The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-13 00:00:00

LITEItATURE•

La Soreare ; the Witch of the Middle Ages. From
the French of J. Michelet. By L. J. Trotter.
One vol. Simpkin, Mirshall, and Co.
It would not be in any way extravagant
to remark of the author of this book—not
of the translator, observe, but of the original
author of it—that his reputation stinks 10
the nostrils of Europe. It is a name that
is nothing less than a brand upon a title page.
His offence, like Hamlet's stepfather's, is rank and
smells to heaven. The most notorious among all
his writings—a miserable, tainted, loathsome work
in itself and in its influences—the pitiable pro-
duction known under the title of " Priests, Women
and Families," has now for a long while past
rendered the name of Michelet in all parts of Chris-
tendom an object of abhorrence. That the man is
clever, that he is a scholar, that he has erudition,
that he has many of the more seductive gifts of a
master rhetorician, there can unhappily be but little
doubt. It is the fact that there are these pecu-
liarities about him that renders his influence
so pernicious, wherever his influence extends. Never
has there been a more odious perversion of intellec-
tual capacity, we believe, than has been witnessed
throughout his literary career. He is the Evil
Genius of French literature, His standish is
the cau'dron from which he draws the hell-
broth of his incantations. His pen is the
wand of malign power with which he exercises his
only magical influence over the minds of his disciples,
that wielded through the black magic of a profane
and salacious imagination. Here, in this horrible
work, entitled "La Sorciere," is the very
latest ebullition of that unhappy fancy
seething and boiling over the pages with a certain
hot, lava-like eloquence, bat scathing and blasting
and withering all around it as it flows. The notion
of the work is from first to last extravagant. It
throughout seems to be avowedly and flagrantly
maiific. Instead of calling to his aid the good angels
—the writer appears to be here bent upon summon-
ing to his assistance only swarms upon, swarms of
diahlerie. Chapter after chapter, as we read, the
ground we traverse, is the reverse of the holy
ground of fairyland. It resembles more exactly
than any fairyful region we can recall
to mind the " blasted heath" where those " dark
and midnight hags," the three Witches, confronted
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of •
Cawdor, the murderous King of the Hereafter.
Only that, instead of three Witches, we have legions
upon legions of them—till the ground is black
with them, the air is filled with them,
they swarm upon the scene, and pollute our imagi-
nation with the mere remembrance of them. It is for
all the world as if the hellish revelries of the Jung-
frau, all those riotous abomineons of the Walpurgis,
that even the daring genius of Goethe veils over with
the densest shadows of midnight, were recounted and
minutely depicted in all their hideous abandon-
ment in the glare of noon-day by the brazen auda-
city of this horridly uncompromising Frenchman.
How even a Michelet could pen the book, in the
first instance, is scarcely comprehensible to
us. Much more is it matter of amazement that he
should with cool deliberation revise the original
manuscript, carefully correct the proof-sheets,
and phlegmatically commit the baneful volume,
not, as he ought to have done, to the flames,
but to the chance perusal of any one who
lists to read it. We regret very much that the
industry and skill devoted by Mr. Trotter to the
task of its translation, should have been expended
upon a work in itself so intrinsically worthless and
so utterly perishable. As a literary production we
cannot but look upon it, as we have before had
occasion to do upon the rest of its author's compo-
sitions, as another apt illustration of that
grizzly phantom floating by Coleridge's " Ancient
Mariner" far away upon the rotting sea—to wit,
" The Nightmare, Life in Death !" For if La Sor-
care has not come into the world of letters still-born,
it has opened its purblind eyes to the light ill
a condition (we cannot but exult to think) decidedly
moribund. Not a hand need be raised against it,
to destroy it. Exposure, simply exposure, will
prove quite sufficient to be the death of it.

