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

FRASER' 3 MAGAZINE.

The Seikhs are now the lions of the day ; they are
talked about in every society, their history and late
deeds have formed topics for the newspapers for several
months, and the magazines have taken up the tale, and
published long dissertations on the origin of this warlike
race. The account of them in Fraser is well drawn up,
though we could have wished to have learned a little
more about the Lion of the Punjaub, and the extraordi-
nary manner in which he, an illiterate man like Mehemet
Ali, acquired such ascendancy over a turbulent
race. In two respects these remarkable adven-
turers agree. They saw the defects of their native
system of government, but still more the mili-
tary system, cast off their national prejudices,
and employed foreigners to teach their troops the arts
of war. In Runjeet Singh's case the experiment was
completely successful. He raised, by that means, the
most powerful army ever commanded by an Indian
chief, amounting, independent of irregular troops, to
150,000 men, with 400 pieces of artillery, many of them
of large calibre, and made according to the European
principle. He thus was enabled to subdue all the
Sirdars who claimed separate jurisdiction, take Mooltan
from the Ameers of Sinde, Peshawur from the Affghans,
and include the whole of the country, being the
Punjaub or Five Rivers, under his dominion. Like
Mehemet Ali, he also showed great prudence.
He never ventured a serious contest with the
English, but remained satisfied with what he

had gained from his less warlike neighbours. Unfor-
tunately for them, his successors :.have departed
from the principles on which he ruled the country, and
the dispatches just published show the result. The
history of this people, as given in Fraser, will be read
with interest at the present moment. The history
which is continued under the title of " The Italian Cam-

paigns," is less striking, and from the great length to
which it has extended, four numbers, is beginning to be
tedious. But the writer, like Colonel Mitchell, evidently
considers it his duty to point out the extravagant praises
heaped on Bonaparte's military talents, and to reduce
them to their proper level. He brings them, however,
below that point, for though it cannot be denied that
Melas lost the battle of Marengo from sheer German
apathy, and most of the other battles were lost in con-
sequence of the sluggishness of the Aulic Council, still
it cannot be denied that the French leader generally, if
not always, knew when to seize his opportunity, and saved
himself from dangers which he probably would not have
incurred had he been pitched against more active and
skilful generals. At all events he succeeded for at least ten
or twelve years, and never was fairly defeated till over-
whelmed with numbers at Leipsic. Success, if not the
most unerring, is certainly the most palpable test of a
general's abilities. He failed, it is true, in the
Belgian campaign, but all know how speedily he
dispersed the Prussians ; and all know, too, that but for
the imperturbable firmness of the English, and the timely
relief of a Prussian division, which struck the balance,
he would have protracted his reign for at least twelve
months more. It is impossible to deprive such a distin-
guished captain of the highest honours obtained in
modern times. We have a continuation of " Contempo-
rary Orators," which include two rising statesmen—
Lord Grey and Lord Morpeth. Their characters are
impartially drawn, and with vivid effect. The writer of
these biographical sketches deserves great praise, not
only for avoiding all political bias, but for giving the
main features by which the speakers are distinguished
with great correctness ; and instead of assuming the
harsh functions of a censor, making every reasonable al-
lowance for defects or peculiarities. We give a sketch
of Lord Morpeth as a speaker in 1840 ; and it may be
necessary to state, that the writer states he has since
then much improved in his style and manner :
"He has begun to speak. He has delivered an ambitious
exordium, stilted and high-flown in language, but elevated
and generous in sentiment. His voice is rather harshly high
in its tone, and too uniform in its sound. But there is
vigour and 'earnestness, and here and there a touch of
manly feeling that almost startles by its contrast with the
odd, overgrown-boyish, yet no unprepossessing, figure and
manner. The action, also, is too formal, it has too much
of the schools; and there is altogether an artificial and
ambitious effort at eloquence, that makes one wish Lord
Morpeth would trust more to his own unfettered impulses,
and not so much to the lessons he has learned of some elo-
cution master, who has tried to teach him what never yet
was taught, and never will be. The style is too much that
of the " young gentlemen's academies" on examination-
day. But the more you hear, the more you like both the
speaker and the sentiments ; in spite of all his peculiarities
he has warmed you up. If you don't think with him, at
least you feel with him. You have forgotten, too, the little
traits of the ludicrous, in the palpable moral integrity of
the man before you, instinct with a consciousness of the deep
responsibilities of his exalted rank and station."