The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-30 00:00:00

~.
LITERAT LIRE.
1.3 8 A 1 ) A TR E GA E7GZ ;
.
or :enza r/t. on the Report of the. Gauge Commissioners.
By Henry Lushington, Esq. - •
Mr. Henry Lushington, late Fellow of Trinity Col-
lege, Cambridge, has published some pungent terearks.on
the report of i he Broad and Narrow Gauge Commission:
He warmly deprecates the relinquishment of the broad
gauge on the ground that its superiority over the narrow
stands conti-ssed. Its comparative merits he exhibits,
and has enlarged upon, with great ability. He takes up
the report of the Commissioners, which he criticises
with considerable ability, and gives his reason for dis-
senting from the opinions they have arrived at, and im-
pugns the notion of the abandoning by the Legislature
of the principle to which he inclines, and which he cha-
reterLes as a step backward, a step taken without ne-
cessity and in what may be called feCntness of heart, a
most vexatious interference with private enterprise, a
most chilling discouragement to inventive genius, a
deliberate re-establishment of a lower standard for
every benefit which railways confer on society, coupled
with the declaration that that standard is henceforth to
be the ne plus utra, a sacrifice at once of a great reality
and a greater possibility fur most insufficient reasons.
The entire pamphlet will be found worthy of perusaL

SEVEN YEARS' CAMPAIGAING IN THE
PENINSULA AND THE NETHERLANDS,

from 1808 to 1815. By Sir Richard D. flenegan.
2 Vas.

The author of this work was formerly head of the
field train department, under the Duke of Wellington,
had performed a part in most of the great battles and
sieges in Spain., and witnessed the close of the grand
struggle on the field of Waterloo. One who had thus
mixed in such numerous and various scenes, so full of
stirring events and so honourable to the British army,
had opportunities of collecting facts and furnishing d&-
tails of which few men can boast. Many of the facts re-
lated are very painful, they paint out the horrors of war
in all its deformity, and absolutely excite wonder that so
many brave men should have submitted to the most griev
taus sufferings with patient endurance, and sacrificed
their lives apparently without regret in these
great contests with the enemy. They at the
same time, however, do imperishable honcur
to the British name, for this country was then
fighting for her very existence, and nothing could save
her against the grasping poser of Buonaparte but the
meat determined devotion and unconquerable bravery of
her gallant defenders. Many traits are given in these,
volumes which do full justice to the soldiers as well as
officers of the British army. They are brought out, as
it were, by accident, and seem rather specimens of count-
less deeds of fame thrown in the way of the author than
a regular account even of the most remarkable which fell
under his notice. They are describes in an easy, light
style, without affectation or pretensions, and without a
particle of ill nature, jealousy, or partiality to any country,
or to any department of the public service. We are glad
to find occasionally some errors corrected, and justice
done to gallant men, whom Wellington, in the hurry
of the moment, and amidst his numerous avocations,
had overlooked. The case of Colonel Hepburn,
is a striking instance. " This officer's name,"
says Sir Richard, " a as omitted by the Duke in reference
to the defence of Hougoumont, in his dispatch c.f the
battle of Waterloo, arid the name of a junior officer sub-
stituted for it. The mistake was never rectiled, and in
c.,nsequence every writer upon Waterloo, re:_ting securely
firm on the authority of the Duke himself, has failed to
renter justice to the memort of a gallant officer and ho-
nourable man, by mentioning him as the officer in corn
matad on that memorable occasion." We give this
a. a proof the author's impartiatty, and we subjoin an
' other extract to show the playful and fascinating man-
ner in which he relates an incident of war. Ile is the
hero of the tale, and he acted his part well. The event
occurred while the .British and Prussian armies were
marching on Paris, and Prince Augustus of Prussia was
engaged in reducing the fortresses of Maubeuge, Rocroy,
and other strong places in the east of France, with a
strong Prussian division, to which Sir Richard Henegan
was attached :

" On the morning that preceded the capitulation of Rocroy,
I was returning from a mortar battery to the park of artil-
lery, to forward fresh supplies of ammunition, when per-
pl,xed by the many cross roads that intersect the forest of the
Ardennes, I chanced, most inopportunely, to take one that
led me to a French piquet. The surprise of the French
soldiers at the appearance of an English officer among them
was great; but my chagrin was greater still at being taken
prisoner at that eleventh hour. Chagrin and regrets were,
however, alike unavailing, and I was marched off into the
fortress, with many a mauvaise plaisante.qe to beguile me on
the way. The interior of the garrison showed the feelings
of the French military at that moment. The capitulation of
this last fortress, on whose walls still proudly waved the tri-
colore, was hourly expected, and the excitement of the sol-
diers, at the necessity of surrendering to the Prussians the
banner under which they had fought and conquered at Jena,
amounted to savage frenzy.
" My reception, as I passed through a crowd of half drunken
soldiers, was none of the most friendly. Execrations en Eng-
land and the English greeted me on every side, and it was
only when I found myself in the presence of the commandant
that I considered my life in security from the inflamed
passions of the soldiery. At an early hour the officers of the
garrison sat down to dinner, and I was invited to join this
meeting, that was looked upon as the last in which they
were to be assembled in the brotherhood of arms. The tur-
bulence of that party can only find an excuse in the conflict-
ing feelings that waged fiercely in the breasts of men, pe-
culiarly susceptible by their national character, to the humi-
liation of defeat. The •room was crowded beyond what it
could hold with any degree of ease, and wine flowed with 'a
freeness that son took effect upon imaginations already
over-heated.
" The drinkers, from enthusiastic, became literally mad,
and shouts and oaths, mingled in one furious uproar with
uncorking of bottles, and smashing of glasses against each
other, to the health of the Emperor Napoleon. Spurred on
by the uncontrollable frenzy of the moment, the coin-
mandant turned suddenly and fiercely upon me, insisting
that I should drink to L'Empereur.' 1 declined the honour,
as in duty bound, when this offirier superienr, no longer able
to withstand the dictates of hatred that were urging him on
to wreak his vengeance on an Englishman arose, and with
his sword unsheathed, swore with a tremendous' Sue,e nom
de Dieu,' that I should not leave the table until I had com-
plied with his demand.
"Ifit be true that in vino caritas,' the French character
was nobly redeemed by what followed. A simultaneous
rush was made towards me by a phalanx of brave fellows,
whose countenances spoke eloquently their indignation at
cominct so unchivalrous and ungenerous towards a prisoner.
Nor was their example lost upon the aggressor, for throwing
his hostile weapon at a distance from him, he rushed to
embrace me, at the risk of excoriating the sides of my face
with a stubble beard of at least a ten days growth. The
remainder of the day was passed in riot and uproar, and on
the following mmning terms of capitulation were sent in by
the commandant to Prince Augustus."

