The Sun.
London, England, 1820-12-29 00:00:00

FOREIG N LITERATURE.

RcsslA.-A French translation of the History
of Russia, by M. JL has been under-
taken by M.M. SAINT 'l'lio:►l.►s and JAUFFRET,
of which the first eight volumes have already ap-
peared, and, as the present state of that powerful
and extensive Empire, and its political influence
on the affairs of Europe, render its history pe-
culiarly interesting, we have extracted the fol-
lowing obseri-ations on this work from the Jour-
nal des Debuts of the sth, 10th, and 12th of this
month :

The Russian monarchy is of modern date, in comparivm
with the other empires of Europe; and yet the origin of his
nation is enveloped in as much obscurity as that of the most
ancient people. If we go back to the ninth evwury, and
examine the country flow known- he the name of itttsia, we
Shall find it inhabited at that period be numerous tribe's of
Bat hat fans, not one of whom bore the name of Russians.

lit the ancient map of this country, one small nation along
is known under the name of Sclavainians ; they inhabited the
country surrounding Lake•llmenait winch Novgorod was the
capital, but this people were probably only an insignificant
be: nch of the great elavoniiiii race now disseminated iii'se-
aa-ral colour es of Eitrope—iii Bohemia, Moimie, the Illyrian
provinces, and as fart as Nollterlegli). Be that as it mays his-
tory records that the Russians, after having lived a consid-
erable time umier a democracy. were desirious of trying mon-
archy, and applied far Kim: to the Varags, or Varagians, a
Scaiidioavian people, who were rather more civilized than
their neighlooirs. Th, I,"anil4ians %vele no donla •a scion of
Ilia great family whose language'can still bb traced through
the Diemen., idioms spoken by the various tribes inhabiting
the countries lietweeti Icelaad and the eastern division of
Asia. The great gent now called the Baltic, was formerly
denominated the Sea of the Varags, or Varagians.
,The history of the Princes Whom the Scandinavians gave to
Russia is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and involved in
roach obscurity; and the facts collected from the Chronicles
of Nestor are like all other stout s respecting the origin of
Naiiims. The history or the Empire does riot, hi fact begin,
till the reign of the
.great Prince Vladimir, who established
Cliriitianity in his dominions, and caused the whole of the
Russian people to be baptized. This took place in the tenth
V. The aerpetnal wars- between the Prince and the
great Nobles, :as well as the frequent contentions among the
latter, retarded the growth of t los Monarchy, and rendered
it incapable of-resisting the attacks of its less powerful but
more ginned neighbours.
We are astonished in the present day to read that the
Teutonic Outer, and the little Province of Livonia were then
fro willable enemies of the llntsian Princes. Lithuania also.
now only a Province of this great Empire, disdained to treat
with her as an equal in the lath century; and in the follow-
ing century, often contended with success against all the
•forces of tiussia. Kazan. now an insignificant town; formerly
waee Moscow tremble, and the hordes of the Krimea carried
desolation into the Southern Provinces. Not three hundred
years ago, the Sovereign of all the Rossias was a trilostary of
the Tartars, and his dominions, which then exteMled from
the Frozen Sea 'to the Cataracts of the Dnieper, and froin
Kief to the Volga, was only a Province of the Great Empire
of Gengis Khan. What a difference between the reigning
P6rice and his predecessor, who was obliged to traverse all
Asia; to the banks of the Seghallieu, near the Chinese Sea,
bend the knee before a Barbarian, his Sovereign Lend,
receive his orders, and sometimes suffer death !
Autocracy, and unity of power at length succeeded to
anarchy, and the whole Empire umferwent a change. The
Prince of Moscow assumed the title of Czar, the other
Princes submitted to his domiuion; the great and rich No-
vogorod lost her independence, of which she was so jealous,
arid with it her population and riches; Nicol, which was
scarcely less powerful., was reduced to subjection; Kazan
submits, after one of the most memorable sieges recorded in
history ; the great horde ceased to exist ; that of Asoph no
longer dared to pass beyond the boundaries of the Steppes;
Moscow increased rapidly; artists were brought from Europe
to decorate her fine buildings, and the reign of Ivan 111.
formed the prelude to that'of Peter the Great.
- The eight volumes, published by the Translators, do not
bring down the History of Russia lower than the mithile of
the sixteenth century, precisely to that period, when the
P.tissian power begins to influence in a small degree the poli-
tics of Europe. No idea could then be formed of the high
rank it has since attained. Russia was nut generally known
in Europe before the time of Peter the Great ; and even then
the glary rif this Prince appeared concentrated in himself;
and reflected more lustre on his own person than it gave im-
portance to his Empire. As recent as the middle of the •
