The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-21 00:00:00

LITB.RA;TU.. E ,

Providence rewarded their courage by finally elevating their
destiny. But these unassuming heroes heroes fought ,and
suffered long without pretensions, solely for their faith and
their obscure homes. The Poles, on the contrary, when-
ever they rise up in insurrection, must excite, and cannot
do otherwise than call into action a great national and
European struggle. The Polish question throws into the
balance the peace and organisation of collected Europe."
The historic•documents appended to the conclusion
of the work are many of them valuable papers.
Two of them will well repay the reader for perusal.
One of them is a sketch of the career of Madame
de Rumford, by M. Guizot, who gives in it an in-
teresting picture of the saloons of the 18th century
where that light, witty, scoffing philosophy
flourished, sparkling with the wit of Voltaire and
the brilliant sophistries of a crowd of pleasant
sceptics, soon to be shadowed by the Reign of
Terror and crushed by the guillotine. Madame de
:Rumford was previously the wife of the celebrated
Lavoisier, and devoted herself to the study of
science with an ardour that rivalled her husband. She
assisted him in his labours—she translated, tran-
scribed, and aided him in every possible way, even
learning to engrave that he might be sure of faith-
ful illustrations. He was ane of the many illus-
trious victims of the guillotine. The other article
referred to is by Madame Guizot, whose charming
writings are widely known in this country. It is
full of thought, sense and feeling. It is on " Charity,
its place in woman's life," and was originally written
in 1828, but the numbers published were limited and
M. Guizot avails himself of this opportunity of
giving it the publicity it deserves. A thorough
knowledge of the wants of the poor, as well as a
sense of what her sisters might accomplish if each
would do what she could, is plainly manifested ;
and it is interesting to know that Madame Guizot's
practice fully coincided with her precepts. In the
time of the cholera M. Guizot describes her
advice and aid as being constantly sought, and
tells how she freely mingled with the sick and
suffering without thought of self. When completed,
these memoirs will give a statesman's view of
France during twenty years, many of them, troubled
and revolutionary—all of them more or less im-
portant. However we may differ from the policy
pursued by M. Guizot in office, and the opinions
maintained by him in opposition, and, without
entering on the complicated questions of those
remote days our readers are aware that we
have often done so, we are able to welcome his
memoirs as a valuable illustration of the history of
the time, and an important contribution to the
political records of European States. The trans-
lator has fulfilled his share of the task with ability
and success. The book reads fluently, and without
any idiomatic phrases, and we shall await the suc-
ceeding volumes with interest and expectation.

