The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-02 00:00:00

DECEMBER 2, 1854. He is supposed to be very rich indeed, in money, plate, and household stuff. The archbishopric of York yields him about 14,000 ducats; the bishopric of Bath 8,000. One third of the fees derived from the great seal are his; the other two are divided between the King and the Chancellor. The Cardinal's share amounts to about 5,000 ducats. By the new year's gifts, which he receives in like manner as the King, he makes some 15,000 ducats. Bath is that see which belonged to Cardinal Adrian, for whom, when the Signory desired the ambassador to inter cede, Cardinal Wolsey was so incensed that he would not hear of any terms, but became pacified at last through the exertions of the ambassador. The see of Bath, held by Cardinal Adrian, was given in coinmendam to Wolsey, and his rage knew no bounds when, through the inter ference of Venice, Adrian was retained in the bishopric. In vain did the ambassador en deavour by humble apologies to appease his wrath. Giustinian writes : Whilst delivering this defence 1 could not express to your Highness the rabid and insolent language used by him, both against your Sublimity and myself, repeating, as he did, several times that he held me not in the slightest account, nor yet the Venetians, who were wont to favour ribalds and rebels, and to persecute the good, and that God and the potentates of the world would avenge such deeds ; and that your Highness was always for the rebels of the Church, and opposed to the Pontiffs, past and present, and that for this you had done penance, and were accustomed to proceed with deceit and mendacity ; and that the city of Venice would be a seat for conspirators against the Pontiffs, on which accounts he meant to be the State's bitter enemy and mine, though at the same tame, by reason of my other good qualities, he regretted my being the minister of such iniquities ; and that your Signory would also find that his Majesty took this thing very much amiss, saying, " Go on, and write to the State to proceed in favouring rebels against me; for she will see what victory she will gain.' In another passage we have the personal touches which give character to a portrait : Your master," he said, " has had the daring to give letters, and to canvass against me, at the request of a rebel against his Holiness ! Nor can I but complain of the Signory for taking such a delinquent under her protection." Continuing a long while in this state of mental excitement, he again burst forth to the Secretary thus, " 1 charge your ambassador and you not to write anything out of the king dom without my consent, under pain of the indiguatiou of the King, and of the heaviest penalties," which expressions and all those above mentioned he repeated several times, becoming more and more exasperated. While thus irri tated he held a cane in his hand, and kept knawing it with his teeth. In 1516 Venice recovered Brescia to the secret chagrin of the English Court, and both the King and Wolsey employed all their arts of persuasion to induce the Signory to resign all claim to Verona. Wolsey said, with great emphasis:— Bo assured, that unless you desist, we are disposed to wage as utter war against you as if you were so many infi dels; you will be prohibited trading all over the world ; and we shall endeavour to get his Holiness to excommunicate both the most Christian King and your Signory, so that, should you choose to exist, it will behove you go into Turkey. And again : Had I a seat in your senate there at Venice, so that I could address those most sage signors, I doubt not but that of the singular love I bear your republic I should persuade them to leave Verona, or to join our league, for I would prove to them their ruin and destruction as inevitable in little more than six months. An unlucky prediction, as Venice a few weeks later recovered Verona, and the league against her was completely broken up. This correspondence gives a high idea of the wealth and power of England dt the time to which it relates. We think much of having landed 30,000 men in the Crimea ; but Wolsey, alluding to the mistrust entertained of the good faith of France, tells the Venetian Embassy : Should the said King [of France] choose, on the other hand, to maltreat English subjects, and appear not to hold his Majesty in account, his power is such that he will know how to avenge himself; for I tell you, Sir Ambassadors, that we have ships here in readiness, and in eight days could place tSO,IKX) men on the soil of France ; so we are able to thwart an, of his projects at our pleasure. Henry had wealth, it appears, to lend to foreign monarchs, though he declined to part with it without good security : Then, as we