The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-17 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1845.

book is got up in most luxurious style, and is adorned
with a view of a scene from La File de l' Orage —an elon-
gated portrait of the author, and an illuminated cover-
title. These two last are very ingenious artistical
puzzles.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF STATESMEN
WHO FLOURISHED IN THE TIME OF
GEORGE 111. By Henry, Lord Brougham. Second

Series.
Mr. Knight has published a rew edition of these
sketches in a smaller form and at a cheaper rate. The
work is printed in a fine legible type, is of a commodious
size, and indeed every way suited to the general reader.
Those who chose to purchase the original edition have
formed an opinion of the characters of the most distin-
guished public men during the latter part of the reign of
George 111. ; but many who are fond of reading had not
the means, and to these a brief notice of the work, there-
fore, may be useful. The principal characters in this
volume are George IV. (including Queen Caroline and
Sir John Leach), Lord Eldon, and his brother Lord
Stowell, Mr. Horne Tooke, Lord Castlereagh, Lord
Liverpool, Mr. Tierney. and Lord St. Vincent. The pic-
ture drawn of George IV. is of a very forbidding aspect,
and probably not a little surcharged, from the
peculiar circumstances in which the noble author was
placed in his defence of the Queen. A strong feeling
rankles in his mind against the royal spendthrift. lle is
described as selfish, irritable, revengeful, "ignorant of
all but the passages of history which most princes read
with some superficial knowledge of the dead languages,
which he had imperfectly learned and scantily retained ;
considerable musical skill, great facility of modern
tongues, and no idea whatever of the rudiment of any
science, natural or moral ; unless the very imperfect
notions of the structure of Government, picked up in
conversation or studied in newspapers, can be reckoned
any exception to the universal blank." The treatment
of the Princess of Wales the very first week after her
marriage, exhibits conduct revolting to every mind, and
the prime actor was only saved from universal execra-
tion because the dark deeds which disgraced his charac-
ter and made the life of his consort all but insupport-
able, were at the time screened from the public gaze. The
following description paints human nature in such a de-
testable shape, that we would gladly believe that Lord
Brougham has been misinformed, and that the sufferings
of the Princess had made her magnify the crimes of her
husband :

" No sodher was the marriage solemnised, which plunged
the country into unmixed joy, and raised a mingled expecta-
tion and sneer among the population.of the Court, than the
illustrious husband proceeded to the most exemplary, and
indeed scrupulous fulfilment of his vows—but not those made
at the altar. There were others of a prior date, to which,
with the most rigorous sense of justice, he therefore gave the
preference ;—performing them with an exactness even beyond
the strict letter of the engagement. It is true they were not
quite consistent with the later obligations " to love, cherish,
and protect ;" but they were vows notwithstanding, and had
been attested with many oaths, and fierce imprecations, and
accompanied with a touching and a copious effusion of tears.
Their purport was an engagement to reject, to hate, and to
insult the wedded wife ; to yield her rivals, not unwedded,
but the helpmates of other lords, the preference on all occa-
sions; to crown the existence of the one with all favour, and
affection, and respect, while that of the other should be made
wretched and unbearable by every slight which could be
given, every outrage which could be offered to the feelings
most tyrannical over the female bosom. Swift followed,
then, upon the making of the second and public vow, the
punctual fulfilment of the first and private obligation. Never
did the new- married pair meet but in the presence of others ;
the Princess was treated on every occasion, but most on public
occasions, with ostentatious neglect, nay, with studied con-
tumely ; each resource of ingenious spite was exhausted in
devising varied means of exhibiting her position in melan-
choly contrast with the empire of her rivals ; when she sub-
mitted, trampled upon as dastardly and mean ; when she
was reluctantly goaded into self-defence, run down and
quelled and punished as contumacious ; and as soon as mal-
treatment was suspected to have begotten the desire of reta-
liation, she was surrounded with spies, that not a gesture or a
look, a word, or a sigh, might pass unregistered, unexagge-
rat 2d, unperverted."

