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Northern Star (1837-1852), 3rd January 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3, JLord George Bentinck. A Political Biogr...

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      Jiuuabt 3, 1852. _ .Hl-Mee Kortmbrn: Sta...

      JiUUABT 3 , 1852 . _ . hL-mEE KORTmBRN : STAR , 3

      Ifaeftg

      Ifaeftg

      Love's Fairy Bejg. Let Titans War With S...

      LOVE'S FAIRY BEJG . Let Titans war with social Jove , My own sweet Wife and I"We make Elysidm in our love , And let the world go by I Sore never hearts leapt half so light "With crowned queen or king ; 0 never world was naif so bright , AsUourfairy-riug , Dear Lore ! Oar hallowed fairy-ring

      Our world of empire is not large Bat priceless wealth doth hold : A sight and day , link marge and marge , Bat what rich realms they fold ! And clasping all from outer strife Sits Love with foldeu wing A brood o ' er dearer life-in-life , Within oar fairy-ring , Sear Love !

      Out hallowed fairy-ring . We ' ve known a many sorrows sweet ! We ' ve wept a many tears . And often trade with trembling feet , Oar prilgrimage of age : Bat when our sky grew dark and wild All cloielier did we cling : Clouds broke to beauty as yoa smiled-Peace crown'd onrfairy-ring , Dear Love !

      Oar hallowed fairy-ring . There , lean your gentle heart on mine . And bravely we'll bear up : Aye mingling Love ' s most precious wine , In Life ' s most bitter cup ! And evermore the circling hours Some gift of glory bring . We live and love like happy flowers , All in oar fairy-ring , Dear Love ! Our hallowed fairy-ring , Away . ' grim lords of Murderdom 1 Away—0 Hate and Strife : Hence—revellers reeling drunken from Your feast of human life : Heaven shield our little Goshen round

      From plagues that with them spring—0 never be their footprints found Within our fairy-ring , Bear Lore I Oar hallowed fairy-ring . Bat come ye , who the Truth dare own , And work in Love ' s dear name ; Come all who wear the Martyr ' s crown—The Mystic ' s robe of flame ! Sweet souls a Cbrisiiess world doth doom , Like birds smote blind to sing—For them we'll aye make welcome room Within our fairy-ring , Dear Love ! Our hallowed fairy-ring . Gerald Masses

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      Jlord George Bentinck. A Political Biogr...

      JLord George Bentinck . A Political Biography . By B . DisBAEtr , M . P . London : Colburn & Co . Lobd G . Behunck was a political meteor , and Mr . Disraeli tries to convert him into a fixed star . In the Parliamentary history of this country , few things have been more surprising than the sudden emergence of a man eminent only on the turf , from the obscurity of the hack henches of the House of Commons to the leadership of a great party , and the almost sudden extinction of that leadership by death , on his way to a dinner party in , the midst of the fields , to whose rural charms and pure air he had retired in order to recruit himself after the labours of a hard-working session .

      ^ Nobody but Mr . Disraeli could have written such a biography . The great motive power which impelled Bentinck to action was his strong personal feelings . He did not understand the first principles of Political Science , and never studied statesmanship , or politics as systems . But he hated Peel because he believed he had ili-nsed Canning ; and he had , in an unusual degree , the prejudices of the landed aristocracy , and their instinctive repugnance to anything that interfered with their territorial and political predominence . The impulsive fearlessness of his nature , his strong passions , English ' pluck' and detestation of what he thought 'foul play , ' made him a Godsend

      to the Protectionists at the moment they were deserted by all theirrecognised leaders . The scion of a ducal house—titled , wealthy , and connected with the land , he was the beau ideal of a leader for them in their then position ; and whatever may be thought of the anility with which he discharged the duties of the position , there can be none as to the untiring industry and earnestness he bronght to his task . In fact it killed him . It was impossible to see him session after session without seeing that his frame—powerful as it was—was giving way trader his protracted and severe exertions . Shortl y before the termination of the session which was so soon after followed by his

      death , we passed him at Whitehall / and were struck ¦ with the sunken and dull appearance of his eye , and his once clear and rnddy countenance . There can be no doubt of . his self-devotion to the cause which he emhraced , and . his career throws a powerful light on the position of men placed in snch positions . No one took a more modest view of his powers than himself . Leadership was thrust upon him , and what he deemed public duty alone impelled him to accept the perilous position . His chief disadvantages arose from his want of voice , and from his tendency to sleep after he had taken food . During his mortal struggle against Eree Trade , he breakfasted at Harcourt

      House early on the morning , —received deputations and visitors till twelve , —sat in Committee until the Speaker took the chair , —and did not dine until long past midni ght . Work of this kind would have killed Hercules . It seems clear to us . however , though Mr . Disraeli is sparing of details , that the life of long excitement previously led by Lord George must have strained his powers and induced a tendency to apoplexy or to heart disease . He knew that his political exertions were sealing his fate . More than once he was heard to say— 'In this cause I have shaken my constitution , and shortened my days , and I will succeed or die . '

