Spectre +Spider, or the Black Tarantula of the Tombs. + +Now you must know, that for the last three years I have been making my +living exclusively out of the Swedish novels and the Countess Ida von +Hahn-Hahn. To Frederike Bremer I owe a prodigious debt of gratitude; for +she has saved me the trouble--and it is a prodigious bore--of inventing +plots and characters, as I was compelled to do when the Rhine and the +Danube were the chosen seats of fiction. For a time the literary plough +went merrily through the sward of Sweden; nor can I, with any degree of +conscience, complain of the quality of the crop. But, somehow or other, +the thing was beginning to grow stale. People lost their relish for the +perpetual raspberry jam, tart-making, spinning, and the other processes +of domestic kitchen economy which formed our Scandinavian staple; +indeed, I had a shrewd suspicion from the first that the market would +soon be glutted by the introduction of so much linen and flannel. It is +very difficult to keep up a permanent interest in favour of a heroine in +homespun, and the storeroom is but a queer locality for the interchange +of lovers' sighs. I therefore was not surprised, last spring, to find my +publishers somewhat shy of entering into terms for a new translation of +"_Snorra Gorvundstrul; or, The Barmaid of Strundschensvoe_," and, in +the true spirit of British enterprise, I resolved to carry my flag +elsewhere. + +On looking over the map of the world, with the view of selecting a novel +field, I was astonished to find that almost every compartment was +already occupied by one of our literary brethren. There is in all Europe +scarce a diocese left unsung, and, like romance, civilisation is making +rapid strides towards both the east and the west. In this dilemma I +bethought me of Iceland as a virgin soil. Victor Hugo, it is true, had +made some advances towards it in one of his earlier productions; but, if +I recollect right, even that daring pioneer of letters did not penetrate +beyond Norway, and laid the scene of his stirring narrative somewhere +about the wilds of Drontheim. The bold dexterity with which he has +transferred the Morgue from Paris to the most artic city of the world, +has always commanded my most entire admiration. It is a stroke of +machinery equal to any which you, my dear Smith, have ever introduced +into a pantomime; and I question whether it was much surpassed by the +transit of the Holy Chapel to Loretto. In like manner I had intended to +transport a good deal of ready-made London ware to Iceland; or +rather--if that will make my meaning clearer--to take my idea both of +the scenery and characters from the Surrey Zoological Gardens, wherein +last year I had the privilege of witnessing a superb eruption of Mount +Hecla. On more mature reflection, however, I thought it might be as well +to take an actual survey of the regions which I intend henceforward to +occupy as my own especial domain; and--having, moreover, certain reasons +which shall be nameless, for a temporary evacuation of the metropolis--I +engaged a passage in a northern whaler, and have only just returned +after an absence of half a year. Yes, Smith! Incredible as it may appear +to you, I have actually been in Iceland, seen Hecla in a state of +conflagration; and it was by that lurid light, while my mutton was +boiling in the Geyser, that I first unfolded your manuscript, and read +the introductory chapters of "SILAS SPAVINHITCH; _or, Rides around the +Circus with Widdicomb and Co._" + +I trust, therefore, that after this explanation, you will discontinue +the epithet of "beast," and the corresponding expletives which you have +used rather liberally in your last two epistles. When you consider the +matter calmly, I think you will admit that you have suffered no very +material loss in consequence of the unavoidable delay; and, as to the +public, I am quite sure that they will devour Silas more greedily about +Christmas, than if he had made his appearance, all booted and spurred, +in the very height of the dog-days. You will also have the opportunity, +as your serial is not yet completed, of reflecting upon the justice of +the hints which I now venture to offer for your future guidance--hints, +derived not only from my observation of the works of others, but from +some little personal experience in that kind of popular composition; +and, should you agree with me in any of the views hereinafter expressed, +you may perhaps be tempted to act upon them in the revision and +completion of your extremely interesting work. First, then, let me say a +few words regarding the purpose and the nature of that sort of +_feuilleton_ which we now denominate the serial. + +Do not be alarmed, Smith. I am not going to conglomerate your faculties +by any Aristotelian exposition. You are a man of by far too much +practical sense to be humbugged by such outworn pedantry, and your own +particular purpose in penning Silas is of course most distinctly +apparent. You want to sack as many of the public shillings as possible. +That is the great motive which lies at the foundation of all literary or +general exertion, and the man who does not confess it broadly and openly +is an ass. If your study of Fitzball has not been too exclusive, you may +perhaps recollect the lines of Byron:-- + + "No! when the sons of song descend to trade, + Their bays are sear, their former laurels fade, + Let such forego the poet's sacred name, + Who rack their brains for lucre, not for fame; + Low may they sink to merited contempt, + And scorn remunerate the mean attempt! + Such be their meed, such still the just reward + Of prostituted muse and hireling bard!" + +Now these, although they have passed current in the world for some +thirty years, are in reality poor lines, and the sentiment they intend +to inculcate is contemptible. Byron lived long enough to know the value +of money, as his correspondence with the late Mr Murray most abundantly +testifies--indeed, I question whether any author ever beat him at the +art of chaffering. If it be a legitimate matter of reproach against an +author that he writes for money, then heaven help the integrity of every +profession and trade in this great and enlightened kingdom! What else, +in the name of common sense, should he write for? Fame? Thank you! Fame +may be all very well in its way, but it butters no parsnips; and, if I +am to be famous, I would much rather case my renown in fine linen than +in filthy dowlas. Let people say what they please, the best criterion of +every article is its marketable value, and no man on the face of this +earth will work without a reasonable wage. + +Your first and great purpose, therefore, is to make money, and to make +as much as you can. But then there is another kind of purpose, which, if +I was sure you could comprehend me, I should call the intrinsic one, and +which must be considered very seriously before you obtrude yourself upon +the public. In other words, what is to be the general tendency of your +work? "Fun," I think I hear you reply, "and all manner of sky-larking." +Very good. But then, my dear friend, you must consider that there is a +sort of method even in grimacing. There is a gentleman connected with +your establishment, who is popularly reported to possess the inestimable +talent of turning his head inside out. I never saw him perform that +cephalic operation, but I have heard it highly spoken of by others who +have enjoyed the privilege. But this it is obvious, though a very +admirable and effective incident, could hardly be taken as the +groundwork of a five-act play, or even a three-act melodrama; and, in +like manner, your fun and sky-larking must have something of a positive +tendency. I don't mean to insinuate that there is no story in Silas +Spavinhitch. He is, if I recollect aright, the younger son of a +nobleman, who falls in love--at Astley's, of course--with Signora +Estrella di Canterini, the peerless Amazon of the ring. He forsakes his +ancestral halls, abjures Parliament, and enlists in the cavalry of the +Hippodrome. In that gallant and distinguished corps he rises to an +unusual rank, utterly eclipses Herr Pferdenshuf, more commonly known by +the title of the Suabian acrobat--wins the heart of the Signora by +taming Centaur, the fierce Arabian stallion; and gains the notice and +favour of royalty itself, by leaping the Mammoth horse over nineteen +consecutive bars. Your manuscript ends at the point where Spavinhitch, +having accidentally discovered that the beautiful Canterini is the +daughter of Abd-el-Kader by a Sicilian princess, resolves to embark for +Africa with the whole chivalry of the Surrey side, and, by driving the +French from Algiers, to substantiate his claim upon the Emir for his +daughter's hand. There is plenty incident here; but, to say the truth, I +don't quite see my way out of it. Are you going to take history into +your own hands, and write in the spirit of prophecy? The experiment is, +to say the least of it, dangerous; and, had I been you, I should have +preferred an earlier period for my tale, as there obviously could have +been no difficulty in making Spavinhitch and his cavaliers take a +leading part in the decisive charge at Waterloo. + +Your serial, therefore, so far as I can discover, belongs to the +military-romantic school, and is intended to command admiration by what +we may call a series of scenic effects. I an not much surprised at this. +Your experience has lain so much in the line of gorgeous spectacle, and, +indeed, you have borne a part in so many of those magnificent tableaux +in which blue fire, real cannon, charging squadrons, and the +transparency of Britannia are predominant, that it was hardly to be +expected that the current of your ideas would have flowed in a humbler +channel. At the same time, you must forgive me for saying, that I think +the line is a dangerous one. Putting tendency altogether aside, you +cannot but recollect that a great many writers have already +distinguished themselves by narratives of military adventure. Of these, +by far the best and most spirited is Charles Lever. I don't know whether +he ever was in the army, or bore the banner of the Enniskillens; but I +say deliberately, that he has taken the shine out of all military +writers from the days of Julius Caesar downwards. There is a rollocking +buoyancy about his battles which to me is perfectly irresistible. In one +chapter you have the lads of the fighting Fifty-fifth bivouacking under +the cork-trees of Spain, with no end of spatchcocks and sherry--telling +numerous anecdotes of their early loves, none the worse because the +gentleman is invariably disappointed in his pursuit of the +well-jointured widow--or arranging for a speedy duel with that ogre of +the army, the saturnine and heavy dragoon. In the next, you have them +raging like lions in the very thick of the fight, pouring withering +volleys into the shattered columns of the Frenchmen--engaged in +single-handed combats with the most famous marshals of the empire, and +not unfrequently leaving marks of their prowess upon the persons of +Massena or Murat. Lever, in fact, sticks at nothing. His heroes +indiscriminately hob-a-nob with Wellington, or perform somersets at +leap-frog over the shoulders of the astounded Bonaparte; and, though +somewhat given to miscellaneous flirtation, they all, in the twentieth +number, are married to remarkably nice girls, with lots of money and +accommodating papas, who die as soon as they are desired. It may be +objected to this delightful writer--and a better never mixed a +tumbler--that he is, if any thing, too helter-skelter in his narratives; +that the officers of the British army do not, as an invariable rule, go +into action in a state of _delirium tremens_; and that O'Shaughnessy, in +particular, is rather too fond of furbishing up, for the entertainment +of the mess, certain stories which have been current for the last fifty +years in Tipperary. These, however, are very minor points of criticism, +and such as need not interfere with our admiration of this light lancer +of literature, who always writes like a true and a high-minded +gentleman. + +Now, my dear Smith, I must own that I have some fear of your success +when opposed to such a competitor. You have not been in the army--that +is, the regulars--and I should say that you were more conversant in +theory and in practice with firing from platforms than firing in +platoons. I have indeed seen you, in the character of Soult, lead +several desperate charges across the stage, with consummate dramatic +effect. Your single combat with Gomersal as Picton, was no doubt a +masterpiece of its kind; for in the course of it you brought out as many +sparks from the blades of your basket-hilts, as might have served in the +aggregate for a very tolerable illumination. Still I question whether +the style of dialogue you indulged in on that occasion, is quite the +same as that which is current on a modern battle-field. "Ha! English +slave! Yield, or thou diest!" is an apostrophe more appropriate to the +middle ages than the present century; and although the patriotism of the +following answer by your excellent opponent is undeniable, its propriety +may be liable to censure. Crossing the stage at four tremendous strides, +the glorious Gomersal replied, "Yield, saidst thou? Never! I tell thee, +Frenchman, that whilst the broad banner of Britain floats over the +regions on which the day-star never sets--while peace and plenty brood +like guardian angels over the shores of my own dear native isle--whilst +her sons are brave, and her daughters virtuous--whilst the British lion +reposes on his shadow in perfect stillness--whilst with thunders from +our native oak we quell the floods below--I tell thee, base satellite of +a tyrant, that an Englishman never will surrender!" In the applause +which followed this declaration, your remark, that several centuries +beheld you from the top of a canvass pyramid, was partially lost upon +the audience; but to it you went tooth and nail for at least a quarter +of an hour; and I must confess that the manner in which you traversed +the stage on your left knee, parrying all the while the strokes of your +infuriated adversary, was highly creditable to your proficiency in the +broadsword and gymnastic exercises. + +But all this, Smith, will not enable you to write a military serial. I +therefore hope, that on consideration you will abandon the Algiers +expedition, and keep Silas in his native island, where, if you will +follow my advice, you will find quite enough for him to do in the way of +incident and occupation. + +Now let us return to the question of tendency. Once upon a time, it was +a trite rule by which all romance writers were guided, that in the +_denoument_ of their plots, virtue was invariably rewarded, and vice as +invariably punished. This gave a kind of moral tone to their writings, +which was not without its effect upon our grandfathers and grandmothers, +many of whom were inclined to consider all works of fiction as direct +emanations from Beelzebub. The next generation became gradually less +nice and scrupulous, demanded more spice in their pottage, and attached +less importance to the prominence of an ethical precept. At last we +became, strictly speaking, a good deal blackguardised in our taste. +Ruffianism in the middle ages bears about it a stamp of feudality which +goes far to disguise its lawlessness, and even to excuse its immorality. +When a German knight of the empire sacks and burns some peaceful and +unoffending village--when a Bohemian marauder of noble birth bears off +some shrieking damsel from her paternal castle, having previously +slitted the weasand of her brother, and then weds her in a subterranean +chapel--or when a roaring red-bearded Highlander drives his dirk into a +gauger, or chucks a score of Sassenachs, tied back to back, with a few +hundredweight of greywacke at their heels, into the loch--we think less +of the enormity of the deeds than of the disagreeable habits of the +times. It does not follow that either German, Bohemian, or Celt, were +otherwise bad company or disagreeable companions over a flagon of +Rhenish, a roasted boar, or a gallon or so of usquebae. But when you come +to the Newgate Callendar for subjects, I must say that we are getting +rather low. I do not know what your feelings upon the subject may be, +but I, for one, would certainly hesitate before accepting an invitation +to the town residence of Mr Fagin; neither should I feel at all +comfortable if required to plant my legs beneath the mahogany in company +with Messrs Dodger, Bates, and the rest of their vivacious associates. +However fond I may be of female society, Miss Nancy is not quite the +sort of person I should fancy to look in upon of an evening about +tea-time; and as for Bill Sykes, that infernal dog of his would be quite +enough to prevent any advances of intimacy between us. In fact, Smith, +although you may think the confession a squeamish one, I am not in the +habit of selecting my acquaintance from the inhabitants of St Giles, and +on every possible occasion I should eschew accepting their +hospitalities. + +I have, therefore, little opportunity of judging whether the characters +depicted by some of our later serialists, are exact copies from nature +or the reverse. I have, however, heard several young ladies declare them +to be extremely natural, though I confess to have been somewhat puzzled +as to their means of accurate information. But I may be allowed _en +passant_ to remark, that it seems difficult to imagine what kind of +pleasure can be derived from the description of a scene, which, if +actually contemplated by the reader, would inspire him with loathing and +disgust, or from conversations in which the brutal alternates with the +positive obscene. The fetid den of the Jew, the stinking cellar of the +thief, the squalid attic of the prostitute, are not haunts for honest +men, and the less that we know of them the better. Such places no doubt +exist--the more is the pity; but so do dunghills, and a hundred other +filthy things, which the imagination shudders at whenever they are +forced upon it,--for the man who willingly and deliberately dwells upon +such subjects, is, notwithstanding all pretext, in heart and soul a +nightman! Don't tell me about close painting after nature. Nature is +not always to be painted as she really is. Would you hang up such +paintings in your drawing-room? If not, why suffer them in print to lie +upon your drawing-room tables? What are Eugene Sue and his English +competitors, but coarser and more prurient Ostades? + +Oh, but there is a moral in these things! No doubt of it. There is a +moral in all sin and misery, as there is in all virtue and happiness. +There is a moral every where, and the veriest bungler cannot fail to +seize it. But is that a reason why the minds of our sons and daughters +should be polluted by what is notoriously the nearest thing to contact +with absolute vice--namely, vivid and graphic descriptions of it by +writers of undenied ability? Did _Life in London_, or the exploits of +Tom, Jerry, and Logic, make the youth of the metropolis more staid, or +inspire them with a wholesome horror of dissipation? Did the memoirs of +Casanova ever reclaim a rake--the autobiography of David Haggart convert +an aspiring pickpocket--or the daring feats of Jack Sheppard arrest one +candidate for the gallows? These are the major cases; but look at the +minor ones. What are the favourite haunts of the heroes in even the most +blameless of our serials? Pot-houses--cigariums--green-rooms of +theatres--hells--spunging-houses--garrets--and the scullery! Nice and +improving all this--isn't it, Smith?--for the young and rising +generation! No need now for surreptitious works, entitled, "A Guide to +the Larks of London," or so forth, which used formerly to issue from the +virgin press of Holywell Street. Almost any serial will give hints +enough to an acute boy, if he wishes to gain an initiative knowledge of +subjects more especially beneath the cognisance of the police. They will +at least guide him to the door with the red lamp burning over it, and +only one plank betwixt its iniquity and the open street. And all this is +for a moral! Heaven knows, Smith, I am no Puritan; but when I think upon +the men who now call themselves the lights of the age, and look back +upon the past, I am absolutely sick at heart, and could almost wish for +a return of the days of Mrs Radcliffe and the Castle of Otranto. + +Now, my dear fellow, as I know you to be a thoroughly good-hearted +man--not overgiven to liquor, although your estimate of beer is a just +one--a constant husband, and, moreover, the father of five or six +promising olive-branches, I do not for a moment suppose that you are +likely to inweave any such tendencies in your tale. You would consider +it low to make a prominent character of a scavenger; and although some +dozen idiots who call themselves philanthropists would brand you as an +aristocrat for entertaining any such opinion, I think you are decidedly +in the right. But there is another tendency towards which I suspect you +are more likely to incline. You are a bit of a Radical, and, like all +men of genius, you pique yourself on elbowing upwards. So far well. The +great ladder, or rather staircase of ambition, is open to all of us, and +it is fortunately broader than it is high. It is not the least too +narrow to prevent any one from approaching it, and after you have taken +the first step, there is nothing more than stamina and perseverance +required. But then I do not see that it is necessary to be perpetually +plucking at the coat-tails, or seizing hold of the ankles of those who +are before. Such conduct is quite as indecorous, and indeed ungenerous, +as it would be to kick back, and systematically to smite with your heel +the unprotected foreheads of your followers. Nor would I be perpetually +pitching brickbats upwards, in order to show my own independence; or +raising a howl of injustice, because another fellow was considerably +elevated above me. In the social system, Smith, as it stands at present, +has always stood, and will continue to stand long after Astley's is +forgotten, it is not necessary that every one should commence at the +lowest round of the staircase. Their respective fathers and progenitors +have secured an advantageous start for many. They have achieved, as the +case may be, either rank or fame, or honour, or wealth, or credit--and +these possessions they are surely entitled to leave as an inheritance of +their offspring. If we want to rise higher in the social scale than +they did, we must make exertions for ourselves; if we are indolent, we +must be contented to remain where we are, though at imminent risk of +descending. But you, I take it for granted, and indeed the most of us +who owe little to ancestral enterprise and are in fact men of the +masses, are struggling forward towards one or other of the good things +specified above, and no doubt we shall in time attain them. In the +meanwhile, however, is it just--nay, is it wise--that we should mar our +own expectancies, and depreciate the value of the prizes which we covet, +by abusing not only the persons but the position of those above us? How +are they to blame? Are they any the worse that they stand, whether +adventitiously or not, at a point which we are endeavouring to reach? Am +I necessarily a miscreant because I am born rich, and you a martyr +because you are poor? I do not quite follow the argument. If there is +any one to blame, you will find their names written on the leaves of +your own family-tree; but I don't see that on that account you have any +right to execrate me or my ancestors. + +I am the more anxious to caution you against putting any such rubbish +into your pages, because I fear you have contracted some sort of +intimacy with a knot of utilitarian ninnyhammers. The last time I had +the pleasure of meeting you at the Ducrow's Head, there was a +seedy-looking, ill-conditioned fellow seated on your right, who, between +his frequent draughts of porter, (which you paid for,) did nothing but +abuse the upper classes as tyrants, fools, and systematical grinders of +the poor. I took the liberty, as you may remember, of slightly differing +from some of his wholesale positions; whereupon your friend, regarding +me with a cadaverous sneer, was pleased to mutter something about a +sycophant, the tenor of which I did not precisely comprehend. Now, +unless I am shrewdly mistaken, this was one of the earnest men--fellows +who are continually bawling on people to go forward--who set themselves +up for popular teachers, and maunder about "a oneness of purpose," +"intellectual elevation," "aspirations after reality," and suchlike +drivel, as though they were absolute Solons, not blockheads of the +muddiest water. And I was sorry to observe that you rather seemed to +agree with the rusty patriot in some of his most sweeping strictures, +and evinced an inclination to adopt his theory of the coming Utopia, +which, judging from the odour that pervaded his apostolic person and +raiment, must bear a strong resemblance to a modern gin-shop. Now, +Smith, this will not do. There may be inequalities in this world, and +there may also be injustice; but it is a very great mistake to hold that +one-half of the population of these islands is living in profligate ease +upon the compulsory labour of the other. I am not going to write you a +treatise upon political economy; but I ask you to reflect for a moment, +and you will see how ludicrous is the charge. This style of thinking, +or, what is worse, this style of writing, is positively the most +mischievous production of the present day. Disguised under the specious +aspect of philanthropy, it fosters self-conceit and discontent, robs +honest industry of that satisfaction which is its best reward, and, +instead of removing, absolutely creates invidious class-distinctions. +And I will tell you from what this spirit arises--it is the working of +the meanest envy. + +There never was a time when talent, and genius, and ability, had so fair +a field as now. The power of the press is developed to an extent which +almost renders exaggeration impossible, and yet it is still upon the +increase. A thousand minds are now at work, where a few were formerly +employed. We have become a nation of readers and of writers. The +rudiments of education, whatever may be said of its higher branches, are +generally distributed throughout the masses--so much so, indeed, that +without them no man can hope to ascend one step in the social scale. +This is a great, though an imperfect gain, and, like all such, it has +its evils. + +Of these not the least is the astounding growth of quackery. It assails +us every where, and on every side; and, with consummate impudence, it +asserts its mission to teach. Look at the shoals of itinerant lecturers +which at this moment are swarming through the land. No department of +science is too deep, no political question too abstruse, for their +capacity. They have their own theories on the subjects of philosophy and +religion--of which theories I shall merely remark, that they differ in +many essentials from the standards both of church and college--and these +they communicate to their audience with the least possible regard to +reservation. Had you ever the pleasure, Smith, of meeting one of these +gentlemen amongst the amenities of private life? I have upon various +occasions enjoyed that luxury; and, so far as I am capable of judging, +the Pericles of the platform appeared to me a coarse-minded, illiterate, +and ignorant Cockney, with the manners and effrontery of a bagman. Such +are the class of men who affect to regenerate the people with the +tongue, and who are listened to even with avidity, because impudence, +like charity, can cover a