The Press.
London, England, 1858-03-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, MARCH 13, 1858,

bears the impress rather of earnest research
than of literary ability.
"The Descendants of the Stuarts" may be
divided into three branches. The first, or most
remote, coming down from Elizabeth of Bo-
hemia, daughter of James 1., is represented
by her Majesty Queen Victoria. The third, or
most direct, became extinct in the person of
Cardinal York, younger brother of Prince
Charles Edward, who died at Rome 1807.
And the second, descending from Henrietta,
Duchess of Orleans, daughter of Charles 1.,
is now represented by Francis, Duke of
Modena, who is thus, in the high legitimist
sense, the head of the House of Stuart, and
King dejure of England.
It was a rather curious combination of cir-
cumstances under which the Electorate of '
Hanover became a portion of the British do-
minions. Elizabeth of Bohemia had thirteen
children, of whom Sophia was the youngest.
Sophia's husband, Ernest Augustus, Bishop
of Osnabruck, was the youngest brother of
the Duke of Hanover, and had three brothers
betw sen himself and the succession. The
chances that all these four should die without
issue on the one hand, and that the twelve
brothers and sisters of Sophia should either
die or be disqualified for the English crown
on the other, were too small to enter into the
calculations of any but a madman. Yet so it
was. All the surviving children of Elizabeth,
except Sophia, became Roman Catholics,
which left the English Parliament no choice
but the youngest; and the brothers of the
Bishop dropping off oue after another, left
him at last in possession of the Duchy,
which in 1692 was couverted into an Elec
torate. Sophia had a narrow escape of being
Queen of England, a glory of which she was
particularly ambitious, and often declared
" that could she live to have ' Sophia, Queen
" of England,' inscribed on her coffin, she
" should die content." She died only six
weeks before Queen Anne, whilst walking in
the gardens of her palace at Herenhausen :
It was a stormy day, and the Electress being caught in a
shower of rain, hastened to retrace her homeward steps,
when on entering the palace she was observed to stagger
and suddenly fall forwards ; her attendants hastened to
her aid, but in vain ; her spirit had fled its earthly mansion,
almost before, her retainers were aware she was attacked ;
her advanced age, for she was eighty-four, renders it less
surprising she should never have rallied.
We must here take the opportunity of
pointing out that Mr. Townend has not
done full justice to the character of
Charles Louis, the Elector Palatine, and
brother of Sophia. He was a great patron
of learning, was sufficiently in advance of his
age to set a high value upon Grotius, and
founded a professorship at Heidelburg for the
study of international law, making Puffendorf
his first professor.

Henrietta, the clever and beautiful
sister of Charles H., born at Exeter in
1644, and smuggled into France by the help
of her governess, Lady Dalkeith, was married
at the age of sixteen to the Duke of Orleans,
only brother of Louis XIV. Her end was
tragic. She was poisoned by one of her
husband's friends, whose banishment was
attributed to her influence, and expired on the
29th of June, 1670 :

The English ambassador, Sir Ralph Montagne, being
admitted, she desired the moat loving messages to her
brother Charles IL, saying, " Yon see the sad condition I
am in, I am going to die ; how I pity the king, my brother,
for I am sure he loses the person in the world that loves
him best."

That the fair sufferer had evinced this affec-
tion by presenting the object of it with one
of the prettiest of her maids of honour as a
mistress, is perhaps only attributable to the
manners of the period, and requires no further
comment.

Henrietta left only two children, both
daughters, of whom the elder died childless
and the younger married (April 10, 1684) Vic-
tor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, and first King
of Sardinia. Thus the direct representation
of the House of Stuart passed into that famous
House which has exhibited for six hundred
years an unbroken line of able and heroic
princes. The Kings of Sardinia continued to
be the heads of the House of Stuart till 1831,
when the last male heir of Victor Amadeus
died without male issue, and the Crown re-
verted to a junior branch of the House of

Savoy. But a daughter of that
Emanuel who died in 1824 married
IV., Duke of Modena. Her eldc
1819) is now Francis V., Duke
has at present no children;
son, Victor, who died in 1849,
daughter, born in the same year.
Theresa, presumptive heiress
Modena and to the represent
House of Stuart—an admirable
Prince of Wales if the religious
be surmounted. The followinL
the House of Modena are very
interesting :

