The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

Etteraturr.

JANUARY.

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

By the author of " Rural Sonnets," " Spartacus, the Roman
Gladiator," and other tragedies.
Hardy as yon fresh bays upon his brow,
With full-blown laurustinus interweav'd,
Ere yet the husbaudrnen resume the plough,
Or festive days by labour are retriev'd—
Lo, JANUARY leads the young new year,
Happy in welcomes, and with hope elate,
Though round its form cold winds and clouds career,
And barren would appear its first estate.
Now—if the weather freeze, or bind the ground—
Manures are carted, and the routes repair'd :
In forest haunts the woodmen's strokes resound :
For earliest produce gardens are prepar'd
And, here and there, just peep above the soil,
Signs of the life wherewith vast nature's womb doth toil.
Inner Temple, Jan. 20, 1844

SCENA,

J. Jortss

SONG. BY MISS WRITNALL AT MISS C. WELLER'S FIRST

CONCERT.
(The words and music by Miss Christiana Weller.)

Ozema.—Bright visions of the past all fled !
Gay dreams of youth all swept away;
Hopes once so cherished now are dead,
And sleep unheeded in my lay.

The heart is chilled that warmly beat,
That glow'd with life's delusive joys :
Fond memory only holds her seat,
Unharmed 'mid all proud time destroys

My mind is one unvaried blank;
My life is one unbroken sigh ;
I n.onrn my weary stay on earth,
And gladly would, this moment, die.

None soothe with balmy words my pain;
None dry the tears that ceaseless flow,
Nor with sweet tones bid me restrain
Their gushings from the founts of woe.

When o'er my soul sleep gently steals,
And thought, unshackled, wanders free,
A fleeting bliss my spirit feels,
But wakes to mourn reality.

Those hours are happy, but how few!
Delusion is my only stay;
Kind heaven give my despair her due,
And angels waft my soul away.

CARDINAL DE RETZ,
on
THE COURTIER'S PLO

BY PETER POPJOY, Esq•

(For the Liverpool Standard.)

CHAP I'ER Xl.—(Continued.)
(We left Fabien about to reply to the Queen.)
The most profound silence reigned at that moment in
the lofty chamber.
" Madame," said Fabien, in a respectful but firm
tone, " I must supplicate your pardon if I take more
than common precaution against any mistake on this
occasion ; and that your grace will permit me to inquire
if it is really the great Conde, the first prince of the
blood, who is thus designated as " an enemy to the
state ?"

A low murmur ran through the assembly. The Queen
blushed deeply.
" And why not, Sir," said she, with vehemence, "if
he, whom you, on your part, term the Great Conde,' is
insolent and factious, a man whose ambition would lead
him to betray France and the King. Why put such a
question—can I have been deceived ? Will you refuse to
obey your sovereign ?
The Regent stamped her foot with passion. The con-
spirators appeared confounded. Fabien alone stood un-
moved. •
4: Most gracious liege"--replied Fabien, with an ani-
mated voice and manner —" Do I really see your grace
—do I hear the grand-daughter of Charles the Fifth P
Where are we ? Ought we to enter the palace of the
Queen of France, furtively, stealthily, in the dead of
night, gliding in obscurity like bad men, intent upon
some wicked purpose ? Where is the majesty of the
throne ?_where the Queen ? I see no one here but a mere
woman, who hiding herself amongst midnight conspira-
tors, is about to employ an assassin."
The boldness of these words struck the courtiers dumb
—they appeared in a complete stupor : not one dared to
open his mouth to check the imprudent enthusiast.
" Audacious !" exclaimed Anne of Austria, instantly
rising from her seat, every bad passion now aroused. " Is
there not cr.e present to silence this daring knave." The
.courtiers stood aloof like statues. Fabien fell on his knee,
-catching the hem of the Regent's robe—
" Hear me ! oh, hear me, noble mistress, but for one
moment," continued the youth, with enthusiasm ; " listen
to me—but an instant : I know that I am a lost man ; ]
know that the dungeons of the Chatelet or the Bastille
are ready to receive me ; I know that I have sacrificed
myself that you might hear the truth that otherwise would
be hidden from you ! The frightful step that you, ma-
dame, have been advised by bad men to take, will not
save the state. No, gracious lady, though they may tell
you so—the blood of the bravest defender must not be
thus ignobly and traitorously shed by an obscure hand, in
ambuscade. Let the scales fall from your eyes, noble
lady ; think of your illustrious ancestors, think of the sa-
credness of the power you hold from God !"
Anne of Austria laughed convulsively.
" And who has brought before us this contemptible
preacher," said she, in a tone of bitter irony. " Who
has dared to introduce to us this presumptuous moralist ?
Is this a new insult devised by my enemies ? Sirs," said
she, apparently suffocated with passion, " lie who has
prepared this for us shall bitterly repent it." At the
next moment a nobler impulse suddenly arising in her
mind, with that buoyancy so prevalent in capricious
tempers, she quickly added, turning to Fabien—
" So, then, you believe yourself to be here amongst an
assembly of conspirators, who meditate a bad action. Be
it so; but do you know where this convocation of con-
spirators is held ? Do you know in what place you are
at this moment ? You are in my oratory in the Cardi-
nal's palace. You know me not ? - Look at me well : I
am the Queen Regent. Look at these gentlemen, also :
this is Monsieur de Tellier, this De Servien, and De
Lionne—ministers and sub-secretaries of state ; this, is
M. de Chateauneaf, the keeper of the seals ; this the Ma-
rechale d'Hocquincourt, general-in-chief of the King's
armies : the whole of the council of the Regency
you see before you--these are the most strenuous de-
fenders, the most zealous supporters of my son Louis.
Look at us all, sir. Little does it matter to us whether
you believe or not that the royal power is fallen so low,
that the Regent and her ministers are reduced to conspire
in the dark, like discontented citizens, and that they are
reduced to supplicate a poor country gentleman like
yourself to save the state by a blow of a poignard."
The Queen, unable any longer to moderate the vio•
lence of her feelings, sunk on the seat nearest to her, and
covered her face with her hands, to hide the scalding
tears that fell abundantly down her cheeks. These
emotions were not unfelt by those who stood around : the
courtiers were not rendered so completely callous by po-
litical intrigue, as to be altogether devoid of generous
thoughts, and they could not but experience some touches
of pity for all the evils with which France was over-
whelmed. The Baron profited by the moment of confu-
sion to draw near his brother, and whisper to him—

