Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

434

REVIEW. Turner's Tour in Normandy.

of Sheffield, a gentleman who in the midst of his commercial pursuits, and an active engagement in any scheme which has for its object the benefit of his place of residence, has found time to cultivate a taste for the beauties of nature and of art, which is combined with powers of description of no ordinary kind. We have had many engravings of the remains of Beauchief, and there is one in the work here referred to which will have a permanent value as being from the pencil of Chantrey."

[ocr errors]

Broom Hall introduces a full account of the highly respectable family of Jessop; several of whom were of literary eminence; and that spirit still lives in its present representatives.

"The name of Sir William Gell is deservedly held in the highest respect by the lovers of the remains of classical times; and Mr. Marmaduke Lawson, the eldest son of the Rev. Mr. Lawson, of Magdalen College, Cambridge, where he was admitted A.B. in February, 1816, obtained in 1812 one of Sir William Browne's medals for the best Latin ode, and in 1816 one of the Chancellor's medals for the best classical exercises. In 1814 he

was elected the first Pitt scholar. At the general election of 1818, Mr. Lawson was returned Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge."

The Out-Parts of Hallamshire consist of the parishes of Ecclesfield, Hansworth, Treeton, and Whiston, and the Chapelry of Bradfield. All these places is satisfactorily described; with accounts and pedigrees of the numerous families connected with them.

We trust our full approbation of the able manner in which Mr. Hunter has executed his task, has been already sufficiently evinced by the ample account we have given of his

[blocks in formation]

[May,

his intimate acquaintance with the principles of Political Economy, are here first publicly developed.

The connexion which for some ages subsisted between Normandy and our own country is well known; and is demonstrated by the similarity of manners which even to this day is visible. An account, therefore, of that extensive Province from so judicious an observer, cannot fail of being a valuable acquisition to English Lite

rature.

Mr. Turner shall introduce himself:

"The observations which form the basis of the following Letters, were collected during three successive tours in Normandy, in the summers of 1815, 1818, and 1819; but chiefly in the second of these years. Where I have not depended upon my own remarks, I have endeavoured, as far as appeared practicable and without tedious minuteness, to quote my authorities for facts; and I believe that I have done so in most instances, except indeed where I have borrowed from the journals of the companions of my tours,-the nearest and dearest of my connections,-or from that of my friend, Mr. Cohen, who, at almost the same time, travelled through a great part of Normandy, pursuing also very si milar objects of inquiry. The materials obtained from these sources, it has been impossible to separate from my own; and, interwoven as they are with the rest of the text, it is only in my power to acknowledge, in these general terms, the assistance which I have thus received."

The descriptions given by Mr. Tur ner of the several Cathedrals and Churches which he visited are not only satisfactory to the professed Artist, but from the elegant simplicity of the language, are equally pleasing to the general Reader.

That our Author can also agreeably descend to ordinary life, may be exemplified by the following extract:

"The first approach to Dieppe is extremely striking. To embark in the evening at Brighton, sleep soundly in the packet, and find yourself, as is commonly the case, early the next morning under the piers of this town, is a transition, which, to a person unused to foreign countries, can scarcely fail to appear otherwise than as a dream; so marked and so entire is the difference between the air of elegance of smartness approaching to splendor in and mutual resemblance in the buildings, of the activity of commerce in the movethe equipages, of fashion in the costume,

ments, and of newness and neatness in every part of the one, contrasted in the other with a strong character of poverty and neglect, with houses as various in.

