The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Secret History of the Court of France under
Louis XV. Edited from rare and unpublished
documents. By Dr. Challice. 2 vols. Hurst

and Blackett.

Thcse volumes might more properly be called the
Memoirs of Madame do Pompadour, as she is
throughout the heroine and principal figure on the
scene. Dr. Challice reverses the general sentence
and pronounces Mme. de Pompadour to have been
the good angel of France, and Louis XV. the
" well beloved" of his people. Seldom has this
miserable reign, which shared the vices without the
glory of its predecessor, which suffered for the
crimes of its ancestors, and hurried on the catas-
trophe of its posterity, been painted in such favour-
able colours. King, Queen, and favourite are all
alike estimable, according, to the editor's showing.
But however great her gifts as an artist, however
beneficial the effects of her taste upon Paris as a
city, however sincere her regard for the king, it is
difficult not to believe that Dr. Challice has
exaggerated her disinterestedness and elevation
of character. Speaking of her in the preface, he
says :—" It is a curious incident in the history of
French politics and of philosophy, that a woman
most devoted to monarchy in the person of the
King, should have been the instrument for the in-
troduction of those writers who denounced corrup-
tion and tyranny. It is a curious incident in eccle-
siastical history that this woman, a penitent and
dying, should successfully denounce the temporal
power of the Church, from which alone she could
hope to receive spiritual consolation. Nevertheless,
it has taken just one hundred years to free the
leading character of this work from the dust of
party conflict. Obscured by a threefold prejudice,
political, ecclesiastical, and of birth, the woman
whom the Queen-Empress of Austria called
'sister' has been contemned, yet this contempo-
rary tribute proves that the life of the Marquise de
Pompadour was, or rather is, no unimportant link
in the chain of political events." That her sagacity
was not infallible is, however, proved by her
consistent advocacy of the Stuarts, which
was more creditable to her constancy as a friend
than to her discernment as a stateswoman. Her
chief claim on the regard of posterity exists in
the architectural improvements of which she was
the promulgator and encourager. A summary of
the most remarkable of these is found in the fol-
lowing passage :

Madame de Pompadour in the glare and glitter of her
position needed repose. Passing through the streets of
Paris she felt in what want of shade were the hot and dusty
citizens, who often scowled heavily at her carriage. Un-
daunted by their ingratitude, she proposed to plant those
Boulevards, the pride and joy of Paris present. She caused
them to be planted to the Porte St. Martin, and to her are
duo those pleasant residences which gradually sprung up in
Paris with the trees that were already growing for their
shelter and adornment. But her plan the most vast—after
the i'antheon, St. Sulpice, and the Madeleine—was to ex-
tend that part of Paris called the City. To effect this, it
was necessary to sell all old Paris to a company of finan-
ciers (according to Marshal Saxe's money notions), which
company would engage itself in the transformation. All
the Isle of the City became a new town, with Notre Dame
on one side, and the Palace of Justice on the other. In
this plan to connect the two trenches of the Seine there
were to be covered galleries on the bridges, with flowering
shrubs and mural paintings like hanging gardens. The
Palais Royal might thus unite itself to the Luxembourg by
this winter gallery, where the passengers would be protected
from the wind, the sun, and the rain, In the centre of
Paris the Boulevards wou d develope themselves succes-
sively to the gate of St. Honore by elegant hotels. All
these plans and many others were proposed and executed
by Madame de Pompadour, to say nothing of the Place
Vendome, the Place des Victoires, &c. Who does not
know, above all, the Place de Louis XV. ? Called by the
the name of the " well beloved," it best represents in fair
proportions, perspective, and surrounding monuments of
benevolence, justice, and penitential faith, the woman who
adorned it with all the consequences of her love for the
King. Let the people look closely into the appropriate
adornments of each of these monuments raised by one who
has no monument in ungrateful and unknowing Paris
raised to her, and they will see how a great artiste once
lived, suffered, triumphed, in the city which she did more
to make the centre of civilisation than any who came
before her. Her history is written in the stones of Paris.
The designs of those buildings and their ornaments were
the works of her hands.

The severest satire on a courtier's life, the most
impressive homily on the vanity of worldly digni-
ties, may be found in the letters of this remarkable
woman—beautiful, gifted, and successful. All the
honours which in that corrupt time were accorded
to her, all the wealth and power lavished• on her
by the favour of the Xing, only produced mourn-
ful complaints like the following. Writing to a
private friend, she says :—The pomp, the grandeur,
the pleasures of this world enchant me no longer,
.... The charm is broken, and I find in my heart
nothing but an immense void which cannot be
filled. The world is a liar ;it promises a happi-
ness it is incapable of giving." And such,
throughout, is the tenour of her letters, even
during her most brilliant years. Well may
the author of these volumes exclaim :
" Let preachers preach, let moralists cant, let poets
fabricate justice. The story of a real life fairly
lived out is God's best teaching." He says this in
recording the grief with which she buriod her only
child stale conven,t pf tbq Capuchins. Years after
the gorgeous lady who had maintained the state of
a princess, and correspandedfamiliarly with queens
and empresses, begged in her will that she might
be allowed a pauper's grave in the same hamble
resting place. The copious appendix which Dr.
Challice gives contains many important documents,
and many interesting extracts from the letters
and statements of the day are embodied in the
work itself. To all who like to study the history
of the past from different points of view, and to
enter behind the scenes of the drama of wars and
treaties, these volumes will be very acceptable,
while they are not without attractions for the
general reader who likes an insight into Court
life, though we should advise them not to accept
its pages as a complete and indisputable history
of the reign.

