The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-02 00:00:00

UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE.

Of the eulogium upon the Emperor Nicholas we can
merely observe that it is a waste of chivalry in a most
damning cause I Not all the most artfully balanced
" periods " in the world can obliterate the flaws, and
the rankling blains, and unsightly darkness which render
the autocracy a perfect bugbear to those who are free-
to-think and free-to-judge. Panegyrics have been writ-
ten upon Robespierre; Marat was apotheosized immedi-
ately after his as29.ssination ; Catherine has not passed
without her admirers ; Nero was beloved, as the flowers
upon his grave attested ;ar the gloomiest, fiercest,
bloodiest despots earth ever beheld, have, turn, each
and all received commendation from some among
fellow-men. It is not, therefore, so utterly incompre-
hensible that a biography of this eulogistic nature
should be devoted to the present Emperor of the Rus-
sias. In endeavouring to cover foulness with tinsel,
the operator stands a tolerable chance of getting mi-
serably daubed himself. What we more particularly object
to in this instance is, that while one page of the United
Service heaps benedictions upon the fair fame of the
Imperial Majesty Nicholas, another has the audacity,
or we should rather say the ignorance, to brand
Napoleon with the guilt of crime in connexion with—
(whom does the reader think ?)—the "Duc d'Enghein,
General Pichegru, Capt. Wright, cum muftis aliis." Why
history has long since proved that Pichegru and Captain
Wright both committed suicide, and common sense has
proved that the First Consul, far even from desiring their
death, must have been most anxious for their evidence at
the trial, anterior to which they expired. With regard
to the Duc d' Enghein, Hazlitt, our own English his-
torian, emphatically says, " If I had been in Napoleon's
place, and if I could possibly have done so, I would have
had him killed six times over." Humanity required it,
the peace of France and of the European Continent re-
quired it, the perpetuation of a free Government required
it ; so did every feeling of justice and of law. After
these insinuations of the reviewer in the United Service,
we cannot but look upon his corollary cum multis aliis
as being tantamount simply to cum cateris paribus—
mere visions, idle, delusive, non-existant. What
small powers of discrimination—what an inca-
pacity to appreciate the truly glorious—what
a bias towards the truly ignoble—to applaud
Nicholas and asperse Napoleon Hamlet's indignation
recurs to us, "Leaving this fair field to batton on this
moor." Mr. Keon continues his spirited narration of
" The late struggles of Abd-el-Kader and the Campaign
of Isly ;" the near termination of which narrative we
cannot but regret. "A Proposition for Manning the
British Navy with Volunteers" is filled with judicious
hints, some of which are exceedingly feasible. Too
much attention cannot be directed to the subject, as it
should never be forgotten that,
" England needs no bulwark,
No towers along the steep;
Her march is on the mountan wave,
Her home is on the deep."
The voice of the Delphian oracle should ever reverbe-
rate in the ears of the Legislature. " Your only de-
fence is in your wooden walls 1" There are various
other papers of more than average merit.