The Press.
London, England, 1855-05-05 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

mind of the versatile writer himself. Lord
Brougham's rapid style and ready decision is,
therefore, seen to much advantage in this
artiole. We do not know any part of his critical
writings where this quality may be better found
than in the pasaves (pages 21-27) upon the
astatine of Voltaire, in which the truly
French distillation of the eloquent and pictu
resque narrative of Sallust is pleasantly and
sometimes wittily pointed out. Of Voltaire
as a historian Lord Brougham expresses a
very high opinion, attributing to him the
merit that histories ceased to be merely
chronological narratives of events set down in
the order of time, and often only recorded on
account of their tendency to excite the wonder
of the reader. Of the " Estti sur les Mteurs
des Nations," he says :

This work has thus become the true history of human
society, indeed of the human race. He Inuits himself,
no doubt, in time, beginning with the age of Charle-
magne ; but he fixes no bounds of space to his survey.
Front that period, the middle of the eighth century, to
the middle of the seventeenth, upwards of nine cen-
turies, he traverses the whole globe, to gather in each
quarter, at each time, all the changes that have taken place
in society—all the events that have happened among man
—the story of all the eminent individuals that have
flourished—all the revolutions that have affected the for•
tunes of nations or of princes ; and neglecting everywhere
the trivial matters, however authentically vouched, he fixes
our al tendon only on the things which deserve to be remem-
bered as having exerted a sensible influence upon the
destinies of the world. In proportion to the real intrinsic
importance of each event, or to the interest which it is
calculated to excite, is the minuteness with which its cir-
cumstances are detailed. But no event is given in detail
merely because it is fitted to excite a vulgar and ignorant
wonder; while those things are recorded which are of real
moment, although their particulars may seem to create
little interest. To the work was prefixed a treatise on the
" Philosophy of History," but the whole book might justly
be designated by that name.

One thing is certain, that though, as Lord
Brougham says, this work had much effect on
succeeding historical writing, Voltaire himself
sadly forgot its principles in his " Age of
Louis XIV.," perhaps the most tame narrative
in any language, and his " Life of Peter the
Great," which deals perpetually in trifles, and
frequently in exaggeration.
The " Lite of Hume " is enriched with
some novel information and several letters
of the historian, as well as some facsimile
extracts from the manuscript, which show
with how much labour Hume strove to polish
a style which, after all, affords abundant speci-
mens of Gallicisins and Scotticisms.
The artiole on "Johnson ." contains much
plainly-told truth respecting the great levia-
than, and, while allotting him the illustrious
place to which he is entitled, avoids the too
common habit of critics even of the present day
to praise the doctor as indiscriminately as his
own clique in the parlour of the Mitre. Lord
Brougham has not forgotten his unreasoning
hatred of Scotland, and balances fairly enough
his honour of Hnme with his enjoyment of the
company of Wilkes. " Gibbon" is a fair
article on the life of ono who did not pass
through much vicissitude. The criticism on
the style of the great work will be generally
coincided in, but it is hard to say whether it
has not had more readers than if it had been
as compact as that of Livy or of Hume.

The most agreeable article in the volume is
that on Lord Brougham's famous kinsman
Robertson the historian It has the charm
always inseparable from the writing of one
who has a personal recollection of his subject.
One most interesting fact is related in Robert-
son's life—namely, that Lord Bute conveyed
to him an offer from George 111. to write the
History of England, and that such provision
should be settled upon him as would enable
him to devote his whole time to the task.
The failure of such a negotiation must be ever
regretted by the friends of English historical
literature

It is probable (says Lord Brougham) that the retire-
ment of Lord Bute from office, which happened soon after,
put an end to this important negotiation : important in a
very high degree to the literature, and, indeed, to the con-
stitutional interests of the country. Nothing more seems
to have resulted from the correspondence except the re-
viving in his favour the place of historiographer for
Scotland, to which he was appointed in 17134. But who
that values the accuracy of historical narration, and sets a
right estimate upon the benefits derived to our political
system from • through investigation of the records and
the events of former times, during which our mixed go-
vernment was slowly formed and gradually matured. can
avoid deeply lamenting that the subject of English history

