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Northern Star (1837-1852), 19th June 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 3, OUR 13M*aitMttfc portrait &alto

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      June 19, 1852. The Star Of Freedom 3

      JUNE 19 , 1852 . THE STAR OF FREEDOM 3

      Iiter J Ituicji.-

      IITER j iTUiCJi .-

      ¦ A„«»-,3t.T,Ro M Nrinciple Consists Ia ...

      ¦ a „«» -, 3 t . T , ro m nrinciple consists ia having no V ^ if ; T „ bdn" frKm thinking ; -m an age when men 4 «* . ""S SceP their tongues , keep anything except Jheir wort , : « = t k { foficnir , to instruct it dangerous ; » : * r 4 nds no choice of amending it who cannot at the same ana ne s 1 * . ^ ume aaiuseii . ___

      Tw Ytbiiisgs Or Douglass Jerrold. Collec...

      tw YTbiiisgs or Douglass Jerrold . Collected Edition . Vol . III . London : Bradbury and Evans Vrrv fevr have had a more painiul and heart-break-• no hill < = truwle than Douglass Jerrold . Ha has £ „ v of the waters of bitterness to the dregs . He f = known how sublime a thing it is to sutler and be Sroii" and it is a brave conquering heart on which } e has ' rested Ms lever to move the world . He has fUe ' a * savour and the sorrOW ° f existence t 0 their Z-v core . He has lived his own life , and not passed it fc- hear-say or prosy . He has gone down to the dee ps of his own human nature , which is the secret of his masterv o ver those chords which lie in the hidden depths of universal nature . He is no sham , lint a brave , earnest , manful man . It was impossible for Jerrold to have come out of the tyranny of untoward circumstances in which he has suffered , a sleek and mealy thing ; he has not . His life has been beaten out bv blows , and welded stronger than iron ,

      and he comes forth as the stern , uncompromising warrior , in the cause of Humanity . This will explain his bitter , biting sarcasm , the fierce , tiger like , ilav of his wit , which prostrates with a PLAYxCL blow , and the bull-dog kind of ferocity with which he flies at the throat of an error , a sham , or wrong , and never lets go till the last drop of life is drawn out , ° Having felt and escaped from the ills and wongs and evil circumstances incident to poverty s hell of torture , he turns round and proclaims war for ever mote , vindictive and terrible war , with a societary system , . o prolific in crime andl j £% ™ Z " ofsurrouna eiwnmjten

      finely illustrated the three mg . ces in the creation of character in his hi . Giles and St . James ; ' aw ork calculated to advance the doctrine of Owen perhaps more than all that . venerable Ssopler hJhhielf written Weprefer JerroW to Dickens . He mav not have the latter ' s geniality nor his philosophy of Plenty ; but no is more democratic , more terribly in earnest , more unsparing and passionate in his war with wrong and oppression ; he wives no quarter ; his truth is not a peace-mongermg IhilanthropistthatwiU make certain terms with Error , Ld Humbug , and Crime , and let them live on sufferance , bat , like Aaron s rod , it will swallow them up ! He never blesses the enemy with one hand whom he £ Snocked down with the other . He does no

      seneralise and universalis * , but witn a most vengeiai personality realises , as it were the jnsh of * ero by compressing all the objects of bs hatred 1 under one head , and executes vengeance thereon . He bus not an equal in dissecting tbe follies and hypocnses of the time , and in probing the rottenness of society . Of Jerrold , in attacking an abuse , it may be said truly , if his pistol misses Sre he knocks it down with the butt end of bis weapon . This volume of his writings contains the inimitable « Curtain Lectures' of

      exquisite Mrs . Caudle , the beautiful 'Story of a Feather / and the ' Sick Giant and the Doctor Dwarf The two hitter are fall of his peculiarly penetrating wisdom-happy touches of fancy and deep lessons of life ; and as for Mrs Caudle ( superlative specimen of that not auti-diluvian class , who cannot be happy unless they are miserable , and everybody besides ) what shall we say of her { Miraculous personiBcation of the torments of Job : Happy household oracle ! Felicitous delineator of married miseries ! Wonderful nmseum of the minatiaj of wretchedness ! Who that has read can have ever forgotten the following rich morsel on the

      lost umbrella : — " -in' that ' s tha third umbreBa gone since Christmas . Waft were vou to do ' . \ f by tat him go hoaie in the rain , to be sure . ' I ' m very certain there was nothing about bun that could spoil . Take cold , indeed ! He doesn t look like one of tbe sort to take cold . Besides , he'd have better taken cold than take onr only nmorella . Do you hearthe rain , Mr . Caudle ? I say , do you hear the rain ? And as Pm alive , if it isn't Saint Swithiu ' s day ! Do you hear it against the windows ? Nonesense ; yon don t impose upon me . You cannot be asleep with such a shower asthat . Do vou bear it , I say ? Oh , you do hear it ! Well , that s apr ' ettyflooJ , I think , to last for six weeks ; and no , stirrine all the time out of the house . Pooh ! doii t think me a fool , JL-. Caudle . Don ' t insult me . He return tne umbrella ! Anybody would think you were born yesterday . A * if anvhndv ever did return an umbrella ! There—do

      vou hear it ? "Worse and worse ! Cats and dogs , and for ax weeks—! always six weeks . And no umbrella ! "Bat I know why you lent tho umbrella . Oh . yes ; 1 know very well . I was going out to tea at dear mother s to-morrow . -you knew that , and you did it oa purpose . Don't tell me ; you hate me to go there , and takeevery mean advantage to hinder me . But don't you think it , - Mr . Caudle . So , sir ; if it comes down in buckets -full , 111 go all the more . Xo : and I won't hive a cab \ Where do you think themonev ' s to come from ? You ' ve got nice high notions at that club of yours ! A cab , indeed ! Cost me sixteen pence at least—sixteen pence . ' two-aod-e / ghtpence , for there ' s back again ! Cabs , indeed ! I should like to know who's to pay for ' em ! I can't pay for ' em ; and I m sure vou can't , if vou go on as you do ; throwing away your property , and " beggaring your children—buying umbrellas '

