The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-02 00:00:00

POLISH REVOLUTION.

Tuesday, being the twelfth anniversary of the Po-
lish Revolution, a great number of the Poles assembled
at the rooms of the Literary Association of the Friends
of Poland, in Duke-street, St. James's, to commemo-
rate a day glorious in the annals of Europe, as having
given occasion for a display of valour and patriotism
unparalleled in the chivalrous ages. Captain Jablon-
ski having been called to take the chair, addressed the
meeting in a very energetic speech, and reminded his
countrymen of the glory which Poland has acquired,
and the services she has rendered to Europe. He then
glanced at the later periods of the history of that
country, and forcibly expatiated upon one of the most
infamous transactions recorded in history—the parti-
tion of Poland, and the annihilation of her independ-
ence. Having come to the anniversary of the
day of the 29th of November, 1830, in the
event of which every one present at the meet-
ing had taken an active part, he assured his
brethren that the struggle for liberty and national
independence was not yet at an end ; that they would
all be again called upon to rescue their native land
from the yoke of the oppressor. That sorry as he was
to embitter their already protracted sufferings, he
could not pass over in silence that religious persecu-
tion which the remorseless hand of their enemy has
recently inflicted upon their country. He could not
refrain from saying that the faith of their ancestors,
the churches wherein its rites were celebrated, and
the clergy who administered its consolations to a
people deprived of every earthly blessing, had met
with treatment at the hands of the Emperor of Russia
which would have disgraced a barbarian conqueror.
But it was not for him to relate the particulars of the
unexampled cruelties perpetrated by the ambition of
Nicholas; the public press had already brought them
to light, and he trusted that the Almighty, in his
justice, would decree that these insults offered in the
name of religion to the principles of Christianity,
should be of no long continuance. Suffer, as they all
must, to see their father-land reduced to such a depth
of misery and abasement, to find themselves wanderers
in a foreign land, and severed from the ties which are
dearest to humanity, still (continued Capt. Jablonski)
they must not yet despair. The cause of justice must
ultimately triumph, and this conviction ought to in-
spire every one of them with certainty that the cause
of Poland is not lost, but she is destined once more to
become a barrier against the irruption of Asiatic bar-
barians (he could give them no other name), and
prove, as she has often proved before, the bulwark of
Christendom and of Europe. Captain Jablonski
having concluded amidst loud cheers, Mr. Szulc-
sewski, Mr. Wiercinski,l Mr. Prusinowski, Mr.
Reczynski, and the young poet, Mr. Olizarowski,
successively addressed the meeting in very elegant
language, particularly the last, whose poetical com-
position bore the character of religious exhortation
with regard to the duty imposed upon every Pole, as
as children of one and the same mother, the unfortu-
nate Poland. The speeches were in Polish, the as-
sembly being composed entirely of Poles; the
sensation produced by these energetic appeals was in
a remarkable degree powerful and affecting. The
meeting then broke up, amidst the ardent wishes of
all present that the next anniversary might be cele-
brated in Poland.

THE BRUSSELS TRAGEDY.—M. Caumartin, in-
stead of proceeding from Rotterdam to England and
thence to America, as has been said to have been his
intention, came to Paris, and, having embraced his
mother, immediately went to the Procureur-General,
and offered at once to submit to be imprisoned and
brought to trial. The officer of the Crown informed
him that, as no complaint had been lodged against him,
there was no ground for his being taken into custody.
Upon this he immediately set off for Brussels, with the
determination of surrendering himself to justice in
Belgium. Before he departed, he wrote two letters,
dated Nov. 27. The first is to the Procureur du Roi,
in which, after announcing his resolution, he declares
that he shall be able to prove that he was provoked,
struck, and wounded first, and that the tragical ter-
mination of the deplorable conflict was totally in-
dependent of his own will. The second letter is to
M. Chaix d'Estange, as Batonnier of the order of
Advocates, of which M. Caumartin is a member.
In this the writer expresses his regret at not having
found him at home, on calling with his brother-
in •law, as he wished to convince him that, under the
painful situation in which he was placed, he had done
nothing to forfeit his esteem, and hoping to have in-
sured his powerful aid in conjunction with that of M.
Dupin in defending him, if he could have been brought
to trial in France.--Galignani.
WESTMINSTER ScnooL.—The first representation
of the Adelphi, of Terence, will take place at St.
Peter's College, on Monday, Dec. 12. The second
and third representations, with the addition of a pro-
logue and epilogue, on Thursday, the 15th, and Mon-
day, the 19th of December.
Raupach, the popular German dramatist, and Tieck,
the poet, whose popularity may alinost be said to have
been ratified by the verdict of posterity, have lately
been raised by the King of Prussia to the dignity of
Privy Councillors,

