The Sun. — 1846-04-02 (London, England)

UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE. Of the eulogium upon the Emperor Nicholas we can merely observe that it is a waste of chivalry in a most damning cause ! Not all the most artfully balanced " periods " in the world can obliterate the flaws, and the rankling blains, and unsightly darkness which render the autocracy a perfect bugbear to those who are freeto-think and free- to-judge. Panegyrics have been written upon Robespierre; Marat was apotheosized immediately after his assassination ; Catherine has not passed without her admirers ; Nero was beloved, as the flowers upon his grave attested ; and the gloomiest, fiercest, bloodiest despots earth ever beheld, have, in turn, each and all received commendation from some among their fellow-men. It is not, therefore, so utterly incomprehensible that a biography of this eulogistic nature should be devoted to the present Emperor of the Russias. In endeavouring to cover foulness with tinsel, the operator stands a tolerable chance of getting miserably daubed himself. What wo more particularly object to in this instance is, that while one page of the United Service heaps benedictions upon the fair fame of the Imperial Majesty Nicholas, ano:her has the audacity, or we should rather say the ignorance, to brand Napoleon with the guilt of crime in connexion with— (whom does the reader think ?)—the " Due d'Enghein, General Pichegru, Capt. 'Wright, cum multis aliis." Why history has long since proved that Pichegru and Captain Wright both committed suicide, and common sense has proved that the First Consul, far even from desiring their death, must have been most anxious for their evidence at the trial, anterior to which they expired. With regard to the Duc d' .Enghein, Hazlitt, our own English historian, emphatically says, "If I had been in Napoleon's place, and if I could possibly have done so, I would have had him killed six times over." Humanity required it, the peace of France and of the European Continent required it, the perpetuation of a free Government required it ; so did every feeling of justice and of law. After these insinuations of the reviewer in the United Service, we cannot but look upon his corollary cum multis aliis as being tantamount simply to cum ccrteris paribus— mere visions, idle, delusive, non- existant. What small powers of discrimination—what an incapacity to appreciate the truly glorious—what a bias towards the truly ignoble—to applaud Nicholas and asperse Napoleon ! Hamlet's indignation recurs to us, "Leaving this fair field to batton on this moor." Mr. Leon continues his spirited narration of " The late struggles of Abd-el-Kader and the Campaign of Isly ;" the near termination of which narrative we cannot but regret. "A Proposition for Manning the British Navy with Volunteers" is filled with judicious hints, some of v,hich are exceedingly feasible. Too much attention cannot be directed to the subject, as it should never be forgotten that, " England needs no bulwark, No towers along the steep ; Her march is on the mountan wave, Her home is on the deep." The voice of the Delphian oracle should ever reverberate in the ears of the Legislature. " Your only defence is in your wooden walls !" There are various other papers of more than average merit.