On this page
-
Text (3)
-
*%& THE LEABEB. Qo. 405, B^cembbr 26 las...
-
ANTIQUARIAN ARCHERY. Proceedings of the ...
-
JNEW liDmONS. Mb. Bbntxky has this week ...
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.
Louis The Fourteenth A.Nd The Regent. Th...
-of tuabed , encircled by- all Jus < 5 ourt , then , with hows to the ladies , passed into his oabiaet , where , on arriving , ie . gave his orders . He passed a little less than an hour there , seated in an arm-chair , with his legitimate children and bastards , his grandchildren , legitimate and otherwise , and their husbands or wives . Monsieur in another arm-chair ; the princesses upon stools , Monseigneur and all the other princes standing . Iiouis died unregretted , except by a few valets and others of that "kindred . His successor was too young for sorrow . Madame only feared and professed to respect him . By De Berry he was disliked . The Duke of Orleans , of course , iGelt no grief . The King had wearied deMaintenon . M . du Maine rejoiced like a savage at his death . His brother , the Count of Toulouse , said nothing , as usual . The Duchess of Orleans shed a few feshionable tears :
the Court * in general , breathed more freely ; Parisians thanked God for their deliverance ; and the nation at large experienced nothing but a senti-¦ ment of relief . We believe St . Simon ' s statement to be literally accurate , ; and that Louis did pass away amid this callous silence . Immediately afterwards , when the Regency began , every one thought of himself and his Older , -and St . Simon rushed to the Duke of Orleans to beg him , in that . hour of national emergency , to allow the dukes of France to sit at the Convocation , of the States General with their hats on ! To this the Recent assented . In the Parliament , with a' storm of joy'sweeping over his heart , the old gentleman took his seat , and he describes his own demeanour with ¦ exquisite complacency : —
Seated in my elevated place , and -with nothing before me , I was able to glance over ¦ the whole assembly . I did so at once , piercing everybody with my eyes . One thing . alone restrained me ; it -was that I did not dare to fix wiyeye 3 upon certain objects . I feared the fire and / brilliant significance of-my looks , at that moment so appreciated irjreveTyrjody : and the morel saw I attracted attention , the more anxious was I to wean curiosity by my discreetness . I cast , nevertheless , a glittering glance upon the « Mef president and his friends , for the examination of whom I Avas admirably placed . I carried my looks over all the Parliament , atvtd saw there * n astonishment , a flilence ; * consternation , such as I had not expected , « nd -which vras of good augury to me . The chief president , insolently crest-faHen , the other presidents disconoerted and attentive to-all , famished me the moat agreeable spectacle . The ihird estate was in ! an attitude of humility : —
33 ns was the moment when I relished , with delight utterly impossible to express , ihe sight of these haughty lawyers ( who had dared to refuse ns the salutation ) , prostrated upon their knees , and rendering , at our feet , homage to the throne , whilst we j sat covered upon elevated seats , at the side of that same throne . These situations ^ ad these postures , so widely disproportioned , plead of themselves , with all the force of « yidence , the cause of those who are really and truly lateralesregis against this vaa ieJectmu of the third estate . My eyes fixed , glued , upon these Sbaughty bourgeois , with tbelr uncovered heads humiliated to the lev « l of our feet , traversed the chief members kneeling or standing , and the ample folds of those for robes of rabbit skin that w « old imitate ermine , which waved -at each long axed redoubled gemtdexion ; . geanfiexioas iriucfe only finished by commaawi of tie King . We must make room for two or three extracts as specimens of the anec-« dotic tafiuenee of the Memoirs , and must therefore retrench our own 4 remai & s upon them . Tbe D « cbeB 9 e de Berry had some extraordinary ¦ OTerH 1 } i ¦ ¦ ¦ •• . ¦ ¦ '¦ ¦ ..-. ' . ¦ '¦'¦ ¦ : . ' : ¦ ' ¦ ; ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . - ' ¦¦¦ ¦¦ ¦ . ¦¦ ..
-After many 4 anovrs she bad become smitten with Rion , a yonnger son of tie house of Aydic . rHewas a fat , chubby , pale little fellow , who fcad so many pimples that Jae did . net ill resemble an abscess . He had .-good teeth , but bad no idea he should tcaase a . passion which , in less than no time became ungovernable , and-which lasted a long while , without , however , interfering with temporary and passing amours . He was not worth a penny , but had . many brothers and sisters who had no more than he . "H e was a lieutenant of dragoons , relative of Madame Pons , dame detours of Madame la Duchesse de Berry , who sent for him to try and do something for him . Scarcely lad . he arrived than the passion of the Dnchesse declared itself , and he became the master of the Luxembourg-where she dwelt . M . de Lanznn , who -was a distant relative , was delighted , and chuckled inwardly . He thought he saw a repetition of the *> ld times , when Mademoiselle was in her glory : he vouchsafed his advice to Rion .