      Mr . Disraeli of course paints his late « noble friend * en beau j- ~ Although he took no part in debate , and attended the bouse rather as a club than a senate , he possessed a great and peculiar influence in it . He was viewed with interest and often with extraordinary regard by every sporting man in the House . With almost all bf these he was acquainted ; some of them , on either side , were his intimate companions and confederates . Bis eaaer and energetic disposition ; his quick perception , clear judgment , and prompt decision ; the tenacity with which he clung to his opinions ; his frankness and love of truth ; his daring and speculative spirit ; his lofty bearing , Wended as it was with a simplicity of manner very remarkable ; the ardour of his friendships ,

      even the firceness of his batesand prejudices ; all combined to form one of those strong characters who whatever may be their pursuit must always direct and lead . Nature had clothed this vehement spirit with a material form which was in perfect harmony with its noble and command ng character . He was tall , and remarkable for his presence ; his countenance almost a model of manly beauty ; his face oval , the complexion clear and mantling ; tbe forehead lofty and white ; the nose acquiline and delicately moulded ; the upper lip short . But it was in the dark-brown eye that flashed with piercing scrutiny that all the character of the mac came forth ; a brilliant glance , not sof t , but ardent , acute , imperious , incapable of deception or of being

      de-Lord George ' s speeches read a great deal better than they were heard . He possessed the raw material of an orator , hut it was not cultivated in early life . He came into the field too late in life to conquer his consequent want of facility . His action was ungraceful , his enunciation somewhat broken , confused , and hesitating ; but you always felt that he had made himself acquainted by personal investigation with the facts he urged upon the attention of his hearers , and , though you might feel that the philosophy of these facts was above his comprehension , there was no doubt of his sincerity and undoubted faith in the opinions he propounded . It was these , in fact , which constituted the great charm of his whole public life , and many of higher public qualifications who lack that one might take a useful lesson therefrom .

      Mr . DisraeFs biograph y is , as may be expected from so extrtiie a party man , one long laudation of the virtues of party spirit . It is no new thing for us to hear that doctrinefrom him . According to his theory , party spirit is the moving power of political and parliamentary life ; without- thorough cordial party opposition there would be no motion in the political world . Thia colour ' s his history ofthe Itepeal of the Corn Laws , which gives a new version of that yet recent event , and , in spite of his elaboratelittempt at apparent justice to the late Sir Kobert Peel , the party hatred with which he hunted and baited the great

      Jlord George Bentinck. A Political Biogr...

      statesman in his life time pursues him to the grave . Here is his * introduction of the present Prime Minister , ' apropos of the race , to settle the Corn Laws between rival statesmen , after the ' League' had ripened the question : — . -.. The position of Lord John Bussell during the last administration of Sir Robert Peel was a mortifying one . Every pubUc man is prepared to . endure defeat with the name equanimity with which heahould bear more . auspicious fortunes ; but no one likes to be vanquished unfairly . It was the opinion of Lord John Russell that he had not been fairly treated by the triumphant opposition which had ousted him from the Treasurybench . He was indeed too reserved and too justly proud a man to give any vent to these feelings in the heyday of Conservative exultation .

      Bat the feelings were not less lively ; he brooded over themwith the pain which accompanies the sense of injustice . Session after session , while his policy was appropriated in detail by those who had often condemned or misrepresented it , the frigid manner often veiled an indignant spirit and the cynic smile was sometimes the signal of a contempt which he was toojbaughty to express ; But when tbe hour of judgment had arrived , and' when he might speak of his feelings with becoming dignity , in giving the reason why at the beginning of 1846 , when summoned by his sovereign , he had at first respectfully declined the commission of her Majesty to form a government on account of his weakness in tbe House of Commons , he added : "I need not now explain why it was , that , in the House of

      Commons those who in general agree with me in opinion , are inferior in number to those who generally follow the right honourable baronet ( Sir Robert Feel ); but I must s . iy , on this occasion , that during tbe whole of our administration , our motives never received a fair construction , nor did our measures ever receive an impartial consideration from those who were our political opponents . " This is a grave charge , applying as it does to a very eventful period of nearly seven years , for such was the considerable duration of the Melbourne government . Was the charge well-founded ? In reluctantly admitting its authenticity , there are however , in justice to the Conservative ministry , and equally in justice to the Conservative party , several important considerations to be indicated .

      After assigning the course of Whig politics ending in the Lichfield House compact as the cause of the bitter opposition to the Whigs , the writer carries on his narrative to the - end of 1845 ; and thus describes the circumstances under which Lord John Bussell wrote the . famous epistle that will be known in , history as his 'EdinburghLetter . 'In or out bf power , therefore , the position of-Lord John Bussell since the Reform Act has been more splendid than satisfactory ; and when the Whig party , as was inevitable from their antecedents , but , apparently to his mortification , in consequence of his guidance , was again overthrown , and had lost all credit and confidence with the country , it was to be expected that a man of his thoughtful ambition would seek when the occasion offered to rebuild bis power and

      renew the lustre of his . reputation with no superstitious deference to that party of which ho was the victim as much as tbe idol , and with no very punctilious consideration for the feelings of that Conservative government which had certainly extended to him an opposition neither distinguished by its generosity nor its candour . Such was the man ; and such his fortunes , such perhaps his feelings ; who was watching in a distant city fn the autumn of ' 4 . 5 " four Cabinet councils held in the week . " To one so experienced in political life , and especially , to one so intimately acquainted with the personal character of the chief actors , it was not difficult to form some conclusion as to

      the nature of these momentous deliberations . When the Cabinet dispersed and Parliament was again prorogued , it was evident , to use a subsequent expression ; of Lord John Russell , that the policy decided on was a policy of inaction . It is in the season of perplexity , of hesitation , of timidity , of doubt , that leading minds advance to decide and to direct . Jfow was the moment to strike . And without consulting his party , which for the first time he really led , and with no false delicacy for a Conservative Cabinet in convulsions , he expressed his opinions on public affairs in that celebrated Edinburgh epistle , which was addressed , on the 28 th of November , to his constituents , the citizens of London .

      It is contended subsequently , at great length and with much ingenuity , by Mr . Disraeli , that the Whig leaders deeply regretted the Edinburgh letter because it prevented tbe settlement of the Corn Question upon a moderate fixed duty . He cites the printed speech of Lord Palmerston , saying that a low fixed duty would have been a preferable settlement , —mentions the efforts of a deceased Whig peer , in 1846 , to bring about a union between Lord G . Bentinck and Lord John Russell , —and argues that but for the Edinburgh letter the moderate duty would have been certainly passed , and Peel thrown out by the junction of the Whigs , the landed interest and the Irish Members .