multitude of defects; and thus they stand, +like so many sons of Telamon, each secure behind the shelter of his +brazen shield. As to the pen-regenerators, they are at least equally +numerous. I do not speak of the established press, the respectability +and talent of which is undeniable; but of the minor crew, who earn their +bread partly by fostering discontent, and partly by pandering to the +worst of human passions. The merest whelp, who can write a decent +paragraph, considers himself, now-a-days, entitled to assume the airs of +an Aristarchus, and will pronounce opinions, _ex cathedra_, upon every +question, no matter of what importance, for he too is a teacher of the +people! + +This is the lowest sort of quackery; but there are also higher degrees. +Our literature, of what ought to be the better sort, has by no means +escaped the infection. In former times, men who devoted themselves to +the active pursuit of letters, brought to the task not only high talent, +but deep and measured thought, and an accumulated fund of acquirement. +They studied long before they wrote, and attempted no subject until they +had thoroughly and comprehensively mastered its details. But we live +under a new system. There is no want of talent, though it be of a +rambling and disjointed kind; but we look in vain for marks of the +previous study. Our authors deny the necessity or advantage of an +apprenticeship, and set up for masters before they have learned the +rudiments of their art, and they dispense altogether with reflection. +Few men now think before they write. The consequence is, that a great +proportion of our modern literature is of the very flimsiest +description--vivid, sometimes, and not without sparkles of genuine +humour; but so ill constructed as to preclude the possibility of its +long existence. No one is entitled to reject models, unless he has +studied them, and detected their faults; but this is considered by far +too tedious a process for modern ingenuity. We are thus inundated with a +host of clever writers, each relying upon his peculiar and native +ability, jesting--for that is the humour of the time--against each +other, and all of them forsaking nature, and running deplorably into +caricature. + +These are the men who make the loudest outcry against the social system, +and who appear to be imbued with an intense hatred of the aristocracy, +and indeed with every one of our time-honoured institutions. This I know +has been denied; but, in proof of my assertion, I appeal to their +published works. Read any one of them through, and I ask you if you do +not rise from it with a sort of conviction, that you must search for the +cardinal virtues solely in the habitations of the poor--that the rich +are hard, selfish, griping, and tyrannical--and that the nobility are +either fools, spendthrifts, or debauchees? Is it so, as a general rule, +in actual life? Far from it. I do not need to be told of the virtue and +industry which grace the poor man's lot; for we all feel and know it, +and God forbid that it should be otherwise. But we know also that there +is as great, if not greater temptation in the hovel than in the palace, +with fewer counteracting effects from education and principle to +withstand it; and it is an insult to our understanding to be told, that +fortune and station are in effect but other words for tyranny, +callousness, and crime. + +The fact is, that most of these authors know nothing whatever of the +society which they affect to describe, but which in truth they grossly +libel. Their starting-point is usually not a high one; but by dint of +some talent--in certain cases naturally great--and a vivacity of style, +joined with a good deal of drollery and power of bizarre description, +they at last gain a portion of the public favour, and become in a manner +notables. This is as it should be; and such progress is always +honourable. Having arrived at this point, not without a certain degree +of intoxication consequent upon success, our author begins to look about +him and to consider his own position--and he finds that position to be +both new and anomalous. On the one hand he has become a lion. The +newspapers are full of his praises; his works are dramatized at the +minor theatres; he is pointed at in the streets, and his publisher is +clamorous for copy. At small literary reunions he is the cynosure of all +eyes. And so his organ of self-esteem continues to expand day by day, +until he fancies himself entitled to a statue near the altar in the +Temple of Fame--not very far, perhaps, from those of Shakspeare, of +Spencer, or of Scott. One little drop of gall, however, is mingled in +the nectar of his cup. He does not receive that consideration which he +thinks himself entitled to from the higher classes. Peers do not wait +upon him with pressing invitations to their country-seats; nor does he +receive any direct intimation of the propriety of presenting himself at +Court. This appears to him not only strange but grossly unfair. He is +one of nature's aristocracy--at least so he thinks; and yet he is +regarded with indifference by the body of the class aristocrats! Why is +this? He knows they have heard of his name; he is convinced that they +have read his works, and been mightily tickled thereby; yet how is it +that they show no manner of thirst whatever for his society? In vain he +lays in scores of apple-green satin waistcoats, florid cravats, and a +wilderness of mosaic jewellery--in vain he makes himself conspicuous +wherever he can--he is looked at, to be sure; but the right hand of +fellowship is withheld. Gradually he becomes savage and indignant. No +man is better aware than he is, that not one scion of the existing +aristocracy could write a serial or a novel at all to be compared to +his; and yet Lord John and Lord Frederick--both of them literary men +too--do not insist upon walking with him in the streets, and never once +offer to introduce him to the bosom of their respective families! Our +friend becomes rapidly bilious; is seized with a moral jaundice; and +vows that, in his next work, he will do his uttermost to show up that +confounded aristocracy. And he keeps his vow. + +Now, Smith, to say the least of it, this is remarkably silly conduct, +and it argues but little for the intellect and the temper of the man. It +is quite true that the English aristocracy, generally speaking, do not +consider themselves bound to associate with every successful candidate +for the public favour; but they neither despise him nor rob him of one +tittle of his due. The higher classes of society are no more exclusive +than the lower. Each circle is formed upon principles peculiar to +itself, amongst which are undoubtedly similarity of interest, of +position, and of taste; and it is quite right that it should be so. You +will understand this more clearly if I bring the case home to yourself. +I shall suppose that the success of Silas Spavinhitch is something +absolutely triumphant--that it sells by tens and hundreds of thousands, +and that the treasury of your publisher is bursting with the accumulated +silver. You find yourself, in short, the great literary lion of the +day--the intellectual workman who has produced the consummate +masterpiece of the age. What, under such circumstances, would be your +wisest line of conduct? I should decidedly say, to establish an account +at your banker's, enjoy yourself reasonably with your friends, make Mrs +Smith and your children as happy as possible, and tackle to another +serial without deviating from the tenor of your way. I would not, if I +were you, drop old acquaintances, or insist clamorously upon having new +ones. I should look upon myself, not as a very great man, but as a very +fortunate one; and I would not step an inch from my path to exchange +compliments with King or with Kaisar. Don't you think such conduct +would be more rational than quarrelling with society because you are not +worshipped as a sort of demi-god? Is the Duke of Devonshire obliged to +ask you to dinner, because you are the author of Silas Spavinhitch? Take +my word for it, Smith, you would feel excessively uncomfortable if any +such invitation came. I think I see you at a ducal table, with an +immense fellow in livery behind you, utterly bewildered as to how you +should behave yourself, and quite as much astounded as Abon Hassan when +hailed by Mesrour, chief of the eunuchs, as the true Commander of the +Faithful! How gladly would you not exchange these _souffles_ and +_salmis_ for a rump-steak and onions in the back-parlour of the Ducrow's +Head! Far rather would you be imbibing porter with Widdicomb than +drinking hermitage with his Grace--and O!--horror of horrors! you have +capsized something with a French name into the lap of the dowager next +you, and your head swims round with a touch of temporary apoplexy, as +you observe the snigger on the countenance of the opposite lackey, who, +menial as he is, considers himself at bottom quite as much of a +gentleman, and as conspicuous a public character as yourself. + +And--mercy on me!--what would you make of yourself at a ball? You are a +good-looking fellow, Smith, and nature has been bountiful to you in +calf; but I would not advise you to sport that plum-coloured coat and +azure waistcoat of an evening. Believe me, that though you may pass +muster in such a garb most creditably on the Surrey side, there are +people in Grosvenor Square who will unhesitatingly pronounce you a +tiger. And pray, whom are you going to dance with? You confess to +yourself, whilst working on those relentless and impracticable kids, +that you do not know a single soul in the saloon except the man who +brought you there, and he has speedily abandoned you. That staid, +haughty-looking lady with the diamonds, is a Countess in her own right, +and those two fair girls with the auburn ringlets are her daughters, the +flower of the English nobility, and the name they bear is conspicuous in +history to the Conquest. Had you not better walk up to the noble matron, +announce yourself as the author of Silas Spavinhitch, and request an +introduction to Lady Edith or Lady Maude? You would just as soon consent +to swing yourself like Fra Diavolo on the slack-rope! And suppose that +you were actually introduced to Lady Maude, how would you contrive to +amuse her? With anecdotes of the back slums, or the green-room, or the +witticisms of medical students? Would you tell her funny stories about +the loves of the bagmen, or recreations with a migratory giantess in the +interior of a provincial caravan? Do you think that, with dulcet prattle +of this sort, you could manage to efface the impression made long ago +upon her virgin heart by that handsome young guardsman, who is now +regarding you with a glance prophetic of a coming flagellation? Surely, +you misguided creature, you are not going to expose yourself by dancing? +Yes, you are! You once danced a polka with little Laura Wilkins on the +boards at Astley's, and ever since that time you have been labouring +under the delusion that you are a consummate Vestris. So you claw your +shrinking partner round the waist, and set off, prancing like the pony +that performs a pas-seul upon its hinder legs; and after bouncing +against several couples in your rash and erratic career, you are +arrested by the spur of a dragoon, which rips up your inexpressibles, +lacerates your ankle, and stretches you on the broad of your back upon +the floor, to the intense and unextinguishable delight of the assembled +British aristocracy. + +Or, by way of a change, what would you say to go down with your +acquaintance, Lord Walter, to Melton? You ride well--that is, upon +several horses, with one foot upon the crupper of the first, and the +other upon the shoulder of the fourth. But a hunting-field is another +matter. I think I see you attempting to assume a light and jaunty air in +the saddle; your long towsy hair flowing gracefully over the collar of +your spotless pink; and the nattiest of conical castors secured by a +ribband upon the head which imagined the tale of Spavinhitch. You have +not any very distinct idea of what is going to take place; but you +resolve to demean yourself like a man, and cover your confusion with a +cigar. The hounds are thrown into cover. There is a yelping and the +scouring of many brushes among the furze; a red hairy creature bolts out +close beside you, and, with a bray of insane triumph, you commence to +canter after him, utterly regardless of the cries of your +fellow-sportsmen, entreating you to hold hard. In a couple of minutes +more, you are in the middle of the hounds, knocking out the brains of +one, crushing the spine of another, and fracturing the legs of a third. +A shout of anger rises behind; no matter--on you go. Accidents will +happen in the best regulated hunting-fields--and what business had these +stupid brutes to get under your horse's legs? Otherwise, you are +undeniably a-head of the field; and won't you show those tip-top fellows +how a serialist can go the pace? But your delusion is drawing to an end. +There is a clattering of hoofs, and a resonant oath behind you--and +smack over your devoted shoulders comes the avenging whip of the +huntsman, frantic at the loss of his most favourite hounds, and +execrating you for a clumsy tailor. "Serve him right, Jem! Give it him +again!" cries the Master of the hounds--a very different person from +your old friend the Master of the Ring--as the scarlet crowd rushes by; +and again and again, with intensest anguish, you writhe beneath the +thong wielded by the brawny groom--and, after sufficient chastisement, +sneak home to anoint your aching back, and depart, ere the sportsmen +return, for your own Paddingtonian domicile. + +Now, Smith, are you not convinced that it would be the height of folly +to expose yourself to any such unpleasant occurrences? To be sure you +are; and yet there are some dozen of men, no better situated than +yourself, who would barter their ears for the chance of being made such +laughingstocks for life. The innate good sense and fine feeling of the +upper classes, prevents these persons from assuming so extremely false +and ridiculous a position, and yet this consideration is rewarded by the +most foul and malignant abuse. It is high time that these gentlemen +should be brought to their senses, and be taught the real value of +themselves and of their writings. Personally they are objectionable and +offensive--relatively they are bores--and, in a literary point of view, +they have done much more to lower than to elevate the artistic standard +of the age. Their affectation of philanthropy and maudlin sentiment is +too shallow to deceive any one who is possessed of the ordinary +intellect of a man; and in point of wit and humour, which is their +stronghold, the best of them is far inferior to Paul de Kock, whose +works are nearly monopolized for perusal by the _flaneurs_ and the +_grisettes_ of Paris. + +Take my advice then, and have nothing to say to the earnest and +oneness-of-purpose men. They are not only weak but wicked; and they will +lead you most lamentably astray. Let us now look a little into your +style, which, after all, is a matter of some importance in a serial. + +On the whole, I like it. It is nervous, terse, and epigrammatic--a +little too high-flown at times; but I was fully prepared for that. What +I admire most, however, is your fine feeling of humanity--the instinct, +as it were, and dumb life which you manage to extract from inanimate +objects as well as from articulately-speaking men. Your very furniture +has a kind of automatonic life; you can make an old chest of drawers +wink waggishly from the corner, and a boot-jack in your hands becomes a +fellow of infinite fancy. This is all very pleasant and delightful; +though I think, upon the whole, you give us a little too much of it, for +I cannot fancy myself quite comfortable in a room with every article of +the furniture maintaining a sort of espionage upon my doings. Then as to +your antiquarianism you are perfect. Your description of "the old +deserted stable, with the old rusty harness hanging upon the old decayed +nails, so honey-combed, as it were, by the tooth of time, that you +wondered how they possibly could support the weight; while across the +span of an old discoloured stirrup, a great spider had thrown his web, +and now lay waiting in the middle of it, a great hairy bag of venom, for +the approach of some unlucky fly, like a usurer on the watch for a +spendthrift,"--that description, I say, almost brought tears to my eyes. +The catalogue, also, which you give us of the decayed curry-combs all +clogged with grease, the shankless besoms, the worm-eaten corn-chest, +and all the other paraphernalia of the desolate stable, is as finely +graphic as any thing which I ever remember to have read. + +But your best scene is the opening one, in which you introduce us to the +aerial dwelling of Estrella di Canterini, in Lambeth. I do not wish to +flatter you, my dear fellow; but I hold it to be a perfect piece of +composition, and I cannot resist the temptation of transcribing a very +few sentences:-- + +"It was the kitten that began it, and not the cat. It isn't no use +saying it was the cat, because I was there, and I saw it and know it; +and if I don't know it, how should any body else be able to tell about +it, if you please? So I say again it was the kitten that began it, and +the way it all happened was this. + +"There was a little bit, a small tiny string of blue worsted--no! I am +wrong, for when I think again the string was pink--which was hanging +down from a little ball that lay on the lap of a tall dark girl with +large lustrous eyes, who was looking into the fire as intently as if she +expected to see a salamander in the middle of it. Huggs, the old cat, +was lying at her feet, coiled up with her tail under her, enjoying, to +all appearance, a comfortable snooze: but she wasn't asleep, for all the +time that she was pretending to shut her eyes, she was watching the +movements of a smart little kitten, just six weeks old, who was pouncing +upon, and then letting go, like an imaginary mouse, a little roll of +paper, which, between ourselves, bore a strong resemblance to two or +three others which occupied a more elevated position, being, in fact, +placed in a festoon or sort of fancy-garland round the head of the dark +girl who was so steadfastly gazing into the fire. But this sort of thing +didn't last long; for the kitten, after making a violent pounce, shook +its head and sneezed, as if it had been pricked by a pin, which was the +case, and then cried mew, as much as to say, 'You nasty thing! if I had +known that you were going to hurt me, I wouldn't have played with you so +long; so go away, you greasy little rag!' And then the kitten put on a +look of importance, as if its feelings had been injured in the nicest +points, and then walked up demurely to Huggs, and began to pat her +whiskers, as if it wanted, which it probably did, to tell her all about +it. But Huggs didn't get up, or open her great green eyes, but lay still +upon the rug, purring gently, as though she were dreaming that she had +got into a dairy, and that there was nobody to interfere at all between +her and the bowls of cream. So the smart little kitten gave another pat, +and a harder one than the last, which might have roused Huggs, had it +not observed at that moment the little pink string of worsted. Now the +end of the little pink string reached down to within a foot of the +floor, so that the smart little kitten could easily reach it; so the +smart little kitten wagged its tail and stood up upon its hind-paws, and +caught hold of the little pink string by the end, and gave it such a +pull, that the worsted ball rolled off the girl's knee and fell upon the +head of Huggs, who made believe to think that it was a rat, and got up +and jumped after it, and the kitten ran too, and gave another mew, as +much as to say, that the worsted was its own finding out, and that Huggs +shouldn't have it at all. All this wasn't done without noise; so the +tall girl looked round, and seeing her worsted ball roll away, and Huggs +and the kitten after it, she said in a slightly foreign accent, + +"'Worrit that Huggs!' + +"All this while there was sitting at the other side of the fire, a young +girl, a great deal younger than the other; in fact, a little, very +little child, who was sucking a dried damson in her mouth, and looked as +if she would have liked to have swallowed it, but didn't do it, for fear +of the stone. Now Huggs was the particular pet of the little girl, who +wouldn't have her abused on any account, and she said, + +"''Twor'n't Huggs, aunt Strelly, 'twore the kitten!' + +" 'Eliza Puddifoot!' replied the other, in a somewhat raucous and +melo-dramatic tone--'Eliza Puddifoot! I is perticklarly surprised, I is, +that you comes for to offer to contradick me. I knows better what's what +than you, and all I says is, that there 'ere Huggs goes packing out of +the windor!' + +"The child--she was a very little one--burst into a flood of tears." + +Now, that is what I call fine writing, and no mistake. There is a +breadth--a depth--a sort of _chiaroscuro_, about the picture which +betrays the hand of a master, and shows how deeply you have studied in a +school which has no equal in modern, and never had a parallel in former +times. + +Almost equal to this is your sketch of the soiree at Mr Grindlejerkin's, +which is written with a close observance of character, and, at the same +time, an ease and playfulness which cannot fail of attracting a large +share of the popular regard. Your hero, Mr Spavinhitch, has +distinguished himself so much by throwing a somerset through a blazing +hoop, that at last he receives the honour of an invitation to the +hospitalities of the Master of the Ring. + +"I can tell you, that an uncommonly fine man Mr Grindlejerkin was, with +a stout Roman nose, only a little warty, and black whiskers curling +under his chin, and a smart little imperial that gave quite a cock to +his countenance, and made him altogether look a good deal like a hero. +He was dressed in bright bottle-green, was Mr Grindlejerkin--that is, in +so far as regarded his coat, which was garnished with large silver +buttons and a horse's head upon them: but his trousers were of a +light-blue colour, a little faded or so, and creased, as if they had +been sent out a good deal to the washing, and had come home without +having been pressed carefully through the mangle. He had evidently been +drinking, had Mr Grindlejerkin, for he leaned against the fireplace in a +sort of vibratory manner, as if he were not very sure of his own +equilibrium, and couldn't trust it. However, he did his best to welcome +Silas, which he did with an air of patronising affability, as if he +wished him to understand that he was not to be considered as letting +himself down by inviting a voltigeur to his table. + +"'Now, Mr Spavinhitch,' said Mr Grindlejerkin, 'glad to see you, sir, or +any other rising member of the profession. May I perish of the +string-halt, sir, if I do not consider you an eminent addition to the +Ring! Your last vault through the hoops, sir, was extraordinary; upon my +credentials, quite! It reminded me much of my late esteemed friend +Goggletrumkins. Ah, what a man that was! Did you know Goggletrumkins, Mr +Spavinhitch?' + +"Silas modestly repudiated that honour. + +"'Ah, sir, you should have known him!' replied the stately Master of the +Ring. 'That was indeed a man, sir; the gem of the British arena. His +Life-guardsman Shaw, sir, was one of the finest things in nature: quite +statuesque, sir; it was enough to inspire a nation. You are, perhaps, +not aware, sir, that he used to sit as a model for the Wellington +statues?' + +"'Indeed!' said Silas. + +"'He did, sir,' continued Mr Grindlejerkin solemnly, 'and the boast of +Astley's now lives in imperishable marble. But I forgot: you do not know +my lady. Mrs Grindlejerkin, my cherub--Mr Spavinhitch, one of our most +distinguished recruits.' + +"Mrs Grindlejerkin was a tall lady, with black treacly hair, a good deal +younger than her lord, to whom she had been only recently united. She +was married off the stage, which she had ornamented since she was three +years old, when she used to appear as a little fairy crawling out of +paste-board tulips, and frighten, by the magic of her rod, some older +imps in green, who used to shoulder their legs like muskets, and go +through all sorts of strange diabolical manoeuvres. Miss Clara Tiggs, +such was her virgin name, then rose to the rank of the angels, and might +be seen any evening flying across the stage with little gauze winglets +fastened to her back, by aid of which it is not likely that she could +have flown very far, if it had not been for the cross-wires and the cord +attached to her waist. But she looked very pretty, did Clara Tiggs, as +she fluttered from the side-wings like an exaggerated butterfly, and +rained down white paper flowers upon the heads of imploring lovers. But +she soon got too heavy for that business, and having no natural genius +for tragedy, and being rather too splayfooted for the ballet, and too +stiff-jointed for the hippodrome, she became one of those young ladies +in white, who always walk before the queens in melodramatic spectacles, +and who keep in pairs, and look like the most loving and affectionate +creatures in the world, because they always are holding one another's +hands. And it possibly might be this appearance of sisterly devotion +which induced Mr Grindlejerkin to pay his addresses to Miss Clara Tiggs; +for Miss Clara Tiggs never appeared in public except linked to Miss +Emily Whax, another nice young lady, who was always dressed in white, +and who carried around her neck a locket, which was supposed to contain +the hair of a certain officer who always took a considerable number of +tickets for her benefit. Such was Mrs Grindlejerkin, who now saluted Mr +Spavinhitch with a pleasant smile. + +"'Clara, my own dear love,' said Mr Grindlejerkin after a pause, 'can +you tell me what we are to have for supper?' + +"'La! Mr Grindlejerkin,' replied the lady, 'how should I know? +Sassengers and pettitoes, I suppose. It's very odd,' continued she, +addressing Silas--'it's very odd, but Mr Grindlejerkin always _does_ ask +me what he is to have for supper!' + +"Silas didn't think it was odd at all, for the same idea had just been +floating through his mind; but as he did not think it would be right to +say so, he merely smiled, whereupon Mrs Grindlejerkin, who was a +good-natured body in the main, smiled too, and Mr Grindlejerkin began to +smile, but checked himself, and didn't, because it might have been +thought that he was letting down his dignity. So he contented himself +with ringing the bell, and directed the servant-girl who answered it, +rather ferociously, to bring him a tumbler of rum-and-water. + +"'Ha! Bingo, my buck, how are you?' cried the Master of the Ring to the +principal clown, who now entered the apartment, and who, being a +personage of much consideration and importance in the theatrical +circles, might be addressed with any kind of familiarity without a +compromise of official reserve. 'How are ye, Bingo? Well and herty, eh? +Won't you take a drop of summat?' + +"'I will,' replied the clown in a melancholy voice, well corresponding +to his features, which, when the paint was washed off, were haggard and +malagugrious in the extreme. 'I will; but I am not well. Spasms in the +heart, kidneys, merry-thought, and liver. A silent sorrow here. Age +brings care. I thank you. Stop. I like it stiff.' + +"'That's my rum 'un!' said Mr Grindlejerkin. 