      " Her" says Caudle in bis MS ., "I fell asleep ; and dreamt that the sky was turned into green calico , with whalebone ribs ; that , in fact , tbe whole world revolved uadtr a tremendous umbrella !" How richly unctuous , and what a startling B & belais-like conclusion . And is not this a fine exposition of soman ' s curiosity , wheedling , defiance and cunning , to gain ler end and accomp lish her purpose ?—"Sow , Mr . Caudle—Mr . Caudle , I say : oh ! you can't be asleep already , I know . Sow , what I mean to say ia Ibis ; there's no use , none at all , in our having any disturbance about the matter ; but , at last my mind ' s made up , -Mr . Caudle ; I shall leave you . Either I know all you ' ve

      been doiag to-night , or to-morrow morning I quit the house . Xo . no ; there ' s aa end of the marriage stato , I think—an end of all confidence between man and wife—if a husband ' s to have secrets and keep ' em all to himself . Pretty secrets they must be , when bis own wife can't know ' em . Sot fit for ' any decent person to know , I ' m sure , if that ' s tbe case . Xow , Caudle , don't let us quarrel ; there's a good soul , tell me what ' s it all about ? A pack of nonsense , I dare say ; stilf—aot that I care much , about it—still , I snoufd like to anoir . There's a dear . Eh ? Ob , don ' t tell me , there's solbiogmit ; I know better , I ' m not a fool , Mr . Caudle ; I know there ' s a good deal in it . Now , Caudle ; just tell me a little bit of it . I ' m sure I'd tell you anything . You laowlwould . Well ?

      . .. "And you ' re not going to let ma know tbe secret , eh ? Ton mean to say , —you ' re not ? Sow , Caudle , you know it ' s a hard matter to put me in a passion—not that I care about the secret itself : no , I wouldn't eive a button to know it , for it ' s all nonsense , I ' m sure . It isn't the secret Icareahottt ; it ' s the Blight , Mr . Caudle ; it ' s the studied insult that a man pays to his wife , when he thinks of going through tho world keeping something to himself which he won't Jet her know . Man and wife one , indeed ! 1 should J'ke to know bow that can be when a man's a mason—when be keeps a secret that sets him and his wife apart ? Ha , vou men make the laws , and so you take good care to have

      all the best of ' em to yourselves : otherwise a woman ought to be allowed a divorce when a man becomes a mason . ¦ Rhea he ' s "ot a sort of a corner cupboard in his heart—a Reret place in bis mind—tbat his poor wife isn't allowed to tammage ! . , , " Wag there ever sneb a man . ' A man , indeed . ' A trote !—yes , Mr . Caudle , an unfeeling , brutal creature , * tea you might oblige me , and you won't . I'm sure I don ' t object to vour being a mason , not at all , Caudle ; I kreaayil ' savery good thing ; I dare say it is—it ' s only jenr making a secret of it that vexes me . Bat you'll tell a e-vou' 13 tell vour own Margaret ? You won't ! You ' re a wretch , Mr . Caudle . "

      *He Atjtoeiogbaphy Op Wlliiam Jebdajt, W...

      * HE AtJTOEIOGBAPHY OP WlLIIAM JEBDAJT , WlXH Bis Liieeaky , Political , axd Social Bemet-I 5 CESCE 5 AXD CoBRESPOSDESCE , DURING THE LAST Futv Ye . ui ? . London : Hall , Virtue , and Co ., 1852 . ¦ fhEllE are some men in the literary , as in the politic and social , world , whose talents and position aro * f incommensurate that , on seeing them perched in *&• pride 0 f place , like those shell-fish in the 5 * fts of the rock and ledges of the cliff , you cannot ° ut - . render 'how the devil they got there . ' Mr . erdonappears to us to be such an one . We see no

      * tlemcn t of greatness inhim , nor any evidence of c ^ itis in his book , save a genius for gossip . This as a so impression of the man on seeing him , as * « ice did . A small-brained , ballet beaded , but ^ tive raar ; , a g rcat JJ 0 ] , p er napS fliat vc-rd }} ? . ° i * F ^ h-m—be has boebd his way ihrovgh t *' ' "l- -But why he should be tbe acknowledged ^• npetr of u , gn . atess ffien 0 f ti agC ) the familiar o "«^ ani * Philosophers , and a name among the " - ' au < i noble , remains to ns one of tho * Mvsisriea

      *He Atjtoeiogbaphy Op Wlliiam Jebdajt, W...

      of Literature . ' Some of his contemporaries enthrone him on the mount of Immortality ; but we are quite sure that though he may have partially climbed it by clinging to the glittering skirts of Genius , he has not the pith and muscle to get beyond the half-way-house . And it is most amusing to hear him , from this elevation , decry the way by which he ascended . He has done remarkabl y well by literature—it has prospered with him marvellously . He is what he is through

      literature ; he owes far more to literature than it owes to him and yet he condemns and reviles it . He knocks down the ladder by which he mounted , and prostrates young and fiery- hearted Aspiration as coolly and methodically as the Quaker who , on board the American man-of-war during a battle , pushed the enemy's scaling-ladder from the side of the vessel , and plunged the victim into theses , with a 'Friend , thou hast no business here ! '

      This is the first volume of Mr . Jordan ' s work , and we learn b y it that he was born on the lGth of April , 1782 , in tbe town of Kelso , Roxburgh county , Scotland . He made his first appearance in print in the Poets' Corner of a Portsmouth paper . But Mr . Jordan was somewhat akin to Burns' ' Poet Willie / in regard to his relationship with Pegasus . He came to London , and was engaged as parliamentary reporter for tlie 'Aurora , ' a morning paper , of whose editor he gives the following amusing sketch * . —

