The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Memoirs of the Court of England during the Re-
gency. 1811-1820. By the Duke of Bucking-
ham and Chandos, K.G. 2 vols. Hurst and
Blackett.
It is not often that the public can enjoy the
luxury of a long gossip with a Knight of the Gar-
ter—

"A Marquess, Duke, and a' that."

Yet here we actually have that noun of multitude,
the pensive public, fairly hooked by the button- )
hole—not by the Marquis of Carabbas, or by Duke
Humphrey, but by his grace of Azincourt himself
(vide " Coninubiby'')—by the Most Noble Richard
Plantagenet Temple Nugent Bridges Chandos
Grenville, Duke of Buckingham, Marquess of
Chandos, Privy Councillor, Knight of the Garter,
once upon a time Lord Privy Seal, and the
rest, and the rest, through all the letters of
the alphabet, ranged by twos and by threes
in the way of honorary abbreviations. Al-
ready we have been favoured with four goodly
volumes, edited (like the present) " from family
documents," by his Grace of Buckingham, our
volumes of" Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of
George III," carryinc, us through the events of a
most memorable decade, that compriSed between
1800 and 1810 inclusively. The sequence of the
narrative in the .two remarkable volumes under
notice is at length resumed by the noble author
conducting us, as the title of the work intimates,
over yet another ten years, a decade less important,
it is true, in its latter moiety, than its predeces-
sor, but still one marvellously interesting, too,
from first to last, from 1811 until 1820, also inclu-
sively, rather notable in this country as the epoch
of the Regency. A truly enthralling production,
as any one may readily enough conjecture, when
we remark that among the historical personages in-
troduced in it to his reader's attention by the
Duke of Buckingham are—the modern Csar-
Sesostris-Charlemagne, all united in one in the
person of the Emperor Napoleon the Great
—the " coxcomb Czar" of all the Russias,
Alexander—the old man king at Windsor, George
lll.—his "Young Hopeful," afterwards " Fum
the Fourth," George Prince Regent—together with
divers other members of the Royal Family of Eng-
land and of the Royal Families of Europe. Conspicu-
ous among the brothers of the Regent, their royal
highnesses Frederick Duke of York William Henry
Duke of Clarence, and Edward Duke of Kent.
Prominent among the contemporary sovereigns
upon the continent—" Louis le Gros," generally
called the XVllL—Frederick William 111. of
Prussia—and Francis I. of Austria, Father-in-law
of the Great Napoleon. Besides these crowned
Heads and their associate Princes, there are
brought before us through these two singular vo-
lumes illustrative of the Court of the Regency,
among the Dukes, the father of Curry-powder
Norfolk—and the still happily surviving, and ap-
parently perennial, William Spencer Duke of
Devonshire and Marquis of Hartington—and most
remarkable of all, the military rival of Nelson, the
Monteenculi of the last g meration, his grace Arthur,
the first and emphatically 7 he Duke of Wellington
Added to these, moreover, a stately line of Mar-
quises —the Marquises of Lansdowne, Wellesley,
Hastings, Hertford, and Buckingham : and nume-
rous other peers, including among the number
