The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-11 00:00:00

THE COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLOA

Gilbert a B?eket. illustrated by Leech.
d
Merrily do we laugh through the reigns Of ' goee
VI. and Edward IV. under the guidance of of
Beckett ; and, laughable though it be, his aceolljois,
Joan of Arc is the only true one that has yet bear ;op,
After the same fashion does he treat Margaret of Allijos
another heroine of those dull and solemn roamsneftet
who have chosen to dub themselves historians. .ti
observing of Henry VI., that " What had been lO:bocil
hood the gentleness of the lamb, became in Ins
downright sheepishness," he thus proceeds : 104
" Henry being a mere nonentity, it was resolved to 0
make something of him by finding him a wife of ePl%it;
if small beer could be. turned into stout by mixing a qn a for'
of gin with it. Margaret of Anjou was selected for '4'o
'nation of this deleterious compound She was one of 04 of
intolerable nuisances—a fine woman, with a great_ d,
decision, which means that she was decidedly dis
Her father was a nominal king of Sicily and Jerusideel'of
he had no real dominions, and only rented, as it were.,ll.4e.
plate, or had his name up over the door of the coati:oo
cificd. He was as poor as a cup of tea after the fifth ;stet
and ruled over about as much land as he could cram ~„i g*
few flower- pots which adorned the window of hie w"tirpoile
He kept a minister who answered the bell and the P flo
at the same time, and was accustomed to wait at table Lao
Itiajesty's apartment was furnished with a sort of
covered with green baize, which formed a board 03440 r
cloth; and he had several sticks-in-waiting in his anlubsda
stand. His robe de matin was his robe of state; jrbps
green silk privy purse, and an ormolu cabinet. Pe 410
keeper of the great seal, which hung to his watch; sieno,
bureau comprised a secretary for the home depart;oo4,
which he kept all his washing-bills. He °nos P
with a master of the horse by keeping no Iwo.
his own, and he always had plenty of gentlemen-in',./I.par
in the shape of creditors. He saved the expense °f
master by paying nobody ; and though he issued Ax"-holli
Bills, they were not only at very long dates, bat 'Noir
unworthy of any one's acceptance. He was his 0" Oil
cellor of his own Exchequer, for he used to declseva
much apparent integrity, that his government should 0
be degraded by useless sinecures. Whenever 010
nothing to do,' he would philosophically exclaim, '1 1410
it my duty to do it.' He usually resided in Sicily
was at home, but he kept in his court—at the bats
lodging—a few Jerusalem artichokes, to representoan
terests of the other kingdom of Jerusalem. He used teak
a financial statement every now and then, for the of 10
clearing himself of his debts, which were the subject, toe
annual act of which he alone got the benefit. He used :off
these occasions to profess a considerable anxiety to 111.,".00
as he went on, but his goings on and rubbings %bad
equally to his own advantage, and the cost of those " salt
trusted him. Never was political economy carried tsicilie
perfection as by the father of Margaret, the King of
and Jerusalem." f
The following hit at an ancient art (the style 0
which is worshipped by Young England, and
ticed by Mr. Dyee). is admirable. Sneaking of 50
cient piece of "winery, he says set
"Its chief peculiarity was its aptitude—according t°b,ijs
engravings we have seen of it—for carrying eao_%°flje,,el4
considerably larger than the mouth of the
for we have often feasted our eyes upon
pictures of a cannon-ball issuing from a Cannleglibetiler
half the circumference of the projected missile. " wati
it is that in those days expanding arnmunitio,n, the
provided, which increased in bulk twofold after leVlic7lodi
cannon's mouth, we are unable to say at that distant P., tbis
but. the illuminations of the time undoubtedly presee.".tgy
striking phenomenon. The dust of ages lies unfort110:0
on many of our facts, and though we might, it is traie„sare
up a duster and wipe the died of ages off; there is a
in the imaginative which the actual could never realise,
This description is admirably illustrated by
Irem a high art picture of the period.

