The Press. — London, England, 1853-09-03 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 3, 1853. of it which he made his new Solicitor-General (Sir John Scott) note for him. According to his usual custom, he goes back to bed, to read and meditate, and prepare for the emergencies of the coming dad•. How cool is his mind — how collected his faculties—how calm is his unfaltering self reliance ! The crisis is one that would ruffle the temper even of a master spirit but Pitt, with Fox, Burke, Windham, and Sheridan in his front—with Lansdowne hovering on his flank—with Thurlow acting traitorously towards him—with the Princes above him, conspiring for his fall—and with his royal master out of his reason—amid the falling funds and dreary forebodings of frightened capitalists—even in the monarchy's travail—Pitt is undaunted as a Marlborough ►mid the roar of battle, in his own person incarnating the one poetic passage of Addison, like whose " angel" he, too, "Aides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm." Pitt feels that still the public voice of Eng land is with him not with his foes. And the minister, after hint, hours pondering, descends to an early breakilist, hurriedly swallowed, and he is soon scouring on his high-trotting steed over the road to London. He sees the rural landscape around him, beautiful even in November, with as utter indif ference as on the evening before. But as he advances his mind is roused when, descend ing from the heights near Norwood, he looks down over the mighty city, aud thinks of the " 'Annum, et opes, strepitumque Roma'" London, in all its outstretched vastness, is the material type of that great developed Empire of which he thinks. India—the Colonies —a mighty marine—a great zone of British influence circling the world—such are the ideas that loom through the solitary statesman's aiintl, as he casts his piercing glance over the great city, whose spires and forests of masts are only dimly, yet grandly, visible beneath his view. And now he is again at the Treasury. He gives a look at his office-book, and observes the number of interviews with all manner of people that he has appointed for this day. While looking over Ulm utters a regret that he has not Pretyman still for at private secretary ; a ul, while he is making a note, in comes Wil liam Grenville with a hurried letter from Doc tor Willis, from Windsor, written in a more sanguine mood about the King; and their col loquy is interrupted by l)undas, who talks at once of more " ratting amongst their sup porters, but says the Scotch members will be faithful. " I wish we could say the same of more " important people," cries Pitt; " for example, Thurlow." The word has scarcely left his lips when the Chancellor is announced, and Dun das mutters a Scotch saying in which "the dell" is all that is heard, and soon after Pitt is closeted with ono who looks black and bold enough to make us think again of Duntlas's proverb. He is indeed " the black-brow 'd A' phantom " that he was described by Burke, and Pitt thinks of Fox's witty saying that " there never was any man so wise us Thurlow " looked." How calmly and proudly Pitt looks down upon the areb-schemer, while the deep in triguer tries to hide his heart from that pene trating gaze. "%Veil, they have not broken with catch other yet. Thurlow has come to talk about the Irish Chancellorship. for Lord Lit'Sard has resigned at last, and Fitzgibbon wants to get it. In a few minutes he departs, and Pitt is forced to select from his crowded antechamber what persons ho will see. The first be names is " Bob Smith"— Pluebus! What a name ! He is quite a pet of the great statesman, and, like most of his fatvourites. he 41•0111 CS from the City—a banker, still residing east of Temple-bar, but shortly to emerge into a splendid mansion in the Green park, and wear the sparkling coronet of " Carrington." And next he sees the Irish Fitzgibbon —small in stature, but great in audacity of design—at provincial Thurlow, as towering in arrogance as his English prototype—yet Pitt Likes his clear intellect and his ready compre hension of the minister's imperialising Then come the thronging deputations from the City—West Indian planters raising an alarm about Wilberforce's plans for abolition, and East Indian merchants with talk about ship ping, voyaging, cargoes, excise, Eastern pos sessions, and all that perplexed basilic** THE PRESS. matter on which Pitt's mind rejoices to exer. ciao itself. He is quite happy in listening to all their statements : his intuitively logical intellect grasps the relations of their facts to that scheme of a commercial empire which is ever and anon recurring to his great teeming brain. Yet he listens without emo tion, while he is told of the City projeet of yes terday to purchase him an annuity of three thousand a year, in ease ho should be driven from power.* But he must assimilate all this knowledge with vast plans of his own, and he desires that a certain person from his thronged waiting room should be next shown in. Let us follow one of his assistant private seeretaries, and see whom he calls in to the minister. Several members of Parliament are waiting their turn, but he does not call on them, nor on that Irish lord who, for thrther promotion in the peerage, is waiting to offer Live seats in support of the Lord Lieutenant at Dublin Castle; nor that general officer with a letter of introduction; nor that Bishop wanting translation; nor the dean wishing for a stall. There are Burke and Sir Philip Francis, also, come about ar ranging certain forms of the Hastings ease-- and they, too, are passed by; and there is Lord Bulkeley, enuamed with gossip Mid scandal ;} —and he, too, is passed by, and the secretary whispers a clerical-looking person at whom my Lord the Bishop, and Mr. Dean, have looked rather disdainfully, for they guess that he has graduated only in a Hackney academy. He looks awkward, with a stoop in the shoul ders of his ungraceful person, yet there is frankness, intelligence, and the unmistakable stamp of mind upon that meditative face.: plow angry Burke looks when he finds that this oracle of Newington-green is called in before himself, and how the throng in the ante- chambcr is impatient at the longtarrying of the dissenting divine ! And, if they could have seen through stone walls, they might have beheld Pitt deep