The Sun.
London, England, 1829-07-10 00:00:00

*

LITERATT/RE.

FOREIGN REVIEW, No. VII.

" Eloquence of the French Bar"—the lead-
ing paper in the present number of this very
able periodical—is an article highly elaborated,
and wrought up with much skill and judgment.
It gives a clear view (though necessarily brief)
of the rise and progress of parliamentary, and
more especially of legal, eloquence in France,
setting out with the somewhat bold assertion
that " Parliamentary eloquence was unknown in
France up to the Revolution." After sketching
in a rapid and spirited manner the state of the
French Bar, and indeed of French oratory in gene-
ral, up to the period of Louis XIV., the Reviewer
gives the following animated account of Cochin,
an eminent advocate in that illustrious (though
over-rated) period :

"A lady, addressing the advocate Cochin, immediately
after she had beard him plead, declared that, in the days
of Paganism, she would have worshipped him as the god of
eloquence. This may be an enviable compliment to the
man—of doubtful value in estimating the orator; but the
palm of eloquence was deferred to him by the common con-
sent of his competitors—and he had competitors only—not
one rival. They who look into his pleadings, with this
prepoase-sion, will be grievously disappointed. His lan-
guage is polished, his style precise and clear—his logic pe-
remptory, without being technical—his order, or if the
word be allowable—his co-ordinance, excellent—all bear-
ing upon one point—that point, the conclusion which it is
his business to establish. His pleading is a developed syl-
logism. But the bursts of emotion—the sallies of imagi-
nation—the deep reaches of thought--the force, boldness,
and originality of expression, which may be reasonably ex-
pected, not only of the ' god of eloquence,' but of an advo-
cate of the first order—are severally sought for in vain.—
What then obtained for hint his undisputed pre-eminence?
The faculty of improvising with facility and eloquence, and
an advantageous delivery, which gave the appearance of
improvisation to what he had most carefully prepared.
M. Lacretelle (the elder), himself an advocate and man of
letters, has said of him,—' En lisant Cochin en eherche
les causes d'une si belle gloire et on est force, pour l'expli-
quer, de croire que le Cochin de l'audience etoit un autre
homme que celui que nous retrouvous.' Another notice
of him, written more nearly his own time, says, pla-
doit la plupart de sec causes sur de simples extraits, les en-
droits les plus pathetiques, et les plus brillans naissoient
dans le feu de l'action.' Of his pleadings, given in this
collection, the editors distinguish one as a ehtf-d'oeuvre,
not indeed of eloquence, but what they call convenances
oratoires,' which, we presume, may be interpreted orato-
rical tact. The case was this. The nuns of the convent
of Maubuisson charge their abbess with the dereliction of
every duty—the transgression of . every rule.—' To sleep
on the bare floor (says Cochin, their advocate), to rise at
two, and chaunt the praises of the Lord until break of day
—never to wear linen—never to eat flesh—and to fast
more than two-thirds of the year—such are the austere
practices in which the nuns of Maubuisson pass a life de-
voted to mortification.' Now the heinous and manifold

transgressions of the abbess were—indulging the luxury of
a linen chemise—lying in sheets—on a bed—and till nine
in the morning—having at her table fruit and other delica-
cies in season—being addicted to conversation—and--oh
nefandum !—to pleasantry—with certain acts of oppression
towards individual nuns, of which the most outrageous
was, imposing a particular confessor on one of the novices.
Most assuredly the complaints and cabals of a nunnery
were to be treated as grave matters by an advocate, in the
time of Louis XIV., Madame Maintenon, and Father Le
Tellier ; but with every allowance is this respect, such
terms as those used by Cochin—' rod of iron'—' remon-
strances'—' tears'—'groans'—prove no extraordinary feli-
city of oratorical tact, in a contest between the discreet
anxiety of a novice to reserve her more intimate pecca-
dilloes for the private ear of her own confessor, and the de-
vout curiosity of the abbess to know them, by imposing a
confessor of her exclusive selection. A favourable example
of the eloquence of the bar, at this period, might be taken
from the pleadings of Terrasson, an advsc:mte of less note."

After sketching a variety of characters who
distinguished themselves in a forensic capacity,
from the days of Louis XIV. down to the present
time, the Reviewer winds up his eloquent essay
by an opinion that " Monsieur Dupin is, if not
the most eloquent, certainly the most popular living
advocate of France." The " History of Litho-
graphy" is an article more to be commended for
its curious details than any striking general in-
terest that it possesses. By the initiated few it
will be considered well-worthy of perusal. " Phi-
losophy in France" is a metaphysical dissertation,
penned with much caution and judgment. The
few incidental observations regarding Locke, and
his influence on the continent, are very felicitous
and replete with truth. We dissent, however,
lobo cce/o from the Reviewer, when he asserts
that " Kant may be considered the founder of
the modern school of philosophy in France."
The account of " Novalis," the well-known
German writer, is fluent and full of information,
the major part of which is derived confessedly
from Tieck's biography of that author. " Me-
trical Romances of Sir Tristram" is a curious
and entertaining piece of antiquarian biography,
for a considerable portion of which the Reviewer
seems to have been indebted to Sir W. Scott.
The subject, however, has been already so ably
and so fully treated, that it will scarcely bear
repetition. " Swedish Poetry" is a novel
rather than an interesting subject ; from the speci-
men of translation adduced, we are not inclined
to estimate very highly the imaginative capacities
of the Swedish minstrels. Of the remaining
articles in the number we have merely space left
to say that they are all penned in a sagacious,
and in one or two instances, an eloquent spirit
of criticism, and that the " Short Reviews of
Books" display much pOwer of ingenious and
judicious condensation. Altogether the number
is equal (and this is speaking highly in its favor)
to any of its predecessors.

SHARPE'S LONDON MAGAZINE. —Lorthow, 1829,

The " Splendid Annual," which is the first
article in the first number of this carefully-
arranged Magazine, does credit to the pen of
Mr. Theodore Hook. It is a smart pungent
talc, satirical, of course, but more good-
humoured in the style and quality of its satire,
than Mr. Hook's writings usually are. The
subject would scarcely be guessed from its title,
being neither more nor less than a citizen's
description of his Mayoralty, after having mar-
ried his servant-maid—by way of giving a Lady
Mayoress to the first metropolis in the world—
and gone through the various grades of civic
society, from the apprentice at twelve shillings a
week to a cordwainer's in Aldersgate-street, to
the Sheriff, Alderman, and subsequently to the
Lord Mayor. For correctness of description,
and more especially for humour, which, though
broad, is yet far from being farcical or extrava-
gant, the " Splendid Annual" may vie with the
best of Mr. Hook's Sayings and Doings. What
for instance can be richer than the following
description of the newly-elected Lord Mayor's
feelings, when, with an acute recollection of
what he was, and an equally acute consciowness