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    t&eme of every historian . We have the narrative coloured by every shade of party prejudice , from the royalist , vrho denounces Cromwell as parricide and murderer , and sneers at him as the upstart brewer , to the ^ fanatic who upholds him . as a saint and a " chosen vessel , " and cries " down with Ahab -and his accursed race . * It becomes , therefore , in some sort the duty of 4 he historian of modern times , who is beyond the influence of those personal leanings and considerations which affect the impartiality of contemporary tvriters , to compare their conflicting evidence , and extract the truth from their variously coloured statements . Such is exactly the character of the present work . There is nothing new to be said about the English Kevolu - tion , but M . Guizot aims at doing for the entire history what other writers lave done for portions of it , he presents us with a very full , unprejudiced , And well corroborated narrative of events with , which we are all familiar ;

    . and as such , the book is undoubtedly a useful and important one . and as such , the book is undoubtedly a useful and important one . Here is a good description of the " Eikon Basilike , " and of Milton ' s answer to it . After stating thai ; the work was ( erroneously ) attributed to Charles the First , M . Guizotf continues : — ' The work was not by him ; external testimony and internal evidence . both combine to remove all doubt on the matter . Dr . Gauden , Bishop , first of Exeter and afterwards of Worcester , under the reim of'Charles 1 L , was . its real author ; but ihe manuscri p t had probably been perused and approved , perhaps even corrected , by Charles himself , during his residence in the Isle of Wight . ' In any case it was the real expression and trne portraiture of ids position , character , and . mind as they h&d been formed by misfortane : it is remarkable for an . elevation of thought which is at once natural and strained ; a constant mingling of blind royal pride and sincere Christian humility ; heart-Impulses struggling against habits of -obstinate self-consciousness ; true piety in the midst of misguided conduct ; invincible , though somewhat inert , devotion to his faith , his honour , and his rank ; and as all these ¦ sentiments are expressed in monotonous language , which , though often emphatic , is always

    . grave , tranquil , and even unctuous-with serenity and sadness , it is hot surprising that such a -work should have profoundly affected all royalist hearts , and easily peisuaded them that it was the King himself who addressed them . " The Parliament felt that it could not remain silent in presence of so powerful a public emotion , and it directed Milton to answer the Eikon . That sublime and austere genius , who In his youth had determined , in . opposition to paternal authority , to devote himself entirely to poetry and literature , was animated by an ardent passion for liberty : not for that real and true liberty which results from , resoeet for all rights and for the rights of all , but for an ideal and absolute liberty , both religious , political , and domestic ; and his mighty mind revelled , on this subject , in noble ideas , lofty sentiments , grand images , and eloquent words , without his troubling himself to inquire whether , In the world around him , positive facts and his own personal actions corresponded with his principles and hopes . He v ? as able

    to serve , and he did in tact serve , the tyranny , first of an assembly , and afterwards of a single man , so long as , in the intellectual order of things , he could profess and defend liberty . He was a glorious and melancholy instance of the blinding effect which imagination , abstract reasoning , and eloquent language can produce on a great , but passionately dreamy intellect , and a stern but noble hearts ¦ " Milton quickly wrote and published his Eikonoklastes , a lengthy and cold , although violent , refutation of the Eikon Basilike . Milton did not understand Charles I . and his feeliugs , nor could he appreciate the sentiments with -which the King inspired the . royalist party : he reproduced against him , with the utmost puritan and republican animosity , all the threadbare statements , all the trne or false accusations , which , daring ten years , had been currentthroughout England , without taking into consideration the new ideas and impressions which recent events had originated in men ' s hearts , and without adorning this wtrospective diatribe by any vigour or elegance of language . "

    The following is a graphic account of the difficulty experienced by the Parliament in conciliating its many masters : — ? ' In religious- matters also , the Parliament would have been glad to obtain some popularity , and gain for itself , as Cromwell had done , clients and friends among all denominations ; In the year 1650 , it had abolished the laws passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth to enforce uniformity of faith and worshi p ; but at the same time , It had continued and even , aggravated the persecution of the Catholics and Episcopalians , and promulgated new laws against immorality of conduct , obscene , licentious , and impious practices , ' ¦• atheistical , blasphemous , and execrable opinions : ' attempting by this means to give satis ^ . faction at once to religious animosities , to liberty of conscienceand to austerity of character .