      It is quite clear that Mr . Disraeli himself believes that this might havebeen the case . Butitmatters little now to this country . The repeal of the old protective systemmustbeacceptedbyaHpartiesasun / azfaccom /)?/ . The duty of the practical statesman is , in future , to adapt our other institutions to the new principle adopted . We have already alluded to the relentless manner in which Mr . Disraeli persecuted and attacked Sir Robert Peel during his life . Here is the portrait he draws of him after his death , in which , through an affectation of candour , the clear-sighted reader will discern all the old rancour . We omit some passages to suit our space .

      Mature bad combined in Sir Robert Feel many admirable parts . In him a physical frame incapable of fatigue was united with : > n understanding equally vigorous and flexible . He was gifted with the faculty of method in the highest degree , and with great powers of application , which were sustained by a prodigious memory , while he could communicate his acquisitions with clear and fluent elocution . Such a man , under any circumstances , and ia any sphwe of life , would probably hare become remarkable . Ordained from his youth to be busied with the affairs of a great empire , such a man , after long years of observation , practice , and perpetual discipline , would have become what Sir Robert Feel was in the latter portion of his life , a transcendent administrator of public business , and a matchless

      master of debate in a popularassembly . In the course of time the method which was natural to Sir Robert Peel had matured into a habit of such expertness that no one in the despatch of affairs ever adapted the means more fitly to the end ; his original flexibility had ripened into consummate tack ; his memory bad accumulated such stores of political information that he could bring luminously together all that was necessary to establish or to illustrate a subject ; while in the House of Commons he was equally eminent in exposition and in reply ; iu the first , distinguished by his arrangement , his clearness , and his completeness ; in the second , ready , ingenious , and adroit , prompt in detecting the weak points of his adversary , and dexterous in extricating himself from an embarrassing position . Thus gifted , and thus accomplished , Sir Robert Feel had

      a great deficiency ; be was without imagination . Wanting imagination , he wanted prescience . No one was more sagacious when dealing with the circumstances before him : no one penetrated the present with more acuteness and accuracy . His judgment was faultless , provided he had not to deal with the future . Thus it happened through bis long career , that while he always was looked upon as the most prudent and safest of leaders , he ever , after a protracted display of admirable tactics , concluded his campaigns by surrendering at discretion . He was so adroit that he could prolong resistance even beyond its turn , but so little foreseeing that often in the very triumph of his mancevres he found himself in an untenable position . And so it came to pass that Roman Catholic Emancipation , Parliamentary Reform , and the Abrogation of our commercial

      system , were all carried in haste or in passion and without conditions or mitigatory arrangements . Sir Robert Peel had a peculiarity which is , perhaps , natural with men of very great talents who have not the creative faculty ; he had a dangerous sympathy with the creations of others . Instead of being cold and wary , as was commonly supposed , he was impulsive , and even inclined to rashness . When he was ambiguous , unsatisfactory , reserved , tortuous , it was that he was perplexed , that he did not see his way , that the routine which he had admirably administered failed him , and that his own mind was not constructed to create a substitute for the custom which was crumbling away . Then he was ever on the look out for new ideas , and when he embraced them he did so with

      eagerness , and often with precipitancy ; he always carried these novel plans to an extent which even their projectors or chief promoters had usually not anticipated , as was seen , for example , in the settlement ofthe currency . Although apparently wrapped up in himself , and supposed to be egotistical , except in seasons of rare exaltedness , as m the years 1844—5 , when he reeled under the favour of the Court , the homage of the Continent , and the servility of Parliament , he was really deficient in self-confidence . There was always some person representing some theory or system exercising an influence over bis mind . In bis ' sallet days' it was Mr . Horner or Sir Samuel Romilly ; in later and more important periods , it was the Duke of Wellington , the King of the French , Mr . Jones Lloyd , some others , and , finally , Mr . Cobden .

      After tracing tbe manner in which this peculiar temperament influenced his career , and the history of this country through a succession of political crises , Mr . Disraeli proceeds : — Sir Robert Feel had a bad manner , of which he was sensible ; he was by nature very shy , but forced early in life into eminent positions he had formed an artificial manner , haughtily stiff or exuberantly bland , of which generally speaking he could not divest himself . There were , however , occasions when hedidsucceed in this , and on these ,

      usually when he was alone with an individual whom he wished to please , his manner was not only unaffectedly cordial but he could even . charm . When he was ridiculed by his opponents in ' 41 ' as one little adapted for a Court , and especially the Court of a Queen , those who knew him well augured different results from his high promotion , and they were right . But generally speaking he" was never at his ease and never very content except in the House of Commons . Even there he was not natural , though there the deficiency was compensated for . by his unrivalled facility , which p assed current with the vulgar' eye for the precious

      Jlord George Bentinck. A Political Biogr...

      quality for which it was substituted . He had ' obtained a complete control over bis temper , which was by nature somewhat fiery . His disposition was good ; there was nothing petty about him ; he Was ' very free from rancour : he was not only not vindictive / but partly by temperament , and still more , perhaps , by discipline , he was even magnanimous ... ¦ ;¦ : - . , ' " " ; ' >; ' - : ;¦ .:,-For so very clever a man he was deficient in the knowledge of human , nature . The prosperous , routine of his youth was not favourable to the development of this faculty . It was never his lotto struggle . Although forty years in Parliament , itis remarkable that Sir Robert Peel never represented ; a popularconstituency or stood a contested election . : As he , advanced in life he was always absorbed in thought , and abstraction is not friendly to a . perception of

