aggravated by the insidious attempts which have been made, on the part of Sweden, to seduce the Norwegians from their allegiance to the King of Denmark. We can easily suppose that the Crown Prince had cast a longing eye on Norway; and that, when he threw a glance over the map of Europe, he conceived the idea of rounding the Scandinavian empire, which he is destined to inherit, by the desirable addition of Norway: but, if it be right to seize, or to accept from the hands of those who are not intitled to give, every thing which the ambition of a ruler or leader may desire, we must cease to inveigh against Bonaparte: -even his wicked attempt on Spain will find a sort of justification in our own measures.

The writer before us reprobates, in the strongest terms, all the late attempts on the independence of Norway; and he contends that, though kings and courtiers may choose to betray a country, the nation is not bound to abide by their decisions.' He condemns the measure in question as inhuman, cowardly, and insulting; 'as impolitic in regard to the favourable effects' which it may generally produce; and as holding forth no rational prospect of substantial and lasting benefit to Sweden herself. Some general observations of Madame de Staël, which bear on the case of the proposed junction of Norway to Sweden, are also controverted. In fine, as the author discovers a knowlege of the Norwegian character, his pamphlet is intitled to notice: but, after the decisive events which have recently taken place, it is not to be supposed that the Allies will depart from their policy; or that England, having won the Crown Prince by certain promises, will relax, if she has the power of fulfilling them.

An appendix contains an account of the agriculture of Norway, and of the establishment of an University; and it exhibits traits of Norwegian character, which are intended to shew that a foreign yoke must be galling to a race of men who are so eminently valorous, and who on former occasions have made the Swedes pay dearly for their invasion.

Art. 23. Reflexions sur l'Etat actuel de la Norvège. i. e. Reflections on the actual State of Norway. 8vo. 1s. 6d. Murray. According to this writer, the recent conduct towards Norway, so strongly condemned in the pamphlet just noticed, has in it nothing extraordinary, and the cession of the kingdom of Norway to Sweden was the natural result of the political system. We are told that Norway, though herself untouched, has been in fact conquered by the events of the war in the Cimbric peninsula. The resistance of Prince Christian, Governor-general of Norway, to the cession of that kingdom, is pronounced to be indefensible; and it is farther maintained that the King of Denmark has a right to require his ceded Norwegian subjects, as the last act of obedience to him, to submit to a change of masters, especially when it is for the sake of saving the remainder of his estates to his Danish Majesty. The poor Norwegians are referred to the promises of Sweden for consolation, and are assured that the personal character of their new sovereign ought to inspire them with confidence.

This, as the ladies say, is pretty talking: but we cannot think that any of these reflections will convince mankind in general that Norway has been fairly used, or induce the people of that country cheerfully to submit to their hard fate. If, however, they will not submit willingly, they are in conclusion told that they will be compelled by force of arms to obey. This hint is NOT very pretty.

Art. 24. Letter from Sir Philip Francis, Knight of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, to Earl Grey. 8vo. Is. 6d. Ridgway. 1814.

The much-agitated transfer of Norway to Sweden seems to be the subject of this letter: but Sir Philip is so rambling and narrative, that it is not easy to say what topic floats on his pericranium. Our ministry are reminded of the original principle of the war, which they seem to have forgotten; and their conduct to Denmark, in offering one half of her dominions to another power as a bribe to espouse the cause of the allies, is reprobated as a dereliction of that principle. The original war itself was professedly undertaken with what sincerity it would now be superfluous to inquire-for the avowed predominant purpose of resisting the propagation of French principles, destructive of all order and society, to support the cause of morality and religion, and, above all things, to assert the hereditary right of succession in every country, where a royal government had been established, and in any family which might happen to have been long in possession of the crown.'

We certainly appear, by the part which we are acting in severing Norway from the crown of Denmark, to violate the very doctrine for the support of which we drew our sword against France: but the letter-writer is not satisfied with merely urging this objection to our treatment of Denmark; he contends that, had even Denmark consented to the cession of Norway to Sweden, such cession could not be valid without the acquiescence of the people of Norway. He proposes a parallel case, which will come home at once to our feelings, and the reasoning of which cannot be resisted:

On the point of right, I shall only ask one question. Can you or any man state a case, in which the king of these united kingdoms could have a right, in any extremity or under any duress, to alienate the kingdom of Ireland and transfer it to France? or, if he did so, would it convey a valid title to the receiver, and make it treason in the Irish to defend their independence, by taking up arms against his dominion?'