Sionicas . gentle and naturally polished and respectful ,-a good and honest fellow . JSfr eoon . felt the power of bis charms , which could only iiavo captivated the incomjprehensifele . and depraved fantasy of a princess . He did not abuse this power ; made iiimaelf liked by everybody ; but he treated Madame la Duchesse de Berry as M . de Laazun-had treated Mademoiselle . He was soon decorated -with the most beautiful 3 ace and the richest clothes covered with silver , loaded with snuff-boxes , jewels , and precious stones . He took pleasure in making the princess long after him and be J ealous ; affecting to be still more jealous of her . He often made her cry . Little by little he obtained such authority over her that she did not dare to do anything
without his ¦ permission , not even the most indifferent things . If she were ready to go to the Opera , he made berstay away ; at other times he made her go : tkithcr in spite of ¦ h erself . He mode her treat well many ladies she 4 rd not like , or of whom she was Jealous , and teat Ul persons who pleased her , but of whom he pretended to be jealous . Even in hen finery she had not the slightest liberty . He amnsed himself by making her disarrange her head-dreaa , or change her clothes , -when she was quite dressed ; and that so often aud . so publicly , that he aocustomod her at last to take over-night his orders : for her morning ' s dress and occupation , and on the morrow he would change ^ rcerytbing , and the Princess wept aa much as she could , and more .
St .. Simon frequently saw Peter I . of llussia during his Raxis visit :- — The Czar was a very tall man , exceedingly well made ; rather thin , his face somewhat noaod , a feighi forehead , good eyebrow * , a rather short nose , but not too short , Jindlai ^ e atXb © « ad , sather thick lips , complexion reddish brown , good black ^ yea , Ja « ge ,. trigat , piercing , and w « il opea ; hi « lode / majestic « i » d gracious -when he liked , 4 wt wbea < etberoi 86 , / 0 evepe « nd stem , witlua twitching -of tbe face , not often occurring , bat wbioaappeared to oontort his ^ yejuwkl all hie physiognomy , and was frightful to * ee : it lasted a moment , -gave aim AwHd * nd terrible air , and " passed * w « y . All his bearing showed his intellect , his reflectiveness , and his greatness , and was not devoid ot * < mr 4 MmBB & co . He wore a linen > coU * r , a round . brawn wig , as though without Jpowder , and wfeioh did not reach , to bis shoulders ; a brown ooat tight to the body , *"" i « "d wiiJi gold buttons ; vest , taeeehea , stockings , no gloves -or ruffles , the star of bis . outer over bis ooat , and tbe oosdon under it , the ooat itself being frequently < t « i * o . Thattonod , ilia hat qpon . the iaiOe , but never * pcn his head , even out of 'doors .
The Gear' «•* - « t the Opera lilce a -Siamiefle ambassador , and called for beers—M . lo Due ^ rXMfea » B cmim afterwards 'and took him to the Opera , into Ms grand boac , where Otmy . •* £ > apeui tits irent seat upon a- splendid carpet . Somno titno after , tho Czar asked if there was no boor to bo had ? Immediately w large goWet of it was btaujbtto Mm JMii * -Mlvec , 'Xiuiftegent roea , took H y * « djflrooeotdd fei to the Czar ,
, with a smile and an inclination of politeness , received the goblet wither ^" ceremony , . drank , and put if back on . the salver which the Regent still held y The famous frcene in the council chamber © f the Regent ' is on f .. * * arge a scale for quotation but it is fire best thin ? of the kind in the FW ? language . The accounts of Law and the Mississippi scheme , , the emW to Spnm , fct Simon ' sreception hy the Princess of the Asturias , the SR the Duke ^ of Orleans and other remarkable transactions , abound m 4 oW gossip of historical value , and bear out Lord Macaulay ' s estimate of thP £ Simon Memoirs as ' incomparable . ' e & t -
*%& The Leabeb. Qo. 405, B^Cembbr 26 Las...
* % & THE LEABEB . Qo . 405 , B ^ cembbr 26 las ?
Antiquarian Archery. Proceedings Of The ...
ANTIQUARIAN ARCHERY . Proceedings of the Society of ' Antiquaries of London . Vol . IV . No . 47 . Being destitute of the means ofComparison , we cannot assert that thwf <»¦« . very best number of the Proceedings which has yet appeared ; but certainlv it has an absorbing interest for us . The Rev . 1 Knowles accompanies 2 presentation of stone celts with a memorandum of a journey to Fair Id ? Shetland m the hope of ^ securing some existing relics of the Armada shS Duke Medma , wrecked there . But Shr Walter Scott had anticipated fi ? whilst collecting materials for his Pirate . Mr . Knowles , cortseimentlv ' was dxsappointed ; but , in refillmg the Spaniards' graves , found a stone celt now exhibited . He makes a just distinction between the genuine weapon of t * is class , and -spurious specimens sold in London as such , but which are brought from the Feejee Islands : the ancient British celt is bevilled on hoth sides , the Feejee stone « xe on one side only . Our own exnlor .-nion * f « ..
