The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-24 00:00:00

No. 17,060, LONDON, MONDAY S N 9

WILSON'S SCOTTISH ENTER-
TAINMENTS.
At the MUSIC-HALL, STORE-STREET, BEDFORD-SQUARE.
THIS EVENING, May 24, at Eight o'clock, Mr. WIL-
SON will give an Entertainment on the
SONGS OF SCOTLAND,
In which he will sing a Selection of Songs by Burns, Jacobite Songs,
and some of the Old Ballads.

PART FIRST. —There was a lass, and she was fair—Tho Birks of
Abcrfeldy—Tam Glen —Mary Morison—Bide ye yet—My spouse
Nancy—Auld Robin Gray.
Mr. Wilson will recite the Second Part, or Continuation of " Auld
Robin Gray," written by the Authoress, and communicated to Sir
Walter Scott. _

PART SECOND.—Wha wadna fecht for Charlie ?—lle's o'er the hills
that I loe weel—The women are a' gams wud—Wae's me for Prince
Charlie —There are twa bonnie maidens—Tak your auld cloak
about ye.
Tickets, 2s. ; Reserved Seats, 2s. 6d. ; Private Boxes for Six Per-
sons, 15s. ; for Eight, it.
Mr. WILSON will give an Entertainment at Crosby Hall, Tuesday,
.‘lay 25: and a Morning Performance on the Songs of Scotland, a'
Willis's Rooms, on Friday, June 4, at half-poet two o'clock.

CIRCULAR NOTES AND LETTERS OF CREDIT.
THE LONDON AND WESTMINSTER
BANK issues CIRCULAR NOTES for the use of Travellers
and Residents on the Continent. These Notes are payable at every
important place in Europe, and thus enable a traveller to vary his
route without inconvenience ; no expense whatever is incurred, and
when cashed no charge is made for commission.
These Notes may be obtained either at the Head Office of the Lon-
don and Westminster Bank, in Lothbury ; or at the Branches of the
Bank, viz. : —l, St. James's•square ; 213, High Holborn ; 4, Strat-
ford-place, Oxford-street ; 3, Wellingtou-street, Borough ; and 87,
High -street, Whitechapel.
By order of the Board,
JAMES WILLIAM GILBART, General Manager.

PRICE'S PATENT CANDLE COMPANY.
This concern yields its present Proprietors a profit of 20%1.
per cent. on the capital employed in it, and being capable of an ex.
tensien, without diminution of that per centage of profit, much be-
yond the scope and means of private enterprise, a Company is in
progress of formation to raise a Capital of 500,0001. in 25,0001. Shares
of 20/, each. Of these 19,337 have been taken by the present Pro-
prietors and others, to whom the scheme has been privately commu-
nicated, 2,000 are at the request of several correspondents, reserved
fur future Allotment to the Trade, and the remaining 3,663 are now
offered to the Public.

Applications to be made to Messrs. Wilson and Harrison, the soli-
citors of the Company, 1, Copthall-buildings, Throgmorton-street,
London, from Whom Prospectuses and every other information may
be obtained.

WI ITSUN HOLIDAYS.

ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.
LECTURES on CHEMISTRY on the Evenings of Mon-
day, Wednesday, and Friday, at Nine o'clock. LEC-
TURES on NATURAL PHILOSOPHY daily, by Dr. Bach-
hoffner ; and on the Evenings of Tuesday and Thursday, on
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT, and the Agents employed in its pro-
duction. Experiments with ARMSTRONG'S HYDRO-ELECTRIC
MACHINE. The WORKING MODELS and MACHINERY ex-
plained. The varied Optical Effects include, New DISSOLVING
VIEWS, the OXY-HYDROGEN MICROSCOPE, &c. EXPERI-
MENTS with the DIVING-BELL and DIVER, &c., &c. The
Evening MUSIC, under the direction of Dr. Wallis, commences at
Seven o'clock.
Admission Is. Scheols, half-price.

ASCOT RACES. - CHARLES DOTESIO,
ROYAL HOTEL, SLOUGH, begs to inform his friends and
the public that he still has disengaged some of his best Apartments,
and, to prevent disappointment, respectfully begs to be favoured
with their earliest commands for Post Horses aad Carriages, and
also for Stalls at his Stables.
N.B.—A GRAND TABLE D'IIOTE, as on former years on the
Cup Day, at Seven P.M.