A note to the life of Lord Eldon, partly describing
and partly suppressing expressions (which cannot be
recited) used by the Prince in reference to Mr. Percival,
tends to make his character still more repulsive. To Lord
Stowell's eminence as a judge full justice is done, and it
is correctly observed:—" If ever the praise of being
luminous could be justly bestowed upon human compo-
sitions, it was upon his judgments, and it was the appro-
bation constantly, and as it were peculiarly, appropriated
to those wonderful exhibitions of judicial capacity."
The sketches of Horne Tooke and Lord Liverpool are
perhaps the best in the collection. There is an entire
absence of party and personal feeling, and due praise is
given alike to the great abilities, the learning, and the
consistency of the former, and the good sense and
integrity of the latter. Throughout these pages suffi-
cient proofs are given that the Noble Lord has no great
regard for the old Whig party, thus well described:—
" The aristocratic and exclusive nature of Whig society,
the conviction then prevailing, and at all times acted upon,
that the whole interests of the State are wrapt up in those of
" The Party," while those of the party are implied by the
concerns of a few great families, their dependants, and their
favourites,—was sure to keep at an unpassable distance one
who, like Mr. Tooke, felt his own real importance, was unwil-
ling to measure it by the place he held in the estimation of
some powerful lord or more puissant lady, and was deter-
mined not to substitute for it the base nominal value attached
to obsequious servility."

And we can discover sentences which, though applied to
the individuals of whom his Lordship treats, may have a
different personal application. For instance, speaking of
Lord Shelburne, he says—
" Than whom none ever entered into the combats of public
life with an ampler provision of combined capacity and in-
formation, and none ever sustained the useful part which he
acted, with more unsullied honour. This tribute to truth
and justice is due from Whigs to one whom it suited the
policy of 1783 to run down by every species of slander,
partly in the prose of pamphlets, partly in the verse of pas-
quinades, partly in the mixed fiction and prose of speeches,
—merely because, not belonging to the party, he was auda-
cious enough to act for himself, instead of making himself a
tool of those who boasted that they never had confided in
him, at the moment they wore complaining of his deserting
their councils."

THE SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY. By John
Mills, Author qf" The Old English Gentleman," Brc.
Mr. Mills is well known for a variety of publications ;
he is reckoned among the sporting tribe one of the '
great chieftains of the day, and if long practice, en-
thusiasm in the cause, and well-earned trophies may be
taken as criterions of
.merit, he is fully entitled to his
rank. " From the time my memory can date," says he,
"field sports have been my study, the thought, the
occupation of my life. I have sought for information
wherever and whenever it could be obtained, and never
yet permitted an opportunity to pass of testing, at the
earliest period, the rules laid down for the guidance of
the sportsman." As far as we happen to be acquainted
with the topics adverted to, the work attests the claims
of the author. The instructions laid down are judicious,
and will be found useful to many even well initiated in
the different sports. Besides, he has the spirit and
humanity of a true sportsman ; he pursues game not
for slaughter, but exercise and amusement, and with the
least possible suffering to the ferce natura intended for
the use of man. Alluding to the mode of killing wild
fowl in North America, he says—
" Anybody who really takes delight in this slaughtering,
must have a very different idea of sport from that which I
entertain. I hold in utter contempt any mode of killing
which is pursued as a sport, wherein nothing is wanted but
cold: blooded butchery. And let me ask what can be more
cold-blooded, both literally and figuratively speaking,
than in the depth of a winter's night, to punt within range
of a countless multitude of birds, grazing together in a solid
mass, and then, after some hours' watching, perhaps to get
one shot at them? It really is more contemptible and cruel
than seine Lattices I have heard of; for in the one case the
wretched cripples flap away, to meet with the horrid death of
starvation ; while in the other the army of keepers generally
manage to stop the unhappy victims with bludgeons and
such-like means of stoppage in transitu."
The least interesting part of the work for the com-
mon sportsman is that which treats of the breeding and
condition of hunters, and " giving physic to dogs."
Some hundred pages are occupied with disquisitions on
these subjects, and. prescriptions and the rules of the
veterinary art, which may be useful for the regular
breeder or the master of foxhounds, but are of little im-
portance to others.. The rest of the work, however,
amply compensates for such dry details, and we can,
therefore, safely recommend it as a useful manual for
every son of Nimrod. We give the following instruc-
tions on "leaping" as a specimen:—
" To ride over a gate, when you can easily throw it back
upon its hinges, or to take any totally unnecessary leap, is
anything but to show your judgment. L Remember the race
is not always to the swift; and that in a long run it is next
to a certainty that you will have as much leaping as the
most rapacious can desire.
" When a horse is ' blown,' turn his head from anything
like a leap of magnitude. It is quite impossible that lie can
take it with any degree of safety; and the attempt is a fool-
ish risk of some deplorable result.
" After having cleared a fence, or barrier of any kind, into
an inclosure, look instantly for the best place for your next
leap; and, leaving fixed upon it, keep your horse as straight
as an arrow towards the spot, and never swerve. A great deal
depends upon your keeping the head of your horse in a direct
line with his quarters, in taking a leap ; for, if you pull him
either to the near or to the off side, the chances are greatly in
favour of his sending you to bite the ground in company with
himself."