      Our editor was originally intended for tho K > rk , and was a well-informed person ; but to seo him at or after midnight in his oScial chair , a-writing his " leader , " was a treat for a philosopher . With the slips of paper before him , a pot of porter close at band , and a pipe of tobacco in his mouth , or casually laid down , he proceeded secundem artem . The head bung with the chin on his collar bone , ns in deep thought—a whiff—another—a try at the beer—and a line and a-half or two lines committed to tbe blotted paper . The original of a well known joke was also a reporter for this paper . This

      was—Mark Supple , an Irish eccentric ot the first-water , be it was who , waking out of an intoxicated doze , and seeing Mr . Abbot on the Treasury bench ( the house being in committee ) , called out , ' Master Speaker , as you seem to have nothing to do , I call upon you for a song , if you plaze . " The fierce indignation of the chair rose hotly against this breach of privilege , and tbe sergcant-at arms was sent up to take the offender into custody ; but Supple adroitly escaped by pointing out a peaceful quaker , sitting two or three seats

      below him , as the culprit , and the affair assumed so ludicrous an aspect , tbat it ended in the worthy broadbrim being turned out , in spite of his protestations of innocence , and withoat having fees to pay . Many of the anecdotes recorded in this hook have long been current in literature , but Mr . Jerdan will have given them a ' local habitation and a name . ' Mr . Jerdan visited Paris in 1814 , and gives the following characteristic of the Prussian General Blacker : —

      Having mentioned the gaming tables , I may observe tbat the veteran Blucher was one of their most assiduous nightly attendants . Attired in it rusty black coat , and blue trousers , with no order but tbe common iron cross of the soldiery on his breast , and sometimes without that , he would sit down and lose rouleau after rouleau of gold , giving his moustache a twist , and trying another venture . He appeared to be invariably a victim ; and so far France was revenged of his mortal hostility . Mr . Jerdan was editor of the' Sun' newspaper from 1312 to 1817 , nuts palmy days of Toryism , and editor of the ' Literary Gazette' from 1817 to 1850 . Ho has thus been in a position to mark the changes

      and development of our literature , to present the world with a kaleidescope of men and manners , and indeed have given us one of the finest glimpses of the firsthalf of oar century . With such glorious memories of the departed great—such thrilling associations—such rich remains—such a store of gossip , anecdote , and scandal , what a book might have been written if the subject had been treated with the sparkling grace , charming piquancy , and amazing mastery of detail , which characterise Housaaye , and other French writers . Mr . Jerdan lacks this gift—jud ging from this first volume , which is dry and dreary .

      Books Received. Weitisgs Op Douguss Jerr...

      BOOKS RECEIVED . Weitisgs op Douguss Jerrold . Yoi . III . London Bradbury and Evaua . The Aeiobiographt op William Jbiidan . Vol . I . London Ball , Virtue , and Co . A Rbsidexce is AiflBKii . London : Pickering . The Cousti Court Guide . London : C . Mitchell . Readable Books . No . III . Letters of Peter Pxjmlei , & c . London : Vizetelly .

      Our 13m*Aitmttfc Portrait &Alto

      OUR 13 M * aitMttfc portrait & alto

      Admiral Blake. Eobert Blake Was Undoubte...

      Admiral Blake . Eobert Blake was undoubtedly one of the noblest and greatest of all the noble and great men of tbe Commonwealth . In his character we find no hypocrisy or mean ambition . He was all disinterestedness ; his only ambition was that of making his country respected by all the world , and of upholding his honour , as the home of a free nation , by dealing prompt and decided vengeance upon its insulters . A short time ago Felix Pyat , in * La Nation , ' taunted England with her ' opium and sulphur wars ' —her' wars of the shop . ' We blush to confess that the taunt is deserved . The material power of the

      British nation is no longer applied to the maintenance of our national honour , and to ensure safety and respect to our countrymen wherever they may go j but is become the vile instrument of the vile moneygrubbers , for the protection of the profits of their knavish trade ; while European freedom and English honour may alike perish . Yet we cannot believe those who are croaking of the coming / aB of England ( unless by * England' they mean that immense mass of corruption and tyranny which crushes and conceals the real life of the British people ) when we look back

      to other days , and see what Englishmen can be , and been been . When we see that when the people have have called into action , they have been fearless and unbending combatants for freedom and patriotism , we cannot doubt that the Commonwealth will yet be born anew , and that the nation will again display its free spirit and courage , disowning all the tyrannical traditions and honourless ' chivalry' of the Tories , the imbecility and expediency of the Whigs , and the cowardice and selfishness of ' liberals , ' and peacehumbugs .

      The suhject of our memoir was born at the sea-port town of Bridgewater , in Somersetshire , in August 1598 . He was the eldest son of Humphrey Blake , a merchant at Bridgewater , who , having accumulated a considerable fortune in the Spanish trade , purchased an estate in the neighbourhood . From the free school of Bridgewater , where he was educated , he went to Oxford , and became a member of St . Alban ' s Hall , in 1615 , and afterwards removed to Wadham College . In 1617 he took the degree of B . A . ; and in 1619 was a candidate for a fellowship in Merton College , but was unsuccessful , as he bad previously been in standing for a scholarship in Christ Church .

      His education was of the right sort—tho development of all his powers , physical and mental . He studied hard ; but he was careful that this study should not be prejudicial to his health . Accordingly he rose early , and habituated himself to field sports and other violent exercises ; by which means he preserved his bodily health intact , while he acquired a very fair amount of scholastic learning . When about twentyfive years old , he returned to Bridgwater , where he lived quietly on his paternal estate till 1640 , known to all as a blunt bold man , of ready humour , and a free and fearless expressorof his unfettered opinions , which , both in politics and religion , were decidedl

      y opposed to the bigotted and tyrannical spirit of the court . In fact , he was a republican ; and , believing in the sovereignty of ihe people , he could not feel other than indignation and hatred towards the impudent advocates of that monstrous ' absurdity the « by-the-grace-of-God' kingcraft , placing a whole nation under the yoke of hereditary foolishness ; and , feeling thus , he was too honest a man , and too brave a man , to have any desire for the concealment of bis thoughts , or to have any fear of the consequences of their avowal , convinced as he was of their justice ,

      • and the necessity of implanting them in the minds of the less enlightened . His Democratic opinions gained for him the confidence of the Presbyterian party in Bridgwater , by whose exertions he was returned to the parliament of 1 G 40 . In consequence of that body being so speedily dissolved , he had no opportunity for displaying his talents for debate ' , and he lost his election to the Long Parliament . When the civil war broke out , he displayed his antimonarchical principles by entering the parliamentary army , where he was soon made a captain of

      Dragoons . . Nothing of importance is recorded of him until 1613 , when we find him commanding under Fienne ? , : > furl at Bristol , while that city was ? besieged by the

      Admiral Blake. Eobert Blake Was Undoubte...