SILVER TEA SERVICES OF NEW PATTERNS.
AB. SAVORY and SONS, Working
• Silversmiths, 14, Cornkill, Loudon, opposite the Bank,
respectfully inform their customers that they have recently finished
a few new designs, in accordance with the present improved taste,
and that they are sold at reduced prices from those customary in
the trade.
Uxbridge Pattern. Thalia Pattern.
Strong Silver Tea Pot .£lO 18 0 Strong Silver Tea Pot. £l3 0 0
Ditto Sugar Basin.. • • 614 0 Ditto Sugar Basin.... 711 0
Ditto Cream Jug 4lO 6 Ditto Cream Ewer• •. • 5 2 0
Ditto Coffee Pot .• • 14 10 itto Coffee Pot ••• • 16 17 0
Complete. . £36 12 Complete..
A variety of upwards of Fifty Silver Tea and Coffee Services may
be seen In the Show-rooms, and on application the illustrated Price
Current, containing drawings, with the weights and price of recent
designs, will be forwarded to any part of Great Britain, Ireland,
India, or the colonies. Drawback on Silver Plate exported ls. 6d.
per ounce.

BREACH OF PROMISE.
How eft do we hear, of a fickle young " blade,"
Disappointing the hopes of his confident maid ;
How many soft letters address'd to fair ribs
Have prov'd in the issue, a tissue of ribs ;
How many kind sweethearts have shown by their deeds'
That though sweet in their words, they were sore bitter weeds,
And how many a tear has been shed as a token
That promise, like pie-crust, was made to be broken.
How many have said, when untying the band,
" He has taken my heart, but he won't take my hand."
But justice steps in, with a menacing carriage,
To visit the breaches of Promise of Marriage.
But what have those breaches of promise to do
With the tailoring warehouse of MOSES? say you.
Stay, stay, zealous reader, and don't be afraid,
For Frit coming to breaches of promise in trade.
When the Public was courted by MOSES and SON,
They of er'd their suit as they ought to have done ;
The Public, (they said,) was their boast and their pride,
And ever since then they've been closely allied.
They promni'd as suitors, in all things to suit ;
And nought has created the slightest dispute.
Their Addresses and Dresses minutely agree,
And honour—strict honour—at all times we see.
The Public perceiving how matters were plann'd,
Have taken E. MOSES and SON by the hand ;
And now are their mutual interests wed,
And MOSES and SOS have fultill'd all they've said,
May the union subsist as it ever has done—
May the Public esteem more completely be won
By a happy connexion with MOSES and SON !
Observe—This Establishment will be closed on Thursday evening,
May 20, at seven o'clock, till Saturday evening at eight o'clock,
when business will be resumed till twelve.
A new Work, entitled " FASIIIONS FAVOURITE," with a
List of Prices, and Directions for Self-Measurement, can be had on
application, or forwarded post-free.
LIST OF PRICES.
MADE TO MIAMI.
Cashmere Codrlngton, from .... ••••• • • • • • •• •' ''l6 6
Taglionis, silk collar and cuffs ..
Cambridge Coat, lined throughout • • • ........... • . 2 6 0
1 2 0
.... •••••••••• • • • • • • '• • •••••••••••
Tweed Coats • • • •••• • • • •
Sporting Coat 0 16 0
Dress C0at........ • • • • • • • • .• • • • • • 01
1132 86
.. 2 15
Best quality manufactured •. • • ....... .
Frock Coat ••• • .
nest quality manufactured .• • •
Rich pattern Ve5t5.............. • • ...• •• • • •• •• 08 8
Cashmere .or cloth ........ .• ••.• • • 0 8 6
Tweed Trousers
Single-milled Doeskin ditto ..... •••• • • • • 1 2 0
Best, or Dress ditto ........ ................ ..... 1 6 0
Boys' Hussar or Tunic Suits .•..• • • •
, .... ••••• • • • • • • .. • • 1 5 0
READY MADE.
Blouses, from • • ... ... 0 2 6
••••• •• •••• •• •• •••• •••• • ••
Cashmerette Codrington ••• • • ••••• • • • • el 18 6
Cambridge's, Chesterfield Polka's, and all the lamest
patterns ... •• . ••
Tweed Coat ........ •• .• ...... from 0 8 6
Sporting ditto • • • • ... 0 6 6
Dress Coat ............. ... •••• • • • • ••• • • 1 0 0
Extra Superfino, a superior coat • • •••• ••• • • • •• • 115 0
Frock Coat• • • from 1 4 11
Extra Superfine, a superior coat 2 0
Roll-Collar Vests .... • • • • • • • • • • • • ••
•• • •
••" • • ...... •••• • • • • . . 0 2 0
Fancy satins •
Cloth, or Cashmere... ••
•• •• •• • • ••• ••
04 6
•••
Tweed Trousers. ..... •
Fancy Cashmere or Doeskia :• •• • :...••••••• • •
• : 10 6
Observe.—Bo ys cAannyd
article
Hussar
purchased,suits •..
ready .. •.
made
tlO • 48
m66e a
made, or
sure, if not approved of, will beexchanged, or if preferred, the
money
AeyircE
returned.
E. and
SON,
Tailors, Woollendrapers, Clothiers, Hatters,
Hosiers, Furriers, Boot a,ulds4S,hossmakers, and General Outfitters, for
andand 156, 157 Minories, and 82,
Ladies and Gentlemen
84c,
Caution.
-BE6.
mAlodsegsatea,nd:',itsyo.l
ongicnoimmaecnto guard the
tbile against impostors, but havegl reed thlt the
them,untradesman-
or it's the same concern,
has
hone
for obvious reasons.
They have no connexion with any other
bi'leesnehrecsisorotedf being
in or out of London;
911 d those who desire genuine and chesp clothing, connected
instances, with or
enea t.
&c., should call at,
or send to, Minories and Aldgate, City, London.
Notice. -No business transacted at this establishment from sun-
set Friday, till 9 =let Saturday, whim businessi a resumed till twelve
Obbaike

