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in a cloud over the forecastle of the latter ship, and persons could no longer be distinguished. Nevertheless, like all that thus approach ed, the relieving ship passed slowly ahead, until nearly her whole length protected the undefended side of her consort, delivering her fire with fearful rapidity. The Plantagenets seemed to imbibe new life from this arrival, and their starboard guns spoke out again, mas if manned by giants. It was five minutes, perhaps, after this seasonable arrival, before the guns of the other ships of the English rear announced their presence on the outside of Monsieur des Prez' force; thus bringing the whole of the two fleets into four lines, all steering dead before the wind, and, as it were, interwoven with each other. By that time, the poops of the Plantagenet and Caesar became visible from one to the other, the smoke now driving principally off from the vessels. There again were our two admirals each anxiously watching to get a glimpse of his friend. The instant the place was clear, Sir Gervaise applied the trumpet to his mouth, and called out-God bless you-Dick! may God for ever bless you- your ship can do it-clap your helm hard a-starboard, and sheer into M. des Prez; you'll have him in five minutes.' Bluewater smiled, waved his hand, gave an order, and laid aside his trumpet. Two minutes later, the Cæsar sheered into the smoke on her larboard beam, and the crash of the meeting vessels was heard. By this time, the wreck of the Plantagenet was cut adrift, and she, too, made a rank sheer, though in a direction opposite to that of the Caesar's. As she went through the smoke, her guns ceased, and when she emerged into the pure air, it was found that Le Foudroyant had set courses and top-gallant-sails, and was driving so fast ahead, as to render pursuit, under the little sail that could be set, unprofitable. Signals were out of the question, but this movement of the two admirals converted the whole battle scene into one of inexplicable confusion. Ship after ship changed her position, aud ceased her fire from uncertainty what that position was, until a general silence succeeded the roar of the canonade. It was indispensable to pause and let the smoke blow away. It did not require many minutes to raise the curtain on the two fleets. As soon as the firing stopped, the wind increased, and the smoke was driven off to leeward, in a vast straggling cloud, that seemed to scatter and disperse in the air spontaneously. Then a sight of the havoc and destruction that had been done in this short conflict was first obtained. »

This spirited scene leaves us little space for further enumeration of the minor salt-water characters whom Mr. Cooper has clustered round his Two Admirals.' But it must not deprive us of the line of praise to be given to the windingup of the novel, which is good, and not altogether hackneyed-a rare merit in these days. To conclude; if this be not

one of its author's best works, it is worth a hundred such as his 'Heidenmauer,' or 'Eve Effingham.' The rank it ought to take when measured against our own sea novels, it were invidious to attempt to determine. Let the blue-jackets settle the question. (LITERARY GAZETTE.)

ENGLAND IN 1841.

By Frederick von Raumer. 2 vols. Lee.

This is a sort of supplement to England in 1835.' A new edition of that work being required, Von Raumer resolved once again to visit this country, and mark the progress and developement of those important questions which had formerly occupied his attention, and the new subjects of interest which had sprung up in the interval:-the result of his observations he embodied in additional chapters, which, detached, form the substantive work before us. Thus we have dissertations on the Canada question, on Municipal Laws, Corn Laws, the Voluntary System, the Silent System, the Oxford Tracts, &c. &c. No doubt the Professor's able exposition will be read with interest in Germany, but here the questions have been canvassed until they are become wearisome and exhausted. We must, therefore, so far as political speculation is concerned, be content with the summary of this able and disinterested witness.

The country, say many people, has betrayed itself, and will go to ruin, unless it is saved by a miracle. Others say, a government is now established for many years to come; which, heaven be praised, will do exactly the contrary to what the late ministry did. I must contradict both these opinions. . Should the new ministry persevere in the ancient Tory notions, the opposition, out of Parliament, will increase in a dangerous manner; the majority of ninety-one will gradually fall off, and the intellectual spirit of the towns, as well as the power of Scotland and Ireland, will drive the English counties out of the field. If, on the contrary, Sir Robert Peel will advance, as he has openly declared, in a considerate manner, he will find, in the new opposition, the best support against the partiality and obstinacy of his own friends. The substance of the recent history of England, is the struggle against monopolies and restrictions of every kind. After a long resistance, the victory was

obtained over the rotten boroughs, the opponents of Roman Catholic emancipation, the old poor-laws, and municipal laws, the monopoly of the East India Company, and the tea trade to China. Even a majority of the former opponents of all these great measures now acknowledge their necessity, and the advantage resulting from them; and, after this acknowledgment, they cannot remain stationary at an arbitrarily chosen spot. There may be disputes on isolated questions, on pounds, shillings, and pence; but, on the whole, and on a great scale, Lord John Russell's proposals of free trade, and a reform of the system of taxation, will inevitably triumph. In them, the entire future welfare of England is concealed, or rather, I should say, is plainly manifest; and when the persons of this Whig ministry, for various reasons, now forsake the field of battle, their principles, on the other hand, take possession of it, and the apparent defeat will be changed, sooner or later, into a victory for the weal of this country. At all events, England will persevere in its majestic course; all parties, whether they will or not, must contribute to it; and what in many countries forms a dangerous crisis, is here only an element in a popular, natural developement. The more cheering this certainly is, the brighter these light sides appear; the darker, on the other hand, are the shadows which (for instance, in the parliamentary elections, the state of Ireland, Chartism, the schools, the religious disputes, and the distribution of taxes) I am by no means disposed to palliate or conceal. That the light may overpower the shade, and the vigour of general health overcome these local defects, is the hope and the trust of all true Englishmen, and with them, the hope and the trust of Europe. »

