The Press.
London, England, 1853-10-01 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

!Is perfectly contrary to " the course of nature "
if we did not know that the miracle was mutter
of historical fact. There is not a inure ro-
mantic chapter ilk the history of letters than
the mystery of Junius; and. until the truth
be positively known, we may anticipate that
curiosity about the mighty shadow will never
cease.

Before noticing the late phases of this in-
tricate controversy, we would wish to remark
on the literary ability of the letters, which
have been disparaged by several persons—by
Charles Fox and Lord Brougham amongst
others. For our own part, not concurring in
any criticism which would detract from the
talent of Junius, we may say that, in our
opinion, he never could be placed as a writer
on a level with Lord Boling-broke and Burke.
He wants the mikiestie flow, the harmonious
variety, and wonderful command of the Eng-
lish tongue displayed by the fimeinating
St. John. The Reflections on the French
Revolution," and Letter to a Noble Lord,"
by Burke, are masterpieees as tiir beyond the
powers of Junius as the greatest dramas of
Shakspeare, with their inspiration and pathos,
are above the cold correctness and glittering
rhetoric of the tragedies of Voltaire. His
excellence consists in his being able to associate
in composition the condensed and the popu-
lar to a degree that no other writer, addressing
the public, has ever attained. How difficult
it is for any author to display those talents
which, in dazzling the vulgar crowd, enn also
delight the critical readers of the closet! Still
more difficult is it to achieve such triumphs on
ephemeral topics, and to win upon fugitive
themes literary laurels whose brightness can-
not tide ! OHO might suppose that Coleridge,
with his nebulous philosophy and vague
transcendentalism, would have been likely to
undennte so showy and popular a writer as
Junius; yet sonic of the finest criticism we
have ever read on Junius has come from his
pen. We may cite his remarks, as they ar e
not well known :--

It in impossibly to &inlet from the merit ofthecie letter:
thy are suited to Hair ptirposy, and perfro in their kind.
They imprl to net • , not thought. Hai they been profound
or solidi. in thought.iir majestic and %Weeping in
they nimbi hare been tuiaptyil the yloact iiisa Sidney ;or for
a }lousy of Lords, such as it was in the • • of I Alrll
Bacon : but they nry plain and sensibly whenevertheawhur
is in the right ; and. wlo•ther right or m nom, always ithrrwil
and upigrammatic; and tittisl for thy coffee-flimsy, the E.
finings., the lobby of the Ittottse of Commons, and to he
read aloud at a public meeting.

• •
• •
Peals r; the fair way of considering ihis.c letters w 4 mill
be as kind of Rah, feat pirate; the Aso and fill'
billaiteeti .41114'1114'S constitute a true metre : and the eone
nucleon is that of satiric poetry, a witty lugit, as ILKHOCiai-
-14011 by mml tsing meiiii.bances of cause and
etliict. the sophistry of which the reader has all interest in,
not stopping to detect, for it Hatters his Im, of mischief
and makes the sport.

The whole of Coleridge's elaborate criticism
on Junius is worthy of the mind to which we
owe the best English analysis of the diameter
of Hamlet. A critic of another stamp paid
that indirect homage to Junius in rivate
which he denied to him pin public. " I know
'• no one but 'Mull Burke eapahle of writing
" those letters," maid Samuel Johnson.

Of the recent writings upon ,lupins, cited at
the head of our article, the most itnportant
are the " Introductory Notes" by Mr. Smith
to the third and fourth volumes of the "Gren-
ville Papers," and the ingenious article in the
Quarterly llerhar for December, Is3l. Mr.
Smith has devoted two hundred and thirty
rages to maintaining the theory that Earl
iremple was Junius, while the Quarterly Re
viewer occupies some seventy pages to bring
forward Lord (Thomas) Lyttelton's
These two writers dittCring in their views con-
cur in the rejection of the claims of Francis.
In originality the Quarterly Reviewer excels
Mr. Smith. lie has opened up entirely
new matter, and has excavated a forgotten
character in Thomas Lord l.yttclton, whom
he has reelothed in his political gar-
ments, and presented to our view as a brilliant
libertine, " a bold bad man," with gross vices,
but great gettins.with much that was dazzling,
and still more that was daring in his melan-
choly mixture of the aspiring and the grovel
ling. Mr. Smith has also revealed Lord Temple
to the world in a plainer light than he stood
previously. Lord 'Temple was certainly under.
rated in his own days us well ati with New

ti 2 1

City. Ile had several friends. like 'Wilkes and
ethers. who did no eredit to his choice ; anti
he had enemies, like Horace Walpole. who
took care that the world should not forget his
unlatvourable features. Vie have already re
marked on the general character of the Oren•
vines (l'aEss ask p. 35.1). and we need not
now dwell on the influeuee and formidable
energy of I,ord Temple. Hut we cannot eon-
eur in the view of Mr. Smith that the brilliant
and impassioned Junius was the lordly pro.
prietor of Stowe. In justice to Mr. smith,
however, we will present his theory in his ow II

