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tion In 1804 , the hereditary title - of the Emperor ' s family was recognised by four millions of votes ( 3 , 521 ,-6 T 5 ) , ; and since that time the people has not been consulted ... As the eldest of the nephews of Napoleon , then , I may consider myself the representative of the popular choice—I will not sajp- of the Empire , because , in the lapse © f twenty years , the ideas and the requirements of France have necessarily . changed . " And to his mother he wrote the following lines , expressive ofjhis . owns entire disinterestedness : —" "Strong in my conviction , which bad long made me look upon the cause of Napoleonism as the cause of the nation in France , and as the only civilising cause in Europe—proud of the nobleness and the purity of my intentions—I had become firmly resolved to elevate again the Imperial Eagle , or fall a victim to my political belief . " Pass we on to " the defeat . " In the Considerations Politiques et Militaires sur la Suisse , the illustrious exile pointedly alludes to the vengeance France will vet exact for Waterloo , and speaks with equal confidence of renewing
Jena and Austerlitz in order to give liberty to Switzerland and to Europe . But the iron pierced most deeply into his soul when compelled to seek an asylum on the hospitable shores o £ perfidious Albion . The change even to the dungeon of Ham was delightful and invigorating . " Banished for twenty-five years , twice betrayed by fate , I have experienced all the vicissitudes and sorrows of this life ; and having got the better of the illusions of youth , I find in the native air I breathe , in study , in the seclusion of a prison , a charm which I have not experienced when participating in the ¦ enjoyments of foreign countries , where , vanquished , I had to drink out of the same cup as the conqueror of Waterloo . " We cannot say how far this terrible degradation was literally true , but certainly the Emperor appears to have submitted with cheerful resignation to a necessity that was so
distressing to the Adventurer . r . We have only time and space for two more of the Idees Napoleonienv . es , though it would be no difficult task to write a volume upon such a prolific subject , and the more easily in -that they have been so practically illustrated by the inheritor of that great man ' s throne . One favourite object with the Emperor was to recal to France all whom fear or disaffection had driven into banishment . And this amiable longing was shared by Louis jSTapoleon when candidate for the Presidentship . " The Republic * , " he wrote , " ought to be generous and have faith in its future exile and
prospects ; and for my part T , who have suffered captivity , appeal with all my warmest aspirations to-that day when the country may , without danger , put an end to all proscriptions , and efface the last traces of our civil discords . " But not only did the Emperor propose to restore to their homes and their native land those who had so long endured the sorrovTs andTiardships of expatriation , he also intended to place arins in the hands of every citizen , and to trust to patriotism for the defence of the fatherland . So strongly was he impressed with this " ¦ idea , " that his nephew represents him in Elysium angrily demanding of his successors , " Have you organised the National Guard in such a manner as to form an invincible barrier against invasion ? " After pausing for a reply , the mighty Shade answers himself , "No ; you have preserved of my reign nothing but what was transitory , nothing but momentary obligations , and you have rejected all the advantages which palliated its defects . "
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A BATCH OF BOOKS . The Exemplary Novels of Cervantes . Translated from tie Spanish by Walter K . KeHy . ¦ Bohn . A Journey through the United States and Part of Canada . By the Rev . Robert Everest , M . A . ' John Chapman . America and the America *? - By W . E . Baxter , Esq ., M . P . Routledge . JSecollectionsofthe Mess-table ami the &tdefe . ' ~ 'B y Henry Cra-Hng . -T . aJosworth , Inez : A Tale of { he Alamo . New York : HaTper and Brothers . Tfie Lost Heiress . By . Mrs . Southworth . Ward and Lock Wjcare not sufficiently well acquainted with the Spanish language to be able to ctffer an opinion on the merits of the present version of the Exemplary Novels . All that we can do is to note down our impressions as English readers of the new translation from Cervantes with which Mr . Kelly has provided us . The Exemplary Novels—or , Moral Tales , as we should have freshness and in the hiher
been tempted to call them—have more novelty , g sense of those words , than nine-tenths of ( the professedly " new" fictions published in the present day . Giving us hardly more than a glimpse , now itndthen , of the exquisite humour of Cervantes , some of these stories exhibit little triumphs of character-painting—of nature represented in miniaturewhich aro worthy even of the master-hand that drew Don Quixote and his matchless Squire . There is a mixture of ingenuity and simplicity , of carefully-disciplined Art and genially free Nature in the Exemplary Novels , which , in our opinion , renders . them quite original as works of their class . We prefer , for example , the charming story of The Little Gipsy Girl ( from which the libretto of Weber ^ s Preciosa was taken ) to all that Boccaccio has ever written . Let our readers begin -with this tale , and we have no doubt that the present collection of the Exemplary Novels -will share with Don Quixote that most honourable of all positions in the Library—the popularlysituatcd elaelf which is within everybody ' s reach .