With the character of Bernadotte, this Knight of the Bath makes very free; and, by the evidence which he adduces, he endeavours to leave this impression on our minds, that we have paid much more for the said Crown Prince than he is worth.

Art. 25. Of Buonaparte and the Bourbons, and of the Necessity of rallying round our legitimate Princes for the Happiness of France and that of Europe. By F. A. Chateaubriand. Second Edition, revised and corrected. 8vo. 48. Colburn. 1814.

Raving declamation may rouse the prejudices and passions of a people, but it cannot enlighten. A writer like M. Chateaubriand may, in his zeal for the cause which he espouses, abandon himself to

an

an intemperance which will be acceptable to some partizans, but it will disgust the sober and reflecting part of mankind. He begins with telling us that the Almighty himself marches openly at the head of the armies, and sits in the council of kings;'-that the tombs of our ancestors are the only solid basis of all governments ;' — that · the heart of a descendant of St. Louis is an inexhaustible treasure of mercy ;' — that Buonaparte did not know that the heir of Christ (meaning the Pope) was still retaining that sceptre of reeds and that crown of thorns which will soon or late triumph over the power of the wicked;'-that Buonaparte wished to convert our sons into a sort of Mamelukes, without God, without family, and without country, and has done more mischief to the human race in the short space of ten years, than all the tyrants of Rome put together from Nero down to the last persecutor of the Christians. In short, Bonaparte's government is represented as so monstrously tyrannical, and so utterly insupportable, that it outrages all belief to suppose that it could have lasted ten years. Far are we from vindicating the proceedings of the degraded and exiled despot: but "give the Devil his due, and do not paint him blacker than he is." In describing the conscription, M. de Chateaubriand asserts, moveable columns traversed our country like an enemy's country, to tear from the people their last children. Were these savages complained of, the answer was, that these moveable columns were composed of handsome gensd'armes who would console the disconsolate mothers, and restore to them what they had lost.' This is rather incredible: but, to tax our faith still more, he adds, Women big with child have been put to the torture, that they might reveal the place where their first-born was concealed.' The following is given as a general statement :

• In the eleven years of his reign he caused more than 5 millions of Frenchmen to perish, which exceeds the number of those whom our civil wars swept away during three centuries, under the reign of John, Charles V., Charles VI., Charles VII., Henry II., Francis II., Charles IX., Henry III., and Henry IV. In the twelve months which have just elapsed, Buonaparte raised (without reckoning the National Guard) 1,330,000 men, which is more than 100,000 per month; and yet some one had the audacity to tell him he had only expended the superfluous population !'

No words appear to be strong enough for M. Chateaubriand to express his detestation of Bonaparte, who is represented to be without talents as well as without virtue. The least General surpasses him in abilities; and as to his heart, born to destroy, he carries wickedness in his bosom as naturally as a mother carries her fruit, with joy and a sort of pride.' - When, however, the author comes to the Bourbons, he looks out for opposite epithets, making them to appear all that is great, good, and divine. With that word King, every thing desirable is connected: but we know not what is meant by an Emperor.'

France spontaneously teems with lillies; irrigated with the blood of so many expiatory victims sacrificed at the foot of the scaffold of Louis and Antoinette, they will grow more beautiful than ever !'

Much

Much reason, indeed, has France to rejoice in the recall of Louis XVIII., if this writer's character of him be just :

Not only does Louis XVIII. possess those fixed ideas, that moderation, that good sense, so necessary to a monarch, but this Prince is also fond of literature, well informed, and eloquent like many of our kings, of a capacious and enlightened understanding, of a firm and philosophical character.'

As an enthusiast for the Bourbons, and the hater of Bonaparte, M. Chateaubriand writes up to the times: but his pamphlet, we conceive, is in too mad a strain to please the judicious even of his own party.

NOVEL S.

12mo. 4 Vols.

