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    never «g££ THE JiCEADEE,. ISaturdat,

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    WHITELOGiCS SWEDISH EMBASSY. jL Journalq...

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    The British Quarterly Review Opens With ...

    rvttn & ty'thsm- ^ re hareTn ^^ erpresent ^ mBaber ;< bat at « without interesting matter even for Shose who are not specially interested in questions " iof insaa & y . . Xhe , |> i » aettfc namber eanfcains an .. article on Qinomania ; or , sfche -. mental 'Pathology of Intemperance , " full oftacurious facts and illustrations ; and-a ¦* cfVrisit to the American State School for Idiots , " which suggests the strangest reflections . , A'new journaLhass ibeen establiahed , the importance of which is so great i ; hatwe regret'we cannot speak of the first number with the favour we could

    have wished . "It is the Quarterly Journal of Public Health . That " National Health k National Wealth , " according to the motto of this journal , we-proibundly believe ; and among the many questions agitating the earnest minds of our day few are of wider seope than that of National Health , and the means of securing it . But the writers in this journal have contented themselves with the excellent idea of their periodical , instead of labouring to execute it adequately . They have apparently undertaken to write without a distinct conception of what the public wanted , and how the public want was ± o be satisfied . The second number must be a vast improvement on . the

    first , or the undertaking will fallto the ground . To complete-this batch of periodicals , there is 1 the Revue des Deux Mondes , in . which the Due d'Aumaie ( under the signature of M . V . j > e Mabs ) follows « ph * srpaperon "JLes Zouaves , " formerly noticed by us , with one on " Les Chasseurs a pied et les nouvelles armes a feu f but this paper is more interestiag to French -readers than to English . A posthumous story by Emuve Souvestbe is also published in this number : it is a very feeble performance , which the name of . its author alone suffices to lure us through . JqksMxu 2 & " Political Economy" is reviewed : at some Length by Louis Uetbaiot » ; arid M . Quatbefages , the pleasant writer of " Les Souvenirs d ' un Naturaliste ; ' contributes a paper—on the metamorphoses which the ^ animal undergoes in the egg—popularly treated , but containing nothing new . On the whole it is not a . good -number of this very goad review .

    Never «G££ The Jiceadee,. Isaturdat,

    never « g ££ THE JiCEADEE ,. ISaturdat ,

    Whitelogics Swedish Embassy. Jl Journalq...

    WHITELOGiCS SWEDISH EMBASSY . jL Journalqj'the Swedish Embassy . in the Years 1653 and 1654 . Impartially written by the Ambassador BulstxodeWbitelocke . First published from the Original Majiuscript by Dr . Charles Morton , M . D ., F-S-A-. tibrarum of the British Museum . A new edition , revised by Henry Reeve , Esq ., " F . S . A ., in Two Volumes . - Longmans and Co . , A xixtxk wore than . two _ hundred years -ago , General Cromwell , not yet Erotector , meditated on'the policy of an alliance between the Protestant atates > df jEurope . At that time England was engaged in a stiff contest with theiDuteh , whose Protestantism was ^ weakerthan their love of trade , and J ealousytif the growing commerce of the English , republic . Denmark , also , ¦ Orals ' inimical toTEngland , and levied her " Sound dueSjT of which we hear € veni 4 n these days , with no small Tigour . But-Sweden was at least friendly , in

    perhaps more than friendly . The Swedish monarchy bad grown great Slat " wonderful century . Sweden had sent forth her Protestant Paladin ; Gustavus , who , warring with the fierce generals of Germany , asserted at once the rights of Protestants , and proved the power of Sweden . At the end of-the Thirty Years War , the Sweden of the dead Gustavus was a far different power from the-Sweden of the now living Oscar . Nearly the whole of what now co nstitutes theBaltic coast of Russia , Finland , Esthonia , Pomei 5 aniav ~ thenbelonged to the-Swedish monarchy . —In . fact ,, Sw . eden . was one of the great powers of Europe , until Charles the Twelfth wrecked her strength and glory on the plain of Pultawa . In 1653 Sweden was governed by one of the most notable of queens—Christina , or rather by her Majesty and the great Chancellor Oxenstiern ; and this powerful monarchy fclromwell desired to link with the -destinies of England , together with all 4 ho other . Protestant states ,. as soort . as ^ they could be prevailed upon to join the alliance . But Cromwell thought that the perception of the Dutch . and the Danes , with regard to their true interests , would be quickened , if Bul

