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OBITUARY.

CHARLES THE Tenth, ex-King of

FRANCE

Nov. 4. At Goritz, in Illyria, in his 80th year, his Majesty Charles the Tenth, late King of France, and K.G.

Charles. Philippe de Bourbon was born Oct. 9. 1757, the fifth and youngest son* of the Dauphin Louis, son of King Louis the Fifteenth, by his second wife Maria Josepha of Poland, third daughter of Augustus the Third, King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony. The title of Comte d'Artois was given to him in infancy, and he retained it until the accession of his brother Louis XVIII. when he assumed that of Monsieur.

The Comte d'Artois was married on the 17th November, 1773, to the Princess Maria Theresa, daughter of Victor Amedeus III. King of Sardinia, and sister to the consort of Louis XVIII. at which period he was only in the 17th year of his age. By this Princess, who died at Gratz, in Hungary, the 2d June, 1805, he had two children-Louis Antoine, Duc d'Angoulême, born the 6th of August, 1775, who, on his father's succession to the Throne, became Dauphin of France, and who married Theresa Charlotte, his first cousin, the only daughter and only surviving child of Louis XVI. but by whom he has no issue; and Henry Charles, Duc de Berri, who married, in 1818, Maria Caroline, daughter of Francis I. late King of the Two Sicilies, by whom he had two children, viz. Maria Theresa Louisa (called Mademoiselle), born 28th September, 1819, and Henry Charles Dieudonné d'Artois, Duc de Bordeaux (a posthumous Prince), born the 29th September, 1820. The Duc de Berri was mortally wounded by an assassin in Paris, on the 14th of February, 1820, and died the following morning.

The Comte d'Artois was never favourably spoken of with reference to his domestic relations. On the contrary, he acquired a character for dissipation and extravagance, which rendered him highly unpopular, especially when contrasted with the conduct of Louis XVI. and of Monsieur; the private character of the former was not only untainted, but highly estimable; the latter, though somewhat luxuriously inclined, had conducted himself in a way which secured to him considerable public respect, whilst the ease

The sons of the Dauphin were, 1. Duc de Bourgogne, 2. Duc d'Acquitaine, who both died young; 3. King Louis XVI.; 4. King Louis XVIII.; 5. Charles X.

and affability of his manners contributed to render him highly popular. He was enabled, in consequence, to brave the first storm of the Revolution, and it was only when its demagogues hurled their insane fury against the very name of Royalty, that he took refuge in flight. The Comte personal safety to quit France at the onset d'Artois found it necessary for his own of the Revolution. He visited the Court of his father-in-law, the King of Sardinia, Europe; but at length sought an asylum at Turin, and subsequently other parts of in England, where he resided for a considerable period. Becoming deeply involved in pecuniary embarrassments, and some of his creditors being very clamorous assign him, as it were, a refuge; and Holy. and urgent, it was found necessary to leged place, where the stern ministers of rood-House, Edinburgh, being a privi enforcing pecuniary claims, it was fixed the law could not enter for the purpose of upon by the British Government as a resifamily, as he might be there enabled to dence for the Comte and some of his live without molestation.

the two surviving brothers were strongly In this respect also the characters of contrasted-Louis XVIII. contrived to live at Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire, veniences just alluded to, and maintaining without being subject to any of the incona character which was always considered duct conciliated the esteem of all those highly respectable, whilst his personal conwho approached him, or in any way came in contact with him. The Comte d'Artois, on the other hand, was by no means liked; there was a hauteur in his manner which was not at all pleasing, or calculated to insure him respect or esteem; and his careless and improvident habits, especially adapted to raise his character. situated as he then was, were very ill His fixed sojourn at Holyrood- House was of neceshaving been effected with his creditors, he sity rather monotonous. Some arrangement was subsequently enabled to live at Harthere there was very little difference bewell, with his brother Louis XVIII.; but tween one day and another, except what London, or to the other quarters, and was afforded by an occasional journey to those very rarely. They lived pretty much a retired life, nor could it be otherwise; and, indeed, for a considerable period, their prospect, with reference to restorathey might have almost calculated upon tion, seemed so shrouded in gloom, that passing the remainder of their lives in this country.

