The Press.
London, England, 1857-06-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

second-class when they cannot afford the
first; and at Oxford and Cambridge, the
supposed head-quarters of " simpering gen-
tility," the reign of tailors and pastrycooks is
nearly at an end. Yet all this Mr. Borrow
cannot and will not see, and sits growling to
himself at the phantoms of bygone follies.
Such conduct is foolish and uncandid ; but
not worse, perhaps, than that of many
another social philosopher of even higher
reputation. But there is one portion of Mr.
Borrow's appendix which calls for severer
comment. We allude to his unmanly and
spiteful attack on the memory of Sir Walter
Scott. Sir Walter's character, fortunately,
stands on too high a pedestal to be reached
by any of the dirt which Mr. Borrow flings at
him. It can but fall back upon himself; and
for his own sake we advise him to lose no
time in recanting. He prates a good deal
about the character of a gentleman ; but he
never signed his own condemnation so legibly
as by this incapacity to appreciate one of the
truest and noblest gentlemen which the nine-
teenth century has seen.

The Memoirs of the Duke of Saint Simon on the
Reign of Louis X IV. arid the Regency.
Abridged from the French by Bayle St.
John. First Series. In Two Volumes.
London: Chapman and Hall.
(Second Notice.)

WE return to these volumes again, as this is
the first occasion on which St. Simon appears
in an English dress.
The fairness (with some few exceptions) that
pervades St. Simon's composition stamps his
volumes with great value. His vision may
be contracted in its range, but he looks straight
at facts. Here is a testimony to the internal
state of the French armies in 1706 :

Our armies just now were, it must be admitted, in by
no means a good condition. The generals owed their
promotion to favour and fantasy. The King thought he
gave them capacity when he gave them their patents.
Under M. de Turenne the army bad afforded, as in a
school, opportunities for young officers to learn the art of
warfare, and to qualify themselves, step by step, to take
command. They were promoted as they showed signs of
their capacity and gave proof of their talent. Now, how-
ever, it was very different. Promotion was granted ac•
cording to length of service, thus rendering all application
and diligence unnecessary, except when M. de Louvois
suggested to the King such officers as he had private rea-
sons for being favourable to, and whose actions he could
control. He persuaded the King that it was he himself
who ought to direct the armies from his cabinet. The
King, flattered by this, swallowed the bait, and Louvois him-
self was thus enabled to govern in the name of the King. to
keep the generals in leading•strings, and to fetter their
ever• movement. In consequence of the way in which
promotions were made, the greatest ignorance prevailed
amongst all grades of officers. None knew scarcely any
more than mere routine duties, and sometimes not
even so much as that.

We fear that in all countries, and in
all ages, these complaints about military mis-
management have been heard. If the press
had been free under Napoleon 1., what invec-
tives, what sarcasms, what torrid indignation
would have been hurled forth against expedi-
tions to Spaia, and against favouritism, and
the spirit of jealousy ! But we pass on to the
luxurious living of the chiefs of the French
army as described by St. Simon :
The luxury which had inundated the army, too, where
everybody wished to live as delicately as at Paris, hindered
the general officers from assocating with the other officers,
and in consequence from knowing and appreciating them.
As a matter of course, there were no longer any delibera•
tions upon the state of affairs, in which the young might
profit by the counsels of the old and the army profit by
the discussions of all. The young officers talked only of
play and women; the old of forage and equipages; the
generals spent half their time in writing costly despatches,
often usedess, and sending them away by couriers. The
luxury of the Court and city bad spread into the army, so
that delicacies were carried there unknown formerly. No-
thin4 was spoken of but of hot dishes in the marches and
in the detachments ; and the repasts that were carried to
the trenches during sieges were not only well served, but
ices and fruits were partaken of as at a fete, and a profu-
sion of all sorts of liqueurs. Expense ruined the officers
who vied with each other in their endeavours to appear
magnificent; and the things to be carried, the work to be
done, quadrupled the number of domestics end grooms,
who often starved. For a long time people had com-
plained of all this ; even those who were put to the ex-
penses, which ruined them ; but none dared to spend less.
This is extremely interesting, and the account
is confirmed by all the writers of that time.
The conclusion of the pas§ago must out be
omitted :