risked, dared, toiled enough for this dastard and fit for it, influence, not control, nor even degenerate race. I will yet baffle their malice-I elect their governors. Democratic liberty is renounce the thought of which they are so little the illusion of generous minds. How then worthy! Let Rome perish!-I feel, at last, that could Mr. Bulwer have escaped it? OurI am nobler than my country!—she deserves not so selves were carried away by it. high a sacrifice!" been miserably undeceived." 66 * * We have When reform Meanwhile the flames burnt fierce and fast; was at first agitated, and the BILL promulgatthe outer door below was already consumed; from ed, we hoped great things for the nation-we the apartment he had deserted, the fire burst out thought we saw a new light dawning upon in volleys of smoke the wood crackled the lead mankind. What now has the country gainmelted with a crash fell the several gates-the ed by it? What the world? The reins of dreadful ingress was opened to all the multitude-government have passed into other hands, but the proud Capitol of the Cæsars was already totter- they are held the more tightly, and the lash ing to its fall! Now was the time!-he passed the is applied the more incessantly. In mere flaming door-the smouldering threshold;-he form in the babble of theory, the compassed the outer gate unscathed he was in the monwealth appears to be more free; but acmiddle of the crowd. Plenty of pillage within,' tual oppression, in every present tyranny, he said to the by-standers, in the Roman patois, gives proof to the contrary. These are not his face concealed by his load- Suso suso a gliu words of mere declaration. One half of the traditore ! The mob rushed past him-he went on-he gained the last stair descending into the population, at least, cannot hold themselves open streets-he was at the last gate-liberty and secure of not being at some one time within the life were before him. scope of the poor laws. Over the whole of these, Whig oppression grins horribly. Into how many circles have not the hateful commissioners of this government extended? They have already destroyed all local corporations. They are not a far distant, and almost an abstract grievance, that flourishes only near the person of a despot, or in the hot bed of a court; but it casts its withering shades over our hearths. But we dare not trust ourselves to descant upon this very galling subject. We can only congratulate Mr. Bulwer upon this highly elaborated and conservative production, one that we trust will do as much good to mankind as it does honor to his refined, subtle, and powerful intellect. "A soldier (one of his own) seized him, not--where goest thou?" Pass "Beware, lest the Senator escape disguised! cried a voice behind-it was Villani's. The concealing load was torn from his head-Rienzi stood revealed! ple?' grey "I am the Senator!" he said in a loud voice. 'Who dare touch the Representative of the Peo"The multitude were round him in an instant. Not led, but rather hurried and whirled along, the Senator was borne to the Place of the Lion. With the intense glare of the bursting flames, the image reflected a lurid light, and glowed-(that grim and solemn monument!)-as if itself of fire! "There arrived, the crowd gave way, terrified by the greatness of their victim. Silent he stood, and turned his face around; nor could the squalor of his garb, nor the terror of the hour, nor the proud grief of detection abate the majesty of his mien, or reassure the courage of the thousands who gathered, gazing, round him. in fire, lighted As a literary composition, it would justify any, and even contradictory praises. It is at times sweet and solemn, severe and gay-eloquent always, poetical often. It leads away the heart a willing captive, while it appeals The whole Capitol wrapped to the judgment with the force of logic, and multitude. With ghastly pomp the immense leaves upon us the conviction that we have the long vista of the streets ex tended the fiery light and the serried throng, till been inspecting the leaves of a book, the tithe crowd closed with the gleaming standards of tle of which should be, " An eternal truth." the Colonna, the Orsini, the Savelli! Her true tyrants were marching into Rome! As the sound of their approaching horns and trumpets broke upon the burning air, the mob seemed to regain their courage. Rienzi prepared to speak; his first word was as the signal of his own death. "Die, tyrant! cried Cecco del Vecchio: and he plunged his dagger in the Senator's breast. The We said this was written by a liberal, almost a radical. We unsay our words, for the epithet now must be impossible very assassin that struck this cowardly, this ungrateful blow, was the most upright of all the democratical party. The moral is plain enough any who run may read. In the hand that struck the blow, Mr. Bulwer is elucidating a principle, not detailing a fact. This stroke at democracy