The National Register.
London, England, 1817-11-17 00:00:00

LADY MORGAN FRANCE.

Our paper, we believe, contained the first general
character of this Lady's book entitled France. We
then spoke of it us we felt it deserved; and the more
we have read it since that period, the more are we
conlinned in our opinion that a more wicked and worth.
less publication never issued from the press of this
country. It was then our purpose to give extacts
from it, to shew the principles, religious and political,
in which. it was written ; but in this we were anti-
, cipated by the number of• the Quarterly Review,
which appeared just at the time. We coincide in
every syllable in this Review, and had it been more
severe than it is, such severity was demanded by the
nature of the work under consideration. Some of
those who think and write, and believe as Lady Mor-
gan does, have been sorely scandalized by the critique;
but while they have indulged in a strain of abuse
against the reviewers, they have unfortunately, both
for themselves and their heroine, been unable to dis-
prove, or to invalidate any one of the most serious
changes brought against her book., One gentleman,
in the Examiner of Sunday week,. most probably the
Examiner himself, took up the gauntlet in behalf of
the Lady, though he confesses he never read her book.
This candid confession is beyond all praise, and enables
us to decide at once on this eonmpetency to judge be-
tween her, and her reviewers. But the simple truth is,
that Lady Morgan is in that instance made a sort of
masked battery, from behind which, the writer dis-
charges his pop-guns at the Quarterly Reviewers. We
need net go far, however, to seek for the true origin
of this •article in the Examiler ; in the same number
of the Quarterly Review, which contains the critique
on Lady Morgan, is to be fbund in review of the
Round Table, little flattering to either of the writers'
of that notable work hinc illce lacrynkr. Another
champion for Lady Morgan has since appeared
in the Morning Chronicle signing himself B.
His epistle is only worthy to be laughed at, but he
mentions one circumstance which gave us much plea-
sure, and we should be glad to hear of the example
lx•cotaing general, this was, that a gentleman, meeting
with a copy of the France on the table of a friend
whom he visited, he immediately thrust it into the
fire.—lf every copy were consigned to the same fate,
public morals, religion, and loyalty would be a con-
siderable gainer, by the conflagration.

The Duke of Wellington embarked at Dover on
Sunday last at nine o'clock in the Lord Duncan packet,
Capt. Hamilton, for Calais. His Grace arrived at Do.
ver, the preceding evening, and dined at the Castla
with Lady Castlereagh ; but, the weather being very
boisterous and. wind untiirourable, vistpuned
until the morning's tide. The Duke viewed Saraittiel4
saye during his stay in England, and it is said to have
highly approved °Cit.
The Duke of Devonshire arrived at his house on
Wednesday, from his Continental tour.
DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA.---COUIIt Camillo Borgia,
nephew of the last Cardinal of that name, obtained,
through the friendship of the Governor- of Tunis, leave
to penetrate into the interior of the country, so as to be
enabled to make researches after ancient monuments,
and to take drawings of them. These privileges had
previously been denied to all travellers. Regardless of
oxpence and iiitigue of every description, he has devote
ed two years to the prosecution of this undertaking...-.
During that period he has visited the ruins t' more
than two hundred ancient towns or skett4-
ed nearly four hundred temples, porticoes, theatres,
baths. and statues, which had net as fez be,ni
aced —The Count has had it in his pow, from the
time he has lived amongst the Moors and Arabs, to
study their nuumers and customs, and to make biro elf
acquainted with the present state of the country. He
'bus had access to the Arab manuscripts in the liimiry of
the Prince ; and in sonic of them lie has flaunt some
new and importiuit fact relative to' the history of
Tunis.