      Royalistf . Here his impdtuous courage had almost cost him his life . Enraged at Fiennes' cowardly surrender , he continued for some time to maintain his fort , and killed a number of the Royalist soldiers who attacked it . It was . with difficulty tbat Prince Kupert was induced to spare his life , which he held to have been forfeited by this breach of the laws of war . The Royalists could speak of the laws of war , notwithstanding tbe violence and enormities they had committed after obtaining possession of the city . He afterwards served as lieutenant-colonel in Somersetshire , under Popliam , who was governor of Lyme . By an attackunexpectedjhecaptured Taunton , andgained

      possession of ten pieces of cannon and a large quantity of ammunition . The following year the parliament appointed him governor of this place , which was one of great consequence , being the only parliamentary fortress in that quarter , In tbat capacity he distinguished himself by the skill , courage , and constancy with which , during two successive sieges , he maintained the town against tlie Royalists in 1045 ; and so important was this service considered , that the parliament voted £ 2 , 000 to the garrison , and £ 500 to the governor . In 1640 , Colonel Blake reduced Doncaster Castle , which was nearly one of the last events of the war .

      As a military officer , there was no man in the parliamentary army , Cromwell excepted , who acquired and deserved a greater degree of fame for soldier-like abilities and success than Robert Blake . In February , IGiO , Blake , in conjunction with two other military officers , Deane and Popham , was appointed to command the fleet . It may be taken as a proof that , notwithstanding the fame of our early navigators , the naval service bad never had much attention bestowed upon it ; that , down to later times thau those of which we now write , tho chief command of a fleet seems never to have been entrusted to a man of naval education and experience . It may be that there was more danger and hardships than profit or honour attached to this branch of the national service in these days ; and that this consideration egectually . ' preventedany scion of tbe aristocracy , or place-hunting

      courtier adopting aud following the seafaring profession ; while the command of a fleet was esteemed too great a post to he oonferted on a plebeian . Blake showed singular capacity for the post of naval commander . When the embers of the war were stirred up after Charles Stuart ' s death , he was ordered to the Irish Seas in pursuit of Prince Rupert , whom he bloeaded in tbe harbour of Einsale for several months . Despair of relief induced Rupert , at last f make a daring effort to break through the parliamentary squadron , in which he succeeded ; but with tho loss of three ships . Blako pursued him to the Tagus , whore , being denied liberty to attack his enemy by the King of Portugal , in revenge , he captured and sent home a number of richly laden ships , on thoir way from Brazil . Towards the latter end ot 1650 , Prince

      Kupert escaped out of the Tagus , and Blake followed him up the straits to Carthagina , thence to Malaga , which was a neutral port . In January , 1651 , ho attacked , and , with theexceptionoftwo ships , mono of which Prince Rupert and his brother Prince Maurice escaped , destroyed tho royal fleet in the harbour , a proceeding wtiich was no breach of iitirnational law , as Itupert was a well-known pirate , auj ml d-Htfoydi Jir tisJi shbs in tho same harbour . The parliament recompensed these services by creating Blake warden of tbo Cinque Ports ; and in March an act was passed constituting him , and his colleagues , Deane and Popham , admirals and generate at sea for the ensuing year . After tin ' s he took Jersey , Guernsey , and the Soill y Islands from the Royalists , a service for which he was again thanked by tho parliament . In this year he was elected a member of tbe Council of State .

      On the 25 th of March , 1652 , Blake was appointed sola admiral for nine months , in expectation of a war with Holland . This war between the two great Republics has been ascribed to St . John , who , it is reported , used every endeavour with Cromwell and the British people to foment it , as a means of revenging on the Dutch tbe slights and insults he had received from tho retainers of the Orange family , during his embassy to Holland . Bo that as it may , there did undoubtedly exist a vast deal of rivalry and insensate jealousy on the part of both nations , who were then tho two most powerful maratimo countries iu the world . The war was at length begun in the spring of 1052 , on a point of etiquette , and very much against the desire of the Dutch government . On the 18 th of May , a fleet of forty-two Dutch ships , commanded by the celebrated Van Tromp , appeared offthe Goodwin Sands . Being challenged by Major Bourne , who commanded a squadron in tho Downs , the ' v nrofesaed

      to have been driven from their anchorage off Dunkirk by stress of weather ; but , instead of keeping farther off from the coast , as tbey were required to do , they sailed to Dover , and there cast anchor j thus displaying a deliberate design to insult the British flag . When Blake , who was lying at some distance to the westward in Ryo Bay , received intelligence of this insolence , he at once sailed thither , and on his approach the Dutch weighed anchor , and seemejfaaboufc to retreat ; but suddenly changing their course , they sailed direct for the English fleet , " when within musket-shot , Blake ordered a gun to be fired at the Dutch admiral ' s flag , which was done thrice . Instead of lowering his flag , however , Yan Tromp returned a broadside , and a hot and wellcontested action ensued , which was maintained until night came on , when the Dutch , under cover of tho darkness

      beat a retreat , after having lost two of their ships , and a great number of killed and wounded . The States entirely disapproved of this conduct on tho part of their admiral ; and when in vain they had tried every means to satisfy tho government of the English Republic , they dismissed Yan Tromp , and appointed De Ruyter and De Witt to the command of their fleet . Meanwhile Blake actively followed up his victory . He gained a rich harvest among the Dutch homeward-bound merchantmen , which were pursuing their way without the slightest suspicion of danger , and which were , consequently , somewhat surprised to find themselves so suddenly in the power of an enemy . When bo bad sent home forty of these , and effectually cleared the channel , he sailed to the northward , dispersed the fleet engaged in the hemng fishery , and captured a hundred of the vessels