the supposition 1114 Lord Tutorle was the autlee.e
(4.1 111 l la•het•e that Lady Temple UN*. the onialinvikbit,,
by whose limo) all the writing part of the corresponeletice.
was e~erulyd. Imo Temples leniograph was evidently toot
capable of Wing adapted to UM handwriting of .111/111114 ho
wrote with ditheulty . the letters are largeanal badly Mined,
still the whole leppearaance of it such as hl. person it de•
scribesl tee lime been, aw kweard and Illy: nlhl\.
Lady Temple. on the cientrary. has) very consieletable
faultily us the use of the pen. In her hand* riling, at
beyond periods ol• her• life, are to I. found many at the
olianwteristies of the wt kings of .1 s--the 1111 l nue and
delicate fineness of the letters, the r•e'gularity anal eleamess,
the ilerfect limitation of every letter, the uucteauess of the
hues, :he peculiarity met eommencing aid' a small letter in•
stead of a capital, anti, chose to the lett limed edge' of the
pala•r, the habit of occasionally omitting small words awl
single letters 111 words, the invariable attentiesu to the dill•
ling of the letter i, the similen ity in the fora► of individual
letters, and the general appeur'aac.' of her early hand
writing All I'OIIIIIIMA with the feigned hand %lads she sub.
sNsonny adopted for the wriung of
Wt‘ must In excused for being sceptical that
a WOlll/111 ILO had aught to do with the secret
of Junius. We think the theory altogether
absurd. and one that can he easily disposed of.
There is not a single page of Lord 'T'emple's
many speeches anal pamphlets inspired with
the tiro of genius. Lord 'temple Was a man
with a talent tin• things. not tor style. and by
his Own pen he has refuted the notion that he
was Junius. As for the handwriting. it can
scarcely be taken into account in examining
this pi-4,blem:
- -

Even at this day we know two 'Jersons
whose• ordinary letters may be taken us tkesi-
►niles of the manuscript letters to Woodfu
lint, furthermore, the three letters of .Innius
now to►r the tirst tiu►e published in the -Grow
vine Papers," in our ol,inion. completely over-
turn the theory of Mr. Smith. These letters
are of great historical importance. and we will
present then► to our renders, without Adm..
rant inn :---

Al .•1' .11 Sll ft• 1.1tEN%11,1,1*.
1.1.11111.11. 11 I. 111'11111:t I
Sult-a4llc obsurvations roustioni.,l in the inclosed poper
111 V thrown togrther Mud x.lll to you npon s supposition
thut the 'l•at Ihrre w ii I u. ii to will undc pint id the•
budget. if Lord North should lout. tallyn upon r
scheme, they will Is' 11$1411.04!.. 1.111 It Ih. I UM'
and they shall apls•ar t.. hae.• ue}• a. It.lll. lh.• author is
satisfied, that WI 1111411 iu Ibis 1.1.111111 V ..1111 11111k1. At. abl.•
nee of tlwtn, or place Ih.•n in is. ad►autuK.rnts a light as

It im Ind, fir, either tivertikto ry or loropi•E to mak.. ntnl ll'
known t., )ou at prent.lll. 111•1.141.14•1* I linty p. shops I lalui
that honour. in the 1111101 1101 s. 1110.111.4.41 That it in *
voluntary II nllOOlOO it u, unu priwon foimilril
irn an 114(14.111 tior 30111' Nara 11101 tills •ratatitlistg, itt
hati, lual w eirrr engage me in hoar I woo,. .% ln I
of lair publilattow.. utti 'bated to mils of tat
go at ur talent 1 may you 'if my /...al, if not of toy
t to 144414. yOll.
l'hi. only 4 'ondition. whirl I ja esitnie to make with
you, is that you will not only not show theme par lb to any
IMMIC, lot that you will lit% er mention ) • air having 1 1.4.1.41 rd
them. C.

Oat the hypOthebhi that Lord Teml►le was
Junius, we can scarcely coneeive of at more
truly ridiculous thing than for him to have
written such a letter to his own brother
If he %imbed to have great nine plowed on him
mecret eonimunications, Was that the style of
document which a peer of the realm, with
princely estate, would have written to a proud,
filmed. and rather pompous istrliamentary
leader like George Granville? Hut this point
will be seen Ina still plainer light on perusing
the .eotill letter, which is far more remarkable
than the preceding one. Let our readeis care
fully mark what t011ows:

I. Al THOU or JUNIUS] TO Mt. 4.10:M11J.E.
I,sory4fill. 3d. September. I
tiro—lt may not be improper pm know dolt
the !niblick i• eotirelt• ine.taken with iehpect the.
Author id amino hoe puldicrtluux ill th,• Nev‘spitibots Ito
assured that lie is a man quite miktiuwil mot unconnected.
He has attached himwlf to your cause mini In !mu minor,
tipoti motives, which, if hr were of eilllNCiltlellri• 4110 Ugh
to give weight in his Judgment, would 14 thought s.
lwavumbk to )vu, tw ility NEU kulY INA44l4l‘tvry to LWOW,

522

At a proper time he will aoheit the honour of being known
to you : he has present important reasons for winching to
be concealed.

