ness came over the age, which, up to that period, had entered into public affairs with less earnestness.

"To this blow, which agitated men's minds so profoundly, another speedily followed, fearful and alarming from the very rapidity with which it succeeded. A young man, to whom the Machiavelian system, in which his native province was entangled, had long been an abomination, possessed of a good-natured and composed but moody and close disposition, was also instigated by the bitter rage which burned within his bosom, to adopt the determination of tearing asunder the net by an act of violence. He selected the President Ibell, whom he considered as the author of that system, for a sacrifice."

06

We

In the same spirit, M. Görres has condescended to write an apology for Sand, which, if that misled and infatuated wretch had written it for himself, would have gone very far, we think, to prove the fact of his insanity." If thou knowest not," Sand is thus represented as addressing his accuser, " If thou knowest "not the dark kingdom of the abyss which nature has closed, 66 happy wilt thou be if to thee it should ever remain closed! "All its dark powers has the mind conquered, and enclosed "within that abyss. But deep springs arise in the heart of "man, and flow into its darkness," and so on, throughout two full pages of the same senseless, incoherent, and unintelligible raving. Yet we have no doubt that this passage will meet with peculiar approbation from the mystics of Germany. should shudder in quoting the Scriptural authority to which the author appeals in justification of this murder. Disapproba "tion of the act, with approbation of the motives!" All this, too, let it be remembered, is written and set forth to the world by a man, who once held the honourable and highly responsible situation of an instructor of youth. And yet M. Görres and his associates complain grievously of the measures taken by the German governments, for the purpose of investigating the state of discipline and morals in their universities, and of ascertaining the principles inculcated by the appointed teachers. For our own part, we have no hesitation in declaring, that we conceive it to be owing, in a great measure, to such silly casuists as the author whose work we are now reviewing, that the minds of the rising generation in Germany have been perverted, and that it has been found so difficult to repress their presumption by any restraints of discipline. In consequence of such doctrines as those which we have just, been considering, the mind is trained up in arrogance and self-conceit; the natural sympathies and affections of our nature are extinguished; the moral feelings weakened, or entirely stifled; the name of virtue is still pronounced by the lips, but its influence is withered at the heart; the power and efficacy of religion are subdued; and the young man is sent forth into the world, with a smattering of useless metaphysical jargon,

VOL. V. NO. I.

indeed, but without one salutary principle to guide him in the conduct of life, to counteract the tendency of selfish passions, to preserve him from running a rapid career, from the excess of folly to the atrocity of crime.

We trust that we shall not be considered as applying these observations to the whole, or even to the greater part of the learned in Germany. We have a sincere admiration for the sound and useful and elegant literature of that nation; and we could name many individuals in that country, who are, at this moment, an ornament to science, to letters, and to society. But these must be carefully distinguished from that mystical and arrogant sect, who affect a thorough contempt of all established institutions and doctrines, and place confidence in nothing but the maudlin inspirations of their own self-conceit.

We must now take leave of M. Görres. There is, indeed, a good deal more in his book; but as it is all distinguished by the same obscurity, ignorance, and presumption as the specimens we have already given, any farther analysis could serve no good purpose. We ought, perhaps, to apologize to our readers, for having detained them so long in our examination of the absurdities of this author; and we assure them that we should not have brought this work at all under their notice, had it not already made some noise in the world. But we trust we shall be enabled to indemnify them for the patience with which they may have condescended to accompany us in our exposure of folly, by resuming the discussion of this subject, with the assistance of more able guides, in a future number.

ART. IV.-Historical Documents and Reflections on the Government of Holland. By Louis Bonaparte, Ex-king of Holland. In 3 vols. London. Lackington, Hughes, & Co. 1820. Pp. 1253.

KINGS, of the present day at least, are rarely authors. The distinction which authorship confers, and which, if authors would confess the truth, is the chief object of their labours, is as nothing to a man who already enjoys the utmost distinction of human ambition. Kings, too, constitute a very limited class of the species; and the chances of its producing men of sufficient talent for successful authorship, are of necessity proportionally diminished. Frederick of Prussia, and Stanislaus Augustus of Poland were,

we believe, the rare examples of monarchs of modern times who wrote, printed, and published; and were all the time reigning kings. Our times present us with a variety in the class of kings, the ex-kings, who are about in unwonted numbers, claiming the sympathy of the existing generation. It was to be expected from their greater leisure, that if royal authors were to be found, it would be among them. Louis of Holland has first appeared in print; and it were rash to pronounce that his brethren in retirement are not preparing for the same display.

The work before us was sent to England in manuscript, to be translated; and in that translation to be, for the first time, published. As it is of the nature of an appeal, or self-justification, his majesty has, by this mode of publication, flattered the English as the only people for whose opinion he appears to care. The publishers, contemplating the possibility of the public doubting that the work is from the pen of Louis Bonaparte, offer free inspection of the manuscript; and refer, moreover, to a distinguished English nobleman, who perused the work at Rome, when in the author's possession, and who has identified it since its arrival in England. We do not require all this security. It is no disturbance of the ordinary course of events, that Louis Bonaparte, if he can write at all, should write a plain narrative of his own extraordinary history; nor do we think that the ex-king of Holland and his fortunes, or even his appeals, have now so intense an interest, as to suggest the speculation of a spurious work, of three large octavos, to any literary impostor, with the certainty of detection before him, ere he had sold half an impression.