GREAT SOUTHERN AND WESTERN
RAILWAY (IRELAND).

EIGHTH CALL OF 51. PER SHARE,
Making 351. called up on each Share.

Notice is hereby given, that in pursuance of a resolution passed
by the Board of Directors, the PROPRIETORS of SHARES in the
Consolidated Capital of this Company are hereby REQUIRED to
PAY a CALL of 5/. PER SHARE, 2/. 10s. on or before FRIDAY,
the 25th day of June, and 2/. I@s. on cr before MONDAY, the 26th
day of July next, to any of the undermentioned Bankers. Accord-
ing to the provisions of the Acts of Incorporation, Interest at the
rate of Four per Cent. per Annum, payable half-yearly, will be
Allowed on the amount of Deposits and Calls paid up until the Rail-
way shall be completed ; but should any Call remain unpaid after
the day above-named, Interest at the rate of Five per Cent. per
Annum will be Charged thereon ; and " no interest shall accrue to
the Proprietor of any Share upon which any Call shall be in arrear
in respect of such Share, or any other Share tc be holden by the
same Proprietor during the period while such Call shall remain un-
paid." By Order of the Board,
WILLIAM TAYLOR. Secretary.
3, College-green, Dublin, May 22, 1647.
Bank of Ireland, Dublin.
Messrs. Glyn and Co., Lombard-street, London.
Manchester and Salford Bank, Manchester.
Bank of Liverpool, Liverpool.
Borough Bank, ditto.
All Shareholders wishing to pay money in anticipation of Calls,
will be allowed Interest on same at the rate of Five per Cent. per
Annum from the date of payment.