Memoirs to • Illustrate the _History of My Time.
4y I% Guizot, author of " Memoirs of Sir Robert
&c. &c. Translated by J. W. Cole.
Vol. IL Richard Bentley.
The second volume of these interesting memoirs
of thb Pronch ex-Preniier has now made its
appearance. However much we tilaY differ
from the policy of M. Guizot and his chief,
it is always interesting to ;read the memoirs
of one who has for many years filled the great
offices of a European State—to see the view he
takes, in silence and retirement, of the turmoils
and angry questions that agitated his cabinet—to
watch the change in his opinions produced by the
events of succeeding years—to view the light in
which the great political questions of a former day
appear to him,when divested of the false colouring
thrown over them by the love of power, the posses•
sion of authority, or by the spirit of opposition and
desire for place. M. Guizot, whatever his faults as
a statesman, is eminently qualified for his under-
taking, both by his peculiar literary abilities and
by the romance of his position as resident in a
foreign land, watching across the waters the agita-
tions of his native country, from which not only
his own race of politicians have retreated in dis-
comfiture, but the whole dynasty which, they
served, and even the title it bore, has totally passed
away. On the subject of the sudden convulsions
which threaten political power in France, M.
Guizot makes the following observations,. the truth
of which must strike every reader of French his-
tory. He is speaking of the Revolution of 1830:
" The stuggle had scarcely begun, and already the entire
establishment of the Restoration—persons and institutes
—was in visible and urgent danger. A few hours
before, and within a short distance of Paris, the decrees
were unknown to me; and by the side of legal opposi-
tion I saw, on my arrival, revolutionary and unchained
insurrection. The journals, the courts of justice, the
secret societies, the assemblies of peers and deputies, the
national guard, the citizens and the populace, the bankers
and the labouring dames, the drawing-rooms and the
streets, every regulated or unlicensed element of society
either yielded to or pushed forward the general movement.
On the first day the cry was, Long live the Charter I
Down with the Ministers 1' On the second, 'llp with
liberty 1 Down with the Bourbons I Long live the Repub-
lic ! Long live Napoleon the Second !"I'he decrees of the
preceding eve had been seized on as the signal for
exploding all the infirmities, hopes, projects, and political
desires accumulated during sixteen years.
" Amongst the evils with which our age and country
are afflicted, one of the heaviest is, that no serious trouble
can burst forth in any part of the social edifice, but im-
mediately the entire building is in danger of subversion;
there exists a contagion of ruin which spreads with ter-
rible rapidity. Great public agitations, extreme abuses
of power are not new facts in the world. More than
once nations have had to struggle, not only by law but
by force, for the maintenance and recovery of their rights.
In Germany, in Spain, in England before the reign of
Charles 1., in France as far back as the seventeenth cen-
tury, the political bodies and the people have often opposed
the King, even by arms, without feeling either the neces-
sity or right of changing the dynasty of their Sovereigns or
the form of their government. Resistance and insurrec-
tion had their curbs and limits, whether arising from the
state of society, or the conscience and good sense of men ;
the entire system was not continually in the hazard. In
the present day, and with us, each important political
struggle resolves itself into a question of life and death.
People and parties, in their blind excitement, rush on the
instant to the last extremes ; resistance suddenly transforms
itself into insurrection, and insurrection into revolution.
Every storm becomes the deluge."
Commencing with the struggle which placed.
upon the throne that monarch with whose
fortunes his own were so closely connected,
this second volume traces the stormy events
of the next two years. M. Guizot's- own Mini-
stry of the Interior, the trial of the Ministers
of Charles X., and the wild scenes of anarchy suc-
ceeding it; the accession of M. Cassimer Perier to
office, his one year of vigorous government, and the
fall of the Cabinet soon after his death by the fatal
epidemic of 1832, are included in these pages. The
volume leaves Marshal Soult just having formed
the Cabinet of October, 1832, of which M. Guizot
was himself a member as Minister of Public Instruc-
tion. The exciting troubles of those times, the
policy of concession advocated by some of the Libe-
rals, in addition to the policy of resistance stoutly
maintained by M. Guizot and his friends, are ail
vividly portrayed. The King himself, notwith-
standing M. Guizot's efforts to the contrary, does
not appear in a very favourable light. His weak-
ness, his obstinacy, his vacillation, his narrow-
mindedness are plainly manifested, and totally un-
fitted him for the responsible office of the ruler of a
great state in snob troubled and difficult times.
The following extract gives a scene from the Cham-
ber of Deputies on the trial of the Ministers of
Charles X. :
" A more weighty event, the trial of the Ministers, was
approaching. Scarcely retired from office, I hastened to
take a very decided position on this question. During the
sitting of the 9th of November, 1830, certain expressions of
M. Odilon-Barrot on the address of the Chamber of Deputies
against the punishment of death for political offences, sup
plied me 'with a suitable opportunity. While on my way to the
tribune, as I passed M. Casimir Perier, Your efforts will
be futile,' whispered he to me in a low voice ; ' you will not
save the head of M. de Polignac.' I expected better from
the public feeling, and I expressed my own in a few words.
I take no personal interest,' I said, in the fallen minis-.
ters ; I have no ties with any of them ; but I feel proudly
convinced that it belongs to the honour of the nation, and
to its historic credit, not to shod their blood. After having
changed the government and renewed the face of the coun-
try, it is truly miserable to prosecute a paltry justice by the
side of that immense justice which has struck, not four men,
but an entire government, a total dynasty. On the question