[ocr errors]

their structure as in their materials, with dresses equally dissimilar in point of color, substance, and style, with carriages which seem never to have known the spirit of improvement, and with a general listlessness of manner, the result of indolence, apathy, and want of occupation. With all this, however, the novelty which attends the entrance of the harbor at Dieppe, is not only striking, but interesting. It is not thus at Calais, where half the individuals you meet in the streets are of your own country; where English fashions and manufactures are commonly adopted; and where you hear your native tongue, not only in the hotels, but even the very beggars follow you with, I say, give me un sou, s'il vous please.' But this is not the only advantage which the road by Dieppe from London to Paris possesses over that by Calais. There is a saving of distance, amounting to twenty miles on the English, and sixty on the French side of the water; the expence is still farther decreased by the yet lower rate of charges at the inns and, while the ride to the French metropolis by the one route is through a most uninteresting country, with no other objects of curiosity than Amiens, Beauvais, and Abbeville; by the other it passes through a province unrivalled for its fertility and for the beauty of its landscape, and which is allowed by the French themselves to be the garden of the kingdom. Rouen, Vernon, Mantes, and St. Germain, names all more or less connected with English history, successively present themselves to the traveller; and, during the greater part of his journey, his path lies by the side of a noble stream, diversified beyond almost every other by the windings of its channel, and the islands which stud its surface. There is still a third point of passage upon our Southern coast, and one that has of late been considerably frequented, from Southampton to Havre; but this I never tried, and do not know what it has to recommend it, except to those who are proceeding to Caen or to the Western parts of France. The voyage is longer and more uncertain, the distance by land between London and Paris is also greater, nor does it offer equal facilities as to inns and public carriages."

In a Letter " on the Affairs of France," dated in June 1918, Mr. Turner says,

"There is a material improvement at Rouen, since I was last here: nothing could be worse than the inns of the year 1815; but four years of peace have effected a wonderful alteration, and nothing can now be better than the Hôtel de Normandie, where we have fixed our quarters, Objection may, indeed, be made to its situation, as to that of every other hôtel in the city; but this is of little moment in a town, where every house, whatever street

or place it may front, opens into a courtyard, so that its views are confined to what passes within its own quadrangle; and, for excellence of accommodations, elegance of furniture, skill in cookery, civility of attendance, nay, even for what is more rare, neatness, our host, M. Trimolet, may challenge competition with almost any establishment in Europe. For the rent of the house, which is one of the most spacious in Rouen, he pays three thousand francs a year; and, as houserent is one of the main standards of the value of the circulating medium, I will add, that our friend, M. Rondeau, for his, which is not only among the largest but among the most elegant and the best placed for business, pays but five hundred francs more. This, then, may be considered as the maximum at Rouen. Yet Rouen is far from being the place which should be selected by an Englishman, who retires to France for the purpose of economizing: living in general is scarcely one-fourth cheaper than in our own country. At Caen it is considerably more reasonable; on the banks of the Loire the expences of a family do not amount to one-half of the English cost; and still farther South a yet more sensible reduction takes place, the necessaries of life being cheaper by half than they are in Normandy, and houserent by full four fifths."

The whole description of Rouen * and its fine Cathedral, and other public buildings, the Literary Institutions, &c. is highly to the purpose.

Under the head of "Monastic Institutions," we are told that,

"The Laws of France do not recognize monastic vows; but of late years, the clergy have made attempts to re-establish the communities which once characterized the Catholic Church. To a certain degree they have succeeded: the spirit of Religion is stronger than the Law; and the spirit of contradiction, which teaches the subject to do whatever the law forbids, is stronger than either."

"Nuns are increasing and multiplying, but Monks and Friars are looked upon with a more jealous eye; and I have not heard that any such communities bave been allowed to re-assemble within the limits of the duchy, once so distinguished for their opulence, and, perhaps, for their piety and learning.

"The libraries of the monasteries were wasted, dispersed, and destroyed, during the Revolution; but the wrecks have since been collected in the principal towns; and

* A good view of Rouen Cathedral is given in vol. LXXXIV. part i. ; of Evreux and Lisieux Cathedrals, vol. LIII. pp. 208, 813; four views of Seez Cathedral, vol. LVI. 359; and of the Abbey of St. Stephen at Caen, in vol. LXXXV. part ii.

thus

436

REVIEW. Turner's Tour in Normandy.

thus originated the public library of Rouen, which now contains, as it is said, upwards of seventy thousand volumes. As may be anticipated, a great proportion of the works which it includes relate to theology and scholastic divinity; and the Bollandists present their formidable front of fifty-four ponderous folios.