Polynesian isles enable ^ us to testify to the accuracy of this distinction The next paper is-a curious and elaborate analysis of ' a MS . cnumeratW of the archers marks anciently standing in the locality still called Finsburv fi elds , . and compiled in 1601 . But the insatiate march of brick and mortar has , for some years past , converted that once rural locality into a labyrinth of squalid streets and lanes . Yet our elder cotemporaries can remember when even that broad granite area , called emphatically Finsbury-pavement , was a cheerful green spot , open to the sports and games of London citizens " 1 hither , at * n earlier period—the date of Mr . Williams ' s MS . —the bold London prentices , * proper and tall , went to practise the noble of
game archery . We may well imagine what splendid exhibitions of stron « and accurate shooting were continually exhibited there . Even Justice ShaTlow ' s friend . Old Double of Stamford , who clapt into the clout a twelve score and carried yon a forehand ( big breasted ) shaft s a fourteen and a fourteen and ^ half / v would have bee n outmatch ed at least in flight shootiiKr , since the MS . gives nineteen score as the distance between All hollows and lJaie ' s Deed marks . Indeed , Miss Banks , Sir Joseph ' s daughter , an enthusiastic lover of the bow , has left a MS . note that a friend , Mr . Bates , often shot eighteen score in these same Pinsbury Fields . The small printed volume called An Ai / me
jror the mnsbury Archers , alluded to by Hansard in his Book of Archery is iar less comprehensive than Mr . Williams ' s treatise , the number of marks being not given there , and the longest range is only thirteen score yarcb . Tfae MS . also accurately defines the length and breadth of this once beautiful , verdant plain—heu-i ' quantum vmtatus cib Wo— the ^^ former being about one mile , the latter three-quarters . Sir William . Davehant , iir his ' Long Vacation / thus describes sundry idle attorneys and proctors making sircheiy matches iuFinsbury : — " With loynes in canvas bow-case tied , Where arrows stick with mickle pride ; Like ghosts of Adam Bell or Clymme , Sol sets—for faar they'll shoot at him .
In the reign of Heory VIII ., a shout through the City of "Shovels and spades ! shovels and spades ! " assembled a band of these same ' prentice lads , who speedily levelled the hedges , dykes , and garden houses , by which trespassers had encroached on the shooting-fields . Even as late as 1786 , the Artillery Company , preceded by a detachment of their pioneers , marched over Finsbury , pulling down the fences again illegally erected . The brick wall enclosing a lead mill was also attacked ; but , on the entreaty of the proprietor , the Hon . Company ordered it to be spared , contenting themselves with directing one of their archers to shoot an arrow over it , Iri token of their prescriptive right .
The-archery world is indebted to Mr . Williams for bringing this curious document under its notice , and for his historical sketch of ° the old Knglish sport . Several excellent antiquarian papers follow , of which space forbids further notice . Earl Stanhope delivered a , n eloquent address ami tribute to deceased members . Mr . O . Morgan , V . P ., has several remarkable papers ; so have Sir H . Ellis , Messrs . Pryse , Akerman , Fairholt , Wylie , & c . The ltev . F . Montgomery Treherne , whose family have long been settled in South Wales , exhibited four accurate sketches of Koche . Castle , once a frontier tower belonging to a family of that name , originally Irish ] t led d
and someimes sty o Itupe , or of the Rock . A tradition prevails among the villagers , that its last heir perished by a snake ' s bite . His family , having been warned by a dream that this event would occur during the year of his majority , shut him within the castle , closing up the gate , and supplying food by moans of n basket and string . But , in tho last week of his twelvemonth ' s imprisonment , an adder is said to have crept out of some firewood laid up in . the chamber , and bit tine sleeping youth , thus fulfilling the propbecy . It should , however , be stated , that an exactly similar legend is believed by the peasantry living in the neighbourhood of ^ in old turret called Cook ' s Folly near Bristol .
Jnew Lidmons. Mb. Bbntxky Has This Week ...
JNEW liDmONS . Mb . Bbntxky has this week published the sixth volume of Mr . Peter Cunningham ' s edition of The Letters of Horace Walpole , now first chronologically arranged . The portraits are those of Lady de Beauclerk , Amic Chambers , Countess Temple , Samuel , Foote , and Mary Fitzpatrick Lady Holland . Three volumes remain to complete this remarkable edition . -Mr . J-ongwan has issued a second volume of his clreap edition of Lord Macaulay ' a History of England . We hour that tho success of the experiment has been extraordinary . JLooal institutes should at once purchase tho history in this new , attractive , mntl acoessibte form .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 26, 1857, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26121857/page/18/
-