      character , or to a fine appreciation of tbe circumstances of the hour . ' '' . " . " . " ' As-an orator Sir Robert Peel had , perhaps , the most available talenf that has ever been brought to bear in the House of Commons . We have mentioned that both in exposition and in reply he was equally eminent . . His state , merits were perspicuous , complete , and dignified ; when he combated the objections or criticised the propositions of an opponent , he was adroit and acute ;' no speaker ever sustained a process of argumentation in a . public assembly more lucidly , and none as debaters have united in so conspicuous a degree prudence' with promptness . In the higher efforts of oratory he was not successful . His vocabulary was ample and never mean ; but it was neither rich nor rare ' . His speeches will afford no sentiment of

      surpassing grandeur or beauty that will linger in the ears of coming generations . He . embalmed no great political truth in immortal words . His flights were ponderous ; ho soared with ' the wing of the vulture rather than , the plume of an eagle ; and his perorations , when most elaborate were most unwieldy . In' pathos he was quite deficient ; when he attempted to touch the tender passions ; it was painful . His face became distorted , like that of a woman who wants to cry but cannot succeed . , Orators certainly should not shed tears , but there are moments when , as the Italians say , the voice should weep . The taste of Sir Robert Peel was highly cultivated , but it was not originally fine ; he had no wit , but he had a keen sense of the ridiculous and an abundant vein of genuine humour . Notwithstanding his artificial reserve , he had a hearty and a merry laugh , and sometimes his mirth was uncontrollable . He was gifted with an

      admirable organ ; perhaps the finest that has been heard in the house in our days , unless we except the thrilling tones of O'Connell . Sir Robert Peel a !« o modulated his voice with great skill . His enunciation was very clear , though somewhat marred by provincialisms . His great deficiency was want of nature , which made him often appear even with a good cause more plausible than persuasive , and more specious than convincing . He may be said to have gradually introduced a new style into the House of Commons which , was suited to the age in which he chiefly flourished , and to tbe novel elements of the assembly which he had to guide . He had to deal with greater details than his predecessors , and he had in many instances to address those who were deficient in previous knowledge . Something of the lecture , therefore , entered into his displays . This style may be called tbe didactic .

      Sir Robert Peel was a very good-looking man . He was tall , and though of latter years he had become portly , had to the last a comely presence . Thirty years ago , when he was young and lithe , with curling brown hair , ho had a very radiant expression of countenance . His brow was very distinguished , not so much for its intellectual development , although that was of a very high order , as . for its remarkabl y frank expression , so different from his character in life . The expression of the brow might even be said to amount to beauty . The rest of the features did not , however , sustain this impression . The eye was not good ; it was sly , and he had an awkward habit of looking askance . He had the fatal defect also of a long' upper lip , and his mouth was compressed .

      One cannot say of Sir Robert Peel , notwithstanding his unrivalled powers of dispatching affairs , that he was the greatest Minister that this country ever produced , because , twice placed at the helm , and on the second occasion with the Court and the Parliament equally devoted to him , he never could maintain himself in power . Nor , notwithstanding his consummate Parliamentary tactics , can he be described as the greatest party leader that ever flourished among us , for he contrived to destroy the most compact ' , powerful , and devoted party that ever followed a British statesman . Certainly , notwithstanding his great sway in debate , we cannot recognise him as our greatest orator , for in many of tbe supreme requisites of oratory he was singularly deficient . But what he really was , and what posterity will acknowledge him to have been , is the greatest member of Parliament that ever lived , Peace to his ashes ! His name will be often appealed to in that scene which he loved so well , and never without homage even by his opponents .

      Our readers , may judge of the sincerity of the ' requiescat in pace' by the following : passage , descriptive of the feeling with which he and his party regarded the late statesman at the time of their great struggle against the . ' traitor ' . The large majority in the House of Lords had extinguished in many hearts the lingering hope that the ministerial measure might be defeated . Vengeance , therefore , had succeeded in most breasts to the more sanguine sentiment . The 'field was lost ,. but there should be retribution at any rate for the men who had betrayed it , & c . & c . Then he lingers fondly on the final scene in which the fall of the Minister was accomplished . .

      At length , about half-past one o clock , tbe galleries were cleared , the division called , and the question put . In almost all previous divisions where the fate of a government had been depending , the vote of every member ; with scarcely an exception had been anticipated : that was not the case in the present instance , and the direction which members took as they left their seats was anxiously watched . More than one hundred protectionist members followed the minister , * more than ei g hty avoided tbe division , a few of these however had paired ; nearly the same number followed Lord George Bentinck . But it was not merely their numbers that attracted the anxious observation of the treasury bench as the protectionists passed in defile before the minister to the hostile lobby . It was impossible that he could have marked them without emotion :

      tbeflo < ser of that great party which bad been so proud to follow one who had been so proud to lead them . They were men to gain whose hearts and the hearts of their fathers had been the aim and exultation of his life . They had extended to him an unlimited confidence and an admiration without stint . They had stood by him in the darkest hour , and had borne him from the depths of political despair to the proudest of living positions . Right or wrong , they were men of honour , breeding , and refinement , high and generous character , great weight and station in tbe country , which they had ever placed at his disposal . They had been not only his followers but his friends ; had joined in the same pastimes , drank from tho same enp , and in the pleasantness of private life had often forgotten together the cares and strife of politics . He

      must have felt something of this , while the Manners , the Somersets , the Bentincks , the Lowthers , and the Lennoxes , passed before him . And those country gentlemen , " those gentlemen of England , " of whom , but five years ago , the very same building was ringing with his pride of being tbe leader—if his heart were hardened to Sir Charles Buvrell , Sir William Joliffe , Sir Charles Knight , Sir John Trollope , Sir Edward Kerrison , Sir John Tyrrell , ho surely must have had a pang , when his eye rested on Sir John Yards Buller , his choice and pattern country gentleman , whom he had himself selected and invited but six years back to more a vote of want of confidence in the whig government , in order , against the feeling of the court , to instal Sir Robert Peel in their stead . They trooped on : all the men of metal and large-acred squires , whose spirit he had

      so often quickened and whose counsel ho had so often solicited in ' his fine conservative speeches in Whitehall gardens : Mr . Bankes , with a parliamentary name of two centuries , and Mr . Christopher from that broad Lincolnshire which protection had created ; and the Mileses and tho Henleys were there ; and the Buncombes , the Liddela , and the Yorkes ; and Devon had sent there the stout heart of Mr . Buck—and Wiltshire , the pleasant presence of Walter Long . Mr , Newdegate was there , whom Sir Robert had himself recommended to tbe confidence of the electors of Warwickshire , as one of whom lie had the highest hopes ; and Mr . Alderman Thompson was there , who , also through

