The Sun.
London, England, 1838-10-03 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

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EDINB GI 11 .1? Ti Ik: 1$ 7.
.1.01111•171 C,,•, London, I
t; two mr'it ranatkahle artici: in tbe
v ry clever
beer before us, are "The Life and
Temple," and " The Reigns of George the Third on
Fourth ;" the former of which is written by Mr. Mleauley,
tine may judge from internal evidence ; and the latter, he-
end ail question, by Lord Broughsun. Bi th are the racY
vigorous outpourings of minds full, even to overflowing;
e
0'; historical and political knowledge ; both show an CCI11;1(1
command ofi apt, familiar imagery, and ev;il ll h
accuracy in tracing out the lineatTients of etarleter ; 111" g
tile one paints from pet sowl rceollectitn, and the others
fr,rri the i»orniatien supi,lierl to Lim by books. In
i.o• lit of intirest, Lied Breughem's hi g!ap;,kal sketches
have certainly th, !idvaAtg.? over M. 114 co it 's ;
hecam4, they relate to site,ineri Ego 117.ve i.e ly jolt
tiff the stasei kit' lib ; and socsirliy, becialgo the sty:g '"
••,In
!p Taw—that is t,, say, more flexilile, easv, and v..itied
its cadences ; more felicitous in its choice of epiidletsii
though perhaps too lavish of these embellishments ; an
possessing at least equal fertility of illustration. As re;
stsrds exactness of portraiture, however, Lord Brougharns
ci,aracter o Wjnitiain, with whom he wns persoldily ae.
queinted, convey sno closer or juster idea of the
altesyecracy et the man, than Mr. Maeauley's character 0.
Sir Wiliam Temple, who died upwards of a hundred al
thirty years siiKe. In fact, the biographical sketches °
the One wear quite as much the aspret of having bee°
drawn fresh and glowing from tile lute, as time of the other,
which we conceive to be the highest praise we can possibly
heitow on Mr. Macaul(y.
a
Lord Biougham commences his contemporary ports
by some remarks on Sir Ito-best Tayor's reply to bis
series of sketches, the general justness of which lie sat's-
factorily vindicates ; and then proceeds to draw the chi'
racter of Burke. This he dues eon amore, and with c°'
sideralila truth of effect, though he softens and tones dew°
too much, when lie alludes to Burke's opinions on th 9
Fr: nth Revolution. Unquestionably that astute states-
man foresaw, and predicted the iron despotism of Ng'
Icon, as the inevitable result of that state of anarchy into
it:
which France was plunged at the period when he wr°i:
his " Reflections"—in this instance his prescience wa-,
remarkable—but equally unquestionable is it, that he Wa.'
mistaken in most of his other anti-galiican vaticinations•
Ile declared, for instance, that France would ere long
be
effaced from the map of Europe. Before his death?
she occupied a larger space on that map, than 9
had done since the reign of the Grand Alonatclae
He declared that the Coalitions would seal her deethi
warrant. She triumphed over them all. He declacrec,,
that the movements of her " Convention" were °lvy,
tious, not national—the struggles of the ambitious Fe la
not. of the aggrieved masses ; and that the result w°ll.o
show that such was the fact. The result showed clubi,c
the reverse, when, at the simple bidding of the r°
Safety Committee, a million and a half of peasants 04 steel
zaps, ill-armed and almost wholly undisciplined, pregil733oo
thyms Ives on the frontiers, and overthrew, one after „rj
ot,er, the best trained armies of Europe ! With Luto
Brougham's opinions of Burke's eloquence and ''art °
ri°bie
knowledge, we cordially coincide. Here we fee'', 0
panegyric cannot be too enthusiastic. The sPeec&cBl
" Economical Reform" is a perfect storehouse of re forced
wisdom, and adds to this, sparkling wit, easy, uneato
humour, severe reasoning, and just and lofty ser il;gi-
But his master-piece—at least so lar as fee:jug and Teo
nation are concerned—is decidedly the " Letter t°
Noble Lords," which is one of the very few literary Pro
ductions that we lay aside with regret, and revert to;
Johnson said of " Don Quixotte," with undiminished Pte,
sure. Lord Brougham's " Character of Fox" leave.et,
thing to be desired. It thoroughly exhausts the su'll-afr
Of Pitt's eloquence we think he speaks too highly, for, have
mug from the specimens we have on record, it rn,ust„,dser
be ea that of manner, rather than of matter ; of style, '-‘„t is
than of thought. Who remembers a single Pa'sag-*cal
all Pitt's speeches characterized either by
reasoning, moral grandeur, or quick and generous se
out
bility ? We can point to ninny such, which we hay:, and
of us, by heart, in the speeches of Chatham, Bu'e',.,ther
Fox ; but of Pitt's eloquence we have 0° "cor-
recollection than that it is elegant and coldly
py
sect throughout, sometimes witty, and generally haelloie
in its dry, pointed sarcasm, but meant merely to shoo
the purposes of the passing hour. Of Sheriaata de.
Philosophic.