of blood, France desires nothing that shall be profitless.
All revolutions have shed blood through inflamed passions,
and not from necessity. Three months, six months after
—that blood has recoiled back upon themselves. Let us
not to. day re-enter on the old track, which we avoided
even during the combat.' The Chamber was visibly
moved to sympathy. As I was returning to my place, M.
Royer-Collard stopppd me, and.warmly pressing my hand,
said, You may make greater speeches, but you will never
do yourself mere honour.' M. de Martignac came to place
himself by my side, and thanked me with sincere emotion.
It is a sad pity,' said he, that this cause is not to be de-
cided here and at this moment. It would be gained.' • •
" As regards the speaker, and even the listeners, the im-
pressions of the tribune are so vivid, that we are apt to look
upon them as decisive. Facts are not slow to dissipate this
illusion. When great questions of government are in de-
bate, eloquence is at once powerful and insufficient. It
prepares, but achieves nothing, and should be employed
without too much confidence. Our debates in the Chamber
of Deputies had certainly elucidated true and political jus-
tice, and impressed many minds with a favourable senti-
ment. But when the trial actually commenced, the diffi •
culty and danger continued to be enormous; and during
eight days, the Cabinet with all its power, M. de La Fayette
with all his popularity, King Louis-Philippe with his well -
timed, able, and humane dexterity, the House of Peers
with its courageous wisdom, exhausted themselves in efforts,
ever on the verge of failure, to restrain the underhand revo-
lutionary practices and improvident fury which sought
respectively, in the death of the accused parties, their grati-
fication and success. During this period of action, the
Chamber of Deputies, which could take no part, abstained
from speaking."
Another interesting passage is that on the fate of
Poland. In denouncing that shameful partition,
M. Guizot echoes the opinion of most right-think-
ing men :
" It would have been a great happiness and honour for
Europe if the Popish question could have been treated and
settled in 1831, after the same mode. There has ever been,
and there is still, in the destiny of Poland a remarkable and
exclusive characteristic. Conquests and dismemberments of
states have abounded in Europe ; provinces and kingdoms
have repeatedly changed masters and names ; treaties have
succeeded wars; time has hallowed treaties; territorial and
national changes, in spite of original bitterness, have been
consecrated by peace and the lapse of years, and accepted, not
only by indifferent spectators, but by the very people that have
been compelled to undergo their yoke. Nothing like this
has happened to Poland. Before long, a century will have
rolled over since the first partition of that unhappy coun-
try. I know not how many diplomatic acts have acknow-
ledged its new masters. Events of immense importance
have changed the destiny and absorbed the interest of
Europe. In the midst of so many iniquities and fresh mis-
fortunes, the fate of Poland has never ceased to be acknow-
ledged and felt as a European crime and calamity. It was
the murder of a whole nation, as her friends have said, with
terrible truth. In vain have their adversaries replied that
Poland herself, her detestable institutions, her blind quar-
rels, her execrable anarchy, led to her overthrow, and that
national suicide provoked foreign assassination. The ex-
planations of history are not judicial sentences, and argu-
ment avails nothing against the strong sentiment of public
conviction. For more than sixty years Poland has ceased
to figure amongst nations, and as often as the nations of
Europe rise in agitation, Poland also begins to stir. Is it
a phantom, or a people ? I cannot say. Poland may be
dead, but she is not forgotten.
By the side of this arresting fact, I have remarked an-
other no less extraordinary :—Since the conscience of Europe
has been disturbed by the fate of Poland, important changes
have been accomplished. Many powerful and different
authorities have disposed of nations. Monarchy or republic,
conqueror or congress, none have ever seriously attempted
to call back Poland from her grave, or to heal this European
wound. At the moment when this murder was committed,
neither old France nor old England raised an arm to pre-
vent it; new France and new England have not acted with
more efficacy. The re-establishment of Poland never
entered into the real or sincere designs of the French
Revolution or the Emperor. Words have been uttered,
perspectives have been opened, devotion has been called
into brilliant display by exciting hopes, but nothing more.
Extreme misfortune alone has infused some transitory
illusions into all these falsehoods. The whole world has
made use of Poland, but no one has ever assisted her.
" The course of history, so replete with the calamities of
nations, presents no example of a similar conquest, or of a
similar position when conquest has been achieved. It is
not simply a defeated opponent in presence of his con-
queror ; in Poland there is one vanquished and three victors.
Threo victors inch del amongst the most powerful states of
Europe, and ever united by one enduring interest, in de-
fence of their conquest, still common, though divided. The
beaten party is situated at the extremity of Europe, unable
to find sympathy or support, except from an immense dis-
tance, and through the possessions of its subduers. As
regards the most formidable of the.three conquerors, Russia,
the preservation of her part of Poland is not only a ques-
tion of government, an interest of the Sovereign, but a
national passion. The Ruksian people are even more re-
solved than the Emperor that Poland shall not escape from
their dominion. Amongst ill-fated nations, Poland labours
under the peculiar misfortune of having been too extensive,
and even at this ay, in hqr ruin, her destiny continues too
important. When the defeated Goths in the mountains
of the Asturias, and the small Greek colonies in Epirus,
Peloponnesus, and Thossaly, struggled for ages against the
Arabs and Turks, their resistance, though sad and glorious,
was simple and restricted. These broken fragments of a
nation aspired only to maintain, in some remote corners of
their land, a Vigo of nationality and local independence.