One of the incidents, however, that oc

curred whilst in England to the Comte d'Artois, deserves to be recorded, as it is said to have altered the frame of his mind, and to have brought on that sort of gloomy moroseness which marked some parts of his subsequent conduct. The Comte had a great many mistresses, but the one to whom he was most tenderly attached was Mme. de Polastron. This lady, in her connection with the Comte d'Artois, felt all that excess of sentiment natural to a woman of southern climes, and the Prince met these sentiments with equal intensity of feeling. Some time before her death, the Chaplain in ordinary of the Comte d'Artois died, and a substitute was sought for. M. de Latil, then only at Abbé, was preparing to embark for America, when the vacant appointment was offered to him. It was then but a poor provision, but the young Abbé preferred it to taking the chances of a voyage to America. Mme. de Polastron, who was then in a dying state, wished to prepare for her approaching end, but she had lost her ordinary confessor, and had but a limited confidence in the young chaplain. She, however, desired to see him, and after frequent interviews, made her confessions. Upon this she entreated the Comte d'Artois to promise to comply with a last request she would make to him. The Prince entered into the engagement. It is said that Mme. de Polastron then made him solemnly swear he would never give his affections to another woman. This ceremony left a deep impression on the weak mind of the Comte. Madame de Polastron, having thus enchained the future life of her lover, died contented. Charles X., who was then only 45 years of age, remained ever after faithful to his sacred engagement. From this time M. de Latil (afterwards a Cardinal) became the confidant of every thought of the Prince, and his ascendancy increased with the age of his penitent, until it attained an extent impossible to describe, and to which may be attributed many of the faults of the reign of Charles X. In 1814 he was frequently urged to marry again. The friends to the dynasty, seeing with pain that the Duke d'Angouleme had no child, and not knowing whether the Duke de Berri would be as fortunate in his marriage as he had been in his previous amorous adventures, were induced by the perspective of a failure of the elder branch of the family, to reiterate appeals to him to contract a new alliance, but he as contantly refused.

In the conduct of the Comte d'Artois, or Monsieur, subsequent to the second restoration, whilst he was the heir presumptive, there was nothing particularly striking or remarkable; but he never en

joyed any popularity at all approaching to that which was conceded to his brother, his sentiments being known to approximate too much to the exploded dogmas of the old regime, and his manners and deportment, though polite and courteous, betraying evidence of great constraint, and evincing that he was more playing a character which he had assumed, than speaking or acting from the dictates of his heart.

On succeeding his brother as King of France, by the title of Charles X. he made his public entry into Paris on the 27th of September, 1824. Had he then formed a resolution to be in reality a Constitutional Sovereign, and adhered to it permanently, the greetings of the people with which he was then hailed, might have lasted during his life, and all might have been well; but his devotion to priestly influence got the better of whatever sense he had, and thus was gradually brought on the catastrophe. Not possessing, or contemptously spurning, that tact of which his brother Louis XVIII. had successfully availed himself, he lost a throne, which common prudence might have enabled him to retain, and secure for his family.

On the 25th of July 1830, in consequence of the result of a general election, Charles the Tenth issued his two fatal ordinances, one abolishing the freedom of the press, and the other changing the mode of election, and greatly contracting the number both of electors and of their representatives. The Three Days of riot ensued, which have since been called the "glorious Revolution of 1830." The King retreated from St. Cloud to Rambouillet, where he offered to abdicate in favour of his grandson the Duc de Bordeaux, and requested from the Provisional Government a safeconduct to a sea-port. He embarked at Cherbourg, and arrived off Spithead on the 17th August. On the 23d he landed at Poole, and for a time he took up his residence at Lulworth Castle, the mansion of Cardinal Weld (see a full account of his reception, with a view of the castle, in Gent. Mag. vol. C. ii 202). He immediately began to console himself with field sports, of which he was passionately fond. After two months he removed to Edinburgh, and resumed his old quarters at Holyrood-House; where he continued, we believe, for less than a twelvemonth, and then removed to the dominions of Austria.

There were many remarkable coincidences in the histories of Charles X. and James II. Both spent their youth in exile, and both returned without being rendered wiser by adversity. They each endeavoured to govern on principles which

events had rendered impracticable, and the downfall and exile of each was the consequence. The advisers who drew this ruin upon them were of the same sect and faction in both cases; and the measures which they adopted are remarkably similar. They each bore their exile with much fortitude and resignation, leaving behind them pretenders to the thrones from which they were driven. In both cases they were succeeded by princes of their own blood. It is not the least remarkable of these coincidences, that the Bourbons and Stuarts, having succeeded to abortive democracies and military despotisms, were represented on their return by princes of despotic and lazy habitsthe licentious Charles and the gourmand Louis; and that those who held them. selves to be peculiarly wise in the affairs of the world maintained that these apparently careless monarchs could not maintain themselves on their thrones. The result was far different from the predic. tion. Charles II. and Louis XVIII. died quietly in their beds, after having laughed at the plots and conspiracies by which they were surrounded, leaving behind the legacy of banishment to their steadier and more decorous fanatical brothers. It is only fair to Charles X. to say that he had no trace of that perfidy which stains the character of the Stuart dynasty in general, and of James II. in particular. He was universally and justly considered to be strictly honest and veracious.