    he first obtained the alliance of Sweden ; and to this end he prevailed on - strode' Whitelocke , mVfirst'Commissioner in Chancery , 'to undertake , in the -depth of winter , a journey to the court of Christina , for the purpose of negotiating a . treaty with the ^ Swedes . . And well was it for Europe that JEngland was so nobly ruled by the : greatest Commoner she ever had in the guise of a ruler ; for by bis ffirnuiess . and strength of mind the Protestant ¦ cause , •^ which'W » S'then the « cause of A-eedom and progress , of light against darkness , was enabled to standagainst the reviving energies of liome , and the work of Gustavus was oontimied b y Cromwell . The Protestant League so far succeeded that it at longth inchiddd Sweden , Denmark , the Swisg Protestant cantons , the Hanso Towns , anil some of the Protestant Princes of North Germany ; and while Cromwell , was doing thus much for right and justice , he was at the . « ame time laying ihoso broad foundations of English commerce throughout the world , and English influence on the continent , which even a second Charles Stuart could not destroy , and which William <> f Orange and John Churchill subsequently , "with great pain and trouble , ^ consolidated .

    In those volumes Bulstro'de "'WhitelocIcB details to us the broad course , the windings and turnings , arid the smallest incidents of the negotiations by which Sweden was brought into . the Protestant alliance . But ho does tor more . He sets forth the reason of . his , going ; ho describes the voyage hy mbu M > -GothenbuRg ; the journey by land from Gothenburg to Upsal , -wlierei * he Court thon was ; he . notes down , almost daily , the passing ocourceneea—who called on Whiteloeke , and on whom WHtolocke called , with , in many ainrtaiNMS , a record df' the conversation that passed between them . He contrives togireyou an insight into the characters of those with whom fce ~ comea in 'contact---the fantastic Queen Christina , the wise Chancellor Oxenstiern , the able soldier'Montecuculi , the subtle -Spaniard Piementelle , Woolfeldt , a Dane in exile , who had fled with his wife disguised us a page , Oliver Cromwoli , and'lnat .-not least , WMtelocko lets you pretty deeply into

    the secret places in the character of Whitelocke himself . Nor , in presenting unconsciously these evidences of character , does he forget the outward furniture of men and their habitations , to pay due attention to the good things of this world , or to chronicle , as it were by instinct , the manners ' customs of Swedish life two hundred years ago . It would , perhaps , be difficult to find a book that preserves so complete a picture of a peculiar and interesting period 5 and which , whether so contrived or not , gives the central place in every scene to the author . Bulstrode is the Boswell of Whitelocke , and Whitelocke is the Johnson of Bulstrode . ¦ It -is a common supposition , too readily adopted from the opinion of Whitelocke himself , and no doubt very soothing to his vanity , that the sole motive which dictated the embassy to Sweden , and the choice of Whitelocke for that service , was a desire to send that personage out of the country in order that Cromwell might the more easily seize the reality of supreme

    power . But , in the first place , the alliance with Sweden was an essential element in the policy of Cromwell . In the second place , the choice oi Whitelocke as ambassador seems to have been honestly made on the ground that he was , as Cromwell expressed it , the " fittest man in the nation for this service . " " We know your abilities , " continued the great General , " having long conversed with you ; we know you have languages , and have travelled , and understand the interest of Christendom ; and / have known you in the Army to endure hardships , and to be healthful and strong , and of mettle , discretion , and parts most fit for this employment : you are so , indeed , " he added , emphatically ; " really no man is so fit for it as you are . ' Cromwell did not say this once , but several times ; and he urged upon Whitelocke , with peculiar persistance , the acceptance of this post . " I make it my earnest request , and I shall hold myself , " said he , " particularly