Lord Brougham praises quite as highly as I'
states-
serves, we are told that he was an orator, but De 'True,
man. We believe he was neither. He made, it is.l'ior
many smart hits in the House of Commons, the 09° bif
of which were carefully studied before hand; and in it
celebrated '•Begum" Charge was singularly successful
pis
his clap-trap appeals to the feelings of an excited audienc-
hut, generally speaking, he was a mere dextrous stringer
together of specious sentimentalities and tinsel "44
and images, and had no juster or nobler idea h;
oratory, than that it is an art to dazzle the vulgar, and "-ci
wilder the superficial. As for knowledge he had
none,en
of imagination quite as touch, or they would have beet
into the texture of his spespeeches,instead of betbo!
clumsily pasted on them, like spangles on Harlequin's ro
We consider Sheridan to have been one of the most ove_e
rate?, men ()Ibis day—a mere clever imitator, withoutc,°_!o
spark of original genius. As a dramatist,
copyist of Congreve ; as a poet, he was an buni.ts
be was
follower in the school of Pope ; as an orator,
a mere manufacturer of glittering paragraPbtilt not
he was a wbie
a word, he had talent, but not genius ; quickness' "h-arse-
feeling ; capacity, but not invention. Wyndham s c
ter is admirably drawn, full of detail, and dratliwati
foci
effect. lie stands out bodily visible before us. "
as if we had been acquainted with him all our lives. 531)011
mariners," says Lord Brougham, " were the musti_P°Dride,
and noble and courteous, without the leastapproacrii!vroced
or affectation, or condescension ; his spirits were is ogest ;
life so gay, that he was always younger than the Y.° to the
his relish of conversation was such, that, after lingernigvenieg
latest moment, lie joined whatever party a 0411 eted t°
(or morning as it might chance to prove) to
have
haunt the streets before retiring to bed. Haw ofreansion'
we accompanied him to the door of his own ritstreetl
and then been attended by him to our own, while th,e° the
rang with the peals of his hearty merriment, or •'3l
accents of his gay and universal wit !"
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
/ 114Gi
ftl4 o
FRACAS AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, •----3. tote -
HAlL—Last night
(Tuesday), this Theatre was in a.v o
Na°
cons?ri
cou Her vI
aa t
(better known as Harvey Leach), the Dwarf, not apPes of the/
sustain the character he was announced for in the hilisiote
day, in a new piece, called the Demon Dwarf. Mr' of i*":1
the stage manager, explained to the audience the aeaeciairnei
refusal to perform, statin that he ale
w.justly 101., which had been deducted from the ref; suPe.„,/
the previous Saturday as Mr. Yates's share et. ext'o-erfar;:e
iNiutmeraries, &c., Leach being engaged by Yates is
.r. Hooper (of the Theatre Royal Drury-lane• sc,, the still,
engaged by Mr. Yates) stepped forward, corroborate". cod°
manager's explanation, and censured Mr. Leach for Ws stir 1111:
The Demon Dwarf, however, declared be would 'lo eSPr.e,ger
tit he got the 101., and used sundry *, demoniac af the 0,-4.
sions, such as liar. &c., &c., jumped on the edge °, empb7-,cl
hoz circle, and addressed the gallery with MU"
wring
This procured him considerable applause, which wt!tig tiFivea
out by the gods, upwards of 1,000 in number, teari,oghe
benches, amid hurling them into the pit
notice to the pittites, who scrambled into the bolesdbarid_o
work of devattation then went on in rale earnest 00pErSuo
hers, forms, &c., were a complete wreck : fortunate!) stn
was injured. After some resistance, the little till Jrci
taken into custody, and now remains in durance v .haele
A wore Vhe ;Tr,
sponsible bail is given for his liberation. A
transaction on the part of Leach never transpire"'cter o'loo
(first l'avl 1. -es
nNager is quite blameless in the affair, and the chat;ireting
Jour°, the respectable lessee, is too well known in c least/009
to admit of this discreditable attack doing him t f the elle,'
jury as to his personal honour. The gentlemen •c)ig theliee/
robe will doubtless have an opportunity of disco sl boa - op
mike deportment of tho Demon Dwarf kern. Crates
hailed out this morning, to appear before the 0'4.'5
Thursday. SUICI
DETERMINED CASE OF ATTEMPTED eir'"rea
—Between the hours of seven and eight o'clock ' ° diseov`tbe
upon the report of a little boy, a female wa'fortnill the-
struggling for life in the Mill Pond, a strew% whi" tb9
boundary of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe; a paired t° jog
ostler of the Queen Charlotte immediately -r in brig 14/
spot, and succeeded, by means of a clothee-Plolicetnenase•
her to the bank, when, with the assistance of ,000„blie-b°
and 199, R, she was conveyed to the above,,Pr- who es,
Mr. Tilley, surgeon, was immediately sent
and'°'
skit
sise'
was in attendance; and, with unremitting zeal
e....,e5t env
ercised for full .two bouts' duration, aided
worthy efforts on the part of the before-m byth noliceel,oic
entioneotrpop b.ti
so,
succeeded in resuscitating the unhappy female' C 011111" Ur
• 0,3 .
questioned as to what could possibly cause h the& bid
rash an act, she, after some hesitation, said herol°.,nitedt
t'
abusing Pe;,,
to whom her father has been but a very short
used her so
side by constantly complaining e f; al! cohle 311.,„00
that she w termined toput a period to so tat,
istence ; and, indeed, such was her determinall"ve Teeif
being restored, she observed " 'What did rattnsci`her eathe` It
Her name is Jane Vince, aged only fifteen, Roth
would
Ace
a lighterman. living at No. 1, Swan-lane. no%
Would V'
were much to be desired that some humane Pas'fact
the poor girl's situation into consideration.
arkab)e
LITERARY COTTAGE.--It is a ten;,...
that Home wrote his tragedy of Douglas, lied his 'be
posed his " Lectures," and Dr. Robertson COlq.__e still 1°
tory of Charles V.," in the same small white cotab:
rtlrrear
seen at Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh. has °°- tit °'
VEGETATION.—Another instance_
.n ,e grovroeti,
this week of the astonisl:ing power exerted
.ist_touf Lot,
the mushroom. At Beech Farm, in theeol.Lr:),"_ced, and,►,ve
nine,iiich pavement was observed to b _ 5,00
examination, a fine mushroom was found bc, new
the stone. Similar instances have occgrred
in
ket. —Reading Mercury.