The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-09-28


quin, as . jack.a-dandy. as an Insignificant In
sect. and a. q monkey. The most popular
prints. undoubtedly. wore those In which
Boney appeared In the light Of 4 contemplate
antagonist for so stalwart q fellow A. the beef
eating John Bull. or for his indomitabls ally.
the British Jack Tar. The latter worthy. with
his why. d-n me. messmates. I'll soon
tighten his timbere!" 10 frequently Aesn knock
Ing the wind out OF weazened Individual In
an immense cooked hat. supposed to represent
the French Emperor. The more grievous the
fright OF the English over tho prospect Of an In
vaslon. the more staggering and bonbastic
wero the sentiments Of the cartoons; and these.
doubtless. served a purpose.
While the contemporary caricaturss OF the
Corsican adventurer illustrate In a striking
way the Intensity Of the hatred which fred the
British heart. they also show great poverty OF
resources on the part OF the artists. The mo-
tive IL usually simple. almost to childishness.
There II little Invention. little Imagination In
the pictures. The bulk OF the work is coarse
aud stupid. As caricature portraits. the pic
lures Of Napoleon. are rarely successful. Few
OF the artists who earned livelihood for yenrs
BY drawing him seem to have had n distinct
idea OF what his facial characteristics really
were. While there is sometimes . certain
virility in their designs. there ia rarely any
evidence Of refinement OF conception. and
there is an almost entire absence Of humor. as
we understand 1t. Probably Anssll came
nearer 10 the modern ideas OF caricature than
either Giiirsy or Rowlandson. Some Of his de-
signs are funny. and most OF them are rather
less vindictive In their intention than those OF
his contemporaries. A good example OF AnselPs
humor is found In print that dates ut the time
Of the expected invasion. A dlminutivs Ma
polson is confronted on English soil by "a
specimen Of the new troop OF IIeicestershire
Light Horse" This Is no less parsonage than
Daniel Lambert. who at tho age Of S6 weighed
more than 700 pounds and measured nine feet
and four inches around the body. Lambert'is
mounted on the famous horse Monarch. the
largest In the world. being twenty.one hands
high. On this extraordinary Quadruped the
equally extraordinary Englishman is charging
with drawn sword at poor little Boney. who ex-
claims with horror. "Parbleul II dis be de
specimen OF de English Light Horse. vat will de
Heavy Horse DO Oh. by gar. l will put or do
invasion for another time!"
Compared with the best work IN Punch dur
ing the past quarter OF q century. tine efforts OF
the English caricatursts Of Napoleon Bona
parties time appear almost a. crude AZ tho
sstirical sketches OF 4 schoolboy clever with his
slate pencil. When We consider the wealth OF
opportunity afforded BY the tremendous sub
ject. the constantly changing situation. and the
unparalleled public interest stimulating pro-
ducton the wonder is that the campaign Of the
comic artists against Napoleon Bonaparte was
so much more commonplace than that OF the
serious liars.
Madison.
It Ia an admirable series OF biographies
which Mr.. John Y. Morse. Jr.. 10 editing. and the
latest volume James Madison, by SIDNEY How
ARD GAY lHoughton. Mifiin Il Co... Is especially
noteworthy for historical insight and literary
skill. The book indeed. cannot b. expected to
prove equally acceptable to everybody. 1t hav-
ing been impossible for tho editor to discover .
student Of American annals who united the
irreconciabe points Of view Of Hamilton and
Jefferson. That the judgment pronounced on
the opinions and the conduct Of Madison
at certain periods Of his career will
or favors lax or . rigid consiruc-
ton OF the Federal organic law. goes without
saying. and - Mr.. Gay 10 frank and thor
oushgoins nationalist or oentralist. he will
look for occasional disagreement on the part
Of those who watch with moro or less daep mis-
givings any assertion Of powers by the WASH
ington Government not explicitly conferred by
the Constitution. With this qualification.
which the writer's breadth Of knowledge and
manifest ability render 1t the more imperative
to keep in the foreground. we would express
our hearty Acknowledgements OF the solid scr.
vice done American letters BY this work.
Perhaps tho most striking chapter Of the
book Is that entitled Tho Compromises"
which deals with the reciprocal concessions
made In the Federal Convention Of 1857 By the
New England States. on the ono hand. and the
extreme Southern States on the other. Some
Of these adjustments. and the motives which
prompted them. form the least creditable part
Of the Conventions history. and undoubtedly
the utmost that can be said in their favor Is
that without them no closer union than
the old confederation was at the time
attsinable. Whether II might not have
boon wiser to refuse the grave sacri.
fees Of principle involved in some Of
these concessions. and wait till tho mis-
chiefs and perils Of political disintegratIon and
isolation had rendered certain sectional inter-
ests more traotable. 10 an interesting. but in
vlewof accomplished facts. Q fruitlsss Ques-
ton. Mr.. Gay evidently thinks that II no plan
Of union had been completed In 1887. the New
England States and the Middle States would
have formed q confederacy to which In his
opinion Virginia would have accsded. the
Carollnas and Georgia. whose claim to
vote for their slaves while refusing to
be taxed for them was the main stumbling
block. being left out In the cold. The reason
sblsness OF this conjecture turns mainly on tho
assumption that Virginia. which not only COM
prised Kentucky. but had strong claims to the
Northwest Territory. would at that epoch have
coalesced with tho North. and 1t cannot DO
denied that her representatives In the Federal
Convention took much more logical and hui
manitarlan views Of all questions relating to
slavery than those rssolutsly adhered to by tho
States further south. II IL doubtful however.
whether in this respect her delegates reflected
the prevailing sentiment Of Virginia We know
that in some directions Madison In particular
was much In advance Of the opinions current
among his fellow citizens. for when the State
Convention called to ratiiy the Constitution
fret assembled there WAS . considerable ma.
jority against the sncroschments on State
rights embodied In that instrument. A South
ern confederacy with Virginia at Its head,
would probably have been strong enough to
wrest Florida from Spain and the Louisiana
territory from France during the long Napo-
leonic wars. one result Of which was TO sweep