      composing it , together with a squadron of twelve men-of-war , that tho Dutch government had sent to protect them . On the 2 Sth of September the opposing fleets again came to an engagement , when that of Holland was thoroughly beaten , the re . « r-admiral of tbe Dutch being taken , and three Or four of their ships disabled . The battle ended with the day , and the Dutch retreated ; and , although the English pursued them for two days , they were unable to come up with the flying enemy , who escaped into Gorce . Jealous of the growing fame of Blake the executive government set itself to the task of weakening bis power . Accordingly , after this engagement , numerous detachments were drafted off on various services , until the English fleet was reduced to forty sail , while even these were not supplied with the requisite men and ammunition . Van Tromp

      again stood over to tbe English coast , while Blake , in this state of impotence , lay in the Downs . The Dutch fleet consisted of eighty ships of war but , notwithstanding these fearful odds , Blake , with his accustomed daring , did not hesitate to attack him . But in the state he was in , with but few ships , and these ill-supplied with important requisites , it was impossible for any amount of bravery to render him successful . The battle began at two O ' clock on the morning of the 29 th of Kovember , and lasted till six in tbe evening . Only about half the ships on either side were engaged , two of the English were taken , and four destroyed , while the remainder were so shattered that they were obliged to run for shelter into the Thames . After this victory , Van Tromp sailed through the Channel with a broom at tho mast-head , as a boast that be bad swept it

      clear of English ships . However , Blake did not go to sleep , and was soon in a position to sweep away the sweeper , and his fleet , and broom . Monk and Deane were joined in the commission with Blake , and the fleet was repaired with such diligence , that Bailing from Queenborough , on the 8 th of February , 1653 , with sixty ships of war , he was joined by twenty more from Portsmouth . On the 18 th he fell in with Van Tromp , with nearly equal force , conducting a large convoy of merchantmen up the Channel . A running battle ensued , which continued during three consecutive days , until , on the 20 th , the Dutch ships found shelter in the shallow waters of Calais . As many as 1 , 500 on either aide were killed in this long and obstinate fight . Towards the end of April Deane and Monk watched the Dutch fleet , which had taken refuge in the Tezel , while Blake sailed to the north . The Dutch getting out , Deane and Monk brought them to an engagement off the North

      Foreland , on the 3 rd ot June , when the English had rather the worst of it ; but Blake arriving next day tho enemy was entirely defeated . Ill-health then obliged 'him to quit tbe sea , so that he was not present at the last great victory of July 29 tb , in which Van Tromp was killed . In November , 1 C 54 , Blake was appointed to command a strong fleet sent into the Mediterranean , to demand reparation for the insults the nation had received during the time of civil war . Every power hastened to do honour to his flag , and grant compensation for injuries done . The Dey of . Tunis alone held out , confident in the strength of his fortifications . " Here , " said he , " are out castles of Goletta and Pot to Ferino : do your worst ; we do not fear your fleet . " Blake bore right into the bay of Porto Ferino , destroyed the fortifications , and sent in a detachment of boats into the harbour , and burnt the shippingwhich lay there .

      War breaking out between . Spain and England , in 1656 , Blake blockaded" the bay of Cadiz . Fearing that his death was approaching , he sent home a request that a suoccessor might be joined in commission with him . General Montague was accordingly serit out with a strong squadron . Being obliged to quit the Spanish coast in September , to obtain water for bis fleet , ho left Captain Stayner with seven ships to watch the enemy . At this time the Spanish Plate fl eet made its appearance , of which Stayner captured four ships richly laden , which Montague took home ; thus leaving Blake again alone in the Mediterranean . In the ensuing spring , having heard that another Plate fleet had put into the island of Teneriife , he sailed thither , aud arrived in the road of Santa Cruzon tho 20 th of April .

      , Tho bay was strongly fortified , with a formidable castle at tbe entrance , and a connected chain of minor forts all round it . There was , also , collected there a naval force , powerful and strongly posted , the smaller vessels being placed under the guns of the forts , and the galleors moored with . their broadsides to the sea . So powerful and complete was their defence against the enemy , that tho Spanish governor , a far-seeing man , wanting in neither courage nor ability , bad not the slightest fear of danger . The captain of a Dutch ship , which was lying in the harbour , knowing better than the Spaniard the character of the English admiral , went to tho governor and asked leave to depart , 'For I am sure , mi he , ' that Blake will be among you pre

      Admiral Blake. Eobert Blake Was Undoubte...

      sently . ' 'Begone , if you wiff , ' replied the "overnor confidently ; ' and let Blako come if ho dares ' * Now he should have known that daring was a quality , whicn , of all others , Blake had never been known to stand in want of The sequel showed that he did not want it on this occasion ' The wind Wowing into the bay , he sent in Captain Stavner with a squadron to attack the shi pping , phced others in such a position as to take off , and as far as possible to ailenco the fire of the castle and the forts , and himself Vollowing , assisted Stayner in capturing the galleons whlc ' i " though inferior in number , were superior in size and force to the English ships . This was completed by two o ' clock in the afternoon ; the engagement having been commenced at eight in the morning . Hopeless of being ablo to carry the out of the bay against adverse wind

      prizes an and a still active enemy , Blake ordered them to bo . burnt . Fortunately tho wind , which had been blowing strongly into tho bay , suddenly veered round , and favoured his retreat , as it had favoured his daring approach . For this defeat the Spaniards comforted themselves with the belief that their destroyers could only be devils , nob men . As a recompense for this gallant action , the thanks of parliament wore voted to the officers and seamin engaged , alone with a diamond ring to tho admiral worth £ 500 , ° Blake returned to his old station off Cadiz , but tho increase of those diseases—dropsy and scurvy—to which he was subject , determined him to return to England ; but ho was destined never again to set foot on that land he had so much loved and so well defendofl .

