The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-12 00:00:00

A

AGs -4

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*-e-4

No. 16,895.

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suspicion, I had accustomed the boatmen to row me
across the river of a night, under pretence of a sporting
expedition, taking cold provisions and a rifle with me, t
give it a better colour.' That pretext, however, could
scarcely be expected to pass current on the inclement
night, when he ventured the passage of those wintry
waters with the fugitive Queen and her babe. It was
then, evidently a case of life and death, and the boatmen
must have been paid accordingly, for they incurred some
danger themselves. The night was wet and stormy,
.and
so dark,' continues St. Victor, that when we got into
the boat we could not see each other, though we were
closely seated, for the boat was very small.' Thus with
literally ` only one frail plank between her and eternity,
did the Queen of Great Britain cross the swollen waters
of the Thames, with her tender infant of six months old
in her arms, with no better attendance than his nurses,
no other escort than the Count de Lauzun, and the writer
of this narrative, who confesses, that ho felt an extreme
terror at the peril to which he saw personages cf their
importance exposed, and that his only reliance was in
the mercy of God, by whose especial providence,' he
we were preserved, and arrived at our desti-

LITERATURE.
LIVES OF THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND.
Vol IX. By Agnes Strickland.
As this voluminous and laborious work progresses
towards its completion, the promise which had been
afforded by its commencement is being very happily
verified. Amidst all her wearisome researches, and
amidst all her tedious collation of manuscripts, some-
times spurious and frequently almost illegible, Miss
Strickland must feel herself sustained and even in-
cited to still greater exertions by the reflection that
she is contributing to the literature of her country an
historical production which must preserve her name
in perpetual remembrance. It was a graceful and
ambitious project, in the reign of her Most Excellent
Majesty, our Sovereign Lady Victoria, that of writing
a series of biographies of the Queens consort and
regnant of these realms ; and admirably is that graceful
and ambitious project being realised by our authoress.
Miss Strickland takes no superficial view of the oc-
currences she has undertaken to narrate ; she
gives us no mere second-hand information ;
she is not contented, as are some modern
historiographers (so called), with weaving together
the threads of a variety of narratives already pub-
lished, and then of embroidering them with pictu-
resque language and personal conceits. Lofty and
beautiful as is this latter species of composition, it
has not a sufficient attraction for the lady who has
penned these nine goodly volumes. She is ambitious
of producing something possessing more novelty.
Even on her title-pages she divulges the inquisitive
and industrious cast of her intellect, by quoting that
couplet of Beaumont—
" The treasures of antiquity laid up
In old historic rolls, I opened."
So peculiarly is this manifested in the single volume
now submitted to our examination, that upwards of
two hundred autograph letters and original and perti-
nent documents, never published before, are here
either transcribed in extenso, or are epitomized by the
writer. Under the auspices of the late Secretary
for the Home Department, and of the present
Prime Minister of France, in the Archives au
Iloyaume de France ; and the State Paper-office
at Duke-street; from diaries written in the
cloisters of Chaillot, and from the sprawling charac-
ters formed by the ancient burgesses of Edinburgh;
have Miss Strickland and her congenial sister been
taking transcripts with the zeal of literary devotees,
and the discriminating sagacity of alumni. It would
be almost impossible after the expenditure of so much
intelligence and inquiry, that such an undertaking
could be in any essential particular a failure. But
when, after having accumulated so many and such
valuable materials, the writer was endowed with a
capacity for reproducing those materials in limpid
diction, for narrating events with consecutive clear-
ness, and for estimating a character in its entirety, suc-
cess became matter of absolute necessity. Among
the many illustrious personages who have shared the
thrones of our British monarchs, not one is invested
with so pathetic and attractive a celebrity as the
subject of the present volume—the beautiful *and un-
fortunate Mary Beatrice of Modena, spouse of King
James 11. In comparison with the virtues of that brave
and most gentle lady, those of Catharine of Arragon
seem of a lesser lustre. Beside the desolate romance
of her misfortunes, the magnificent glories of Eliza-
beth are scarcely endued with an aspect of fascina-
tion. With maternal affections equally intense with
those of Margaret of Anjou, Mary of Modena had
less of that great Queen's masculine and almost un-
queenly resolution. Her history is fraught with the
most moving and solemn catastrophes, while it is
coloured throughout by the jaundice of melancholy.
That history had never been written until it was
undertaken by Miss Strickland, and beautifully has
Miss Strickland told of the loveliness, of the virgin
purity, of the transitory splendour and subsequent
sorrows, of the heart-moving pilgrimage and brooding
widowhood of that noble heroine. Even in the classic
loveliness of her appearance, Mary Beatrice has a
claim upon our admiration. The portraits of
her by Lely and Kneller, assure us that her
countenance was admirable, and the pensive
expression of her features of itself indicates
the melancholy nature of her story. Born on
the sth October, 1658, in the palace at Modena—the
native city of Tasso and Corregio—the future Queen
