On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
I find , except Samuel Johnson , no man of equal veracity with Friedrich Wilhelmin that epoch : and Johnson too , with all his tongue-learning , had not logic enough . In fact , it depends on how much conviction you have . Blessed ' be Heaven , there is here and there a man born who loves truth as truth should be loved , with all his heart and all his soul ; and hates untruth with a corresponding perfect hatred . Such men , in polite circles , tvhich understand that certainly truth is better than untruth , but that you must be polite to both , are liable
to get to the end of their logic . Even Johnson had a bellow in him ; though Johnson could at any time withdraw into silence , his kingdom lying all under his own hat . How much more Friedrieh Wilhelm , who had no logic whatever , and whose kingdom lay without him , far and wide , a thing he could not withdraw from . The rugged Orson , he needed to be right . From utmost Memel down to Wesel again , ranked in a straggling manner round the half-circumference of Europe , all manner of things and persons were depending on him , and on his being right , not wrong , in his notion .
But the narration of the events occupies by far a larger space ; and , for the most part , the descriptions are not parenthetically introduced , but thrown in by slight touches as the story proceeds . We liear much of Hanover , closely related by marriage to the Prussian family ; of England , after George ' s migration there ; of the nearly completed marriage which was again designed by queens and diplomatists to cement the connexion ; much too we hear of Austria ' s Kaisers and their ministers , eagerly and fearfull y watching the rise of Prussia ' s power , and trying , by every conceivable means , to retard the progress of its dangerous rivalry . At the end
of the second volume we are brought fairly abreast of that portion of Frederick ' s life by which he has been most genera ll y . fcnown—his correspondence with Voltaire and other French male and female philosophers and savans . In Sartor Jtesartits Mr . Carlyle puts forward the queer , eccentric Professor Teufelsdrdckh , up in his turreted garret overlooking the quaint-town of Weissnichtwo , as his alter ego and mouthpiece * Heir Sauerteig , in this book , performs the same service . We shall only add another quotation , in which the imaginary authority is quoted . It contains an exposition of the relations and the respective representativeness of Voltaire and Frederick : —
On various accounts it will behove us to look a good deal more strictly into this Voltaire ; and , as his relations to Friedrieh and to the world are so multiplex , endeavour to disengage the real likeness of the man from the circumambient noise and confusion , , which in his instancetontinue very great .. " Voltaire was the spiritual complement of Freidricb ., " says Sauerteig once : " what little of lasting their poor century produced lies mainly in these two . A very somnambulating century !* But
what little it did , we must call Friedrieh ; what little it thought , Voltaire . Other fruit we have not from it , to speak of , at this day , Voltaire , and what can be faithfully done on the Voltaire creed ; ? Realised Voltairism ;' —admit it , reader , not in a too triumphant humour— -is not that pretty much the net historical product of the eighteenth century ? The rest of its history either pure somnambulism , or a mere controversy , to the effect , 1 Realised Voltairism ? How soon shall it be realised ,
then ? Not at once , surely f So that Friedrieh and Voltaire are related , not by accident only . They are , they for want of better , the two original men of their century ; the chief , and , in a sense , the sole products of their century . They alone remain to us as still living results from it—such as they are . And the rest , truly , ought to depart and vanish ( as they are now doing ); being mere ephemera ; contemporary eaters , scramblers for provender , talkers of acceptable hearsay , and related merely to the butteries and wtggeries of their time , and not related to the Perennialitiea at all , as these two were . "—With , more of the like sort from Sauerteig .
The second volume conducts us to the death of the father , Frederick William , and the elevation of the hero to the throne , in hid twenty-eighth year . We need npt say that the portion of this work yet to come will contain that port of the history of Frederick which is most vitally interesting to Englishmen—the record of that great Seven Years ' War , when England , under the guidance of its greatest foreign Minister , recovered in Europe nil that it had lost under the craven policy which had lasted since Blenheim and Malplaquet ; and when Prussia at last readied the culmination of her greatness , in spite of all that Hapsburg and Bourbon houses could do .
