The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

1 )11V BURGH REVIEW—No. CILIII.
Lonynictn, London, 1840.
Ipur English annals, with great
ri lee crowded as they are
e; can boast of few more illustrious than that of
i'. Walter Raleigh, whose capacity was only equalled by
4"3 ambition, and whose illegal execution reflects eternal
dig ee
e.ace on the mernory of James the First. Of this
dceier
lebrated man, who was at once an accomplished sol-
historiannd, a an enterprising sailor,—a wit, a scholar, an
etas
philosopher, and, to a certain extent, a
El eaman ; whose address made him the favourite of
izaheth, as his knowledge ensured bins the respect
and the society of I3acon,—we have a clever biographi-
cal account, drawn up minutely and impartially, in the
P,resent number of the Edinburghßeview. His ad-
LentUrous expeditions to the New World, where (such
the infatuation of those times) his fellow voyagers
aoe.cted to find cities paved with gold, and rivers
Wing over sands of the same precious metal ; these
sidterrinebgi:Pieodes in Raleigh's life are entered into at con-
e; leneth ; while his earlier career in Ireland,
first formed an acquaintance with the poet
t'eri3er* just briefly glanced at, which is to be ree-
retted. for the materials are abundant, and might have
keen turned to excellent account. Raleigh, it is veof
t, owed his rise in life to the personal favour
psivz:,betb ; but this he lost for a time, owing to his
e • Private marriage with one of her maids of honour,. .an
e'dent which will remind the reader of that striking
ce!in Kenilworth, where the Queen detects in the
uLsed. Amy Robsart the wife of her favourite Lei-
Ita,,c:r• The Reviewer has described this episode in
" fi'lgit's chequered career with much animation.
jeeett't,,eueY, I,Vyndham, Bolingbroke," is, if we may
Iter, rorn the choice of subject, and the historical krevel‘etelnegae‘4o..ugh4 to its elucidation—from the pen of
a thorou It is full of readable matter ; displays
trays . acquaintance with the characters it pour-
writ49 antis in point of style, is less. showy than the
rally, 8 earlier articles, which, speaking of them gene-
ar were too lavishly decked out with the spangle
is embroidery of trope and metaphor. Mr. Macaulay
theeld(kentle a warm admirer of Sir Robert Walpole,
ese.,..":reat peace minister of England ; but we arc not
,pathat he sacrifices truth to panegyric. Walpole
tin adroit and sagacious, if not a first-rate, states-
Itaece' 'lnd when We add, that for a long term of years he
ded in keeping England tranquil, notwithstand-
"(l th
"g the frequent troubles that convulsed the Continent,
the e herculean efforts of the Jacobites to restore
tioe d etuart
dynasty ; and that he maintained t'eis na-
vio',tell tranquillity without having recourse to any
enough nt stretch of' the prerogative ;—we have said quite
rank to show that he deserves to take a foremost
vet„ ,aateng second-rate British statesmen. H s pri-
-rvenaracter is thus pourtrayed :
tact" The Private character of 'Walpole is familiarly known ;
press:l:l contemporary writers join in giving the same irn-
kito—Qn a it. Open, honest, unaff eted, abounding in
fete", overflowing with good-humour, generous to_pros-s
,!°ll, hospitable to a fault, easy in his manne_rs toavee..cweon
wonder that the ruler of the country should h
d4carts,fwhich would have mthaedsee amperri gentleman the
h-owever, were
jal,itltincideofecstscoertYw.eaknesses, which broke in somewhat
Ira the respect that severe judges require a great. states-
t:11 to be compassed with, round about. His mirth was
-ere elshat free, and alit to be coarse; and he patronised
ki'aterous hilarity in the society which he frequented, and
h his
ithe merry meetings which were the relaxation of
11-u
, regarded not the decorum which sober habits
rather , and he followed, in respect of convivial enjoyments,
tq the fashion of his own day than of ours. He in-
lesged, too, in gallantry more than bescemed his station or
le, gear too,
; and he had, like a celebrated contemporary of
this `aa Weakness of affecting to be less strictly virtuous in
is ijirsesPect than he was, and considerably more successful
of Pursuit of such recreations."
th, I,,tbe celebrated Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath,
hi, 17viewer observes, that the " principal cause of '
Ste,°s'2,l3 at once all his power, was his ill-counselled
etclr takkg an Earldom." This is perfectly true,
en4l. Macaulay should have alluded also—by way
theluling us to form a fairer estimate of the man—to
this 3pingtll4r wart of political sagacity he displayed, on
114 al,-"si°o• The peerage was a trap dug for I ulte-
heYsh-Y Walpole, into which he fell, as it was intended
Peri -"„n,ldd fail• He himself' seems to have had an im-
eneee,;,` consciousness of this, but he had not boldness
dee to resistthecommands of the King, and the
preiclietful advice of others ; nor foresight enough toecooornes-
Of suc,ahti, in their full effect, the inevita.h.le. consequences
broke Step. Of the oratorical abilities of liit
Ise,: the Reviewer speaks in the warmest terms of
°l'erertlli"• His Tic however, we apprehend,
°"
.""c"
ranks St. John as a
lleaker , especially when he
l/tede above Chatham. No British statesman ever
cider er,el la the senate such electrical effects as the
he iitrltt• As was observed of the Athenian Pericles,
tives- erdlY " thundered and lightened." Ms
Of hi's enforced by his fine voice, and the piercing glanceca_
f h4wk e3'e, were irresistible ; he was ever r • dy
cered Tile in argument, though he knew little, end
ci et little for the stricter forms of logic ; and if de
he%
to the
alluring graces of persuasion, lie well knew
ing ° enchain the attention of his audience by excit-
heeisi% the ease needed, their passions or their appre-
quit nil Now we have no authentic records to prove
'tlate°"°,r.broke ever succeeded to this extent in the
tarnent 'Ve know that he was eloquent, graceful, ar-
tele ative, and spoke from the promptings of a full
ter,„por out we have merely the partial testimony. of (:on-
Prove ta„Tlea that lie was—what undeniable facts
clor 'uathein to have been—unrivalled in the effect he
e"I Plrliarnent. We see the force of the latter's
aloe ee in the support he received frem the Corn-
whi4: ?lid the inflexible determination of purpose with
the,
n tte wielded the powers of Government, despite
rleealed hatred of his colleagues, and the distrust of