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Vol. VI., 1845.
Part I. " Practice with Science."

The whole range of our periodical publications does
not, perhaps, embrace objects in themselves of more vital
importance to the primary and most extensive interests
of society than this journal especially addresses itself to.
Whatever may be thought of the short-sightedness and
interested prejudice which rigidly maintains a system of
prohibitory and exclusive legislation in respect of the trade
in corn, there can be no doubt in any candid mind that
both the science and theory of agriculture, and its practical
adaptation throughout all the processes of agrestic hus-
bandry, have made giant strides in the progress of im-
provement during the last five years. We have no de-
sire to disturb the salutary rule that has been self- pre-
garibed for their own conduct, by the parent and the
branch societies, for the extension and advancement• of
agriculture in this o )untry—of abstaining from political
discussion in the work of preparing their communications,
and in the general management of their affairs ; but
we may be allowed to remark, that for this and
other extraordinary benefits of a contingent or incidental
character, the stoniest enemy of the Anti-Corn-law
League must allow that the British public are mainly
indebted to the spirited agitation of that energetic body,
The present number of this journal is the richest, and at
skiaie time the most interesting we have yet seen of the

whole series. We have no less than twenty-one original
articles and seven very important communications.
Three of these are on draining and reclaiming heath lands ;
two on tenant improvements ; three on varieties of ma-
nures ; one on the advantages of thick sowing, which
will be read with the greater interest, at a period when
thin sowing is so warmly advocated by some of the
largest wheat-growers in Yorkshire and in Kent, on the
system so well described by W. L. Fox. From Mr. John
Watson, jun.'s Prize Essay on " Reclaiming Heath
Land," we extract the following curious and important
statements :

" All lands in England and Wales, at an elevation of 1,000
feet above the level of the sea, whatever may be their qualities
in regard to the nature of the soil, are too high for arable cul-
ture. In some districts, however, we find as good crops pro-
duced, and the harvest as early, at an elevation of 800 feet as in
others at 300 feet lower. Local circumstances have a great
tendency to alter the climate as well as the period of the ripen-
ing of grain. Poor clay soils, on a cold-bottomed, retentive sub-
soil, and a northern aspect, are much later than these of light,
dry, sandy, gravelly, rubbly nature, on a rocky or porous sub-
soil, with a southern aspect and a good inclination, approaching
to a right angle with the sun at mid-day. Large tracts of un-
drained land, unreclaimed heaths, forests, lakes, mountains,
and morasses, all have a tendency to attract moisture and de-
crease the temperature of the district; whilst, on the ether
hand, a well cultivated and well drained district has the oppo-
site effect. Moisture attracts moisture, and water attracts
water. How much, then, might be done to improve the cli-
mate of this country were a complete and thorough drainage
effected of all the waste lands, in addition to what is steadily
going on in cultivated districts. The effect of such a state of
things may be readily imagined by those who have studied the
laws of nature."