A RESIDENCE IN 7'HE MARQUESAS.—
Murray's Home and Colonial Library. Nos. XXX.
and XXXI.
One of the most delightful narratives of adventure
ever published. This bo( k divulges the cant, humbug,
and glaring inaecureey of the nonsense respecting Pole
nysia which has at intervals been palmed upon the
English public as the experience of trustworthy, tra-
lers. Swallowing, with all the voracity of natirvel-
lovers, every absurd " yarn" spun by a jocular tar over
his grog in the forecastle, and noting them down as
likely to sell excellently among the credulous readers at
home, the majority of " writers of travel " accumulate
their information from hearsay, and retail such fallacies
with whatever additions may tend to heighten their at-
tractiveness. With very few exceptions indeed. these
assertions hold good. Among the mass of " Voyages
and Travels " already printed an enormous library of
fiction might be eol'ected, and that fiction the most ex-
travagant and improbable. The writer of this work, an
American sailor, steeds however totally apart from
those scribblers ; he is the eyewitness of every circum-
stance he relates ; and, from having lived (during a
captivity of four months) among the Typea inhabitants
of Nukuheva Island, he had assuredly sufficient oppor-
tunities of becoming acquainted with the customs, dis-
position, social reLtions, and mode of life as visible
among the so-called " savages " of the South Sea archi-
pelago. From the first moment of his desertion from
the whaler at Nukuheva harbour, to his escape from the
Typea valley ; or, to speak plainer, from the first line in
the first page to the last in the last, interest, informa-
tion. and the most genial freshness of description, per-
vades the whole volume. It is all but visiting the Mar-
quesas ourselves. Poee-Poee becomes a familiar dish,
tappa is cinctured round your loins ; yon are sancti-
fied by the Taboo, and clamber up the long shaft of the
cocoa nut, while reading this singular, production.
Throughout it there are snatches of drollery that are
occasionally irresistibly comic ; drollery of observation ;
and sometimes reflections of the most unstrained and
winning pathos. If alone as likely to correct the popu-
lar notion regarding the character of savages, this book
will perform a high mission, and is deserving of every
possible praise. The Typees, to whom the writer's re-
marks are especially referable, are a nation of Indians,
totally ignorant of any intercourse with white men ;
Europeans have never ventured to anchor on their
shores ; civilization has never insinuated itself among
their bamboo huts ; they have the reputation of being
the most sanguinary barbarians, and the most ruthless
cannibals in the Marquesas. And yet, after a familiar
intercourse with them during the period already men-
tioned, the author describes these same Typees as a set
of the most harmless, the most peaceable, the most
affectionate, the most virtuous and generous-hearted
beings ; though pagans withal, and even cannibals
withal ! How cannibalism can be recanciled with such
tender qualities is judiciously proved by the writer.
We repeat the declaration proved, and refer every
sceptic to the work itself. It he does not acquire a
love for that beautiful valley of Typee ; if he does not
esteem the whole tribe of naked and tatooed savages as
worthy of sincere attachment, from the munificent King
Mehevi to Kory-K"y hinisslf ; if he dees not especially
extend- his reverence to Marheyo and Tinor, and h's
whole heart to the lovely maiden Fayaway ; even when
she is devouring raw fi.h. or blowing the nose-flute ; we
will wager, to use an old but express ire country phrair,
that his heart is not in the right phi( e. Better than the
generality of novels, because so true as wed ~s so
strange, is this narrative, with its pure and sustained
actuality. Every chapter has its separate picture, and
every picture is glowing with life ; from the golden
lizards among the spear-grass, to the dumb birds with
their dazzling plumage ; from the battle of pop guns to
the feast at the Ti ; from the cooking of bread truit to
the frequent bathing in the lake ; everything is seen
with a keen eye, and recorded with a faithful pcncil.
Nor do the savages appear, n closer view, to lac, so
utterly barbarous in their style of living as might. have
been conjectured. They arc housed eoinfertataly and
elegantly ; they enjoy their siestas after meals ; they
revel in the
theheperfmuomset oefmtoubisaicteco
cosmetics ;
they adorn
; they anoint their bo-
diesthemselves with trinkets, and flowers, and feathers—they
are absolute epicureans in their own way. Besides
which, according to our author, they are perfect speci-
mens of manly and female beauty, in evidence of which,
the elaborate 1 ortraits, as sketched by him, of Marnoo
and of Fayaway, may be pointed out. What renders