CREMORNE.—Lessee, Mr. JAMES ELLIS.
OPEN every Evening except Saturdays.—The public are
respectfully informed that these delightful pleasure grounds, which
last year obtained a celebrity unparalleled in the annals of public
gardens, have this season been considerably enlarged, and
will OPEN THIS DAY, May 24, 1847. This being the birth-day of
her most Gracious Majesty, Mr. Green, the veteran terouaut, will
launch his new balloon Victoria, in honour of the occasion. During
the recess a variety of alterations, regardless of cost, have been
effected, all tending to the comfort and entertainment of the visitor,
thus rendering Cremorne without a rival. Its present attrac-
tions may be thus described :—Grand River-side Entrance ; a splen-
did new entrance, fronting the river (from designs by Mr. B. Hur-
witz). modelled after the magnificent portal of the Jardin de Ma-
bills at Paris, and sunnoented by a figure of Momus, has beenerected,
which, each evening, will he brilliantly illuminated with gas, in
A style embracing elegance and novelty of design, from which a
charming walk, leading to the gardens, has been formed, orna-
mented with beautiful statuary, and interspersed with fragrant
shrubs and exotics. The principal feature in the Gardens is the
Grand Pagoda Orchestra, with an immense circular platfori for
dancing, capable of enabling 4,000 votaries of Terpsichore to ac-
complish each figure in the mazy dance. The orchestra will be
nightly illuminated with myriads of jets of gas, forming a dazzling
scene of enchantment, which will not only charm the eye and fasci-
nate the senses, but add fresh allurements to this modern fairy land.
The trees surrounding this splendid " Salle de Dense" will be illumi-
nated after the style of the Chateau Rouge, at Paris. with magnificent
gas chandeliers, thus creating that desideratum, a Casino d'Ete, con-
ducted by Laurent's unrivalled band of fifty perfbrmers, assisted by
six masters of the ceremonies ; vocal and Instrumental Concert. The
lavender bowers and new Chinese walk will likewise present a coup
d'oeil the most charming. The theatre has been entirely re-deco•
rated, in which will be presented vaudevilles, musical entertain-
ments, and ballets. Grand Costnoramic View of the city of Mexico,
with panoramic and dioramic effects. The largest Achromatic, Ca-
mera Obscura ever exhibited ; also electrical, electro-magnetic,; and
galvanic experiments ; athletic and other amusements, such as
archery, rifle shooting, bowls, swings, maze, gipsies' tent, glass-
blowing exhibition, weighing-machine, the Cremorne poet, &c. &c.
In addition to M. Laurent's band, a powerful Tyrolean Brass Band,
conducted by Mr. J. Hill, will perform daily in the afternoon, com-
mencing at three o'clock. The Tavern Department has been placed
under the entire direction of Mr. Charles Daws (late of the Albion),
and the refreshments will be of the first quality, and at moderate
charges.—Admission, One Shilling. Cremorne can be reached from
all parts of Town by Omnibus, 6d.:; by Steam-boat, 2d.

ON NERVOUS DEBILITY AND GENERATIVE DISEASES.
JUST PUBLISHED, THE THIRTIETH THOUSAND,
An Improved Edition, revised and corrected, 120 pages, price 25., in
a sealed envelope, or forwarded, post-paid, to any address, secure
from observation, for 2s. 6d. in postage stamps, illustrated
with numerous Anatomical Coloured Engravings,
31
A N II 0 0 D:
The Causes •f Its Premature Decline; with Plain Direc-
tions for its Perfect Restoration. _ _ .

A Medical Essay on those diseases of the generative organs,
emanating from solitary and sedentary habits, indiscriminate ex-
cesses, the effects of climate, and infection, &c., addressed to the
sufferer in youth, manhood, and old age ; with practical remarks on
marriage, the treatment and cure of nervous and mental
debility, impotency, syphilis, and other urino-genital diseases.
by which even the most shattered constitution nicty be restored, and
reach the full period of life allotted to man. The whole illustrated
with numerous Anatomical Engravings on steel, in colour, explain-
ing the various functions, secretions, and structures of the reproduc-
tive organs in health and disease; NS ith instructions for private cor-
respondence ,cases, &c.

,
By J. L. CURTIS and 0., Consulting Surgeon, 7, Frith-street,
Soho-square, London.
REVIEW OF THE WORE.

" C VJTIi •N MANHOOD. ( Strange). Having for many years been
the standard work on these diseases, its originality is apparent, and
its perusal breathes consolation and hope to the mind of the patient."
—Naval and Military Gazette.
Published by the Authors, and may be had at their residence ; sold
also by Strange, 21, Paternoster-row ; Hannay, 63, Oxford-street ;
Mann, 39, Cornhill, London ; Sowler, 4, St. Ann's-square, Man-
chester; Philip, South Castle-street, Liverpool ; Campbell, 146,
Argyle-street, Glasgow ; Robinson, 11, Greenside-street, Edinburgh;
and in a sealed envelope by all booksellers.
Messrs. CURTIS and CO. are to be consulted daily at their reel-
lence, No. 7, FRITH-STREET, SOHO -SQUARE, LONDON, and
Patients can have this work privately forwarded them, by initial or
otherwise, to any part of the United Kingdom, direct from the
Author's Residence, or from any of the above agents, on remitting
2s. Gd. in postage stamps.