Lords Granville, Castlereagh, Liverpool, Grey,
Holland, Nugent, Westmorland, Fitz william,
Bathurst, Sidmouth, Eldon, Buckinghamshire,
Temple, Camden, Byron, Melbourne, Malinesbury,
Brougham, Yarmouth, Bentinck, Minna, Chat-
ham, and Melville; Earls, Barons, and Vis-
-1 counts ; Statesmen, Administrators, and Di-
plomatists ; Courtiers, Premiers, and Chan-
cellors ! A goodly array of peers—mingled with
untitled, but not less conspicuous, celebrities—
celebrities, for example, such as the poet Moore,
the orator Whitbread, the philanthropist Wilber-
force, the dramatist Sheridan, and illustrious
leaders of the Commons, such as George Canning
and Spencer Perceval. Mingling in the crowd of
notables, ladies of scarcely less extended celebrity
each in her way—Lady Jersey and Lady Castle-
reagh, the beautiful and accomplished Lady Caro-
line Lamb, and those two most interesting, but
luckless, women, the one the mistress, the other the
wife of a king—Mrs. Jordan, the mother of the
Fitzclarences, and Mrs. Fitzherbert, the morganatic
Spouse of George Augustus Frederic,
Prince of Wales, afterwards Prince Regent, and
ultimately King of England. The frontispiece to the
first of these two volumes of "Memoirs," relating to
the Court of the Regency, is the engraved portrait
of the Royal Husband of Mrs. Fitzherbert. That
to the second volume being one of the Right Hon.
Charles Grey, Viscount Howick, Baron and Earl
Grey, K.G., P.C., and as the culminating point of
his high fortunes the chief of his Britannic Ma-
jesty's Government. The former a tolerable like-
ness, the latter an execrable caricature. Among
the events commented upon by the Duke of
Buckingham during the course of the memoirs--
based upon data derived from orignal family
doctiments—are many still possessing for the
readers of to-day a very considerable, and some of
them even a really surprising, interest. The mad-
ness of George 111. ! The domestic life and the
premature death of the Princess Charlotte ! The
assassination of Perceval The downfall of the
French Empire ! The exile and the demise in
exile of Napoleon ! The whole of the lamentable
question involved in the affairs of H.R.H. the
Princess of Wales, afterwards Queen Caroline !
The death of Sheridan—the death of Whitbread—
the death of her present Majesty's father, H.R.H.
Edward Duke of Kent ! The narrow escape of the
Princess Victoria—an occurrence this latter which
is thus briefly recounted in the narrative of the
Duke of Buckingham :
" An incident occurred at Weymouth near the close of
the year (1819), that might have been attended with very
serious consequences. The Duke and Duchess of Kent,
with their infant daughter, were at this fashionable water-
ing place for the benefit of their health, when an appren•
tics boy, who had obtained a loaded gun, fired at some
small birds, so near their residence thatthe charge broke
the nursery windows, and some of the shot passed
close to the head of the Princess, then in the arms of
her nurse. The delinquent was seized, but his Royal
HighneJs, with characteristic kindness of heart, per-
mitted him to go at large, upon a promise of not again
indulging in such pursuits so recklessly."
Here is the record given almost immediately
afterwards of the premature decease of H.R.H.
the Duke of Kent :