Our two last now books about America are not very remarkable . Mr . Evereatas an . ardent democrat . Ho is a little shocked at the Institution of Slavery j but in every other respect he cites the United States as offering a model to the world . In this country—although our traveller writes with vigour and olearneBS , and collects facts with patience and intelligence—wo are afraid that the circulation of his book may be rather unfavourably affected by the uncompromising extremities to which his opinions carry him . Though differing from him ourselves in some of 4 iis winciplcs and in many of , his deductions , we can most willingly give him full credit for a manly farokness -winch tourists of all shades of opinion would do well to emulate ; aad we can &wn no bolter wish for the success of his book than that readers in . general may be disposed to follow our example . Our second traveller in America , Mr . Baxter , being more conservative and conventional than Mr . BvcsreBt , is likely to « et « n ; better . Ho appeals to that Jarge public which Iikw irespectitole platitudes . When Sir A . Alison , Mr . Warron , and JMr ,
Tupper , ane actually thought capable of writing history , fiction , aad poetry by some thousands of persons who—excepting the hours they devote to reading—exhibit no extraordinary imbecility in the various transactions of their lives , there seems to be no reason why Mr . Baxter should not become very successful , in certain circles , as an amusing American traveller . Mr . Curling ' s book of- gossip about soldiers and actors is written in 4 he penny-a-line style , with quotations in almost every other sentence , and some morsels of smart writing thrown in here and there , to make the work attractive to the Gent public . We have found this " Mess-table Chat" and " Green-room Gossip" an extremely dismal little volume to read . The author informs us that his stage-stories are mostly derived from the conversation of ¦** the celebrated comedian Samuel Russell . " If Mr . Russell was
not more amusing as an actor than he was ( judging only by Mr . Ourling ^ s report ) as a teller of anecdotes , it strikes us that the public of his day must . have enjoyed a remarkably serious entertainment when , they went to the theatre to see him , perform . We have sat in the company of a considerable number of country clergymen in our time ; but such singularly pointless and helplessly dreary stories about nothing at all , as Mr . Curling's stories from the mouth of Mr . Russell , were never before inflicted on us . The military part of the work is a trifle better—one article in it , called " My First Detachment , " being almost amusing , by contrast with the Russell stories . But , upon the whole , we shall accurately convey to our readers what our own impression has been of The Mass-table and ilie Stage , if we venture on substituting a new title for the title chosen by the author , and mention the work in the strictest confidence as—The Bore ' s Own Book . Inez : a Tale of the Alamo , is " respectfully" dedicated to " the Texan patriots , who triumphantly unfurled and waved aloft the banner of the Lone-Star who wrenched asunder the iron bands of despotic Mexico ! and wreathed the
brow of the Queen State with the glorious chapletof civil and religious libertyI " lit-spite of this martial preliminary flourish , the perusal of the first chapter of Inez was quite enough to convince ns that the book was the production of a fair lady- —a young and artless creature , as we love to think her . Let us report with all due gallantry on her book . The period of the storyis the time of the Texan war . Though a novel in one volume , Inez contains three heroines : —No . 1 , " slight and drooping . " No . 2 , tall , haughty , and intellectual , with a forehead " unusually prominent and white . " No . 3 , Inez herself—a ^ passionate beauty , with "large Spanish eyes , restless and piercing , flashing out at times the thoughts of her inmost soul . " While these three ladies , in various ways , interest and charm us , there is an entirely original character in the shape of a wily and unscrupulous Jesuit priest , who , from time to time , shocks and terrifies us . Further , we have to recommend the book to pious parents and guardians , as written under the . influence of the strictest Protestant principles ; and to introduce it to young ladies in general , as containing some very nice " love , " seasoned pleasantly with just enough fighting to make the whole story agreeable .