Tom Cringle's Log. By Michael Scott. Black-
wood and Sons.
The republication of this popular nautical novel
is well timed; it is just the sort of book to captivate
the young , and at a time for bestowing Christ-
mas presents and New-year's gifts it will no
doubt receive a due share of patronage. It does
not contain any particularly romantic episodes, and
is rather a series of maritime adventures, than
a continuous tale of love and sentiment. But the
topographical descriptions show that the author is
thoroughly acquainted with the localities where
fortune leads his hero. Some of the passages, too,
are beautifully and pathetically written ; that of
the death of the pirate's mistress for instance—but
the general style of the narrative is light and
humorous. Our hero's first adventure is on the
Elbe, at the time when the French held Hamburg,
where he narrowly escapes being shot by the
savage Davoust; he, however, contrives to regain
his ship. Although this part of the tale has no
connection with the subsequent portion, and is, in
fact, an episode per se, the description of the forti-
fications of Cuxhaven and Hamburg, and the treat-
ment of the inhabitants by their conquerors, is full
of interest. It is in the West Indies that the most
interesting episodes take place, and Mr. Cringle's
adventures become amusing. He froms ac-
quaintance with several eccentric individuals, who
alternately entertain our hero on shore, or partake
of his hospitality afloat. As a matter of course,
there are several sea fights, as also a shipwreck.
Master Tom falls among thieves, i e., pirates, and
this adventure, which occupies a considerable space,
contains some of the best passages in the book.
Having been placed in command of a small schooner,
he starts on a cruise on his own account, accom-
panied by his friends, and contrives to get them
into hot water by engaging a large slaver, which
they succeed in capturing; but scarcely has success
crowned their arms when it is discovered that the
ship is sinking, and the victors have barely gained
their own vessel when the pri▪
ze, with its living
cargo, founders headforemost. The remarks of that
eccentric individual Aaron Bang, Esq., on the sub-
ject of the slave trade are in accordance with the
view taken by all who have fai▪
rly considered the
subject. The scene takes place on board the
schooner the day after the loss of the slaver
I say, Tom,' quoth Aaron, how do you feel, my
boy?'
" Why, not quite so buoyant as I could wish. To me
it has been a day of fearful responsibility.'
" And well it may,' said he. 'As for myself, Igo to
rest with the tremendous consciousness. that even I, who
am not a professional butcher, have dm blessed day shed
more than one fellow-creature's blood—a trembling con-
sideration—and all for what, Tom ? You met a big ship in
the dark, and desired her to stop. She said she would not.
You said, ' You shall.' She replied, ' I'll be d—d if I do.'
And thereupon you set about compelling her ; and certainly
you have interrupted her course to some purpose, at the
trivial cost of the lives of only five or six hundred human
beings, whose hearts were beating cheerily in their bosoms
within these last six hours, but whose bodies are now food
for fishes.'
"I was stung. At your hands, my dear sir, 1 did not
expect this, and—'
" ' Hush,' said he, I don't blame you—it is all right ;
but why will not the Government at home arrange by
treaty that this nefarious trade should be entirely put down ?
Surely all our victories by sea and land might warrant our
stipulating for so much, in place of hugger-muggering with
doubtful ill-defined treaties, specifying that you John Cra-
peau, and you Jack Spaniard, shall steal men, and deal in
human flesh, in such and such a degree of latitude only,
while if you pick up one single slave a league to the north-
ward or southward of the prescribed line of coast, then we
shall blow you out of the water wherever we et you. ,
Why should poor devils, who live in one degree of latitude,
be allowed to be kidnapped, whilst we make it felony to
steal their immediate neighbours?' Aaron waxed warm
he proceeded—' Why will not Englishmen lend a hand to
put down the slave trade amongst our opponents in sugar
growing, before they so recklessly endeavour to crush sla-
very in our own worn-out colonies, utterly regardless of our
rights and lives? Mind, Tom, I don't defed slavery—l
sincerely wish we could do without it; but am I to be the
only one to pay the piper in compassing its extinction ? If,
/ -
however, it really be that Upaa-tree, wider whoa baleful