The Sun. — London, England, 1820-12-29 00:00:00

FOREIG N LITERATURE. RcsslA.-A French translation of the History of Russia, by M. JL has been under taken by M.M. SAINT 'l'lio:►l.►s and JAUFFRET, of which the first eight volumes have already ap peared, and, as the present state of that powerful and extensive Empire, and its political influence on the affairs of Europe, render its history pe culiarly interesting, we have extracted the fol lowing obseri - ations on this work from the Jour nal des Debuts of the sth, 10th, and 12th of this month : The Russian monarchy is of modern date, in comparivm with the other empires of Europe; and yet the origin of his nation is enveloped in as much o bscurity as that of the most ancient people. If we go back to the ninth evwury, and examine the country flow known - he the name of itttsia, we Shall find it inhabited at that period be numerous tribe's of Bat hat fans, not one of whom bore the name of Russians. lit the ancient map of this country, one small nation along is known under the name of Sclavainians ; they inhabited the country surrounding Lake•llmenait winch Novgorod was the capital, but this people were probably only an insignificant be: nch of the great elavoniiiii race now disseminated iii'se aa-ral colour es of Eitrope—iii Bohemia, Moimie, the Illyrian provinces, and as fart as Nollterlegli). Be that as it may s his tory records that the Russians, after having lived a consid erable time umier a democracy. were desirious of trying mon archy, and applied far Kim: to the Varags, or Varagians, a Scaiidioavian people, who were rather more civilized than their neighlooirs. Th, I,"ani l 4ians %vele no donla •a scion of Ilia great family whose language'can still bb traced through the Diemen., idioms spoken by the various tribes inhabiting the countries lietweeti Icelaad and the eastern division of Asia. The great gent now called the Baltic, was formerly denominated the Sea of the Varags, or Varagians. ,The history of the Princes Whom the Scandinavians gave to Russia is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and involved in roach obscurity; and the facts collected from the Chronicles of Nestor are like all other stout s respecting the origin of Naiiims. The history or the Empire does riot, hi fact begin, till the reign of the .great Prince Vladimir, who established Cliriitianity in his dominions, and caused the whole of the Russian people to be baptized. This took place in the tenth V. The aerpetnal wars - between the Prince and the great Nobles, :as well as the frequent contentions among the latter, retarded the growth of t los Monarchy, and rendered it incapable of - resisting the attacks of its less powerful but more ginned neighbours. W e are astonished in the present day to read that the Teutonic Outer, and the little Province of Livonia were then fro willable enemies of the llntsian Princes. Lithuania also. now only a Province of this great Empire, disdained to treat with her as an equal in the lath century; and in the follow ing century, often contended with success against all the •forces of tiussia. Kazan. now an insignificant town; formerly waee Moscow tremble, and the hordes of the Krimea carried desolation into the Southern Provinces. Not three hundred years ago, the Sovereign of all the Rossias was a trilostary of the Tartars, and his dominions, which then exteMled from the Frozen Sea 'to the Cataracts of the Dnieper, and froin Kief to the Volga, was only a Province of the Great Empire of Gengis Khan. What a difference between the reigning P6rice and his predecessor, who was obliged to traverse all Asia; to the banks of the Seghallieu, near the Chinese Sea, bend the knee before a Barbarian, his Sovereign Lend, receive his orders, and sometimes suffer death ! Autocracy, and unity of power at length succeeded to anarchy, and the whole Empire umferwent a change. The Prince of Moscow assumed the title of Czar, the other Princes submitted to his domiuion; the great and rich No vogorod lost her independence, of which she was so jealous, arid with it her population and riches; Nicol, which was scarcely less powerful., was reduced to subjection; Kazan submits, after one of the most memorable sieges recorded in history ; the great horde ceased to exist ; that of Asoph no longer dared to pass beyond the boundaries of the Steppes; Moscow increased rapidly; artists were brought from Europe to decorate her fine buildings, and the reign of Ivan 111. formed the prelude to that'of Peter the