"The manuscripts, of which I understand there are full eight bundred, are of much greater value than the printed books. But they are at present unarranged and uncatalogued, though M. Licquet, the librarian, has been for some time, past laboring to bring them into order. Among those pointed out to us, none interested me so much as an original autograph of the Historia Normannorum, by William de Jumieges, brought from the very abbey to which he belonged."

"The Abbé Saas, who published, in 1746, a catalogue of the manuscripts belonging to the library of the Cathedral of Rouen, calls this Benedictionary, which then belonged to the metropolitan Church, a Penitential; and gives it, as his opinion, that it is a production of the eighth cen tury, with which æra he says that the character of the writing wholly accords. Montfaucon, who never saw it, follows the Abbé; but the opinion of these learned men has recently been confuted by M. Gourdin, who has bestowed considerable pains upon the elucidation of the history and contents of this curious relic. He states that a sum of fifteen thousand franes had been offered for it, by a countryman of our own; but I should not hesitate to class this tale among the numberless idle reports which are current upon the continent, respecting the riches and the folly of English travellers. The famous Bedford Missal, at a time when the bibliomania was at its height, could hardly fetch a larger sum; and this of Rouen is in no point of view, except antiquity, to be put in competition with the English manuscript. Its illuminations are certainly beautiful; but they are equalled by many hundreds of similar works; and they are only three in number, the Resurrection, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and the Death of the Virgin.-The volume appears to have been originally designed for the use of the Cathedral of Canterbury; as it contains the service used at the consecration of our Anglo-Saxon Sovereigns."

In a note on the Bedford Missal, Mr. Turner observes, that

"At the sale of Mr. Edwards' library, in April 1815, it was bought by the present Duke of Marlborough for six hundred and eighty-seven pounds fifteen shillings. -The following anecdote, connected with it, was communicated to me by a literary friend, who had it from one of the parties interested; and I take this opportunity

[May,

of inserting it, as worthy of a place in some future Bibliographical Decameron.At the time when the Bedford Missal was on sale, with the rest of the Duchess of Portland's collection, the late King sent for his bookseller, and expressed his intention to become the purchaser. The bookseller ventured to submit to his Majesty, that the article in question, as one highly curious, was likely to fetch a high price. - How high ?'- Probably, two hundred guineas!' Two hundred guineas for a Missal!' exclaimed the Queen, who was present, and lifted up her hands with extreme astonishment. Well, well,' said his Majesty, I'll still have it; but, since the Queen thinks two hundred guineas so enormous a sum for a Missal, I'll go no farther.'-The bidding for the Royal Library did actually stop at that point; and Mr. Edwards carried off the prize by adding three pounds more."

Of the MS. by William of Jumieges, a neat transcript is given; and after noticing some other articles of curi osity, Mr. Turner adds,

"The library is open every day, except Sundays and Thursdays, from ten to two, to every body who chooses to enter. It is to the credit of the inhabitants of Rouen, that they avail themselves of the privilege; and the room usually contains a respectable assemblage of persons of all classes. The revenue of the library does not amount to more than three thousand francs per annum; but it is also occasionally assisted by government, The French ministers of state consider that it is the interest of the nation to promote the publication of splendid works, either by pecuniary grants. to the authors, or, as more commonly happens, by subscribing for a number of copies, which they distribute amongst the public libraries of the kingdom.-I could say a great deal upon the difference in the conduct of the governments of France and England in this respect, but it would be out of place; and I trust that our House of Commons will not be long before they expunge from the statute-books, a law which, under the shameless pretence of 'encouraging learning,' is in fact a disgrace to the country."

To this very just and reasonable suggestion we heartily say, Amen ; the attention of those in whom alone and respectfully recommending it to unequal and oppressive burthen, we the power is vested of alleviating an for the present take our leave of this intelligent and fascinating Tourist.