Some late paper..., in which the valise of this country,
and the defence of your Character and measures have been
thought nut ill maintained ;--otliers, signed Lucius, and
one or two upon the new con iiii ission of trade, with a mid.
titude of others, rame from this hand. They have be, n
taken notice of by the Podolia& •
May I plead it as a merit with you, Sir, that no motives
I.f van is shell 'All' lIISCUVer the alllllol' of Iltis Lett.•r. If
WI earnest wish to ser%, vou gives Meetly elaim.let me toe
treat you nut to sutler a hint of this Co • 'ldiots to es-
cape yen to any body.
Surely 140111 Temple would never tell his
own brother that the writer of the letters was
" x Mall quite tiNkNONII and anteonuerted." But.
fitrthermore, would Ludy Temple, if she 11:141
been the miimmettsis, have ventured to write,
even though in a feigned hand. to George
Grenville? We can stipil4lHe the ruse, how
ever extravagant, of Lady Temple having been
employed to copy the manuscripts forwarded
to Woodfall ; but there is something too absurd
for belief in the idea that the sister-in-law
would be engaged to twit' an anonymous
letter to /sec I without( brut her ! This !repo+
terous notion Slppears even still more ridiculous
when we ree4illeet that the esirresimmtleitee of
Lord Chatham also contains litters fins the
author of "

Hut we may leave Mr. Smith's untenable
theory. and direct our 'native to the important
facts revealed in this second letter. The dis-
tinct admission of Junius flail In Wit!: also
• Lueins,- and the writer of as nudtitudc of
others," is of consideratble importance in Ile•
bating the claims of Frauleis. It has always
been contended by the anti-Fratteiscants that
as clerk in the War-ottiee could never have
even found the time necessary fur the pro-
digious labour bestowed on these eelebratted
compositions, which were evidently "tAarnienteit
with the file.- Persons with the greatest
experience in literary life. and with the most
extensive knowledge of celebrated authors and
their habits, have deelared that it was at phy-
sical impossibility that lane engaged in official
alntdgery could have ever exhibited the sus-
tained energy required fan. Junius. They
havo said that the inechattiral routine of office
would have robbed his limey Of him bloom, anti
palsied his elastic. versatility. Let the facts
in this !point be closely considered, and we
confess that, if ever it shall be proved that
Francis was Junius., we shall have muse for
itinazement at his prialigious energy. To
hate been Junius. under any eireumstances,
would have tasked a man's powers ; but to
have alaboniteol pill those compositions--broad
the matter for them—discussed the gravest
eanetitutional questions—exhibited laborious
reward* on osomplicoolool laws—argued with
consummate ability against Lord Mansfield
and Mr. Horne Tooke—ascertained the truth
of his innumendole facts before risking his
reputation for authenticity in promulgating
them—maintained a prolonged secret el WreM-
pi 111 ki 1 1 With Wilkes, besides another with
Wu poll tid I—and, last not least. to have secured
the disguise of the handwriting, and the
secrecy of his runnuunicutious with the pub-
lisher—tit WIWI, 111•1•0111111iShell all those arduous
loik, while the writer was drudging for several
hours every day as a clerk in the War-otfiee,
would mako the performances of Francis truly
marvellous, and leave Min unrivalled, except
by the !ferrules of inythooloogy !
•And it is this point of view which we have
just now presented that has not been suffi-
ciently attended to loy Mr. !Macaulay, and
other positive Frainciscans. They have eon-
centrated their attention toss match on the
mental relationship between Junius and Fran.
els. to the neglect of the 1111 l 'V vulgar question
ninth common sense suggests, whether the
labours of Junius. along with those of at hard
worked official. were within the bounds of ploy
rierd possibility .1) The third letter is most re-
markable of all, as giving a statement tit' the
origin of the letters. in the passage whieh we
print in halloos. and it supplies additional tes-
timony to the varied labours of the writer :
Aokoosvopoop..., THE .Amnon or .1 um TO MR.

x.l:l:\\ II.I.F:.

Loudon. Ilklt October. 176. v.

lea% c to offer you A letter, reprinted in
I e paper limier the sitritatitre of Attiemi. Ale
tillimhed with tin ii. than I haft usually time to
give to thc.e proiliietiiin%. The town (*orlon', to kit"
the author. Every botty guesttes, nom: quite certain,