      Sir Robert's selection , had seconded the assault upon tLe wkigs , led on by Sir John Buller' But the list is too long ; or good names remain behind . * * The hews that tne government were not only beaten , but by a mejority so large as seventy-three , began to circulate . An incredulous murmur passed it along the treasury bench . " They say we are beaten by seventy-three ! " whispered the most important member of the cabinet in a tone of surprise to Sir Robert Peel . Sir Roberi did not reply or even turn his head . He looked very grave , and extended his chin as was his habit when he was annoyed and cared not to speak , He began to comprehend his position , and that tbe emperor was without his army .

      On the subject of Sir Robert Peel's susceptibility on occasions like this , Mr . Disraeli tells the following anecdote , referring to another debate : — It was about this time , that a strange incident occurred at the adjournment of the house . The minister , plunged in profound and perhaps painful reverie , was unconscious of the termination of the proceedings of the night , and remained in his seat unmoved . At that period , although with his accustomed and admirable self-control he rarely evinced any irritability in the conduct of parliamentary business , it is understood , that under less public circumstances , he was anxious and much disquieted . His colleagues , lingering for awhile , followed the other members

      and left the house , and those on whom , from the intimacy of their official relations with Sir Robert Peel , the office of rousing him would bave devolved , hesitated from some sympathy with his unusual susceptibility to perform that duty , though they remained watching their chief behind the speaker ' s chair . The benches had . become empty , the lights were about to be extinguished ; it is a duty of a clerk of the house to examine the chamber before the doorsare closed ; and to-nieht'it was also the strange lot of this gen-, tleman to disturb the reverie of a statesman ., t ; ,,. ,,. , .. We must try to find room for tbe most pathetic and . best written passage in the whole volumne : —rthe , description of Mr . O'Connell ' s last appearance in the House of Commons : —

      He sate in . an unusual place—in that generally occupied by tbe leader ofthe . opposition , and spoke from the red box , convenient to bim from the number of . documents to which he bad to refer . His appearance was of- great

      Jlord George Bentinck. A Political Biogr...

      debility , and the tones of his Voice were very still His words indeed on y reached / those who' were Immediately around him , and the minister * sitting on the other side « Y the green table ,, and . listening with , that interest and respectful attention which . became . the occasion - It was ' a strange and-touching spectacle toWosewho reriiembered the form . of colossal energy and theelear and thrilli ™ tones that had once ' startled , disturbed , > nd controlled , senates Mr . O'Connell was on his legs for nearly two hours '' assisted occasionally in the management of big documents ' by . some devoted aide-de-camp . ' To the house generally it was a performance of dumb show , a feeble old mim muttering before a table ; jbutrespect for the grea ^ parliainentary all if the fortunes of

      perionage kept orderly as a party hung upon his rhetoric ; and though not ian accent reached the gallery , means were taken that ; , nest morning'tbe country should not lose tho last and not the b . ast interesting ofthe speeches of ohewho-Had sb . 'lopg occupied and . agitated the mind of nations . This remarkable address was ah abnegation ofthe whole policy of Mr . O'Connell ' s career . It firoved by a . mass of authentic evidence ranging over a ong term of years , that Irish outrage was the consequence of physical misery ,- ., and that the social evils of that country could hot be ' successfully encountered . by political remedies . ; To complete the picture , it concluded with a panegyric of Ulster'and a patriotic quotation from Lord Clare . ¦ - ; :.. - ' . ¦¦ . ,: •• •¦ : ...

      Tales Of The Mountains ; Or ' Sojourns I...

      Tales of the Mountains ; or ' Sojourns in Eastern Belgium . 2 vols . London : Pickering . This book contains two tales '; the first of which , called 'The Mountain Home ; ' seems designed to point the moral of such truisms as these—that a man with an income will not rise to eminence at the bar ; that success in ; life ; requires the ' qualities of resolution , hardness , ' and the like , as well as of intellectual capability ; and that a man who lives abroad on the plea of cheapness misses many comforts and advantages , even if he attains his end ; This is done in a fresh and living manner , with a good deal of judicious remark on character and life , expressed in a scholar-like style 'and ' with touches of pleasantry . The framework of the story runs thus . Mr . St . Clair , a gentleman of family with eight hundred a year , is by various circumstances induced to withdraw

      from the pursuit of legal fame , and retire to the ' mountains' in the neighbourhood of Liege , to economise and educate hie famil y well and cheaply . It cannot be said that he fails . His chateau and grounds are delightful ; the neighbourhood is beautiful , provisions are cheap , his income is more than sufficient ; his time is occupied with gardening , field sport , study , tbe education of his sons , and varied b y occasional visits , especially of the friend who writes the hook . But though all is smooth and outwardly happy , it will not do : St . Clair inwardly longs for native scenes , native manners , and old familiar faces . To bring about this desirable result without offending St . Clair by appearing to do so , is the end ofthe action ; and though many of the persons , scenes , and occurrences , do not very coherentl y contribute to the denouement , it is attained at last . There is much that is sterling in the following remarks : —