were informed that the Catholic King had sent a princely gift to his Majesty here, consisting of a very valuable jewelled collar, with two 3apitsl horses, capa risoned rept° ornate, and an extremely rich sword, with a view to obtain military succour for the invasion of France (which aid, however, the King had refused), we plied the right reverend Cardinal, in order to learn what this present was, and its value. Having described it, he said it was worth upwards of 100.000 ducats ; adding that the King had formerly incurred such vast expenditure, and done so much for his Catholic Highness, that he was able in rea son to make some such acknowledgment. The Cardinal BESS. was silent concerning any demand accompanying the gift, so we said it was reported that King Ferdinand had endea voured to obtain a subsidy of troops to serve in France: this he denied, as his Majesty would never choose to act contrary to hie sworn league ; but from another quarter we receive confirmation of our suspicions, nor are there want ing those who say that his aforesaid Catholic Majesty sent to pawn the collar, and obtain money thereon from this moat serene King ; but whether he has succeeded herein or not, wt have been unable to learn, despite all our diligence. In a note we are informed that Henry, at the commencement of his reign, " transacted " considerable business in the pawnbrokiug " line, and got some very nice articles for his " money." In fact, he often procured in this way rare jewels for much less than their mar ketable value. We must not part from these volumes with out expressing approval of the very skilful manner in which the despatches have been rendered into English, so as faithfully to pre serve their character as state papers of thv period to which they refer. They are edited , also, with great care and knowledge. The in troductions and notes happily h 4 the medium between pedantry and commonplace, and elucidate without encumbering the text. The work altogether gives us a high opinion of Mr. Rawdon Brown's capacity for historical re search. The Golden Legend. By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Illustrated with Fifty Engra vings on Wood, from Designs by Birket Foster and Jane E. Hay. 2. The Keepsake for 1855. Edited by Miss Power. 3. The Court Album. A Series of Portraits of the Female Aristocracy. London : Bogue. IT is not likely that the public will be offered a very extensive choice of gift-books this year. Mr. Bogue is alone in the field at present. His three elegant-looking volumes are adapted to different tastes, " The Keepsake," under the judicious management of Miss Power, maintaining its character as a pleasing mis cellany, though it is a pity that the art and literature of this handsome volume are not connected together a little more naturally. 1. The beautiful style in which Mr. Longfel low's " Golden Legend" is produced must be ac cepted, we presume, as a proof of its popularity, yet critical opinion will probably continue to be long divided on the merits of this singular poem. Like most of the products of American imagination, it is marked by great daring and freedom—though without that originality which distinguishes genius of the highest kind. Had the " Golden Legend " happened to have been written before " Faust " it would indeed have been a marvellous work, but, as it is, we can distinctly trace the source of the author's inspiration. But the fable is likely to be more popular than that of " Faust" can ever be, and the romantic and happy ending brings it completely within the range of modern sympathies. The introduction of the " Miracle Play,' considering the general scope of the poem, is in very questionable taste. We regard it as a decided blot for this reason, if for no other, that it is too closely copied from reality to accord with the texture of a work of art. There is a disposition in our day to approve this kind of patchwork, and to admire literal fact wherever it is introduced ; but the ten dency of this disposition, when not guided and governed by fine judgment, is really to vul garise art, and to please the lower at the ex pense of the higher faculties of the mind. Apart from the objection to the miracle-play on this ground, it is offensive to those feelings of reverence with which we are accustomed to regard the most sacred of all subjects. We do not want the gross superstitions of the twelfth century exactly reproduced in the nine. teenth. But the zealous mediaevalists overlook this moral anachronism, and, believing that the ideas and images of sense have been too much neglected, are as willing to reproduce the actuality of old literature as they are to revive the crucifix, and to fancy that their devotions are more real if offered up before a wooden image. The reality of parts of this poem is curious, no doubt, and as a curiosity it will robably be admired, wondered at , and finally discarded. 