      When he reached tho Bay of Biscay , on his way home those around him saw with 4 ismay that his end was draw . ' ing near , ' Some gleams of the old spirit broke forth as they approached the latitude of England . Ho inquired often and anxiously if the white cliffs were yet in sight . He longed to behold once more tho swelling downs , the ' free cities , the goodly churches of his native land . ... At last , the Lizard was announced . Shortly afterwards , the bold cliffs and bare hills of Cornwall loomed out grandly in the distance . But it was too late for tho dying hero . He had sent for the captain and other great officers of his fleet , to bid them farewell ; and while they were yet in his cabin !

      the undulating hills of Devonshire , glowing with tho tints of early autumn , came full in view , ... But the eyes which had so yearned to behold this scene onco more were at that very instant closing in death . Foremost of the victorious squadron , the St . George , rode with its precious burden into the Sound ; and just as it camo into full view of the eager thousands crowding the beach , tho pier-beads , tho walls of tbe citidal , & e ., ready to catch the first glimpse Of the hero of Santa Cruz , and salute him with a true English welcome—ho , in his silent cabin , in the midst of liis lion-hearted comrades , now sobbing like little children , yielded up his soul to God . ' *

      Uis body was transported to London , and buried with ereat pomp , at the national expense , in a vault in Henry VII . 's chapel . When Kingcraft was restored , his bones , like those of Cromwell and Ireton , were treated with brutal indignity by the cowardly Royalists , and at last fouud a resting place in St . Margaret's Churchyard . The character of this great man , and true Englishman , is thus sketched by the Tory Historian , Clarendon : — ' He was of private extraction , yet had enough left him by his father to give him a good education , which his own inclination disposed him to receive in the University of Oxford , where ho took the degree of a Master of Arts , and was enough versed in books for a man who intended not to be of any profession , having enough of hisown to maintain him in the plentv he affected , and having then no appearance of ambition to be a

      greater man than ho was . Ho was of a melancholic and sullen nature , and spent hisjimo most with good fellows , who liked his moroseness , and a freedom he used in inveighing against the licence of the time , and the power of the court " . They who knew nun inwardly , discovered that he had an anti-monarchical spirit , when few men thought tbe government in any danger . * * * * Ho then betook himself wholly to tho sea , and quickly made himself signal there . He was the first man that declined the old track , and made it manifest that the science might be attained in less time than was imagined , and despised those rules that had Ion " been in practice , to keep his ship and his men out ot danger , which had been hold in former times a point of

      great ability and circumspection , as if the principal art requisite in the captain of a , ship had been to be sure to come safe home again . He was the first masv who brought tho ships to contemn castles on shore , which had been thought ever very formidable , and were discovered by him to make a noiso only , and to frighten those who could be rarely hurt by them . He was the first who infused that proportion of courage into the seamen , by making them seo by experience what mighty things tbey could do , if they were resolved , and taught them to fight in fire as well as upon water ; and , though ho has been very well imitated and followed , he was the first that gave ' the example of that kind of naval courage , and bold and resolute achievements . '

      * Robert Blake: Admiral And General At S...

      * Robert Blake : Admiral and General at Sea . ' By Henwortl ixon . Chapman and Hal ) . 18-32 .

      The Countess Op Rudolstabt. [Sequel To "...

      THE COUNTESS OP RUDOLSTABT . [ Sequel to " Consuelo . " ] By George Sand . the rb 11010 n op the invisibles . AH tho seven were there , as at tbe first time , masked , mute , impenetrable as phantoms . The eighth personage , who had then addressed Consuelo , and who seemed to be the interpreter of the Council , and the initiator of the adopts , spoke to her in these terms : — " Consuelo , you have already undergone some trials from which you have come forth to your glory and to our satisfaction . Wo grant you our confidence—we are about to prove it to you . " Listen to me attentively . I speak to you in the name of those whom you seo hero assembled . It is their spirit , and , so to speak , thoir breath , which inspires mc . It is their doctrine which I am about to lay before you .

      " The distinctive characteristic of the religions of antiquity is to have two faces—one external and public , one internal and secret ; ono is the spirit , the other is tho form or letter . Behind the material and gross symbol , the profound sense , the sublime idea . Egypt and India , great types of the ancient religions—mothers of pure doctrinespresent in the highest state this duality of aspect—a necessary and fatal form of the infancy of society , and the misery attached to the development of the genius of man . You have recently learned in what consisted the great mys . teries of Memphis aud Eleasis ; and you now know wliy the divine political and social science , concentrated with the triple religious , military , and industrial power in the hands of the hiorophants , did not descend so far as tho lowest classes of those ancient societies . The Christian

      idea , enveloped in . tho word of the revealor in more tran « sparent and pure symbols , oame iuto tbe world in order to bring down to the souls of tho people the knowledge of truth and the light of faith . But the theocracy , an inevitable abuse of religions , formed in trouble and in danger , soon endeavoured once more to veil the doctrine , and , in veiling , altered it . Idolatry re-appeared with the mysteries ; and in the painful development of Christianity wo saw the hierophnnts of apostolic Rome lose , by divine punishment , the divine light , and fall again into the errors into which they wished to plunge mankind . The development of human intelligence then proceeded ia a sense entirely different to that of the past . Tbe temple was no longer as in ancient times , the sanctuary of truth . Superstition and ignorance , gross symbols , the dead letter sat upon the

      altars and the thrones . The spirit at last descended into the classes too long debased , Poor monks , obscure doc tors , humble penitents—virtuous apostles of primitive Christianity—made of the secret and persecuted religion an asylum for unknown truth . They endeavoured to initiate tbe people into the religion of equality ; and in the name of St . John , they preached a new gospel—that is to say , a new interpretation—more free , more hardy , and more pure , of the Christian revelation . You know the history of their labours , of their trials , of their martyrdom . You know tbe sufferings of the people , their ardent inspirations , their terrible outbursts , their deplorable weakness , their stormy awakenings ; and through so many efforts , by turns frightful and sublime , their heroic perse , veranco to escape from darkness , and to find the way of God . The time is near when the veil of the temple shall be rent for ever , and when tho crowd shall take by storm the sanctuaries of tbe holy ark . Then symbols will

      disanpear , and the entrances to truth will no longer be guarded by the dragons of religious and monarcl ioal despotism , Every man will be able to walk in tho path of light , and to come nigh to God with all the powers of his soul . No longer will one say to his brother— "Be ignorant , and humble yourself . Close your eyes , and receive the yoke . ' Every one will , on tho contrary , be able to ask of his brother tbe help of his eye , of his heart , and of his arm , to penetrate into the arcanaa of the sacred science ' . But that time has not yet to come ; and at this hour we salute only tho dawn trembling upon tho horizon . The time of secret religions still exists—the work of mystery is not yet accomplished . We are still here enclosed in the temple , busy in forging arms to drive away the keepers who interpose between the people and ourselves , and compelled still to keep our own doors closed , and our words secret , that no ono may come and wrest from our hands the holv ark , saved with so much difficulty , and reserved for the co ' mmu . nity of mankind .