      It is very seldom-indeed that we read in the histories of eminent professional men , that the top step in the ladder of preferment is reached by those whose progress is impeded by such a weight as eight hundred a year , or anything like it in their breeches pockets . The jockey that rides lightest ( ceteris paribusJ has the best chance of arriving first at the winning post ; and if we consult the annals of our most gifted' lawyers and physicians ( to divinity tbe argument will not so well apply . ) we shallsee that Turkey carpets , softsettees , and dainty fare , have rarely been the precursors to the woolsack or the President ' s chair . And this accounts for the fact that judicial honours are not hereditary—that no man has less chance of being-a judge than the son of a judge ; and why ?—The father mounted to the top step of

      the ladder , by dint of patient plodding perseverance ; pressing on , progressively , step by step , despite every discouragement ; keeping his neck steadily to the collar , straining every nerve , heart and soul , applying himself to the uphill task before him , till , perfect in the art of climbing , he surmounted every , difficulty , and reached the honoured goal 1 of his ambition . But not only did he work hard ; he fared sparingly , was humbly lodged- and plainly clad ; rose early , and did not begrudge the midnight oil ; denied himself , for tbe sake of those beloved objects at home , whose welfare and advancement were no less precious to him than his ownevery

      , luxury ; not an idle shilling did he spend ; -for was not more than every shilling sorely taxed for chambers ' rent , and those most trying but indispensable costs , tbe costs of circuit . When was he ever absent from his post ? It was a marvel to himself sometimes ,. how . he got from town to town ; but there he was , nay , would have pledged all he had in the world—and Bella parted , I verily believe withont a sigh , with J the . beautiful ; silver tea-pot , sugar basin , and creamjug , her kind aunt Charlotte's present on her marriage , and which next to her husband and children she prized seemingly above everything on earth—rather' than he should be absent at assizes .

      Such was the father ' s plan and progess . The son ' s career commences under brighter auspices ; ho is the child of luxury , rolls in the lap of indulgence ; is splendidly lodged , daintily fed , and elegantly attired ; keeps fashionable hours , has a footman at his call , and a carriage to take him round the Park when his health requires an airing ; and though he show his face in court but three times a week , and barely a friendly brief reward his constancy on circuit , there is a good dinner , a luxurious bed , a happy home , and approving smiles to greet him , all the same . ¦ He may be a first-rate scholar , a prize-man , adutiful son , an affectionate brother , an ^ xemplary member of society ; but he must have studied the six first books of Euclid to little , advantage , he must be but slightly versed in the rationale of cause and . effect , if he delude himself into the fond belief that such superfine qualifications , per se , compose the stuff of which a judge is made .

      A ghost story , when brief and probable , has always an interest ; and here is one , told by Mrs St , Clair during a discussion upon tho topic , caused by a * ghost' having been seen about the grounds of the chateau . Some years ago , being on a visit to a near relation at Rookwood in Oxfordshire , and not choosing , from slight indisposition , to make one of their picnic fishing party to a beautiful park lake some few miles off , I sallied forth , towards the close of the evening , to enjoy a solitary stroll round the extensive grounds and shrubberies of the old manor-house .

      Night was fast coming on ; but the delicious coolness of the air , after a sultry August day , induced me to prolong my walk later than usual . For no assignable cause , I had been conscious all day of an unusual depression of spiritsa gloom had been hanging over my thoughts that I could neither account for nor shako off . An undefinable apprehension of approaching calamity—that mysterious foreshadowing of impending evil—those inexplicable " hints and pressings of the mind , " as De . Foe calls them , which , for aught we know , may be , as he says , " the converse of spirits and the ' secret communication between the embodied and the unembodied , " permitted by Providence as warnings and preparatives—had haunted my imagination for some days past .

      But I was determined no longer to give way to such ridiculous phantasms , and was debating in my mind whether to proceed through a wicket at the extremity of the shrubbery that opened into a beautiful wood walk , and so , by a circuit ouspath , gain the highroad , by which I should probably meetmy friends returning from their excursion , or retrace my steps to the house , when I thought I saw a tall white figure moving at a short distance among the trees . I was not one to . give way , generally speaking , to imaginary fears ; but most own my feelings at this moment

      were not very creditable to my courage and usual presence of mind , on which I piqued myself . Insensibly I quickened my steps as I heard the old turret-clock toll nine . It was almost dark , and , in spite of all my fortitude , I felt my heart beating quicker , and quicker , as , neither looking one way nor tho other , I turned haslily down one of tbe more shaded alleys that led by a shorter cut than round the shrubbery to the house . Scarcely had I proceeded ten paces , when the same figure , white from head to foot , crossed the . path so close to me as almost to touch my dress .

      Instinctively , as you may suppose , I started back , ana the blood for a moment left my cheek , I could feel , pale as marble ; but it was but for a moment . Recovering , by an immense internal struggle , my self-possession , I moved on with a firm determined step , almost ashamed of the timidity I had been betrayed into ; but had hardly reached the end of the avenua when the spectral form of roy unknown attendant again intercepted my progress , and , turning its head , regarded me for a moment with a look of deep and unutterable interest , and , waving its hand , vanished from mysigbt . .. . For a moment 1 stood as if transfixed , gazing in speechless horror on the spot from which the figure had disap peared . It was the apparition of my mother—my

      sole-surviving parent—my beloved mother ! I did not scream or faint : away , as many would have done under a less appalling visitation . Somehow , I reached the house , and at length , in my own room , threw myself on the bed in a state of mind much easier to be imagined than described . Not a wink ' of sleep closed my eyes that night ; the spectral form of my beloved parent never quitted me . . What ; think you , must havebeen my horror , when the following morning ' s post brought me the intelligence of her sudden death ? That I saw her , apparition almost at the , identical hour at which she was taken ill and died , lam sure of that as I live . No one , not even Mr . St . Clair , can ever convince me to the contrary .