Great. - The eight volumes, published by the Translators, do not bring down the History of Russia lower than the mithile of the sixteenth century, precisely to that period, when the P.tissian power begins to influence in a small degree the poli tics of Europe. No idea could then be formed of the high rank it has since attained. Russia was nut generally known in Europe before the time of Peter the Great ; and even then the glary rif this Prince appeared concentrated in himself; and reflected more lustre on his own person than it gave im portance to his Empire. As recent as the middle of the • - seventeenth century Russia was co:Jou:ideal with the States of Asia, and we scarcely made any distinction between the Russians and the Tartars, the Kalmuclis, and the other Bar barians of the East. Our ignorance respecting her real strength is not surpriziog : for at the restoration of letters its Europe, Russia was then only known to her immediate neighbours; her intercourse with Emopean Mates was eoll' fined to the Greek Empire, Lithuania, and Livonia; her wars witieSweden did not extend farther than Ingria, Care and East Finland ; and the correspondence, which occa sionally passed between the See of Rome and the Princes of Moscow, was carried on by the Popes with a view of re uniting Ilium to the Orthodox Chinch. A journey to Russia was deemed a hazardous undertaking, and the Empire was already powerful when an inhabitant of Moscow was obliged. to wait two years for in answer to a letter transmitted to -Italy or France. The volumes of this History which have not yet been pub lished; will be the most interesting; b u t, of the eight which have appeared, the last three will be generally preferred. The reigns of Ivan HI. and Ivan IV. are worthy the finest periods of Universal History ; the true power of Russia be gan under the former of these Princes, and at the fall.of the Greek Empire, sve.see a new empire wise the East, less brilliant indeed, but far more solid.aod formidable. M. Karamsin has endeavoured to spew, that this history i 3 not only valuable to Russians, but, that the annals of his country possess an universal interest ; and he afterwards com pares Russia to the Roman Empire and to Greece, and claims for - her an equal share of fame, with those two celebrated countries. The arguments by which he attempts to establish the first of these propositions, that every History of Russia possesses universal interest, are more specious than solid. In the first place, he is not correct in .saying, that the immen sity of the Russian Empire is unparalleled in the ann a ls of history. The empire of the Caliphs was of greater extent than the present dominions of Russia ; China more compact, and equally vast, supports a more numerous population ; and even Spain, before the late revolution its South America, possessed in t he friur go:liters of the globe, as largea territory as Roasia,and much more fertile. Bathe extent of an empire, or the . number of its soldiers is of little moment in discussing the question of its relative historical importance. The de gree of interest is not proportioned to the magnitude of the country or its armies. It we were to take into consideration, the multitude of combatants, and the extent of country they traversed, Gengis,Khan would be agreater man than Alex ander and Ca2sar. Relative 'weakness is sometimes the cause of glory, and pre-eminence: if Greece could have opposed a minion of men to Xerxes, we should not speak of the- Straits of Thermopylae ; and, in modern times, the illustrious Gustavus, the Sovereign of a small Northern State, who landed with twenty-eight thousand men at the month or the Oder, over-ran Germany, Initnirled the Imperial and compelled all Europe to tahe tip alms, either for or against him, would make a less conspicuous figure in History than the ferocious Conqueror who said to Bajazet, " Admire the caprice of Fortune, which has placed.the fate of so many millions in the hand of a blind man like thou, and of a lame man like myself." The other arguments brought forward by the Russian Author 'are not more conclusive ; his comparison of Russia with Greece and Rollie is quite inapplicable. We • know that a battle described by Thticydides or by I,ivy, would be considered as a slight skirmish by a - Prince who can bring from seven to eight hundred thousanl men into the field ; but the Author seem not to have reflected sufficiently on ;the nature of the interest we feel for the Histories of Greece and Rome. To these two people are we indebted for the elements of our Arts and Sciences, and fur the noisiest productions in Poetry, Paintiug, Sculpture, and the Arts.