ON THE CONCEALED CAUSE THAT PREYS ON THE
HEALTH AND SHORTENS THE DURATION OF HUMAN
LIFE.

ILLUSTRATED WITH COLOURED ENORkVINGS,
Just Published, in a Sealed Envelope, price 2s. 6d., or free
by post, 30. 6d.
CONTROUL OF THE PASSIONS : a Popular
Inquiry into the Concealed Cause of its premature Decline,
with Instructions for its Complete Restoration. Addressed to those
suffering fora the destructive consequences of excessive indulgence,
terminating In Mental and Nervous Debility, Local or Constitutional
Weakness, Indigestion, and Consumption. Including a comprehen-
sive Dissertation on MARRIAGE, Incontinence, and Celibacy.
Illustrated with Coloured Engravings, explanatory of the various
Cases, &c.

By C. J. LUCAS and Co., Consulting Surgeons, No. 60, Newman-

_ . .
street, Oxford-street, London.
Member of the London College of Medicine, &c. &c,
CONTENTS OF Tlll WORK,

Chap. I..—Bodily and Mental Exhaustion induced by inordinate
indulgence of the Passions, illustrated with Coloured Engravings.
Chap. 2.—Baneful Results of a Secret Vice on the Mind and Body,
evidenced in the production of Consumption, Epilepsy, and other
convulsive diseases, Insanity, Idiocy, moping Melancholy, Indiges-
tion, Stricture, Impotence, and Sterility, with Observations on the
Duties of Married Life, and on the unhappiness caused by Unfruitful
Unions. Chap. 3.—Debility and Exhaustion of the principal Vital
Functions, the nature and treatment of Impotence and Sterility, and
the imperfect performance of the Marital act, caused byt he practice
of self-indulgence. Chap. 4.—Gonorrhoea, its symptoms, complica-
tions and treatment, Gieet, Stricture, and disease •f the Prostate.
Chap. s.—Syphilis, and its attendant maladies and treatment. Cases,
and concluding observations, Plates, &c.
Sold by Brittain, 11, Paternoster-row ; Gord sn, 146, Leadenhall-
street ; Hannay and Co., 63, Oxford-street; Noble, 114, Chancery-
lane; Mansell, 115, Fleet-street; Winhal, 78, High-street, Bir-
mingham; Whitmore, 119, Market-street, Manchester ; Howell,
54, Church-street, Liverpool; Robinson, 11, Greenslde-street,
Edinburgh; Powell, 10, Westraoreland-street, Dublin; and all
Booksellers.

Persons desirous if obtaining the above work, and not wishing to
apply to a bookseller for the same, may, to insare secrecy, have it
direct from the Authors, by enclosing 3s. 6d., or rostage Stamps.
Messrs. Lucas and Co. are to be consulted from Tenti 11 Two, and
from Five till Eight in the evening, at their residence, No. 60,
Newman-street, Oxford-street, London, and country patients may
be successfully treated, on minutely describing their case, and enclos-
ing the usual fee of 11. for advice.

THE SCARCITY IN PRUSSIA.—The King of Prussia
has issued a decree interdicting the bakers from selling new
bread until after the 15th of August next, it having been
proved that the consumption of new bread is much greater
than that of stale bread. The police is to fix the time that
must elapse between the baking and the sale of bread. A
letter from Breslau of the 6th, in the Debats, says—" We are
at the present moment in a most deplorable condition here,
and the prospect of the future is not more cheering. Nothing
is heard of but attacks by robbers, housebreaking, and incen-
diarism. Alarm is general, and many proprietors in easy
circumstances, alarmed for the fate of the store of corn which
they have laid in, sell it at a low price in order to rid them-
selves of what might become a temptation for attack. Misery
in some localities is so great that it is not an unfrequent
occurrence to see bands of wretched people appear at the fires,
which unfortunately are but too numerous, in order to de-
vour the flesh of the beasts which may perish in the flames.
The potatoes and peas which have been sown for the next
crop have in many cases been torn out of the ground, and
it is impossible to contemplate without a shudder what the
state of things may be before the next harvest. The manu-
facturers have been obliged to discharge their workmen, a
fact which cannot but tend to increase the general misery:
The report that one establihment was about to discharge
1,500 workpeople has caused such alarm to the autho-
rities, that the president of the province has thought it
necessary to repair to the spot, to advise on the measures to
be taken."

