The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-04 00:00:00

, 4
• •Zi
NOVEIVIBEB, 4, 1848.
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7

MAGAZINES, &c.—(CONTINUED).
FI?A.SER.
In a review of the " History of the Aristocracy of
England by John Hampden, jun.," Fraser under-
takes the defence of the British aristocracy against
the sledge-hammer attacks of the writer, who chooses
to adopt the name of Hampden, junior. This de-
fence is conducted according to the Tory tactics of
the good old time—by unblushing misrepresentation.
" Whenever the words aristocracy and people are men-
tioned some fallacy is intended to be perpetrated," says
this defender of the aristocracy, " and it is high time
to dismiss them from the language altogether." This
is pretty well in the way of cool impudence, but it is
nothing to the effrontery of the following question :
"What obstacle, or ghost of an obstacle, does society
or law place in the way of any man, high or low, who
would better his condition and raise himself from
the station in which he was born to a higher one ?"
If it is only by misrepresentations such as these that
the cause of the British aristocracy can be defended, it
must indeed be weak. Fraser is this month more
political than is his wont, for besides the article on
the aristocracy, we have one on French politics, most
ungenerously reviving all the thrice-refuted libels on
the father of General Cavaignac, which that literary
scavenger Emile de Girardin has raked up from the
kennel of calumny in which he delights to wallow ;
an Excellent article on " University Reform," and
"A Letter from an Officer of Rank and Distinction
on the Present Condition of the British Navy," which
we would fain see reprinted in a pamphlet form and
placed in the hands of every Member of Parliament.
The wonder is, that under the present system we
have any navy at all, and, in the event of a war
breaking out, it cannot but be expected that we shall
at first suffer some terrible reverses, unless order be
at once taken to place our navy in a more efficient
condition. The writer of this paper thus sums up at the
conclusion the case which he had previously pleaded
in detail:—

" The total want of arrangement in the affairs of the
navy, shown chiefly in the absence of any organized sys-
tem of manning a fleet, in the method of fitting out the
ships generally, and pulling them and their crews to
pieces every three years; an immense navy list, making
it impossible for officers to gain much experience, the
admirals being, with some few exceptions, very old men;
the neglecting the internal fittings of ships ; the per-
petual occurrence of desertion and drunkenness, with a
totally inefficient police ; the not entering men for any
length of service, or in a manner likely to make them
attached to it; the popular cry of No punishment' being
given into, and not inquiring what it is that calls for the
infliction of it ; the extraordinary extent to which the
writing mania is carried ; all the necessary stores not
being provided ; the captain being required to put him-
self to uncalled-for expense; absurd uniform regulations,
which interfere with discipline, putting officers to great
expense; mischievous orders regarding passengers; the
present system pursued in the dockyards;—these, and
more that I have mentioned, are things that require
change."

As a proof of the bungling manner in which every
thing is managed by the Admiralty authorities, and of
the pains they take to render the duties of command-
ing officers and crews as irksome as possible, we give
the following account of the manner in which sailors
post their letters :

" The benefit of penny postage is extended to seamen
in the navy ; but what is the plan hit upon? In these
days of march of intellect' and steam,' it is refreshing
to hear of a simple and original method of carrying out
a project. A penny-piece is ordered to be sewn outside
each letter, and the commanding officer signs his name
at the bottom of each to certify that the penny is sewn
on and that the letter is a seaman's. A landsman might
imagine I was trying to impose upon his credulity; but
you will believe my statement. The consequence of this
most original idea is, that a bag cant Lining a thousand
letters has a thousand ounces in dead weight added to
it; and on distant stations, where pence cannot be pro-
cured, writing is put a stop to, as no one letter can go
without a penny sewn to it. The sewing a penny
securely to the outside of a letter is no easy operation,
as any one will find who tries. I need not make any
remarks on the framing of such a regulation, nor need I
observe that the purser's steward might have a supply
of penny stamps: but these, at present, a seaman is not
allowed to use.

We again commend this admirable letter to the care-
ful perusal of every one who has the welfare of the
navy at heart. The account of the " Inundation at
Pest" is continued, as is "Yeast." We have also
admirably written critiques on " Keats and his
Poetry," and on the "Fairfax Correspondence," be-
sides some Walter Scott-like descriptions of views
in Edinburgh, and the current history of the month.

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY.