— The Greeks have furnished us . with our didactic amid technical language, the -Romans with our conver sation-it modes of speech ; the riches they have transmitted are the subject of our studies ; their History Brings to our view those people with whose exploits we have been familiar, and whom we have been accustomed to admire from infancy. We are sunder no such obligations to Russia; and its colossal grandeur inspires a different sentiment from that of interest. But considered simply with regard to its importance, as comprehending the transactions Of numerous /taboos, can the history of this empire be brought into com parison with that of Route ? The bitter brings into action the Germans, the Gauls, the inhabitants - of Spain, Mauri tania, Egypt, Syria, and Greece ; nations celebrated from time immemorial, and exhibiting every diversity of charac ter, manners, climate, and dress. What does the history of Jiusaia represent previously to its intercourse with civilized At the beginning of the last week we express ed our hope that the dangers which then ap peared to menace the Neapolitan Metropolis might be averted by timely concessions on the part of the existing Goversment.—By a private Communication, dated from that City, the 14th instant, upon which we can rely, we are happy to find that the .Parliament had consented to the KING'S departure, upon his MAsEsTr's sanction ing certain modifications of the Constitution which they had proposed, and his agreeing to change the title of his Representative from Vicar-Gene ral to that of Regent, during his absence. His MAJESTY now goes to Laybach, avowedly for the purpose of endeavouring to obtain from the Allied Sovereigns an acknowledgment of the new Con stitution. So far time at, least is gained for the Neapolitans. But the Allies cannot want grounds for attacking so preposterous an edifice, should they be • so disposed ; and it is perhaps to be re gretted that the KING has not shewn more vigour. After the assertion, however, hazarded yesterday in a Morning Opposition Paper, " that Lord Cc CASTLEREAGH has managed matters so well, cc that France now occupies the high ground on CC which we formerly stood," we are happy to be able to state, that his MAJESTY appears to con sider his person,yat all events, most secure in our hands, and actually embarked on board the Vengeur on the morning of the 13th.—Thus the threatened danger of war must, at least for the present, give place to negociation, which we still hope may prove generally satisfactory, and con ducive to the Peace of the World. We received last night three days' Paris Pa pers to Monday last inclusive. That being Christmas-day the offices of the Journals were shut, and no papers were to be published on Tues day. The Chamber of Deputies were occupied on Friday and Saturday with the Reports of the Committees respecting the verification of the powers of the newly elected Deputies, which, chiefly turning on points of form, present lit tle of any general interest. Some discussions arose in the course of this tedious proceeding, which served to develope the existence of a very acrimonious feeling, and of an increased portion of that disposition to tumult which was so often displayed in the last chamber. Amongst other things the Assembly was thrown into extreme agi tation on Saturday, when after some contest as to the right of M. MANUEL to be heard, it was asked by M. Foy, " Do you wish to stifle the voice, of the minority as in 1815 ? One of the most amusing scenes in the course of the proceedings was a grave discussion whether a Deputy (M. de St. Came) already seated, could be legally elect ed a Deputy for another Department. It was at length decided, in due form, that the election was invalid. The Chamber on Saturday, by sitting till six o'clock, an hour unusually late, got through nearly the whole of the elections. — The remainder were postponed till Tuesday, to which day the Chamber adjourned. The en tire of these questions must be disposed of, and a President be appointed, before the Chamber could proceed to the preliminary Lasi 'less of addressing the King. The Clianiber of Peers met oil Friday, but transacted no business of importance, and adjourned till Tuesday.