is gratuitous. The smith is a fiction of story, but an everlasting truth of principle. Mr. Bulwer despairs of the human race— and so do we, for generations to come. They were not formed for self-government. The majority should, because as yet they are only THOUGHTS IN AUTUMN. BY MRS. CRAWFORD. THE leaves from the trees Are all dropping away, From thy spells, that once flung We dream away life From the mind's very birth, The nothings of earth; Of our youth's dying years, Reflection comes late, But it tarries full long, In his mercy decree, As the worm, that will turn The leaves from the trees Are all dropping away, As to nature, a spring, ten, and we will not quarrel with the author because he proves himself most intensely green. We do not blame Mr. Willis for sending over to his countrymen a police description of the features, height in inches, and peculiar marks, of celebrated personages. Those who have rendered themselves notorious either one way or the other become public property, and we have an undoubted right to describe personal appearance, whether it may be that of O'Connell or Fieschi, Lord Brougham or the Chimpanzee. Neither do we blame him for his critiques upon the works of English authors, not even for his remarks upon the writings of our proprietor, Captain Marryat. Mr. Willis has as much right to give his opinion as any one else; and however offensive that opinion may be, it is what an author must be prepared to expect and to submit to. There is, however, a little drawback contingent upon this right, which Mr. Willis will probably admit before we have done with him, which is, that others can criticise as well as he, and that, if he commence a paper war, he must not only be prepared for retaliation, but may sometimes fall in with a dangerous opponent. Now we will even be more liberal. Mr. Willis committed himself greatly by taking short-hand notes of what passed in the English society to which he was admitted. He MR. WILLIS'S “PENCILLNGS BY THE repeated conversations and opinions which WAY." might have created much mischief, and which, had it been supposed that they would ever be published, would certainly have nev THAT We intend to be severe, we acknowledge; but, at the same time, we will satisfac-er reached his ears. This breach of confitorily prove to our readers that Mr. Willis has, by his own conduct, provoked our indignation, and that he has been himself the attacking party; we are about to retaliate, and when we have said what we intend to say, Mr. Willis will perhaps have gained one useful lesson, and, in future, be careful how he ventures a blow at those who can hit much harder than himself. Conscious of our own strength, we can afford to be generous, and we will, therefore, not assail Mr. Willis upon many points on which he could offer but a mere show of defence. On the contrary, we will ascribe much, which might be more seriously condemned, to inadvertence, and to want of tact and knowledge of the world. dence, for such it really was, has been severely handled by the "Quarterly Review;" and Mr. Willis is very much mistaken if he imagines that his own countrymen will side with him. If not immediately put a stop to, as we feel convinced that it has been, by the remarks of the "Quarterly," the consequence must have been that, in future, the doors of the English aristocracy would have been shut to all Americans. They would have been considered as spies, or if admitted, every one would have put a guard upon his tongue. The remarks of the "Quarterly Review" have pointed out to the countrymen of Mr. Willis, that such conduct will not be allowed; and, although we believe that few of them would have been so indiscreet as he has been, We will not comment upon the work it- it will be received as a caution; and our arself. It is one which will pass among the istocracy, satisfied with the impropriety havcrowd with which the press now teems. ing been pointed out, will trust to the good There is originality in it; but it is not the ori- feelings of our transatlantic brothers, and reginality of genius, rather that of unsophisti- ceive them with the same urbanity as before. cated and ignorant astonishment. It is evi- The conduct, therefore, of the editor of the dent that Mr. Willis has never, till lately, been "Quarterly," so far from creating dissension in good society, either in England or Amer- between the two countries, will have the very ica; for be it known, there is an aristocracy opposite effect, for it has healed up at once, in America. Every body knows that there what might long have been an irritating and is nothing more amusing than the remarks of uncicatrized sore. And we may add, that we children, when they behold what never en- consider the conduct of the editor of the tered into their philosophy. Mr. Willis's " 'Quarterly" towards Mr. Willis to have been work although full of errors, is amusing on that account. He opens wide his eyes, and, like