      The second tale in the book relates to'a case of rivalry ih love , where the unsuccessful suitor meets a violent end , ' and the favoured lover is suspected of murder , found guilty , and condemned ! to die , but saved at the last moment' by a : death-bed-confession . The scene is laid - 'in- the- 'same ' . ' mountain-land bf Belgium as the first tale : the manners and characters . of the dramatic persona areappropriate ; and as a inere tale ; ' ' The '; Phrophetess of Bmbourg ¦ ' surpasses The Mountain Home , ' but- does not deal so mucn wittvrealities , or display so . much knowledge of theworl , '•'• ' ' " i ' : - '

      Vwcittm

      Vwcittm

      Cons. ~- Which Is The Smallest Bridge N ...

      Cons . ~ - Which is the smallest bridge n tbe world *—Th jj / idge of your Nose . ^ Vhat is Bell metal ? -Standing d & jifc ' j ; or St . Alban ' s elecv wn . r-J » e Month , " ^• B is l ike most epidemics ; the more apprehensive we are orV * the more likely are we to become subjects ofthe contagioi 1 ' ^ Al „ Chba p » as . —At Crewe , every working man's cottage is lighted with' 8 as > at * c ° of Isd . a week . How io Bi'gin thk New Ybar . —Open the door with the silver key of H . ° Pe » 'bat it may close on the golden hinge of prosperity . —Ma . A draught of 52 , 840 herrings was recently taken near Ayr . Thb widow of Tipp . 00 Sitib lately died at the extreme old age of ninety-seven . Tub Theatre of War ( Plum ) . — " Until further notice , -PuTh dmi 88 ion ref used , and the Public Press Suspended . "

      Note on Christmas Games . —Many a young lady who ft , . being kissed under the nmletoe / has no objection to be kissed under the rose . h ^ fn'LTS ° e ^ ime is ??* a Pe « o » we can overtake when WilSin t - a hon ? ur him , with m ' 'rt !» »» d cheerfulness of heart while he ia passing Goethe Turns to be Rbmmihimd ^ -A hundred of coals is eighty pounds A woman of thirty is two-and-twentv An eightpenny cab-fare is one and sixpence . A bntt of Sherrv is often a barrel of Marsala . —Punch ' s Almanack . Mrs . Partington reading the deatb of a dUinaubhed lawyer , who was stated to be the father of the Bar exclaimed— "Poor man ! he had a dreadful noisy set of children . "

      • Goto . —By means of a plan recently devised by Professor Plattnauer , gold ore can now be worked with profit , although it contains only two hundred grains of gold per ton . Value about 36 s .

      English Juoqes . —It is 150 years since a judge was proceeded against and dismissed , in England , for misconduct a ftot testifying to the purity of the administration of juslice in this country . Svbstitvtb for CoFFES . —lt is said that Dr . Moorehead , of Tullamore , has discovered in the common garden parsnip an excellent substitute for coffee , by merely cleansing , cutting , toasting , and grinding . Rich Bishops . —Ten Irish bishops , Ueresford , Fowler Bernard , Steward , Percy , Hawkins , Porter . Cleaver , Aaar ' and Knox , bequeathed to their families , £ 1 , 850 , 000 , or an average of £ 185 , 000 each . Science at Discount . — " Is not that a beautiful shell ?" asked a lady , wishing to show her science . — " Indadft toadam , an' it is , " replied an Irishman ; "but I am no botanist , and do not understand physiology . "

      Legal efforts are being made to compal Lord Guildford to refund the immense revenues he has been deriving , under a defective title , from the Mastership of St . Cross Hospital . An Irish Summons . —An Irish gentleman thus addressed an indolent servant who indulged himself in bed at a late hour in the rooming , " Full to rising , you spalpeen ! fall to rising ; don ' t stand there lying in bed all day . " Resignation . —Nothing was so much dreaded in our schoolboy days as to he punished by sitting between two girls . Ah 1 the force of education . In after years we learned to submit to such things without shedding a tear . Beautiful Custom . —It was an ancient custom to bury the young at morning twilight ; for as they strove to give the softiest interpretation to death , so they imagined that Aurora , who loved the young , had taken them to her embrare .

      A Husbano Robbing his Wife . — The High Court of Justiciary , Edinburgh , has affirmed a conviction of a husband charged with stealing £ 200 from bis wife , the money being her special property , and secured to her by express contract . The judges were unanimous , A Close Shavjj , —The " Cape Town Mail" has an account of an engagement with the Kaffirs , in which Major Home , ' of tbe J 2 tb regiment , bad half of his whisker cut off by a ball . The officer observed , with the greatest sangfroid , that "it was a very close shave . " Virtue . —Wealth , honour , and favour , may come upon a man by chance ; nay t they may be cast upon him without so much as looking after them ; but virtue is the work of industry and labour ; and certainly ' lis worth the while to purchase that good which brings all others along with it . — Seneca .

      Fees to Waiters . —The practice of extorting pence ostensibly as fees and remuneration for the services of waiters , is now prominently under public consideration at some of the City dining-rooms . The obnoxious tax has already bee > i abjn lonei at one ofthe largest establishments in Bucklersbury .

      storm prognosticator . It mun be understood at this iz a varry useful invenshan , an be way ov infamashun , t'follahin ar sum at signs be which it indecates Storms : — When a Womman hez just wesht t'bause floor an a great faal dog cums in on a rainy day , an runnin all ovver it , leaves ' t print ov his mucky feet uppan ivvery fleg , theaze hommast suar ta be a ratlin , not ov hail but sand stones . When a Womman iz goin ta hev a tea pairty , an t ' cat hez gottan tut milk-bowl an lapt ivvery drop at cream off , a strong wind is suar ta be heard , espeshally by servant lasses . When a Womman hez gottan hur cloaze nicely wesht an hung aght ta dry , an a long groind pig cums an rooits cloaze prop daan , this is suar ta be follad be squalls . When a Womman thumps a bairn at izsnt hur awn , and macks it go screamin hoara , depend on it theal be a tremendas hurrican follah .