and absorbed in converse with that downright Unitarian parson — Richard Price—who is " like at conjuror draw ing forth coil after coil of statistical tables," and results in finance, which the sanguine and figure-loving minister swallows with only too much avidity. Their interview would have lasted longer but for a volley of—what? Artillery an flouncing an anniversary--or at review in the park? For shame! Think not of such jubi lant sounds in days when the King of England is so ill. But still volley after volley is heard —joyous, exhilaniting,and heart-stirring. But it is of genuine Highland laughter, as wildly, madly joyous as if each burst were the echo of another Burns striking his lyre in praise of Barleycorn." In comes the cause of it., mingling her saucy air of cushion with au fitmi liar popularity-hunting style—the bold and brilliant Duchess of Gordon. Yes—" she must see him," anal, while the officials stare at her masculine assurance, she succeeds in forcing her eompany on the minister. llut,no!—not even after all her active services in counteracting Georgiona, Duchess of Devonshire—Pitt obsti nately refuses to go over this evening to Pall mall, to a quiet private dinner at Buckingham house (where the duchess now resides), and she makes her exit in another volley, and vows, in ,joking mood, that she'll set on her friend Sir John Sinclair to write pamphlets against Mr. l'itt. " And Sir John is a canny ehiel wi' the pen. Ye dinna ken Sir John as she does. Mr. Minister. Fast as ye wad empty decanters of claret, Sir John Iva(' clean out ink-bottles ;" and, bidding the minister take Oust for not being more " donee " to a lady Ira' the north, oil she goes, making the walls ring again with another burst of cheery laughter. And then Pitt clears out the rest of the antechamber, and tells Lord Mornington " to come along with him to Chatham's," and they can talk about what " Arthur warts (and Arthur is a good boy) to have done with the m yeoanry at Trim ; 'll and they stroll up togethe: to the Admiralty. They arc met by a strange-looking person, walking on tiptoe, flourishing his right hand in the air, while, with • Hem ( , 01. ii. , p. 71. ) f Nero, poseis. t bee Lis character, wider the title of "bitsplleius," Lt Mrs. Chspone's Liters. II Id= (vtl. LL, p. ; and 9 ,r. 31e, and ourci). his eyes upon the ground, he converses eagerly with Sheridan. Ho salutes Lord Mornington. "'That's Grattan, doubtless over here in triguing about the Regency." And Pitt thinks how, it' he could have persuaded the English manufacturers to adopt his Irish Commercial Propositions of !INN, high " nationality," with its dnnge►ous " patriots," might have been neutralised. But the English manufketumrs, led on by this very gentleman, with a cold, purse-proud manner, coming hither, prevented ►is plans. And Pitt then speaks with much courtesy to one of his new I►aronets, Sir Robert Peel ; but the day will come when Pitt will play the new Irish Chancellor (Fitzgibbon) against Grattan, and incorporate Ireland with England. And now they are on the ste]►s of the Admi►alty, and they are going in to the First Lord's door ; but the valet, r►uning out, tells then► " Lord Chatham is not up yet," and the wo►ds "0 degenerem Neoptolemum !" almost leap out of Pitt's mouth, while I Anil Mo►nington spouts a Homeric line against men of pul►lie council sleeping long; but Pitt's ear is arrested, not by the high-sounding Greek, but by the eager whisper of the halt'• breathless George Rose, telling him that a k►ng's ►messenger has come f►om Windsor with a " special anti immediate " despatch from► the Queen. Within twenty-four hours from the time when we saw him yesterday on West minster-bridge, the minister is posting to Windsor to aid with his loyal counsels the consort of his royal master. "Aln Day with Fox " we maw the mighty chiefs matehed against each other RS ORATORS. On the floor of the House of Commons criti cism would pause in assigning the palm of superiority to either, mayias flares Imam similes. Contrasted together as NEN, the sympathies of the human heart will more powerffilly be evoked by the union of the amiable ani W ilma in Fox's nature ; but history eau have no doubt in assigning victory in STATESMANSHIP to that vigilant spirit of eomtnand shown by the subject of "A Day with Pitt," " Who, when terror and doubt through the universe reigned, " ' While rapine and treason their standards unfurl al, " The heart and the hopes of his country maintaad, " Anal Old England presery'a ' mitt the wreck of the .world." Mewtortintlittni mode ix Ireland in the Autunite of s:e2. London : Smith and Elder. Da. FousEs's " Nlemoranduans "—at title which, by the way, reminds us of Joseph Ilumes " omnibi "—are in reality at somewhat dill'uso narrative tour iu Ireland. The book hats good points as well as haul panes ; and its faults are rather of a negative than a positive character. There is no egotism, the traveller's besetting sin—no affeetation of tine writing— no obtrusion of party prejudices into the dis cussion of political topics—and, so far as we can see, no single 'passage of art extravagant or objectionable character. But a good deal of minute and superfluous detail might havo been omitted. Some extracts from blue-books, though useful in themselves, are rather out of place in at work professedly of personal obser vation ; and there is a tendency to repetition on certain subjeetm—education and teetotal ism especially. It seems to us as if all that is valuable in Dr. Forbess remarks might have been eompressed into a considerably narrower space, had the author chosen to take the re quisite time anal trouble. 1)r. Forbes, how ever, has the excuse that he is not at professed amthor—very few men are in these days—but a. working member of at laborious profession, to whom literature and social studies are at relaxation rather than a business. One of the topics most prominently brought forward in this book is the teetotal movement originated by Father Matthew, which at ono time influenced fully one-fourth of the male Roman Catholic population. 1)r. Forbes, as " a rigid but unpledged teetotaller of old date," speaks in terms of high and just approval of this crusade against intemperance. He admits at the same time thatt the immense success at first obtained has been only temporary. "The " great lauded army of pledged abdaincro I