a cockney Neophite, exclaims, "O crikey!" The work itself is very fairly writ marked by excessive leniency. The whole of the original letters were before him, and had he made further extracts, Mr. Willis would have appeared in a much less amiable 66 light; but he confined himself to what he ery description were considered as dismissed considered as important in a national point when the ambassador was recalled, his sucof view, and as necessary to cement the good cessor, Mr. Livingston, has been much more feeling between the two countries. Content particular. Mr. Willis, however, obtained a with having so done, he left the remainder of renewal of his, for the convenience of travel. Mr. Willis's reputation unscathed. Now, But we again repeat, that this system is unalthough we agree with the editor of the fair. The old world is left to suppose that Quarterly" in the absolute necessity of Mr. Willis, who presents his flourishing card, such conduct as that of Mr. Willis being is a person selected by the American governheld up to general condemnation, we will ad- ment for his abilities or consequence in their mit that it was an error of judgment on his country, who is receivng their pay, and is enpart, arising from want of tact, and a knowl- trusted with diplomatic secrets, when in fact, edge of good society. Few would admit so he is only a traveller paying his own way by much; but we wish to be as generous as we his "Pencillings on the Way" in the "New York Mirror." can. ors. to an error in judgment; but now commence the real grounds of complaint which we make against Mr. Willis. He makes invidious, uncharitable, and ill-natured remarks upon authors and their works; all of which he despatches for the benefit of the reading public of America, and, at the same time, that he has thus stabbed them behind their backs, he is requesting to be introduced to them-bowing, smiling, and simpering. This is our first serious charge against Mr. Willis. We know all about his exculpatory letters to those to whose table he had been invited, and we know the substance of the replies. Mr. Willis will be inclined to say, what Mr. Willis arrives in London-goes to then are your charges against me, having Scotland-is every where admitted, and he made all these admissions? In a few words, pencils on his way. He commits a great innot for his writings in the "New York Mir-discretion, which we have kindly attributed ror," but for what he has done since he wrote those papers. But we will not anticipate. Although we are well acquainted with the birth, parentage, and history of Mr. Willis, previous to his making his continental tour, we will pass them over in silence; and we think that Mr. Willis will acknowledge that we are generous in so doing. Mr. Willis shall first make his appearance as an attaché to the American Legation at Paris. And here we must tell our friends in America, that they must be more circumspect on this point. Letters of recommendation are certainly necessary to procure admission into the best English society; for there is one inconven- The next complaint we have against Mr. ience attending a democratic form of govern- Willis is, the unfairness of his publication, of ment, which is, that where all assume equali- which we intend to review but the preface. ty, it is not easy to know who people are; He states, that he has been compelled to pubbut the American government have commit- lish the work, in consequence of the severe ted a very great error in allowing the travel-attack in the " Quarterly." If so, and Mr. ling part of their community to hoist, what Willis considered himself unfairly treated, in England would be considered as false col- in submitting his writings to the ordeal and We presume that this mistake arises from their form of government, which very much affects opinions upon certain points. In England, being attached to an embassy, implies that the parties so employed are of high connection, or of acknowledged talent. The very circumstance, therefore, of presenting your card with attaché engraved on it, is sufficient, in England, to serve as a passport to the highest circles. Now, with the Amer-" icans, the case is very different, they have their real attachés who receive the salary and perform the duty. Washington Irving was one in this country, and every one who was acquainted with him, is ready to acknowledge that, in every point, no better selection could have been made. But the American government allows, what may be termed, spurious attachés; that is, the permission to their countrymen so to call themselves, for the "convenience of travelling." This is the American phrase used, and to give the English reader some idea of the carelessness with which these passports to society have been granted, we are credibly informed that Mr. M'Lean, the former American ambassador at Paris, had granted not less than twenty-five to different persons. The French authorities