of England was fortunate in the possession of a
mother eminently qualified to tutor her mind with
those precepts of morality and philosophy which are the
surest bucklers against misfortune. United to James
the Second, then Duke of York, Mary of Modena wt's
introduced at the tender age of fifteen to the most
profligate court this country; or possibly any other,
ever knew. In the midst of all its brazen debauchery,
however, the young Duchess of York preserved not
merely an unsullied character, but was conspicuous
for a dignity and self-respect worthy of a princess.
The events with which this splendid pattern of a
woman was afterwards so intimately associated, and
the trying nature of which only tended the more to
the development of new virtues in her disposition, are
too familiar to every English reader to render a
merely casual reference to them less than an imper-
tinence. Her courage under an accumulation of
terrors and difficulties; her maternal tenderness in
moments of personal jeopardy; her untiring and pas-
sionate fondness for the generous but unfortunate
sovereign to whom she was united; her cone
stant and romantic devotion to his memory after
his decease, and while she was sustaining the
desolation of her widowhood in the nunnery
of Chaillot are qualities which must ever demand
the unqualified panegyrics of the historian. It
is impressed with these considerations that the
Hon. ,George Sydney Smythe has pictured two
ladies seated together in a chamber at Versailles, tell-
ing each other of their sufferings and denials during
life ; and that he closes that description with these
affecting words :—" And their hope is, that when the
spouse of Christ shall have summoned her glad array
to meet the bridegroom, among the humblest of her
handmaidens may be numbered the names of
Francois de Mamtenon and Marie of Modena
and England." Beyond all these gentler
characteristics, however, the latter evinced others
of an. heroic and even chivalrous daring.
As the Girondists were wont to assemble in the
saloons of Madame Roland, and to receive from her
lips additional incitements towards the development
of the great revolution and the political regeneration
of France, so did the Jacobite party derive'new stimu-
loUs to enterprise, and receive fresh inducements to
persevere, from the courageous wife of James, and
the mother of the so-called Pretender. We must,
nevertheless, afford our readers a specimen of the na-
tural and yet poetic style of Miss trickland's narra-
tive; and we could not adduce a more appropriate
passage than the following description of the flight
derp9rithe,ewe a;siatpwpoeignatedsufoor.
of Queen Mary Beatrice from Whitehall, in company
with the infant Prince.
the departure" The fol following ionfg
thed day, December
morning was ushered in with
• chapels and houses ; day,
mbuettrneopeSlaisb.baTthhsetillness hallowed it in the turbu-
lenttumults—burning of Catholic
Dueecenemanb
When the evening approached,
rho
share his perils ;
husband to permit her to remain and t
tid-
ings of evil import arrived from pare
Q elf
mh ep
lkoi
rnegdd
her
four and twenty hours, and tha
d him.' To
sake of their child, that she should p
re"beed, as usual,
he replied, that it was his intention
nom follow
ery
for
rr t in
ne
avoid suspicion, their majesties retired to
for
, St. Victor, dressed n the
at
Queenten o'clock.commenced A
coarse habit of a seamanb About an
preparations hour after, they
hreors e, a n
sorrowfuldtle
journey. About midnight in
and armed, ascended by a
secret staircase to the apartment of the King, bringing
with him some part of the disguise which he had caused
to be prepared for the Queen, and told the King all was
ready for their Majesty's departure. I then,' pursues
he, 'retired into another room, where the count de Lauzun
and I waited till the Queen was ready. Her Majesty
had, meantime, confided her secret to Lady Strickland,
the lady of the bed chamber, who was in waiting that
night. As soon as the Queen was attired, we entered
the chamber. The Count de Lauzun and I had secured
some of the jewels on our persons, in case of accidents,
although their
Majesties were at first opposed to it; but
their generous hearts were
only occupiedin cares for. the
safety and comfort of their royal infant. At two o'clock,
we descended by another stair, answering to that from
the king's cabinet, leadingto
t the
e paperasrotmnsentof Madame
who
prince had been carried secretly
some time before. There allh
were to attend on the
the Count de Lauzun, the Queen and the Prince, namely,
" The King, two nurses, and myself.'
assembled
Labadie, where the
turning
toueen Lauzun, said, with deep emo-
tion, I confide my Q
must be hazarded to convey and
must with the utmost speed
son to your care ; all
to France.' Lauzun, after
the honour that was expressing his high sense of
conferred
hand to the Queen to lead her on him, presented his
parting look on the King—an eloquenteraway. She turned a
fare-
well, and followed by the two but mute
nur
infant, crossed the great gallery in silence,
with her sleeping
the backstairs, preceded bysilence, stole down
St. Victor, who had the
keys, and passing through a postern door into the privy
gardens, quitted Whitehall for ever. A coach was wait-
ing at the gate, which St. Victor ha
cl borrowed of his
friend Signor Ferichi, the Florentine resident,
had been for his own use. On our wa as if it
pursuesd. he,
' we had to pass six sentinels, who ste
custom, cried out, " Who goes there?" I
repliedaccor ing.
hto
out hesitation, " A friend ; ' and when they sa thatwlt
had the master-key of the gates, they allowed me to pass
without opposition. The Queen, with the Prince, his
two nurses, and the Count de Lauzun, got into the coach,
but to make all-sure, I placed myself by the coachman
on the box to direct him. We drove to Westminster,
and arrived safely at the place called the Horseferry,
where I bad engaged a boat to wait for we. To prevent