The Bertrams : a Novel. By Anthony Trollope,
author of " Barchester Towers," " Doctor Thorne,"
&c. 3 vols. Chapman and Hall.
Those who desire to peruse a sensible novel should
obtain this work. Here they will find no effusions
of sentiment, and no exaggerations of feeling and
passion, but a sober estimate of men and things,
and a vigorous exposition of events that are of daily
occurrence. It is satisfactory to notice the great
improvement in the style of this talented author.
It so often occurs that powerful writers deteriorate
from their first productions, that it is particularly
gratifying to find a new work not only possessing
increased force and brilliancy, but also enhanced by
greater refinement of tone and grace of expression.
There are many persons met with in this story,
who are all accurately described in their peculiar
positions. The most admirable character is that of
George Bertram, and lie is perfectly natural in his
manner and bearing, which is not always the case
with the shining ornaments of a narrative. How-
ever, it is to be questioned if Harcourt is not the
most striking sketch in the work. He is a masterly
representation of a man of the world—dashing,
daring, and distinguished alike by his superior
mental endowments and his energetic self-advance-
ment. He was unscrupulous in his conduct when
it suited his purpose, and no nobler incentive than
an actual triumph seemed ever to dwell in his
thoughts. The plaudits of to-day sufficed for his
ambition ; he cared little and thought less of a more
enduring and still higher triumph, which on many
an after-morrow might sound his praises, and
register his name among Fame's immortal votaries.
The bright but transient success which he obtained
only tended to unfit him for again struggling with
the tide of adversity, and his conduct when he was
in the ascendant had not impressed men's minds in
a favourable manner. " Since the day when he
had hesitated to resign his high office, his popu-
larity had gone down like a leaden plum-
met in the salt water. He had become cross-
grained, ill-tempered, and morose. No legal lumi-
nary in the memory of man had risen so quickly
and fallen so suddenly. It had not been given him
to preserve an even mind when adversity came
upon him." The last sad scene in the career of this
gifted man is a solemn one. Distracted by his
public failures and his private misfortunes, harassed
by the pressure of enormous debts which he had
incurred in his wild venture to make a show before
the world, he proved that his mind was unequal
to the test that distinguishes the genuine from tho
counterfeit; it could not withstand the evil day, it
had been trained to bask in the sunshine, not
trained to weather the storms with a bold spirit
and an iron will. "He was a coward, misfortune
had come upon him, and he was conquered at once."
The morning after his last disappointment, his
exclusion from the will of his wife's grandfather,
the news was spread abroad that Sir Henry Har-
court hadadestroyed himself. George Bertram was
of a very different class; he was also eminently
qualified to distinguish himself in the world, but
he hesitated from one reason and another. He
wanted decision of mind ; he was too apt to depend
on the fancies of the hour, and the suggestions of
others instead of forming his own plans in study
and solitude, and then adhering to them with.
energy. Unfortunately for him he early became
attached to Caroline 11 addington, a lady of con-
siderable endowments, but not calculated to prove
an efficient adviser to one so easily influenced as
was George Bertram. Her conduct was reprehen-
sible in the highest degree ; she dissuaded Bertram
from any of those higher aims to which in the
enthasiasm of his nature he was prone to aspire.
Sbe endeavoured to bring downlhis thoughts to the
level of her cold and worldly sentiments, and thus
in a great measure destroyed the promise of his noble
youth. She also unintentionally marred his success
in the very sphere in which she desired him to
shine, for it was in consequence of her conduct that
their engagement was annulled, and hence dire
offence was given to their rich old relation, Mr.
Bertram, who had set his heart on the marriage
and who, in consequence of its non-occurrence, left
his enormous wealth for other objects. This was no
disappointment to George, who did not care for
money, but it was a disastrous circumstance for his
advancement ; and, though money is not all that is
needed, it is a desirable adjunct in the struggle
with the world. The chief evil that Caroline
wrought on the mind of Bertram was in lowering
his estimate of human nature. In clouding the
brightness of his hopes, she dimmed the whole of
his after life. He could have borne disappointment
in another form ; had death or accident intervened
to pronounce the doom of his love, he might have
been resigned, but it was bitter to, find cold
calculation returned for his ardent affection ;
while he was constant to the shrine of love,
she was intent only on the worship of
Mammon. However, Caroline Waddington
worked out a far more lamentable doom for herself
in becoming the wife of Harcourt. That man had
been early associated with Bertram, but proved
himself false to friendship, and was the immediate
cause of the quarrel between the lovers, From the
moment when he discovered that Caroline was the
supposed heiress of old Bertram, he set to work,
and, having achieved the separation, he offered
himself to Caroline. She felt that nothing could
ever efface her early love, for in her peculiar way
she was attached to Bertram; but pride and pas-
sion finally triumphed over every other considera-
tion, and she became Lady Harcourt. After some
painful passages in their domestic life, she left her
husband, and resided with her grandfather. The
life of old Mr. Bertram is ably described. He was
not destitute of friendly feelings nor devoid of
generous impulses ; but he lived only for his money.
" The iron of his wealth had entered into his very
soul. He had made half a million of money, and
that had been his god, his only god—and indeed
men have but one god. The true worship of the
one loved shrine prevents all other worship."
There is a third hero, Arthur Wilkinson, and
another heroine, Adele. Gantlet, although their
course of true love did not run. smooth, there is a
softness and serenity about their lives that is very
different to the whirl and excitement which cha-
racterised the existence of the others. After the
death of his father, Arthur very imprudently
entered into some agreement that crippled his
means for ninny years, and although this was done
for the benefit of his mother, she behaved in the
most selfish way. In consequence of this confusion
he could not fulfil his desire of proposing to Adela
Gauntlet, and she was left for some years in a state
of uncertainty, while he passed a wretched life,
harassed by his mother, for whom he had sacrificed
everything, and dispirited at his forlorn position.
However, brighter days were in store ; his health
was the cause of his taking a tour with his cousin,
George Bertram, who exhorted him to rouse
himself, and not give way to despair. He
followed this wise counsel, and after his re-
turn he convinced his mother that he was his
own master, and he and Adela were united. They
were very poor, but that did not distress them, and
their pure tastes and simple pleasures formed a
strong contrast to the misery of the crafty Har-