took umbrage at this, and, as all the attachés of ev decision of the English public, it was his duty to have published the work as it appeared in America, and not with all the alterations and elisions with which it now comes out. All the unhandsome remarks have been omitted, all his criticism expunged, his observations softened down, and it is no longer the same work; in his preface Mr. Willis tells us, that he has in some slight measure corrected these Pencillings by the Way." The great excuse brought forward by Mr. Willis in extenuation of his conduct is, the distance of three thousand miles. Three thousand miles sound very magnificent to people of confined ideas; but we tell Mr. Willis, that now-a-days three thousand miles are little more than a twopenny post. But admitting that conversations may be repeated at a distance of three thousand miles, is there any known distance on the compass of the whole globe which can shield or do away with the sin of ingratitude? Is a man warranted to smile in your face in England and abuse you behind your back three thousand miles off? Perhaps Mr. Willis will inform us the precise number of degrees of latitude and longitude established in his peculiar moral code at which all honesty is to cease. The antipodes we presume, will be the exact spot, for as those who reside there stand reversed, so may | America an European reputation to carry back the printed opinions of Mr. Willis, which are with him as a passport into the best society upso much the antipodes to his conduct and on his return. The English always foster bearing in this country. transatlantic literature; they are too generous We have said before, that we care little to crush the plant which, if nursed and waterwhat criticisms Mr. Willis may make. What ed, may one day stretch forth magnificent he did say, he has omitted in the present pub- branches, and that has indeed expanded, lication; but we shall take the liberty of to a certain degree, already. Nothing would laying before the public what he said relative to the works of Captain Marryat. It commences as follows: 66 Marryat's works, although they can scarcely be dignified with the name of literature, sell considerably about Wapping." Such is the opinion of Mr. Willis, and we do not quarrel with his opinion. If it is his opinion, he has an undoubted right to say so: what we find fault with is, his bows and his smiles to those he has maligned when introduced to them. Indeed on the whole, Captain Marryat ought to take these remarks as a compliment and an acknowledgement of his superiority, for he has, at least, the satisfaction of knowing that his works sell somewhere, whereas it is well known that "Melanie" sells no where. It does, however, appear, that Mr. Willis made a great mistake in printing these remarks, even in America. Notwithstanding the enormous distance of three thousand miles, we very soon afterwards received a letter from a distinguished literary character in that country, an extract from which we shall quote, to prove that Mr. Willis is no prophet in his own country. "There are no writings more popular among all classes in the United States, than those of the author of Peter Simple' and 'Jacob Faithful.' There was a pleasing evidence of the truth of this lately. A Mr. Willis, a writer of pretty poetry, now in London, took occasion to say in one of his letters to the New York Mirror' newspaper, in speaking of British literature, that Marryat's works, though they could scarcely be dignified with the name of literature, sold considerably about Wapping, &c. &c. It seemed as if the admirers of Peter' and 'Jacob' rose at once from Maine to the Rocky Mountains to resent this remark, as if it had been a personal insult, and the city, the county journals, the whitey-browns, seven-by-nines of the small villages, pounced upon the opinion as one 'most tolerable, and not to be endured." After such a failure at the distance of three thousand miles, Capt. Marryat may safely forgive Mr. Willis every thing which he has said about him, but we cannot forgive what we consider his greatest error of all, and to which we now arrive, which is the presumption he has show in his preface. When Mr. Willis came into this country, he may be said, as an author, to have sued in forma pauperis. With "Melanie" in his hand, he solicited the favorable reviews of the English editors. He had to gain that which is most important to an American author, and to none, from various reasons, so important as to Mr. Willis, to wit, what is termed in have been more favorable to Mr. Willis if he had only played his cards, but he revoked, and has lost the game. He was generally received, and his card of attache was seen in halls where it will never be seen again. His poems, although they will not bear comparison with his American contemporaries, Bryant, poor Brainard, Percival, and one or two others, were kindly received, much more kindly than they would have been, had they not been of American origin, and Mr. Willis continued his course with studding sails below and aloft. His first error, we have called it an error in judgment, was his repeating private conversations; his next was, his trifling mistake as to distance affording security to unfair criticism. His last has been, in not re. ceiving quietly the castigation of the " Quarterly," although he acknowledges that he had committed himself, and in supposing that every one will agree with him in his venomous remarks upon one, "the latchet of whose shoe he is not worthy to unloose." And what does Mr. Willis tell us?