The very delicate and beautiful Etchings, fifty in number, are princi pally, if not all, from the pencil and needle of Mr. Turner's accomplished

Lady.

Lady. There are also several neat wood-cuts, from her accurate delineations.

Mr. Turner frequently cites the "Alien Priories" as a work of Mr. Gough's. But as that excellent Topographer has " laurels enough of his own," and as that Work has long been out of print, we shall briefly state that those two neat volumes, and the "History of the Abbey of Bec," were edited, in 1779, by Mr. Nichols. The "Alien Priories" were compiled from the MSS. of Mr. John Warburton; and the " Abbey of Bec" was printed from a MS. communicated by Dr. Ducarel. Both these works were revised, through the press, by Dr. Ducarel and Mr. Gough: many valuable notes were added by both, and a Glossary by Mr. Gough*. For some account of these three interesting morsels of Anglo-Normanic History, and a beautiful view of Mount St. Michael, see our vol. XLIX. pp. 252, 582. See also the "Literary Anecdotes," vol. VI. pp. 284, 631.

65. A Bibliographical, Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany. By the Rev. Thomas Frognall Dibdin. FR. S. A. &c. 3 vols. imperial 8vo. SCARCELY had we risen from the treat afforded us by Mr. Dawson Turner's Volumes, embellished as they are by very interesting delineations, when we were most agreeably surprized by the more splendid and elaborate decorations of the Bibliogra phical tomes now before us; which, though somewhat similar in design,

are far more comprehensive in extent, and in the variety of articles, which have fallen under the immediate inspection of the most industrious Bibliomaniac of this or any other country.

Mr. Turner's Tour is confined to the Province of Normandy; and the principal object of his attention is directed to Ecclesiastical Architecture.-Mr. Dibdin (like Mr. Turner) begins his Description at Dieppe; and after visiting Rouen, Caen, Bayeux, Vire, Falaise, Paris, &c. &c. with a more especial view to the principal Libraries in each, proceeds to Strasburgh, Stutgard, Augsburg, Munich, and Vienna, enlarging on each with the dignified hand of a Master, enriching his pages with a plentiful barvest of continental Science and Literature, and adorning them with an endless variety of Engravings by the ablest Artists.

Thus much must suffice for the almost momentary glimpse we have taken of these (in every way) highlyfinished Volumes which we hope speedily to have the satisfaction of perusing more at leisure.

[ocr errors]

66. A Narrative of the Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, under Generals Ross, Pakenham, and Lambert, in the years 1814 and 1815. With some Account of the Countries visited. By an Officer who served in the Expedition. Svo. pp. 377. Murray. WHY are these pages so extremely interesting, as we have found them? Not, certainly, from the military im

* That the revision of these learned Antiquaries was highly useful, will not be doubt. ed. That it was somewhat expensive to the Editor, may be judged of from a similar kindness which Mr. Nichols experienced, in the same year, when printing the "Royal and Noble Wills." "The first projector of this curious Work was Dr. Ducarel; and by the joint assistance of that eminent Civilian and Mr. Gough, it was conducted through the press, not without a very considerable inconvenience to the Printer, who paid the whole expence occasioned by the various notes added by his learned Friends; a circumstance thus pleasantly alluded to by one of them:

"Who shall decide when Doctors disagree

Between the learn'd Civilian and R. G. ?
Revis'd and Sic Orig. the Doctor cries,

Nor Once t' elucidate the puzzle tries.

'Write Notes,' the Director says: Again revise,'

And wearies out the Text with grave surmise.

Nichols o'erruns, and finds at last to's cost

[blocks in formation]

Scrawl crooked lines and words that none can read:
And thus far only are we both agreed.