'Drown dull care in +Jamaikey. But here is the Signora Estrella. Madame, you are most +welcome!' + +"Silas felt the blood rise to his temples. And so at last he could meet +her, the lady of his heart, the bright star of his boyish existence, not +in the feverish whirl of the arena, beneath the glare of gas, surrounded +by clouds of sawdust and the gazing eyes of thousands, but in the calm +sanctuary of private life, where, at least if he could find the courage, +he might pour forth the incense of his soul, and tell her how madly, how +desolatingly he had begun to love her--no, not begun, for it seemed to +him as if he had loved her long before he ever saw her: as if the love +of her were something implanted in his bosom before yet he knew what it +was to undergo the agonies of teething; long before, like a roasting +oyster, he lay in his silken cradle, and squared with tiny and +ineffectual fists at the approaching phantoms of time, existence, and +futurity. It seemed to him as though the doll, with which, when a very +little child, he had played, had just the same dark lustrous eyes, with +something bead-like and mysterious in their expression, which lent such +an inexpressible fascination to the countenance of the beautiful +Canterini. That doll! he had fondled it a thousand times in his baby +arms: had called it his duck, his dolly, his wifikin, and numerous other +terms of childish prattle and endearment: had grown jealous of it, +because, when his little brother kissed it, it did not cry out or show +any symptoms of anger, and so, in a mad moment of rage and remorse, he +had struck the waxen features against a mantelpiece, and shivered them +into innumerable fragments. What would he not have given at that moment +to have recalled the doll! But it could not be. The fragments had been +long, long ago swept into the dust-hole of oblivion, and though they +might afterwards have been carried out and scattered over the fresh +green fields, where there are trees, and cows, and little singing-birds, +and flowers, they could not be--oh no, never--reunited! But the lady, +the Signora! no rude hand had marred the wax of that countenance; for +though very, very pale, there still lingered beneath her eyes a touch of +the enchanting carmine. + +"'The Signora,' said Mr Bingo. 'Fine woman. Grass though. Decidedly +grass. All flesh is, you know.' And with this remark the mimic resumed +his tumbler. + +"The Signora turned her dark lustrous eyes upon Silas, and instantly +encountered his ardent and devoted gaze. She did not shrink from it; +true love never does, for it is always bold if not happy; but she grew a +shade paler as she accepted that involuntary homage, and, with a +graceful wave of her hand, she sunk upon a calico sofa. + +"'The sassengers is dished!' said the pudding-faced servant-maid; and +the whole party, now increased by the addition of Mr Jonas Fitzjunk, who +did the nautical heroes, and Whang Gobretsjee Jeehohupsejee, the Brahmin +conjurer, who talked English with a strong Aberdeen accent, besides one +or two other notables, adjourned to the supper-room. + +"'Signora, sassenger?' said Mr Grindlejerkin. + +"'If you pleases; underdone and graveyless,' replied the beautiful +foreigner. + +"'Oh, that I were that sausage, that so I might touch those ripe and +tempting lips!' thought Silas, as he reached across the Brahmin for the +pickles. + +"'Can the buddy no tak' a care!' cried Jeehohupsejee; 'fat's he gauen to +dee wi' the wee joug?' + +"'Hush, conjurer!' cried Bingo. 'Eat. Swallow. That's your sort. Life is +short. Victuals become cold.' + +"'Mr Grindlejerkin!' screamed the helpmate of that gentleman suddenly +from the lower end of the table. 'Mr Grindlejerkin! I wish you would +come here and stop Mr Fitzjunk from winking at me!' + +"'Mr Fitzjunk!' thundered the Master of the Ring, 'do you know, sir, +that that lady has the honour to be my wife? What do you mean by this +conduct, sir? How dare you wink?' + +"'Avast there, messmate!' said Fitzjunk, who always spoke as if he were +in command of a Battersea steamer. 'Avast there! None of your +fresh-water and loblolly-boy terms, if you please. Shiver my binnacle, +if things haven't come to a pretty pass, when an old British sailor +can't throw out a signal of distress to one of the prettiest craft that +ever showed her sky-scrapers where Neptune's billows roll!' + +"'Oh, Mr Fitzjunk! but you _did_ wink at me!' said Mrs Grindlejerkin, +considerably mollified by the compliment. + +"'I knows I did,' replied the representative of the British navy. 'The +more by token, as how I ha'n't got nothing here to stow away into my +locker; so I shut up one deadlight twice, and burned a blue fire for a +cargo of pettitoes to heave to.' + +"'Was that all, sir?' said Mr Grindlejerkin, still rather sternly. + +"'Ay, ay, sir!' replied the tar. + +"'Then I shall be happy to drown all unkindness in a pot of porter, +sir.' + +"'Good!' said Mr Bingo, 'Right. Harmony preserved. Glad to join you. Cup +of existence. Gall at bottom.' + +"'I beg your pardink, sir,' said the Signora looking full at Silas, who +was seated exactly opposite--'I beg your pardink, sir, but vos you +pleased to vish anythink?' + +"'No, lady!' replied Silas blushing scarlet. 'No, lady, not I--That +is--' + +"'O, very vell!' observed the Signora; 'it don't much sicknify; only I +thought you might vant somethink, 'cos you vos a treadin' on my toes!'" + +I shall not, my dear Smith, pursue this delightful scene any further. +It is enough to substantiate your claim--and I am sure the public will +coincide with me in this opinion--to a very high place amongst the +domestic and sentimental writers of the age. You have, and I think most +wisely, undertaken to frame a new code of grammar and of construction +for yourself; and the light and airy effect of this happy innovation is +conspicuous not only in every page, but in almost every sentence of your +work. There is no slipslop here--only a fine, manly disregard of syntax, +which is infinitely attractive; and I cannot doubt that you are destined +to become the founder of a far higher and more enduring school of +composition, than that which was approved of and employed by the fathers +of our English literature. + +You work will be translated, Smith, into French and German, and other +European languages. I am sincerely glad of it. It is supposed abroad +that a popular author must depict both broadly and minutely the manners +of his particular nation--that his sketches of character have reference +not only to individuals, but to the idiosyncrasy of the country in which +he dwells. Your works, therefore, will be received in the saloons of +Paris and Vienna--it may be of St Petersburg--as conveying accurate +pictures of our everyday English life; and I need hardly remark how much +that impression must tend to elevate our national character in the eyes +of an intelligent foreigner. Labouring under old and absurd prejudices, +he perhaps at present believes that we are a sober, unmercurial people, +given to domestic habits, to the accumulation of wealth, and to our own +internal improvements. It is reserved for you, Smith, to couch his +visionary eye. You will convince him that a great part of our existence +is spent about the doors of theatres, in tap-rooms, pot-houses, and +other haunts, which I need not stay to particularize. You will prove to +him that the British constitution rests upon no sure foundation, and +that it is based upon injustice and tyranny. Above all, he will learn +from you the true tone which pervades society, and the altered style of +conversation and morals which is universally current among us. In minor +things, he will discover, what few authors have taken pains to show, the +excessive fondness of our nation for a pure Saxon nomenclature. He will +learn that such names as Seymour, and Howard, and Percy--nay, even our +old familiars, Jones and Robinson--are altogether proscribed among us, +and that a new race has sprung up in their stead, rejoicing in the +euphonious appellations of Tox and Wox, Whibble, Toozle, Whopper, +Sniggleshaw, Guzzlerit, Gingerthorpe, Mugswitch, Smungle, Yelkins, +Fizgig, Parksnap, Grubsby, Shoutowker, Hogswash, and Quiltirogus. He +will also learn that our magistrates, unlike the starched official +dignitaries of France, are not ashamed to partake, in the public +streets, of tripe with a common workman--and a hundred other little +particulars, which throw a vast light into the chinks and crevices of +our social system. + +I therefore, Smith, have the highest satisfaction in greeting you, not +only as an accomplished author, but as a great national benefactor. Go +on, my dear fellow, steadfastly and cheerfully, as you have begun. The +glories of our country were all very well in their way, but the subject +is a hackneyed one, and it is scarcely worth while to revive it. Be it +yours to chronicle the weaknesses and peculiarities of that society +which you frequent--no man can do it better. Draw on for ever with the +same felicitous pencil. Do not fear to repeat yourself over and over +again; to indulge in the same style of one-sided caricature; and to harp +upon the same string of pathos so long as it will vibrate pleasantly to +the public ear. What we want, after all, is sale, and I am sure that you +will not be disappointed. Use these hints as freely as you please, in +the composition of that part of Silas Spavinhitch which is not yet +completed; and be assured that I have offered them not in an arrogant +spirit, but, as some of our friends would say, with an earnest tendency +and a serious oneness of purpose. Good-by, my dear Smith! It is a +positive pain to me to break off this letter, but I must conclude. +Adieu! and pray, for all our sakes and your own, take care of yourself. + + + + +A NEW SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY. + + +ON A STONE. + +I have been toiling up this long steep road, under that broiling sun, +for more than an hour; my cabriolet is I know not where. The last time I +saw it was at the turn of the road, full half-a-mile behind me, and the +lean postilion trying to put something comfortable into that lanky +carcase of his at the auberge. "Ici on loge a pied et a cheval;" so said +the sign: why did not I, who was literally _a pied_, stop and enjoy +myself a little? whereas I stalked proudly by: and now that rogue of the +big boots and the powdered queue, and the short jacket and the noisy +whip, is getting still more and more slowness out of his sorry horses, +and is the man _a cheval_, treated by the busy little woman of the house +as her worthiest customer. The Marquis will be at least two hours in +advance of me: I shall not see Madame till night: positively I will run +down the hill again and pull that rascal off his horse. Am I not paying +for the accommodation of posting? have I not a right to get on? do I not +fee him like a prince? I'll try a shout at him. + +"Hilloa! hilloa! come along there!"--I might as well shout in the middle +of the Atlantic; and as for running back again, why, I shall have to +come over the same ground once more: the tariff shall be his fate: not a +liard more: and I'll write him down in the post-book; I will crush the +reptile: I'll annihilate him! + +Here, sit thee down, man: art thou not come hither to enjoy thyself? why +this impatience? why this anxiety to go over ground in a hurry which, a +few hours ago, thou wouldst have given many a crown to visit at thy +leisure? Sit thee down and look around thee: hurry no man's cattle, and +fret not thyself out of thy propriety. + +And, truly, 'tis a wondrous spot! what a wide extent of grassy slopes +and barren rocky wastes! how white and hard and rough the road; how +smooth the hill-side; how blue the distant landscape; how more than blue +the cloudless sky! Look onwards towards the distant east; why, you can +see almost across France to the Jura: what endless ridges of mountains, +one above the other, like the billows of the green sea: what boundless +plains between! But turn, for a moment, to the hills on either side of +you; look at those wild copses of fir and stunted oak making good their +'vantage ground wherever the scanty vegetation will allow them; and +above, look at the little round clumps of box-trees, dotting the +mountain-breast with their shadows, and relieving the dull uniformity of +its surface. So dark are they that you might take them for black cattle +at a distance; but that, ever and anon, the sun brings out from them a +bright green tint, and dispels the illusion. + +Here, then, on this stone, am I resting, hundreds of miles away from my +dull fatherland; where I have left behind me nought but pride and ennui, +and heart-corroding cares, and soul-harrowing occupations. I have +quitted that dense, black, throng of men, whose minds, pent up in the +narrow circle of their insular limits, are intent on one thing only--and +that thing, money! Thou land of the rich and the poor; of the lord and +the slave; of the noble and the upstart; chosen home of labour and +never-ending care; I have bid thee adieu: my face is to the world; my +lot is on the waters of boundless life; and I am free to choose my +dwelling wherever the clime suits my fancy, and my wishes tally with the +clime. In this dry and barren valley, amidst those lofty hills, where +once fire and sulphur and burning rocks poured forth as the only +elements, and where the melted lava flowed along the face of the earth +like an unloosed torrent; in this lonely spot, where few living beings +are seen, and yet where the vast reproductive energies of the world +have been so widely developed--even here, let me commune a while with +nature and with myself. + +Thou mysterious power of expansion, whatever thou art, whether some +igneous form existing within the womb of Earth, and demonstrating +thyself ere our tiny planet revolved in its present orb--or whether some +product of the combination of chemical fluids originating flames, and +melting this prison-house with fervent heat--say when didst thou +convulse this fair land, and raise up from the circumjacent plains these +mountain-masses that now tower over my head? For I see around me the +traces not of one, but of four separate convulsions; and I can pursue in +fancy the long lapse of ages which have served to modify the crude forms +of thy products, and to change the various classes of animated life +which have lived and died at the feet of these vast steeps. First come +thy granitic ebullitions, slow, lumpy, and amorphous--partly +incandescent, yet glowing with heat that cooled not for ages;--and then, +when these rude ribs of the earth had been worn and channeled by +atmospheric action, through time too vast to be reckoned, they split +again with a mighty rending up of their innermost frame, and thy power, +fell spirit of destruction! thrust forth the great chain of the Monts +Dor, and the Cantal. There thou raisedst them stratum above stratum of +volcanic rock; and scoriae and boiling mud, and lava, and porphyry, and +basalt, and light pumice, tier above tier, till the seven-thousandth +foot above Old Ocean's level had been reached; and then thou restedst +from thy labours awhile, rejoicing in thy force, and proud of the chaos +thou hadst occasioned. But not to slumber long; for, glad to have made a +new mineral combination, thou didst thrust forth at the northern point +of thy work the great trachytic mass of the Puy de Dome: there it stands +with its solid hump of felspathic crystals, a vast watch-tower of +creation--white and purple within, glassy-green without. And then burst +out the full hubbub of this mischief--twenty vast craters vomiting forth +molten rocks and cinders and the deep lava-stream, and throwing their +products leagues upon leagues, afar into the fair country:--twenty Etnas +thundering away at the same time, and answered by twenty more in the +Vivaraix, and the infernal chorus kept up by as many in the Cantal:--all +the batteries of the Plutonic artillery launching forth destruction at +once from the summits of their primaeval bastions. Well was it for man +that he existed not when this Titanic warfare was going on, and when +these hills, like those of ancient Thessaly, were heaped, each upon +each, up to heaven's portal! If Europe then existed, it must have been +shaken to its furthest bounds:--Hecla must have answered to the distant +roar; and even the old Ural must have heaved its unwieldy sides. + +And now, what see we? A sea of volcanic waves; dark +lava-currents--rough, black, and fresh as though vomited but +yesterday:--vast chasms, red and burnt, and cinders, as though the fire +which raised them were not yet extinguished. Why, from the Puy de Parion +I could swear that smoke must rise at times, and that sulphurous vapours +must still keep it in perpetual desolation. Yes, though winter's rains +and snows visit this volcanic chain full sharply, and though the +gigantic sawing force of frost disintegrates the softer portions of +this, the Fire-king's Home, yet there they stand--and so they shall +stand, till nature be again convulsed, the imperishable monuments, the +stupendous demonstrations, of the Creator's illimitable energy. Yes, let +the Almighty but touch these hills again, and they shall smoke! + +Thou dull, senseless stone, with thy numberless crystals variegating and +glittering on the hard resting-place that I have chosen, whence came +those minerals that combined to form thee? Did they exist, pell-mell, +beneath, in the vast Tartaric depths, ready to assimilate themselves on +the first signal of eruption? or did they arise suddenly, +instantaneously, on the first darting of the electric current that +summoned their different atoms into new forms of existence? Whence came +this green olivine?--whence this plate of specular iron?--whence this +quartz and felspar; and all these other minerals I see around me? Thou +rude product of the great infernal Foundery, thy very existence is a +problem--much more the formation of thy component parts. + +Stone! thou art not more varied in thy aspect--not less intelligible in +thy constitution--not harder, not more unfeeling, than the heart of man! +I would sooner have thee for my companion and my bosom friend, than any +of that melancholy, solemn-faced crowd of hypocrites I have left behind +me. Refuse me not thy rough welcome: thou art, for the time being, my +couch: thou art even warmed by my contact: hast thou, then, some +sympathy with the wanderer? Thou dull, crystallised block, I will think +of thee, and will remember thy solid virtues, when the uncongenial +offices of man shall plague me no more! + + +THE PHILOSOPHER. + +"Monsieur!" said the postilion: "Monsieur!" he repeated; and he looked +round wistfully to see if any one was at hand. Now, I hate to be +interrupted in a reverie; and, indeed, I was so absorbed in the +wheelings of a kite over my head, that I was thinking of any thing but +of my lazy guide and my rolling wheels. A loud +clack--clack--slap--tap--crack--crack of the whip, flourished over his +head with all the gusto and the _savoir-craquer_ of a true postilion, +brought me to myself. "Monsieur, I have been waiting your orders here +for half an hour." + +The coolness with which the fellow lied, disarmed me of my wrath in a +minute: I had else docked him of his pigtail, or broken the wooden sides +of his boots for him. But he had such an imperturbable air of +self-satisfaction, and he thrust his thumb so knowingly into his little +black pipe, and this again he plunged with such nonchalance into his +pocket, that I saw he was a philosopher of the true school--and I +profited by his example. + +"Fellow," said I, "dost know that I have promised myself the pleasure of +passing half an hour with M. de Montlosier on my road to the baths: and +that at the rate thou takest me at, I shall not see Mont Dor till +to-morrow?" + +"Don't be afraid, Monsieur: I know the Count's house well: we are not +more than an hour's drive from it: I go there with some one or other +every week; and as for Mont-Dor-les-bains, why--that depends on +Monsieur: if you get there by dark it will do, I suppose--the provisions +will not all be eaten, nor the beds filled!" + +Lucky fellow to live in a world where no greater stimulus to labour +exists than here! why should we toil and wear ourselves to death as we +do in England for the mere means of living--and forget the lapse of life +itself? So, pocketing my dignity, and also pocketing sundry specimens of +my mute companions the stones, I mounted into the cabriolet--and lost +myself once more in my thoughts till I arrived at the Ferme de Randan. + +Just where the Puy de Vache circles round with two other red hollow +craters, and at the end of a black sea of lava, stood the philosopher's +house: a plain low building: half farm half cottage: with a few trees +and enclosures shutting it in, and two or three acres of garden-ground +bringing up the rear. There was an air of simplicity about the whole +exceedingly striking, and the more so if one thought of the +simple-minded man who dwelt within. My name was announced: my letters of +introduction presented: and the Comte de Montlosier welcomed me to his +mountain home. + +"You see me here, sir," he said, "quite a farmer; I am tired of the busy +world: who would not be, after having lived in it so long, and after +having seen such events? I can here give myself up to my books: I can +speculate on the wonders of this remarkable district, I can attend to my +little property--for I have not much remaining--and I can receive my +friends. You would not believe it, but Dr D---- of Oxford was with me +last week: he came to look at our volcanoes, and he stayed with me +several days: a charming little man, sir, and very active in climbing +over hills. You will excuse me, perhaps, if I do not offer to accompany +you to the summit of the Puy de Vache: but my servants are at your +orders: had I as few years over my head as when I first visited +Arthur's Seat, I would be at your side in all your mountain rambles; but +age and ease are fond of keeping company." + +"Ah, Monsieur le Comte, I came to make your acquaintance; your hills I +will see at another time." + +"Young man, you are wrong: these volcanic mountains are worthy of your +deepest study; for myself, I am nothing but a broken-down old man. I +have nothing here attractive to my friends. The spot is full of charms +for myself, but not for others. I have so many old associations +connected with it: 'tis my paternal estate: I had to fly from it during +those terrible days, and I never thought to see it again: but now that I +find myself once more restored to it, my unwillingness to quit the place +increases every day. After all, you can learn more about Auvergne from +your learned countryman, Poulett Scrope, than from me; my little work, +by the way, is at your service if you will accept it: I am as a lamp +going out, you find me flickering, and when next you pass this way, the +light may be extinguished." + +"True, sir; and it is from these expiring flames that the brightest +sparks may be sometimes derived: at any rate I would know from you +wherewith to trim my own lamp for future days." + +"Alas," replied the Count, "the present generation are not willing to +give credit to the last for all they have witnessed, for all they have +undergone. Had you, like me, seen all the phases of the Revolution, from +the time when I was sent as a deputy to the States-General from +Auvergne, to the Reign of Terror, and then the time of exile, and if you +could have felt the joys of returning to your longlost home again, you +might indeed look back on your life with emotion--let me say with +gratitude." + +"Did you know many members of the literary and scientific world previous +to the Revolution?" + +"Oh yes, I was acquainted with Condorcet, Lavoisier, and many others of +that stamp. Who shall say that, in the deaths of those great men, France +did not lose more than she gained by all her boasted freedom? Ah yes, +the men of those days were giants in intellect! there was a force of +originality in them, a vividness of thought and expression, which we +shall never witness again: and, allow me to say, there was a dignity +surrounding them, and accompanying them, which, with all our pretended +liberality and respect for science, we are far from attributing to their +followers now. Those of us, the actors in some of those tremendous +scenes who still survive, are but as the blasted oaks of the forest +after the hurricane has swept by. Some few remain erect; but withered, +scorched, and leafless: all the rest are prostrate, snapped off at the +root--many in the full vigour of vegetation: all now rotting on the +ground. It was a national tempest--a tornado--an earthquake; it was like +an eruption from the very volcano in whose bosom we are now sitting and +talking. The world never has seen, and perhaps never shall see, any +thing half so terrible as our Revolution. My young friend, excuse me; +perhaps you are a politician--and you are newly arrived in France: +things are tending to something ominous even at the present day. M. de +Polignac has just been summoned to office: the king is an easy good +man--a perfect gentleman--and an honest one, too; but there are people +near the throne who would be glad to see it tottering, and who are ready +to take advantage of the least false step. Mark my words, sir, another +year will produce something decisive in the history of France." + +"But surely, M. le Comte, every thing is too much consolidated since the +Restoration of Louis XVIII. to allow of any fresh changes--the French +nation have all the liberty they can desire." + +"Much more, my dear sir, than they either understand or can enjoy +properly. I am ashamed to say it, but my fellow countrymen are children +in constitutional matters: every thing depends on the personal character +of our governors for the time being. And again, we are too ambitious; +every body wants to rise--by fair means or by foul; but rise he must: +and every body expects to be a gainer by change. We are, and I am afraid +we always shall be, fond of playing at revolutions." + +"Permit me to think better of the French, sir. I am delighted with their +country, and I wish them all the happiness that the possession of so +fine a territory can cause." + +"You are right: it is a fine territory: it might be the first +agricultural country in Europe: there is hardly a square league of +ground in it that is not suitable to some useful vegetable production. +We have none of the cold clays nor barren heathtracts of Great Britain; +our mountains all admit of pasturage to their tops, or are productive of +wood; and our climate is so genial that even the bare limestone rocks of +Provence yield, as you are aware, the finest grapes. Here, in the midst +of the Monts Dor, you will come upon those vast primaeval forests of the +silver-fir which have never been disturbed from the time of their +erection, and you will judge for yourself how rich even this district +really is. Look at our rivers: at our boundless plains, covered with +corn and wine, and oil: and yet allowed to stand fallow one year in +three. My good friends in Scotland--for, believe me, I shall ever +remember with gratitude my stay in Edinburgh--do not farm their lands in +our slovenly fashion. France, depend upon it, might be made, and I +believe it will ultimately become, one of the richest and most +prosperous countries of Europe. The wealth of England is fleeting: when +you come to lose India and others of your colonies--and 'twill be your +fate sooner or later, your power will, with your trade, fall to the +ground: and, like your predecessors in a similar career, the Portuguese +and the Dutch, you must infallibly become a second or third-rate power. +France is solid and compact: her wealth lies in her land: you cannot +break up that: she exists now, and is great without any colony worthy of +mention: and she cannot but increase. Even Spain, from her mere +geographical size and position, has a better chance of political +longevity than England." + +"And yet Spain is rather decrepid at present, you will admit, M. le +Comte." + +"True; but a century, you know, is nothing in the life of a +nation:--England, to speak the truth, was only a second-rate power until +the reign of George the Second. She has still her social revolution to +go through: and whatever has been effected for the benefit of this +country would have come without the Revolution: and it was paying rather +dear to destroy the whole framework of society for what we should +certainly have attained by easy and more natural means. It is a fearful +catastrophe to break up all the old ideas and feelings of a people, +merely to substitute in their place something new--you know not what: +better or worse--and most probably the latter. Add to this, that the +results of the Revolution have fully borne out what I maintain: we are +neither better nor happier than we should have been had we gone on as +usual: other countries which have not been revolutionised are just as +happy and prosperous as we are." + +"But then the more equal distribution of property, M. le Comte; has not +this effected some good?" + +"_Some_ it may have caused undoubtedly; but much less than is imagined: +the effect of it has been only to raise up an aristocracy of money, +instead of one of birth: and, aristocracy for aristocracy, the former is +infinitely more overbearing and tyrannical than the latter. Before the +Revolution, the country was said to be in the hands of the nobles and +the clergy: what has happened since? It has merely been transferred to +those of the lawyers and the employes. Every third man you meet, holds +some place or other under government: and you can hardly transact the +commonest affairs of life without the aid of the notary or the advocate. +We cannot boast much of our comparative improvement in morality: for in +Paris, the prefect of police can inform you, from the registers of +births, that one in three children now born there is always +illegitimate." + +"Of what good, then, has the Revolution been?" + +"My young friend, ask not that question; it was one of those inscrutable +arrangements of Providence, the aim and extent of which we do not yet +know. You might as well ask what these puys and volcanoes have done to +benefit the country, which, no doubt, they once devastated; they may +even yet break out into activity again, and France may even yet have to +pass through another social trial. Things have not yet found their level +amongst us.