The richness of the Duke of Modena's
pretensions is unrivalled by any other
which will be perceived when we state,
Modena himself is the representative
niece, Mary Theresa, the next in succession,
heiress; while his elder sister, Theresa, a •
V. (Comte de Chambord), is titular Queen
his younger, Mary, married to Don John
of Charles VI. (Conde de Montemolin)
tensions of tha► prince to the Spanish
sions which, if recent occurrences may
will shortly be changed into realities. Ii
serve that the lineal heirs to the three f
in Europe, Great Britain, France, and
found in the House of Modena ; but it
to note, tbat had not the Stuarts and
spect!vely superseded in England
countries would probably have been
under the sway of the Count and Countess
(the latter being 'heiress to her brother
niece, the Princess Mary Theresa) ; and
the latter without issue, England and
have been united under the regality of 1
Mary. It can excite no surprise that,
lineal pretensions, the Duke of Modena
almost the only European potentate who
nise the sovereignty of Louis Philippe:
family depending more on their lofty
sullied descent, than the position they
sovereigns of a petty Italian Duchy.

In Mr. Townend's general
Revolution of 1688, extending
to page 85, we fully concur. Sol
pressions may be overstrained,
his eulogies excessive ; but his
the !main are sound, though
quiring qualification—as for instance,
ho says:—" The truth is, the
" were infinitely in advance of
" ideas; they acted more 'in
" the received maxims of the

" those of their own day. They .
" with their neighbours, and left
" unsaddled with debt." No _
misfortune was that, while ahead
in the science of politics, they
in the art of governing—that
did not comprehend the political
the period—they did not see
narchy was to be succeeded
by a constitutional, and not,
tinent, by an absolute regime.
to them that they did not see
was the case. And the consequent
their advanced maxims of policy
their destruction more certain.
plunged energetically into cons
they might have governed as
home. That much is admitted
But they knew the true interests
better ; and it is most remarkable,
Townend observes, how completely '
of the present day—i.e., peace
alliance—justifies the system
Stuarts have been so much condemned.
We had intended to give a
from this portion of the work,
is drawing to a close, and we
to add that, in his refutation
lay's calumnies, and in the
mendacious panegyrics, Mr.
done good service to history, and
self an independent thinker as
rious inquirer.

The Life of Mahoniet and History
to the Era of the Hegira.
Muir, Esq , Bombay Civil Service.
Smith and Elder.
THIS work is not of a " popular'
and it is addressed chiefly to
and professed Orientalists. II
good matter, and the author fully
some branches of his important subje,
the work, as far as it has yet proceeded,
more like an inquiry upon the li
than a. complete exhibition of

ighter of that King Victor
l in 1824 married Francis
ma. Her eldest son (bora
3iB V., Duke of Modena, who
children; but her younger
died in 1849, has left a
the same year, named Maria
ive heiress to the Duchy of
the representation of the
an admirable match for the
the religious difficulty could
The following remarks on
Jena are very curious and
)uke of Modena's family in lineal
11 by any other dynasty in Europe,
when we state, that the Duke of
representative of Charles f., his
he next in succession, being his
r sister, Theresa, married to Henry
d), is titular Queen of France ; and
rried to Don John of Spain, brother
de Montemolin), inherits the pre.
to the Spanish monarchy, preten.
occurrences may be judged from,
into realities. It is curious to ob-
irs to the three greatest kingdoms
lin, France, and Spain, are to be
Modena ; but it is still more curious
le Stuarts and Bourbons been re-
in England and France, these
bly have been temporarily united
Count and Conntess of Chambord
as to her brother after her little
ry Theresa) ; and on the decease of
England and Spain would then
r the regality of her younger sister,
lo surprise that, with these high
Duke of Modena should have been
tan potentate who refused to recag-
Louis Philippe ; the grandeur of his
on their lofty pedigree and nn•
e position they actually inherit as
Alien Duchy.
d's general estimate of the
18, extending from page 40
y concur. Some of his ex-
overstrained, and some of
sive ; but his conclusions in
nd, though occasionally re-
on—as for instance, page 80,
ruth is, the Stuart princes
n advance of the age in their
3d more `in consonance with
Biros of the present era than
rn day. They lived in amity
tbours, and left the country
debt." No doubt; but the
tat, while ahead of their age
politics, they were behind it
rning—that is to say, they
nd the political situation of
lid not see that feudal mo-
succeeded in this country
1, and not, as on the Con-
Ante regime. Small blame
did not see it. But such
I the consequence was that
elites of policy only rendered
more certain. Had they
-Ally into continental war,
governed as they pleased at
h is admitted by Dr. Arnold.
e true interests of England
most remarkable, as Mr.
s, how completely the policy
r—i.e., peace and the French
the system for which the
so much condemned.
ed to give a longer extract
of the work, but our space
)se, and we have only room
refutation of Lord Macau-
Ind in the exposure of his
gyrics, Mr. Townend has
to history, and proved him-
it thinker as well as a labo•
met and History of Islam,
the Hegira. By William
;bay Civil Service. London
pr.
of a " popular" character,
I chiefly to general scholars
?.ntalists. It contains much
the author is fully equal to
his important subject. But
it has yet proceeded, reads
ry upon the life of Mahoraet
exhibition of We duo-actor