      When a Womman hez a dressmacker it hause , an shooze just abwght gottan hur new gaan haaf finisht , an hur husband cums hoam an orders hur off abaght her biznass , this for a sartainty al be follad be gloominess an happen wet , ~ -Pogmoor Olmenack . The Metropolis . —The City of London stands upon 02 > acres . The fixed property in houses located on this small spot is estimated at forty millions sterling ; and the value of moveable property in the City , according to the " Railway Journal" is considered to be worth a hundred millions sterling . The Spirit of the Age . —One of the latest cases of which we ( " Cambridge Chronicle , " United States ) , have heard , is that of a little urchin , who , having been listening quite intently one evening to an animated discussion on progress and improvement , the next day addressed the following interrogatory to his parent : — ' Pa , is New England Rum the spirit of the aye , <"'

      An Avaricious Boarder , — " My friend , " said an American hotel-keeper to an over-avaricious boarder , " you eat so much , 1 shall have to charge you an extra halfdollar . "— " An extra half-dollar ! " replied his boarder , with his countenance the very picture cf pain . " For goodness sake don ' t do that ! I ' m most dead now , eating three dollars' worth , and if you put on an extra half-dollar , I shall certainly bust—I shall , " Catholicism . —It is stated that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy of Ireland have resolved not to celebrate the rites of marriage between a Protestant woman and Roman Catholic man , unless the woman coMtntsthut all the children shall be brought up as Roman Catholics . It is added , that Dr . Wiseman will uphold the prie > thnod of this country in a similar determination , —Liverpool Times .

      An Electro-Magnet that exerts an attractive force of 220 pounds when the armature is in contact with its poles , only exhibits a force of 40 pounds if the armature is removed 1 one-fiftieth of an inch from the poles ; hence the gieat less i of power . Tins difficulty overcome , steam engines will be } considered " unwieldy lumber . " The force in a i » a . ! i ] sl is i a source t f power which never becomes exhausted , and loses s nothing by what it imparts . Mines of Pure Copper .-We gather from the " Lake 3 Superior Journal" that the copper mines there yield a- aproduce unequalled in the world . The distinction between , a these mines and all others is that the yield is of the pure e metal . Every advancing step only demonstrates more ? e > clearly that this pure lode is not a chance collection , but is , ! , in fact , increasing in purity as well as quantity as the miners s

      proceed . Very Good . —The Marquis of Townsend , when a _ young g man , and engaged in battle , saw a drummer at his side le kiled by a cannon ball , which scattered his brains in every -y direction . His eyes were at once fixed on thsghastly object , t , which seemed wholly to engross his thoughts . A superior or officer observing him , supposed he was intimidated hy theie sight , and addressed him in a manner to cheer his spirits , * , "Oh , " said the young Marquis with calmes ? , but severity , y , " 1 am only puzzled to make out how any with such a quan-, ntity of brains ever came to be here . " Vegetable Tallow . —The tallow-tree ( Stillingia seliferajaj i is cultivated to a great extent at Ningpo , Chusan , and thche : eastern provinces of China , for the white tallow that suMir- rounds the seed , which is used for , and possesses most of of : the properties of beef tallowfurnishing candles , cerates , ; es ,,

      , plasters , & c . for domestic and medical uses . It is not niucliichi used for cooking , the Chinese preferring other vcgetableble : oils that they have in use for that purpose . The tallow is isi produced in considerable quantities , and is sold at Chusan ati all a vervlow price ; when mixed with , wax it forms an excellenlenll material for candles . The tree itself , apart from the valualuii of the substance it yields , would be an importannt . odditionioit to the ornamental trees of this country , and , it is said , roigingw . ' be easily cultivated ; the leaves resemble the aspen in sflapaapn and colour . ^ . ^ ,. „„ ,. irknrk Rapioiiy op Thought in Dmamisg .-A « ry «*« " »« ¦ able circumstance , and an important point of siibIo » , »* * be found in the extreme rapidity with which the mental opera , ra tions are performed , or rather with * B" ^ « , ™ "SlSSS which the ideas depend are excited in t ^™ " ]*

      on " ^" g ngli It w u d ap > ar as if a whole series oo , th . ta would realh occupy a long lapse of time , pass ideally ihrongoug ; the mind in one instant . We have in dreams no true ne . pein motion of the lanse of time-a strange property of miuduud 3 for such be al o its property when entered into the eicrncm , S embodiedl ££ time "U appear to us eternity The rbe « lations of space as well as of time are also annhiUued , id , n that while almost an eternity is compressed into a mweiueiiii infinite space is traversed more swiftly than by real thoughugl ;!; There are numerous illustrations oi this principle on rocoracorr A gentleman dreamt that he had enlisted as a soldier , joinjoini hisregiment , deserted , was apprehended , carried back , trie triee condemned to be shot , and at last led out for executicutioo After all the usual preparations , a gun was fired ; 'lie awoawoi with the report , and found that a noise in the adioining ro g ron

      had , at the same' moment ; ' produced the dream , ai , aa awakened him . A friend of Br . Abercrombie dreamt tht til he had crossed the Atlantic , and spent afortnightin Anifrkiericc la embarking , on h \& return , befell into the sea , and awakwaka ing . in the fright , found-that he had not been asleep tep II minutes , —JDr . - 'lWnWow ' s Psychological jmnal .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 3, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_03011852/page/3/