The number of this magazine for November has
just reached us. We are glad to see the omission to
which we referred in our notice of last month's num-
ber so ;ably supplied in the present. We hail with
delight the " Flowers of Poesy," which we sadly
missed in recent numbers, so gracefully interspersed
through the present; and as we partly attributed this
omission in former numbers to the wild and angry
scenes then being enacted in that lovely land of strife
and sorrow, we trust we may welcome their presence
now as the harbingers of a happier state of things, as
the omen of peace and love, and of all those holier feel-
ings which the genius of divine poesy is so eminently
calculated to inspire. The present number is rich
and varied in poetry and prose. It opens with a
classic tale, which awakens recollections of Dr. John-
son's " Rasselas," entitled " The Philellenist ; a Mid-
night Adventure among the Ruins of Mycenw." It is
chaste and flowing in style, as it is vivid and sublime
in description. We cannot avoid giving our readers
a short extract from this interesting paper :
"There is a plain wide and extensive, beau-
tiful as it is desolate, which for ever basking
in the light of Eastern skies, where the soft
winds, freighted with the sweet odours stolen from
the far-off burning climes, pass on unheeded with
their fragrance, and where no sound is heard save the
faint voice of the distant waves that seem to wail
feebly like the lamenting of spirits that cannot rest.
All around stands a noble rampart of lofty hills ; on
one side, the deep purple hue of that flowery waste
seems to merge imperceptibly into the yet deeper blue
of tEe gently undulating sea; and on the wildest and
most desert spot in all that desert plain lie the ruins
of an ancient city. Three thousand three hundred
years has that ancient city lain there even as we now
behold it, unchanged and undisturbed, since the hour
when the progress of its ruin was mysteriously stayed
and the hand of decay palsied in the midst of its de
structive work, that these stupendous monuments
might traverse, like things imperishable, the cycles
of unnumbered centuries, and stand forth before each
living race of men the solemn, voiceless witnesses of an
unknown past."
The next paper is No. 11. of " Scenes and Stories
from the Spanish Stage." It introduces the story
upon which is founded Calderon's play of Amor despues
de la Muerte; "To Love' after Death." The "Ro-
mantic Lament of Malec" is poetically beautiful,
full of feeling and true pathos. " The Nun and the
Cardinal," an historical sketch of the times of the Or-
leans Regency, is a paper which will be read with
deep interest. The scene is laid in the last years of
Louis XIV., a circumstance which in itself is calcu-
lated to bespeak the reader's attention. We have
next the sixth number of " The Lays of Many,
Lands, from a familiar and gifted pen. The transla-
tions are, as usual, varied and graphic, but we will
confess we should be better pleased to see him more
frequently turn his genius to the treasures of his
own fair land. The Portrait Gallery is graced with
a most striking and beautifully executed likeness of
one of the greatest soldiers of modern tunes, Lieu-
tenant-General Sir C. Napier, G.C.B. As, no doubt,
the biography of this great man must prove interest-
ing, we take leave :to lay a few extracts before our
readers :

" Sir John Napier, of Merchistown, was descended
from that son of the Earl of Lennox whose acquisi

tion of the name of Napier is recorded in
a well-known chivalric tradition—Francis—the
sixth Lord Napier, and sixth in descent from Sir
John, married a Dublin lady. His son, Colonel
George Napier, the father of Sir Charles, married
Lady Sarah Lennox, daughter of the second Duke
of Richmond. Through this lady Sir Charles is
nearly related to the Duke of Leinster. The eldest
son of this marriage, the subject of this biography,
Sir C. James, was born at Whitehall, London, 10th of
August, 1782. When between two and three years
old his father removed to Castletown, in the county
Kildare, in Ireland, where he spent his early years,
learning the art of war from his father, who then held
a military appointment in Ireland. In January,
1794, before he had completed his 12th year, he
obtained a commission in the 33d Regiment. He
first served in the rebellion of 1798, and was aide-de-
camp to Sir J. Duff in 1800. He again served in
Eminet's rebellion in 1803. In 1804 he obtained a
captaincy in the 50th, with which he served for many
years, and in which he much distinguished
lie obtained his majority in 1806, and as major
commanded the 50th. All through Sir John
Moore's retreat, and at the battle of Corunna, where
his career was nearly closed, it was a matter of ex-
treme importance to silence an advanced gun which
was making great havoc in the English lines, and a
shot from which very gun eventually struck crown Sir John Moore. Napier, as one of Moore's majors
par excellence, advanced upon it. The ground was
much broken, consisting of wall gardens, and by-
roads and deep cuttings. In the heat of the combat
Napier had seized a musket and gained a position, on