R. G. Nov. 1779."

+ The eminent Engraver; who was occasionally Dr. Ducarel's Amanuensis.

portance

438

REVIEW.-American Campaigns under Gen. Ross. [May,

portance of those campaigns, of which the first was but moderately successful, the latter deeply, though not disgracefully unfortunate. The reason is, because the narrator is evidently an active partaker in every transac tion he relates. Because he takes the reader with him in every part of the Expedition, from the close of the Peninsular war to the final departure from the Mississippi. Because he is pleasingly interested in every thing that presents itself to his observation; the nature of countries, the manners of people, the difficulties or facilities which the various parts of the transaction presented; and because, in describing naturally his own feelings, he compels the reader to partake them. It consists of 25 Letters, but divested of all the superfluous accompaniments of epistolary writings; and we hesitate not to predict, that whoever begins the first Letter, will proceed to the last, with as little interruption as his time will allow.

The first Letter is dated from the Garonne, and describes the situation of the British troops before Bayonne, immediately after the conclusion of the armistice in May 1814. We need not go further to exemplify the author's natural talent for picturesque description:

"Regarded in connection with past events, the scene was indeed most interesting; though to a stranger fresh from England, a man we will suppose of retired and peaceful habits, I can readily imagine that it would have been productive of much pain; and that it would have drawn from him many ejaculations against the barbarities of war, and the cruelties of men towards one another. On each side of the road, in whatever direction we cast our eyes, and as far as our eyes could reach, we beheld cottages unroofed and in ruins, chateaux stripped of their doors and windows, gardens laid waste, the walls demolished, and the fruit-trees cut down; whole plantations levelled, and vineyards trodden under foot. Here and there likewise, a redoubt or breast-work presented itself; while caps, broken fire-locks, pieces of clothing and accoutrements scattered about in profusion, marked the spots where the strife had been most determined, and where many a fine fellow had met his fate. Our journey lay, in short, over a field of battle, so that the houses were not only thoroughly gutted (to use a vulgar but most expressive phrase), but for the most part were riddled with cannon shot. Round some of the largest, indeed,

there was not a wall nor a tree, which did not present evident proofs of its having been converted into a temporary place of defence, while the deep ruts in what had once been lawns and flower gardens,

showed that even their beauty did not protect them from being destroyed by the rude passage of heavy artillery.

[ocr errors]

Immediately beyond the village of Bedart, such spectacles were particularly frequent. It was here, you will recollect, that, in the month of December last, there was fighting for four days together; and I do assure you that the number of little hillocks within our view, from most of which legs and arms were peeping up, as well as the other objects which I have attempted to describe, sufficiently attested been maintained. the obstinacy with which the fighting had

"I repeat, that in the bosom of a man of peace, it is very conceivable that all this would have excited feelings exceedingly painful; in ours, however, such feelings were overborne by others much more powerful. If we gazed with peculiar interest upon one hovel more than another, it was because some of us had there maintained ourselves; if we endeavoured to count the number of shot-holes in any because we had stood behind them when walls, or the breaks in any hedge, it was

the iron hail' fell thick and fast around

us.

[ocr errors]

Our thoughts, in short, had more of exultation in them than sorrow; for though now and then, when the name of a fallen comrade was mentioned, it was accompanied with poor fellow' the conver sation soon returned again to the exploits and hair-breadth escapes of the survivors. On the whole, therefore, our march was one of deep interest and high excitement,

feelings which did not entirely evaporate

when we halted, about two hours after noon, at the village of Anglet." P. 5.

After depicting the extreme misery of a country which had recently been the seat of war, our soldier concludes with this very just reflection:

A

It is

"One only remark, however, I beg leave to make, a remark which has been often made by much wiser men, that old England, if she were but properly aware of it, has more cause of sincere thankful. ness than any nation of Europe. here that our countrymen have suffered, and are still suffering in their purses; and it is unquestionable, that to part with our money, and to deny ourselves luxuries to which we have all our lives been accustomed, are in themselves no slight griev ances. But if they who complain so bitterly of taxation, could but experience for a short time the real misery of having a war brought home to their doors, I am mistaken if they would not desire to buy

« AnteriorContinuar »