— We give extracts from these Papers in another column, some of which are of interest, as leading to a, belief that. the king of NAPLES had actually , embarked on board an English ship of war, for the pt rpose , of going to Trieste, and, from thence to Laybach, the place previously pointed out as that to which the Allied Sovereigns had determined to invite ,the Neapolitan Monarch to a conference. It has been reported that the Parliament had consented to the KING'S going to Laybach, and this rumour is also mentioned in the Paris Journals, 'with the addition as above mentioned, and which is, no doubt, a fact, that the KING had embarked for the purpose of pro ceeding thither. The Prince . VicAu-LGEN - Eair., it is stated, was to act as REGENT during the ab sence of the KING, his father. The report of transferring the conferences of the Sovereigns is further corroborated by a Vienna article in the last day's Papers, stating, that a Marechal de Logis had passed through there on his way to Laybach, to provide accommodation for the two EMPERORS. There are various rumours re specting the state of affairs at Naples. Ac cording to one account the Minister for Fo reign Affairs, the Count CAMPO CIIIARO, had been impeached and dismissed, and' had been . . succeeded by the Duke de GALLO. Others state, that the whole of the Ministers had been impeached. Upon this subject there are no de tails ; the latest news, including the KING'S de parture, having been brought by an Extraordi nary Courier, the particulars of whose intelli gence do not appear to have transpired.— The actual departure, however, of the Neapoli tan, Sovereign, on board a British ship of • war, is a fact which of itself must give a decided turn in one shape or other to the negociations, with reference to the affairs of Naples. FIVE PER. CENTS. Friday Saturday 78 1. 45 c. 78 f. 60 c. DEFEttItED STOCK. Friday. Saturday. Of the 22d March, 1817.. 108 f. 85 c... 108 f. 80 c. 22d Sept. 1820 91 1. 75 c..... 94 f. 90 c. We have inserted this day a Correspondence which has taken place between WILLIAM CLARKE, Esq. the High Sheriff' of Northumber land, ana Sir CHARLES MoNcK, in consequence of a Requisition to the former to convene a County Meeting, for the avowed purpose of in troducing a discus,ion respecting the Proceed ings relative to the QUEEN. The High Sheriff naturally and justly, conceiving that such a Meeting would only cause disturbances in the County, very properly refused to convene it, — We are glad to see such men as Mr. CLARKE in high responsible situations, and rejoice at the loyal firmness and regard to tranquillity and order which induced him to resist the at tempt to renew discussions that have excited disgust in all persons of moral feelings, and at a time when the divisions among the people on this lamentable subject were beginning to subside, and more temperate reflections on the evidence and the whole of the proceedings, seemed obviously preparing the public mind for a sound and impartial judgment. It has been justly ob served, that the very application to the High Sheriff implies that he possesses a discretionary power, and the example of Mr. WAITIIMAN, who refused to call a meeting of Middlesex for a simi lar purpose, has been appositely cited, to exem plify this discretionary power. We commend Mr. WAITIIMAN for his conduct on that occasion, as it displayed a full sense of his official duty, and apparently a desire to preserve the peace of the county. But the High Sheriff of Northumber land is also entitled to the approbation of all wise and loyal men, for the wisdom with which he ex ercised his discretionary power, in refusing to explain the reasons for his refusal, in answer to the requisition of Sir CHARLES MONCK, thereby judiciously avoiding the prolongation of a corres pondence that, considering the arguments and doctrines which the Baronet was likely to intro duce, would have tended to unsettle and perplex the understanding of the freeholders, almost as much as if the Meeting had taken place. Nor could Sir CHARLES MONCK have any occasion to require the reasons which determined the High Sheriff, as they were obviously founded in a ra tional conviction of the danger of such a meeting, and a desire to preserve the county from the tumults of party. In order to give our Headers a complete view of the pro ceedings in question, we subjoin a Letter which Sir CHARLES MONCK subsequently ad dressed to the Editor of a Country Journal, too ready to receive such arguments as the Baronet and his Party were likely to advance, and such doctrines as they were likely to inculcate 0 3 the occasion, just observing that we