The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONnAY EVENING. JANUARY 19, 1863

have a President of their own—one who prefers to
rule in the South than serve elsewhere.

As recourse to compulsion has only resulted in
discomfiture, and another trial were only an excess
of mockery, Mr. LINCOLN now launches his " tarna-
tion" edict, but the charm hath lost its virtue;
even the sanctity of Sunday will not restore the
freshness of loose fish, and the more they are
hawked about the more offensive they become.

As for the three million slaves which Mr. LIN-
COLN'S Proclamation professes to set free, how is
he to accomplish it ? The " idea" is good and
glorious, but how is it to achieve a local habita-
tion and become a fact ?—for practically it is only
as yet a name. Before you catch old birds pat salt on
their tails—which Mr. LINCOLN has only as yet
attempted by a sprinkling of sea water—and the
majority of the blackbirds have sought the shelter
of swamps and forests. They fight shy of the forbid-
den fruit—Mr. LINCOLN'S talismanic hypocrisy has
no charm for them. Slaves though they be, they

have more faith in the devils they know than
trust to one who holds forth the olive branch
with one hand, while he flourishes the scorpion
lash in the other.

Mr. LINCOLN'S policy, if he has one, seems to
perplex himself as much as it troubles his friends,
for no one knows what he would be at. To day
looms large with the note of preparation, and
expeditions on a gigantic scale are on the move
—but to morrow looks in vain for their coming—
and the day after the world wonders whither
they are going. The secret deepens in mystery
until the uprising of a dense fog unfolds the day of
disaster half veiled in doubt ! And this not once
but often, as if repetition delighted in playing its
unaccountable series of downfalls. But there is
still balm in Gilead ; if any one can be to blame—
Mr. LINCOLN extends his protecting shield, and
would be " whipped" himself rather than allow any
of his chosen men to be " suspect." There is chi-
valry in this, perhaps, if the President had to pay
the piper; but his privilege of office forbids the ban,
and doubting sycophants demur to state the reason
why.

No, no : Mr. LINCOLN may be a good man, but
he is unquestionably a weak one. He would be all
things to all men, but any thing for the Union.
He knows his own mind in that if in nothing else.
He is virtuous on compulsion, and only great when
he cannot help it. Obstinate doubt seems to be
his guiding principle, and freeman or slave is all
one to him. Ho would embrace both under the
cloak of the Union—but apart they are each intole-
rable.