-seventeenth century Russia was co:Jou:ideal with the States
of Asia, and we scarcely made any distinction between the
Russians and the Tartars, the Kalmuclis, and the other Bar-
barians of the East. Our ignorance respecting her real
strength is not surpriziog : for at the restoration of letters
its Europe, Russia was then only known to her immediate
neighbours; her intercourse with Emopean Mates was eoll'
fined to the Greek Empire, Lithuania, and Livonia; her
wars witieSweden did not extend farther than Ingria, Care-
and East Finland ; and the correspondence, which occa-
sionally passed between the See of Rome and the Princes of
Moscow, was carried on by the Popes with a view of re-
uniting Ilium to the Orthodox Chinch. A journey to Russia
was deemed a hazardous undertaking, and the Empire was
already powerful when an inhabitant of Moscow was obliged.
to wait two years for in answer to a letter transmitted to
-Italy or France.
The volumes of this History which have not yet been pub-
lished; will be the most interesting; but, of the eight which
have appeared, the last three will be generally preferred.
The reigns of Ivan HI. and Ivan IV. are worthy the finest
periods of Universal History ; the true power of Russia be-
gan under the former of these Princes, and at the fall.of the
Greek Empire, sve.see a new empire wise the East, less-
brilliant indeed, but far more solid.aod formidable.
M. Karamsin has endeavoured to spew, that this history i 3
not only valuable to Russians, but, that the annals of his
country possess an universal interest ; and he afterwards com-
pares Russia to the Roman Empire and to Greece, and claims
for-her an equal share of fame, with those two celebrated
countries. The arguments by which he attempts to establish
the first of these propositions, that every History of Russia
possesses universal interest, are more specious than solid.
In the first place, he is not correct in .saying, that the immen-
sity of the Russian Empire is unparalleled in the annals of
history. The empire of the Caliphs was of greater extent-
than the present dominions of Russia ; China more compact,
and equally vast, supports a more numerous population ; and
even Spain, before the late revolution its South America,
possessed in t he friur go:liters of the globe, as largea territory
as Roasia,and much more fertile. Bathe extent of an empire,
or the.number of its soldiers is of little moment in discussing
the question of its relative historical importance. The de-
gree of interest is not proportioned to the magnitude of the
country or its armies. It we were to take into consideration,
the multitude of combatants, and the extent of country they
traversed, Gengis,Khan would be agreater man than Alex-
ander and Ca2sar. Relative 'weakness is sometimes the cause
of glory, and pre-eminence: if Greece could have opposed a
minion of men to Xerxes, we should not speak of the- Straits
of Thermopylae ; and, in modern times, the illustrious
Gustavus, the Sovereign of a small Northern State, who
landed with twenty-eight thousand men at the month
or the Oder, over-ran Germany, Initnirled the Imperial
and compelled all Europe to tahe tip alms, either for or
against him, would make a less conspicuous figure in History
than the ferocious Conqueror who said to Bajazet, " Admire
the caprice of Fortune, which has placed.the fate of so many
millions in the hand of a blind man like thou, and of a lame
man like myself." The other arguments brought forward by
the Russian Author 'are not more conclusive ; his comparison
of Russia with Greece and Rollie is quite inapplicable. We
• know that a battle described by Thticydides or by I,ivy,
would be considered as a slight skirmish by a-Prince who can
bring from seven to eight hundred thousanl men into the
field ; but the Author seem not to have reflected sufficiently
on ;the nature of the interest we feel for the Histories of
Greece and Rome. To these two people are we indebted for
the elements of our Arts and Sciences, and fur the noisiest
productions in Poetry, Paintiug, Sculpture, and the Arts.—
The Greeks have furnished us
.with our didactic amid
technical language, the -Romans with our conver-
sation-it modes of speech ; the riches they have
transmitted are the subject of our studies ; their History
Brings to our view those people with whose exploits we have
been familiar, and whom we have been accustomed to admire
from infancy. We are sunder no such obligations to Russia;
and its colossal grandeur inspires a different sentiment from
that of interest. But considered simply with regard to its
importance, as comprehending the transactions Of numerous
/taboos, can the history of this empire be brought into com-
parison with that of Route ? The bitter brings into action
the Germans, the Gauls, the inhabitants- of Spain, Mauri-
tania, Egypt, Syria, and Greece ; nations celebrated from
time immemorial, and exhibiting every diversity of charac-
ter, manners, climate, and dress. What does the history of
Jiusaia represent previously to its intercourse with civilized