VANITY .A o. 111. epd
Mr. Thaekeray improves as he progresses,
Well
" Vanity Fair" promises to be the most truthful 2615 el
as the most caustic of modern novels. The adv"—ber,
of Miss Rebecca Sharp are continued in this nurl3o 0-
She is domiciled at Queen's Crawley, and has ivr rib')
tinted herself into the confidence of every member o'. ire,
Crawley family. Sir Pitt Crawley is a country Scitle
id est, a brute—a shrewd man, of low tastes and "„:it,
habits, who kills his own mutton," or as he phras`-tbs
"sticks his own ships," and after the said sucking ,5
family live upon coarse joints of mutton served UP 140(
plate, until the ship is all eat up, and then, by "for
variety, a pig is killed, and they feed upon pork;;;es
week. Lady Crawley is a non-entity ; the .o';h-ee.
re
Crawley (Miss Sharp's pupils) are hoydens ; and
are two sons of Sir Pitt by a former wife—Mr. Cr!" tells
a saint, and Random Crawley, a rout captain in fa
guards. The captain, who has a hearty antipslqiisi
his father, is the favourite of his maiden aunt, "bo
Crawley—a romantic el& rly maiden, a liberal, 'is.
reads Voltaire, and understands Rousseau. Miss
fee
lay is always an object of great respect when she CO
to Qut en's Crawley and
, hoe
"She had a balance at her bankers which would -
made her b a
eloved anywhere. th 6
" What dignity it gives an old lady, that balance s- re,
bankers! How tenderly we look at her faults if she isssa; ss
Wive (andinay every reachir have a score of such), TlPs."„' -
kind good-natured old creature we find her! How the
partner of Hobbs and Dobbs leads her smiling to the carriso!
with the lozenge upon it, and the fat wheezy coachsl:ga
How, when she comes to pay a visit, we generally ni4l
opportunity to let our friends know her station in the list'
We say (and with perfect truth) I wish I had Mis 3
Whiner's signature to a cheque for five thousand I)(nl",,at,
She would'nt miss it, says your wife. She i 3 inY it; if
say you, in an easy careless way, when your friend as's-of
Miss Mac Whiner is any relative ? Your wife is perPetu;rlS
sending her little testimonials of affection, your little %%I&
endless worsted baskets, cushions, and footstools for "of
What a good fire there is in her room when she comes t°l ;e1
you a visit, although your wife laces her stays without -,
The house during her stay assumes a festive, neat, 11•I'lais
jovial, snug appearance not visible at other seasons. bud
yourself, dear sir, forget to go to sleep after dinner, and ry
yourself all of a sudden (though you invariably lose) %is
fond of a rubber. What good dinners you have- 00i
every day. Malmsey-Madeira, and no • end of fish 'rise
Loratoe. Even the servants in the kitchen share in toy
general prosperity • and, somehow, during the 5 dof Miss Mac Whirto's fat coachman, the beet tea
grown much stronger, and the consumption 01 ss,
and sugar in the nursery (which her maid t 3„?
her meals) is not regarded in the least. Is it so, or is not 3.;t1
I appeal to the middle classes. Ali, gracious powers! i4.11,'0
3oa would send me an old aunt—a maiden aunt with a lozeh-ols
on her carriage, and a front of light coffee-coloured hair Julie
my children should work work- bsgs for her, and InY. !
and I would make her comfortable! Sweet—sweet vino--
Foolish— foolish dream!"
The family of Sir Pitt, however, are not the on 9
worshippers who pay homage to Miss Crawley'smsall,lo
Sir Pitt has a brother, the Rev. Bute Crawley,
rector of tie village, with whom, of course, he is 5V,1
riance. Wiere is the rural parish to be found in /Tre
the squire and the parson are :tot at variance, °I"
especially where they chance to be brothers?
" The, Rev. Bute Crawley was a tall, stately, jolly t
hatted man, tar more popular in his county than the Pa',4-nste-
his brother. At college he pulled stroke-oar in the C11:-.16
church boat, and had thrashed all the best bruisers of "_„
" town." lie carried his taste for boxing and athletic este,,..,
vises into private life: there was not a fight within twe?o,,
miles at which he was not present, nor a race, nor a cou,rV
match, nor a regatta, nor a ball, nor an election, nor A v,3',„,
tion dinner, nor indeed a good dinner in the whole county,
but he found means to attend it. You might see his tl'orY
mare and gig-lamps a score of miles away from his Rec _
House, whenever there was any dinner party at Fuddlestni''. A
or at Roxby, or at \\'upshot Hall, or at the great Lords,
the county, with all of whom he was intimate. lie h,
a
nd
fine voice ; rang " A southerly' wind and a cloudy sky ;'
de
gave the " whoop" in chorus with general applause. He
to hounds in a pepper-and-salt frock, and was one of the beat
fishermen in the county. , who
" Mrs. Crawley, the rector's wife, was a smart little body,
wrote this worthy divine's sermons. Beieg of a dome-us'
turn, and keeping the hcuse a great deal with her daught,_re7
she ruled absolutely within the rectory, wisely giving her
husband full liberty without. He was welcome to come a!s._
go, and dine abroad as many days as his fancy dictated, WO',
Mrs. Crawley was a saving woman and knew the price
ng r -
port wine. Ever since Mrs. Bute carried off the you
for of Queen's Crawley (she was a good family, daughter_ ect
or
the late Lieut.-Colonel Hector MacTavish, and she and
she
mother played for Bute and won him at Harrowgate), Snw
lead
had been a prudent and thrifty wife to him. In spite of
care, however, he was always in debt. It took him at le_
ten years to pay off his college bills contracted during. hie
father's life time. In the year 179—, when he was just clear
of these incumbrances, he gave the odds of 100 to 1 (sills
twenties) against Kangaroo, who won the Derby. The red
was obliged to take up the money at a ruinous interest, eais
had been struggling ever since. Ms sister helped him With