" Unhappy boy—retract or, " but Fabien, com-
pletely pre-occupied by his generous design, heard him
not ; he remained prostrated at the feet of the Queen,
and exclaimed, in an agony of heart, clasping his hands
together, " Oh, Madame, in the name of God, do not
overwhelm me with your anger and contempt. I have
not yielded to a vain and ridiculous temerity in thus
telling you a cruel truth. I have fulfilled my duty at the
peril of drawing upon myself your anger—a duty,
Madame, that I regarded as sacred. I am but one of
the most obscure, the humblest of your subjects—like
others, I owe you profound respect, devoted duty, and
ardent love. I will do your bidding without a murmur,
at the very cost of my life, but God forbid, Madame,
that I should sacrifice my honour and my conscience in
any cause.".
- -

-Anne of Austria appeared at length to have conquered
the tenderness that had awakened in her breast the most
painful recollections. She raised her head, and replied
with a haughty air,

,
" What think you, Sirs, of the insolence of this young
preacher ? If he has done nought but wound the heart
of a queen and mother in recalling to her in what a state
of abasement she had allowed the power of her son to
fall, she cannot forget that he has also expressed himself
in a manner that ought not to be permitted in an august
presence—but he possesses your secret and mine—
nothing remains for me but to dispose of him."
Fabien rose, and waited his doom with calmness and
dignity. Those around regarded him in silence, as if to
communicate to him their defiance; but no one offered
any advice, when the Countess de Montglat, who, du-
ring the scene, bad suffered the utmost agony of mind,
advanced into the midst of the circle formed around the
Queen, and exclaimed with despair,
" Oh, Madame, did I not tell your. majesty that he
could not accept this office. But have pity on him—
pardon him my liege—he is faithful, loyal, and generous
—he will not betray your secret."
" Are you abort to resume your weepings and wail-
ings, De Montglat," interrupted the Queen, somewhat
softened. " But lam tired of all this intriguing, and it
was only at your earnest supplication that I consented to
your coming with nte. You must be aware, added the Re-
gent coldly, to yield to your entreaty—this folly—for folly
it is—that it is necessary these gentlemen and myself must
consent to forego measures that concern our safety, as
well as that of the state. You will see also if they will
permit your gallant Norman to boast in all the taverns
in Paris of the fine things he has just told me to my face
—in the face of the Queen of France."
This ungracious reply did not however restrain the
generous ardour of the maiden.
" May Heaven save the state, and grant your majesty
a long and happy life, but humbly do I supplicate per-
mission to prove to you that it is not necessary to drag
this unhappy gentleman to a state prison to be satisfied
of his discretion. He is a man of honour, and his word
may be trusted ; I know him to be noble, discreet, and