    obliged to you if you will undertake it , and will stick as close to you as the skin ' to your flesh . " Whitelocke , it is true , would have us believe that he was a lover of a quiet life , not desirous of incurring the risk of such a service in a time when ambassadors from England were killed by the assassins of dethroned royalty , and that he was passionately and incessantly implored to remain by his third wife ; he certainly ¦ did not with any too much readiness undertake the onerous duty required of him . But since Whitelocke , or another man , must have gone to Sweden , and since the admirable mode in which he conducted the affair justified the choice Cromwell made of Whitelocke for the business , surely it is absurd to take White-Locke ' s view of the matter , and assert that the Swedish embassy was only another name for the exile of Whitelocke , and the Swedish alliance no act

    of policy , but a mere pretext artfully contrived for aniusjng the so-ciilled envoy , and of no other importance whatsoever . The supposition is unfounded , and the idea it expresses will not fit in Avith the grave and earnest politics of those times . In the third place , 'Whitelocke could never have inspired Cromwell with any apprehension ; and the great event which happened during Whiteloeke ' s sojourn in Sweden , the assumption of the Protectorate , had long been inevitable , and would surely have occurred even had Whitelocke remained in Bedfordshire , enjoying " the pleasant healthful country ah \ " Mr . Reeve , we are sorry to see , in a foot-note , actually gives his support to the notion that " Cromwell ' s object in making the appointment was obviously to send into honourable exile a man whom he suspected ami feared . " Let any one look into the career of Whitelocke , able as he was , and say whether he was exactly the Brutus or the Cassius whom the modern

    Caesar would be likely to fear . But the value of Whiteloeke ' Memoir does not , fortunately , depend upon the political information it imparts , useful as that is . Other books give us a more accurate insight into the whole question of the foreign relations of England under Cromwell ; this book brings us face to face ; not with political-questions ,, but with , nien , and women ; and jitspages abound with personal traits . ¦ . , At his first interview with Christina , he carefully recounts the number of times which she , the Queen , put off or put on her cap , after the fashion of men , and he , the Ambassador , did the same . He describes her dress and his own , showing himself to be a man of taste and a great respecter ot the outsides of things . But in his narrative of this interview , the vanity ot Whitelocke most naively finds its way out . " The Queen , " he says , " very attentive whilst he spake , and coming up close to him , by her looks and gestures ( as 'was supposed ) would have daunted him ; but those , adds

    this solemn coxcomb , editing these papers in his later life , " who have been conversant with the late great affairs in England , are not so soon as others appalled with the presence of a young lady and her servants . " And so it fell out that *« the young lady , " with " the pule , but sprightly countenance , with " much of majesty in her demeanour , " and " a noble mien and carriage , " though " her person were of the smaller size ; " and the comely , grave , dignified ambassador , in his rich plain black suit " set witli very fair rich diamond buttons , " and " a diamond hntband answerable , " the whole , as lie carefully informs us , " of the value of 1000 / ., " so it fell out , we say , that this pair soon ,-grew very intimate , none the less soon , certainly , because the ambassador of Cromwell was not daunted by the daughter of Gustavus . u was not long before her Majesty asked the envoy how many wives ie nail had ? " Three , " said he . ' " Have you had children by all ot them . " Yes , by every one of them . " " Pardicu , " exeluiined the Queen , vuus

    ites incorrigible / " . ¦« On another occasion wo find him warmly remonstrating with Her . majesty on the profanation of the " Lord ' s Day" in her dominions , nw long after Christina made him the confidant of her intended abiiicauon . He remonstrated in homely language , but in vain . The degree oi m ; e j ° "' existing between them is shown by the opening passage of this intemo " I shall surprise you with something ? intend . to communicate ,, siu Christina . " " Madam , " replied the conceited ambassador , '' that n m been versed in the affairs of England tlo not use to bo supriscd at uil ui course of a young lady . " But ho was surprised when sho told him <« intended abdication . Later in their intercourse wo find them prat s » = nistol shooting tho Queen " loarninir Enaliah" of Whitelocke ; lu « /? hcuui

    wish as speedily realised as hinted , for his sphjndid English horses ; « , him a message in reply to an inquiry after her . health , that " she wjw s ck . 0 no . other disease , but that for three whole days he had not been with uu ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 14, 1855, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14041855/page/18/