-that the editor of the "Quarterly" is the most unprincipled writer of the age, a bravo in literature, a reptile of criticism, upon which it is his (Willis's) duty to put his heel, and winds up by saying, that he has, thank God, escaped the slime of his approbation. Here is indeed a puddle in a storm. In the first place, the proofs which Mr. Willis would bring forward of Mr. Lockhart's want of principle are, that he has always written down democratic principles, thereby "creating ill-will between England and America." We consider this always, and so also do all Englishmen who are opposed to him in opinions, as a proof of consistency and principle. We perfectly agree with Mr. Lockhart. The Americans may uphold their democracy as long as they can, but we know how much this country has always been, and how much she is now threatened by the present extension of democratic sentiments. We have no objection to democracy in America, if they like it; it is but a name after all, for there is no such thing, but where once monarchy has been established, we know that a change to what is called democracy cannot take place without a sacrifice too dreadful to think of, and which was fully exemplified in the French revolution. We know also that the system, if established, can never last; but, according to the cycle of history, must revert to despotism, and from despotism to monarchy again. Every one, therefore, who wishes well to this country will do as Mr. Lockhart has done, and be admired as Mr. Lockhart is; and, so far from Mr. Willis finding, as he confidently expresses himself in his preface, that every one but the editor of the "Quarterly" will agree with him, we can tell him, that he will stand alone in his minority. The fact is, that every abusive term used against Mr. Lockhart recoils upon himself. It is Mr. Willis who is an unprincipled critic, for he has proved it in his "Pencillings," and such was his character in America; it is Mr. Willis who is a bravo in literature, for he has stabbed people behind their backs. It is Mr. Willis who is also a reptile of criticism, for his criticism is in itself contemptible, and we think it our duty, as Englishmen, to put our heel upon Mr. Willis. We have not said all that we could say, because we do not care to break a butterfly on the wheel. We know much more about America, and what is going on there, than Mr. Willis may imagine. Did Mr. Willis ever read a work called " Truth, or a New Year's Gift for Scribblers," published in Boston about four years ago. If so, he must have seen a description, with which we will now conclude, as it shall be from an AMERICAN tomahawk that he receives his coup de grace. This will prove that Mr. Willis's character has long been well known in America, and that his countrymen have been more severe upon him than we are now; for out of charity, we shall leave out the major part. "Then Natty filled the statesman's ribald page Dishonest critic and ungrateful friend, MY OWN EPITAPH ! The soul's the thing; then seek not here *Mrs. Child. And linked in chain of sympathy, Doth call thee, from the tomb, Though love and friendship strew thy way, They may not tarry: thou and they, Join hands and tread the flow'ry space, Go, then, make peace with all the world, A bark with all her sails unfurl'd, Look not behind, but steer away, To gain "the promised land,” Led by that Star, whose polar ray Outshines Orion's band. That Star that sentinels man's grave, His own, alas! and who are they? Of all that tread the green earth, say, But love for Him, who wore the crown THE LIFE OF A SUB-EDITOR; OR, A MIDSHIPMAN'S CRUISES.+ BY THE SUB-EDITOR. C THE Soyez tranquille of Monsier Manuel had but a transient effect. It brought no consolation with it. What I had heard, seemed to clog the usual healthy beating of my heart; my respiration labored, and I fell into a bitter reverie. The profoundest pity, the most impassioned admiration, and the most ardent desire to afford protection,-are not these the ingredients that make the most potent draught of love? Let universal humanity reply-I loved. But the feeling, generally so blissful, came upon my young heart and steeped it in the bitterness of apprehension. My bosom was swollen with big resolves, with the deep. *The blessed Redeemer. t Continued from vol. xiv. |