glad to find, is again in the field, smashing the "Grand
Job—Purchase in the Army." The following are a
few of the reasons adduced by Colonel Firebace for at
once doing away with this iniquitous absurdity :
" In any profession or trade, :in which 'people were
allowed to purchase their situations' and sell them
whenever they liked, or only forfeit them for some dis-
honest or immoral act; does it not follow as the natural
' effect, that men would generally shuffle over their duties
rin the most careless and inefficient manner ? Is there
' any reason why there should be any particular deviation
from this natural cause in the case of the army ? When
a young man comes into the service by purchase, to fill
up his idle time until he can be placed on the staff,
until he comes of age, or his grandmother dies, from
whom he expects a fortune, what particular benefit to
him to study a profession he never intends to follow up ;
still less, what possible interest can he take in the wel-
fare of the soldiers, on whom he never looks but as a set
of working tools ? Would you have this fine gentleman
go into a barrack-room to inquire if the men were well
satisfied or comfortable, or could he condescend to learn
the names, still less the dispositions of those under his
command ?
" Money, which carries all before it in England, does
not lose its influence in the army ; the young men who
have little or nothing beside their pay, and to whom the
profession is their existence, in place of furnishing an
example to these gilded interlopers, become worshippers
of mammon, yield up their better judgment, and follow
the lead of the men who jump over their heads, imitate
their cold-hearted indifference, and separate themselves
as much as possible from the men under their command,
whom they learn to look upon more as mere instruments
formed for their benefit than in the light of fellow sol-
diers deserving their sympathy; I appeal to all those
who have experience in the army to say whether I have
exaggerated the case. Look at the household troops,
where the commissions, except those of adjutant and
quarter-master, are all by purchase ; we see here the
unfairness of giving men promotion by purchase en-
hanced to a great degree, for a captain of the Foot Guards
raised to that rank by money, leaps over all the majors
of the army, and may exchange with a lieutenant-colonel
of infantry, and thus obtain the command of a regiment,
about which he cannot possibly know much ; indepen-
dent of this injustice to the army in general, it is unfair
to the body they belong to, for what possible reason can
be assigned why a captain of the Foot Guards becomes
a lieutenant-colonel, and that no such advantage attends
the captains of the cavalry of the household ?"

nation.'