His Royal Highness with the Duchess,ithe Princes?,
and a small establishment, were living a% Weymouth
:luring the winter of 1819-20, when the Duke
having taking a long morning walk, in uNfavourable
weather, on his return imprudently remained in his wet
boots. He was seized with fever6h symptoms on the
.20th of January, and though most assiduously nursed
by his affectionate duchess, and carefully watched by
bis medical attendants, died on the 23d—a loss to the
family of his Royal Highness, as severe as it was cud
den ; for &better father and husband could not have
been found in Royal circles. The loss was only in
degree less to the nation, for notwithstanding his in-
adequate resources, the benevolence of his disposition
appeared to know neither check nor limit.
" The Duke bad seen a good deal of military service,
in North America, where he rose to the rank of com-
mander-in-chief, in 1799. He was, subsequently, in
1802, appointed governor-in-chief of that important for-
tress, Gibraltar, and became a field-marshal in 1805."

And here, in turn, as a pendant to the foregoing,
is the mention made of the death, soon afterward;
of the old, blind, mad King—the Lear without
the double curse of a Regan and Goneril, but, at
the same time, without the ineffable blessing and
solace of a Cordelia

"The deep sorrow which the death of his P,oyal
Highness created in all who enjoyed the honour of his
acquaintance was at its height, when another demise in
the royal family was announced. The nation, though
more prepared for this affliction, were -not less sensible
of it, for it. was their venerable monarch, George the
Third—he breathed his last, in the arms of the Duke of
York, on the 29th of January. The sympathy which
his melancholy condition had so powerfully excited
among his loyal and affectionate subjects, of all classes,
at the announcement of his decease, was demonstrated
by a grief as sincere as it was general.
" At the advanced age of 82, and after a prolonged
reign of 60 years, died George the Third. Although it
seems a fashion, with a certain class of historical
writers, to deny his capacity, as strongly as they .decry
his rule, it would not be a, difficult matter to prove
that he was both one of the wisest and the best of
English sovereigns. The only one or his royal ancestors,
who 'could be compared . with him in intelligence, is
the An
gio.salcou Alfred, 'nd the evidence of his attain-
ments is much too shadowy to be brought intocomparison
with the numerous incontrovertible proofs, that pre-
sent themselves, of those possessed by his descendant.
As for moral excellence, there cannot be a question
of his pre-eminence. Indeed, the comparison might
fearlessly be carried into a wider field, and challenge the
royal and imperial dynasties of Europe. Were we to
look closely into the pretensions of those monarchs,
whose names bear such distinguishing affixes, as the
great, the good, the pious, the wise, &c., &c., the hol-
lowness of their pretensions .to such titles would soon
be discovered. George the Third was not great in that
greatness assigned to the military infidel of Prussia, the
selfish voluptuary of France, or the illiterate drunkard
of Russia, nor was his excellence, his religion, or his
wisdom, after the fashion of certain nearly worthless,
anything but. Christian, and very far from intellectual
specimens of royalty, whose oames have descended to
posterity, with the high recommendations we have
named. George the Third was superior to any and all
of these worthies. He was sincere, he was just, he was
benevolent ; he was pious in his conduct, rather than in
his professions ; he was wiser in his life than in his
speech. He has been stigmatised as a bigot, in the face
of his notorious toleration of each shade of opinion ; he
has been denoumed as obstinate, not withstanding the .
numerous instances in which he surrendered his judg-
ment to the representations of his counsellors."
Thereuponthe noble author, influenced by the ,

courtly recollections of the Regency, indulges him-
self in the utterance of these few sentences extenu-
ative or exculpatory
:
"Considering the peculiar education he (George III.)
received, and the particular circumstances by which he
was always sun °allied, it is wonderful how free was his
mind from narrow prejudices, and selfieh prepossessions.
He was thoroughly English in sentiment, in conduct and
in feeling ; and what have since been regarded as faults
—almost as crimes—were characterietic4 which he
shared with a large majority of his tpeople. He put
forward no pretensions to genius—other minds have ex-
isted much more comprehensive in their scope—but
what he wrote, and what he did, invariably displayed
qualities which rarely accompany the most brilliant
intellect—good feeling, good sense, and honesty of
purpose.

. .
" It is unfair to condemn him for thinking as he some-
times thought, and deciding as he occasionally decided.
George the Third saw according to the light vouchsafed
to him. A great number of the King's letters have
passed through our bands ; but in all, there is evidence
of considerateness where the feelings of others are in
question, and of conscientiousness where the writer felt
his own reponsibility. Even that remarkable cor-
respondence, which has lately been brought before the
public equally [abounds with genuine, honest, hearty
sentiment. That he felt strongly when he considered
that his confidence had been abused, is a proof of the
naturalness of his character, and that the conventional
majesty of the sovereign, did not stifle the sensibility of
the man. And we fearlessly maintain that such ih
lustrations of life are infinitely more to be relied on than
volumes of courtly phraseology, describing perfection
under the imposing garniture of ermine and embroidery,
the sceptre and thd. It should always be borne in mind,
that George the Third belongs to the last age, rather than
to the present ; but could the more intellectual 19,411
century claim him, even with his old-fashioned virtues,
he would bear comparison with any of the monarchs of
the continent who have reigned since his demise, under
advantages to him entirely unknown."
Directly, of course, upon the record of the de-
cease and funeral of the aged monarch at Windsor,
terminate these " Memoirs of the Regency." Even
now the courtly feast of gossip is not over, we
trow, entirely " There be pippins and cheese to
come" yet !—in the shape, we hope, of recollec-
tions of the " Court of George IV," drawn from
family documents by the industrious, and, by this
time, practised hand of his Grace the Duke of

Buckingham. At any rate, while we are tarrying
in eager expectation of the looked-for sequel, we
aro enabled to amuse ourselves over an ample store
of rare and curious particulars, now collected toge-
ther in six very remarkable and splendid volumes,
having illustrative reference to the Cabinets of
George 111. and to the Court of the Regency.

