The Sun.
London, England, 1832-03-30 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

TOUR OF A GERMAN P HINCE.—VoL. IV.
LoNnox, 1832.
This desultory work is nowbrought to a con-
clusion. It is as lively as ever, and in its de-
scriptions of English manners just as much
tainted with prejudice. Prince Puckler Muskat',
on whose cranium we are surprised Mr. Devine,
the phrenologist, did not, when his Highness
consulted him, find the organ of self-conceit as
big as an ostrich's egg, rarely misses an oppor-
tunity of alluding to his very superior talents.
He looks abroad on the rest of his species from
the towering heights of his own intellect ; and,
consequently, finds them all dwindled in the
distance. In our aristocracy he finds little or
nothing to praise ; in our lower orders about as
much ; of the middle classes alone has he a word
to say in commendation, and this he says in a
very starveling, niggardly spirit. Still we cannot
deny that his book is amusing, for it abounds
in incident, anecdote, and strange out-of-the-way'
touches of character. The Prince, as we have
already observed, is a close observer of men and
things—and where his prejudices do not interfere
to cloud his better judgment, may be safely re-
lied on. We select a few extracts at random :
The rich Lady L--, with whose ' black diamonds'
her complexion forms the most age-eable contrast, and
whose ' air chrtlimne' is quite original, showed me her
bazaar this morning. It is no coo.mon one, for it con-
tained jewels to the amount of 300,000 reichsthalers. The
whole boudoir ft 11 of perfumes, fl 'were, and rarities, the
' clair obscur' of rose-coloured curtains, and the Mar-
chioness herself in a dress of yellow gauze, reclined on her
chaise longue plongee dans une (lout, langueur ;' it was a
pretty picture of • refinement.' Diamonds and pearls,
pens and ink, books, letters, toys, and seats, and an unfi-
nished purse, before her. Among the seals, two were
piquant, from their contrast—the one from Lord Byron:—
" Love will find its way,
Where wolves would fear to stray."
The other says, with true French, ' philosophie,' Tout
lame, tout cerise, taut passe.' Nothing. however, was so
commin in the house as portraibt o the Erne Alev-
au,. is nose image uses tuna !nutty lea y grati-
tude. Her husband was ambassador there, and used his
English prerogative to its lull extent. Once he boxed
with a • fiacre' driver : another time he presented the
Archduchess, and, if I mistake not, the Empress herself,
to his wife, instead of the reverse ; then he ran into the
kitchen to stab his cook for having offended the Mar-
, chioness: enfin, it faisait la pluie et le beau tems a V—;
ou plutor l'orage et Is grele.'
" Just conceive how disvpointed' the poor lady
roust be, after so long ruling on the Continent, mAlgre
seri diamans son rang, et as jolie mine,' not to be able to
be really and truly fashionable. But this arirocracy or
tdshion is more diffictilt to attain to t an the highest ranks
of freemasonry, and touch more capricious than that ye.
nerahle institution, though both alike make something out
of nothing."
a a • a • a P
" The first Almack's ball took place this evening ; and
from all I had h. a ti of this celebrated assembly, I was
really curious to see it ; hut n-ver were my expectations
so disappoin'ed. It was not much better than at Brighton.
A large bare to to, with a had floor, and ropes around it.
like the space in an Arab camp parted off for the horses ;
tp:,.enoryeoisrnetrot,tediwrehetihts,ehnal n
which, spite
imtetwak
of the
rooms
ettlheeheidmriie,
f:anetpe,htmhde s
eiffin
tmciud;ie:yanoi
dni
gatreotlie,
tiiim-
ng
tickets, a great many Nobodies' had wriggled; in which
the dress was gen,raliy as tasteless as the tournure' wa-
bad ; this was all. In a word, a sort of inn-entertain-
ment—the music and the lighting the only goal thing..
And yet Alma, k's is the culminating point of the English
world of fashion.
" This overstrained simplicity had, however; original!)
amo ire. People of real fashion wished to oppose some.
thing extremely cheap to the monstrous ' finite' of the rich
1).1-vent's ;' while the institution of lady-patronesses.
without whose approbation no one could be admitted.
would render it inaccessible to them. Money and bail
company (in the aristocratical sense of the wetd) have,
however, forced their way ; and the only characteris,
which has been retained is the unseemly place, which 1-
not unlike the • local' of a shooting all in our latg,
towns, and forms a most ludicrous contrast with the gene-
ril splendour anti luxury of England."
This is a tolerable accurate description of an
animated debate in the House of Commons.
Canning, however, is better pourtrayed than