' which he stood firing and rallying his men, urging
,
them to form for a rush upon the gun. Four only of
F his gallant 50th was able to reach him, so deadly was
the fire to which they were exposed. Finding further
attempt vain, and observing he was cut off from his
; regiment by a party of the enemy who had concealed
themselves in the village whilst he passed, he called upon
his little band to endeavour with him to cut their way
through—three were instantly cut down, the fourth
was wounded, and called on Napier to help him—
Napier, whilst helping him, was wounded in the leg,
having the fibula fractured by a musket ball.
lie now relinquished his musket, and using
his sword as a support, endeavoured to re-
gain his regiment. At this moment he felt
a wound inflicted in his bsck by a soldier who
had emerged from one of the houses. Turning rapidly
round, he seized the musket of his assailant, which,
having struck upon his spine, fortunately did not
penetrate deeply. Whilst struggling several other
soldiers closed in upon him, but with a degree of ac-
tivity, almost supernatural, he managed to keep his
close antagonist between him and his assailants, never
losing hold of the musket; at length the unequal
combat was terminated by a French soldier coming
up with a short sabre,- and felling him to the earth with
a blow on the skull, which was supposed to have cleft
it in twain. As he lay in this state he was rifled by
the soldiers with such ferocity that they tore away a
portion of his dress with his watch, and one conceiving
that he perceived some vitality remaining, was about
to extinguish it, when ha was rescued by the huma-
nity of a French drummer, whose admiration had
been excited by his bravery. While the French
were carrying Napier to the rear, he in some
degree recovered consciousness, and saw Hennessey,
an Irishman of the 50th, one of the stragglers
who had survived the murderous conflict, deep in the
French position, coming all alone, with his musket at
the charge, towards Napier's escort, with the full.in-
tention of rescuing his commander or being
himself killed. Napier at once ordered bins to
lay down his arms and surrender. ' And for
what should I surrender ?' was the reply.
However, the habit of obedience was too
strong, and Hennessey merely vented his displeasure
by letting the butt of of his musket drop heavily on
the drummer's legs, and pushing him away from be-
side Napier, determined if he could not rescue at least
to carry his commander. He obtained a medal for
his gallant conduct in this battle. He served as a
volunteer at the Coa, where two horses were shot
under him; and at Busaco, where he was shot
through the face. He was also present at Fuentes
and many skirmishes. In 1811 he obtained
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the 102 d Regi
ment, and went out to Bermuda in command of i

In 1813 he served in the expedition to Chesapeake
Bay, under Sir Sidney Beckwith. He commanded
at the affair of Little Hampton. Having made every
effort to reach Waterloo as a volunteer, he arrived
from Ghent on the field the evening of the 18th, too
late to take part in the battle, but he was present
throughout the march to Paris, and at the storming
of Cambray. Returning from this campaign, the ship
sunk off Flushing, and he saved himself by swim-
ming. On his return to England he entered the
senior department of the military college as a pupil,
and passed the first year of the peace in intense
application to the acquisition of further knowledge
of the arts of war and of civil government.
In 1823 he was appointed on the lonian
staff, and subsequently Lieutenant-Governor of
Cephalonia. Here he had an opportunity of dis-
playing those talents for government which he has
since so usefully exercised in Sinde. Shortly after
his return from Cephalonia he published in his own
defence The Colonies and the lonian Islands.' In
1835 he was offered the Governorship of South Aus-
tralia. By the brevet of 1837 he became Major-
General. In 1839 he was appointed to the command
of the northern district of England. In 1841 he
was appointed to the command of the troops in the
Bombay presidency. His indefatigable exertions
brought the Bombay army to a magnificent state of
discipline. In 1842 he was sent to Sinde, where his
brilliant achievements won for him the unqualified
praise.,, of the Duke of Wellington. On the lith
February, 1843, the war commenced. On the morn-
ing of the 17th he came in sight of the Belooch force
of thirty-five thousand men, strongly posted, to
meet whom he had less than two thousand
four hundred men, British and native. He thus
describes this fearful conflict. Hyderabad, Feb. 20.
—We beat them at Meanee ; the battle was terrible.
I rode over the horrid field, and questioned my con-
science. My dear, this blood is on the Ameers, not
on me; the papers will tell you what I have no time
for; how I escaped, Heaven knows, for I do not.
We were three hours and a half one yard apart, man
to man, 2,700 to 22,000—fearful odd', and they
fought like heroes; covered with their shields they
ran in upon us, 'sword in hand, with desperate fury,
when down they went under the musket and bayonet.
We gained the top of the bank, or, rather, edge, and I
then we fought hand to hand. Neither myself nor
my horse was touched. Hyderabad has surrendered ;
six Ameers are prisoners."
With Sir Charles J. Napier's glorious career and
brilliant successes in India most of our readers are
familiar ; and we shall close our notice of this
very interesting memoir, perfectly agreeing with
the able writer, that, while he has established an
imperishable fame as a warrior and a politician,
his country has not as yet made adequate ac-
knowledgments for deeds of glory, in modern times
only paralleled by him who, par excellence, is called
the great General of the age—Wellington. The
length of these extracts will prevent us from noticing
at present in detail the other excellent papers of which
this month's number is made up; they are ell ad-
mirable, and we can confidently point to the present
as one of the best numbers of this periodical which it
has been our pleasure to see for some time past.

CHAMBERS'S HISTORY G;F THE FfiENCH

REVOLUTION. Part IV.
This part gives the complete history of the dazzling
and comet-like career of the Emperor Napoleon
from the day on which he was proclaimed Emperor
by the Senate to the 18th of June, 1815, when his
star set on the bloody plains of Waterloo. The nar-
rative is admirably written.