Another word or two on Continental opinions as to the state and condition of England :

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England (I hear it constantly repeated) is in a state of revolution. Certainly it is, and a very great and important one, which would not be checked by commissioners assembled at Kopnick and Mayence; and this, because it is not children engaged in childish things, but men who apply all their energies to great objects. And yet, during so many years, not a single person has been arrested for political offences. When that which was once young and vigorous becomes old and decays, the feeling of compassion and sorrow is as natural as it is noble; but by preserving corpses as mummies, we do not give them new life. Who can seriously believe that slavery can be re-established, the monopoly of the Asiatic trade restored, the English municipal law abolished, the old poor-law revived, the great towns deprived of the elective franchise, and thus going still further back, the Habeas Corpus Act, the Bill of Rights, &c. up to Magna Charta, be abolished? For all these things were called revolutionary in their time; and so indeed they were, but in the

VOL. II.

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right, good senses of the word. Unreasonable haste is undoubtedly Tvery dangerous; but it arises, for the most part, from mistaken resitsance. The ultra Tories are the real fathers and grandfathers of the Radicals; they daily produce them, and increase their numbers; Passion the other hand, ultra Radicals produce high Tories.»

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Here is a a witness in support of an opinion we often expressed in 1836, as to the mismanagement of our Italian Opera. The testimony, however, is of general application.

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After nothing had been performed, for two whole months, at the King's Theatre, or Opera House, besides two or three operas of Bellini and Donnizetti, the playbills announced, yesterday, for one night only, and for the benefit of Madame Puzzi, Don Juan.' You may imagine that I did not need such an encomium to witness, at length, the performance of this great work, in the first city, and by the first artists in the world. The performance did not begin till eight o'clock; a whole book might be written about it; but, as I am neither able nor willing to do this, I must pick out of the many remarks that suggest themselves to me, several detached, unconnected reflections. The overture was injudiciously reinforced with cymbals, and yet there was too little light and shade, too little genuine enthusiasm, which should exalt the feelings of the audience at the The choruses were bad; the dancing wretched; very outset. and a genuine Don Juan would easily have thrown the two fellows out of the window, who were to carry him off to the infernal regions. However, you object, you have heard Don Juan; certainly; and, with respect to the text, I heard it twice over, because I understood the prompter, from beginning to end, better than I did some of the singers. But was it the whole of the admirable and admired Don Juan? So much was left out, that I got quite confused, and lost the thread of the story. Thus, for instance, the scene with the officers of justice, the Hermit and Don Octavio, the creditors, &c. was wanting; a part of the chorus with the girls, and Don Juan's air, were omitted; song beneath the window was not accompanied pizzicato; Elvira's air, after Handel, as well as her chief recitative and her principal air, were left out; a part of the minuet and Anna's grand air, in the second act; a part of the sublime closing scene, &c. were also omitted. At the end of the first act, Signor Puzzi came forward and played Rode's variations on the horn; after the scene of the invocation of the ghost, the act was concluded, and M. Ivanoff came forward, in a frock-coat and pumps, and sang a modern Italian flourish. What can we think of a manager who makes such arrangements! of an audience who can tolerate mire them?»

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A few words on social intercourse are worth quoting:

«Mere learning does not qualify a man for social intercourse; nay, a preponderance of learning often makes a man awkward and stiff in company. On the other hand, however, mere versatility in conforming to the minor conventional forms of pólished life is totally inadequate to enable him to shine permanently in society. This is not to be accomplished without practice; but there is likewise a superficial practice, by which the more important requisites are lost. Sociability is an art; and many persons have no talents whatever for art; a single qualification, or accomplishment, such as singing, reading, reciting, relating anecdotes, &c. may be welcome in company, but does not constitute a good general companion. Nay, by the predominance of some particular talent, that may suffer, which, in greater variety, constitutes the real charm of society. All genuine sociability is dramatic, not epic; he who is silent, or who speaks alone, is for that very reason no good companion; but on the other hand, society allows, and even requires, principal, as well as secondary characters; where all aim at acting the principal part, or the secondary parts are neglected, the social drama falls to the ground.» A comparison between France and England:

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When pride shows itself in the English, it is always founded on their history, power, and nationality; and with these trump cards they play off their own merit; but the French act very differently: a great number of Frenchmen place themselves in the centre, and la France is treated almost as a hors d'œuvre, or a small portion of what is French (the opinions of a day of some journal) is tendered as the whole. By thus neglecting or rejecting so much, which was, however, French, they really speculate à la baisse, and lose instead of gaining."

The observations of an enlightened foreigner on the proposed alteration in the law of copy-right, deserve respectful attention :

«The endeavours of Mr. Serjeant Talfourd to obtain greater and longer protection for the literary works of authors, have hitherto been unsuccessful. He said, 'I wish to prevent an unanswerable violation of the natural rights which every one has to the productions of his mind. For what a man produces with his hand or his mind, belongs to him, and him alone.'-Mr. Warburton replied, '1 do not recognise any such things as natural rights; I recognize only those rights which are founded on convenience and general expediency. If Mr. Talfourd's principle were adopted, such things as taxes, rent of land, and interest, would not exist. If we look at the plan according to expediency, the interest of the publishers and readers, not merely that of the authors, is to be considered. These relations must be so regulated as to dispel apprehensions of mono

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