The Press.
London, England, 1853-06-11 00:00:00

JUNE 11, 1853.

Y,ittraturt.

The Castlereagh. Despatches.
Marquis of Londonderry.
London : Murray.
The Grenville Correspondence. Vols. 111. and
IN. Edited by W. J. Smith, Esq. London :
Murray.
The Court and Cabinets of George the Third. By
the Duke of Buckingham, h.Cx. London :
Hurst and Blackett.
The Letters of Lord Chesteiyield. Vol. V. Edited
by Lord Mahott. hoodoo : Bentley.
ANNALS (IF ',Awry.
Wit: of the most remarkable fashions of the
day is the practice of publishing domestic
records, and contributing materials to the his-
torian from private archives. A list of the
family papers printed within the last dozen
years would be as prolix as the heads of a
speech by Mr. Gladstone, if not quite as
prosaic as a peroration from Sir Charles Wood.
The causes of this new aristocratic fashion arc
various ; some noble persons wish to defend
the memory of their relatives; others feel
justifiable pride in recording the deeds of that
"proud aristocracy," sneered at, indeed, by.
Sir Robert Peel, when he tied from it in dan
ger, but manfully honoured for " the memory
of its immortal services" in that Edinburgh
letter which daunted the heart of the Great
Revolver as much as the shout that hailed
O'Connell's election for Clare in '29. The cen-
sorious may think that a fondness to see their
names in print might have influenced some of
these noble publishers. The weakness is par-
donable, and those who are the first to sneer
would be the very first to print if they had
famous forefathers. Pride of pedigree is no mere
Vanity-fair pattern traced by.the subtle spirit of
aristocracy upon the porcelain of society. The
eye, trained to observation, can see it every-
where in the world's dell. A regard for those
who have gone before us is a human instinct,
not a conventional habit. It inspires the
savage, as he wanders in his desert solitudes,
and wrings tears and untutored poetry from
the Indian chief, as he stands where the bones
of his sires are safe from the winter's flood, and
the white man's rage. The two great historians
of the last century were influenced 1y this
heart-stirring instinct, and Hume and Gibbon,
sconces at the religion of the Cross, were
believers in the charm attendant on a far-
descended name. Thus Franklin loved to
trace his descent for two hundred years through
a line of mechanics, whose various characters
he has recorded ; and Bishop Watson, who
was no " Conservative Democrat," en deavours
in his memoirs to give his family all the
consequence that facts would permit. " They
never look forward to posterity who do uot
look backward to their ancestors," was the
opinion of one of the profoundest of commen-
tators upon the human heart.
We allude to this taste for publishing family
papers in order to explain to our readers why
we are compelled to ask their attention to so
many works on personal and political history.
Essayists may choose their subjects as they
please, but reviewers must attend to the lite-
rary "actuality" of the age. The state of our
library-table attests the simultaneous publica-
tion of works relating to the Grenvilles and
the Pitts—the Foxes and the Rockinghams.
There is a fifth volume on Chesterfield from
Lord Mahon, that pleasing if not profound his-
torian ; and here are the last of the vast pile
of the Castlereagh Despatches, compiled in
twelve volumes by the Marquis of London
Berry, that gallant defender of a brother's
fame, which History one day will honourably
acknowledge. Our private information brings
rumours of various similar works, and we begin
to think, " How are we to provide for them all,
and give variety to the readers of the PRESS'?"
We feel almost as alarmed as a hapless younger
brother of our acquaintance, when it was
announced to him by the tittering doctor that,
for the third time, his " dear little Emily" had
presented him with twins!
Since Tonjours perdri.e is as tiresome at the
reading-desk as at the diulier-table, we will