Jane. A Book for the Country in Summer-time.
By H. T. Stainton. Longman, London.

June is a pleasant word, seeming to combine in
its four letters the perfumed and dazzling bouquet
of Nature. We have often wondered why the fair
,daughters of " our houses and hearts" should not
be christened. "June" as well as "May" and
" Flora." We certainly should not approve of
allying the sweet monosyllable to " Figgins,"
" Buggins," '• Brown," or auy such plebeian appel-
lation, though it would not be much out of place
in conjunction with " Green" or " Merryweather."
However, there is a ludicrous risk in bestowing
these poetic baptismal distinctions, and the effect
of a simple ring on the third finger of the left hand
mby terribly destroy the romance of the affair.
We have heard of a Mr. Rose who, in a fit of ex-
tatic delight over his small addition to his weekly
expenses, insisted on having the child named
" Wild." It was, doubtless, a very pretty conceit,
and as she expanded into womanhood, with the
glowing vermeil of youthful beauty on her cheeks,
the clustering ringlets of glossy auburn playing
about her neck, and her slender form moving as
gracefully as a river reed in a southern wind, those
who gazed on her dwelt with admiring approval ,
on her happy name of " Wild Rose ;" but- alas
and slack-a-day ! at some fatal polka party she
danced with a gentleman who enjoyed the patro-
nymic which typifies the "people's" represen-
tative of Old England, and within six months she
had to sign all sentimental, affectionate, and polite
missives with " Wild Bull." Oh ! " what a falling
off was there." Nevertheless June is a very pretty
word, as we have before said—soft, yet rich, and
calculated to form an attractive title for a Mid-
summer annual. We do not see why the 24th of
June should not have its Valentine as well as the
24th of December. Not that the little volume
under notice at all comes up to our notion of what
such a book ought to be. The brochure before US
is not original enough to exactly suit our taste.
It gives a gossippiug and pleasing account of the
prominent features of June in Scotland, the Lakes,
Devonshire, Sussex, and the neighbourhood of
London ; but very little talent could produce a
dozen such volumes, with the aid of local hand-
books. To those who are comparatively ignorant
of rural classics the volume will prove acceptable.
It is tastefully got up, and constitutes a prettytand
cheap gift-book.

A Catechism bf Music, for the Use of Young
Children. By Gertrude Place. Bosworth and
Harrison, Regent-street.

The authoress says in her preface—" My chief
object has been to present the first rudiments of
music under the simplest form, especially avoiding
the use of long words or difficult modes of expres-
sion."

We have a thorough respect for the intentions of
the lady ; but if we were teaching a juvenile pupil
of moderate musical talent, we should prefer giving
instructions from a common lesson book to employ-
ing this " Catechism." A practical half-hour on
the time and melody of " Life let us cherish,"
4' The Carnival of Venice," or any other simple
air, we think would better suit "young children's"
c tpacities than the serious musical ethics which
Miss Place discourses on, in the shape of " Synco-
pation," " Diatouics," " Dominants," " Enhar*
m tnics," and such complicated themes. We must
say that we consider this Catechism much more
suited for adult " Benedicts" or Thalbergs than for
" young children." •

DENMARK AND THE UNITED STATES.—According to
the latest inf• rmation from Washington, Mr. Marcy,
the Secretary of tate, has refused to give the Ameri-
can shipping any instructions respecting the payment of
the Sound dues, leaving it to the discretion of every
master passing the Sound or the Belts, to pay the dues
or not.