--But we are getting into a long political and philosophical +discussion that makes me forget my duties to my guest. I am at least of +opinion that the volcanoes have done me personally some good; for they +have formed this wonderful country, and they attract hither many of my +friends, whom I might otherwise never have seen again. You will +appreciate them when you arrive at the Baths; and, apropos of this, I am +coming over there myself in a few days to consult my friend Dr Bertrand. +This will give me the opportunity of introducing you to several of the +visitors worth knowing. You will find a gay and gallant crowd there; and +let me advise you, take care of your heart and your pockets." + +"Monsieur, dinner is served," said a domestic, opening the door; so I +followed the worthy Count into the salle-a-manger. + + +A SHANDRYDAN. + +The top of the great plateau of Auvergne looked beautiful the evening I +reached it--a fine July evening, when the sun had yet three hours to go +down, and I was about a dozen miles from the village of the Baths. I had +been vainly flattering myself that something or other might have +detained M. de Mirepoix's carriage, and that I should have the pleasure +of viewing this splendid scene in company with Madame. She had so strong +a taste for the picturesque, that I knew her sympathies would be +expressed, and I anticipated no small pleasure from eliciting her +sentiments. To see what is magnificent in the society of one whose +feelings of the sublime and beautiful emulate your own in intensity, +multiplies the charm, and elevates the pleasure, by the mutual +communication of the effects perceived and produced. So I looked out for +their carriage anxiously. + +Nothing met my eye but the long undulating plain stretching like a +rounded wave or swell of the ocean to the feet of the mountains, and the +distant blue horizon--to the west nearly as far off as the Garonne--to +the east as far as the Saone. The plateau was covered with fine grass, +pastured by large herds of small dark-coloured cattle, goats, and a few +sheep; wild-flowers grew here and there of fragrant smell, and the tops +of the vast pine forests peeped up from the ends of the deep ravines +that run far into the bosom of the still hills. The sky was without a +cloud, and the sun seemed to gain double glory as he fell towards his +western bed. + +My spirits rose with the scene; I was excited and yet happy; the full +genial warmth of nature was before me, and around me, and in me. I could +have danced and sung for joy. I could have stopped there for ever, and I +wanted somebody to say all this to, and who should re-echo the same to +me. + +There stood the postilion--dull, senseless, brutal animal--he had got +off his horses, for I was once more out of the cabriolet, and was +bounding over the turf to look over the edge of a precipice on my right +hand: there he stood, he had lighted another pipe, and was thinking only +of a good chopine of wine out of his pour-boire, when he should arrive +at the village. + +"A fine view, mon ami!" said I, at last, in pure despair. + +He gave a shrug with his shoulders. + +"Very high mountains those," I went on. + +He turned round and looked at them; and then tapped his pipe against his +whip. + +"What splendid forests!" I added. + +"Monsieur! voyez-vous! it is the most villainous road I know; and if we +do not push on, we shall not get to Mont Dor before dark. I would not go +over the bridge at the bottom there in the dark, no Monsieur, not if I +had the honour to be carrying M. Le Prefet himself. They were never +found, Monsieur!" + +"Who were never found?" + +"Why, sir, when Petit-jean was driving M. le Commandant, the last year +but one--he was going to the Baths for the gout, sir--he did not get +down to the bridge till near ten at night; there was no parapet then, +the horses did not know the road, and over they went, roll, roll, all +the way into the Dor at the bottom; thirty feet, sir, and more, and then +the cascade to add to that." + +"Dreadful! and did no trace remain of the unfortunate traveller and your +poor friend?" + +"Oh, certainly yes! they got well wetted; but they rode the horses into +the village the same evening." + +"Who were lost, then?" + +"Petit-jean's new boots, and 'twas the first time he had put them on." + +I jumped into the cabriolet; "drive on," said I pettishly, "and go to +the ----" + +"Hi! hardi! Sacre coquin!" and crash went the whip over the off horse's +flank, enough to cut a steak of his lean sides had there been any flesh +to spare. In a quarter of an hour we found ourselves going down a steep +rough road, such as might break the springs of the best carriage, +chariot, britscha, &c., that ever came out of Long-Acre; and the thumps +that I got against the sides of my own vehicle, light as it was, made me +call out for a little less speed, and somewhat more care. + +"Don't be afraid, Monsieur! Hi! hardi! heugh!" + +I thought it was all over with me; so, holding in my breath, and firmly +clenching the top of my apron, I looked straight a-head, and made up my +mind for a pitch over the wall at the bottom, and down through the wood, +like the commandant and Petit-jean. + +Just as we got to the bottom of the hill, we turned a sharp corner, that +I had not before perceived, and charged, full gallop, right into an old +shandrydan, that had pulled up, and, with a single horse, was beginning +to climb the ascent. Our impetus seemed to carry us over the poor animal +that was straining against its load, for he fell under our two beasts, +and the shafts of the cabriolet catching the shandrydan under the +driver's seat, turned it completely topsy-turvy into the midst of the +road. + +Such a shriek, or rather such a chorus of confused cries, came forth +from the dark sides of that small and closely-shut vehicle! + +"Au secours!" "Jesus-Maria!" "Vite, vite!" "Relevez-nous!" "Pour l'amour +de Dieu!" + +They were women's voices:-- + +"Ah ca, j'etouffe!" said a deep, gruff voice, in the midst of the +hubbub. + +As neither the postilion nor myself were hurt, we were quickly on our +legs: he trying to get the horses disentangled--for they were kicking +each other to pieces--and I to aid a thin, meek-looking peasant lad, who +had been driving the shandrydan, to right the crazy vehicle. + +'Twas a square, black-looking thing, covered at top, with no opening +whatever but a small window in the door behind. It might have been built +some time in the reign of Louis le Bien-aime, and its cracked leather +sides and harness seemed as if they had been strangers to oil ever +since. If people were not very corpulent, four might have squeezed into +it--not that they would have been comfortable, but they could have got +in, and would have sat on the opposite seats, without much room to +spare. + +Some honest old Frenchman, thought I to myself, with his wife and +daughter, and perhaps their maid. Poor man! he is coming from the Baths, +cured of some painful malady, and now has had the misfortune to run the +risk of his life--if, indeed, his bones be not broken--and all through +that etourdi of a postilion. "If I do not report him to the maitre de +poste!" said I to myself. + +"For the love of God, messieurs," said a faint voice, "get us out!" + +"The door! the door! open the door then!" said at least three other +voices, one after the other and all together. + +"Je meurs!" wept the bass-voice from the inmost recesses of the +vehicle--or it might have been from under ground, so deep and sepulchral +was its tone. + +"Don't disturb yourself, monsieur," grumbled the postilion, who had now +got one of his horses on its legs; "'tis nothing! Come along, you +varmint!" said he to the poor young peasant, who stood wringing his +hands and looking distractedly at his whip--'twas broken clean in +half--"Arrive, te dis-je!--pousse bien la!--la bien! encore! hardi! +houp!" + +The door of the shandrydan burst open, and there emerged, in sadly +rumpled state, a pitiable confusion of rustled petticoats and tumbled +headgear, red as the roses on a summer's morn, and dewy as the grass on +an autumn eve--_six soeurs-de-charite_, all white and black like +sea-fowl thrown from the shooter's bag--and after them, slowly toiling +forth and writhing through the door in unwieldy porpoise-guise--M. le +Cure! + + + + +HONOUR TO THE PLOUGH. + + Though clouds o'ercast our native sky, + And seem to dim the sun, + We will not down in languor lie, + Or deem the day is done: + The rural arts we loved before + No less we'll cherish now; + And crown the banquet, as of yore, + With Honour to the Plough. + + In these fair fields, whose peaceful spoil + To faith and hope are given, + We'll seek the prize with honest toil, + And leave the rest to Heaven. + We'll gird us to our work like men + Who own a holy vow, + And if in joy we meet again, + Give Honour to the Plough. + + Let Art, array'd in magic power, + With Labour hand in hand, + Go forth, and now in peril's hour + Sustain a sinking land. + Let never Sloth unnerve the arm, + Or Fear the spirit cow; + These words alone should work a charm-- + All Honour to the Plough. + + The heath redress, the meadow drain, + The latent swamp explore, + And o'er the long-expecting plain + Diffuse the quickening store: + Then fearless urge the furrow deep + Up to the mountain's brow, + And when the rich results you reap, + Give Honour to the plough. + + So still shall Health by pastures green + And nodding harvests roam, + And still behind her rustic screen + Shall Virtue find a home: + And while their bower the muses build + Beneath the neighbouring bough, + Shall many a grateful verse be fill'd + With Honour to the Plough. + + + + +LUIGIA DE' MEDICI. + +The study of literary history offers an extraordinary charm, when it +tends to raise the veil, frequently thrown by inattention and +forgetfulness, over noble and graceful forms, which deserved to excite +the interest, or even to receive the active thanks of posterity. At such +moments, we find the mysterious sources of inspiration admired, through +a long period, for their fulness and sincerity: we go back to the +forgotten or falsely interpreted causes of celebrated actions, of +classic writings, of resolutions, whose renown rang through many ages; +the vagueness of poetic pictures gives place to positive forms; and that +which appeared but a brilliant phantom is sometimes transformed into a +living reality. + +Among the glorious titles which have borne the name of Michel Angelo +Buonarotti to so high a pitch of celebrity, the least popular is that +derived from the composition of his poetical works. The best judges, +however, regard these productions not only with profound esteem, but yet +more often with an ardent admiration. Michel Angelo lived during the +_golden age_ of the Lingua Toscana. Among the poets who filled the +interval between the publication of the _Orlando_ and that of the +_Aminta_--first, in order of date, of the _chefs-d'o[eu]vres_ of +Torquato--not one has raised himself above, nor, perhaps, to the level, +of Buonarotti. In the study of his writings, we recognise all the +essential characteristics of his genius, as revealed to the world in his +marbles, frescos, and the edifices erected by his hand. It is a copious +poetry--masculine and vigorous--fed with high thoughts--serious and +severe in the expression. Berni wrote truly of it to Fra Sebastiano--"Ei +dice cose: voi dite parole!" The poet exists always in entire possession +of himself: enthusiasm elevates, carries him away, but seduces him +never. We admire in his mind a constitution firm, healthful, and +fertile--a constant equilibrium of passion, will, and conception--often +of fervency--nowhere of delirium. The qualities necessary to the artist +do no harm to those which make the thinker and good citizen--every +where, as in the literary laws of ancient Greece, consonance, +_sophrosyne_, moderation. Michel Angelo, amid the passions and illusions +of his time, knew how to hold the helm of "that precious bark, which +singing sailed."[50] Sincere and humble Christian, with a leaning to the +austere, he succeeded in keeping himself free from all superstition; +declared republican, he avoided all popular fanaticism, and bore, even +during the siege of Florence, the _honourable_ hostility of the +Arrabiati; admirer of Savonarola, he combated the sickly exaggerations +of the _esprit piagnone_, and remained faithful to the worship of art; +and last, guest of Leo X., favourite sculptor of Julius II., he never +suffered himself to be seduced by the Pagan intoxication of the +Renaissance; from his early youth, the frame, in which he was destined +to form so many sublime conceptions, was irrevocably determined. + +But, in the poetical works of Michel Angelo, as in his works of +sculpture and design, there is a side of grace and delicacy; the fire of +a masculine and profound tenderness circulates, so to speak, in all the +members of this marvellous body. Angelo's regularity of morals was never +altered by doubts; it acquired, even at an early period, the externals +of a rigid austerity. But had he, in his youthful years, experienced the +power of a real love? We have nothing to reply to those who, after an +attentive perusal of his writings, see in them nothing more than a +_jeu-d'esprit_ produced by a vain fantasy. But to those who think, with +us, that truth and force of expression suppose reality and depth of +sentiment--to those who discover the burning traces of a passion which +has conquered the heart, and imprinted a new direction on the thoughts +of the writer, in the precious metal of this classical versification, +we propose to follow us for a few moments. We shall seek whatever +historical vestiges have been left of the object of this affection, as +durable as sincere: we shall afterwards examine the manner in which +Michel Angelo has expressed it in his rhyme; what order of philosophical +and religious ideas developed themselves in his mind, in intimate +connexion with the ardour that penetrated his heart; whatever +influences, in short, which a love, whose object quitted this life so +early, appears to have exercised upon the whole duration of a career +prolonged, with so great _eclat_, for more than sixty years +afterwards.[51] + +The smallest acquaintance with the character of Michel Angelo would lead +to the belief that, according to the expression of his epoch, he could +"have fixed his heart nowhere but in a lofty sphere. The conjectures +which have been formed bore reference to the house of the first citizen +of Florence and of Italy, at the period of Angelo's entrance on his +career, to the family of the grandson of Cosmo Pater Patriae," of the man +to whom the disinterested voice of foreigners and of posterity has +confirmed all that his contemporaries attributed to him, in the great +work of the Italian Renaissance--scientific, literary, artistic +even--namely, the chief and most brilliant honour. + +Lorenzo the Magnificent, born in 1450, married Clarice Orsini in 1468. +There were born from this alliance, besides the children who died in the +cradle, three sons and four daughters. In 1492, Pietro succeeded to the +offices and dignity of his father, and lost them in 1494; Giovanni +mounted the Pontifical throne, and became the illustrious Leo X.; +Giuliano died Duke of Nemours and "_prince du gouvernement_" of +Florence. Of the four daughters, Maddalena became the wife of Francesco +Cybo, Count dell Anguillara, Lucrezia married Giacopo Salviati; and +Contessina, Piero Ridolfi. Luigia was the youngest, according to certain +authorities; Count Pompeo Litta, however, in his _Illustri Famiglie +Italiane_, places her in order of birth immediately after Maddalena. +Whichever it may be, Clarice Orsini dying in 1488, Lorenzo contracted no +other alliance, and, at the end of four years, followed his wife to the +tomb. We have no means of determining the age Luigia had reached at the +time of this melancholy event; but, as her marriage was then talked of, +we cannot give her less than from fifteen to sixteen years. Michel +Angelo, born the 6th March 1475,[52] wanted a month of his seventeenth +year when he lost the generous protector of his early youth. + +It was in 1490 that Angelo first went to live in the house of the +Magnificent Lorenzo. Apprenticed, the 1st April 1488, to the "master of +painting," Domenico di Tommasso del Ghirlandajo, he astonished the grave +and learned artist by his rapid progress and fire of imagination. +Ghirlandajo, finding his disposition more decided for sculpture than for +the pencil, hastened to recommend him to Lorenzo, who, in his gardens, +situated near the convent of Saint Mark, was exerting himself to create +a school capable of restoring to Florence the glorious days of the +Ghiberti and the Donatello. It was no easy task for the prince of the +Florentine government to buy the child of genius from the timorous +avarice of his father, Lodovico Buonarotti.[53] At length, an office in +the financial administration of the state, conferred upon the father, +and a provision of five ducats monthly settled on the son, but of which +it was agreed that Lodovico should derive the profit, conquered the +scruples of the old citizen; and Michel Angelo, adopted as it were, +among the children of Lorenzo, was enabled, at his own pleasure, to +divide his hours between the practice of his favourite art, and the +lessons that Pietro, Giovanni, and Giuliano received at "the Platonic +Academy," of which the illustrious Politiano was director. + +This society, of which Lorenzo was the soul as well as the founder,[54] +reckoned among its members certain individuals, whose names are still +held in respect by posterity; and many others who, less distinguished or +less fortunate, exercised, nevertheless, a useful influence on the +regeneration of good studies, and the diffusion of the knowledge that +may be derived from the works of antiquity. Among the former, the first +rank was unanimously given to Politiano, Pico della Mirandola, +Leon-Battista Alberti, and Marsilio Ficino. Lorenzo required that his +sons should be present at the learned discourses of the academy. Michel +Angelo listened to them in company with Pietro, and Cardinal Giovanni, +and received most flattering consideration from Politiano. The +subtilties of Grecian metaphysics, and the technical language of logic, +discouraged Buonarotti's clear and free understanding; but the sublimity +of conception, and majesty of expression of the Attic Bee, met with +marvellous affinities in the disposition of the young Florentine. These +studies developed in Michel Angelo, the poetical genius of which he has +left admirable proofs in his marbles, his cartoons, and his writings. + +It was not only the affectionate interest of Lorenzo, the intimacy with +his sons, and the generous cares of Politiano, in the house of the +Medici, which aided the progress, and inflamed the energy of Michel +Angelo. At this same time, more profound lessons were repeated in an +austere pulpit, not far from the delicious gardens of Valfondo. Girolamo +Savonarola, the celebrated dominican of Saint Mark, was at the zenith of +his reputation; and his influence over the people of Florence, without +directly thwarting that of Lorenzo, began, nevertheless, to +counterbalance it. Michel Angelo, says the most exact of his +biographers, (Vasari, _Vite dei Pittori_,) read "with great veneration" +the works written by the enthusiastic and eloquent monk. From him he +learned to seek in the Holy Scriptures for the pure and direct source of +the highest inspiration; and, during his whole life, Buonarotti had +constantly in his hand the sacred volume, and the _Divina Comedia_ of +Dante, which he regarded as a commentary at once philosophical, +theological, and, above all, poetical upon the former. An ardent love of +art confined within due bounds the effect which Savonarola's +exhortations produced upon the true and serious soul of the young +sculptor; he neither followed the Dominican in his fanatical hostility +to the artistic and literary Renaissance, then displaying all the riches +of its spring, nor in the political aberrations which Savonarola, after +the death of Lorenzo, had the misfortune to display in the public +squares of Florence, and even in the heart of her councils. + +In the midst of a life so full and already fruitful, which the approach +of a glory almost unequalled illuminated by a few precursive rays, +Michel Angelo appears to have opened his heart to the sentiment of a +love as true and elevated as the other emotions which swayed his soul, +and directed his faculties: Luigia de' Medici seems to have been its +object. It is, as already remarked, in the poetical compositions, +forming the first part of Angelo's collection, that we must endeavour to +find the imperishable memorials of this tenderness, to which the +illusions even of early youth appear to have never lent, for a single +moment, any hope of the union with which it might have been crowned. +Michel Angelo's timid pride combined with his respect and gratitude to +interdict to him all designation, even indirect, of the woman to whom +his affections were bound by a chain whose embrace death alone could +have relaxed. We shall see in the poetry of Buonarotti none of the +artifice made use of by Petrarch to render the name of _Laura_ +intelligible, which Camoens afterwards employed to celebrate Donna +_Caterina_, and from which, still later, the unhappy Torquato regretted, +with much bitterness, to have wandered, when, in the intoxication of his +illusions, he traced the fatal name of _Eleonora_. + + "Quando sara che d'_Eleonora mia_ + Potro goder in libertade amore." + (_Verse stolen from Tasso and given to the Duke of Ferrara._) + +It is but rarely, and with a light touch, that Angelo makes allusion to +the extreme youth of her whom he loves,-- + + ----"il corpo umano + Mal segue poi ... d'un _angelletta_ il volo."--(_Sonnetto_ 15.) + +Once only he speaks of light hair:-- + + "Sovra quel _biondo crin_" ... + + (_Sonnetto ultimo._) + +Never does he write a word that can be referred to the difference of +rank existing between them, to the splendour which had surrounded the +cradle even of the daughter of the great citizen whom all Italy seems to +have made the arbiter of her political combinations. Michel Angelo +speaks only of the touching beauty of her who has subjugated him by +"that serene grace, certain mark of the nobility and purity of a soul in +perfect harmony with its Creator;" (_Sonnetto 3, et passim_ in the first +part.) Never does he give us to understand that his love received the +least encouragement. It has been thought, however, that Luigia had +detected the attachment of the youth whose genius had as yet been +attested by no great work, and that she rewarded it by the tenderest +friendship. It is certain that, in a transport of gratitude, Angelo +wrote the beautiful verse-- + + "Unico spirto, e da me solo inteso!" + + (_Sonnetto_ 16.) + +and that, in another _morceau_, he thanks "those beautiful eyes which +lend him their sweet light, the genius that raises his own to heaven, +the support that steadies his tottering steps," + + "Veggio co'bei vostri occhi un dolce lume." ... + + --(_Sonnetto_ 12.) + +But, checking himself immediately in these half-revelations, the poet, +on the contrary, multiplies the complaints torn from him by the coldness +and apparent indifference of her whose beauty he celebrates, whom he can +render immortal. See more particularly Sonnet 21-- + + "Perche d'ogni mia speme il verde e spento." + +He exclaims even that he has rarely enjoyed the presence on which his +happiness depends:--"You know neither custom nor opportunity have served +my affection: it is very rarely that my eyes kindle themselves at the +fire which burns in yours, guarded by a reserve to which desire scarcely +dares to approach-- + + ----'gli occhi vostri + Circonscritti ov' appena il desir vola.' + +A single look has made my destiny, and I have seen you, to say truly, +but once."--(_Madrigale_ 5.) + +It has been said that the "divine hand" of Michel Angelo painted the +portrait of Luigia de' Medici. This is the name given, in reality, +during the last century, to the head of a young female, "handsome rather +than really beautiful," writes father Della Valle--a work in which +Buonarotti's drawing was said to be recognised, with a softer and more +lively colouring than obtains in the other pictures from his easel. +Angelo's repugnance to paint portraits is one of the best established +traits of his character. But he sculptured several--among those +positively known are that of Julius II., lost in the chateau of Ferrara, +and another of Gabriel Faerne, preserved in the Museum Capitolinum. We +know, besides, that he consented to paint the portrait of the noble and +witty Messer Tomasso de' Cavalieri, (see _Vasari_,) of the natural size; +but that was a rare favour. "For," said he, "I abhor the obligation to +copy that which, in nature, is not of infinite beauty." In another +place, sonnet nineteen, addressing the object of his tenderness, Michel +Angelo reminds her, that works of art are endowed, so to say, with +eternal life and youth. "Perhaps," he adds, (_Sonnetto_ 19 ,) "I shall +be able to prolong thy life and mine beyond the tomb, by employing, if +thou wilt, colour, or marble, if thou preferest, to fix the lines of our +features and the resemblance of our affection!" + +Again he writes--"While I paint her features, why cannot I convey to her +face the pallor which disfigures mine, and which comes from her cruelty +to me?"