In a paper by Mr. Spooner, on" Bones and Sulphuric
Acid," this gentleman describe.: the results of various
experiments made by bim with these manures on turnip
crops. Of the guano he remarks—
"This, however, I may say, with regard to guano, that the
experiment convinced me that this valuable manure can be
readily and safely applied with the common drill (without any
particular provision being made for covering the manure with
earth before the deposition of the seed), by merely mixing the
guano with about four times the quantity of fine mould, and
adding as much ashes as the drill will deposit. In the case in
question the guano was used at the rate of 3 cwt. per acre,
and the mould and ashes were added so as to make the whole
amount to thirty bushels per acre."
The following results were arrived at in experiments
with the mixed manure referred to. They seem valua-
ble ones :

" The bones and acid turnips were the first to appear above
ground; the tops grew luxuriantly, and, for some time, main-
tained a superiority over the rest of the field ; the guano tur-
nips, however, after some time, rivalled them; and those ma-
nured with bones alone (though lagging behind terribly at
first) made amends towards the latter end of the autumn;
and, on weighing a few rods, in the month of December,
scarcely any difference could be discerned. The bones and
acid roots were the largest, but exhibited more bare
spots, probably owing to the irregularity of the deposition
of the manure from the cause before mentioned. Besides
which, I should state that they laboured under the disadvantage
of being on the outside of the field, and near a high hedge.
To say the least, however, two bushels of bones, with the ad-
dition of the acid, successfully rivalled eight times the quantity
of bones, though the latter was employed on land considered,
previeesiy, much superior to the other. I beg to conclude my
remarks on this interesting subject with the observation, that
when we find that sulphuric acid enters very largely into the
constituent parts of the Swedish turnip, are we not justified in
concluding that the remarkable effect attending the application
of the bones and acid, united, is, in some measure, to be attri-
buted to the specific virtue of the acid in affording food to the
plant ?"

THE O'DONOGHUE ; A TALE OF IRELAND.
By Harry Lorrequer. Nos. VIII. and IX.
These numbers contain several chapters of very stir-
ring interest, and of the illustrations, by Leech, " The
Student" and "The Piper" are the best. These are
very cleverly grouped. The chapters of these two num-
bers introduce us to The Capital and its Pleasures—
First Impressions—Old Characters with New Faces—
Some Hints about Harry Talbot—A Presage of Danger
—The St. Patrick's Ball (an excellent scene)—and the
Daybreak on the Stroud. It is very difficult to find a
better sketch of Dublin society as it existed fifty years
ago than this:—
" It would be a most unfair criterion of the tastes and plea-
sures of that day, were we to pronounce, from our experience
of what Dublin now is. Provincialism bad not then settled
down upon the city, with all its petty attendant evils. The
character of a metropolis was upheld by a splendid Court, a
resident Parliament, a great and titled aristocracy. The fore-
ground figures of the time were men whose names stood high,
aril whose station was recognised at every Court of Europe.
There was wealth more than proportioned to the cheapness of
the country; and while ability and talent were the most striking
features of every circle, the taste for gorgeous display, exhibited
within doors and without, threw a glare of splendour over the
scene, that served to illustrate but not eclipse the prouder glo•
ries of mind. The comparative narrowness of the circle, and
the total absence of English reserve, produced a more intimate
admixture of all the ranks which constitutes good society here
than in London, and the advantages were evident ; for while
the aristocrat gained immeasurably from ready intercourse with
men whose pursuits were purely intellectual, so the latter ac-
quired a greater expansiveness, anti a wider liberality in his
views, from being divested of all the trammels of mere pro-
fessional habit, and threw off his pedantry, as a garment un-
suited to his position in society. But what more than all else
was the characteristic of the time, was the fact, that social
eminence—the succes de salon—was an object to every one.
From the proud peer, who aspired to rank and influence in the
councils of the State, to the rising barrister, ambitious of
Parliamentary distinction—from the mere fashionable idler of
the squares, to the deep plotter of political intrigue—this was
alike indispensable. The mere admission into certain circles
was nothing—the fact of mixing with the hundred others who
are announced, and bow, and smile, and slip away, did not
then serve to identify a man as belonging to a distinct class in
society ; nor would the easy platitudes of the present day, in
which the fool or the fop can always have the ascendant, suffice
for the absence of conversational ability, ready wit, and sharp
intelligence, which were assembled around every dinner-table
of the capital."
But for unexaggerated Irish humour—the popular
verve —we have seldom met anything to surpass
what follows. It is a grand Court ball at the Vice-regal
Lodge. The carriages are "setting down" their com-
pany, and the mob are gently "hinting"
their opinions
of men and manners:—
t
" The taulting sarcasms and personal allusions, of whilthhe Irish Members were not sparing in the House, were here
repeated by those, who suffered the severity to lose little of its
sting in their own version.
" Look at Flood, boys—there's the eld vulture with broken
beak and cadaverous aspect—a groan for Flood," and the de-
mand was answered by thousands.
" There's Tom Connelly," shouted a loud voice, " three
cheers for the Volunteers—three cheers for Castletown."
pTohpaunlkary:fue,mbobyesr,,thanandkevyeonu,'' said a rich mellow voice, as
in their enthusiasm the mob pressed around the carriage of
the" shook hands with the footmen
behind the carriage.
" Here's Laurel, here's Luttrel," cried out several together,
and in a moment the excitement, which before was all of joy,
assumed a character of deepest execration.
" Aware of the popular feeling towards him, this gentleman's
carriage was guarded by two troopers of the horse-police—nor
was the precaution needless, for no sooner was he recognised,
than a general rush was made by the snob, and for a moment
or two the carriage was separated from the rest of the line.
"
" Groan him, boys, groan him, but don't touch the traitor,"
shouted a savage-looking fellow, who stood a head and shoulders
above the crowd.
" Couldn't you afford to buy new liveries with the eighty
thousand pounds the Government gave you, yelled another,
and the sally was responded to with a burst of savage
laughter.
" Throw us out a penny," called a third, "it will treat all
your friends in Ireland—let him go, boys, let him go on, he's
only stopping the way of his betters."