At the beginning of the last week we express-
ed our hope that the dangers which then ap-
peared to menace the Neapolitan Metropolis
might be averted by timely concessions on the
part of the existing Goversment.—By a private
Communication, dated from that City, the 14th
instant, upon which we can rely, we are happy
to find that the .Parliament had consented to the
KING'S departure, upon his MAsEsTr's sanction-
ing certain modifications of the Constitution which
they had proposed, and his agreeing to change
the title of his Representative from Vicar-Gene-
ral to that of Regent, during his absence. His
MAJESTY now goes to Laybach, avowedly for the
purpose of endeavouring to obtain from the Allied
Sovereigns an acknowledgment of the new Con-
stitution. So far time at, least is gained for the
Neapolitans. But the Allies cannot want grounds
for attacking so preposterous an edifice, should
they be • so disposed ; and it is perhaps to be re-
gretted that the KING has not shewn more vigour.
After the assertion, however, hazarded yesterday
in a Morning Opposition Paper, " that Lord
Cc CASTLEREAGH has managed matters so well,
cc that France now occupies the high ground on
CC which we formerly stood," we are happy to be
able to state, that his MAJESTY appears to con-
sider his person,yat all events, most secure in our
hands, and actually embarked on board the
Vengeur on the morning of the 13th.—Thus the
threatened danger of war must, at least for the
present, give place to negociation, which we still
hope may prove generally satisfactory, and con-
ducive to the Peace of the World.

We received last night three days' Paris Pa-
pers to Monday last inclusive. That being
Christmas-day the offices of the Journals were
shut, and no papers were to be published on Tues-
day. The Chamber of Deputies were occupied on
Friday and Saturday with the Reports of the
Committees respecting the verification of the
powers of the newly elected Deputies, which,
chiefly turning on points of form, present lit-
tle of any general interest. Some discussions
arose in the course of this tedious proceeding,
which served to develope the existence of a very
acrimonious feeling, and of an increased portion
of that disposition to tumult which was so often
displayed in the last chamber. Amongst other
things the Assembly was thrown into extreme agi-
tation on Saturday, when after some contest as to
the right of M. MANUEL to be heard, it was asked
by M. Foy, " Do you wish to stifle the voice, of
the minority as in 1815 ? One of the most amusing
scenes in the course of the proceedings was
a grave discussion whether a Deputy (M. de St.
Came) already seated, could be legally elect-
ed a Deputy for another Department. It was at
length decided, in due form, that the election
was invalid. The Chamber on Saturday, by
sitting till six o'clock, an hour unusually late,
got through nearly the whole of the elections.—
The remainder were postponed till Tuesday, to
which day the Chamber adjourned. The en-
tire of these questions must be disposed of,
and a President be appointed, before the

Chamber could proceed to the preliminary Lasi-
'less of addressing the King. The Clianiber of
Peers met oil Friday, but transacted no business
of importance, and adjourned till Tuesday.—
We give extracts from these Papers in another
column, some of which are of interest, as leading
to a, belief that. the king of NAPLES had actually ,
embarked on board an English ship of war, for
the pt rpose,of going to Trieste, and, from thence
to Laybach, the place previously pointed
out as that to which the Allied Sovereigns had
determined to invite ,the Neapolitan Monarch to
a conference. It has been reported that the
Parliament had consented to the KING'S going to
Laybach, and this rumour is also mentioned in
the Paris Journals, 'with the addition as above-
mentioned, and which is, no doubt, a fact, that
the KING had embarked for the purpose of pro-
ceeding thither. The Prince .VicAu-LGEN-Eair.,
it is stated, was to act as REGENT during the ab-
sence of the KING, his father. The report of
transferring the conferences of the Sovereigns is
further corroborated by a Vienna article in the
last day's Papers, stating, that a Marechal de
Logis had passed through there on his way to
Laybach, to provide accommodation for the
two EMPERORS. There are various rumours re-
specting the state of affairs at Naples. Ac-
cording to one account the Minister for Fo-
reign Affairs, the Count CAMPO CIIIARO, had
been impeached and dismissed, and' had been
. .
succeeded by the Duke de GALLO. Others
state, that the whole of the Ministers had been
impeached. Upon this subject there are no de-
tails ; the latest news, including the KING'S de-
parture, having been brought by an Extraordi-
nary Courier, the particulars of whose intelli-
gence do not appear to have transpired.—
The actual departure, however, of the Neapoli-
tan, Sovereign, on board a British ship of • war,
is a fact which of itself must give a decided
turn in one shape or other to the negociations,
with reference to the affairs of Naples.

