The Sun.
London, England, 1815-05-13 00:00:00

SUN REVIEW,

' (No. LX.X
MEMOM of CADY HA4daON, with Etustritiim sinectioteS•
of many of her most particular Friends and Distinguished
Contemporailis ; embellish'ed with a fine Portrait after
Roin !ley Sv o . pp. app,. price Ios. cd.—l-atk.nry Colburn,
Colduit-street. "

About twelve months ago, the indignation of
the public was proVolied by the appearance of two
volumes, said id contain the Private Correspon•
(fence between our immortal NELsoN and the-bane
of his fan• fame, Lady fitom.ToNT. Since that
publication appeared, this unhappy woman has
sunk into the grave, despised, and neglected—a
sad example-of thepunishment of vice even in this
world. The vdlitme before us is a very proper
companion to this vile collection of letters.
Never do we remember to have turned frOm a
book with stronger feelings of disgust thAn from
these Memoirs; because it has scarcely ere!• been
our lot to Meet with any thing in the shape of
Biography or History which recounted stories sq
pei•fectlF.ihlLtiriliating to human nature. We do.
most sol,.tmuly protest against all such publications ;
they can ahswer no good pul•poSe; they cannot
in 'any way be made
.subservieut to the cause of
virtue, 'because, by making vice familiar to the
mind, the abhorrence which it ought to inspire
must be weakened.

Was the character of Lady HAMILTON not suf.
ficiently notorious ? Or was it sought to vina•
dicate her by proving the falsehood of those
stories .whicirattathed infamy`to her name ? The
hitt& .case might have afforded some pretext for
a publication, to refute malicious calumnies ; but
these Memoirs are not presented to the world
with any such intentions. Here we have the
story of female profligacy minutely traced, the ca-
reer of infamy fully exposed, and the names of .
those who Were weak enough to be ensnare(' by
the wiles of this Circe are here designated
for the finger of scorn. Yet does the author, who-
ever he is, pretend to convince his .readers of •
the uSefnlOess of ,the task which he has under-
taken; talking, forsooth, of the benefits ,which
history derives from truth,. and the necessity of
transmitting to posterity a faithful detail of the
private vices, as well as the public virtues of
men, wh,,se names must be recorded' in its page,
as if it were a matter of course,. that the intrjgues
• and "adulteries of a'persan of this stamp should
blot the annals of our nation. The offence against
morality committed by those who 'disclose to the
world the particulars of such disgusting transac-
tions, is only second to that of the individuals
whose guilt they expose.
Besides the contamination of the public mind,
we must notice another of the bad consequences
attending such publications. Of ad the produc-
tions that ;nue from the English press, none find
their way so speedily to the Continent, or are read
,there with (Treater avidity, than books of this kind.
We will venture to say, that beforthe•end of two
months, the Memoirs now before us will have
been translated and sold in France and Germany, •
. and represented as one of the nrostpopular.works
in London. It is not possible to think of this
with riatienee. The most poignant feeling-of na-
tional humiliation, inflicted through the indiscre-
tion of individuals, that we recollect to have suf.
fered, was occasioned by reading in a foreign pe-
riodical Woik, (cc L'esprit des journazix,- ) re-
marks on a translation, accompanied with extracts
from one of the most villainous of the indecent
publications with which the British public was
shocked, concerning the Princess of WALES..
_ _

More than half of volumebefore us is occn•
pied with, an account of the disgraceful connec-
tion. that- subsisted between Lord NELSON and
Lady 1-.lAmILToti. It was well observed in an ex-
cellent %York—we mean the Quarterly Review—ht
a notice. of: the Letters mentioned at the 'begin,.
ning of this article, " that the fame of Lord Nal,.
sus is national property.'%—llow then is it to be
borne that it should be thus tarnished. by the in-
discretion (not to give it a worse name) of our
own countrymen ?—That the remembrance of the
private failings of so great a man shonlii be kept
alive in this way, and rudely exposed to the insult-
ing comments of those who_bowed before hint oft
the day of battle ? Surely the services he rendered
his country—the life of pubbc.glory tic led, and
the heroic death he died, might have saved a
NELSON from these unfeeling exposures •of his
master foible, and the cruel injury (It having the
infatuation of his min.], in this. single circumstance
of shame, blaioned to a world yet regretting his
loss, and adinlr.ng lair valour and patriotism.
The atititbr, probably from a consciousness .of
the. mischief •that he was doing, follows every
new picture of vice which he presents to his
readers, with moral reflections and comments
but morality has seldom appeared:in
.a weaker
shape than that with which the Author has in.
vested it.

Amid such a collection of scandalous stories,
and such a nauseating enumeration of the'weak.,
nesses and crimes into which some otherwise great
and good.men were seduced, it is a cheering con-
trast to meet with some anecdotes of the manly
conduct, the dignified reproofs, and the remit,
stranccs of noble friendsi:ip, drawn .forth' frout
firmer characters, by their detestation of vice, and
pity for the folly of NELSO&. The behaviour of
his Sion-in-law, Capt. NISBET, and of his friend,
Commodore TaoonainGE, are most honourably
conspicuous on this account. But these remon-
strances were, as every one knows, perfectly un.
availing.
We cannot close these hasty observations with-
ont 'paying our tribute of admit ation, gratitude,
and respect to the Noble Lady front whom Lord.
NELsoN was fatally seduced. The mild but dig-
nified patience with which she bore the neglect
and blind injustice of her misguided husband—the
silent contempt with which she received the insuic
of his Emma, haVe been duly appreciated by. the
nation. lief conduct is far 'above our poor
praise.

- Concerning the work which has called forth
these observations, we shall not say one other
word ; any further account of it 'Would only tend
to gratify the pruriency of discreditable curiosity,
and make us participators in the offence of the
Author, which, we lament to say; is of a kind
that will but too much recommend his hook to
many classes, and make it but too SOOLI and toP
generally known,

1 IVI Pr=,t,l At. PA-111,11 A:VENT.

JiOUSE OP i.c?itryn, Fr.11).1. lilAy 12.

•
The Speake-t- anentiitig from the CoinMotis, the followint.
lis reeeited the Rae-al -Assent by commis:ion •:—The Pro-
aertv Tax Bill, the EScheqn;Fr Bills Annuity Bill, the Copper
but Bill, the Senth Sea 't)ompany Bill, -the'Coentj•Rate,
P,,es Abolition B;11, the Alien Bill, 'the Gri"'en-
wich flotpital Bill, and the Poor Houses BiU. Aboat fifty
Prirate. Bills also received Ike Royal Assent. •
Lord ST.V,i;llOl)l', kt;osented a Petition from a person of
the name of Green, tortnerly a Merchant of Leeds, complain-
in.? of a Unnunission tit Rankruptcy issued against him, and
praying that the Lord Chancellor might be cmpoWered by a
.13i11. to ()Filer partie's in Confinement into Court, that they
might plead their own causes, if they deemed it e'X'pedient.—
Lordship *lade. several remarks upon the necessity of
attending the system of Bankrupt Laws.
The LORD CHANCELLOR allowed that the Bankrupt Laws
needed amendment, but it must he a hold man that would
undertake so difficult a task. Heliad no objection to the Bill
prayed, and was always anxious to give parties every incittl-
genre. He went through the facts attending the case of Mr.
Green, in order to she* that no injustice had been done.
After a•few words from Lord STANHOPE• the Petition was
laid upon the table.
The Report on' Lord Roseherr?s Divorce Bill was post-
poned until Thursday, on the motion of the Marquis of Laos-
duem,--The House then adjourned until Thursday next.