and conduct of tho " Prophet of Islam." Mr.
Muir examines and probes rather than nar-
rates or proves; it is a display of research
and reflection rather than of thoroughly
finished history. The nature of the subject,
and the author's modo of dealing with it, will
necessarily limit the number of his readers.
For ourselves, we can say that, as far as Mr.
Muir has gone, we have folloiled him with
interest, and the work certainly merits the
notice of philosophic readers of history.

Considerably more than two hundred and
fifty pages of the first of these volumes is
occupied with the " Introduction " to the
work. Mr. Muir has not the art of getting
rapidly into his subject, or• of managing the
masses of knowledge that he has collected. He
has wavered between the duties of critical dis-
sertation and of literary description. We
should have preferred another arrangement.
His introduction ought to have been briefer
in space and more luminous in arrangement ;
and much of the preliminary statement could
have been broken up into notes, terse, close,
and relevant. As it is, M►. Muir's " Introduc-
tion " contains a discussion on the sources for
the life of Mahomet, remarks on the Koran
and tradition, a dissertation on the commerce
and aborigines of Arabia, besides lengthy dis-
quisitions on ante-Mahometan history and the
early progress of Mecca. Much of this matter
should have been placed in an appendix, or in
supplementary notes.
We are bound to say that the rook on which
several of our modern English writers of
history split is on introduction. The influence
of German and French examples has appa-
rently induced some of our contemporary
historians to make a display of their faculties
as expositors of the laws of history. We do
not ask from a professed dramatist that he
should compose criticisins on his art like those
of 'Schlegel, nor do we expect that a painter
should produce volumes of grand views or
suggestive thoughts on the fine arts like the
lectures of Reynolds, Fuseli, or Haydon. We
ask for plays from the first and pictures from
the second And in the same way it is his-
tories, and not lectures on the law of narra-
tion, that we demand from historians. The
philosophy of History is in itself a department
of Belles Lettres Another fault, also, which
Mr. Muir has in common with some of our
contemporary narrators is to be seen in these
volumes. He did not carefully design the
general plan of his literary structure. The
greater portion of these volumes appeared in
a slightly different shape in the Calcutta Review,
and the disjointed form almost inseparable
from periodical publication can be traced in
the arrangement of some of the chapters. The
work was originally undertaken at the instance
of Dr. Pfander, distinguished as a Christian
apologist in the controversy on Mahomme-
danism, on whom, at the instance of the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, not long since, an
honorary degree of D.D. was conferred.
Mr. Muir, we think, does not suffi-
ciently appreciate the distinction between
mat vels proved by criticism to be false,
and between the effects produced by
heroic legends that have been believed in by
generations. Traditions exercise an enormous
influence on the mass of mankind, and though
a philosophic historian must not accept them
as verities, he should narrate them as they
were once accepted ; and even the text of a
history is often enlivened and varied iu interest
by a spirited and graceful narration of their
legends. Mr. Muir thus describes the birth
of Mahomet :
Passing over, as fabulous and unworthy of credit, the
marvellous incidents attending the gestation of the Prophet
an.l his first appearance in the world, it suffices to state
that the widowed Amine gave birth to a son in the autumn
of the year 570 A.D. It is a vain attempt to fix with
certainty the precise date of the birth, for the materials
are too vague and discrepant to be subjected to so close a
calculation. We may be content to know that the event
occurred about fifty-five days after the attack of Abraha ;
and may accept, as an approximation, the date of Id.
Canssin de Perceive (whose calculations have already been
recommended for general acceptance), namely, the 20th of
August, 570 A.D.
That mode of composition chills the reader
with its conjectural manner. Some of the
notes on the passage should have been in-
corporated with the text. One of the woe
row thus:—

l
...a,