" A curious print of the times represents the boat in
danger, and the two gentlemen assisting the rowers, who
are labouring against wind and tide. The Queen is
seated by the steersman, enveloped in a large cloak, with
a hood drawn over her head; her attitude is expresslye of
melancholy, and she appears anxious to conceal the little
Prince who is asleep on her bosom, partially shrouded
among the ample folds of her draperies. The other two
females betray alarm. The engraving is rudely executed,
and it is printed on coarse paper; but the design. is not
without merit, being bold and original in conception and
full of passion. It was probably intended as an appeal to
the sympathies of the humbler olasses on behalf of the
royal fugitive.
" Our passage,' says the conductor of the enterprise,
was rendered very difficult and dangerous by the vio-
lence of the wind, and the heavy and incessant rain.
When we reached the opposite bank of the Thames, I
called aloud by trtrec onA)sieur Dn'siona,- the page of
the backstairs, who ought to have been there waiting
with a coach and six, which had been engaged by
Count de Lauzun. The page answered promptly, but
told them that the coach was still at the inn, Thither
St. Victor ran to hasten it, leaving Lauzun to protect
the Queen. Her Majesty, meantime, withdrew herself
and her little company, under the walls of the old church
at Lambeth, without any other shelter from the wind
and bitter cold, or any other consolation than that the
rain had ceased.'

" On that spot, which has been rendered a site of
historic interest, by this affecting incident, the beauti-
ful and unfortunate consort of the last of our Stuart
kings remained standing, with her infant son fondly
clasped to her bosom, during the agonising interval of
suspense caused by the delay of the coach, dreading
every moment that he would awake and betray them by
his cries. Her apprehension was unfounded. He had
slept sweetly, while they carried him in the dead of
night from his palace nursery to the water side; neither
wind nor rain had disturbed him, he had felt none of
the perils or difficulties of the stormy passage, and he
continued wrapt in the same profound repose during this
anxious pause, alike unconscious of his own reverse of
fortune, and his mother's woe.
" Mary Beatrice is said to have looked back with
streaming eyes towards the royal home where her be-
loved consort remained, lonely and surrounded with
,
perils; and that she vainly endeavoured to trace out the
e
lights of Whitehall, among those that were reflected
from the opposite shore, along the dark rolling river.
remained
nedan
historiansof
hour under
her babe, waiting for the coach, which through some
that
tpheeri wallsod d declare,
th re that the Queen
old church with
mistake never came, and that a hackney coach was, at
last, procured with difficulty. This was not the case,
for St. Victor found the coach and six all ready at the
inn, which was within sight of the river: the delay,
therefore, must have been comparatively brief, but when
time is measured by the exigency of circumstances, mi-
nutes are lengthened into hours.
" The haste and agitation in which St. Victor ap-
peared, when he came to inquire after the coach, com-
bined with his foreign accent and idiom, excited ob-
servation, meantime, in the inn-yard, where a man
with a lantern was on the watch, and when he saw the
coach and six ready to start, ran out to reconnoitre, and
made directly towards the spot where the queen was
standing. I went,' says St. Victor, with all speed
on the other aide of the way, fearing that he would re-
cognise the party on the bank. When I saw that he
was actually approaching them, I made as if I wished to
pass him, and put myself full in his path, so that we
came in contact with each other, fell, and rolled in the
mud together. We made mutual apologies for the acci-
dent. He went back without his light, which was ex-
tinguished by the fall, to dry himself, and I hastened to
the carriage which was now near, and joined her Ma-
jesty, who got into the coach as before. The page was
to hive returned, not having been intrusted with the
secret ; but having recognised the Queen, his mistress,
he wished to follow her. As we left the town,we en-
countered various of the guards. One of them said,
' Come and see, there is certainly a coach full of papists.
But God willed it so, that they changed their purpose,
for no one came near us. We had scarcely gone three
miles, when we were overtaken by the Sieur Leyburn,
one of the Queen's Equerries, on horseback, he had
brought another horse and boots for me, which the
King had, with inexpressible goodness, sent to enable
me to perform my journey. I descended from the car-
riage, put on my boots, and mounted my horse in evil
plight, what with my fall, my wet clothes, and the wind,
which never ceased.'"