by no means synipathize with the Baronet in his alarm, be' cause a High Sheriff has firmly maintained hid discretionary power, in refusing to give his sane' tion to a rheas re which could Only tend to dis order, riot, and co nfu§ioq. " TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE TYNE MERCURY. •' 13elsay, Dec. 23, 1820 - - " SlR—Haring attended the High Sheriff of Northumber' land, with a Requisition for a County Meeting, and received front him a refusal to that requisition, I am desirous to make known to the other requisituts as speedily as possible the failure of our application I therefore request you to insert in your Newspaper the enclosed paper, which contains c opie 3 of the Requisition and Signatures, and of the Letters between the High Sheriff• and me. For my part, I have always es teemed the privilege of the Peopleto, meet and discuss matters of Church and State, and to make complaints thereupon to the King or Parliament, as a main pillar Of our free Constitte tion, and I ant aJaroied to see the Sheriff arrogate to himself the power of refusing a County Meetin , . without assigning sonic constitutional ground,of such refusal. " I am, Sir, " Your very ohedie•nt Servant, . " CHARLES AIONCK. BRIGHTON, DEC. 27.=—The cutting northern blast is still prevalent here. It is with' unfeign' ed satisfaction, however, we observe, that our beloved MON - ARCH and PATRON has improved ja health and spirits since the first hour after his arrival in Brighton. his Majesty, after a brislie walk on the Palace lawn this morning, was for some time on horseback in the riding-school. As soon as the Palace can be got in order for the King to move into it, the Princesses Augusta and Sophia, we hear, intend visiting this town. The Mayor of Cork arrived at the Royal York Hotel this afternoon. This Gentleman is the bearer of a.Loyal Address front that great and pnpulou s city. His Majesty has been graciously pleased to appoint to-morrow at 11 o'clock to receive him. Once more,a day has passed without Pa lace arrivals. The rides and walks to-day, ow ing to the intense coldness of the atmosphere, have been but thinly attended. DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—A private letter from Manchester, dated Dec. 26, says---“- We are in hopes that this town Will be honoured b)r a visit from this illustrious Duke, to partake of a public entertainment to be given to him with his companions in arms, Lord Combemere arta Lord Hill. You are aware that the Duke is at present on a visit at Combermere Abbey, ,about forty miles from this town. The principal inha bitants have determined to take this opportunity of. requesting him to pay a visit to Manchester. A meeting of many respectable Gentlemen took place-this morning, when it was determined that the Boroughreeve, accompanied with a Deputa tion of Gentlemen, should immediately ~ T o to Combermere for the purpose of seeing his Grace upon the subject. Accordingly the Boroug,hrerve, accompanied by Francis Phillips, Thomas Hard man, and John Moore, Esqrs. left town about noon, for the purpose. We are in anxious ex pectation to know the answer which will be re turned by the Duke and his noble companions. Shold they think proper to honour us by accept ing,the invitation, they will receive as enthusiastic a reception in this town as any in the kingdom." When a Parisian Lady of Distinction was shewing her collection of pictures to an English Gentleman, she directed his attention to a Ole portrait of one of her own children :—" Qui ft Ad cet enfant hi ?" said the Englishman, inquiring the name of the painter. ," Mon marl croit que c'est lui," said the Lady ; " mais par hazard c'est une grande erreur."' We understand that the Rev. FEARON FAL LOWS, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cam bridge, has been appointed, by his MAJESTY Astronomer Royal at the Cape of Good Hope ; and that Mr. FAYRER, nephew of Mr. TROCC.II - the most eminent Optician in EuroFe, is to be the principal Assistant in the „New Obser vatory. • The Bahama Gazette of the 18th of October, says—" By the Sisters, which arrived here. two days ago, from Cuba, Nv e learn, that on Saturday last a number of vessels,. which are supposed Spanish, and bound to Havannah, were seen running down the Old Straits, convoyed by a frigate and one or two sloops of war." . . Prince LEOPOLD paid a visit to the QUEEN at Braudenburgh-house on Wednesday, and re mained an hour with her MAJESTY. Yesterday Lord CASTLEREAGH, after trans acti►ng business at the Foreign Oflice till three o'clock, left town for his seat at North Cray. From an official document it appears, that in the year 1815, between 400 and 500 widows, in the province of Bengal, had voluntarily sacri ficed themselves on the funeral piles of their husbands ; in 1816, upwards of '6OO ; and in 1817, 706. The Earl of LONSDALE, on Thursday last, St. Thomas's Day, ordered to be diAributed to the' poor of the neighbourhood of Lowther Castle. upwards of 1400 pounds weight of prime beef, together with a great quantity of blankets and wearing apparel. The poor of Lowther are re gularly supplied with soup from the Castle, twice a week, throughout the winter.