--(_Madrigale_ 24.) But in some others of Angelo's poems, mention +is made of a statue, or more probably of a bust, on which the young +artist worked with an impassioned mixture of zeal and +faint-heartedness. + +"I fear," he says, "to draw from the marble, instead of her image, that +of my features worn, and void of grace."--(_Madrigale 22._ ) And when he +drew near the term of his labour--"Behold," he exclaims, "an animated +stone, which, a thousand years hence, will seem to breathe! What, then, +ought heaven to do for her, its own work, while the portrait only is +mine; for her whom the whole world, and not myself alone, regard as a +goddess rather than a mortal? Nevertheless the stone remains, while she +is about to depart."--(_Madrigale 39._) + +It was probably on this occasion that Michel Angelo wrote those +charming, and mysterious verses, whose sense it is otherwise difficult +to determine:- + + "Qui risi e piansi, e con doglia infinita, + Da questo sasso vidi far partita + Colei ch 'a me mi tolse, e non mi volse." + (_Sonnetto 29._) + +The bust of Luigia de' Medici, if it really came from the hands of +Angelo, has shared the fate of many other _chefs-d'oeuvres_, of which +his contemporaries appear to have spoken with such great enthusiasm, +only to increase our regret; while the most diligent researches have led +to no recovery since their disappearance, caused by the disasters that +visited Florence, and by the culpable negligence which, throughout the +whole of Italy, followed the period of which Buonarotti was the +principal ornament. + +If it be to the affection of Luigia de' Medici that Angelo's nineteenth +sonnet[55] really refers, we are led to the belief that this lofty soul, +temperate in its own hopes, yet imbued with a generous ambition, had +suffered itself, for a moment, to be carried away by the illusion of a +permanent happiness; but a blow, as terrible as unforeseen, scattered +these thoughts. The "Magnificent" Lorenzo, scarcely in his forty-second +year, sunk at his seat of Careggi, under a short illness, but of which +he foresaw the inevitable term with great resignation from the earliest +moment. With Lorenzo de' Medici descended to the tomb all that was yet +bright in the glory of his family--all that was real in the prosperity +of Florence--all that was assured in the fortune, or attractive in the +labours of the young Buonarotti, then only seventeen years of age. + +Of the three sons left by Lorenzo, not one was capable of replacing him. +The Cardinal Giovanni had a cultivated mind, engaging manners, and vast +ambition; but, overwhelmed already, in spite of his youth,[56] with the +weight of his benefices and ecclesiastical dignities, he pursued, at the +Papal Court, the high fortune of which he then foresaw the +accomplishment. Giuliano, born in 1478, was as yet little more than a +child, in whom appeared the germ of amiable and even generous qualities, +spoiled by pride, the hereditary vice of his house. With regard to +Pietro, the new prince of the government--for he succeeded without +opposition to the ill-defined and conventional, rather than regularly +constituted authority which his ancestors and his father had left in his +possession--he evinced only incapacity, presumption, improvidence, and +foolish vanity. Aged twenty-one, he had already espoused Alfonsina +Orsini, and drew a false security from an alliance in which he hoped for +the support of one of the most warlike and powerful families of southern +Italy. Michel Angelo felt the necessity of quitting the abode of the +Medici, where Pietro, of too vulgar a mind to appreciate the artist's +character, displayed a soul mean enough to make him feel the bitterness +of protection. He returned to the paternal home; and although he +continued to show a marked attachment for the legitimate interests of +the Medici, and was even again sometimes employed--but not in important +matters--by the younger members of the family, the separation was final, +and the republican convictions of the young artist developed themselves, +after that time, at full liberty. Angelo's poetical collection proves to +us how cruelly his removal, from the house where Lorenzo had entertained +him with the most agreeable hospitality, affected his heart. In future +it must become a stranger, at least in looks and conversation, to her +whom he loved with an inquiet fervour. + + "How, separated from you, shall I ever have the power to guide my + life, if I can not, at parting, implore your assistance? + + * * * * * + + Lest absence condemn my loyal devotion to forgetfulness, in + remembrance of my long affliction, take, Signora, take in pledge a + heart which hereafter belongs no more to me."--(_Madrigale 11._ ) + +And in another place: + + "He who departs from you has no more hope of light: where you are + not, there is no more heaven."--(_Madrigale 9._ ) + +The hour approached, however, when, according to the usage of the +country, and the relations of her family, Luigia's lot should be +decided. Various projects of alliance were discussed. The choice +hesitated between two brothers, descended from Giovanni de' Medici, a +branch from the dominant house, and of that which took the name of its +individual ancestor, Lorenzo. The latter, brother of Cosmo, Pater +Patriae, had, by Ginevra Cavalcanti Piero Francesco, to whom his wife, +Landomia Acciajuoli, brought two sons, Lorenzo and Giovanni. Both had +arrived at the age of maturity, and were reckoned among the most +considerable citizens of Florence. The marriage, however, did not take +place. It is said that Luigia herself prevented its conclusion, until a +misunderstanding, caused by some opposition of interests, had definitely +separated Pietro from the two brothers, more especially from Giovanni, +upon whom the reigning prince appears principally to have reckoned. +Others, however, have supposed that the obstacles to the proposed union +arose only on the part of Giovanni and his brother, who, in fact, +followed the principal citizens in the opposition, then planned, against +Pietro's unskilful administration. And last, it has been asserted, that +Luigia was betrothed to Giovanni, but died before the time fixed for the +marriage. Among these opinions, Litta appears to incline to the second; +Roscoe adopts the last. However it may be, it is only certain that, +alone of all Lorenzo's daughters, Luigia left the paternal house but to +exchange it for the repose of the tomb. + +According to the historians, she died a few days before the catastrophe +which overturned Pietro's government, and condemned all the descendants +of Cosmo l'Antico to an exile of sixteen years. It was consequently late +in the autumn of 1494 that Luigia departed this life. Amid the +passionate prejudices which prepared, and the convulsions which +followed, the Florentine revolution, the extinction of the beauteous +light excited no sensation. + +Michel Angelo was not at that moment in Florence. Politiano's death +seems to have broken the last ties that attached him to the obligations +contracted in his early youth. His penetrating intelligence warned him +of the coming fall of the Medici. He neither wished to renounce his +ancient attachments, nor to give them the predominance over the duties +of a citizen, to a free state, which it was of the highest importance to +wean from a blind and dangerous course. In this painful alternative, +Michel Angelo determined to withdraw for a time. He went first to +Venice, and afterwards to Bologna, where the warm reception of the +Aldrovandi kept him during an entire year, and even longer. + +According to all appearance, on quitting Florence, Buonarotti was aware +of Luigia's declining health; and his poetry shows us the courageous +artist sinking under the burden of his melancholy presentiments:-- + + "Be sure, O eyes, that the time is past, that the hour approaches + which will close the passage to your regards, even to your tears. + Remain, in pity to me, remain open while this divine maiden deigns + yet to dwell on this earth. But when the heaven shall open to + receive these unique and pure beauties ..., when she shall ascend + to the abode of glorified and happy souls, then close; I bid you + farewell."--(_Madrigale 40._ ) + +It was while at Venice, at least so it is believed, that Michel Angelo +learned the death of Luigia de' Medici. An expression of profound +sadness and manly resignation pervades the poems which escaped from his +oppressed soul, already familiarized with grief: he knew "that death and +love are the two wings which bear man from earth to heaven." + + ... "chi ama, qual chi muore, + Non ha da gire al ciel dal mondo altr'ale." + + (Sonnetto: _Dall' aspra piaga._) + +There are, in Angelo's collection, four compositions which may be +regarded as dedicated to the memory of Luigia de Medici; first, the +sonnet.--"Spirto ben nato," ... in which the poet deplores "the cruel +law which has not spared tenderness, compassion, mercy--treasures so +rare, united to so much of beauty and fidelity; then the Sonnets 27, 28, +and 30, where Michel Angelo, as though emboldened by the irreparable +calamity which had befallen him, raises the veil under which the +circumstances and the illusions of his love had hitherto been shrouded, +for every one, and almost for himself. Now he exclaims:--"Oh, fallacious +hopes! where shall I now seek thee--liberated soul? Earth has received +thy beauteous form, and Heaven thy holy thoughts!--(_Sonnetto 27._).... +This _first love_, which fixed my wandering affections, now overwhelms +my exhausted soul with an insupportable weight.--(_Sonnetto 28._) ... +Yes, the brightness of the flame, which nourished while consuming my +heart, is taken from me by heaven; but one teeming spark remains to me, +and I would wish to be reduced to ashes only after shining in my turn." +The sense of the latter triplet is very enigmatical; it is here +interpreted in accordance with the known character of the poet, and the +direction which he delayed not to give to his faculties. From this +moment Angelo, devoted to the threefold worship of God, art, and his +country, constantly refused to think of other ties. He had, he remarked, +"espoused the affectionate fantasy which makes of Art a monarch, an +idol; "my children," he added, "will be the works that I shall leave +behind me." More than thirty years were to elapse, ere in this heart, +yet youthful at the approach of age, another woman, and she the first of +her era, (Vittoria Colonna,) occupied in part the place left vacant by +Luigia de' Medici. + +It is to these few imperfect indications, conjectures, and fugitive +glimpses, to which the most perspicacious care has not always succeeded +in giving a positive consistency, that all our knowledge is reduced of +one of the purest and most amiable forms presented by the historical and +poetical gallery of Florence, during what is named her _golden age_. But +what destiny was more worthy than that of Luigia de' Medici to excite a +generous envy? Orphan from her birth, her life experienced that alone +which elevates and purifies: hope, grief, and love. No vulgar cares +abased her thoughts; no bitter experience withered her heart; death, in +compassion, spared her the spectacle of the reverses of her family, and +participation in the guilty successes which followed those disasters. +Delicate and stainless flower, she closed on the eve of the storm that +would have bathed her in tears and blood! The only evidence remaining to +us of her is poetry of a fame almost divine--of a purity almost +religious; and this young maiden, of whom no mention has come down to +us, in addressing herself to our imagination, borrows the accents of the +most extraordinary genius possessed by a generation hitherto unequalled +in achievements of the mind. The place of sepulture of Luigia de' Medici +is unknown; her remains were most probably deposited, without monumental +inscription, in the vaults of San Lorenzo, the _gentilizia_ church of +her house. Among the epitaphs composed by Angelo, without attempting to +indicate for whom, there is one whose application to Luigia de' Medici +would be apt and touching. It may be thus translated:--"To earth the +dust, to heaven the soul, have been returned by death. To him who yet +loves me, dead, I have bequeathed the thought of my beauty and my glory, +that he may perpetuate in marble the beautiful mask which I have left." + +The editors of Michel Angelo have assumed that this admirable +composition, as well as those which accompany it under the same title, +were written for a certain Francesco Bracci. The expression "chi _morta_ +ancor m' ama" is sufficient to refute this singular supposition. + +We shall now attempt to give some idea of the poetical compositions from +which we have not yet quoted, and which we conjecture to have been +similarly inspired in Michel Angelo by his love for Luigia de' Medici. +We incline to consider as belonging to the earliest poetic age of the +great artist, to the epoch of the first and only real love experienced +by him, all the pieces forming the first part of his work, commencing +with the celebrated sonnet-- + + "Non ha l'ottimo artista," * * * + +and ending with the thirtieth-- + + "Qual meraviglia e se vicino al fuoco." + * * * + +in addition, the sonnet, three _madrigali_, (pieces without division of +stanzas or couplets,) and one _canzone_, which the editors have placed +at the head of the collection, entitled by them--"Componimenti men gravi +e giocosi." The commencement of a new era in Angelo's thoughts and +poetic style appears to us marked by the composition of the two +admirable pieces which he dedicated to the memory of Dante Alighieri:-- + + "Dal mondo scese ai ciechi abissi;" + * * * + +and + + "Quanto dime si dee non si puo dire." + +Michel Angelo _petitioned_ but once: this was that Leo X. would grant +the ashes of Dante to Florence, where the artist "offered to give a +becoming burial to the divine poet, in an honourable place in the +city."--(Condivi, _Vita di Michel Angelo_.) + +Previously a stranger to the sentiments of love, the young artist at +first wonders and fears at their violence: + + "Who, then, has lifted me by main force above myself? How can it be + that I am no longer my own? And what is the unknown power which, + nearer then myself, influences me; which has more control over me; + passes into my soul by the eyes; increases there without limit, and + overflows my whole being?"--_Madrigali_, 3, 4. + +Soon, however, he no longer doubts upon the character of this +intoxication; he feels that he loves; he traces in sport the most +graceful and animated picture of her who has captivated his heart! But +this pure and ardent soul speedily becomes alarmed at the profound +agitation in which it sees itself plunged; desires to go back to the +cause, to recognise its origin, and measure its danger. Michel Angelo +recognises, in conjunction with the danger, a sublime reward reserved +for him who shall know how to merit it. + + "The evil which I ought to shun, and the good to which I aspire, + are united and hidden in thee, noble and divine beauty! * * * Love, + beauty, fortune, or rigour of destiny, it is not you that I can + reproach for my sufferings; for in her heart she bears at once + compassion and death! Woe to me if my feeble genius succeed only, + while consuming itself, in obtaining death from it!"[57] + +Yes, dangerous and often fatal is that passion which seems to choose its +favourite victims among hearts the most generous--intelligence the most +ample: + + "Very few are the men who raise themselves to the heaven; to him + who lives in the fire of love, and drinks of its poison, (for to + love is one of life's fatal conditions,) if grace transport him not + towards supreme and incorruptible beauties--if all his desires + learn not to direct themselves thither--Ah! what miseries overwhelm + the condition of lover!"--(_Sonnet_ 10.) + +But this declaration has not been applied to all passionate and deep +affections: + + "No, it is not always a mortal and impious fault to burn with an + immense love for a perfect beauty, if this love afterwards leave + the heart so softened that the arrows of divine beauty may + penetrate it." + + "Love wakens the soul, and lends it + + + wings for its sublime flight: often its ardour is the first step by + which, discontented with earth, the soul remounts towards her + Creator."--(_Sonnet_ 8.) + +Transported with this thought, in which he feels the passion to which he +has yielded at once transforming and tranquillising itself, Michel +Angelo gives to it in his verses the most eloquent and most ingenious +developments. + + "No, it is not a mortal thing which my eyes perceived, when in them + was reflected, for the first time, the light of thine; but in thy + look, my soul, inquiet, because it mounts towards its object + without repose, has conceived the hope of finding her peace." + + "She ascends, stretching her wings towards the abode from whence + she descended! The beauty which charms the eyes calls to her on her + flight; but, finding her weak and fugitive, she passes onwards to + the universal form, the divine archetype." + +This expression, and many others dispersed throughout the collection, +show that he had profited more than he cared to acknowledge by the +discourses of the Platonic Academy. + + "Yes, I perceive it; that which must die can offer no repose to the + wise man. * * * That which kills the soul is not love; it is the + unbridled disorder of the senses. Love can render our souls perfect + here below, and yet more in heaven!"--(_Sonnet_ 2.) + +And fruther on: + + "From the stars most near to the empyrean, descends sometimes a + brightness which attracts our desires towards them: it is that + which is called love!"--(_Mad._ 8.) + +But this celestial route demands extraordinary efforts on the part of +him who aspires to travel it: + + "How rash and how unworthy are the understandings, which bring down + to the level of the senses this beauty whose approaches aid the + true intelligence to remount to the skies. But feeble eyes cannot + go from the mortal to the divine;[58] never will they raise + themselves to that throne, where, without the grace from on high, + it is a vain thought to think of rising." + +Michel Angelo believed that he recognised these characteristics, as rare +as sublime, in the love which pervaded his own heart. + + "The life of my love is not the all in my heart. * * This affection + turns to that point where no earthly weakness, no guilty thought, + could exist." + + "Love, when my soul left the presence of her Creator, made of her a + pure eye, of thee a splendour, and my ardent desire finds it every + hour in that which must, alas! one day die of thee." + + "Like as heat and fire, so is the Beautiful inseparable from the + Eternal. * * * I see Paradise in thy eyes, and so return there + where I loved thee before this life,[59] I recur every hour to + consume myself under thy looks."--(_Sonnet_ 6.) + +He writes elsewhere, with a singular mixture of affectionate ardour and +metaphysical boldness,-- + + "I know not if this is, in thee, the prolific light from its + Supreme Author which my soul feels, or if from the mysterious + treasures of her memory some other beauty, earlier perceived, + shines with thy aspect in my heart."[60] + + "Or if the brilliant ray of _thy former existence_ is reflected in + my soul, leaving behind this kind of painful joy, which perhaps, at + this moment, is the cause of the tears I shed;" + + "But after all, that which I feel, and see, which guides me, is not + with me, is not in me, * * sometimes I imagine that thou aidest me + to distinguish it." * * * * (_Sonnet_ 7.) + +It is easy to conjecture the danger of this inclination to metaphysical +speculation for an ardent and subtile genius, which, even in its works +of art, has left the proof of a constant disposition towards an obscure +mysticism or a sombre austerity. Michel Angelo was enabled to avoid +these two dangers, on one or the other of which he would have seen his +genius wrecked, by the noble confidence which he ever maintained in "the +two beacons of his navigation," tenderness of heart, and pure worship of +beauty. + +Thus, we shall see with what outpouring he proclaims the necessity, for +the human soul, to attach itself strongly to some generous love: + + "The memory of the eyes, and this hope which suffices to my life, + and more to my happiness, * * * reason and passion, love and + nature, constrain me to fix my regard upon thee during the whole + time given me. * * * Eyes serene and sparkling; he who lives not in + you is not yet born!" + +And again: + + "It is to thee that it belongs to bring out from the coarse and + rude bark within which my soul is imprisoned, that which has + brought and linked together in my intelligence, reason strength, + and love of the good." (_Mad._ 10.) + +Then was renewed that sweet and pregnant security in which the soul, +"under the armour of a conscience which feels its purity," may gain new +energy and journey towards her repose:[61] + + "Yes, sometimes, with my ardent desire, my hope may also ascend; it + will not deceive me, for if all our affections are displeasing to + heaven, to what end would this world have been created by God? + + "And what cause more just of the love with which I burn for thee, + than the duty of rendering glory to that eternal peace, whence + springs the divine charm which emanates from thee, which makes + every heart, worthy to comprehend thee, chaste and pious? + + * * * * * + + "Firm is the hope founded on a noble heart, the changes of the + mortal bark strip no leaves from its crown; never does it languish, + and even here it receives an assurance of heaven."--(_Sonnet_ 9.) + +Now it is with accents of triumph and anon with the serener emotion of +an immortal gratitude, that the poet exhibits the luminous ladder which +his love assists him to mount, the support he finds in it when he +descends again to the earth: + + "The power of a beautiful countenance, the only joy I know on + earth, urges me to the heaven, I rise, yet living, to the abode of + elect souls--favour granted rarely to our mortal state! + + "So perfect is the agreement of this divine work with its Creator, + that I ascend to Him on the wings of this celestial fervour; and + there I form all my thoughts, and purify all my words. + + * * * * * + + "In her beautiful eyes, from which mine cannot divert themselves, I + behold the light, guide upon the way which leads to God; + + * * * * * + + "Thus, in my noble fire, calmly shines the felicity which smiles, + eternal, in the heavens!--(_Sonnet_ 3.) + + "With _your_ beautiful eyes I see the mild light which my darkened + eyes could not discern. Your support enables me to bear a burden + which my weary steps could not endure to the end." + + * * * * * + + "My thoughts are shaped in your heart; my words are born in your + mind. + + "With regard to you, I am like the orb of night in its career; our + eyes can only perceive the portion on which the sun sheds his + rays."--(_Sonnet_ 12.) + +The admirable picture of indissoluble union in a settled tenderness, one +of the most perfect pieces which has come from Angelo's pen, was +sketched, doubtless, in one of those moments of severe and entire +felicity: + + "A refined love, a supreme affection, an equal fortune between two + hearts, to whom joys and sorrows are in common, + + + because one single mind actuates them both; + + "One soul in two bodies, raising both to heaven, and upon equal + wings; + + * * * * * + + "To love the other always, and one's self never, to desire of Love + no other prize than himself; to anticipate every hour the wishes + with which the reciprocal empire regulates two existences: + + "Such are the certain signs of an inviolable faith; shall disdain + or anger dissolve such a tie?"--(_Sonnet_ 20.) + +The last verse makes allusion to some incident of which we have been +unable to find any historical explanation: + +"Or potra _sdegno_ tanto nodo sciorre?" + +But these ill-founded fears soon gave way to the presentiment of the +cruel, the imminent trial, for which the poet's affection was reserved. + + "Spirit born under happy auspices, to show us, in the chaste beauty + of thy terrestrial envelope, all the gifts which nature and heaven + can bestow on their favourite creation!" + + * * * * * + + "What inexorable law denies to this faithless world, to this + mournful and fallacious life, the long possession of such a + treasure? Why cannot death pardon so beautiful a work?"--(_Sonnet_ + 25.) + +The poet, however, already knew that such is the law, severe in +appearance, but merciful in reality, which governs all things on this +earth, "where nothing endures but tears."[62] It was then that Michel +Angelo discovered in his heart that treasure of energy destined to +sustain him in the multiplied trials of a life, of which he measured the +probable length with a melancholy resignation.[63] + + "Why," he exclaims, "grant to my wounded soul the vain solace of + tears and groaning words, since heaven, which clothed a heart with + bitterness, takes it away but late, and perhaps only in the tomb?" + + "_Another_ must die. Why this haste to follow her? Will not the + remembrance of her look soothe my last hours? And what other + blessing would be worth so much as one of my sorrows?"[64] + +In fine, armed with "the faith that raises souls[65] to God, and +sweetens their death," Michel Angelo, when the fatal blow fell, was +enabled to impart to his regrets an expression of thankfulness to the +Supreme Dispenser of our destinies; and giving a voice from the tomb to +her whom he had so deeply loved, he puts these sublime words into her +mouth: + + "I was a mortal, now I am an angel. The world knew me for a little + space, and I possess heaven for ever. I rejoice at the glorious + exchange, and exult over the death which struck, to lead me to + eternal life!"--_Epitaffio_, v. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[50] "Dietro al mio legno, che cantando varca."--_Dante._ + +[51] Michel Angelo lived until the beginning of the year 1564, the +seventieth after the death of Luigia de' Medici. + +[52] In the Florentine style, 1474. The Florentine year began at Easter. + +[53] Michel Angelo was the fourth and last of the sons of Ludovico. + +[54] The Platonic Academy was established at Florence in 1474. +Politiano's death, twenty years later, was the cause of its entire +dispersion. + +[55] "But, perhaps, thy compassion regards with more justice than I +thought in the beginning, my pure and loyal ardour, and the passion +which thy looks have kindled in me for noble actions. + +"Oh, most happy day! if it ever arrive for me, let my days and hours +concentrate themselves in that moment! and, to prolong it, let the sun +forget his accustomed course!" + +[56] He was born in 1475. + +[57] The first sonnet of the collection; that commencing with the +celebrated proposition-- + + "_Non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto._" + + +[58] + + "Dal mortale al divin non vanno gli occhi + Che sono infermi." * * * * + + +[59] + + "Veggendo ne tuo' occhi il Paradiso, + Per ritornar la dove io t'amai pria, + Ricorro ardendo sotto le tue ciglia." + + +[60] + + "Non so se e' _l'immaginata luce_ + Del suo primo Fattor che l'alma sente, + O se dalla memoria. * * * + Alcuna altra bella nel cor traluce, + * * * * * * * + _Del tuo primiero stato il raggio ardente_ + Di se lasciando un non so che cocente." * * * + + +[61] + + "La buona coscienza che l'uom franchigia, + Sotto l'usbergo di sentirsi pura."--_Dante._ + + +[62] "To what am I reserved?" writes Angelo in another piece. "To live +long? that terrifies me. The shortest life is yet too long for the +recompense obtained in serving with devotion." + +[63] "Ahi, che null altro che pianto al mondo dura!"