The sun., 1916-09-03

=. Wi hos
poets" DO the wings fatter them
they are not gone DOWN." The best
they can say &c that Il they had been
in Power. instead Of sending armies
to Spain. they would have withdrawn
them, or would have made Peace with
Bonaparte when in the Meridian of
his Greatness" He deems It a bless
ing for the country to have escaped
from the works Of such statesmen.
These matters take on interest be-
yond their intrinsic merits when there
is read into them something Of the
state OF Europe In those days Of the
NapoleOnic danger. and readers fond
Of parallels may find material for one
between the party situations In Eng
land then and America now with
forces Of positive assertion and Of ne
CATION placed in the balance. But
more than these things most readers
may deem interesting the hint that is
given Of the peculiar strain to which
statesmen may be subjected when the
head must labor uninterruptedly In
the public service while the heart Is
heavy with private grief.
In another letter Lady Bessborough
says: I'VE dined at Mad. de Staels
yesterday to meet the Hollands; II
was entertaining to see Ly. Holland
and Mr.. Ward. both hating and both
paying Court to each other-Mad. de
8. whispering to me: Bon Dieu! COM
prend on une coouetterie pareille? Je
mour rois de peur dun esclandre
quand ces puissances ennemies venoi-
ent a 50 rencontrer. Point du tout,
ne diroit-on pas quilts s'adorent?"
How they did gossip. on paper. q
hundred years &c Into a single
paragraph this lively correspondent
crowds such a list Of topics as this:
Was at court on Thursday, a strange
and ridiculous ceremony. The King
and Monsieur ever 30 gracious. Heard
Grassini sing. Visit to Madame de
Talleyrand. Madame de Coigny. Lally.
Adrlen and Giamboni to dinner. A
party in the evening: Prince de Leon
and his wife sang and played. and
Gen. Belliard told stories Of the
Mamelukes.
On Saturday. to the play; Lally.
La Fayette and Montesquieu call:
tales Of the Revolution. especially
the sudden change from crapulc to
excessive luxury at Robespierre's
death. from the bonnet rouge poor and
dirty. put on with peasant shoes. to
Nine. Tallien's gold sandals lind with
diamonds and, pearls: how the
Tuileries and Champs Elysees had
been ploughed up and planted TO po-
tatoes. Stories Of Bonaparte's early
life. and the latest from Elba: "of
him looking at the body OF a poor
Mason who was doing something on
the top Of his palace. fell and was
killed at his feet. He said: on ne
meurt pas touJours, 1ai tombe de plus
haut." Wellington $50 civil to me.
and I admire him so much as a hero.
that It inclines me to be partial to
him. but I am afraid he Is behaving
very III to that poor little woman: he
Is found great fault with for II. not on
account Of making her miserable or OF
the immortality Of the fact. but the
want OF procede ana publicity OF mis-
attentions to Grassini." And. 60 con-
clude this inventory Of the contents
Of a single short letter. the murder.
might before last" Of a garde du corps.
whose discovered head vas found ncar
the bridge Of Austerlitz. his body
under a heap Of stones In the Place de
Ia Trevise and his legs and arms In a
dark passage in the Rue Montmartre.
Think says the gossip. "of the
sang froid Of cutting q man to pieces
ard carrying him about So But tho
e%pistoleers cut regulations to pieces
and flung the pieces abroad Just as
ruthlessly.
Lady Bcssborough describes a visit
by a friend to Fonthill. the home OF
william Bedford. author OF "Vathek".
"A rva was sent to invite him In.
and he could not resist accepting. The
hall door. in the highest finished
Gothic work. Ia sixty feet high. lie
was received by a dwarf. who. like a
crowd Of servants through whom he
passed. was covered with gold and
embroidery. Mr.. Rockford received
him very c~ourteously and led him
through numberless apartments all
ftted up most splendidly. one with
minerals. including precious stones:
another the finest picturcs: another
Italian bronzes. china. &C.. till they
came TO a gallery that surpassed all
the rest from the richness and variety
Of its ornaments. II seemed closed
by a crimson drapery held by a
bronze statue. but on Mr.. RS stamp
ing and saying Open the statue few
back. and the gallery was seen cx-
tending $50 feet long. At the end an
open arch with a massive balustrade
opened to a vast octagon hall. from
which a window showed a fine view of
the park" The tower. planned to he
higher than Salisbury Cathedral. was
not yet completed. but there was a
chapel with an altar heaped with
golden candlesticks. beautiful vases
music DON where the host played
with unearthly power" The refec-
tory wa gorgeous with gilt ornament
and golden dishes; the park was
stocked with tame hares and pleas
ants. The wonders Of the library
~equalled those OF the rest Of this Won
derful place. Beckford Is Just about
the most un~duplicated personality In
all the history Of English letters.
An undated letter from Lady Caro-
line Lamb to Lord Granville. written
supposedly in 1916 or 1917, appears
to allude to "Glenarvon." Lady Caro-
lines first novel. caricaturing Byron.
which was published anonymously In
May. 1915, three years after It's au-
thor's break with the poet:
Nj dean LORD GRANVILLE: Thank you
for your kindness; but had you not come
up. It had indeed been cruel. Do forgive
mo: cannot bear that Harriet his
wife,. the second daughter OF the NTH
Duke Of Deyonahirel and yourself should