LITERATURE.

LOUIX XIV. AND THE COURT OF FRANCE.
By Miss Pardoe. 3 Vols.
Memoirs and biographies form certainly one of the
most interesting species of composition in literature.
Every close investigation into the details of any his-
torical events is only a new affirmation of the oft-veri •
fled maxim, "Truth is stranger than fiction," which,
if any sceptic should presume to disbelieve, we most
sincerely recommend to him the perusal of these me-
moirs of Louis XIV. We are much mistaken, or
they will effect his entire conversion. In the adven-
tures, intrigues and catastrophes here detailed, he will
find the wildest vagaries a poet's imagination ever
conceived, or the most marvellous combinations the
skill of the vaudevilleiste ever contrived, immeasurely
superseded. The authoress tells us in her preface
that her aim is not to offer to her readers "an histori-
cal record of the century of Louis XIV.," but simply
to display more fully than has yet been done " the
domestic life of the great monarch,' and to pass in
review the wits, the beauties, and the poets of his
Court." For such a purpose, she adds, perhaps no
reign has afforded so many and such rich materials.
A passion for personal narrative had spread like an
epidemic in the Court of France; princesses, war-
riors, statesmen, courtiers, and beauties, vied with
each other in recording not only passing events, but
also the individual passions, interests, and prejudices
by which they were influenced. She was conse-
quently possessed of many advantages for the prose-
cution of her task, which must nevertheless
have required much patience and diligence in the
research and investigation of its materials, and
no little precaution and skilfulness in their
classification and combination. That Miss Pardoe
was not deficient in the former of these qualifications
we have abundant proof in the numerous references and
copious annotations to be found on almost every page
of almost every volume, while the air of interest which
hi sustained throughout the whole work, and the fre-
quent anecdotes and amusing episodes by which it is
interspersed and enlivened are ample evidence that
skill and carefulness have not been wanting. A great
lack of unity is certainly manifest in these volumes,
but this appears to have been unavoidable, when we
take into consideration the character of the work,
which is essentially fragmentary and discursive. In
these pages are comprised a brief summary of most of
the important public events, and a detailed account of
many of the private affairs concerning the French
Court during the long reign of Louis XIV., and the
latter years of his father, amounting to no less than
a century ; pen and ink portraits and brief histories
of most of the principal personages who took part in
the varied scene ; romantic adventures, court in-
trigues, political speculations, amusing anecdotes,
brief dialogues, &c. &c.—but the enumeration would
be endless. From these very varied, and, indeed,
heterogeneous materials, it would have been most
difficult, if not quite impossible, to construct one har-
monious whole ; yet, when we come to regard
the work as a representation of the shifting phases
of a court this chameleon-like character can hardly
be regarded as an imperfection. Miss Pardoe com-
pares the reign of Louis XIV. in the different fea-
tures which it presents to the historian and to the
snore minute chronicler to a kaleidoscope, for, whereas
to the former regarding it as a whole, " every evolu-
tion presents a new phase of harmony and beauty," the
latter observing analytically the varied atoms recog-
nises their utter worthlessness. There is a good deal
of truth in this illustration, which is abundantly
evidenced in the course of the work. " Distance lends
enchantment to the view," which too often vanishes
on a nearer inspection ; many a heap of apparently
precious ore has been transformed, upon examination,
into "drossy mould," many a Grand Monarque has
been found on close acquaintance to be a very little
man. In looking back upon the events of the past,
or in looking up to the transactions of the great, we
have been too much accustomed to see in them only
the beautiful groupings of the kaleidoscope ; it is,
therefore, highly beneficial to have now and then, as
in a work like the present, an opportunity of exam-
ining into details and distinguishing the true gold
from the delusive glitter. Of this latter material per-
haps no nation in any epoch ever displayed a greater
superabundance than did the Court of' France, in the
Riede of Louis quatorze. All the most costly, magni-
ficence, and the most refined luxuries which taste and
ingenuity could devise, or wealth procure, were not
only lavished unsparingly on the "festal scenes of
.some Versailles Arcade," but even mingled with the
details of a military campaign.
"As when they lay before Tourney, and the Grand
Monarque was there,
With the bravest of his warriors and the fairest of