Archbishop W HATELY'S letter to Mrs. STOWE
is one replete with common sense from beginning
to end, and his arguments must carry conviction to
the minds of all not hopelessly wedded to their
own particular prejudices. At the outset he
makes a statement which might do for an epitome
of the whole, and certainly sums up most perfectly
the prevalent notions that are entertained in this
country on the great conflict now raging across the
Atlantic. "Some few sympathise with the
Northerns, and some with the Southerns, but far
the greater portion sympathise with neither corn
pletely ; but lament that each party should be
making so much greater an expenditure of life
and property than can be compensated for by
any.advantage they can dream of obtaining." This
is quite correct and conformable to the prevail-
ing sentiments extant in the country. Arch-
bishop WHATELY then goes on to say that those
who are against the North are not so from any
admiration of slavery, but because they under-
stand the question of the war as that of dis-
puting about the Union. They say that the
Southerners had as good a claim to secede as the
Americans formerly possessed to separate from
this country; and, again, many hold the opinion
that, considering the fearful sufferings in
the cotton districts, it has been a great
stretch of forbearance on our side not to have re-
cognised the South and broken the blockade. Con-
tinuing his long line of reasons, the writer next
states. one cause that should be taken to heart by
the blustering set who have done so much mischief
by misrepresentation and spiteful inuendoes. He
says that there are many who are provoked at the
incessant railing against England, and threats of
taking Canada, which some of the American papers
promulgate as their new course of procedure. The
next point is not a reason that will be otherwise
than irritating in the extreme to Yankee self-
esteem and importance. It sets forth that some
consider that if the Confederates continue to hold
their ground a little longer, they must necessarily
gain their point, since the European Powers are
certain to acknowledge people who have maintained
their independence for two or three years. Another
unanswerable argument is next adduced, when the
archbishop states that the position of the negro in
the Northern States is not so enviable ; as, besides
being treated as an outcast, he is prevented from
taking many employments, on account of the white
men refusing to labour with him ; hence, says the
astute reasoner, " he will have gained little by taking
refuge in the Northern States." This concludes the
series of statements, which are based on good autho-
rity and which are manifestly put forward by one
who speaks what he does know. They are also full of
good sense and justice in the abstract. We cannot
hope that they will convinee the lady to whom they
lare addressed, because her views on the subject are
so decided, and, of course, she will think that her
original ideas are correct, and that we do not
care for the question that lies so near her heart.
Mrs. STOWE should remember that when she came
to our land as the authoress of " Uncle Tom's
Cabin," she was warmly welcomed as the able ex-
ponent of a subject that came home to the feelings
, of every true-hearted inhabitant of a country en
whose shores the slave is free. It is othorwise now ;
and those who sent the expression of their wishes
to their countrywomen of America met with no reci-
procation. It is not fair now, when it suits poli-
tical purposes to give au adherence, to turn round
upon us and call us the upholders of slavery, that
they did not seek themselves to put down, when it
could have been done without bloodshed. The
grandest victories are not those won by force of
arms, but by the gradual influence of reason, and
the gentle teachings of wisdom. From these meek
yet most mighty auxiliaries all great national
benefits must gain strength and acquire a
rooted position. If Mrs. STOWE had asked
our assistance in times of peace to aid, by
entreaty or expostulation, a gradual subversion of
slavery, we would willingly have acceded; but
now, when the blast of war has hounded in our
ears, for us to compromise the dignity of our
rushing in to make confusion worse
country
by
ed with an intervention that would be
laughed to scorn on ore side, and only irritate
the other, would be sitnpie madness. Besides, it
is not Slavery that is the war-cry, but the Union,
and to call one thing by the name of another is
a paltry
of crying
conde-
scend, and which would entail upon us the odium
subterfuge to iishich we cannot
out Like
peace when there is no peace.
many well-meaning but one-sided arguers, Mrs.
STOWE has got herself into a false position, nd
is indignant with as tit we will not share her
difficulty. Circumstances are altered since she came
, here, and hence our line of conduct must be dif-

ferent. Our convictions are the same now as here-
tofore, that no man has a right to call his fellow-
man a slave; but the experience that the wisdom of
ages draws from the pages of history informs us
that violence cannot convince, and that no social
changes can be suddenly brought about, but must
be effected by the gradual infusion of ideas, and
the steady patience and calm endurance that will
not fl3g till they have reached the goal. Sugges-
tions to those excited by political conflicts and
urged on by party zeal can seldom do much ; but
nothing is more needed in a complicated case like
the slavery question in America than that precious
Charity which beareth, hopeth, and endureth all
things for the good of others, and in the cause of
virtue and the interests of religion. If Mrs. STOWE
could induce her friends to exercise more of the spirit
of tolerance there would a be greater likelihood of
the attenment of her desires coming to pass, than
from any angry complaints against other nations,
or hostile encounters and demonstrations, which

combine the horrors of civil war with the inconve-
niences that ensue from the disruption of engage-
ments with foreign countries.