1,920/., of which 1,632/. has been applied to the building fund,
and the remainder would be distributed amongst such deserving
objects as might apply for assistance. After the adoption of
the report, and the election of officers for the ensuing year,
thanks were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting broke up.
THE LATE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR
WM. THORNTON.—In the account of the funeral of the late
Lieutenant-General Sir Wm. Thornton it was erroneously
stated that that late lamented officer had, at one period, been
tried by a court-martial. We have been assured, on the best
authority, that no such thing ever took place during the course
of his military career. At the depot of the Bth Light Infantry,
of which regiment he was Colonel, the following order has just
been issued :—" It is with the deepest regret the commanding
officer has to announce to the officers and men of the depOt the
death of their Colonel, Lieutenant-General Sir William
Thornton. This gallant and distinguished officer commanded
the regiment in the army under the Duke of Wellington, and
subsequently in the campaigns of 1814 and 1815, on the conti-
nent of America; and it is to his unremitted zeal and noble
example the regiment is principally indebted for that high cha-
racter which it has ever sine 2 maintained. The officers, as a
mark of re=pect to their lamented chief, will wear crape on the
left arm (luring this month." No officer was ever more de-
servedly successful in securing the love and respect of his
comrades in arms than the late gallant Sir Wm. Thornton.

The village of Tunstall, in the Plomesgate
Union, with a population something above seven hundred, has,
at the present time, fifty-one persons in the receipt of parish
relief. The united ages of twenty-five of them amounting to
1,888, being an averag of 784 years, none of whom rre within
the Union House.
On Tuesday last, Mrs. Parker, widow of the cele-
brated Richard Parker, often called Admiral Parker, from the
part he took in the mutiny at the Nore, and for which he was
executed in June 1797, arrived in this city, by the Victoria
coach, and proceeded with it on her way to Edinburgh. The
old lady is blind, and we understand that through the benevo-
lence of a kind lady she is forwarded to the metropolis of the
north, to find a brief haven of rest, after being so long buffeted
by the storms of this changeful life, before her eventful voyage
is finally terminated.— York Herald.

NAPOLEON'S REGARD FOR k,OMNIERCE.--In
all his treaties, the Emperor sought to secure advantages for
French commerce. In 1808, he opened a market in Spain for
the produce of national industry by causing the prehibi-
tion of the silks of Lyons, Tours, and Turin to be abo-
lished. He secured the same advantages to the hardwares of
France, to the cloths of Carcassone, to the linens of Bretagne.
It was his wish that French merchants should establish houses
at St. Petersburg for the sale of French merchandize, and for
the conveyance of Russian merchandise to France ; and it is to
a treaty concluded by the Emperor with Russia that France is
even now indebted for her supply of timber requisite for ship-
building.— Opinions of Napoleon, b 1 Prince Louis.