SCOTCH MORALITY.—Two men, named Donald
Maclean and Kenneth Urquhart—the former an
elder of the Free Kirk—have been committed for trial at
Dingwall, Ross •shire, for exhuming the body of a beggar,
named Ross. It is stated that Ross was afforded shelter in.
Maclean's house, and died there. The body was duly
buried, but Maclean having heard a good deal of the large
sums sometimes accumulated by beggars, made a compact
with his neighbour to have his body dug up and searched.
DESECRATION OF MILTON'S REMAINs.---AC
cording to Todd, the remains of Milton were
attended to the grave by all his learned and great
friends in London, not without a friendly concourse of
the vulgar. He was buried next his father, in the chancel
of St. Giles, Cripplegate. In the month of August, 1790, the
spot where his body had been deposited was opened, and a
corpse, hastily supposed to be his, exposed to public view.
rhere was a tradition in the parish that his remains were laid
under the spot where the clerk's desk had formerly stood in
the chancel; and curiosity being excited on the subject, the
vestry clerk, churchwardens, and others, opened the grave,.
in which they found a leaden coffin, lying over a wooden
one, imagined to be that of Milton's father. The ground was
immediately closed, but opened again the next morning, the
overseers in the meantime having caroused over the dis-
covery, and resolved to turn it to account. Cutting open
the leaden coffin, they found a body in its shroud, and
believing it to be that of the poet, they extracted the
teeth, cut off the hair, which was six inches long, combed
and tied together, and then left the scattered remains to
the grave-diggers, who were permitted to exhibit there for
money to the public. Mr. Neve, of Furnival's-inn, Wh
published an account of the transaction, was satisfied thin.
the body was that of Milton, while others contended that it
was a female corpse, relying in part as a proof of this on the
long hair; yet we know that Milton always wore his hair
long. btevens particularly lamented the indignity sus-
tained by the venerable relics, though he doubted their
identity.—London Scenes and London People.
M. DU CHAILLU'S GORILLAS.—The valuable col-
lection of objects illustrative of natural history,
formed by M. du Chaillu during his travels in West Equae
torial Africa, was sold yesterday by Mr. J. C. Stevens, at
his auction rooms, in King-street, Covent-garden As the
collection included the stuffed skins of several of those
gorillas respecting which such a lively controversy was
carried on a short time since, there is no wonder that the
saleroom was crowded during the day, and that the event
created great interest amongst students of natural history,
curators of museums, and private collectors. Besides the
gorillas there were sold some chimpanzees and other moue
keys, and animals with their skeletons, and some beautiful
and rare bird skins ; but mans of these were not collected
by M. du Chaillu. This gentleman's collection did not
number more than 100 lots, the principal of which were the
following, as described by the catalogue " Magnificent
series of gorillas, male, female, and young, in fine condition,
the two adults beautifully prepared by Mr. Wilson, the
eminent taxidermist, skeleton of male nearly complete,
skeleton of the female complete, and skeleton of young male
complete." They were bought by a private gentleman for
£llO. Other lots sold as follow :—Skin and skeleton of
female gorilla, adult, £2O ; skin and skeleton of young
gorilla, £10; a complete adult skeleton of male gorilla, quite
perfect, articulated, £32 ; a do. female, ilB ; a do., £lB ; 6
magnificent chimpanzee, the largest in Europe, with the
skeleton, complete, £lB ; skin and complete skeleton of
baldheaded chimpanzee or ape, £lO ; do., young, £7 ; do.,
LI 10s. Many of the skeletons were bought for the Col-
lege of Surgeons. In the second collection offered the
principal lot was a skin of the aye-aye, from Madagascar
(Chiromys Madagascariensis), containing the skull, nearly
perfect, and the bones of the limbs. This was described as
the first specimen of this extremely rare and curious anima!
ever offered for public sale in this country. It realised
£l2 10s. Some beautiful specimens of skins of Indian
pheasants, used for adorning ladies' outdoor headdresses,
were sold at good prices, some commanding £2 each.
CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE THAMES.—The final
deposit of .E. 50 a-side, making the £2OO a-side for
the Championship of the Thames, between Robert Chain"
berg, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, Champion of the Thames and
Tyne, and Richard Green, of Port Jackson, Champion of
Australia, was made good on Thursday evening at Henri
Kelly's, the Bells, Putney, where Green is staying. Both
men were present, as well as Kelly, 11. Clasper, Winebilh
Laidler, and many other celebrities.
The resolution on the subject of Poland which
Mr. Hennessy intends to move in the house of Coal-
mons on Monday week is as follows :—" That an humble
address be presented to her Majesty, thanking her for the_
cotumunicaticn of the Correspondence on the Affairs of
Poland,' expressing the regret of the house at learning front
that correspondence that the Emperor of Russia has vie
lated the treaty of Vienna, and set up a claim to sovereignty
in Poland directly at variance with that treaty, and earnestly
praying her Majesty, while refusing to recognise that claire
and solemnly protesting against it, to adopt such measur,°
a:
in concert with other power, as may cowl:anti the preser.vad
tion of the legitimate rights of Poland with the condition
of a durable peace."