The Press.
London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

nounced by Honeywood's friend in The Goodnatured
Man, are anything but cheering to the spirits. "In
"short," says the reviewer, alluding to the old Re-
form Bill, "we have taken a slow poison ; and,
" though in the interval we may seem to talk es
" wisely and as calmly as Plato tells us that Socrates
" did on the mortuary couch, the event is equally
" certain, and the awful power stands at the bedside
"to administer fresh doses," &c. As the whole paper
is in this lugubrious style, desponding patients may ask
of what avail will be any exertion on their part against
the "awful power" which has already dosed them so
effectually? Some revelations on the trickery of the
bill of 1830 and on "fortunate Maldon " (not, however,
made public now for the first time) are ingeniously
interwoven with explanations of Mr. Croker's prin-
ciples and political sagacity. The review of " Lord
Holland's Memoirs " is an exeellent example of
microscopic criticism. Whoever would wish for a
perfect specimen of the style should turn to pp.
4034, and observe how satisfactorily it is demon-
strated, by italics and dates, that a certain anecdote
recorded of young 'William Pitt could not, chrono-
logically or indeed possibly, have occurred in the
latter half of Pitt's seventh year. The reviewer, it is
no secret, preserved notes of conversations which he
had the honour to hold with the Duke of Welling-
ton, and these notes are inserted in his contributions
as opportunity serves. The following is interesting,
though one would judge from the italics that the
passage is coloured by the reporter's own peculiar
manner :

"Weimer, October 1, 1834.
"We were talking of Lord Nelson, and some ue,tanoes
were mentioued of the egotism and vanity that derogated
from his character. Why,' said the Duke, lam not
surprised at such instances—for Lord Nelson was in
different circumstances two quite diftVreut men, us I
myself can vouch, though I only saw him owe its my life,
and for, perhaps. au hour. It was soon after I returned
from India ,in 1t405). I went to the Colonial-office, in
Downing-street, and there I was shown into the waiting•
room on the right hand, where I found, also waiting to see
the Secretary of State, a gentleman whom, from his like.
ness to his pictures and the want of an arm, I immediately
recognised as Lord Nelson. He could not know who I
was, but he entered at once into conversation with me—
if I can call it conversation—for it was almost all on his
side, and all about himself, and in really a style so vain
and so silly as to surprise me. I suppose something that
I happened to say may have made him guess that I was
somelsody, and he went out of the room fors moment, I
have no doubt to ask the office-keeper who I was, for when
he came hack he wus altogether a different man both in
manner and matter. All that I had thought a charlatan
style had disappeared, and he talked of the state of this
country, and of the aspect and probabilities of affairs on
the Continent, with a good sense and a knowledge of sub-
jects, both at home and abroad, that surprised me equally
and more agreeably than the first part of our interview had
done ; in fact, he talked like an officer and a statesman.
The Secretary of State kept us long waiting, and certainly,
for the last half or three•quarters of an hour, I don't know
that I ever had a conversation that interested me more.
Now, if the Secretary of State had been punctual and
admitted Lord Nelson in the first quarter of an hour, I
should have had the same impression of a light and trivial
character that other people have had; but luckily I saw
enough to be satisfied that he was really a very superior
man. But certaiuly a more sudden and comple meta-
morphosis I never saw.' "—(MS. Note.)
The article on Sterne is one of those elegantly-
written papers, partly biographical and partly critical,
which, with something of dramatic effect, exhibit past
reputations from a modern point of view. Sterne,
however, is not a favourable subject for such kind of
revival, nor does it strike us that long extracts from
" Tristram Shandy," with elaborate criticism on Uncle
Toby and Corporal Trim, are quite in their place here.
In the paper on the " Russian Empire " a creditable
attempt is made to fairly estimate the resources of
the Czar for maintaining a war with the Western
powers, but the article of most value is decidedly
that headed "The Turks and the Greeks." In the
compass of fifty pages a well-defined and accurate
sketch is drawn of the social state of Turkey, the
writer employing the original information he evi-
dently possesses, not only to correct the mistate-
ments of hasty or prejudiced observers, but to supply
vivid pictures of the life, manners, and character of
Turk and Greek as they appeared to his shrewd eye.
The article probably proceeds from a political oppo-
nent, yet we are willing to accept his account of the
commencement of the dispute with Russia:—
" On the last days of 1t1.52 a new Ministry came into
power in England. At its head was Lord Aberdeen The
news of this event could scarcely have reached St. rut, ra.
burg before the 11th of January. On that day a festival
was held in the palace of a member of the Imperial
Family—the Grand Duchess Helena. Sir Hamilton
Seymour was invited to meet the Emperor. In the midst
of that brilliant company the Czar eagerly sought the
British Ambassador. He graciously and warmly expressed
his pleasure at the intelligence of the formation of a new
Government in England under the guidance of a nobleman
whom he had known for forty years, and fur whom he enter.
joined equal regard and esteem. He lost no time in proving
the genuineness of these sentiments and showing the
extent of his confidence in his friend, for in the next breath
he recurred once more, after the long silence of nearly len
years, to his favourite scheme for the partition of Turkey.