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.-Yesterday the an-
nual ineetii g of the members of this society was held at
its rooms, Whitehall-place ; Admiral Beechey in the
chair. The rep .rt of the council, which was read by the
secretary, i-tatdd, that since th 4 last anniversary 84 ordi-
nary members had been added to the lists of the society,
arid the royal pretnium for the encouragement of geogra-
phical science and discovery-the founder's gold medal
-was awarded to Elisha Kent Kane, M.D., of the
United States of America, and accepted by the American
minister on his behalf. The chairman then presented the
patron's gold medal to Heinrich Barth, Phil. Dr., of
Hamburg. After the transaction of some further busi-
ness the met ting adjourned.
Messrs. Smith and Charles give the subjoined account
of the position of the oil and tallow market :-" The
week just closed was not marked by much activity in
business : 465. 3d. was the highest point attained on the
spot, and 455. 61. for October and December. We are
about 6d. per cwt. lower for things on the spot, owing
to the arrival of some of the wintering tallow from
Memel, eze., until the price for the autumn is sustained,
which may be ascribed to the growing conviction that
at 455. Gd. tallow is a tolerably safe article. The reports
respecting the Russian supply are still conflicting.
Should it turn out to be 150,000 (including the wintering
Ar on its way to England), 455. Gd. would certainly
not be maintained, whereas, should it be only 135,000
casks, 455. 6d. would not be too high ; and should
120,000 casks only be despatched from Cronstadt. a
considerably higher price may be anticipated. The
latest advioes from St. Petersburg are by telegraph up
to Saturday last ; prices were 138 ro. spot, and 134 10
August, not much business doing. Ex., 374. Our
closing prices are-spot, 455. 9d. ; May and June,
453. 6d. ; October and December, 455. 6d. Palm oil,
385. 61 to 375. Gd. Cocoa-nut oil-Cochin, 394, to
38s. ; Ceylon, 383. to 375. Linseed oil, 305. Tallow
oil, 325. 6d. ; ditto elaine, 425. 6d. Town tallow, 46e.
net cash ; South American, 475. 9d. ; Australian beef,
455. ; ditto, sheep, 465. 6d."
FALL OF A SUSPENSION-BRIDGE IN CANADA.-Yester-
day morning (April 30) the sad intelligence reached
Quebec that the suspension-bridge over the Moncmo-
renci had given way, and that several lives had been
lost. Little credence was at first given to the rumour.
There had been statements made before to the effect
that the bridge was not to be trusted. People crossed
it with terror, it was so shadowy, so light, and so high.
Like a mere cobweb it hang across the chasm of the
very brink of the Falls. The superintending engineer
had asserted that the structure was safe, and the road
trust had taken possession of it. Nevertheless, on the
northern bank of the Montmorenci, five of the seven
strands of one of the wire cables had previously given
way, and the cable had been repaired. There was some'
thing wrong. Yesterday morning (30th of April),
while a man and a woman were crossing in a cart, about
eight or half-past eight o'clock, and a lad, 16 years of
age, was crossing on toot, the chain plates attached to
the anchors on the south side of the Montmoreeei
snapped asunder, the bridge dropped down, throwing
all upon it over and down the Falls into the pool, 300
feet below, and which is 35 het deep, swung itself round
over as cataract, and there it hangs now like a ribbon
from the two towers on the south side. The roar when
the bridge gave way was terrific. The clanking of the
iron reverberated like thunder. A Mr. Giroux
lives a mile off, distinctly heard the noise. The who
bridge
is a complete loss to the turnpike trust. Nothing stands
except the towers, one only of which is it jured. A Mr.
Cloutier was actually upon the bridge with his horse
and light cart a moment before the accident happened. ?
and but for his horse would perhaps now have been In
another ay( rd. The horse perceived something wrong
in stepping upon the bridge, hurriedly backed off again,
and was scarcely off when the old structure fell. 'llll
bridge cost 9,0001,-,.Quebec Gazette, May 1.