his fair,
And the sun that was his symbol and on bis armour
shone,
Was in splendour and in lustre and in light itself out.,
done :
And morn and noon and evening and all the livelong
night,
Came the sound of ceaseless music and the echo of
delight."
Such brilliant scenes necessarily occupy not a few of
the pages of these memoirs ; but they are contrasted
with others of a very different character—for exam-
ple, in one place we are told of a court ball remarka-
ble for its marvellous display of jewels, where the
little Duchess of Burgundy wore on her apron alone
jewels of the value of twenty thousand pistoles ; and
then in another place we read how Louis, with an
impoverished exchequer, was compelled to part with
his plate for the expenses of the war. But not only
do these volumes thus illustrate the manners of the
Court, they also tend to delineate the personal cha-
racter of the Grand Monarque. In this respect, the
want of unity of which we have complained, is to a
certain extent redeemed. In the beginning of the
first volume, which relates to the years previous to
the birth, or during the childhood of Louis, the want
of a guiding principle is very manifest ; but
when he once appears in his true character
en roi, he takes the lead, or rather he
becomes the centre of attraction, and all
revolves around him naturally enough. Perhaps
these volumes may afford us a very tolerable
idea of the character of Louis viewed as a whole.
From the cradle to the grave his whole career is
traced out for our inspection, and although it is im-
possible to contemplate the doings of his manhood
without feelings of the keenest indignation, we can-
not, neverthelesss, refrain from joining thereto a sen-
timent of pity—pity for Louis XIV !—when we see
how much of his error was occasioned by the neglect-
ful education of his childhood, and how much it was
expiated by the sorrows of his declining years.
When we come to analyse his character, if we follow
the advice of Pope, we shall find in his "ruling
passion " a satisfactory clue to all his conduct ; and
that ruling passion, it is hardly necessary to say, was
a most profound adoration of himself—the king.
The egotism of the man and the pride of the
monarch were in him equally powerful and insepar-
able. For example, though no one had a higher
opinion than himself of the adventitious attractions
of the regal station or was more desirous of seeing
them duly appreciated by others, yet while exulting in
the trappings of the monarch his great ambition was
to be loved for himself alone. When, however, as it
sometimes happened, he obtained this boon, the pride
of the sovereign returned again, and he cast aside
the coveted treasures—ay, and trampled on the
ed
to him ; and he, th
hearts that loved him best. But we aree drama not now
e
disposedlciefret,atinholy toar
too,tcriticise
f sustained
uisntag i
nhei his
was conduct—iniats
sassigned
perfection. Miss
n
Pardoe tells us, that while the ambitious policy of
his mother and her ministers, led them to neglect his
ct he
was t ru c
no t e
inapt h w
scholar.
education in all essential points—he was early in-
structed
egotism, made these lessons more impressive; and,
perhaps, these lessons served to develope and strengthen
the innate pride—their united effects were early so to "act theraps his natural pride or
g"—and we suspect
mani-
fested, and characterised the whole seventy-two years
of his reign. We may trace them in his early infancy
when only five years old, he was brought to the bed-
side of his dyin. g father.,, " What is your name ?"
inquired the King.
.Louis XIV.; replied his ex-
pectantuccesior. The pride that
s spared not others,
•
spared not even h'inself, it enabled him on some
occasions to exercise an extraordinary self-control—
es for instance, when quite a child, he remained for
hours, pretending to be asleep, while whole multi.
tudes of the insurgent Parisians passed through his
room to assure themselves that he had not secretly
departed from the capital, which, in fact, he was in
the very act of doing before their entry ; or, again,
when at the very close of his life, worn out, enfeebled,
and so weak, that it was with great pain that he could
rise from his chair, having heard that the foreign Am-
bassadors had dispatched to their respective courts,
news of his approaching dissolution, he at
once ordered a grand review, and remained
four hours in the saddle, inspecting the troops, in
order to afford sufficient proof that he was yet alive.
From these and numerous other anecdotes to be found
in the present memoirs, a clearer insight may be ob-
tained into the character of Louie than from a more
elaborate commentary of an historian. We are told
that Mazarin said of him in his youth, " there is stuff
in him to make three kings and an honest man," and
to judge from his after conduct, the analysis must
have been a tolerably correct one, for certainly the
part of the King very much preponderated, quite in