Art. 26. Patronage. By Maria Edgeworth, Author of "Tales of Fashionable Life," "Belinda," " Leonora," &c. Second Edition. 11. 8s. Boards. Johnson and Co. 1814. Those writers who wish to be moral generally exhibit, as warnings, the downfall of schemes raised on false principles: but Miss Edgeworth, with superior skill, deters her female readers from artifice, and those of the other sex from abject dependance, by pourtraying characters whose attempts to obtain patronage are successful, but who remain unhappy in the midst of worldly prosperity, for want of self-esteem and affectionate family-union. If she be somewhat backward in suggesting religious motives for amiable conduct, she has drawn such attractive examples, that no one can rise from perusing this story without an impression favourable to virtue. It abounds with sensible observations and masterly strokes, and furnishes many excellent models for young people. Among these, the character of Rosamond is peculiarly well imagined; her generous acquiescence in her sister's superiority, and her affectionate zeal for promoting Caroline's triumphs, are touchingly pleasing. The exemplary perseverance of her brothers also affords an useful lesson, and the praises bestowed on the Percys by their former dependants are admirably introduced. The sketch of Lord William, in the third volume, with the personification of mauvaise-bonte, is also new and ingenious. Above all, the prominent character of Lord Oldborough is forcibly drawn, and uncommonly well preserved: but the concluding incident, of the discovery of his son, might as well have been avoided, as derogatory to his fame.

Perhaps the story includes too many personages; though, as they have all their appropriate features, their number proceeds rather from the author's exuberance of fancy than from a repetition of imagery. Several, however, of the individuals who appear, are not allowed to speak; and this is to be lamented, because the dialogues are among the most striking and lively parts of the work. The letters from the young Percys to their parents are natural, but too long; and, in our old-fashioned estimation, "Your's truly" is not a respectful conclusion of a letter to a mother. Most of the cures performed by Erasmus, the physician, are trifling and improbable; the legal incidents are inaccurately conceived; the history of Mr. Henry and Miss Panton is an hors-d'œuvre, neither interesting nor illustrative; and

the

the anecdote of Buckhurst Falconer saving the Bishop from choking is disgusting, and unworthy of the pen of this superior writer.

These pages contain also a few verbal inaccuracies, which must have been overlooked in the hurry of publication: viz. Vol. i. p. 9., Rosamond was so much excited by what had happened, that she continued talking.'-Vol.ii. p. 167. ‘As to friends of your own making, they are as much your own earning, and all the advantages they can be to you is as honourably your's, &c.— Vol. iv. p. 58., • Alfred shewed that, without Buckhurst yielded, law must take its course.'-Page 354., There was no noisy acclamations,' &c.

In the preface to this edition, Miss Edgeworth disavows her having drawn living characters: but her candour is so generally acknowleged that this vindication scarcely seems necessary; and if, like Mr. By-ends in the Pilgrim's Progress," it is her luck to jump in her judgment with the way of the times," and thus to give the effect of real portraits to the creations of her own genius, let her not repine, "but rather count it a blessing."

Art. 27. O'Donnel, a National Tale. By Lady Morgan, (late Miss Owenson,) Author of "The Wild Irish Girl," "Novice of St. Dominick," &c. 12mo. 3 Vols. Il. Is. Boards.

Colburn. 1814.

This fair author professes to have now for the first time made "the flat realities of life" the subjects of her pen; and, accordingly, she has attempted to delineate persons of fashion, and poor Irishmen. Among the former we find too much sameness in the language, and too great an intermixture of French phrases: but the spirit of the woman of ton and the sleepy indifference of modish fine gentlemen are well depicted. The speeches of M'Rory, though too long, are often humorous; and, in general, Lady Morgan has succeeded in her patriotic attempt to exhibit her countrymen in a favourable light, and has skilfully entered the lists with Miss Edgeworth in the delineation of Irish character and manners.

O'Donnel, however, though meant to be grand, is lowered by childish vanity when he adorns himself in his hut with the order of Maria Theresa and the Cross of St. Louis; and by the credulity and irritability which expose him to mortification, whenever he is not shielded by the Duchess of Belmont's common sense and presence of mind. The heroine, also, is not more natural than was Miss Owenson's Glorvina; and she is far from being equally attractive, since she displays even in the most tender scenes a pert flippancy which seems to be incompatible with feeling.

Though the fair writer may escape the reproach of having coloured too highly in this work, which will be deemed the most proper of all her performances, yet she retains her predilection in favour of reformed rakes; describing Lord S. as having been "un grand roué," and telling us that O'Donnel himself formed his opinions respecting the female character in scenes of licentiousness. (Vide Vol. iii. page 17.) In many passages, the grammar is incorrect, as in Vol. i. p. 6., We made up since we come here.' - P. 44., 'I wish you had not have taken advantage.-P. 190., The stranger whose graceful figure

threa