The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-10 00:00:00

12:1)1AB 6 .R. Gil RE VI 1.: it. . ...%

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Longman, London, 1839.
We have here some more " Historical Sketches,"
from the pen of Lord Brougham, written with the

author's usual spirit and knowledge of his subject, and
with more than his usual negligence and diffusiveness.
They are admirable specimens of the currente-calamo
style of composition, and are far more conversational in
their tone than they have yet been. We should have
been

glad, however, had greater pains been taken with

some of them—the character of the late Lord Tender-

den, for instance—whom Lord Brougham knew well,

and esteemed highly. In this sketch, whose general
accuracy is indisputable, and whose impartiality is equally
so, we meet with frequent repetitions of the same re-
mark, and, occasionally, with a slovenliness of diction

that jars most unpleasantly on the reader's mind. The
portrait of Mr. Justice Holroyd is a far more finished
production, but even here the same blemishes are per-
ceptible, though in a less marked degree. When the
entire series of Sketches come to be republished, as of
course they will be—and we can imagine no three
volumes likely to be more universally popular—these
minor defects will of course be remedied, which is the
only sort of revision, so far as we can see, that
they stand in need of ; the general tone that
pervades them being, with scarcely an exception,
remarkable for its temperance and impartiality. It
might not unnaturally have been anticipated that in
drawing the character of such a very ordinary minded
Tory Statesman as the Earl of Liverpool, Lord
Brougham would have allowed some few sarcasms to
have escaped him, and some few party feelings to have
influenced his judgment ; but there is nothing of the
sort ; the sketch if not eulogistic, is rigidly just, and
cannot possibly offend even the most ardent admirer
of the Tory Premier—unless, indeed, he be one of those
bigoted enthusiasts who believe that George Tl:;ird
was a model of an English king, and George the Fourth
—the coarse, selfish libertine—the most finished gentle-
man in Europe! Speaking of the Earl of Liverpool's
conduct during the Queen's trial, Lord Brougham re-
marks—"this is the darkest spot in his history ; and
another is connected with it ; he lost his head entirely
when the people had defeated a body of the troops at
the Queen's funeral, and is understood to have given
orders for resorting to extremities—orders to which the

cooler courage of the military commanders happily post-
poned their obedience. The candour which he ever
displayed in debate was a part of the natural honesty
of his character, which power had not corrupted, and no
eagerness of Parliamentary warfare could interrupt.
His general worth as a man was always acknowledged."
We quote a portion of the masterly portrait of Lord
Tenterden :
Although his reputation at the bar was firmly established
for a long course of years, it was not till he became a
Judge, hardly till he became Chief-Justice, that his merits
were fully known. It then appeared that he had a singu-
larly judicial understanding ; and even the defects which
had kept him in the less ambitious walks of the profession,
—his caution, his aversion to all that was experimental,
his want of fancy,—contributed with his greater qualities
to give him a very prominent rank, indeed, among our
ablest judges. One defect alone he had, which vas likely
to impede his progress towards this eminent station ; but
of that he was so conscious, as to protect himself against it
by constant and effectual precautions. His temper was
naturally bad ; it was hasty, and it was violent; forming a
marked contrast to the rest of his mind. But it was sin-
gular with what success he fought against this, and how
he mastered the rebellious part of his nature. It was, in-
deed, a study to observe this battle, or rather victory ; for
the conflict was too successful to be apparent on many ec••
casions. On the bench it rarely broke out ; but there was
observed a truly praiseworthy feature, singularly becoming
in the demeanour of a Judge. Whatever struggles with
the advocate there might be carried on during the heat of
a cause, and how great soever might be the asperity shown
on either part, all passed away—all was, even to the ves-
tige of the trace of it, discharged from his mind, when the
peculiar duty of the Judge came to be performed; and he
directed the jury, in every particular, as if no irritation had
ever passed over his mind in the course of the cause.
The review of " Dr. Channing's Essay on Milton" is
penned in a petty, carping spirit. The writer speaks
of it throughout with undisguised contempt, as evincing
signal instances of " false taste" in style ; but when he
comes to adduce these instances, there is little or no-
thing in them to which any one can object who is not a
decided pedant. Dr. Channing's talents are not thus to
be sneered into contempt. He is one of the wisest—
most thoughtful—most humane spirits of his age, and
in his famous analysis of the character of Napoleon,
has shown a philosophic intellect of the highest order.
" Church and State" is an article full of sound and
liberal doctrine, and is suggested by Mr. Gladstone's
recent publication on that subject, of whom the Re-
viewer observes, that the more strictly Mr. Gladstone
reasons on his premises, the more absurd are the
conclusions which he brings out; adding that the
" foundations of his theory, which ought to be
buttresses of adamant, are made out of the flimsy
materials which are fit only for perorations." In
the " Life and Adventures of Maceroni," we have
an interesting and spirited digest of one of the most
amusing auto-biographical sketches that have lately ap-
peared. In the article entitled " Commission on Irish
Railways," the Reviewer speaks warmly in praise of the
Ministerial scheme, as propounded by Lord Morpeth in
the House of Commons, observing, " If ever a proposi-
tion was recommended by the true principles of econo-
my, it is the proposition in discussion. The measure
recommended is one of work for the unemployed, and
food for the hungry—a measure of humanity, of protec-
tion, of security for the peace of society." Of the re-
maining articles we have merely to observe, that each is
good of its kind, and that the best is the one entitled
" Charles the First and the Scottish Commissioners,"
which shows considerable acquaintance with the history
of that troubled period.