OLD ENGLAND. Part XXI.
This admirably conducted serial is rapidly approach..
ing its conclusion. The present part brings us down to
the reign of George IL When completed it will be the
most complete museum of national English antiquities
that has ever issued from the press. The illustrations
fully maintain their high character.

MINSTREL LOVE; a Romznce. From the German
of Folique•
A legislator, named Hamilton, had the soubriquet of
" Single-speech" conferred upon him, because, though
he sat in Parliament for many years, he delivered only
one speech, which happened to be an excellent one. Had
the Baron, who wrote " Minstrel Love," permitted him-
self to be " single-volume" Folque, his reputation would
have stood much higher than it does, or than it ever can.
It may show sad want of taste on our part, but we look
upon " Undine" as the only readable of Fouque's many
works. The success of that encouraged him to write,
and his motto might have been—
" In mercy spare me—for I do my best
To make as much waste-paper as the rest."
is a simple store, gracefully
" Undine" told. It pleased
Coleridge, and had the very doubtful merit of sugo•est-
ing Scott's " White Lady of Avenel." None othersof
Fouqui.cs fictions are calculated to please the English
reader. They are cold and stiff, with a dash of exaggera-
tion, and a sprinkling of mysticism. This " Minstrel
Love" is the heaviest romance of chivalry we ever have
met with. The hero is one of
,g Those faultless monsters whom the world ne'er saw."
He is intended to be the personification of all that is
good and gallant, but must have been an awfully tire-
some young man. When he died, we dare say that his
friends, though they might have put on mourning for
him, rather rejoiced at having a sort of wet blanket
removed from their sociality. He must have been as
unpleasant a companion as Brummel's " damp stranger."
The translation appears well executed. The volume is
most elegantly got up, and the illustrations are extremely
pretty. But the work is essentially a failure. In
Foulias lottery there was only a single prize, and that
was " Undine." —