THE COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
Mr. A'Beckett, in the present number, runs laugh-
ing through the reigns of Edward 1., " whose legs were
too long in proportion to his body, which gained him
the nickname of Longshanks, though it would have
been more respectful to have called him Daddy
Long-Legs, in allusion to his being the father of his
people," Edward 11., and begins that of Edward 111.
This is a capital number of this right merrie history,
and is capitally illustrated by Leech.

Until the arrival of the royal fugitives in Calais, on
Tuesday, December 11, at nine o'clock in the
morning, the unfortunate Queen supported her
afflictions with the same magnanimity,
subjected to privations even more distressing than
the foregoing. Here, however, is a contrast most
charmingly introduced by the authoress, in her ac-
count of the subsequent flight of King James. It is
while crossing the channel to France that the sub •
joined incident occurs : although

" The tragedy of real life is sometimes strangely
mingled with circumstances of a comic character, which
appear the more ridiculous perhaps from the revulsion of
u feelingnd ert the ee xy c re
em
eanpt t
in the midst of his distress during this melancholyotfoexpereosdsuivcee ognriepre.rsons labouring
voyage, felt his mirth irresistibly excited,Kwihnegn Jhe ames,
the brave captain Trevanion attempting to fry some
bacon for his refection in a frying-pan that had a hole in
it, which that gallant officer was compelled to stop with
a pitched rag ; at the sight of this expedient the king
gave way to immoderate laughter, which was renewed
when the captain proceeded to tie a cord round an old
cracked can, to make it in a condition to hold the drink
they had prepared for him. A keen perception of the
ludicrous is often a happy provision of nature to pre-
serve an overcharged heart from breaking under the
pressure of mortal sorrow. It was well for the fallen
majesty of England that he could laugh at things,
which were melancholy indications of his calamitous
reverse of fortune. The laughter, however, was medi-
cinal, for he ate and drank heartily of the coarse fare
that was set before him, and always declared that he
never enjoyed a meal more in his life."
In the tenth and forthcoming volume of the "Lives
of the Queens of England," the clpse of this interest-
ing history is promised—the close, not of the reign,
for that has long ended, but of the life,of Mary of
Modena. Before we conclude these observations, we
would express our regret at a circumstance which
transpired almost immediately after the publication
of this ninth volume. We do so with reluctance,
but we feel compelled to the utterance in all honesty
and simplicity. For the purpose of correcting a
blunder (for it would be monstrous to designate it
otherwise) in the work of a contemporary historian,
the authoress endeavoured, by a letter in a public
newspaper, to direct the finger of scorn at one of our
most distinguished legislators. We regret this rash
and ungentle proceeding. While Miss Strickland's
" Lives of the Queens of England" will constitute a
noble offering to the historical literature of this coma-
woifllonuort tjuhrei
splersasdbeenacem.agTnhisificbniotgrtriabpuhty
of Mary Beatrice of Modena tribute
try, Lord Campbell's "Lives of the Lord Chancellors
mgJames the
Second," by the Right
panion volume
lion. Charles James Fox.
forms afnKad. .e
able coin.
°tot. Ethnegglanendiu:s'
to the "History o

MAGAZINES--(CONTINUUD).
THE MILITARY MAGAZINE.
This is the first number of a new periodical devoted
to the instruction and amusement of the soldier. ~ We
design it," says the editor, in his preliminary observa-
tions, " for not only generals but corporals—not only
commissioned, but the non-commissioned ranks. The
youthful cornet or ensiga, we trust, will find some-
thing in it to charm his altention, while the veteran
FapipelrdovAlesairtsshaspl,friittisanhdopemda,
xwiinull
.bevirabele
design
osgayn that he
it also
for a barracks' resource—so, when the weary sergeant
or raw recruit shall require relaxation from, or direc-
tion yin hisglean d
euittyh,e
r that,an hourin th,
se
repose Military
or Magazine,
half.
0
food for salutary reflection. To the military in- all
parts of the world are our labours dedicated." The
want of a periodical devoted to military matters, and
which should be suited to the barrack-room, has long
been felt, and, judging from the present number, we
think it very probable that the Military magazine
will supply the deficiency.
___.-----