THE MAGAZINES.
BLACK WOOD'S MAGAZINE.
In his admirable notice of " Lays of Ancient
Rome," Christopher North—for there is no mis-
taking his rapid, glowing, energetic style—does
justice, in a frank and decided spirit, to the
genius of Mr. Macaulay, both as a critic and a'
poet. We are glad of this, fbr we have long
regarded this gentleman as one of the most ac-s,
complished spirits of the age—a sound scholar,
an eloquent and forcible reasoner, a poet of high
and rare powers of fancy, and an historical
essayist, whose sketches of character—we shall
never forget his masterly portraits of Chatham
and Carteret—are among the truest and neatest
in the language. "If Macaulay," says Christo-
pher, "be not the first of critics, who is? Then
name the poet who could have written the
ballad of the Armada, and kindled, as if by
electricity, beacons onball the brows Of England,
till night grew day." The ballad in question is
certainly a magnificent one, but it has always
struck us as possessing one radical defect.
In vigour and minuteness of description it
is unrivalled ; we see the different mountains,
north, south, east, and west, blazing with the
beacon fires; we see the messengers scampering,
like so many mad devils, here, there, and every-
where, with the news of the approach of the
Spanish fleet; and we hear the drains and trum-
pets sounding to arms in all parts of the kingdoM
but we see no strong human emotion actively and
directly at work ; no gatherings of sturdy Eng;
lish masses with resolved countenances, a"
strong hearts beating, as though they were one
man. Mr. Macaulay gives us the bustle, but
not the passion of the crisis, and substitutes
drums and beacon fires for the irresistible energY
of the roused English character. In the tlillos
ing passage only—we quote from inernors---1"
he attempt anything like a portrait of linusan
emotion—
" With his grey head unbonnetted, the' stout 'old
Sheriff comes
Before him march the halberdiers, behind
the drums ;
Ho, strike the flag-staff deep, Sir Knight!
scatter flowers, fair maids "
NQw, the want of earnest sentiment here is SO
fair.
obvious that none can overlook it. What
ness has an English Sheriff to be prattling abl,
" flowers" and " fair maids" when the SPanrt,
fleet is hovering on the coast, and the very ec:so.
him sound
ence of England is at stake ? Such an allusion
is is impertinent in the extreme, and would IsetLe
become a bridal or a May-day scene, than .1,";5
awful crisis of an invasion. We have hinted
objection in' no unfriendly spirit, for, on •trse
whole, we consider Mr. Macaulay's ballad of, t'%.
" Armada" as one of the noblest in the langagcr
Of his " Lays of Ancient Rome," Christopile
thus speaks :
It is a great merit of these poems, that they are
.
flee from ambition or exaggeration. Nothing sel:
overdone—no tawdry piece of finery disfigurews hes
simplicity of the plan that has been chosen.
seem to have been framed with great artistical skill Sys
with much self-denial, and abstinence from anY:thl of
incongruous—and with a very successful imitation
the effects intended to be represented. yet
of
here and there images of beauty, and expressionds
ot
' feeling, are thrown out that are wholly indePen.deest
of Rome or the Romans, and that appeal to the svi
sensibilities of the human heart. In point of 11°1, Id.
ness of thought and language, there is often a u°e/.3
ness which none but a man conscious of great pete,o
of writing would have ventured to show. In ,t,"re.
rare qualities, "The Lays of Ancient Rome .t
• semble Lockhart's " Spanish Ballads," which inusec
have been often ringing in Macaulay's ears,
first he caught their inspiring music more thowl
in
twenty years ago—when, " like a burnished ill vs
pride of May," he bounced through the open winu°,,‘,9
of Knight's Quarterly Magazine. Two SUCK V°l/;Iv
. all a summer's day you may seek without flnulore
among the works! of "our Young Poets." re°lSe
do not call Lockhart and Macaulay poets at all ..o,
n
, both have acquired an inveterate habit of wr
prose in preference to verse, and first-rate prose t°
but then the genius of the one man is as differentrn
may be from that of the other—agreeing, however', if
this, that each exhibits bone and muscle suffieje,h,:'is
equitably distributed among ten " Young l'oetrong
0°
set them up among the "rural villages" as tbs
inee, who might even occasionally exhibit in

as giants.
" Imaginary Conversation between Sc'tailliel
r.
and Porson," respecting Wordsworth, iS est
Walter Savage Landor. It is in his clevertic
wanner, abounding in happy epigra-311/1,,8 of
turns, quaint similes, and critical refiectioLll.-,,its
the most searching character. It also exi-0;
much wit of thought—the best species of l‘rif.,on
and great fertility and variety of illustOice.
gathered, with apparent readiness, from the..,e
motest and most out-of-the-way sources, 1,[12t
author is clearly no idolator of the •ffrLtill
Lake Poet, but passes sentence on him wit"nig.,
the austerity of a -Rhaditmanthus. Tie is
taken, -however, in attributing Wordsworth'&'l3the e.-
sent popularity—or presumed -popularitY"-t cr.
eulogistic writings of Southey. It i 3 0-1-17-pro.
elusively owing to the eloquent criticisms
vi.l° " '.110,0
fessor Wilson and Sergeant Talfourd, N, the
.neyer missed an opportunity of ~sound",l , 5
praises of the author of the " Excursion. 'far.
" American Notes" of Mr. Charles Dickeitiely
nish the subject of a lengthy notice, excee'^-bie
well written, but not sinning on the favwlf be
side. " Ricardo and Adam Smith" 11131 but
useful, but it is assuredly dull and tedious; ..
writers on Political Economy.are sel4oni and
eminently conspicuous by their eloquence
vivacity.