A pEEp INTO ARCHITECTURE, LI Eliza
Chalk.—VVith Illustrations.
Eliza Chalk is a worthy successor to Jane Taylor,
and her peep into architecture combines instruction with
amusement in a manner that has not been surpassed
since the days when the Taylors of Ongar produced
that revolution in juvenile literature, the advantages of
which the present generation is reaping. Architecture
has been strangely and unaccountably neglected by our
popularisers of arts and sciences ; but, as Miss Chalk
justly observes--
«
A knowledge of architecture can alone prove a shield to
guard the harmonious and unique examples of antiquity from
the unrelenting modernizer, who often devotes to neglect or
destruction many a choice specimen of by-gone industry and
beauty ; and as the railroad will enable many to view the varied
architectural remains which stud our country, this science will
prepare the mind to appreciate such scenes.'
It is evident that our authoress thoroughly understands
the subject on which she writes, and she treats it con
amore, Iler history of the origin of architecture is well
written, her description of the various species of thef
Gothic, and of the different orders of the Grecian, are

clear, distinct, understandible, and better than all, in an
elementary book intended for juveniles, interesting. The
work is profusely illustrated, beautifully got up, and is
just the book for a birth-day present to a clever child.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL lIIISCEL-

LANIES. By William H. Prescott, authoto7"iie
History of Ferdinand and Isabella," " The Conquest of
Mexico,"
The reputation which Mr. Prescott has achieved, the
ability and judgment exhibited in his historical works,
and the curiosity which exists to compare the earlier es-
says of such a writer with his later and more ambitious
productions, cannot fail to procure a reception for this
volume, Nor will the reader arise from its perusal dis-
satisfied or uninstructed. Much sound criticism runs
through its various articles; much sound information may
be gleaned from them. If this work came out as an
original one, we admit, at once, that it would not ad-
vance Mr. Prescott's literary reputation. But, with one
exception (a biography of Brockden Brown, the novelist,
published in Sparks's American Biography), the thirteen
articles here collected appeared in the North American.
Review. The more recent articles are the most artisti-
cally written, but even the earliest (dated 1824) displays
critical acumen and sound common sense—that rarest
of all mental possessions.
The biographical papers arc by far tho best. Mr.
Prescott seizes the leading incidents, rapidly generalises
them, and cleverly applies them to illustrate his own
view of the character and productions of the persons
concerning whom he writes. This is exemplified in his
notice of Scott, and even more so in his essay upon the
life and writings of Cervantes. His biography of
Brockden Brown is more carefully executed, but it was
written not under the coverture of a critique in a Re-
view, but as part of a work to be reviewed. We may
add, that Mr. Prescott's estimate of Scott is written
with delicacy and discrimination. His genius is done
every justice to, and his faults—the result of writing
against time—are very indulgently alluded to.
The con amore article in the volume is the review of
Washington Irving's " Conquest of Grenada." It was
written in 1829, probably about the time when Mr. Prescott
had only recently entered upon the great field of Spanish
story, of which, as yet, he remains the master. Per-
haps it was the very composition of this very article
which made Mr. Prescott write his history of Ferdi-
nand and Isabella. We have known more than one in-
stance where, from merely reviewing a book, the critic
has himself been induced to write another (and a better)
upon the same subject.
The paper on Moliere, written before Sir Walter Scott
undertook the same subject (in the Foreign Quarterly
Review), will not suffer by comparison even with the
mighty master. The papers upon Italian literature are
good (though the third one has the fault of being too
much of a defence of the first), but the notice of Cha-
teaubriand's English literature is dull enough. By far
the most curious paper is that on Scottish song. Like
gentle Geoffry Crayon, our author has a fine reverence
for old ballads—aye, and the taste to admire, and the
boldness to praise, modern snatches of the rural poetry
of " Auld Scotland." _

We have read this volume with satisfaction, and dis-
miss it with praise. It is not equal to the collected re-
views of Macaulay, Jeffrey, or Sydney Smith ; but the
article is the form of composition which has best displayed
their ability and made their style. Mr. Prescott is more
than a writer of articles—he ranks among the best his-
torians of our time.