--_Petrarca._ + +[64] "_Ogni altro ben val men ch'una mia doglia!_" + +[65] + + * * * * "Chi t'ama con fede + Si leva a Dio, e fa dolce la morte." + + + + +THINGS IN GENERAL. + +A GOSSIPING LETTER FROM THE SEASIDE TO CHRISTOPHER NORTH, ESQ. BY AN OLD +CONTRIBUTOR. + + ------ + Near ----, England, + _October 1846_. + +MY DEAR CHRISTOPHER,--Where am I? What am I doing? Why have I forgotten +you and Maga? Bless us! what a pother!--Give a man time, my revered +friend, to answer: I have _not_ forgotten either you or Maga; I am at +the seaside; and I am doing, as well as I can, _nothing_. There are your +testy questions answered: and as to divers objurgatory observations of +your's, I shall not attempt to reply to them--regarding them as the +results of some gout-twinges which have, I fear, a little quickened and +heated the temper of that "old man eloquent," who, when in good health, +plays but one part--that of a caressing father towards his children; for +as such Christopher North has ever (as far as I know) regarded his +contributors. "Why don't you _review_ something or other? There's ----, +an impudent knave!--has just sent me his ----: you will find it pleasant +to flagellate him, or ----, a Cockney coxcomb! And if you be not in that +humour, there are several excellent, and one or two admirable works, +which have appeared within the last eighteen months, and which really +have as strong a claim on Maga as she has on her truant sons,--and you, +among the rest, have repeatedly promised to take one, at least, in hand. +If you be not in the critical vein--do, for heaven's sake, turn your +hand to something else--you have lain fallow long enough!--With one of +the many articles which you have so often told me that you were +'seriously thinking of' on ----, or ----, or ----, &c., &c., &c.; and if +_that_ won't do--why, rather than do _nothing_, set to work for an hour +or two on a couple of mornings, and write me a gossiping sort of +letter--such as I can print--such as you have once before done, and I +printed,--on Things in General. Surely the last few months have +witnessed events which must have set you, and all observant men, +thinking, and thinking very earnestly. Set to work, be it only in a +simple, natural, easy way--care not you, as I care not, how +discursively--a little touch of modest egotism, even, I will forgive on +this occasion, if you find that--" Here, dear Christopher, I +recalcitrate, and decline printing the rest of the sentence; but as to +"_Things in General_"--I am somewhat smitten with the suggestion. 'Tis a +taking title--a roomy subject, in which one can flit about from gay to +grave, from lively to severe, according to the humour of the moment; and +since you really do not dislike the idea of an old contributor's gossip +on men and things, given you in his own way, I shall forthwith begin to +pour out my little thoughts as unreservedly as if you and I were sitting +together alone here. _Here_; but where? As I said before, at the +seaside; at my favourite resort--where (eschewing "Watering-places" with +lively disgust) I have spent many a happy autumn. When I first found it +out, I thought that the _lines_ had indeed _fallen_ to me in _pleasant +places_, and I still think so; but were I to tell the public, through +your pages, of this green spot, I suspect that by this time next year +the sweet solitude and primitive simplicity of the scene around me would +have vanished: greedy speculating builders, tempting the proprietors of +the soil, would run up in all directions vile, pert, vulgar, +brick-built, slate-roofed, Quakerish-looking abominations, exactly as a +once lovely nook in the Isle of Wight--Ventnor to wit--has become a mere +assemblage of eyesores, a mass of _un_favourable eruptions, so to +speak--Bah! I once used to look forward to the Isle of Wight with +springy satisfaction. Why, the infatuated inhabitants were lately +talking of having a railroad in the island!! + +I quitted Babylon, now nearly eleven weeks ago, for this said sweet +mysterious solitude. London I dearly, dearly love--except during the +months of August, September, and October, when it goes to sleep, and +lies utterly torpid. When I quitted it very early in August, London life +was, as it were, at dead-low water-mark. I was myself somewhat jaded +with a year's severe exertion in my lawful calling, (what that may be, +it concerns none of your readers to know,) and my family also were in +want of change of air and scene; so that, when the day of departure had +arrived, we were in the highest possible spirits. _Our_ house would--we +reflected--within a few hours put on the dismal, dismantled appearance +which almost every other house in the street had presented for several +weeks, and we, whirling away to ----; but first of all it occurred to me +to lay in a stock of our good friend Lee's port and sherry, (for where +were we to get drinkable wine at ----?)--ditto, in respect of six pounds +of real tea--not _quasi_ tea, _i.e._, raisin-stalks and +sloe-leaves--three bottles of whisky; four of Anchovy sauce; and four of +Reading or Harvey's sauce; two pounds of mustard, and some cayenne and +curry-powder: having an eye, in respect of this last, to--hot crab! a +delicious affair! Arrangements these which we are resolved always to +make hereafter, having repeatedly experienced the inconvenience of not +doing so. Having packed up every thing, and given special orders for the +_Times_ to be provided daily, and the _Spectator_ weekly, away we +go--myself, wife, three hostages to fortune, and three other persons, +and--bless him!--Tickler; Timothy Tickler--that sagacious, quaint, +affectionate, ugly-beautiful Skye terrier, which found its way to me +from you, my revered friend--and is now lying gracefully near me, +pretending--the little rogue--to be asleep; but really watching the +wasps buzzing round him, and every now and then snapping at them +furiously, unconscious of the probable consequences of his +success,--that, + + "If 'twere _done_, when 'tis done, + _Then_--'twere well it were done quickly!" + +By what railway we went, I care not to say--beyond this, that it belongs +to one of that exceedingly select class, the well-conducted railways; +and we were brought to the end of that portion of our journey--whether +one hundred, two hundred, or two hundred and fifty, or three hundred +miles, signifies nothing--safely and punctually arriving two minutes +earlier than our appointed time. Then, by means of steam-boats, cars, +and otherwise, _taliter processum est_, that about eight o'clock in the +evening we reached this place, which, in the brilliant moonlight, looked +even more beautiful than I had ever seen it. Near us on our left--that +is, within a few hundred feet--was the placid silvery sea, "its moist +lips kissing the shore," as Thomas Campbell expressed it; and while +supper was preparing, we went to the shore to enjoy its loveliness. Not +a breath of wind was stirring--scarce a cloud interfered with the moon's +serene effulgence. Lofty cliffs stretched on either side of us as we +faced the sea, casting a kindly gloom over part of the shore; and on +turning towards the land, we beheld nothing but solemn groves of trees, +and one sweet cottage peeping modestly from among them, as it were a +pearl glistening half-hid between the folds of green velvet, about +half-way up the fissure in the cliffs by which we had descended. Two or +three fishing-boats were moored under the cliff, and against one of them +was leaning the fisherman, not far from his snugly-sheltered hut, +pleasantly puffing at his pipe. Near him lay extended on the shingle, +grisly even in death, a monster--viz. a shark, the victim of the +patience, pluck, and tact, which had been exhibited that afternoon by +the fisherman and his son, who had captured the marine fiend in the bay, +at less than two miles' distance from the shore. 'Twas nine feet in +length, wanting one inch;--and _its_ teeth made your teeth chatter to +look at them. Tickler inspected him narrowly, having first cautiously +ascertained by his nose that all was right, and then exclaimed, "Bow, +wow, wow!"--thus showing that even as a live ass is better than a dead +lion, so a live terrier was better than a dead shark. [As I find that +several of these hideous creatures have been lately captured here, +_quaere_ the propriety of bathing, as I had intended, from a boat, a +little way of from the land? Hem!] The only visible occupants of those +solitary sands at that moment were myself, my wife and children, the +fisherman, Tickler, and the dead shark. I remained standing alone for a +few moments after my companions had turned their steps towards our +cottage, eager for supper, and gazed upon the sequestered loveliness +around me with a sense of luxury. What a contrast this to the scene of +exciting London life in which I had happened to bear a part on the +preceding evening! The following verses of Lord Rosscommon happened to +occur to me, and chimed in completely with the tone of my feelings:-- + + "Hail, sacred Solitude! from this calm bay + I view the world's tempestuous sea; + And with wise pride despise + All those senseless vanities: + With pity moved for others, cast away, + On rocks of hopes and fears I see them toss'd, + On rocks of folly and of vice I see them lost: + Since the prevailing malice of the great + Unhappy men, or adverse fate + Sunk deep into the gulfs of an afflicted state: + But more, far more, a numberless prodigious train, + Whilst virtue counts them, but, alas, in vain. + Fly from her kind embracing arms, + Deaf to her fondest call, blind to her greatest charms, + And sunk in pleasures and in brutish ease, + They in their shipwrecked state themselves obdurate please. + + * * * * * + + Here may I always, on this downy grass, + Unknown, unseen, my easy moments pass, + Till, with a gentle force, victorious Death + My solitude invade, + And stopping for a while my breath, + With ease convey me to a better shade!" + +But a sharpened appetite for supper called me away, and I quickly +followed my companions, casting a last glance around, and suppressing a +faint sigh, fraught with the reflection, "All this--_Deo volente_--will +be ours for nearly three months." Why _does_ one so often sigh on such +an occasion? + +You may conceive how we enjoyed our supper to the utmost, and then all +of us retired to our respective apartments, which were so brilliantly +lit by the moon, as to make our candles pale their ineffectual fires. I +stood for a long time gazing at the beautiful scenery visible from my +little dressing-room window, and then retired to rest, grateful to the +Almighty for our being allowed the prospect of another of these +periodical intervals of relaxation and enjoyment. To me they get more +precious every year; _they do_, decidedly. But why? Let me, however, +return to this question by-and-by: 'tis one which, with kindred +subjects, has much occupied my thoughts this autumn, in many a long, +solitary stroll over the hills, and along the seashore. + +I wish I could do justice to my cottage and its lovely locality. Yet why +should I try to set your's and your readers' teeth on edge? You have +some lovely nooks on your Scottish coast; but you cannot beat this. We +are about three hundred yards from the sea, of which our windows, on one +side, command a full view; while from all the others are visible dark, +high, steep downs, at so short a distance, that methinks, at this +moment, I can hear the faint--the very faint--tinkle of a sheep-bell, +proceeding from some of the little white tufts moving upon them. I am +now writing to you towards the middle of this stormy October. Its winds +have so much thinned the leaves of the huge elms which stand towards the +south-eastern parts of our house, that I can now, from my study-window, +distinctly see the church--very small, and very ancient--which, when +first we came, the thick foliage rendered totally invisible from this +point. My window looks directly upon the aforesaid downs, which at +present appear somewhat gloomy and desolate. Yet have they a certain air +of the wild picturesque, the effect of which is heightened by the +howling winds, which are sweeping down over them to us, moaning and +groaning through the trees, and round the gables of our house, (the +aspect of the sky being, at the same time, bleak and threatening.) How +it enhances my sense of snugness in the small antique, thoroughly +wind-and-weather tight room in which I am writing! A little to my left +is a vast natural hollow in the downs, from which springs a sort of +little hanging wood or copse, the mottled variegated hues of which have +a beautiful effect. Between me and the downs are small clumps of +trees--abrupt little declivities, thickly lined with shrubs, all touched +with the bronze tinting of the far-advanced autumn--two or three +intensely-green fields, in the nearest of which are browsing the two +cows belonging to the parsonage--which is, by the way, quite invisible +from any part of my house, though at only a hundred yards' or two +distance. Oh! 'tis a model--a love of a parsonage!--buried among lofty +trees, richly adorned with myrtles, laurel, and clematis--the +well-trimmed greensward immediately surrounding the long, low, thatched +house, which combines rural elegance, simplicity, and comfort in its +disposition--is bordered by spreading hydrangeas, dahlias, fuschias, +mignionette, and roses--ay, roses, even yet in full bloom! Its occupant +is my friend, a dignitary of the church, a scholar, a gentleman, and +"given to hospitality;" but I will say nothing more on this head, lest, +peradventure, I should offend his modesty, and disclose my locality. My +own house is more than sufficient for my family; 'tis a small +gentleman's cottage, delightfully situate, and containing every +convenience, (especially for a _symposium_,) and surrounded by a +luxuriant garden. Along one side of the house, and commanding an +extensive and varied sea and land view, runs a little terrace of "soft, +smooth-shaven green," made for a meditative man to pace up and down, as +I have done some thousand times--by noonday sunlight, by midnight +moonshine--buried in reverie, or charmed by contemplating the scenery +around, disturbed by no sound save the caw! caw! caw! from the parsonage +rookery, the _sough_ of the wind among the trees, and, latterly, the +sullen echoes of the sea thundering on the shore. Ah! what an +inexpressibly beautiful aspect is just given to the scene by that +transient gleam of saddening sunlight! + +I can really give no account of my time for the last eleven weeks, which +have slipped away almost unperceivedly--one day so like another, that +scarce any thing can be recorded of one which would not be applicable to +every other. Breakfast over, (crabs, lobster, or prawns, and honey +indigenous, the constant racy accessaries,) all the intermediate time +between that hour and dinner, (for I am no lunch-eater,) six P.M., is +spent in sauntering along the shore, poking among the rocks, strolling +over the clefts, and clambering up and wandering about the downs; and +occasionally in pilgrimages to distant and pretty little farm-houses, +(in quest of their products for our table,) generally accompanied by +Tickler, always by a book, sometimes with my wife and children; but most +frequently _alone_, chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancies, and +always avoiding, of set purpose, any other company (even were it here to +be had) in my rambles, than as is aforesaid. 'Tis ecstacy to me to sit +alone on a rock in a sequestered part of the shore, especially when the +tide is high, and equally whether it be rough or smooth, or calm or +stormy weather: for as to this last, I have discovered a friendly nook +in the rocks, big enough to hold me only, and deep enough to give me +shelter from the wind and rain, except when they beat right in upon me. +You may laugh, perhaps, but in this retreat I have spent many an entire +day--_i.e._ from ten A.M. to six P.M., sometimes pacing to and fro on +the sands, near my hole, generally bathing about mid-day, taking with me +always the _Times_ newspaper, (which I generally got from the old +postman, whom I met on my way down to the sands,) the current number of +_Maga_, or some favourite volume, being also frequent companions. I must +acknowledge, however, that the first was my special luxury, to which I +daily addressed myself with all the eager relish of a dog with a fresh +bone in an unfrequented place--and whom I conceive to be, so +circumstanced, in a state paradisiacal;--for, indeed, to such a pass are +matters come, that no man whom I know of can miss his newspaper without +a restless, uncomfortable feeling of having slipped a day behind the +world. Surely I may here, in passing, say a word or two about +NEWSPAPERS? + +And coming from one who, as you know, never had any thing to do with +newspapers, except as having been an eager and regular reader of them +for more than twenty years, I hope my testimony is worth having, when I +express my opinion that our newspaper press is a very great honour to +Great Britain, as well negatively in its abstinence from myriads of +tempting but objectionable topics, as well as positively in the varied +ability, the energy, accuracy, and amazing promptitude displayed in +dealing with the ever-changing and often-perplexing affairs of the +world. Inestimably precious is the unshackled freedom of these wondrous +organs of public opinion: infringe, though never so slightly, and but +for a moment, upon that independence, and you wound our LIBERTY in the +very apple of the eye. + +Let any government unjustifiably or oppressively attack one of our +newspapers--whatever may be its politics--how indifferent even soever +its character--with an evident intention to impair its independence--and +there is not a man in the country who would not suddenly feel a stifling +sensation, as if some attempt had been made upon his immediate personal +rights. The nation may be (though fancifully) compared to a huge +monster, with myriads of _tentacles_--or whatever else you may call +them--as its organ of existence and action, every single one of which is +so sensitive, that, if touched, the whole _creature_ is instantly roused +and in motion, as if you had touched them _all_, and stimulated _all_ +into simultaneous and frightful action. The public is this vast +creature--the press are these tentacles. Fancy our Prime Minister +pouncing oppressively and illegally upon the very obscurest provincial +paper going--say the "Land's End Farthing Illuminator!" Why, the whole +artillery of the press of the United Kingdom would instantly open upon +him; in doing so, being the true exponent of the universal fury of the +country--and in a twinkling where would be my Lord John, or would have +been Sir Robert, with the strongest government that ever was organised? +Extinguished, annihilated. Let some young and unreflecting Englishman +compare this state of things with that which is at this moment in +existence in Spain!--in which every newspaper daring to express itself +independently, though moderately, on a stirring political event of the +day, is instantly pounced upon by an infamous--a truly execrable +government, and silenced and suppressed; and its conductors fined and +imprisoned. We in this country cannot write or read the few words +conveying the existence of such a state of facts, without our blood +boiling. And is there no _other_ country where the press is +overawed--submits, however sullenly, to be dictated to by government, to +become the despicable organ of falsehood and deceit--and is accessible +to bribery and corruption? And what are we to say of the press of the +United States of America, pandering (with some bright exceptions) to the +vilest passions, the most depraved tastes of the most abandoned among +the people, and mercenary and merciless libellers? With scarcely more +than a single foul exception--and that, one regrets to say, in our +Metropolis, in which are published nearly forty newspapers--can any +person point out a newspaper, in town or country, indulging in, ribald +or obscene language or allusions, or--with two or three +exceptions--professed impiety, or slanderous attacks upon public or +private character. Some year or two ago there was manifested, in a +certain portion of the metropolitan press, a tendency downwards of this +sort; and how long was it before popular indignation rose, and--to use a +legal phrase--abated the nuisance? Can the chief perpetrator of the +enormities referred to, even now, after having undergone repeated legal +punishment, show himself any where in public without encountering groans +and hisses, and the risk even of personal violence? And did not the +occasion in question rouse the legislature itself into action, the +result of which was a law effectually protecting the public against +wicked newspapers, and, on the other hand, justly affording increased +protection to the freedom and independence of the virtuous part of the +press? I repeat the question--Who can point out more than one or two of +our newspapers which are morally discreditable to the country? No censor +of the press want we: the British public is its own censor. What a vast +amount of humbug, of fraud, of meanness, of corruption, of oppression, +of cruelty, and wickedness, as well in private as in public life--as +well in low as in high places--is not kept in check, and averted from +us, by the sleepless vigilance, the fearless interference, the ceaseless +denunciations of our public press! 'Tis a potent preventive to check +evil--or rather may be regarded as a tremendous tribunal, to which the +haughtiest and fiercest among us is amenable, before which, though he +may outwardly bluster, he inwardly quails, whose decrees have toppled +down headlong the most exalted, into obscurity and insignificance, and +left them exposed to blighting ridicule and universal derision. It is +true that this power may be, and has been, abused: that good +institutions and their officials have been unjustly denounced. But this +is rare: the vast power above spoken of exists not, except where the +press is unanimous, or pretty nearly so: and as the British people are a +just and truth-loving people, (with all their weaknesses and faults,) +the various organs of their various sections and parties rarely come to +approach unanimity, except in behalf of a good and just cause. Let the +most potent journal in the empire run counter to the feeling and opinion +of the country, if we could imagine a journal so obstinate and +shortsighted, and its voice is utterly ineffectual--the objects of its +deadliest animosity remain unscathed, though, it may be, for a brief +space exposed to the irritating and annoying consequences of publicity. +Let this country embark, for instance, in a just war--within a day or +two our press would have roused the enthusiasm of this country, even as +that of one man. Let it be an unjust war--and the government proposing +it, or appearing likely to precipitate it, bombarded by the artillery of +the press, will quickly be shattered to pieces. All our institutions +profit prodigiously by the wholesome scrutiny of the press. The Church, +the Army, the Navy, the Law, every department of the executive--down to +our police-offices, our prisons, our workhouses--in any and every of +them, tyranny, peculation, misconduct of every sort, is quickly +detected, and as quickly stopped and redressed. While conferring these +immense social benefits, how few are the evils, how rare--as I have +already observed--the misconduct to be set off! How very, very rare are +prosecutions for libel or sedition, or actions for libel, against the +press; and even when they do occur, how rare is the success of such +proceedings! I happen, by the way, to be able to give two instances of +the generous and gentlemanlike conduct of the conductors of two leading +metropolitan newspapers of opposite politics; one was of very recent +occurrence:--A hot-headed political friend of mine, contrary to my +advice, forwarded to _The ------_ a _fact_, duly authenticated, +concerning a person in high station, which, if it had been published, +would have exquisitely annoyed the party in question, whose politics +were diametrically opposed to those of the newspaper referred to, and +would also have afforded matter for party sarcasm and piquant gossip in +society. The only notice taken of my crestfallen friend's communication +was the following, in the next morning's "Notices to +Correspondents:"--"To [Greek: S].--The occurrence referred to is hardly +a fair topic for [or 'within the province of'] newspaper discussion." +The other case was one which occurred two or three years ago; and the +editor of the paper in question did not deign to take the least notice +whatever of the communication--not even acknowledging the receipt of it. +There is one feature of our leading London newspapers which always +appears to me interesting and remarkable: it is their leading article on +a debate, or on newly-arrived foreign intelligence. Let an important +ministerial speech be delivered in either House of Parliament on a very +difficult subject, and at a very late hour, or say at an early hour in +the morning; and on our breakfast-tables, the same morning, is lying the +speech and the editor's interesting and masterly commentary on +it--evincing, first, a thorough familiarity with the speech itself, and +with the difficult and often obscure and complicated topics which it +deals with; and, secondly, a skilful confutation or corroboration, +wherein it is difficult which most to admire, the logical acuteness, +dexterity, and strength of the writer, the vigour and vivacity of his +style, or the accuracy and extent of his political knowledge; and this, +too, after making large allowance for occasional crudity, perversion, +inconsistency, or flippancy. The same observation applies to their +articles, often equally interesting and masterly, on newly-arrived +foreign intelligence. Conceive the extent to which such a writer, such a +journal must influence public opinion, and gradually and unconsciously +bias the minds of even able and thinking readers. Engaged actively in +their own concerns all day long, they have too often neither the +inclination nor opportunity for sifting the sophistries, skilfully +intermingled with just and brilliant reasoning, and disguised under +splendid sarcasm and powerful invective. How, again, can they test the +accuracy of historical and political references and assertions, if +happening to lie beyond their own particular acquisitions and +recollections? The other side of the question, such a one is aware, will +probably be found in the _Chronicle_ or _Standard_, the _Times_ or +_Globe_, _Sun_ or _Herald_ respectively, whose business it is to be +continually on the watch for each other's lapses, to detect and expose +them. To what does all this lead but the formation of an indolent habit +of acquiescence in other men's opinions--a hasty, superficial +acquaintance with _pros_ and _cons_, upon even the gravest question +propounded by other men--a heedless, universal _taking upon trust_, +instead of that salutary jealousy, vigilance, and independence, which +insists in every thing, upon weighing matters in the balances of one's +own understanding? Many a man is reading these sentence who knows that +they are telling the truth; and doubtless he will be for the future upon +his guard, resolved not to surrender his independence of judgement, or +suffer his faculties to decay through inaction.