Every year we have to lament the departure of
great men from among us. Every year statesmen
and sages, philosophers and artists, are summoned
to join that vast procession so impressively described
by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE as moving onward
into the Silent Land. Death has already been busy
in 1863 ; he has called away one whose place will
not easily be filled, and whose hand, although he
had passed the allotted age of man, had. scarcely
ceased from its labours. HORACE VERNET is no
more. After a life of more success and comfort
than Fortune often allows the children of genius,
he has passed to his long sleep, surrounded by
friends who deplored him, and receiving to the last
tokens of Imperial esteem and favour. HORACE
VERNET'S life extended over the most remarkable
pericd of his country's history. Born in 1789, a
fortnight before the assault on the Bastile, his child-
hood passed amid the storms of the Revolution, his
early youth chronicled some of the glories of the
Empire, his manhood saw him the favoured artist
of the Citizen KING, his old age was honoured
by the THIRD NAPOLEON. The son and grandson
of a painter, he early displayed a passion for his art,
and`received the encouragement so often wanting
to the early efforts of genius. His ancestors for
three generations had been artists of some cele-
brity, his grandfather, JOSEPH VERNET, being the
first marine painter of his day. It is of him that
the story is told that during a storm at sea he bade
the sailors bind him to the masthead that he might
sketch the scene. Row far this anecdote is true we
know not, but it furnished a subject for his grand-
son's pencil many years later. CHARLES VERNET,
the son of the preceding, was a battle painter, who
had certainly rare opportunities for exercising his
talents, since we find among his pictures such sub-
jects as " The Morning of Austerlitz," " Marengo,"
"Rivoli," &c. The young HORACE probably owed
much to his family connections in art, for his ma-
ternal grandfather was MOREAU the engraver, and
his uncle CHALGRIN the architect. Thus, in spite
of poverty and the troubled times, his artistic edu-
cation proceeded. His first work, on a mythological
subject, was unsuccessful. In his second—a battle-
piece—he showed the originality of his powers, and
foretold the subsequent success of the great battle
painter. He was then but twenty, but he married
and opened an atelier, where the future companion
of kings was glad to draw bill heads and fashions
for modistes. We wonder whether he introduced
into these works of art any of the singalar ingenuity
that distinguishes his woodcut designs for the "Life
of Napoleon." Soon, however, Fortune began to
smile on the young adventurer. His " Capture of
a Redoubt," "Barriere de Clichy," and other works
brought him into notice. His picture of the
"Trumpeter's Horse" was painted for MARIE
LOUISE, but this was not her first acquaintance
with the works of HORACE VERNET. His was the
favoured pencil selected to pourtray the features of
the great Conqueror in a miniature, which, set in
brilliants of the highest value, was despatched to
Vienna to show the youthful Archduchess
the likeness of her future lord. In
1812 he was awarded the first-class medal,
and a year or two later was created a Chevalier
of the Legion of Honour. After the down-
fall of NAPOLEON, VERNET continued to celebrate
his victories, and in 1822 a work of his was refused
admission to the exhibition, the loyal jury disap-
proving of the subject. The painter, however, was
not so easily disposed of. He immediately opened an
exhibition of his own, displaying his collection of
works, and bis fame increased rapidly. He was high
in favour with Louis PHILIPPE, who commissioned
him to decorate the walls of the Constantine Gallery
of Versailles with paintings of the Algerian cam-
paign. In fulfilment of this charge, VERNET
visited Algeria frequently, and many of his scenes
are well known. The cause of his dispute with his
patron is familiar to many readers. The KING
commanded him to paint the siege of Valenciennes,
and insisted on his introducing LOUIS XIV. as a
principal figure. The painter objectea on Dr.
COLENSO'S ground, that it was unhistorical, seeing
that the " Grand Monarque" was on the occasion
in question at a safe distance from the scene of
action. Mutually offended, they parted, the artist
throwing up his commission and betaking himself
to the CZAR, who gladly received him. He remained
in Russia for some time, painting the walls of the
Winter Palace ; but, in 1842, he was despatched to
France to convey to the bereaved father the con-
dolences of the CZAR on the death of the Due
D'ORLEANS. This brought about a reconciliation,
and VERNET remained in France. LOUIS PHILIPPE
offered him a peerage, but he declined it. His
grandfather had been offered the title of " gentil-
homme" with similar ill success by Louis XIV.
Members of the nobility of art, the VERNETS could
afford to slight the honours conferred by kings.
The restoration of the Empire brought no vicissi-
tudes to the painter. In 1855 he obtained the great
medal of honour at the Universal Exposition, and a
year later he exhibited an episode of the last siege
Ho f o Fa Rome,s c E VERNET being
of honours.
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His lifelong industry brought him a
fiwtotrinkgs
wh:rrovpesrtizeocisf
alike by his countrymen and by
her
strangers,ilcis ; yet
hev Nsoarsrorwichwinasthneorteswpaencttinang. H
and loveisoof
only
child, a daughter worthy of him, married to PAUL
DELAROCHE—a great artist like her father—died
More him. The long
line of painters is thus
brought to a close, tertainatina in its greatest man.
Yet though we may lament that such is the case, we
may write on his tombstone the inscription over
ALBERT DURER'S last resting place.
hardly be said to be Emigravit is
truly a fitting epitaph for such men, for they CPU
entirely gone from us whose
fame and acorks remain. It is said of one of
,the most eminent of the old Grecian Generals
that when a friend was lamenting that he lett no
children to perpetuate his honours, he replied,
alluding to his victories, "Not so; I leave two chil-
dren, LEUCTRA and MANTINEA, who will bear down
1
my name to the latest posterity." Even so it is
with the works of the great Frenchman whom the
world of art now deplores.