—(Cum berland Packet,) Sir GEORGE iIGOT, Bart. of Patshull, in Staf fordshire, gave, in celebration of the birth of the Princes ELIZABETH of CL taexcz, a fine ox, to be roasted at Burnell-green, on Saturday , last, which was afterwards distributed among the poor of the surrounding neighbourhood, who ex. pressed their most grateful acknowledgments for the kindness conferred upon them. At the same time they partook of an hogshead of ale, and drank several appropriate patriotic toasts with the greatest enthusiasm, diplaying every mark of loyalty to, their KING, and gratitude to their benefactor. AWFUL INSTAVCE OF SUOOFN DEATH. —Wednesday night' last Mr. Stroud, residing in King-street, Seven Dials, after eating his supper, retired to his chamber; the following, morn ing, not coming from thence at hislunal time, Mr. Long. a person residing in the house, • proc-eded thither, when he found the deceased with his clothes lying on the bed quite dead.—Mr. STIRLING, the. Coroner, veiterday held an In quest on the body, and a verdict of "Died by the visitation of God," was recorded. Europe ? Barbarians from ic.:lan, ilaybatiatts front Azoph. anti liarhariams even in Russia itF,elV. One nation—alone highly polished, 'the inhabitants of/th'e Greek empire, inain tained a cm respondence with her, and - that empire was in Its decline, anti may soon perish and become the prey Of other barbarians. • . . Let it not. he imagined, froth the tenor of these observa tions, that the history of Rossia is destitute of interest : it possesses a considerable share, but we must not mistake the nature and the cause.of its importance. It is nuiderts Russia that makes the history of ancient. Ittrssia interesting; Peto and Catharine'sbed a portion of their lultre even on t hose Princes who were tributaries of the Tartars, and the power of Alexan der raiseiiin our estimation the firs't Princes of Kier, of Vladimir, and of Moscow. We wish to see the germ that has prodoc , ,tl this Colossus, and to knoW by what exertions of art and in ; :erthily or favours of fortune, all the enemies of Russia are become her Subjees, from the sea of Japan to the hanks of the Vistula. to this consists the trite interest of the pre sent history, and in this sense M: Karamsin may justly boast of the immensity of the Russian Vinpire. The manner in which Russia was converted to Christianity is Om, of the most curious facts related by the Author. It was out the work of chance, but of long meditation and ma ture d. liher,tion, and the motives which determined the great Prince Vladimir to effect its universal establishment through 'ont his dominions, display the spirit of the middle ages. 'Phis 'great object, which, has been so in,trumental in improving he unviners, and promoting the enviiiarm ion of Russia, was accomplished about the year 9ss. A great variety of curious and characteristic facts arc nar rated in this history, which will afford the Reader consider able amusement and information. Among the most interest ing are the history of Nief,. - called the great city, its prospe rity andcleeline ; the invasion of the Tartars; an extract of Journey of Carpin among the Mongols; the first victory of the Russians over the horde of Sarah; the siege of Kazan ; the particulars of the first. commercial relations bet Ween the English and Itussians at Archangel, and the glorious reign of Ivan PRICE OF s'rock s THIS . DAY AT TV S per Cent. Red. - 70 69 s per Cent. Cons_ 4 per Cents - s7ai per Ct. Nary Ann. India Bonds his. pr. ELITE O'CLoCK. South Sea Stock ... shut New Anouitics ' shut x. Bills, 4J par 1 dis. Cons. for Opening HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Morning, 30 nninnit•s after .. I Evening, l*ninnnts attar 10, THE SUN. SOLEM QUIS DICERS FALSUJI 411DEAT? LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2Q, 1820. 0