had not fallen into the hands of him who wag, by a compe-
tent judge, though a rival author, justly called '' the most
diligent and most faithful oc penmen ''? We should then
have possessed a work of which the brilliant outside gluts
being sustained by the intrinsic value of the eoin, it would
no longer have been necessary for the student to read one
narrative for it dramatic effect, whi e he sought in the other
the real facts of the story, and to refuse giving the tint
praise of an historian to the first master of historical com-
position. Nor would the acquisition of au English history,
at once readable and erectable, have been purchased by
the sacrifice of the other works with which this great
writer, after the failure of the tresty,enriched our literature.
It was part of the conditions which he imposed that he
should tint he allowed to finish his " Charles V." ; and
when we reflect on ten years having elapsed after he
finished his " America," without resuming his pen, there
seems no reason to doubt that he could have written this
and the English history also during the period between
1769, when " Charles " was published, and lit 49, when he
began the "Disquisition on Ancient India." The failure
of the treaty, therefore, is a matter of utimiugled regret ;
and is one of the worst of the many mischiefs which we owe
to the English plan of conducting government by the con-
flict of adverse parties, with the consequence almost ne-
cessarily flowing from it, of all the principles, and all the
measures, and all the designs of one Ministry becoming,
as a matter of course, an object of suspicion, and even of
dislike, to their successors.

With the concluding remarks on the English
system of government most people will agree,
and none will be at a loss just now to point to
countless instances in every department of
administration of the truth of the author's
ideas. In fine, we oan recommend this volume
as a handsome reprint of a very able, pleas-
ing, and instructive work.

As War is the one great subject of interest at
present, those papers in Blackwood will probably be
first turned to which bear upon this all engrossing
subject. The article entitled "The Campaigns of a
French Hussar" reviews the " Memoires du Colonel
Combs sur lee Campaigns de Russie 1812, de Saxe
1813, de France 1814 15." The memoirs are more
occupied with personal adventure than with details
of Bonaparte's generalship; but the mere mention
of his campaigns suggests the question, whether it
is probable that Napoleon 111., among other
eminent qualifications for the Imperial sceptre of
his uncle, inherits the brilliant military genius of
Napoleon I.? As yet this is "un grand petit. etre,"
but the sagacity he has displayed raises a strong
presumption that he will so well measure his ability
with his enterprises as to render the success of what
he may personally engage in morally certain. "The
story of the Campaign" is continued, bringing down the
narrative of events to the intelligence received in eamp
of the death of the Emperor Nicholas. The last
chapter, devoted to " a view of the works," would,
with the aid of a good map, give a very tolerable and
clear idea of the position and batteries of both be-
sieged and besiegers. The pretty romance of
" Zaidee" is maintained with much animation in the
additional chapters here. given. The article upon
" Modern Novelists" sums up in fair critical style
the merit of recent fictions, and pays a handsome
compliment to the memory of the anthotess of
" Jane Eyre "
To tosociate bodily weakness or waning life with the
name of this remarkable woman dill not occur to us, nor
can we think of cancelling now what we have said, but we
repeat again over her grave the great admiration with
which we have always regarded her wonderful powers. No
one in her time has grasped with such extraordinary force
the scenes and circumstances through which her story
moved; no one has thrown as strong an individual life into
place and locality. Her passionate and fearless nature, her
wild, warm heart, are transfused into the magic world she
has created—a world which no one can enter without
yielding to the irresistible fascination cf her personal in-
fluence. Perhaps no other writer of her time has im-
pressed her mark so clearly on contemporary literature, or
drawn so many followers into her own peculiar path ; and
she leaves no one behind worthy to take the pre-eminent
and leading place of the author of " Jane Eyre."
The " Royal Scottish Academy," besides reviewing
the pictures at the present exhibition of that society
in Edinburgh, enters largely into the question as to
whether artistic education is really required in order
to appreciate art. The writer appears to think not,
but we fancy he has mistaken the real meaning of
his terms. An uneducated mind would no doubt
comprehend a fine painting of a landscape with
which he was well acquainted ; he could say whether
it was like or not; but, unless intuitively
a man of
artistic feeling, he could not appreciate the real
beauties of the picture before him. It is with paint-
ing as it is with music and every other art, the more
we aro educated in its principles the more we appre-
ciate its apparent beauties and discover merits
which are totally unfelt by the uninstructed. It is
very well to say that the first question a man would
ask himself would he, "Is that picture natural'" It
requires, in the flr-t pare, some little
education, and
no small amount of observation, to discern correctly