    , Such a task cannot possibly be performed by the power whose duty it is to put all the laws into daily application , and which , even in the eyes of the people whose passions it has adopted , must bear the punishment of their inconsistencies and iniquities . Cromwell , carefully keeping himself aloof from the Government , was able to protect by turns , and with greater or less reserve , sectaries of all sorts , Episcopalians , Catholics , and oven freethinkers of the worst kind ; whilst the Parliament , whose duty it was to govern , found itself taxed . sometimes with harshness for repressing them , and sometimes with laxity for tolerating them , and gained only enemies whore Cromwell recruited partizans . " In conclusion , we will extract M . Guizot's reflections on the death of Cromwell : —

    Cromwell died in the plenitude of his power and greatness . Ho had succeeded beyond « 11 expectation , far more than any other of those men has succeeded , who , by their genius Jiaveraised themselves , as he had done , to supreme authority ; for ha had attempted and accomplished , -with equal success , the most opposite designs . During eighteen years that he luid been an ever-victorious actor on the world ' s stage , lie had alternately sown disorder and established order , effected and punished revolution , overthrown and restored government , in lua country . At every moment , under all oircumatances , he had distinguished with admirable sagacity the dominant interests and passions of the time , so as to make thorn the instruments of his own rulo , —carolcas whether he bolieii his antecedent conduct , so long as lie triumphed in concert with the popular instinct , and explaining the inconsistencies or his conduct by the ascendant unity of his power . He is , perhaps , the only example which his-* Qry affords of one man . having governed the most opposite events , and proved sufficient for anost various , destinies . And an the course of his violent and changeful career , incessantly « apoaea to all kinds of enemies and conspiracies , OroruwelLoxperiencedl this crowning favour ¦ £ J °£ : J that , hl 3 llfP was novor actually attacked s the sovereign ogainst whom killing 2 ia 4 been declaredto be no murder , never found himself face to face with an assassin . The world has nover Known another eacamnlo of success at onca s » constant- , ami « n vm ^ na «* « f

    ¦ fortune mx invariably favourable , in the midst of Buch manifold conflicts and perils . •« Yet CwtnweU ' s death-bod was clouded with gloom , He was unwilling not only to die , 3 mt also , and rno 3 t of all , to die without having attained his real and ilnal object . However « reat his egotism may have boon , his soul was too great to rest satisfied with tho highest *> rt « no , if it were merely personal , and , like himself , of ephemeral earthly duration . Weary * £ the ruin ho had caused , it was his ohorishod wish to restore to his country a regular nnd atoWo government—tho only government which was suited to its wants , a monarchy under 4 { m control of Parliament . And at the siuno time , with an ambition which extended beyond tho grave , undor tho influence of that thirst for permanence whioh la tho stamp of true CToatnoss , no aspirod to leave his name and rnco in possession of tlio throne , llo failed in Doth designs ; Ins crimes had raised up obstacles againat him , which , neither hia prudent SKS ? S PW ^ nng will could surmount ; nnd though covered , as far aa ho w » 3 hiin-£ « hi ^ S 3 * » * . lfc 1 ' P ° "nd g lw * k ° < hod with hia dearest hopes frustrated , and leaving and thei sSwrta ^ BUOWflaors ' tho two c n ° miea whom lio had so ardently combated—anarchy amW ? t ° diJS a ^« M ^ h 03 O .. ' 0 at mon V Who lmvo luid th 0 foun ^« o ns of their greatness Who ^ mtK naS ^ ^ ^ " ^ ^ ° ' ^ ^ SUCCeodin S te « saifiJ S 5 iiSi j ot wroto that la 9 t pftrft - rflph ' he haa woro