In the case of The Lost Heiress , we have to plead guilty to following a highly improper course . We began this novel at the end—or , in other words , tried to get at the story-by a species of nefarious short-cut . The first passage we opened on , under these circumstances , was the following description of a bride and bridegroom on the wedding morning : — She had attired herself -with that poetical beauty which—say as you will—only love can inspire and teach for the beloved one ' s eyes . Her morning dress was pure and delicate white cambric , slightly edged with the finest lace . Her luxuriant hair of golden auburn f ell in resplendent ringlets down her beautiful and blooming face . Expectation had heightened the vivid flush of her cheeks , and kindled the brilliant light of her ey « s . _ ' _ .. . . ... . .. ,. fs to the door
Then there was the quick , light sound of horse ' s hoogalloping up : — the elastic spring of the rider from the saddle—hurried footsteps up the portico— -m . word with the servant in waiting at the door— . and in another Instant Falconer was in the room , " and ' Maud was "" 'in" his / arms , pressed-to his bosom—r-warmJieart toheart— - flushed cheek to cheek—and the golden ringlets to raven locks . It was a close , silent , impassioned embrace of fervid , pure , youug love—a love ineffable and full of joy—a joy too great for speech ! She was the first to recover self-possession—with her beautiful face dyed-with blushes , she gently strove to release herself . And he , with a love too tender to constrain , freed her , still lightly , holding one white hand , and gazing with unutterable affection upon her charming downcast face . And homr -handsome he looked , with his tine , athletic , yet graceful fornvand dark resplendent countenance , full of . strength and lire . He spoke first— " Mixud ! nay own Maud ! fairest angel ! look up ! let . Jttfl . aee your blessed eyes ! "
.... . . . ... Smiling a little at his enthusiasm , ehe lifted her white lids and shot one swift , shyglance into the dark splendour his eyes , and then dropped them again , in a confusion so beautiful and bewitching that her lover nearly lost hia reason , and snatched and strained her to his bosom in a delirium of passionate delight . At this point , with moistened eyes , blushing cheeks , and palpitating heart , we closed the book . Voluptuous tine writing may be all very well for readers of a certain class . But the critic is bound by the nature of his arduous vocation to bo an austere man . When he finds a lady with resplendent ringlets snatched to a . gentleman ' s bosom in a delirium of passionate delight , ho retires , shaking his head , and leaves all remaining raptures to the luxurious general public !
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WANDERINGS IN CORSICA . Wanderings in Corsica . Inundated from the Gorman of GrcgoroyTua by Alexander Muir . Edinburgh : CoaaUblo and Co . Corsica , for its eizo , is the most interesting country in the world . Its history is full of action , distinct and dramatic ; its peop le and their customs are to this day marked and peculiar ; it boasts many uiou who may bo culled « heroes" of the heroic « tunp—and tho most notorious hero in the world was a Corsican in birth , Wood , and brooding . A good book , telling ua " all about Corsica , " as a lady-reader would say , was , therefore , something devoutly to be wished , and it comes in these two volumes . We haro curiosity satisfied qn all points . Tho writer travels about Corsica , describes
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ABRg , t gfibl 855 . ] TH £ E IiEADOBB . 403
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 28, 1855, page 403, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2088/page/19/
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