New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-04-19

which Lad euded rather than sought po' ical sdv.,.
mclt whether fiom king people, aad the p,,;s~
devotion which bad con ,ecrated q whole life - toi -
Danger in the cause OF taeir emancipation. Ws5a
therefore he was ever ready TO rebGke, and Az,
too honest 10 at;er lie at the time posSes,d ~
coGutpce which could convince o. peru sd-. H,ks
ow to reach both tho mind and the heart Of Ri, he.
efs His orstions, whether extemporsneoas or NJ. /
parc6-his wIitten messages % the States general y
IN, provincial authorities, 20 the municipal b)issS
private orrespondence with men OF all raaks ia.
tmpcrurs ard Kings down 10 Secretaries, aai ev,
ch,,dr, I'LL show an easy ho~ Of language flna.
q thought power Of expression rare In tbs. aga
luud If historical 6lIusion, considerable power a
i:ne alton, a warmth of sentiment. breadth a
view a dfectness o. purpos.-7 range Of qualities
short which would in themselves have stamped ain A
one Of the nsst,rmpds OF his century, had there be-
no Other moDu aCut TO his memory than toe .ias
hi. spoken or written eloquence Ths bulk Of his De-
forniauoes in Ills department was proiigous. M
even Philip was more ndusiiiOus IN tte cGoint. NJ
even Granville held more Iacilc pen. lie ~rote AL
spoke equally well in French, German or Plenisa;
std be- poss. sscd, beetles spanish, Italian, Lsin
The weight OF bis 'conesponcen ce alone wosk
ave almost suficcd for tn co nmoI industry Of life
time: and, although IDa1y volumes OF his speeeSa
ard letters have teen pub-hed, there remain ths
various archives of the Netherlands and Germany
many documents from his hand which viii probably
never sec tie light 1t tie capacity for uuremitsa
i.t IL c;uel abo' in honorable cause be the measure
,f Ion 81 gr, stncss few MODS could b. compared %
made To dssroy the Netherlands by the mos. ltoori
ous anc psLstakps OF tyrants, were counterseed By
the industry Of the mos, interchangeable Of "a rots
He went through lite bearing the load of peoples
sorrows upon be shoulders WITH smiling face. Taer
name was TIE st word upon bis lips, save the simple
affirmative with which the soldier who had been oa.
ting for the right oil his lifetime commended his soul
in dying $50 his great capaia, Christ Tne peApe
y.le grateful and affe, tOn at for they trusted tue
character of they "Faher " Liam" and not al toe
clonds which calumny could collect ever dnmed 10
tb,i eyos the raCIdnce + thst ofy mind to which
they were sccustomtG ir their darkest caimties, to
look for light As long a. Le dyed he was the guiding
star Of whole brave on and when he died the hi
tie children cried in the streets.
In deciding on the character Il Mr.. Motley as
historian, we find that his pretensions are founded
on extensive and solid learning, accumulated dur.
ing long course OF stddious labor and research.
He has examined the chief chronicles in the Datch
Flt mish, French, Italian, Spanish and German
languages, both of an early and recent date. Co.
temporary manuscripts ana correspondence have
fnrnished him with copous aid valuable materials.
He has had access to several important manuscript
histories, espt cally those If Pontus payen Renom
De France, and Pas9 .ier 6e la Barre The enor.
nous collection OF documents i'll the Royal
Archives o. the Hague, of Brissels and Of Dres.
den, have been diligently consulted and found to
contain much informal on which throws fce Sd light
Oh the history of the period Of tho question Nor
has the mess Of learning thus Obtained been repro.
duced without careful elaboration and Symmetrical
Arrangement Mr. Motley is not hardened BY his
eIuditop, but bears il facilely and gracefully The
singular complication of pol teal affairs greatly
baoces the difficulty of Lis task But he winds bis
way through the labyrinth Of artful aed crooked pol
icy WIZ sheerfnl confidence OF STEP that betokons
bis possession Of clue which he has thoroughly
tested and proved to be of sifo guidance.
Mr. Motley mai es no parade of philosophical re.
Gection He has EVIDENT! no passion for historical
theories and gcneralizations. He is in no danger
of lo,ing sight of facts through the enticemen. Of
fayorite system1 We. bis comments aud sug.
eestoDs, although never prominent, never obtru-
siye, are apt and instructive. He shows genuine
upitary ct, always aiming to connect the
specialtes of his narrative with the general history
Of the age. His power Of characte. drawing Ia
funded on q true insight into human nature.
Mary OF his sketches betray fine and discriminst-
ipg touch They are all inspired By moro than
c,nmon VITALITY. This arises from the warm
sympaibies with persons, which he never loses In
the description Of events. His characters have
ess the air of historical peIsoDages than Of actors
| the present lry ug drama of affairs His tone is
OF that OF pbilosophic spathy-scarcely can 1t lay
lain to historic mpartialty He always writes
less as Judge than advocate, and not seldom Is
betrayed into the exct'snent of a partisan. He
| La.a itI NAL, that
we discover any evidence which can convict him
of incorrect statements OF facts but he scarcely
avoid cooring them with his own feelings. In this
respect, his attachment to human freedom forms 8
strong plea for pardon. To the mass OF readers,
il will not only increase the interest of his work,
but will appear preferable to more decided tono
Of jedical austerity
| The most prominent features Of Mr.. MotIey's
| composition are earnestress, vigOr, animation, and
warmth His narrative Is always fresh, and where
the nature of the subject admits, exhibits no less
picturesque arrangement OF light and shade, than
boldness and vivacty. He IL never anguid, and SCI
| eom shows the influence of AIT fcial excitement
IT. lie Is more dsdr guisbed for athletic strength
than for felicity of phrase L. Is usually rich. but
not unfrt quently little crude. 1t has the rscI
ne.s of ripe cluster Of Craps, but which woaia
have been meowed into moro delicious flavor
by remaining logger on the sunny sde of the Vin''
lie 10 # en- car. less, sometimes incorrect, and ns
too great a love for sesqupedallan expressions ana
| ambitious rhetoric. Several instances o. repcsr
| tion occur in he course of few pages. mus
speaking OF Charles ", he remarks that " ne was
| =. II .oiia,aou, inconti-