1145 But, ipart from its merits, tiieillustratiol are very deserving of notice from their ei treme beauty. Jane Hay is very successful ii her mediaeval illustration of strictly mediaeval subjects. We may mention, as particularly happy, the " Travelling Scholastic," and, gene rally, the drawings from scenes in the miracle play. Mr. Foster, on the contrary, illustrates the more romantic portions of the poem in the spirit of romantic art. His drawings descriptive of the journey of the Prince and Flslie to Salerno are in the highest style of romantic illustration. We have rarely seen wood engravings which would better bear, or more agreeably reward, minute inspection. The binding of the volume is handsome, and it is altogether produced in a most elegant form. 2. The literature of " The Keepsake " is of a more varied and amusing oharacter than usual. Mr. Bennoch, whose youth gave great promise of poetic power, has not suffered the cares of commerce to quite smother his early tastes. Some graceful lines from his pen on the portrait of Lady Bolton commence the volume. A startling passage from the Italian diary of the late Mrs. Homer exhibits some of the veritable mysteries of Neapolitan life. A charming female portrait by Mrs. Browning is finished with characteristic grace. There is no plate to the verses. Did the artists en gaged on this volume fear to place their pencil in competition with the lady's pen : MY KATE. BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNINO. She was not as pretty as women 1 know, And yet all your best, made of sunshine and snow, Drop to gide, melt to nought, in the long-trodden ways, While she's still remembered on warm and cold days: My Kate. Her air had a meaning,—her movement a grace ; You turned from the fairest to gaze in her face, And when you had once seen her forehead and mouth, You saw as distinctly her soul and her truth: My Kate. Such a blue inner light from her eyelids outbroke, You looked at het silence, and fancied she spoke ; When she did, so peculiar, yet soft, was the tone, Though the loudest spoke also, you heard her alone : illy Kate. I doubt if she said to you much that could act As a thought or suggestion : she did not attract, In the sense of the brilliant and wise, I infer; 'Twas her thinking of others made you think of her : My Kate. She never found fault with you; never implied Your wrong by her right; and yet men at tier side Grew nobler, girls purer, as, through the whole town, The children were gladder that pulled at her gown : My Kate. None knelt at her feet as adorers in thrall ; They knelt more to God than they used, that was all. If you praised her as charming, some asked what you meant, But the charm of her presence was felt when she went : My Kate. The weak and the gentle, the ribald and rude, She took as she found them and did them all good. It always was so with her—see what you have! — She has made the grass greener e'en here . . . with her grave : My Kate. My dear one ! when thou west alive with the rest, I held thee the sweetest anu loved thee the best; And now thou art dead, shall I not take thy part As thy smile used to do for thyself, my sweet heart, My Kate ? We could have dispensed with the " Red Nun," more especially as the narrative is made to suit the plate with evident effort, and the same observation will apply to "Juliet and the Friar" further on, and to two or three tales ip which the novice and bandit element predomi nates. The introduction of French pieces,— as an exercise for young ladies, we presume, — in books of this kind is not to be commended. The tale of M. Jules de Niort does not strike us as sufficiently excellent to justify the innova tion. A jesting paper by Mr. Albert Smith, recording how lie once passed a Christmas night, gives life to the middle 01 the volume. His Christmas-eve was not very promising. Here is a hint to all persons addicted to the perilous practice of reading in bed plead guilty to the very bad habit of reading in bed— always, at any hour, under any circumstances. It has be come such a second nature, that I cannot go to sleep without it: and so, in strange houses, that I am driven sometimes to desperate shifts to gratify the propensity, both as regards the light and the book. The arrangement of the first is very troublesome at times. If you pat the candlestick on the pillow, occasionally it falls back and sets the curtains on fire and burns the hettse down, and then the owner gets annoyed, and don't teak you again. l f you build up * contrivance with a chair and the water-jug, it tumbles over equally sad goes out at once, cutting she pi TIE