The work, according to the author, embraces the affairs of Holland, from the year 1806 to 1810; and we add, that it contains a great deal of matter unconnected with the affairs of Holland. It is divided into six parts: The introduction-the accession to the throne, and the year 1806; the year 1807the year 1808-the year 1809-the year 1810-and the conclusion. A correct chronology is the main pillar of history. The introduction, which is farther intituled, "motives and "object of this publication," consists, like very many French introductions, of a series of would-be profound, aphoristic, axiomatical observations, which are nothing more than detached sentences, unconnected with the work and with each other, and which either have no meaning at all, or are obvious truisms, No human being would take the trouble either to assent to or deny such sedative dogmas as the work sets out with. We had quoted them, but they encumbered our page. The author

informs us that he had a natural horror of sitting on a throne; and came to be seated on one very much against his will. But this will be seen in due season. Of a very meagre and very French sort of summary of what he calls the state of Europe in 1806, the leading feature is the glory of the Emperor Napoleon, which his brother of Holland considers to have been as just as it was wonderful. This impression is necessarily influential of the history whenever it alludes to the French arms and conquests; and so far, but only so far, deprives it of the character of impartiality. A high eulogium of the Dutch follows; borrowing largely, like all modern eulogies of that people, from the past, for the benefit of the present. With their wellknown and very wonderful former annals, we need not detain such of our readers as are already familiar with them; and may refer all who are not, to any faithful chronicle.

Connection is by no means studied by the royal_author. From long hopeless and harmless political expatiations, he, most abruptly, comes, as if by digression, to his own personal history. Like Cæsar he adopts the third person; sensible, we doubt not, that the first suits nobody in the singular, and would no longer suit him in the plural. He begins with noticing, with much and just indignation, what he calls the horrible calumnies, against the origin and nobility of the Bonaparte family. Our readers will smile at his reasoning to establish that the family is French. He says that Corsica was ceded to France in the reign of Louis XV.; after which event the King of Holland and all his brothers were born; and as this was under what he calls the French domination, therefore they were born French. Sorry should we be to disturb so simply beautiful a syllogistic structure. Neither would we question what immediately follows, that when Corsica "belonged" to Italy, the Bonapartes were Italians. It were no pleasure to us to draw the inference, that from this very convertability of theirs, from Corsican to Italian, and from Italian to French, the Bonapartes are neither French nor Italian, but Corsican to all intents and purposes.

"As to the nobility of the Bonaparte family, whatever libellers may pretend, it is very antient, and well identified in the annals of Italy. (See Supplement, note No. I.) It is said, that when the marriage of Napoleon with the Arch-Duchess Maria Louisa was about to take place, the French Emperor, in answer to some remonstrances on the subject, observed, I should not enter into this alliance, if I did not know that her origin is as noble as my own!" "

Now a judicious admirer of Napoleon would have carefully concealed so childish a speech. But we have a theory that Louis is slenderly supplied with tact or Judgment; and we shall, be

fore we are done with him, establish that theory on the basis of unquestionable facts.

Napoleon is farther treated with great disrespect, in so far as he is charged with having been merely a lieutenant of artillery at the siege of Toulon; while, it seems, the fact is, that he commanded the artillery on that memorable occasion. This however is a question of chronology only; inasmuch as it must be conceded, by the greatest stickler for the aboriginal dignity of Napoleon, that that person was not likely to have been born a commander of artillery; and must once,-and might, without serious degradation,-have been a lieutenant in that service. If we find this frailty besetting the more phlegmatic Louis, how much must the irritable Napoleon himself have been afflicted by it!

Louis, ten years younger than Napoleon, began his course as aid-de-camp to his brother; and his first campaign was in the army of the Maritime Alps. The Italian career of Napoleon is well known; and as Louis had his share in those wars, he narrates their history fully. His composure, judgment, and bravery in action, he records complacently enough. We doubt not the truth of his testimony, although he is not a strictly legal witness in his own cause. He accompanied his brother in his wild expedition to Malta and Egypt; and his description of the battle of the Nile is animated and interesting. Napoleon, on setting out for Syria, sent Louis to France with a report of his proceedings in the east. Louis however was tardy, and his brother was in France, close at his heels. On Napoleon's elevation to the consulate, Louis was promoted to the rank of colonel of cavalry. He was particularly averse from a marriage with Hortensia Beauharnois, the daughter of Josephine, which was much pressed upon him by his brother and sister-in-law; and for the time he avoided the match, by joining the army in Portugal. As he journeyed towards Spain, he was much annoyed by the honours every where paid him; all of which he modestly places to the account of his brother. The much-disliked union with Hortensia, he was not destined to escape; and, as he foretold, he soon separated from his wife.

When Napoleon advanced against Austria in 1805, Louis remained with the command of the garrison of Paris; and, in his own opinion, was very judicious, active, and successful in maintaining the public peace, threatened as it was by "the factions;" and in conjuring up, ex nihilo, an army to protect Holland and Antwerp, from the English, Swedes; and Prussians; and we presume from the Russians, Turks, and Japanese, all alike threatening Holland and Antwerp, at the time of Lou