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 21, 1859.

TILTS DAYS MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

court, and the cunning Caroline, the votaries of
worldly wealth
,and honour. Taken altogether
this must be regarded as a novel of a superior
class, for it contains some characters that are finely
drawn, and some passages of life that are power-
fully narrated. It is written throughout in an
eloquent and impressive style, and its numerous
dramatis penance are sketched in a way that shows
the author to possess a considerable knowledge of
men and manners.

There was a slight improvement in the demand for wheat
in most of the country markets held on Saturday, and prices
generally were well supported. Malting barley commanded
extreme currencies, but other kinds ruled somewhat heavy.
Other produce was dull, on former terms.
Throughout the Continent fine wheat and barley have sold
at full prices, but other kinds have met a dull inquiry. At
New York, to which port shipments have been made from
Liverpool, both wheat and flour continue comparatively
high in price.
The arrivals of English grain up to our market last week
were only moderate. From abroad we received 6,254 qrs.
of wheat, 17,283 barley, 7,732 oats, 2,020 beans, 2.59 peas,
1,393 tares, 3,919 linseed, 6,591 rapeseed, 4,770 sundry seeds,
1,664 sacks and 200 barrels of flour.
A very limited supply of wheat was received fresh up to-
day from Kent, and the arrivals from Essex were very
moderate ; henca the show of samples of both red and
white was small, bat their general condition was tolerably
good. For fine parcels there was a steady demand, and hi
some instances prices may be called the turn, or is per qr.,
higher than on Monday last. Low and middling qualities
found buyers at full quotations.
There was an improved tone in the demand for useful
qualities of foreign wheat, at full currencies; but the amount
of business doing was only moderate.
Floating cargoes of grain sold at full prices, but the
demand was rather heavy.
Malting barley was scarce, and in request, at full prices.
Grinding and distilling sorts wore taken off slowly, on
former terms.
For malt the inquiry was less active. In prices, how-
ever, no change took place.
The show of oats was only moderate, and the demand
was far from active, on former terms.
Beans were in short supply, and steady request, at fully
last week's currency.
We had a fair demand for peas, at full quotations.
The flour trade was by no means active. In prices,
however, no change took place.

CURRENCY PER IMPERIAL MEASURE.
Wheat—Essex and Kent, red, new 36s to 45s
Ditto, old
Ditto, white, new 39s 50i
Ditto, old —s —s
Norfolk and Lincoln, red, old —s —s
Ditto, new
Eye—Old —8 —a
New
Barley—Grinding...., 24s 20s
Malting . 30s 37s
Clieralier 3ss 42s
Malt—Suffolk and Norfolk s2s 66s
Brown
Kingston and Ware s2s 64s
Chevalier
Oats—Yorkshire and Lincolush., Feeding l9s 24c
• Potato 26s 30s
Youghal and Cork, black ... 20s 23s
Cork, white
Scotch, Feeding 2os 29s
Beans—Tick
'
Pigeons 18s 495
' Peas—Grey 3Bs 365
Maple
White 19s 40s
Boilers
Flour—Town-made
Suffolk 3os 328
Stockton and Norfolk