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    LAMARTINE'S CELEBRATED CHARACTERS . Memoirs of Celebrated Characters . By Alphonse de Lamartine . 2 vols . Bentley , From time to time we noticed several of these biographies as they appeared in La Cioilisateur , and then , as on other occasions , had to criticise with some severity the great literary defects which Lainartiuc ' s genius throws into relief . It will be needless , therefore , to re-open that unpleasant question at this moment ; for unpleasant it is to bring serious charges against a writer of such remarkable eminence , thereby seeming insensible to his « rood qualities . In these volumes the old want of literary conscience is less painfulh visible , while the enthusiasm for greatness , for splendour of achievement or of thought , for heroic struggle , and for most of the qualities which dignify a hero , lends a charm to these pages , no one will resist . °

    The volumes contain biographies of Nelson , Heloise , Columbus , Palissy , Roostam ( written by Madame de Lamartine ) , Cicero , Socrates , Jacquard , Joan of Arc , Cromwell , Homer , Guttenberg , Penelon . As portraits , they are unworthy of bein ^ mentioned . They have no individuality , no character . One rose pink hue is suffused over the whole . The biographical ophthalmia , in successive attacks , prevents each feature being cleariy discerned . These are panegyrics , not portraits . They are texts upon which Lamartine may preach ; excuses for the copious rhetoric in which he loves to indulge . But they are interesting , though we feel throughout that they are not true . Apart from this romantic and rhetorical distortion , there is Lamartine ' s usual disregard of critical examination of the facts—less striking than in his histories , because the task has been simpler , being little more than taking . up the written biography of each person , and improvising upon it . Let us , however , accept the volumes for what they are , and we shall read them with interest sustained and fruitful .

    The series opens with Nelson . Lamartine , who has ever been distinguished for magnanimity , shows rare courage in thus presenting to the millions of France so glowing a panegyric of the English hero ; for while Napoleon is almost as much admired in England as in France , it is rare to find Frenchmen admiring Wellington or Nelson . Yet as Lamartine finely says : ¦—" National rivalries disappear before the elevation from which history contemplates characters and events . Hannibal and Scipio , the champions , of Carthage and Kome , are measured in the same balance . Both are men ; history requires no more : it paints each

    with the same pencil ; it describes with equal warmth the exploits of one and the other , for the admiration of future ages . Glory resembles truth ; it lias no frontiers , but shines forth for general instruction . Because Newton ascertained in England the universal law of gravity , France does not reject the discovery as an autinational fact . Newton , in this light , ceases to be an enemy , and becomes a fellow-countryman , an announcer of revelation to the universe . What is true of science is equally so of heroism . We acknowledge both under every flag , and describe them when they fall in our way . Narrow national pride may bo wounded , but the more expanded love of human nature will be glorified and exalted . Posterity makes no distinctions between citizens and forei g ners , friends and enemies , victors and vanquished ; it acknowledges only works and actions . Death nationalises Hie whole world in one blended immortality . "

    With this generosity of sentiment he does more than justice to the high qualities of Nelson , though he gives us no image of the man . Curious it is to note how , amid all his enthusiasm for Nelson , the national vanity peers through . It would probably be the same were an Englishman writing of some French hero—but we think it would be more soberly stated . Thus our readers may remember in Lamartine ' s account of Waterloo , after describing with enthusiastic fervor the conduct of the English , after admitting that the French were defeated , he concludes by declaring that it was a defeat which must be ranked amongst the most splendid of their victories 1 If a Frenchman happens to be beaten , he is beaten in such a way that he gains more glory than his victor . So also in this account of Nelson . The French * are assured " that their navy was annihilated , but their courage , constancy , and name rose in reputation J" Read this spirited account of the battle of Abukir , and throughout your admiration is more challenged for the vanquished than for the victor—the heroism of the French takes precedence , and the victory looks like an accident ; —