BENTLEY;;S M
nI.
The au TI
Richard Savage e" i 5 p-
ond
mbrought to a termination, and the last! a
merits of the luckless adventurer are describe" %el
letter " from Mr. Thomas Dame to Mr. 631%1,
Johnson,John's-gate,
to the care of Mr. Edward. Cavei; and
London." There is great ski"i;tt
ingenuitytl shown in this mode of bringing 1115,e4
ie denouement, for Johnson—who 106 *- to
writing for Cave's Gentleman's IVlagazi,ll%oo°
whicht. also Savage himself had occasionally have
ributed—was just the man who would,. 4,0--ds
been most anxious to hear all about his tr`..- of
last hour 4; first, from a natural feileifidea
curiosity, and secondly,. because lie bad ne: on
on becoming his biographer. And her'n'
taking leave: of " Richard Savage," we: ;-:•ce
observe bserve that the author has done all the Js-ifid
subject of which it was susceptible ; b,
hts tale havd:. not achieved a
,perfect
it is because the, character of his liero—oPt`;- to
standingi the eulbgituns of Johnson—is to he
un,e. been coarse, unprincipled, and deprai,vd,,,Yell
washave
in fAct, a rank impostor, as Croker and v°:ton••
proved beyond the possibility of ols.he'r'lati"
r. Ledbury'sAdventures at Home and krtj ere
are resumed with spirit, though here be
-Lo-
we are reminded a little too much of th„e gc;nie
nor of Dickens in the "Pickwick Papeo.,, glow
of the scenes in middle-class life in Pal', -too'
_that the author draws from life, and nog00"
fancy ; his account of the execution of ars"
derer by the axe of the guillotine, is 11:,,,ti0a
phic as the late Dr. Macnish's dec,daor
of the same tragedy. " Leaves of fie`r`i;,,,,lorr
Lore" is front the practised pen of Doctor
who has told the fine old tradition of nolan" the
considerable .
,Animation. " A Nigh
ilj,rcler
Adriatic" refers to the circumstance of a Ist' The
which was discovered by means of a drealf", ,v
incidents are supposed to have been related by
French officer to the authoress while
.t"tic.,
were steaming ,by, night across Similar,Adrlavit,ll
Cicero: tells a story precisely l4OO
this sole • difference, . that in his ver'ree
of the dream, it was hinted that the
mains of the murdered party would be fosie,
in a cart, instead of in a manger. "Pereanold
qui ante nos, nostra dixerunt I" says thet
adage, and Mrs. Romer may echo the anathelora..
" The Irish Mandarin" is a whimsical
vaganza, setting forth how a Patlander nt tile'
bogs of Tipperary took it into his head to
enact
the part of a Chinese Mandarin at a dinner partJl
and how 'he succeeded in imposing on several re'
spectable " Life in Hanover" e
3ol!:1
tams some pleasing descriptions, but there ;
rather too much of it: " Sir Archibald
ghost story, well fitted for Christmas fire-si",,
reading. The illustrations are throughout exoele
lent. We quote from an article entitled
til
"Tiger-hunt" an interesting passage or two :--
The tiger had evidently been hit, but springing fog~
ward, he galloped along. We now began to pursi_
him, but it was very much after the manner that
11.',
good shot in England marks down his game, and f'd,
lows it, for to keep up with the royal animal was int '
possible. We trotted about eight miles an hour, th
tiger about sixteen at the least. We thereforcon
tented ourselves with following him, and dislodgine
him whenever he got into cover. Finding a
in front of him, the people of which had turned out,
and fired several shots, the hunted animal endeavourEd
to double. In effecting this manceuvre, be enoie,
within shot of others of the party, who dscharged..
their rifles with such effect that in a few moments
the tiger lay senseless on the ground. We now des-
their
from our posts, and approached to view
prizes which seemed of more than ordinary s,
We had just come up to it, when Lindsay, hYr
of explaining some remark he had made relative to 3i
touched it with his gun. Imagine our horror nis"
consternation when suddenly the beast srang
and with one bound cleared the circle. }or no i",:f
stant we stood paralysed, stupified with excess vot
fear ; then, rushing towards our elephants, Ave
eve} ter,
under them; this being a comparatively safe. sl2.eineir
no tiger daring to approach within reach °"