The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DAY.

BLACKWOOD.
When lovers quarrel, and a violent separation
ensu es, they for a time vow with inflexible firmness
that no event whatever—no contrition shall produce
forgiveness,--and they shall remain enemies for lite.
But in their cool moments, when the fit of passion
e!gins to abate, when the sympathies which bound
them together recover their wonted force from ab-
seneel and above all, when a rival is seen approaching
the threshold of either, then all the former tenderness
returns with redoubled force—inestimable qualities,
nw.hich for the moment were slighted, appear in mag-
slotie it i dproportions and excite the bitterest reflections.
s with political love, if we are to judge from
the sympathies of old North. For many a dreary
Month he has hardly ventured to mention the name
of peel; he has been afraid to speak, lest his anger
and passion should get the better of his reason, and
When he did speak he mourned over the backsliding
of friends, and foresaw nothing but ruin, desolation,
ofd misery, to his country. No sooner, however, is
Lord John Russell summoned from Aul i Reikie to
the isle of Wight, and the " strong Ministry" is
forgoforgotten, the recollection of old friendships re-
turn with overpowering effect, and the in-
valuable services of Peel are extolled to the
skies. 'When he was in office, he did everything
Plat was great and good, and Providence blessed his
!abours. During his administration, " agriculture
Pas flourished and agricultural improvements advanced
rn an unprecedented degree. Commerce has plumed
domain,
wings anew, and added other regions to her
uomain. Public credit has been supported and ad-
Yenned, and the revenue raised from an alarming and
increasing depression. Peace has been universally
maintained abroad, and agitation rendered powerless
IV contemptible at home." There is no bound in
have
to the panegyrics on the modern Judas, for all
aVe confessed in their hearts, whatever they may
have said, that however they may have been offended
Wth minor blemishes " the great purposes of govern-
rilent have been achieved by the Ministry now dis-
-B,„el,ved, and they will frankly acknowledge Is ith our-
.eives
that we shall not soon look upon its like
?tin." Now all this appears as contemptible and
.eaenin_ g as the puny quarrels of lovers. A man
1:euo puts himself forward as a political writer should
A. able to weigh contending interests, see the
Ificulties that surround every Minister, make
e7ances for the adoption of measures which
Pl.sstblY through ignorance he cannot account
and strengthen, not weaken, the arm in
bign only he can trust for safety. But these
'"'d Tories cannot act so. They will have
tveerYthing their own way, and when thwarted, they
eerne more virulent against their friends than their
hnetnies. We are glad to find, however, that they
tyro got a terrible fright, and begin to see the
b'rrer of their ways. Feel, by deserting them, has
°light them to their senses, and they are now
rasing to behave better for the future. Blackwood
led the way, and looks forward with calm corn-
isosure to an event which but a few years ago
denounced as little less than sacrilege. He is
Prepared to let the corn-laws die a natural death,
Tii°ilided only they are not killed outright at once.
er,n is an important conversion, and we therefore
,-gratulate him on the returning good sense dis-
mayed in the following extract :
e_ndour`` We should, at the same time, act with a want of
~ and frankness towards our agricultural friends,
'4;_elve did not direct their attention to another aspect of
r case. If it be true, contrary to our own hopes and
c° case.
that repeal is inevitable, every thing de-
Pecds on the time and manner of effecting it. There is
Ito inestimable value attending every year of continued
trotection that can yet be gained. Even a compara-
cc:* short period might be of infinite importance in
tl?pleting those great improvems nts now in progress,
dich will raise the available fertility of so large a por-
°lti of our soil, but which must instantly stop, if pro..
action be suddenly withdrawn. It is not in our power
see far into futurity, but every delay is precious, as
enabling us better to meet the demands of public neces-
n4 7, and to stand a competitien with foreign soils,
'that competition must ultimately be entered upon
without legislative aid."
The other articles in this number are generally
well written. Among ethers, we may mention a
historical sketch of Sir Willam Follett, though now
rather.n out of date. The 16 Greek and Romantic
",rarna;" " A Campaign in Texas," and "Military
`Josturne." In the latter we like the English tone
that prevails throughout, and especially the denun-
ciation against the introduction of German and other
foreign frivolities into the British army. The Albert
cap is thus graphically described, and doomed to de-
struction

"Never, since the day when men first armed their
heads for the fight, has there been seen such a paltry,
*ugly, useless, bastard kind of a thing as the last cap
turned cut for the British army. With its poke before
luul behind, its conical top and low elevation, it is a de
graded cross between a Germa! o Tyrolese cap and a
policeman's hat—a bad mixture of both. May it be
sent back to Germany,
where the idea came from, and
!'43? stuff.d into a barrel of sour-crout, not to come
out till it is thoroughly rotted."