FIVE PER. CENTS.

Friday
Saturday

78 1. 45 c.
78 f. 60 c.

DEFEttItED STOCK.

Friday. Saturday.
Of the 22d March, 1817.. 108 f. 85 c... 108 f. 80 c.
22d Sept. 1820 91 1. 75 c..... 94 f. 90 c.

We have inserted this day a Correspondence
which has taken place between WILLIAM
CLARKE, Esq. the High Sheriff' of Northumber-
land, ana Sir CHARLES MoNcK, in consequence
of a Requisition to the former to convene a
County Meeting, for the avowed purpose of in-
troducing a discus,ion respecting the Proceed-
ings relative to the QUEEN. The High Sheriff
naturally and justly, conceiving that such a
Meeting would only cause disturbances in the
County, very properly refused to convene it,—
We are glad to see such men as Mr. CLARKE in
high responsible situations, and rejoice at the
loyal firmness and regard to tranquillity and
order which induced him to resist the at-
tempt to renew discussions that have excited
disgust in all persons of moral feelings, and at a
time when the divisions among the people on this
lamentable subject were beginning to subside,
and more temperate reflections on the evidence
and the whole of the proceedings, seemed
obviously preparing the public mind for a sound
and impartial judgment. It has been justly ob-
served, that the very application to the High
Sheriff implies that he possesses a discretionary
power, and the example of Mr. WAITIIMAN, who
refused to call a meeting of Middlesex for a simi-
lar purpose, has been appositely cited, to exem-
plify this discretionary power. We commend
Mr. WAITIIMAN for his conduct on that occasion,
as it displayed a full sense of his official duty,
and apparently a desire to preserve the peace of
the county. But the High Sheriff of Northumber-
land is also entitled to the approbation of all wise
and loyal men, for the wisdom with which he ex-
ercised his discretionary power, in refusing to
explain the reasons for his refusal, in answer to
the requisition of Sir CHARLES MONCK, thereby
judiciously avoiding the prolongation of a corres-
pondence that, considering the arguments and
doctrines which the Baronet was likely to intro-
duce, would have tended to unsettle and perplex
the understanding of the freeholders, almost as
much as if the Meeting had taken place. Nor
could Sir CHARLES MONCK have any occasion to
require the reasons which determined the High
Sheriff, as they were obviously founded in a ra-
tional conviction of the danger of such a
meeting, and a desire to preserve the county
from the tumults of party. In order to
give our Headers a complete view of the pro-
ceedings in question, we subjoin a Letter
which Sir CHARLES MONCK subsequently ad-
dressed to the Editor of a Country Journal, too
ready to receive such arguments as the Baronet

and his Party were likely to advance, and such
doctrines as they were likely to inculcate 03
the occasion, just observing that we by no means
synipathize with the Baronet in his alarm, be'
cause a High Sheriff has firmly maintained hid
discretionary power, in refusing to give his sane'
tion to a rheas re which could Only tend to dis-
order, riot, and co nfu§ioq.

" TO THE EDITOR OF TIIE TYNE MERCURY.
•' 13elsay, Dec. 23, 1820

- -
" SlR—Haring attended the High Sheriff of Northumber'
land, with a Requisition for a County Meeting, and received
front him a refusal to that requisition, I am desirous to make
known to the other requisituts as speedily as possible the
failure of our application I therefore request you to insert
in your Newspaper the enclosed paper, which contains copie3
of the Requisition and Signatures, and of the Letters between
the High Sheriff• and me. For my part, I have always es-
teemed the privilege of the Peopleto, meet and discuss matters
of Church and State, and to make complaints thereupon to
the King or Parliament, as a main pillar Of our free Constitte
tion, and I ant aJaroied to see the Sheriff arrogate to himself
the power of refusing a County Meetin,. without assigning
sonic constitutional ground,of such refusal.

" I am, Sir,
" Your very ohedie•nt Servant,
. " CHARLES AIONCK.