--But, bless me! this +glorious morning is slipping away. I hear Tickler scratching at the +door. I shut up my writing-case, don my coat, hat, and walking-stick, +and away to the shore. Scarcely have I got upon the sands, when behold, +floating majestically past me, at little more than a mile's distance, +the magnificent _St Vincent_ (one hundred and twenty guns.) There's a +line-of-battle ship for you! I take off my hat involuntarily in the +presence of our Naval Majesty. I gaze after her with those feelings and +thoughts of fond pride and exultation which gush over the heart of an +Englishman looking at one of HIS MEN-OF-WAR! Well--superb St Vincent, +you have now rounded the corner, and are out of sight; but I remain +riveted to the spot with folded arms, and ask of our naval rulers, with +a certain stern anxiety, a question, which I shall throw into the +striking language of Mr Canning--"Are _you_, my Lords and Gentlemen, +_silently concentrating the force to be put forth on an adequate +occasion_?" Who can tell how soon that adequate occasion will present +itself? Is the peace of Europe at this moment so profound, is our own +position so satisfactory and impregnable, that we may wisely and safely +dismiss all anxiety from our minds? Why, has not, within these few days +past, an event occurred which is calculated to give rise to very serious +anxiety in the minds of those feeling an interest in public affairs? I +allude to the Duc de Montpensier's marriage with the Infanta Donna +Luisa, which I have just learned, was actually carried into effect at +Madrid on the 10th instant, in the teeth of the stern and repeated +protest of Great Britain. I do not take every thing for gospel which +appears on this subject in the newspapers, from which alone we have +hitherto derived all our knowledge of this affair; and, with a liberal +allowance in respect of their excusable anxiety to make the most of what +they regard as a godsend at this vapid period of the year, I would +suspend my judgment till the country shall have had full and authentic +information concerning the real state of the case. I hope it will prove +that I for one have altogether mistaken the aspect and bearings of the +affair. Discarding what may possibly turn out to be greatly exaggerated +or wholly unfounded, I take it nevertheless for granted, that, (1st,) +the youngest son of the reigning King of the French was, on the 10th +instant, married to Donna Luisa, the sister of the reigning Queen of +Spain, and heiress-presumptive to her crown; (2dly,) That this was done +after and in spite of the distinct emphatic protest of the British +government, conveyed to those of both Spain and France; (3dly,) That the +British government and the British ambassadors at Madrid and Paris had +been kept in profound ignorance of the whole affair up to the moment of +the annunciation to the world at large of the fact, that the marriage +had been finally--irrevocably determined upon. I think it, moreover, +highly probable, that (1st,) this marriage is regarded by the people of +Spain with sullen dislike and distrust; (2dly,) that there has been +cruel coercion upon the two royal girls--for such they are--the result +of an intrigue between their Mother, the notorious Christina, and Louis +Philippe; (3dly,) that an express or implied promise was personally +given, during the last year, at the Chateau d'Eu, by the French king and +his minister, to our queen and her minister, that this event should +_not_ take place;--and all this done while England was reposing in +confident and gratified security, upon the supposed "_cordial +understanding_" between herself and France; in contemptuous disregard of +England's title to be consulted in such an affair, founded upon her +stupendous sacrifices and exertions on behalf of the peace and liberty +of Spain, and in deliberate defiance--as it appears to me--of the treaty +of Utrecht! What is Louis Philippe about? On what principles are we to +account for his conduct? Has he counted the cost of obtaining his +immediate object? Has he calculated the consequences with respect to +France and to Europe generally? Is he prepared, at the proper time, to +demonstrate, that the step which he has taken is consistent with his +character for sincerity and straight-forwardness--with his personal +honour and welfare--with the honour and welfare of his family and of +France? That he has not violated any pledge, or infringed any treaty? +That England is not warranted in considering herself aggrieved, +slighted, insulted? That he could have had no sinister object in view, +and that his conduct has been consistent with his loud professions of +friendship and respect for this country and its sovereign? Let him ask +himself the startling question, whether he can afford to lose our +friendship and support towards himself or his family and dynasty, in his +rapidly declining years--or further, provoke our settled anger and +hostility? England is frank and generous, but somewhat stern and +sensitive in matters of honour and fidelity; and none is abler than +Louis Philippe to appreciate the consequences of her resentment. Is he +aware of the altered feeling towards him which his recent conduct has +generated in this country? That his name, when coupled with that +conduct, is mentioned only with the contempt and disgust due to gross +insincerity, selfishness, and treachery; and that, too, in a country +which, up to within a few months ago, gave him such unequivocal and +gratefully-recognised tokens of respect and affection? Whenever he +escaped from the hand of the assassin, where was the event hailed with +such profound sympathy as here? _Now_, his name suggests to us only that +of his execrable father, and reminds us that the blood running in his +veins is that of Philip Egalite. Surely the equipoise of European +interests has been seriously disturbed, either through the insane +recklessness of an avaricious monarch, bent on enriching every member +of his family, at all hazards, or in furtherance of a deep and +long-considered scheme, having for its exclusive and sinister object the +aggrandisement of his family and nation. Had he come to a secret +understanding beforehand with America, or any European power, to support +him throughout the consequences which might ensue? Was it his object to +crush English influence in the Peninsula, and render it at no distant +period a mere French province, and give him a right or pretext for +interference? What will the Spanish nation say to what he has done? Has +he rightly estimated the Spanish character, and foreseen the +consequences of what he has done, in perpetrating an _abduction_ of +their Infanta? What prospects has he opened for Spain? Has he considered +what a line of policy is now open to Great Britain, with reference to +Spain? Whether the northern powers of Europe will _announce_ +dissatisfaction at this proceeding remains to be seen. They cannot +_feel_ satisfaction, unless their relations and policy towards this +country and France are assuming a new character. I should like to know +what M. Guizot really thinks on all these subjects, and am curious to +hear what he will say--or rather suffer his royal master to coerce him +into saying--when the time shall have arrived for public explanation. I +trust that it will speedily appear that our representatives in Spain and +France have acted, as became them, with promptitude, prudence, and +spirit, and that neither our late nor present foreign Secretary has been +guilty of neglect or bungling diplomacy, so as to place us now in a +position of serious embarrassment, or ridiculous inability for action. +If the contrary be the case--that is, if no such compromise of our +national interests have occurred, and we are now free to say and do what +we may consider consistent with our rights and character, it is to be +hoped that our government, by whomsoever carried on, will act on the one +hand with dignified and uncompromising determination, and on the other +with the utmost possible circumspection. They have to deal with a very +subtle and dangerous intriguer in Louis Philippe, who seems to have +chosen a moment for the development of his plans most convenient for +himself--viz., when our Parliament was newly prorogued, not to meet +again till he should have had the benefit of the chapter of accidents. +All will, however, assuredly come out; and if the main features of the +case prove to have been already shadowed forth truly, I do not think +that there will be found two opinions in this country upon the subject +of Louis Philippe and his Montpensier marriage. It is represented by, +_one_ of our journals as an event, the hubbub about which "will soon +blow over;" but I do not think so--it appears, on the contrary, pregnant +with very serious and far-stretching consequences--the first of which is +the undoubted conversion of the "cordial understanding" between England +and France, into a very "cordial _mis_understanding,"--with all its +embarrassing and threatening incidents. Our diplomatic relations are now +chilled and disordered; and the worst of it is, not by a temporary, but +_permanent_ cause--one which, the more we contemplate it, the more +distinctly we perceive the consequences which it was _meant_ should +follow from it. The bearing of England towards France has become one of +stern and guarded caution. In all human probability, Louis Philippe will +never look again upon the face of our Queen Victoria, or partake of her +hospitalities, or be permitted to pour his dulcet deceit into her ears. +He may affect to regard with satisfaction and exultation the fact of his +having become the father-in-law of the heiress-presumptive to the throne +of Spain: but I do not think that he can really regard what he has just +accomplished otherwise than with rapidly-increasing misgiving. "A few +months," to adopt the language of one of our most powerful journalists, +"will now probably show us how far Louis Philippe has succeeded in a +feat which foiled the undying ambition of Louis le Grand, and the +unexampled might of Napoleon; and what is the real value of the spoil +for which he has not hesitated to imperil a thirty years' peace, and +convulse the relations of Europe?" Let me return, however, to the topic +which led me into this subject, and express again my deep anxiety for +the efficient management of our navy: adding a significant fact +disclosed by the last number of _La Presse_--which announces that the +Minister of Marine has just concluded contracts for ship-timber to be +supplied to the ports of Toulon, Cherbourg, Brest, L'Orient, and +Rochefort, to the extent of upwards of 25,000,000 francs, (_i.e._ +upwards of a million sterling.) Does Louis Philippe meditate leaving to +France the destructive legacy of a war with England, as a hoped-for +prevention of the civil war which he may expect to ensue upon his death? + + * * * * * + +If I were to write a diary here, it would be after the following sort:-- + +_Monday._--Another shark! Mercy on us! What a brute! But not so big as +the other. + +_Tuesday._--We had capital honey this morning to breakfast; eightpence +per lb.--freshly expressed from the wax, and got from Granny Jolter's +farm. + +_Wednesday._--My _Times_ did not come by to-day's post, and I feel I +don't know how. + +_Thursday._--The "hot crab" which we had at the parsonage, where we +dined to-day, was exquisite. The way it is done is--the whole of the +inside, and the claws, having been mixed together with a little rich +gravy, (sometimes cream is used;) curry-_paste_, not curry-powder, and +very fine fried crumbs of bread, is put into the shell of the crab and +then _salamandered_. If _my_ cook can do it on my return to town, I will +give her half-a-crown. + +_Friday._--Nothing whatever happened; but it looked a little like rain, +over the downs, about four o'clock in the afternoon. + +_Saturday._--A day of incidents. Ten o'clock A.M.--The coast-guard man +told me, that about five o'clock this morning, as he was coming along +---- cliff, a young fox popped out of a thicket close at his feet, +looked "quite steady-like at him for about five seconds," and then ran +back into the furze. + +Eleven o'clock.--Saw a Cockney "gent" on a walking tour, the first of +the sort that I have seen in these parts, and he looked frightened at +the solitariness of the scene. Every thing that he had on seemed new: a +dandified shining hat; a kind of white pea-jacket; white trowsers; +fawn-coloured, gloves; little cloth boots tipped with shining French +polished leather; a very slight umbrella covered with oil-skin; and a +little telescope in a leathern case, slung round his waist. He fancied, +as he passed me, that he had occasion to use a gossamer white +pocket-handkerchief, with a fine border to it; for he took it out of an +outside breast-pocket, and unfolded it deliberately and jauntily. Whence +came he, I wonder? He cannot walk four miles further, poor fellow! for +evidently walking does not agree with him: yet he must, or sit down and +cry in this out-of-the-way place. + +Two o'clock.--Tickler caught a little crab among the rocks. It got hold +of his nose, and bothered him. + +Four o'clock.--As I was sitting on a tumble-down sort of gate, talking +earnestly with my little boy, I heard some vehicle approaching--looked +up as it turned the corner of the road, and behold--Her Gracious Majesty +Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and one or two other persons, without +outriders or any sort of state whatever! She was dressed exceedingly +plain, and was laughing heartily at something said to her by a +well-known nobleman who walked beside the carriage. I never saw her +Majesty looking to so much advantage: in high spirits, with a fine fresh +colour, and her hair a _little_ deranged by the wind. She and her little +party seemed surprised at seeing any one in such an out-of-the-way +place, and her Majesty and the Prince returned our obeisances with +particular courtesy. + +Half-past Five.--Nick Irons met me with a large viper which he had just +killed, after it had flown at his dog. Is there any difference between +vipers and adders? + +A quarter past Six.--On arriving at home, found a hot crab, which had +been sent in to us, as an addition to our dinner, from the parsonage. I +lick my lips while thinking of it. I prefer the cream to the gravy. + +Half-past six.--Find I have got only three bottles of port and two of +sherry left! + +Nine o'clock.--My four gallon cask of elderberry wine, made for me--and +capitally made, too--by one of the villagers, came home. We are to put a +quart of brandy in it, and "take care it don't _forment_." I fancy I see +ourselves and the children regaling ourselves with it on the winter's +evenings, in town. Altogether it has cost me twelve shillings and +sixpence! + +Quarter past Nine.--Children go to bed; I had the candles brought in, +resolved to read the new number of the ----; but fell asleep directly, +and never woke till half-past twelve o'clock, when I knew not where I +was; being in darkness--and alone. Really a journal of this sort is, +upon consideration, so instructive and entertaining, that I wish to know +whether you would like me to keep one during my next sojourn at the +seaside and publish it in _Maga_? I would undertake not to exceed three +numbers of _Maga_, each Part to contain only twenty pages. + + * * * * * + +MISS STRICKLAND _v._ LORD CAMPBELL. + +Will his lordship favour the world with some reply to this clever and +laborious lady's accusation contained in her letter to the _Times_? That +letter is exceedingly specific and pointed in the charge of literary +larceny, and committed under circumstances which every consideration of +candour, gallantry, and literary character, concurs in rendering Lord +Campbell's complete exculpation a matter of serious consequence to his +reputation. Has he, or has he not, designedly appropriated to his own +use, as the fruits of his own original research, the results of a +literary fellow-labourer's meritorious and pains-taking original +investigation--that fellow-labourer, too, being a lady? I sincerely hope +that Lord Campbell's first literary attempt will prove not to be thus +discreditably signalized. His book _is yet_ unnoticed in _Maga_. + + * * * * * + +According to that good old intelligible English saying, it is this +morning _raining cats and dogs_. There's an end, Tickler, to our +intended eighteen-mile walk (thither and back) to the lighthouse, the +machinery of which I was very anxious to explain to you. _Bow, wow, wow, +wow!_ indeed! I know what you mean, you little sinner! You want to be +after the rabbits in yonder thickets, and you mean to intimate that you +can go perfectly well by yourself, don't mind the rain, and will come +safely home when you have finished your sport. Don't look so earnestly +at me, and whine so piteously. By the way, do you call yourself a vermin +dog? and yet every hair of your shaggy coat stood on end the other day, +when I turned out for you the two pennyworth of mice--_mice!_--which I +had bought for you from Nick Irons? What would you have done if a RAT +were to meet you? Bah, you little wretch! Where's your spirit? Refined, +and refined away by breeding, eh? What would you have done if you were +to be allowed to go off now, and were to rout out accidentally a +hedgehog, as _Hermit_ did yesterday? You may well whine! He's five times +your size, eh? But I've seen a terrier that would tackle a hedgehog, and +bring him home, too--your own second cousin, Tory, poor dear dog--peace +to his little ashes. Besides, to return to the rabbits--in spite of all +your snuffing and smelling, and scampering, and routing about, you never +turned up a rabbit yet! And even our kitten has only to rise and curve +her little back, and you slink away, like an arrant coward as you +are--Well!--come along, doggy! you're a good little creature, with all +your faults--these black eyes of yours, with your little erect ears, +look as if you had really understood all that I have been saying to +you--so I really think--and yet--pour! pour! pour!--[Enter Emily.] + +_Emily._--Papa, Miss ---- says that we have said _all_ our lessons, and +_will_ you let us have Tickler to play with? + +_Tickler._--Bow--wow--wow!--Bow, wow!--Bow! bow! bow!--[Running up and +scampering towards her, and they go away together.] + +_Servant._--Brown has called with some lobsters, sir--(shows them)--two +very nice ones, and a small crab--only fifteenpence the lot. + +_Self._--Very well--buy 'em. + +_Wife._--(Entering)--Lobsters and crabs again! Really one would think +that you had had a surfeit of them long ago. + +_Servant._--Brown says, sir, he mayn't be able to get any more for some +time, the wind's so high. + +_Wife._--Oh, buy them, of course! Every thing is bought that comes here! +That's eleven crabs this week! + +_Self._--What have you got there, my Xantippe? + +_Wife._--I wish you would drop that odious name. + +_Self._--What have you there, my Angel? + +_Wife._--No, _that_ won't do either. + +_Self._--Well, Fanny, then--what have you got there? + +_Wife._--Why, 'tis the new work of Mr Dickens--_Dombey & Son._ What an +odd name for a tale! + +_Self._--Why, how did you get it? + +_Wife._--Mrs ---- (at the parsonage) has just got a packet of books from +town, and has lent us this, as it is a wet day, till the evening, and +they have got lots to read at present. + +_Self._--I am very much obliged to them. + +_Wife._--So am I, for I want to read it first; manners, if you please. + +_Self._--Come, come, Fanny, I really want it; I've a good deal of +curiosity. + +_Wife._--So have I, too! + +_Self._--Well, at any rate, let me look at the plates. + +_Wife._--Certainly; and suppose, by the way, as I've no letter to +write--suppose I sit down with you, and read it to you! 'Twill save your +eyes, and I'm all alone in the other room. + +_Self._--Very well. [Madame shuts the door; seats herself on the +miniature sofa; I poke the fire; and she begins.] Being called away soon +afterwards on some domestic exigency, she leaves me--and I read for +myself. You said that you should like to know my opinion of Mr Dickens' +new story, and I read it with interest, and some care. 'Tis exactly what +I had expected; containing clear evidence of original genius, disfigured +by many most serious, and now plainly incurable, blemishes. The first +thing striking me, on perusing this new performance, is, that its author +writes, as it were, from amidst a thick theatrical mist. Cursed be the +hour--should say a sincere admirer of Mr Dickens' genius--that he ever +set foot within a theatre, or became intimate with theatrical people. +You fancy that every scene, incident, and character, is conceived with a +view to its _telling_--from the stage. This suggestion seems to me to +afford a key to most of the prominent faults and deficiencies of Mr +Dickens as an imaginative writer; the lamentable absence of that +simplicity and sobriety which invest the writings, for instance, of +Goldsmith with immortal freshness and beauty. With what truthful +tenderness does _such_ a writer depict nature!--how different is his +treatment from the spasmodic, straining, extravagant, vulgarizing +efforts of the play-wright! The one is delicate and exquisite limning; +the other, gross daubing:--the one faithfully represents; the other +monstrously caricatures. This is the case with Mr Dickens; and it is +intolerably provoking that it should be so; for he has the penetrating +eye and accurate pencil, which--properly disciplined and trained--might +have produced pictures worthy to stand beside those of the greatest +masters. As it is, you might imagine his sketches to be the result of +the combined simultaneous efforts of two artists--one the delicate +limner, the other the vulgar dauber and scene-painter above spoken of. +He has invention and skill enough to produce an interesting character; +and place him in a situation favourable for developing his +eccentricities, his failings, his excellences--in a word, his +peculiarities. Well; he prepares his reader's mind--sets before you an +interesting, a moving, a mirth-stirring occasion, when--bah!--all is +ruined; the spasmodic straining after effect becomes instantly and +painfully visible; and the personage before you is made to talk to the +level of a theatrical audience, especially pit and gallery--and in +unison with "gingerbeer, apples, oranges, and sodawater" associations +and recollections. Let me give two striking instances, occurring at the +very opening of "_Dombey and Son_." The first is the colloquy at pp. 3, +4; the other at p. 9. The former presents you Dr Parker Peps, a +fashionable accoucheur, and the humble admiring family medical man--the +occasion being a momentary absence of both from the clamber of a lady +dying in childbed, Mrs Dombey; and can any one of correct taste or +feeling bear in mind that occasion, and fail of being revolted by the +drivel put into the mouth of the consulting accoucheur?--who, when +telling Mr Dombey of the mortal peril in which his wife overhead is +lying--apologises to him for speaking of her as "_Her Grace the +Duchess!_" "_Lady Cankaby_," "_The Countess of Dombey_:" his obsequious +companion accounting for such lapses on the score of his "West End +practice." Is this nature? Is it actual life? Any thing approaching to +either? If not, what is it meant for? Why, to tickle a Christmas +audience at one of the minor playhouses! The other (these are only two +out of many) is the character of Mr Chick, an old fool, who has a habit +of whistling and humming droll tunes on the most solemn occasions, +interrupting and interlarding conversation with "_Right tol loor-rul_," +"_A cobbler there was_," "_Rumpti-iddity bow, wow, wow!_" is it not +certain that Mr Dickens here had his eye on Tilbury or Bedford enacting +the part? And for no other purpose whatever is this precious character +introduced than to hit off this very original peculiarity! From the same +theatrical habit of mind, it happens that Mr Dickens cannot carry on his +stories in an even, straightforward course, but presents us with a +series of "scenes!"