Untitled Article
NOTES ON OHERBOXJ 11 G . Nat < b $ on Cherbourg . By Commander Pirn , R . N ., F . R . G . S . , J . J > . Potter . Tub little town at the extremity of the peninsula of Cotentin has suddenly attraoted to itself a vast deal of attention from this country . The " apparition of a fortress on the Fronoh coast , which
dominates the Channel , and frowns portentously on our own shores , " naturally creates inquiry and raises public curiosity . Without going quite so far as some of our contemporaries , and a large portion of the French press , as to declare that Cherbourg has caused " general alarm" in the mind of the English nation , we may take it for granted that a . prudent degree of anxiety has been generally developed to penetrate into the ulterior purposes this vast fortification has to serve , and the why and wherefore it should have been constructed and completed at a time when peaceful relations are presumed to prevail everywhere , and when no visible object can be served except that "of creating a standing menace against England , and a ready means of invasion wTiich may be put into operation the moment a
rupture of the fragile entente cordiale shall occur . It is natural , therefore , we should desire to know all about this fortress , its extent , its means of offence and defence—in ' short , its belligerent capabilities . We have had ample descrip tions in all the leading journals , we have had additional details from members of Parliament who have visited the locality , but we confess we do not place implicit faith either in the " word-painting" of " our special correspondents , " or the criticisms of a Lindsay , who cannily contrives to turn a penny honestly if he can , whether from friend or possible foe , or of a Roebuck , whose propensity for snarling is not
always controlled by the best-regulated judgment . We have here a little work more to our taste , because from the pen of a sailor of the true British breed—one who has already sustained England's naval reputation , and who , should the time come , will sustain it again . We take it for granted , that all our readers have heard of Commander Pirn , who gallantly led the boats' attack on the Chinese forts ; it is from this practical officer that the Work we are noticing emanates . The author commences by a brief history of Cherbourg , " which can be traced back into remote antiquity . " Julius Csesar is supposed to have occupied the place while preparing for his descent on Albion .
The situation of Cherbourg was certainly well adapted as the base of operations for an attack Upon Britain . Within a day ' s easy sail of the opposite coast , possessed of a capacious bay where the Roman galleys could embark the invading , legions with ease , and protected by heights which couldj'eadily be made defensible against the attacks of hostile Gauls , ' Cherbourg was well suited both as a starting point for an invading army and for a safe retreat in case of a repulse . After narrating the historical vicissitudes of Cherbourg , its connexion with the Norman Kings of England , and its ultimate cession to France , the writer says : —
Length . Breadth . Aver . Hei ght Digue ... 12 , 333 feet . 885 feet . 66 feet Breakwater 6280 „ 360 „ 33 „ THE FORTIFICATIONS ON THIS BREAKWATEB . Unlike . its sturdy little vis-a ^ vis at Plymouth , the Digue opposes to the sea a perpendicular wall of twenty feet , at which height there is a level platform twenty feet wide extending its entire length , on the seaward side of which a solid masonry parapet eight feet thick and five feet high is erected , being in fact a continuation of
the sea wall ; this forms an admirable cover for riflemen , but the platform is not adapted for artillery . Three forts and one battery crown the summit and completely command the approaches to the Roadstead . They are named—Musoir Ouest de la Digue ... 60 guns . Batterie Interme'diaire ... ... 14 „ Fort Central ... .... 40 „ Musoir Est de la Digue . ¦ .. ... 60 „ Musoir Est is intended for a circular casement of two tiers , and is about 200 feet in diameter .
Fort Central is circular on its seaward face , and elliptical towards the Roadstead ; it is also casemated , and contains barracks and vaftous establishments : it extends over 500 feet , and is completely isolated from the platform by a broad deep moat always full of water . The Batterie Intermediaire is also casemated , some of its guns are directed seaward , others towards the Roadstead . Fort Ouest is similar to Fort Est , and each , like Fort Central , is surrounded by a broad deep moat . These fortifications have been built with the greatest care of coursed and dressed masonry . Not a gun is yet mounted , on the Breakwater , in fact , hardly an embrasure is in readiness ; nevertheless , a short time would suffice to put each fort on a formidable footing .
