The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-01 00:00:00

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

The character, habits, personal peculiarities, &c., of
the Emperor N icholas are minutely described in this
Number, by a writer who, it appears, has been some
years resident in Russia, and has had many opportu-
nities of picking up Court gossip. He represents the
Czar as one of the handsomest and most symmetrical
men of his age, upwards of six feet in height, stately
and severe in his demeanour, and greatly addicted to
frightening honest people out of their wits by the
sternness of his Imperial stare. His acquirements
are more than respectable; he speaks French and
German with perfect fluency, has a passable know-
ledge of English literature, but is so little acquainted
with our insular character and habits that he is con-
stantly falling into error, whenever England is the
theme of his conversation. His brother, the Grand
Duke Michael, is equally uninformed' on this point,
so much so that when "he meets the clergyman of
the British factory of St. Petersburgh in the streets,
he addresses him in English with, Ah, G—d d—n
your eyes, how are you ?' " This he means as a
courteous salutation, and of course the discreet parson
acknowledges it with becoming pride and thankful-
ness. There appears by all accounts to be much that is
melodramatic in the character of Nicholas ; like Louis
the Fourteenth, he is a sort of made-up man, and
exhibits his warlike propensities to cor siderable advan-
tage at reviews, though we do not learn that lie has
ever found courage enough to head his armies in the
field, or that his campaigns have ever extended be-
yond the parade ground of St. Petersburgh. He has
not yet achieved in person even the capture of a pig-
sty, and must, therefore, be considered as a less expe-
rienced warrior than the gallant Major Sturgeon,
whose daring assault on the old sow at the head of
the City Light Horse, has immortalized his memory.
" Recreations in Natural History" are devoted this
month to an account of the habits and physical pecu-
liarities of the elephant, of whose sagacity several
curious anecdotes are related. " Social Nuisances" 1
is an anathema against lap-dogs, in -the justice of
which we cordially concur. "Their selfishness is de-
testable," observes the author, "they engross the
snuggest chairs in the room, secure the best morsels,
and drink up all the cream at breakfast, without the
least regard to the duties of hospitality, or the com-
monest principles of politeness. But this is not all ;
notwithstanding the aristocratic circles in which they
move, they are the most vulgar dogs in the kingdom,
and make a point of turning up their noses at such of
their brethren as have not had the good fortune to be
educated in the drawing-room. In an essay on the
"Rights of Dramatic Authors," occur some speculations
on the causes of the decline of Comedy among us. The
question is one by no means difficult of solution.
Our national manners and feelings have been so much
toned down of late years by constant intercourse
with the Continent, and the steady march of refine-
ment and intelligence, that those marked distinctive
traits of character, which are the aliment of the Comic
Muse, are no longer to be found among us. One man
is now just fbr all the world like another man ; we
have become sophisticated, and present no marks for
the shafts of wit and humour. True, our social,
literary, and political coteries still furnish ample food
for ridicule, but it is the business of Comedy to deal,
not with masses, but with individuals. " The Emi-
grants of St. Thomassor is a passable poem, from the
pen cf Mrs. Gore ; and we can extend no higher praise to
Horace Smith's "Moral Alchemy," which is a lan-
guid imitation of Wordsworth's didactic manner.
"April Fool's Day all the Year Round" is a
sprightly essay, whose execution is as ingenious as
its conception. " Lady Londonderry's Journal" is
full of entertaining gossip about Athens, Palermo,
Naples, and the society to be met with in these cities.
" The Wedding Day" is one of Ingoldsby's diverting
legends, and exhibits some of his raciest touches
of sarcasm and drollery. In hunting about for ex-
tracts, we can find none better suited to our circum-
scribed space than this pleasing poetical apostrophe to
" The Laurel :"

Oh ! the willow may wave o'er the mouldering grave,
For a scorner of valour is she,
But the type of renown is the evergreen crown,
That is form'd of the bright Laurel-tree;
His green leaves have shed o'er the brow of the dead,
The halo of lasting renown,
For the mighty of earth, in their pride and their worth,
Were wreathed by the bright laurel crown !
Peerless and changeless—oh ! long flourish he,
The pride of the nation—the green Laurel-tree.
Then hail to the Laurel—the evergreen King?
For a monarch undying is he ;
An emblem of fame, from past ages he came,
And still sacred his branches shall be :
For him lives the warrior, his life of renown,

His glory gives nerve to the brave ;
There's fame in his breath, and his toughs after death,
Are the emblems we carve on his grave !
Peerless and changeless, immortal shall be,
The pride of the nation, the green Laurel-tree.
Though brave be the Laurel, we love him the most,
That he blooms net alone for the strong;
That his bright leaves are hung, for the Bards who have sung,
Whose voices were mighty in song !
Oh ; a song in his praise, shall be heard when the days
Of our warriors and minstrels are o'er,
When he yields then the fame of an undying name,
Like the Bards and the Heroes of yore !
Peerless and changeless,—oh 1 long flourish he,
The evergreen monarch—the green Laurel tree.