--utterly marring the effect and annihilating the +truthfulness and reality of the whole; _e. g._ the jarring interruption +of this story at a touching and interesting moment--at the moment of the +two doctors and Mr Dombey's return to poor Mrs Dombey's death-bed, when +the reader _feels_ that they are almost instantly to witness her death, +by the introduction of two tiresome twaddlers, reproductions of old +stock characters of the author, Mrs Chick and Miss Tox, whose +descriptions and utterly irrelevant conversation detain us for nearly +three pages. At length these motley "stagers"--if I may be allowed the +word--are grouped round the poor lady's death-bed; and let me here say, +that in my opinion the character and situation of poor Mrs Dombey are +both exquisitely conceived, and appeal to the deepest sympathies of the +heart; but, alas! the perverse, provoking, incorrigible writer will not +let us enjoy "the luxury of grief;" but while we are bending over her +death-bed, our attention is called off to a remarkably interesting and +appropriate circumstance--two watches of two of the doctors "seem in the +silence to be _running a race_!" * * "they seem to be racing faster!!" * +* "The race, in the ensuing pause, was fierce and furious. The watches +seemed to jostle, and to trip each other up!!!" and a moment or two +afterwards the lady expires, under very moving circumstances, touched +with perfect delicacy and truthfulness. Would the intrusion of a sow +into a lovely flower-garden be more shocking or disgusting to the +beholder? Again, in the first page, we are presented to Mr Dombey, +gazing with unutterable feelings at his newly-born son, "forty-eight +minutes of age;" and Mr Dickens tastefully suggests the comparison of +the little creature, which is "somewhat _crushed and spotty_ in his +general effect!!" whose mother is at that moment in dying agonies in +that very room, to "a _muffin_, which it was essential to toast brown +while it was very new!!" And a few lines forward, the posture of the +innocent unconscious little being suggests the brutal idea of a +_prize-fighter_--his "little fists, curled up and clenched, seemed, in +his feeble way, to be SQUARING AT EXISTENCE for having come upon him so +unexpectedly!!!" Was ever any thing more monstrous? To find a gentleman +of Mr Dickens' great genius, and experience in literary composition, +sinning in this way, is provoking beyond all measure. The above +abominations to be perpetrated by him, who at page seventeen can present +us with so exquisite a touch as the following:--He is describing the +blank appearance of the dismantled house, immediately after the funeral +of the poor, neglected, and heart-broken lady. "The dead and buried lady +was awful, in a picture frame of ghastly bandages. Every gust of wind +that rose, brought eddying round the corner, from the neighbouring mews, +some fragments of the straw that had been strewn before the house when +she was ill; mildewed remains of which were still cleaving to the +neighbourhood, and these being always drawn by some invisible attraction +to the threshold of the dirty house to let opposite, addressed a dismal +eloquence to Mr Dombey's window." The thirty-two pages of this first +number contain very many provocatives to unfavourable criticism. They +bristle all over with mannerisms--abound with grotesque, unseemly, +extravagant comparisons and personation, (one of Mr Dickens' chiefly +besetting sins)--many of the scenes contain truth and humour, smothered +and lost by prolixity, incident and character diluted by a tedious and +excessive minuteness of description; and it is to be feared that several +of the characters will bear a painfully strong resemblance to some of +their predecessors in Mr Dickens' other stories. Mr Dickens may feel +angry at my plainness; and, in return, I must express my fears that he +is not aware of the extent of injury which has been inflicted upon him +by _clique-homage_--the flattery of fluent, incompetent admirers--the +misconstrued silence of critics of experienced taste and refinement. +Does Mr Dickens really consider the light in which his writings, +containing such faults as those above adverted to, must be viewed by the +upper and thinking classes of society--persons of cultivated taste, of +refinement, of piercing critical capacity, who disdain to enter the +little, babbling, vulgar, narrow-minded circles miscalled "literary?" + +But I have done. Mr Dickens has been magnificently patronised by the +public, who--I being one of them--have a right to speak plainly to, and +of a gentleman whose writings have so large a circulation at home and +abroad; who has no excuse, that I am aware of, for negligence or +inattention; who is bound to consider the effect of example on the minds +of tens of thousands of young and inexperienced readers who may take all +for gospel that he chooses to tell them--and to be very very guarded as +to moral object or effect--if moral object or effect his writings have, +and be not intended solely to provoke, by their amusing and farcical +absurdity and extravagance, an idle and forgotten laugh. I have no +personal acquaintance with Mr Dickens, and have written in an impartial +spirit, paying homage to his undoubted genius, denouncing his literary +faults--for his own good, and the advantage of his readers, and of the +literary character of the country. + +Speaking of the literary character of the country, puts me in mind of +the intention which I had formed some months ago, of writing an article +upon the prevalent style of literary composition. May I take _this_ +opportunity of making a few observations upon that subject? And yet I +must first admit, that my own style in writing this letter is far more +loose, and inexact, and slovenly, than ought to be tolerated in even +such a letter as this. Herein, however, I only imitate Dr Whately, who, +on arriving at that part of his "rhetoric" which deals with public +speaking, starts with an admission that he himself does not possess the +qualifications, the acquisition of which he proceeds to enforce upon +others. + +The writing of the present day has many distinguishing excellences and +faults. The most conspicuous of the latter is, perhaps, a want of +simplicity and steadiness of style. Force--startling energy--are too +uniformly aimed at by some; others affect continual sarcasm and irony, +whatever may be the nature of the occasion. One class of writers are so +priggishly curt and epigrammatic as to throw over their lucubrations an +uniform air of small impertinence: it would be easy to point out, I +think, an incessant illustration of this "school," if one may use the +word. Others uniformly affect the trenchant and tremendous, with very +big words, and awful accumulations of them. Some seem to aim at a +picturesque ruggedness of style--defying rule, and challenging +imitation. Very many writers of all classes are so parenthetical and +involved in their sentences, that by the time that they have got to the +end of a sentence, both they and their readers have forgotten where they +set out from, and how the plague they got where they are: looking back +breathless and dismayed at a confused series of hyphens entangled among +all sorts of exceptions, reservations, and qualifications. This fault, +and a grievous one it is, is daily illustrated, and by writers, who, by +their carelessness in this matter, do themselves incalculable injustice, +rendering apparently turbid the clearest possible stream of reasoning, +marring the effect of the most beautiful and apposite illustration, and +irritating and confusing the reader. In my opinion, this fault of our +public writers is to be traced to the influence of Lord Brougham's +style. He has, and always had, a prodigious command of nervous and +apposite language, always writing or speaking with a violent _impetus_ +upon him; and yet, while crashing along, his versatile and suggestive +faculties hurried him incessantly from one side to the other, hither and +thither--anticipating _this_, qualifying that, guarding against _this_, +reserving that--extruding undesirable implications and inferences, with +a sort of wild rapidity and energy--adopting ever-varying fanciful +equivalent expressions--crowding, in fact, a dozen considerable +sentences into one turbid monster. Yet it must be owned, that in all +this he seldom misses his way; his original _impetus_ carries him +headlong on to the point at which he had aimed. Not so with his +imitators. They start with an imaginary equality of force, of fulness, +and variety; but forthwith rush into a strange higgle-piggledy, +helter-skelter sort of imposing wordiness, equally bewildering and +stupifying to their readers and themselves. No man can fall into this +sort of fault who is habituated to leisurely distinctness of thought: he +will conceive beforehand with deliberate purpose, and that, _caeteris +paribus_, will induce a clear, close, and energetic expression of his +thoughts, preventing misapprehension, and convincing even a strongly +prejudiced opponent. Shorten your sentences, gentlemen; take one thing +at a time; put every thing in its proper place; attempt not to _put a +quart into a pint pot_; do not write in such a desperate hurry, nor +attempt to hit half-a-dozen birds with one stone. Another prevalent vice +is a sickening redundancy of classical quotation and allusion. Many of +our newspaper writers, and among them some of the very cleverest, cannot +contemplate any topic which they propose to discuss, without its +suggesting, as if by a sudden, secret sort of elective affinity, +previous events and occurrences of past ages. Out tumble scraps from +Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Terence, Plautus, Lucretius, with their prose +companions; and this, too, be it observed, almost always _Roman_;--it +requires a certain hardihood to adopt the Greek language in modern +composition. In short, one really thinks himself entitled to infer, from +this extravagant amount of quotation and allusion, as well ancient as +modern, that its perpetrators are very young: red-hot from their +classical studies, panting to exhibit the extent of their acquisitions, +the scholarly ease and precision with which they can apply the most +recondite passages and allusions to the fresh occurrences of the moment. +One is apt to suspect that one great motive for acquiring, extending, +and retaining knowledge, is the simple desire to exhibit the possession +of it. But all this is very vain and foolish. It looks stupidly +ridiculous to persons of experienced judgment. An occasional and very +sparing use of this sort of accessory is always desirable, often +marvellously graceful and happy; an excess of it decisively indicates +pedantic puerility, ostentation, and a grievous deficiency of strength +and originality. It is likely, moreover, to have a very unpleasant and +irritating effect, when apparent in popular compositions--in leading or +other articles in newspapers, for instance--viz. on occasions where the +persons addressed, or at least very many of them, do not comprehend or +appreciate the allusion or quotation. A really classical turn of mind is +usually accompanied by too fine and correct a taste to admit of these +eccentricities and vagaries. The English language is a very fine +language, my friends; and a very, _very_ fine and rare thing it is to be +able to use it with freedom, and purity, and power. Another very +censurable kindred habit of many of our public writers is, the +interlarding their compositions with abominable scraps of French, and +even of Italian. Faugh!--is not this adding insult to injury, in dealing +with the noble language of our country? + + * * * * * + +A week has elapsed since I penned the foregoing sentences, and during +that week only two things have occurred to me worthy of noticing. First, +a couple (apparently newly married) put up for a few hours at the little +inn in the village. They were both of a certain age. _He_ wore a +ponderous watch-chain and seals; she also was sufficiently bedizened +after the same fashion. Twice I encountered them. First, on the +seashore, where they took their seat very coolly on the rock next +adjoining _my_ old perch, which I was then occupying. After some +considerable swagger, my gentleman produced a newspaper from his pocket, +and distinctly said to his fair companion--"What an uncommon good thing +the Illus_trious London News_ is for the lower classes!" Second, the +worthy couple were walking together, at a subsequent period of the day, +laden with provender for an open-air lunch--with sandwiches and a black +bottle, and with a matter-of-fact air, turned into a beautifully +disposed rustic walk, having palpable _indicia_ of privacy--it +belonging, in fact, to the residence of a nobleman. My lord's gentleman, +or gentleman's gentleman, happening to meet them, (I passing at the +time,) asked them, with great courtesy of manner, if they were aware +"that that was private property?" "Well," replied our male friend +angrily, "and what if it is? I thought an Englishman might go any where +he pleased in his own country, _provided he didn't do any mischief_. But +come along, my dear," giving his arm to his flustered companion, "times +are come to a pretty pass, aren't they?" With this, the offended +dignities retraced their steps, but prodigiously slowly, and I saw no +more of them.--The other occurrence was a dream, as odd, as obstinate in +adherence to my memory. Methought I went one day to church to hear a +revered elderly relative of mine preach. The church was crammed with an +attentive and solemnly-disposed audience, whom the preacher was +addressing very calmly but seriously, without gown or bands, but wearing +two neckerchiefs, one resting upon the topmost edge of the other, and +being of blue silk, with white spots! Though aware of this slight +departure from clerical costume, it occasioned me no surprise, but I +listened with serious attention. 'Twas only when I had awoke that the +fantastic absurdity of the thing became apparent. + + * * * * * + +The "British Association" has just been making, at Southampton, as I see +by the papers, one of its annual exhibitions of childish inanity. This +sort of thing appears to me to be humiliating to the country, in respect +of so many men of real scientific eminence, like Sir John Herschel and +Dr Faraday, and one or two others, permitting themselves to be trotted +out on such occasions for the amusement of the vulgar, and, in doing so, +countenancing the herd of twaddling ninnies who figure on these +occasions as spouters, or patronising listeners to the fluent confident +sciolists of the various "sections." I can fancy one of these personages +carefully bottling up against the day of display, some such precious +discovery as that of "a peculiar appearance in the flame of a +candle!"--which actually formed the subject of a paper at the last +meeting; or, "on certain magnetic phenomena attending corns on the human +foot,"--which latter, after a stiff debate as to the propriety of +publishing it, is not, it seems, at present, to edify the world at +large. The whole thing is resolvable into a paltry love of lionising, +and being lionised--of enacting the part of prodigies before pretty +admiring women, and simpering simpletons of the other sex. 'Tis an +efflorescence of that vicious system which of late years continually +manifests itself in the shape of flaunting _reunions_, _soirees_, +_conversazioni_, &c. &c., where is to be heard little else than senile +garrulity, the gabble of ignorant eulogy, or virulent envious +depreciation and detraction. 'Tis true that distinguished scientific +foreigners now and then make their appearance at the meetings of the +Association; but there can be little doubt that they come over in utter +ignorance of the really trifling character of those meetings, misled by +the eager exaggerations of their friends and correspondents in this +country. Can you conceive any thing more preposterous in its way, than +the chartering of the steam-boat by the Association, to convey its +members from Southampton to the Isle of Wight on a geological +expedition? Methinks I see the crowd of "venerable boys"--to adopt the +bitterly-humorous language of the _Times_--landing at Black Gang Chine, +each with his bag slung round him, and hammer in hand, dispersing about, +rap! rap! rap!--chick! chick! chick!--and fondly fancying that they are +effectually learning, or teaching, geology, in the hour or two thus +idled away! _Can_ any thing be more exquisitely absurd? Bah! all this +might be harmless and pleasant enough, in the way of a holiday +recreation for school-boys or girls; but for grave, grown-up men--peers, +baronets, knights, doctors, F.R.S., F.A.S.'s, &c. &c.,--the thing really +does not bear dwelling upon. + + * * * * * + +"I can have no hesitation, to whatever amount of obloquy, or of +forfeited friendship, the avowal may expose me, in stating the +conclusion, which anxious and repeated consideration of the state of +Ireland has at length forced upon me, (_Cheers._) It is, that the time +has arrived for reconsidering the state of our relations with Ireland, +with a view to a repeal of the Legislative Union between the two +countries, (_Hear, hear._) I see no other adequate remedy for the ills +which desolate that unhappy country, and think that such a step would +also happily free England from a burden long felt to be intolerable, +(_Hear._) I am fortified in arriving at this result, by a review of the +favourable effects produced on Ireland by the measures which, during the +last few years, I have had the honour to bring forward in this house, +and see carried into effect by the legislature, (_Cheers._) I am aware +that this avowal may startle some of the more timid (_hear, hear_) of +those gentlemen who have usually done me the honour to act with me; but +an imperious sense of duty compels me to be prompt and explicit upon +this vital question, which I am fixedly resolved to settle in the way I +propose; and I will, for that purpose, avail myself of every means which +the constitution places at the disposal of her Majesty's responsible +advisers, (_Cheers._) * * * I claim no credit for proposing this great +measure of justice and mercy, nor wish to detract from the merit due to +those whose minds the light of truth and reason reached earlier than +mine. Whatever credit is due, I have no hesitation in ascribing +to--_Daniel O'Connell_," (_Cheers._) * * * * Is there a man in the +empire who would be seriously surprised if he were to hear Sir Robert +Peel make the above statement in the next session of Parliament, if he +met the house once more as Prime Minister? And so, in the session after, +might we expect a similar announcement with reference to the Protestant +succession to the throne; and then--but by no means to stop even +there--the conversion of our form of government from a limited monarchy +into a republic. What, in short, may not be predicted of such a +statesman as Sir Robert Peel? Who can conceive of him taking his stand +_any where_? Assisting _any body_ or _any thing_? It pains me to ask, +whether the history of this country ever saw a man who had done so many +things, the impropriety and danger of which he had himself uniformly +beforehand _demonstrated_? Sir Robert Peel has been converted into a +sort of political pillar of salt--a melancholy instructive memento of +the evils of unprincipled statesmanship--the former word being used, not +in a vulgar offensive sense, but as signifying, simply and solely, _the +absence of any fixed principles of political action_; or the habit of +action irrespective of principle. I will not, however, pursue this +painful and humiliating topic further, than to express the deep concern +and perplexity occasioned to me, amongst hundreds of thousands of +others, by the recent movements of Sir Robert Peel. I have never thought +or spoken of him, up even to the present moment, otherwise than with +sincere respect for his spotless personal character, and the highest +admiration of his intellectual and administrative qualities. I would +scout the very faintest insinuation against the purity of his motives, +at the same time loudly expressing my concern and amazement at +witnessing such conduct as his, in _such_ a man! + + "Who would not weep if such a man there be-- + Who would not weep if Atticus were he?" + +I said just now, that Sir Robert Peel's signal characteristic was the +doing things, the impropriety and danger of doing which he had himself +beforehand demonstrated; and that was the reflection with which I +yesterday concluded the perusal of a memorable little document which I +took care to preserve at the time--I mean his national manifesto at the +general election of 1841, in the shape of his address to the electors of +Tamworth. Apply it now like a plummet to the edifice of Sir Robert +Peel's political character; how conclusively it shows the extent to +which it has diverged or swelled from the perpendicular line of +right--how much he has departed from the standard which he had himself +set up! What must be his feelings on recurring to such a declaration as +this? + +"That party," [the Conservative,] "gentlemen, has been pleased to +intrust your representative with its confidence--(_cheers_;) and, +notwithstanding all the remarks that have been made at various times, +respecting differences of opinion and jealousy among them, you may +depend upon it that they are altogether without foundation; and that +that party which has paid me the compliment of taking my advice, and +following my counsel, _are a united and compact party, among which there +does not exist the slightest difference of opinion in respect to the +principles they support, and the course they may desire to pursue. +(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I hope I have not abused the confidence of that +great party."[66] (Loud cheers.)!!!_ I give the eloquent and eminent +speaker credit for feeling a sort of twinge, a pang, a spasm, on reading +the above. One more extract I will give relative to the recent conduct +of Sir R. Peel on the sugar-duties:--"The question now is, gentlemen, +whether, after the sacrifices which this country has made for the +suppression of the slave-trade, and the abolition of slavery, and the +glorious results that have ensued, and are likely to ensue from these +sacrifices, we shall run the risk of losing the benefit of these +sacrifices, and _tarnishing for ever that glory_, by admitting to the +British markets sugar, the produce of foreign slavery? Gentlemen, the +character of this country, in respect to slavery, is thus spoken of by +one of the most eloquent writers and statesmen of another country, Dr +Channing, of the United States:--'Great Britain, loaded with an +unprecedented debt, and with a grinding taxation, contracted a new debt +of a hundred millions of dollars, to give freedom, not to Englishmen, +but to the degraded African. I know not that history records an act so +disinterested, so sublime. In the progress of ages, England's naval +triumphs will sink into a more and more narrow space on the records of +our race. This moral triumph will fill a broader, brighter page.' +_Gentlemen_," proceeded Sir Robert Peel, "_let us take care that this +'brighter page' be not sullied by the admission of slave sugar into the +consumption of this country, by our unnecessary encouragement of slavery +and the slave-trade._"[67] + +Is it not humiliating and distressing to compare these sentences, and +the lofty spirit which pervades them, with the speech, and the _animus_ +pervading it, delivered by Sir Robert Peel in the House of Commons, on +Lord John Russell's bringing in his bill for "sullying this bright page" +of English glory? Did Sir Robert Peel, true to principle, solemnly and +peremptorily announce the refusal of his assent to that cruel, and +foolish, and wicked measure? I forbear to press this topic, also +quitting it, with the expression of my opinion, that that speech alone +was calculated to do him fearful and irreparable injury in public +estimation. It is impossible for the most zealous and skilful advocacy +to frame a plausible vindication of this part of Sir Robert Peel's +conduct. I sincerely acquit him of having any sinister or impure motive; +the fact was, simply, that he found that he had placed himself in a dire +perplexity and dilemma. + +I think it next to impossible that Sir Robert Peel can ever again be in +a position, even if he desired it, to sway the destinies of this +country, either as a prime minister, or by the force of his personal +influence and opinion. Has he or has he not done rightly by the +greatest party that ever gave its noble and ennobling support to a +minister? Can he himself, in 1846, express the "hope" of 1841, that "he +has not abused the confidence of that great party?" If he again take +part in the debates of Parliament, he will always be listened to, +whoever may be in power, with the interest and attention justly due to +his masterly acquaintance with the conduct of the public business, most +especially on matters of finance. But with what involuntary shrinking +and distrust is his advocacy or defence of any of our great institutions +likely to be received hereafter by their consistent and devoted friends? +Will they not be prepared to find the splendid vindication of the +preceding evening, but the prelude to the next evening's abandonment and +denunciation? Is not, in short, the national confidence thoroughly +shaken? His support and advocacy of any great interest are too likely to +be received with guarded satisfaction--as far as they go, _as long as +they continue_--not with the enthusiastic confidence due to surpassing +and consistent statesmanship. + +It has sometimes occurred to me, in scrutinising his later movements, +that one of his set purposes was finally to break up the Conservative +party, and scatter among it the seeds of future dissension and +difficulty; possibly thinking, conscientiously, that in the state of +things which he had brought about, the continued existence of a +Conservative party with definite points of cohesion, with visible +acknowledged rallying-points, could no longer be beneficial to the +country. He may have in his eye the formation of another party, willing +to accept of his leadership, after another general election; of which +said new party his present few adherents are to form the nucleus. But I +do not see how this is to be done. Confounding, for a time, to all party +connexions and combinations as have been the occurrences of the last +session, of perhaps the last two sessions, of Parliament, a steady +watchful eye may already see the two great parties of the state--Liberal +and Conservatives--readjusting themselves in conformity with their +respective _general_ views and principles. The Conservative party has at +the moment a prodigious strength of hold upon the country--not noisy or +ostentatious, but real, and calculated to have its strength rapidly, +though secretly, increased by alarmed seceders from the Liberal ranks, +on seeing the spirit of change become more bold and active, and +directing its steps towards the regions of revolution and democracy. Sir +Robert Peel's speech, on resigning office, presented several features of +an alarming character. Several of his sentences, especially with +reference to Ireland, + + --"made the boldest hold their breath + For a time." + +Candid persons did not see in what he was doing, the paltry desire to +outbid his perplexed successors, but suspected that he was +designedly--advisedly--laying down visible lines of eternal separation +between him and his former supporters, rendering it impossible for him +to return to them, or for them to go over to him; and so at once putting +an extinguisher upon all future doubts and speculation. To me it +appeared that the speech in question evidenced an astounding +revolution--astounding in its suddenness and violence--of the speaker's +political system; announcing _results_, while other men were only just +beginning to see the process. Will Sir Robert Peel join Lord John +Russell? What, serve under him, and become a fellow-subordinate of Lord +Palmerston's? I think not. What post would be offered to him? What post +would _he_, the late prime minister, consent to fill under his +victorious rival? Will, then, Lord John Russell act under Sir Robert +Peel? Most certainly--at least in my opinion--not. What then is to be +done, in the event of Sir Robert Peel's being willing to resume official +life? _Over_ whom, _under_ whom, _with_ whom, is he to act? The +Conservative party have already elected his successor, Lord Stanley, who +cannot, who will not be deposed in favour of _any_ one; a man of very +splendid talents, of long official experience, of lofty personal +character, of paramount hereditary claims to the support of the +aristocracy, who has never sacrificed consistency, but rather sacrificed +every thing for consistency. Ever since he accepted the leadership of +the great Conservative party, he has evinced a profound sense of its +responsibilities and requirements, and the possession of these +qualifications in respect of prudence and moderation, which some had +formerly doubted. Lord Stanley, then, will continue the Conservative +leader, and Lord John Russell the Liberal leader; and I doubt whether +any decisive move will be made till after the ensuing general election. +What will be the result of it? What will be the rallying-cries of party? +What will Sir Robert Peel say to the Tamworth electors? + +However these questions may be answered, I would, had I the power, speak +trumpet-tongued to our Conservative friends in every county and borough +in the kingdom, and say, "up, and be doing." Spare no expense or +exertion, but do it prudently. Use every instrument of legitimate +influence--for the stake played for is tremendous; the national +interests evidently marked out for assault, are vital; and they will +stand or fall, and we enjoy peace, or be condemned to agitation and +alarm, according to the result of the next General Election, which will +assuredly palsy the hands of either the friends or enemies of the best +interests of the country. + + * * * * * + +And now, dear Christopher, I draw towards the close of this long letter, +without having been able even to touch upon several other "_Things_" +which I had noted down for observation and comment. As my letter draws +to a close, so also draws rapidly to a close my seaside sojourn. My +hours of relaxation are numbered. I must return to the busy scenes of +the metropolis, and resume my interrupted duties. And you, too, have +returned to the scene of your renown, the sphere of your honourable and +responsible duties. May your shadow never grow less! _Floreat Maga!_ I +have done. The old postman, wet through in coming over the hills, is +waiting for my letter, and, having finished his beer, is fidgeting to be +off. "What! can't you spare me one five minutes more?" "No, +sir--impossible--I ought to have been at----an hour ago" + + Farewell then, dear Christopher, + Your faithful friend, + AN OLD CONTRIBUTOR. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[66] Speech of Sir R. Peel at the Tamworth election, pp. 4, +5.--Ollivier, Pall-Mall. + +[67] _Ibid._ pp. 8, 9. + + + + * * * * * + +Transcribers notes: + +Maintained original spelling and punctuation. + +Silently corrected a few typesetting errors. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. +60, No. 373, November 1846, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 37797.txt or 37797.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/7/9/37797/ + +Produced by Brendan OConnor, Ron Stephens, 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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