    Ihe French fleet , at once tho support and arsenal of the land army , constituted tho sole base of their operations . The destruction of thia R « et deprived thorn of their only means of communication and hope of succour . They had no other bridge between Franco and kgypt . To expose the ships , therefore , to be destroyed in open sea , would be to betray at onflow the army they had transported and the country that expected their return . Brueys , after fruitless attempts to enter the inner harbour of Alexandria , which was not m « 1 h-PW ! tP , enM 1 § h * ° r , cceiv ? vesael » of 80 much draught of water , determined to moor his fleet in tho bay of Aboukir , tho sandbanks of ivliich lie had fortified . Six vessola at anchor , ranged m a concave crescent , according to the sweep of tho shore , were supported on one flank by tho little island of Aboukir , a natural fortress armed with cannon on the-other b y „„ advanced arm of tho buy . They formed so many immovcable citadels , ' presenting their broadsides to the sea . Their combinod forco might bo brought to boa upon each single shi p of tho advancing onomy ; unattaokablo from the land-Bide ; according nabilSyXram ^ fufTre ! ' " ** ° f de&W 0 ^« to » naval battle tho solid improg ?

    N < Xfn ^ i ^ 'f" p ° ? i tU £ V ® iat > Brueys , apprised by signal of the appearance of Nelaon in Might of the Egyptian coast , recalled every sailor of his crew on board . Ifo ordered two brigs , the Alorto and Railleur , whioh draw little water , to iwonnofere tlS thafthetVlv ° » V l th ° - n to SColc "fu tile ty , over tho shoals , hoping that tho leading vessels of the pursuing enemy would follow their exact courae , and rim d '" fc te- ! TVf J ° ^ - Bttt ™* ° ™ well ft waro of these dangers and Tea oStosrtn «^ lS ^ fhi r rlnB i T- attontl 0 n O , ° ^ Advanced in order or battle Then varlinJS'J i ? F" ' ° ' , ^ * < Jir ° Ct ^^ nP ° " tll ° COntrQ ° f * P *» i « Qn . Ihen , varying a httlo from lua oourao without soundinc , hesitatinE or iirinc a shot h > ^ T'i ^^ i 0 ^}^?* « V ^? . » d tho W ? ft ofeboukir , lAall iTwIthtthS b i uouiiui

    TT " ' »««• « "y w » o uuuoaon , which wont aground on Urn Handb » nks . As mt , An thonnflsnge they anchored snccossivcly in ? onr of thoir opnonontH . Tl . » uZ tS llm u " m » lton" ?» 8 ly , on botli flftuka , ami tho thunder of a double ( Ire pouroi nto Lheir immovable lniUa . The French floet thus doprivod , by the orror of thoir chief oL the protection they oxpoofced from tho land , and without tie power ofMotion by bS S anchor « aw at onoo tho di la tor tlut avyaitod them . Moth ng romnined bu to S Klorloiwly , and to envelop in thoir own detraction an imny of tho ^ nuniy " ahiZ . J ? Jn I » th ^ ffi ^ W ^' T , ? 1170 ^ !' ! G ° ' ^ "till by tlibmTSrffiri ol " SalunL , > wl . uft H thoD > 9 oIv ?» to , ] ? ° <* « ne ! o « t heroism , an . l i . roHontod . uiotlior tlSTranW ^ """^ ^ , ? pr ° " 00 of 'rheinl « tooleU \ Tliu Wparliatr , aides rf till ' pSlPl 1 . ° To » n «»^ n >» pouding on tho ri fihtand left to tho double bro « dvarl wi L dSf I 8 <) ™" H l ) lir ' ? l BUov X' ; d tUo < loolca () f N « l » on with nhattered inast » nn . l yards , with dead nnd wounded aailors . Victory vnxa bw tho p . iao of n « vnl auporiority , than the oonaequenoe of the fatal mistake of engaging at anchor . The * VJeJorSiM

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    618 T H E LEADER . [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 1, 1854, page 618, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2045/page/18/