      " \ ou are now received into tho new temple ; but that temple is still a fortress which has held out during ages for liberty without being able to win it . The war is around us . We wish to bo liberators-we are as yet only combatants . You come hero to receive the fraternal communion , the standard of salvation , the sign of liberty , and perhaps to perish on tho breach in the midst of us . Such is the destiny which you have accepted . You will , perhaps , fall without having seen tho pledge of victory wave over your head , It ia still in tho name of St . John that we call men to the crusade . It is still a svmbol that wo invoke ; we are the heirs of the Joannites of former times -the unknown , mysterious and persevering continue !* of Wiekliffe , of John Huss , and of Luther ; wo wish , as they wished , toiree tho human race ; but , lilce them , wo are noS free ourselves-and , like thorn , we perhaps march to execution .

      " Still the combat has changed its ground , and the arras their nature . We brave still the overshadowing rigour of tbe laws ; wo still expose ourselves to proscription , to misery , to captivity , and even to deatb-1 ' or the methods of tyranny aro always the samo ; but our efforts aro no longer an appeal to physical revolt , to the bloody preaching of the cross and tho sword . Our war is entirely intellectual , as is our mission . We address ourselves to the mind—we act by the mind . It ifc not by armed force that we can overthrow governments now organised and supported on all tho means of brutal force . We wage against them a war mora slow , more silent , and more profound ; wc attack them at tho heart . We shako their bases by

      The Countess Op Rudolstabt. [Sequel To "...

      destroying the blind faith and the idolatrous respect ^ hioh they seek to inspire . We cause to penetrate everywhere , and even into courts—even into tho troubled and fascinated minds of princes and kings , what no one dares any longer to call tho poison of philosophy ; wo destroy all their charms ; we dischargo from the height of our fortress all the hot shot of burning truth and implacable reason upon the altars and the thrones . We shall conquer , do not doubt it . Iu how m : my years , in how many days , we do not Know ; but our enterprise dates from such remote antiqutty , it has been Conducted with so much faith , stiflsd with so little success , resumed with so much ardour , pursued witii so much enthusiasm , that it cannot fail . It haa become immortal in its nature , like the immortal good ifc nas resolved to win . Our ancestors began it , and each generation has hoped to finish it . If wc did not also hope a _ niuo ourselves , perhaps our zeal would bo less fervent aim less

      ettoacious ; but if tho spirit of doubt and of irony wn . cn now g 0 Vcrns tho worW ghoa | d weoeod , - „ proving wn n y , * calculations and abusira reasoning . " , that cenfK » « ' . which catl he realised only in several not b Si ?« conv i L iotl ' « Hie holiness of our cause would morfeff r ln " , i t l !? C ! VM 0 wu ^ ould labour whh a littla Klahou ' f ^ n 'V , ttl 0 T «««)* , we should not the u ? ind the m . n « t £ ° tbe futu , ° There is »«* «™ SliitoM bond ™ , i h ° P ast i " aerations yet unborn , a Sd in oJsefyesZ ^ r J t ,,:, t we , lllV 0 aIlQ 0 S ' man n viS y ftta ^ Sr *? 11 , onion of Lu * preuend , and yel he ^ £ & 3 'ff Jig — thing which resembles our hereditary religious eoSlSSS Among the great , many sacrifices ar 0 made forXv in order to be worthy of their ancestors , and to R , t 5 much honour to posterity . Among us , architects of ' tho temple of truth , many sacn & ces aro made to virtue in order to continue the edifice of our masters , and to form flborcous apprentices . We live by the mind and hv tho

      heart in tho past , in the future , and in the present , all at once . Oar predecessors and our successors are as much us as we ourselves are . We believe in the transmission of life , of sentiments , of generous instincts in souls , as the patricians beiiero in an excellence of race in thoir veins . Wo go still further ; we believe in the transmission of tho lite , of tho individuality of the soul , and of tho human person . We feel ourselves fatally and providentially called to continue the work wc have already dreamed , always pursued , and advanced from age to a go among us . Tflera are even some among us who have carried their contemplation of tlie past and of the future , so fur as almost to lose all notion of the present ; that is tbe sublime fever , that is the ecstacy of our believers and our saints ; for wo have our saints , our prophets , perhaps also our exaltes and visionaries ; but , whatever be the wandering or sublimity ui

      men- transports , we respect their inspiration ; and among us Albert , the ecstatic and the seer , has found only brothers , full of sympathy for his sorrows , and of admiration for his enthusiasm . Wo have faith also in the convtction of the Count do Saint Germain , considered an impostor , or deranged in the world : Though his reminisconces ol a past inaccessible to human memorv have a character more calm , more precise , and inconceivable still than the ecstacies of Albert , they have also a character of good faith and lucidity , at which it is impossible for us to sooif count

      . We among ourselves many other exaltes , mystics , poets , men of the people , philosophers , artists , ardent sectarians , railed round tbe banners of various chiefs ; Bohemists , Theosophists , Moravians , Ilcrnhutters , Quakers-oven Pantheists , Pythagoricians , Xerophagists , Illumines , Joannites , Templars , . vtillenarians , Jacobites , & c . All those ancient sects , in spite of their having uo longer the development which they possessed at tbo time of their unfolding , are none the less existing , and even but little modified , ilio characteristic of our epoch is to reproduce all thosa orms which the innovating or reforming conius has Given

      try turns m past nges to tho religious and philosophical idea . We tneretore recruit our adepts in these various groups without requiring an absolute identity of precepts , which is impossible in the time in which we live . It is enoush for us to find in them an ardour for destruction in order to call them into our ranks ; all our organising science consists in choosing our biulde -s only among spirits superior to the disputes of schools , in whom the passion of truth , the thirst of justice , and the instinct of tv pure morality prevail over the habits of family and tbe rivalries of sect . Besides , it is not so difficult as is thought to cause to work to ? ether very dissimilar elements ; these dissimilarities are " more apparent than roal . At bottom , all these heretics ( it is with respect I usothat name ) agrco upon tho principal point , that of destroying intellectual and physical tyranny , or at least of protesting against it . The antagonism