There is FRASER.
Tit too,
Trie much information, with not a little amuse-
Letters:. in the article on "Public patronage of Men of
tort'
of The author has evidently studied the his-
of 0 the race well, and furnishes many particulars
princi
nt the
and
Scott pal writers from Chaucer to Byron,
a ' and Southey, new to many readers, er-
a- nge- witl • and of them not a little
%itsvi, 4 I much skill some
'—ce'lll to ' t and the age in which
they lived,
the Government
- When in these days we find pensions
nerrdapted to literary men and literary women of very.
1/1347 abilities, some of whom too are neither in
back tot
e
have much claim on the civil list, and look
garto the past, and find that not a few of extraord. 1-
bY merit, not only for the beauty of their writings,
allowed
for the services they rendered their country, were
ilawed to pine in want, the contrast is distressing,
I?land to in public estimation the sovereign and the
nister who could suffer such neglect. Soule of
them absolutel diedofwant, others were compelled
to live in
. y
la ve in exile, and when rewards came, they came too
Kate, or were of such a contemptible character that the
eay act of conferring the paltry favour only showed the
n and ungrateful spirit of the distributor of patron-
nPe. Goldsmith, for his very existence, was compelled to
come a
mere literary hack; Smollett was allowed
tOenfe end his days in exile, pinched in his means and
ebled in his body, from the incessant labour of
writing for bread; Burns was employed to " guage
old firkins, and support a wife and family on the poor
emoluments of an Exciseman's office." This reflects
eternal disgrace on Pitt, for he was aware of the fact.
kr. Addington," says the writer, " reminded that
great statesman of the poet's genius, and the poor
situation it was his lot to fill. Mr. Pitt promised to
do something for him, pushedhe the bottle on, and re-
Membered his promise—if remembered it at all—
vshen the fine-hearted poet of ge.nument!ture was no
more." This was consistent with Pitt 's character.
Burns was an ardent lover of liberty—many of his
Longs breathe the principles which the `` heaven-born
sinister" once professed, but when he
found
it
con-
venient to disown them, he delighted in hunting
clown all those who remained faithful to the creed.
But what is to be said of Dibdin ? Never did any
writer render sunh services to his country—for years
he was unrewarded, and got something at last when
lie Was old and unable to enjoy it. Even George
V., who wished to tread in the footsteps of Au-
-Igustus, offered something to Sheridan on his death-
, and to " poor old O'Keefe," as his Majesty called
ill!, when he was ninet ears of age. The letter
'which the Kin
y 37
Sir `William Knighton on
the subject . g wrote to
bovv co •,is so characteristic of the man, .
and shows
that
_ e ncisely and elegantl a King could write,
w give it entire. It was written in 1826 :
" Dear V '
. riend —A little charitable impulse induces
Me to desire ' '
:tanee e you to inquire into the distressed circum-
ld sof poor old O'Keefe, now ninety years of age
boine°ll 'blind, whom I knew a little of formerly,
reeretftinoeasionally met him at parties of my juvenile
a little. °lista(' hilarity, to which he then contributed not
and so d• 'aid you really find him so low in the world,
then I
divested _ ,
, ot thatm as be is represented to be,
offerin oieuneive there can be no objection to your
moderate him 1,:-ona me such immediate relief, or such a
hitherto ate
annual stipend, as will enable him to close his
Gant
long life in comfort,—at any rate, free from
t and absolute beggary,which I greatly fear, at pre-
sent, is h ute
peril ut too truly ,his actual condition and situation.
Sur TaPs' en many accoonts and reasons, which lam
tuseteci deed not mention to you, this had best beteoffoeucr-
livel ,1 an immediate application, through you,
11._ 1 httle friend, G. Colman, whose good heartwill,
am ertain, lead him ' all the assistance he can,
especially a• • to give us .
one of his
oldest . it is for the preservation ofhes-
invalided brothers and worshippers of the T
~
Plan Muse.
6, G B.
Fraser h
teries fcalls " Mys-
as a long article on what he
doublntfYsteries, and also leaves his own opinions very
upon
tuhl, if We
except one part of it, when he calls
inscribes agriculturists to raise their standard, and
figures Amon "it no surrender." Mr. Macaulay
Justice;B alli"g
" Contemporary Orators," and obtains
fairlyhis character as a speaker and writer, is
writer dra w n and creditable to the impartiality of the
Porti • The number altogether contains a fair pro-
friendonN of good articles, but we regret to find our
talentsllorgan Rattler still wasting his time and his
classicalon.railways, in place of devoting them to those
justly disquisitions and illustrations for which he is
celeb tra ed.

BENTLEY.
tMaxwell opens the present number of Bentley with
eruation of "Brian O'Linn," and in these chap-
the hero relates the adventures of his boyhood. Of
birth and parentage he knows nothing, as he is a
foundling,._, who was committed when only an infant
Biz. month's old to the care of a priest, residing on a
rocky island on the west-coast of Ireland. The priest
had been sent for to a lugger in the offing, to confess a
Penitent in articulomortis. lie arrrives just as the peni-
tent) a lady apparently of rank, is dying, receives from