BRIGHTON, DEC. 27.=—The cutting northern
blast is still prevalent here. It is with' unfeign'
ed satisfaction, however, we observe, that our
beloved MON-ARCH and PATRON has improved ja
health and spirits since the first hour after his
arrival in Brighton. his Majesty, after a brislie
walk on the Palace lawn this morning, was for
some time on horseback in the riding-school. As
soon as the Palace can be got in order for the
King to move into it, the Princesses Augusta and
Sophia, we hear, intend visiting this town. The
Mayor of Cork arrived at the Royal York Hotel
this afternoon. This Gentleman is the bearer of
a.Loyal Address front that great and pnpulous
city. His Majesty has been graciously pleased
to appoint to-morrow at 11 o'clock to receive
him. Once more,a day has passed without Pa-
lace arrivals. The rides and walks to-day, ow-
ing to the intense coldness of the atmosphere,
have been but thinly attended.
DUKE OF WELLINGTON.—A private letter
from Manchester, dated Dec. 26, says---“- We
are in hopes that this town Will be honoured b)r
a visit from this illustrious Duke, to partake of
a public entertainment to be given to him with
his companions in arms, Lord Combemere arta
Lord Hill. You are aware that the Duke is at
present on a visit at Combermere Abbey,
,about
forty miles from this town. The principal inha-
bitants have determined to take this opportunity
of. requesting him to pay a visit to Manchester.
A meeting of many respectable Gentlemen took
place-this morning, when it was determined that
the Boroughreeve, accompanied with a Deputa-
tion of Gentlemen, should immediately ~To to
Combermere for the purpose of seeing his Grace
upon the subject. Accordingly the Boroug,hrerve,
accompanied by Francis Phillips, Thomas Hard-
man, and John Moore, Esqrs. left town about
noon, for the purpose. We are in anxious ex-
pectation to know the answer which will be re-
turned by the Duke and his noble companions.
Shold they think proper to honour us by accept-
ing,the invitation, they will receive as enthusiastic
a reception in this town as any in the kingdom."
When a Parisian Lady of Distinction was
shewing her collection of pictures to an English
Gentleman, she directed his attention to a Ole
portrait of one of her own children :—" Qui ft Ad
cet enfant hi ?" said the Englishman, inquiring
the name of the painter. ," Mon marl croit que
c'est lui," said the Lady ; " mais par hazard c'est
une grande erreur."'
We understand that the Rev. FEARON FAL-
LOWS, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cam-
bridge, has been appointed, by his MAJESTY
Astronomer Royal at the Cape of Good Hope ;
and that Mr. FAYRER, nephew of Mr. TROCC.II-
- the most eminent Optician in EuroFe, is to
be the principal Assistant in the „New Obser-
vatory. •
The Bahama Gazette of the 18th of October,
says—" By the Sisters, which arrived here. two
days ago, from Cuba, Nv e learn, that on Saturday
last a number of vessels,. which are supposed
Spanish, and bound to Havannah, were seen
running down the Old Straits, convoyed by a
frigate and one or two sloops of war." . .
Prince LEOPOLD paid a visit to the QUEEN at
Braudenburgh-house on Wednesday, and re-
mained an hour with her MAJESTY.

Yesterday Lord CASTLEREAGH, after trans-
acti►ng business at the Foreign Oflice till three
o'clock, left town for his seat at North Cray.

From an official document it appears, that in
the year 1815, between 400 and 500 widows, in
the province of Bengal, had voluntarily sacri-
ficed themselves on the funeral piles of their
husbands ; in 1816, upwards of '6OO ; and in
1817, 706.
The Earl of LONSDALE, on Thursday last,
St. Thomas's Day, ordered to be diAributed to
the' poor of the neighbourhood of Lowther Castle.
upwards of 1400 pounds weight of prime beef,
together with a great quantity of blankets and
wearing apparel. The poor of Lowther are re-
gularly supplied with soup from the Castle,
twice a week, throughout the winter.—(Cum-
berland Packet,)

Sir GEORGE iIGOT, Bart. of Patshull, in Staf-
fordshire, gave, in celebration of the birth of the
Princes ELIZABETH of CL taexcz, a fine ox, to
be roasted at Burnell-green, on Saturday, last,
which was afterwards distributed among the
poor of the surrounding neighbourhood, who ex.
pressed their most grateful acknowledgments for
the kindness conferred upon them. At the
same time they partook of an hogshead of ale,
and drank several appropriate patriotic toasts
with the greatest enthusiasm, diplaying every
mark of loyalty to, their KING, and gratitude to
their benefactor.

AWFUL INSTAVCE OF SUOOFN DEATH.—Wednesday night'
last Mr. Stroud, residing in King-street, Seven Dials, after
eating his supper, retired to his chamber; the following, morn-
ing, not coming from thence at hislunal time, Mr. Long. a
person residing in the house, • proc-eded thither, when he
found the deceased with his clothes lying on the bed quite
dead.—Mr. STIRLING, the. Coroner, veiterday held an In-
quest on the body, and a verdict of "Died by the visitation
of God," was recorded.