Commander Pirn corrects the exaggerations of the press with reference to the number of guns of these fortifications . He says : •—Vauban ' s plan of defence has been adopted at Cherbourg , and as early as 1777 the fortifications were commenced . . . Doubtless , when all the works are completed , it will be as strongly fortified as any place in the world : at present , many of the projected redoubts and batteries have not even , been commenced . Beginning from the eastward . Fort Impe ' rial , on He Pelee , is the first to attract attention , it is bomb-proof , constructed for fifty-six guns and fourteen mortars , and has a furnace for heating shot . Next in order is Fort des Flamnnd £ which is
casemated , bomb-proof , and armed with sixty guns ; « contains two large powder magazines , and has a capacious basin attached , easy of access for the powder hoys . In the vicinity of Fort des Flamands is the small Redoubt de Tourlaville , which , though in good repair , is at present unarmed . Fort du Roule , on the summit of the hill of that name , occupies a most commanding position ; and is , in fact , the key to the defences ; its walls arc of solid granite immensely thick * but it is still unfinished , and none of its guns are mounted . line
Vauban , the celebrated military engineer , was , in 1686 , employed by the Government of Louis XIV . in strengthening the frontier defences of the kingdom . He appears to have been strongly impressed by what he happily terms the " audacious" position of Cherbourg as regards England , and prepared a roost elaborate plan of fortification , which would , he supposed , have rendered it impregnable , and at the same time have made it a place of arms , where a fleet and army might be collected in the event of an invasion of England being resolved upon . He accordingly proceeded todemolish the ancient defences , and commenced the execution of his own works , wlien , from some unknown cause , probably the exhausted state of the finances , occasioned by the long and costly wars of Louis XIV ., the enterprise was abandoned , and Cherbourg was left completely defenceless . hundred
The " Port Militaire" is completely enclosed by a of ramparts and bastions , containing four bomb-proof magazines for supplying the guns ; the whole is surrounded by a deep broad moat tilled with salt water . Fort du Hornet is built on the rocks of that name , and U joined to the ramparts by a causeway of granite ; it mounts fifty-two heavy guns , and completely commands the Roadstead . The fort is as ancient as that on He Peltfe , but like it , the old works have given place to modern improvements . The ramparta on the north and east sea-fronts of the ' ? Port Militaire" are earthworks , faced with masonry , and mount about eighty guns . Redoubt des Couplets is an old fortification similar to La Tourlaville . „ ..-,. ointe de
Midway between the Port Batteries and 1 ' Quorquevilic is Batterie $ t . Anno , an earthwork mounting very heavy guns ; finally , Fort de Querqucvillo , a . citadel in itself , commands the western entrance ; it nns forty-six guns in casemate , besides mortars , and contains a powder magazine . . All these batteries cross-fire with , and support tne forts on the Breakwater , nnd comprise nltotfcilicr m round numbers 314 guns nnd 82 mortars , » SU " '' ° " 7 formidable number though not quite amounting to auvu , which is the generally received estimate . If to the shore batteries of 314 guns , tho num bor-on the Breakwater is added , which it is probable will ne \ w exceed 100 instead of 170 , tho total will amount in 4 i * guns ; and it will therefore boseon , that tho garrison cmi at any time concentrate a firo of about 200 ftun . i »||« » either entrance , sufllcicnt indeed , if well directed , to » i" « - ¦
Such whs the state of the place when , just one years ago , viz . in 1758 , it was seized upon , by a coup de main , by the English . The place was vacated shortly " afterwards , and Cherbourg remained in a defenceless state until the Ministry of Louis XVI . commenced the nucleus of the present fortress . The breakwater begun , In duo time it showed itself above the sea level , and became a breakwater ; batteries were erected for its protection ; docks , basins , workshops , &c . o > q ., were constructed on the main land ; finally , a railroad connected the port with tho capital , and thus completed the " Port Militaire . " Here is a description of this breakwater and forts : —
tho finest ships in tho world . , , Q The description of tho dockyard , arsoiml , \ mins , railroad , and statue follows . We pass Uicni om to como to tho conclusion of thc gnllunt Connnam c with respect to this fortification . Conunnnclrr ami " It is not , however , to Cherbourg nlono that tho . ciitir attention of Englishmen roust bo directed 5 ""^ ' ; ,., ^ any fonnor period of her history , has Franco so tl » or » up' »/ and carefully armed heraelf , or made auoh p ^' JJ on her seaboard ; her harbours have been , •'"'"' J . JJ trlqt BuporvlBion , and great improvements nro niioniy
' In 1858 this magnificent undertaking ( which standa unrivalled in tho world ) was completed . It shelters an area of about . 1900 acres , affording anchorage to at least twenty-five lino of battjo ships , with a proportion of frigates and corvettes . Tho western entrance is 8876 yards . broad ; t 1 » o' eastern one , 11 . , 'through which vessels' can come and go In all weathers . The cost has been about 8 , 000 , 000 / . sterling , an 4 seventy years have elapsed since its commencement . It may be interesting to compare the relative sizes of the Digue and the Plymouth Breakwater , viz .: — ' ' .,
Untitled Article
1068 THE Ii ' -E A DU & . [ No . 446 r October j > , 1858 .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 9, 1858, page 1068, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2263/page/20/
-