Brougham.
The debate this evening was moreover of the hi..h.
interest. Most of the former Mini.ters have, as y. t.
know, resigned : among th in, some of the most influen
thil men in England, and (since Napoleon and Blucher's
death) the greatest Commander in Europe. Caniiitir
the champion of the liberal party, has defected this Mi-
nistry, and is, spite of all their efforts, become head
the new one, the formation of which was left to him, ac
cording to the usual custom here. But the whole powei
of the exasperated ultra-aristrocacy and their dependant.
presses upon nim ; and even one of his most particulai
friends, a commoner like himself, is among the resigning
Ministers, awl has joined the hostile party. This gentle-
man (Mr. Peel) to-day opened the attack, in a long ant
clever speech, though full of repetition. It would heat
me too far, and greatly exceed the bounds of a correspon-
dence like ours, were 1 to go into the details of the present
political questions. My object is only to give you an idea
of the tactic with which, on the one side, the leader of the
new Opposition headed the attack, and was followed by
several more obscure combatants, who planted a stroke
here and there ; while on the other, the old Opposition
the Whigs, who now support the liberal Rlinistry with all
their might, mere skilfully commenced with their mus.
ketry, and reserved the heavy fire of their great gun,
Brougham. In a magnificent speech which flowed an like
a clear stream, he tried to disarm his opponent; now tor-
tured him with sarcasms ; now taking a higher flight,
wrought upon the sensibility, or convinced the reason of
his hearers. I must attempt to give you a specimen of
this extraordinary piece of eloquence.
" The orator closed with the solamn declaration, thafhe
was perfectly impartial ; that he could be impartial ; for
that it was his fixed determination never, and on no
terms, to accept a place in an Administration of these
kingdoms.
" I had never heard and admired Brougham before. No
man ever spoke with greater fluency—hour after hour. in
a clear unbroken stream of eloquence, with a floe and
distinct organ, riveting the attention, without once halt-
ing, or pausing, without repeating, recalling, or mistaking
a wort"; defects which frequently deform Mr. Pe-I'.
Brougham speaks as a good reader reads from
a book. Nevertheless, it seems to me that yen perceive
only extraordinary talent, formidable pungent Wit, and

ire preeent* of mind—the heart-warming power .if ue
such as flows from Cannine's tongue, he possesses,
. iny opinion, in a far lower degree.
'' Canning, the hero of the day, now raft. U his prede-
‹essior might b: compared to a cbxteriine and elegant
'xer, Canning preseraed the im gre of a finish d luit•qu.
arliator. Ail was noble: refined. simple ; then 'nut-
let-I'v, at one splendid point, his eloquence hurc forth
.ke 'lightning—grand and all-suliduitig. Alcinflarf lin- •
am. and weakness, apparently the consequence of lois late
..!I',At and of the load of busii.eiss I •id up.in him, seemed
• iniewliat to diminish his eneri:y, bat perhaps increased
.4 influence over the feelings.
" His speech was, in every point of view, the most
,mplete, :s well as the most irrisistihly prior-wive ; the
own and glory of the debate. Never stall 1 )iise the
.opri.ssion which •hie, and that other relehr..ted .preelo of
is on the affiirs of Portugil, wade upon me. D.itiply
1 I !eel on each of these occasions, hat the nidiest
oi.ier man can exercise over his brut'. r man, the most
fizzling splendour with which he can surround himself,
tore which that of the most successful warrior pales
'ke the light of phosphorus in the sits, lies in the divine
ift of eloquence. Only to the great ma.ter in this
givenpod-
ke art is ttoh„a,be t,i o
t sortit iift slice'
•tion with
huttli l line' magnetic.el
o
ed following ; while the magic rod of the magnetiser
s equally absolute over rage and gentleness, over War
peace, over rears and smiles."

We here close our notices of these volu,nes

if Travels, which have attracted some attention
,'ro►n the graphic ability they display. sill more
limn their piquant, but too often indefensible,
,ersonalities. On one point only th, dutlnq in-
:ariably fails. We mean as a metaphysician.
Whenever he touches on this dreaming science,
which has already nearly shipwrecked the fine
ttittgination of Coleridge, he invariably proses
o a degree provocative of a slumber equal to
that of the Seven SlePpers.

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF AGRI-,

CULTURE, No. XVI.
BLACKTVO D. EDINIWROK.

The sixteenth number of the Quarterly
Journal of Agriculture, with the Prize Essays,
and Transactions, of the Highland S,Jciety
Scotland, has just been published. We ac-
knowledge, with his Grace the Dube of Bed-
ford, the immense advantages which the country
has enjoyed from the improvements in agricul-
ture, but we never could agree with his Grace
that improvements had reached their ultinzum,
and that Agricultural Societies were no longer
of any use. The present work corroborates our
opinion, for it shows that Scotland is duily de-
riving increased agricultural knowledge from the
Highland Society, and from this Quarterly
Journal of Agriculture—a work we would re-
commend to English farmers, and more especially
to farmers in Ireland. The present number con-
tains many useful articles, particularly on the
tea-plant, the markets and farms of he United
States and Canada, on salmon-fishery, on pre-
serving wheat, on the foot-rot in sheep, and (
various agricultural instruments, with the me-
chanism and organization of farming business.
There is an article upon the means of creating
varieties of seeds, by impregnation, and another
upon calculi in animals. The French system of
lithotromy may be applied with ease to animals,
and thus may the painful and dangerous opera-
tion of lithotomy be avoided, as well as the in-
expedient attempts at solution. There is a
useful article in this number upon incendiarism
Ana Th.. .Is.*
so deplorable as in our own." And, again, "to
assume that the criminal laws of Great Britain
are over-lax in their nature, is to make an as-
sumption not borne out by fact. A severer
code is not to be found in any country of the
world—stern—unbending, shall we say—bloody.
Not only against the most flagrant of crimes do
our laws hold forth a deadly menace, but even

for the most trivial of them the demand is blood
—the only expiation of the offender a shameful
death." This is but too true a statement, and
whilst the laws are bad, and whilst they are exe-
crated by every man not interested in their ad-
ministration, not all the revenue and power of a
government could effect the objects of a police,
were they directed to that object alone. Fo-
reigners excel us in police from obvious causes.
The poor are early taught moral principles and
social conduct, with their religious tenets, whilst
in England the juvenile poor are totally unin-
structed, or instructed in nothing but doctrinal
jargon or cant. In foreign countries, moreover,
he poor respect the law.i and the law-givers ;

and without such elements of obedience, the
nest police is but nugatory. The whole volume
is calculated to impart a great deal of useful in-