COLBURN'S UNITED SERVICE.
The admirable " History of the Sikhs and the
Punjaub" is continued in this number. When com-
pleted, we take it for granted this history will be
published in a separate form. The opening paper of
this number, entitled " The present War in Kafir-
land," is from the pen of a writer who has contri-
buted on former occasions much valuable information
on the subject of the Cape colony to the
pages of this
magazine. We have also a bi'p uhly interestininterestingnarra-
tive of an " Expedition into the Interior of New Zea-
land, in June, 1845 ;" and Colonel Firetvace, we are

7

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121
, ;7,, WM '7lll PTO 1 ,t.
NOVEMBER 12, 1846.
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LON DON, TH U RSDAY ,

PE.ICE SD.

told and very interesting French tale, entitled " The
Will." Eugene Scribe's "Piquillo Alliaga" is con-
tinued, and we have some pleasant gossiping notes of a
tour in Belgium and Germany, which we are glad to
see are to be continued. Mr. St. John, however,
does not, in his editorial capacity, confine himself to
merely entertaining—he mingles the useful in its
proper proportions, and the article on " Free Trade in
France" is superior to many an article on the free
trade question which has appeared in periodicals of
nearly three times the price of the Mirror. The fol-
lowing account of the progress of the free trade asso-
ciations in that country will he read with a lively in-
terest by all English free traders.
" The French fr,,e traders have now actively and en-
ergetically entered into the campaign, which was opened
with due solemnity in the Salle Montesquieu on the 25th
of August, At this re-union, preside.' over by the Due
d'Harcourt, were present Anisson, I)uperron, Horace
Say, Fre.'6:ic Bastiat, Leon Faucher, Riglet, Blenqui,
Michel Chevalier, and Louis Reyband, &c. The meet-
ing was successively addressed by the Due d'Harcourt,
Leon Faucher, Riglet, and Blanqui, who exposed the
mischief which was and is the result of protection. The
sympathies of the audience were entirely with the
speakers' for the facts were easy of comprehension, and
the truths were home truths ; and each, as dealt forth,
told fearfully against monopoly, finding a ready and con-
firmatory response in the breasts of the auditors, who in
the common occurrences of their daily life, constantly
experience inconvenience and suffering from the prohi-
bitory tariffs of the Custom-house. The systems of agi-
tation proposed and adopted (as I take it) consists in es-
tablishing in every town of note, and of sufficient popula-
tion, a local league, which, while it acts under the direc-
tion and in unison with the central executive council,
will of itself have sufficient distinctiveness to interest the
inhabitants, and be able to demonstrate daily and
hourly, theoretically and practically, the disadvantages
'of protection. Each league will represent as it were a
different class of the community, with their different in-
terests and reasons of hostility to prohibition.
" Thus we see three in full and active life. La Ligue
Bordelaise, La Ligue Parisienne, and La Ligue Marsel-
laise ; the first representing the wine growers and agri-
cultural producers, who find the protection awarded to
some of the manufacturers deprives them of a good mar-
ket for their wine, and forces them to use agricultural
implements and machines ages behind those employed
in England or in Belgium, and retards the progress and
improvement dictated alike by nature and reason. The
second, the manufacturers of those graceful articles, in-
digenous to France, and characteristic of her people,
which have a European reputation, and would have
commanded a European market, but for protection,
which also deprives them of good and cheap machinery
and tools, substituting in their stead those which are
extensive and bad. The third, the shipowners, mer-
chants, and traders, who year by year see their
trade diminish, and pass into the hands of strangers.
Their ships empty, their crews idle," their ports filled
with foreigners. And this the result of that protection
which has not only crippled, but, in spite of the increase
in wealth and population of France, has reduced her
merchant navy far below what it was fifteen years
back."