      which have hitherto retarded the fusion of all these generous and useful resistances come from self-love and from jealousy , vices inherent to the human condition , fatal and inevitable counterpoises to all progress in humanity . By sparing these susceptibilities , by permitting each commauiou to keep its masters , its institutions , arid its rights , we can constitute , if not a society , at least an army ; and I have told you we are still only an army marching to tho conquest of a promised land , of an ideal society . ' At the stage in which human nature still is , there are so many shades Of character in individuals , so many different degrees in the conception of truth , so many varied aspects , ingenious manifestations of the rich nature which created the human race , that u . ¦> absolutely necessary to leave to each the conditions of his life and th ^ eicinent-toi' ma paws *

      of action . " Our work is grand , our task is immense . We wish not only to found an universal empire upon a new order , and upon equitable basis ; it is a re igion that we wish to reconstruct . We feel , moreover , that tho one is impossible without the other . Thus we have two modes of action . Ona all material , to undermine and cause to crumble the old world by criticism , by examination , even by sneering , by Voltairianism and all connected with it . Tho formidable concourse of all wills and of all strong passions hurries our march in that direction . Our other mode of action is all spiritual : it is to build up the religion of tho future . The elect in intelligence and virtue assist us in this incessant labour of our thought . Tho work of the Invisibles is a council which the persecution of tbe official world prevmta assembling publicly , but which deliberates without relaxa .

      tion , and which labours under the same inspiration m all points of tho civilised world . Mysterious communications carry the seed in the air as fast as it ripens—sow it ia the field of humanity as fast as we clear it from the husk . It is in this last subterranean labour that you can bo associated ; we can tell you when you have accepted it . " "Iaccept it , " replied Consuelo , in a firm voice , and raising hor arms to heaven in tho form of an oath . " Ba not in haste to promise , woman of generous vn > stinots , of enterprising soul . Perhaps you bavo not all tha virtues such a mission would require . You have travereed . the world ; you have already gathered therein tho notions I of prudence , of what is called savoir vivre , discretion , the \ spirit of conduct , " "I do not so flatter myself , " replied Consuelo , smiling * with a modest pride .

      '' Well , you have there learnt at least to doubt , to discuss , < , to sneer , to suspect . " " To doubt , perhaps . Take from mo the doubt whic & Ei was not in my nature , and which has mado me suffer , and ! I will bless yon . Take from me especially the doubt off myself which would strike mo with impotence . " . " We cannot relieve yon of doubt except by developinae our principles to you . As to giving to you material ^ guarantees of our sincerity and our power , we shall not dolo so otherwise than wo have already done . Let the serviceses we have rendered bo sufficient for you : we will alwaysya assist you on occasionsbut wo will not associate in thdu

      , mysteries of our thought and of our action , except accorded ing to that part of action which wo give to yourself . YOWM will not know us . You will never see our features , lot ' oi wili never know our names , unless a great interest of thfcb cause compels us to infringe the law which renders us unun known and invisible to our disciples . Cau you submit auim trust blindly to men who will never be to you othehe than abstract beings , living ideas , mysterious aids antral counsels V "A vain curiosity alono could impel me toknowyoyoi otherwise . I think that childish feeling will never enteite my bosom . "

      " We have no reference to curiosity , but to mistrustasl Yours would be well founded according to the logic anan the prudence of the world . A man is answerable for hi hi actions ; his name is a pledge or a warning ; his reputaita tion supports or belies his arts or his projects . Do yoryoi reflect that you can never compare the conduct of any omom of us in particular with the precepts of tho order ? YouToi must believe in us as saints without knowing that we an am not hypocrites . Have you faith enough to believe witVitll closed eyes ?" «* As a Catholic , I did so in youth , " replied Consuelo , , " Raise your hand now , if you persist . " ( To be Continued . J

      Imcftfafi* From $Tmcf).

      IMcftfafi * from $ tmcf ) .

      The Earl Of Malmesbury Is Pushing A Bill...

      The Earl of Malmesbury is pushing a bill through th tit Lords , that , if to the shame of England , - it shall become me law , will hugely delight the French President ; for it will , ill , i little trouble , place in his grasp the men who have escapcapn to England , believing in the vulgar error that England isl is i free country . This bill is nominally for " tbe mutual sul suj render of criminals iu France and England to the respectiecti i governments of those countries ; " but tbe bill is so crossf oss ( i and interlacedjwith subtleties tbat a case of felony may wiy wii little difficulty bo trumped up against a political offend & ndci

      Louis Blanc , lor instance , might be claimed for robbing thg t !; l President of his reputation , valued at something more the thai a silver fork . Lord Campbell turned the bill over very svy bxv piciously—so did Lord Brougham ; and if it pass the Lor Lorr in its present shape , which is doubtful , it must be ma mai harmless by the Commons . Neither is tho bill to bo le > o lee suspected because introduced by the Earl . of Malmesbunburr his lordship's instincts are a little , too much towards tds tt Elysco . " It is a purely criminal treaty , " says the Ea » Eaw for all that wo would rather havo nought to do with it . \ it . \\ want nothing in common with Louis Napoleon ; and , lei , lew of all , handcuffs \

      Sympathetic Showers . —The rain on the Ascot Cup tfup dd seems to have exercised a curiously sympathetic influejfluew I upon the Betting-houae proprietors . It was astouisbinlsb : ! what a number of them were found next morning to hito hai " mizzled . " The Exolis'i Press is Paris . —At the time of our goir goo to press , wo received intelligence that the corrcspondeondee of the " Chronicle" and " Daily News" had been sent lent i 1 and informed that Louis Napoleon had not slept a v ? a to during the previous night ; and that they , as contributribuhl to English journals , would bo hold accountable if the the 11 sident did not enjoy tbe soundest . veposo the night fol ! t folll ! xui

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), June 19, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_19061852/page/3/