Latterly, in his retirement, Charles X. appeared as an amiable, warm-hearted, well-disposed old man. Having led a very dissipated life when young, his latter years passed in acts of superstitious mortification, under the direction of his confessors. He constantly wore sack-cloth or hair-cloth next his skin; he fasted much, and prayed several times in the course of the day; and he frequently imposed upon himself, as a penance for some hasty expression, the remaining several hours without uttering a word.

It is remarkable that, of the whole Capetian race, a line of thirty-five sovereigns, Charles X. is the only one who has attained his 80th year; a circumstance which, connected as it is with the contemporary longevity of King George the Third, may be regarded as exemplary of the generally improved duration of human life at the present æra.

The Royal Exile, with his family, lately removed from the Castle of Prague, much to the annoyance of the Austrian Government. On the 4th Nov. the King was in good health, and joined his family in celebrating the anniversary of San Carlo

Borromeo (his patron saint). The day following he was seized with a violent inflammation of the bowels, and in a few hours he was no more. The ceremonies usually observed at the death of the King of France were strictly observed by his faithful followers.

The manner in which the French have received the death of Charles X. does them great credit. It was free from revolutionary passion to a degree that could bardly have been believed six years ago. The French journals of nearly all shades of politics have spoken with great kind. ness of the deceased ex-monarch, and represent his private character to have been most estimable.

The Archbishop of Paris addressed a letter to the Curates of the metropolitan parishes, enjoining them to refrain from offering any cause for offence to the Government by celebrating masses for Charles X., but to content themselves with praying in secret for the soul of him "whom they loved in the spirit as well as in the flesh."

In London a service for the Dead was celebrated at the French Chapel on the 24th Nov. The chapel was hung in black, upon which escutcheons of the Bourbon family were attached alternately with funeral candelabra. In the centre of the chapel was placed a bier, or cenotaph, upon which also appeared "the likeness" of the Bourbon crown. The English Court went into mourning for ten days, on Sunday, Dec. 18.

THE COUNTESS HOWE.

Oct. 25. At Penn House, near Amersham, in her 37th year, the Right Hon. Harriet-Georgiana Countess Howe.

Her ladyship was born Dec. 18, 1799, the second daughter of the Hon. Robert Brudenell, by Anne, daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, Bart. and sister to the late Lord de la Zouche. She was consequently sister to the present Earl of Cardigan, the Countess of Chichester, Lady Bingham, &c.

On the 20th March, 1820, she was married to Richard- William-Penn then Viscount Curzon, who was created Earl Howe at the Coronation of King George the Fourth, and who, with a brief intermission arising from party virulence, has been Lord Chamberlain to her Majesty Queen Adelaide throughout the present reign. The Countess was herself appointed one of the Ladies of her Majesty's Bedchamber.

The estimable character of this distinguished lady have induced us to exceed our usual bounds in giving insertion to the following warm but well merited

eulogium upon her virtues, from a provincial paper.

"Countess Howe not only held an elevated and honourable rank in society, by birth, but she adorned that station by her unsullied honour and exemplary virtue; and for her excellent qualities was selected by the best of Queens, as one of her friends and companions. Nor was her conduct in private life less exemplary. Her chief enjoyments were found within the circle of her domestic duties; and she was herself the source of delights which flowed back to her own bosom, with increased satisfaction.

"By the numerous poor, whom she had ever under her own special care and tutelage, the news was indeed received,

With eyes o'erflowing and with bleeding hearts.'

Though they had not lost the kindly and almost parental interest of the Noble Earl himself, yet the wife and the widow are now bereft of one, into whose ear they were graciously invited, and constantly accustomed, to pour all their wants and sorrows; and from whose fervent sympathy, they were ever sure to find relief.

"Of the eight Schools, established and anxiously superintended by herself, in this and a neighbouring county, we shall merely say, that, though in every other respect the tender minds, thus training, may not be deprived of a single one of their temporal advantages, yet we must lament, that they will not now grow up in the love and admiration, and imitation, of so Christian a patroness.

"To her friends, the loss of one so amiable, so considerate, so judicious, so courteous, so attaching, so beloved, has left a chasm which can neither be supplied, nor forgotten. To have been admitted to her esteem and affection, will be at once their pride and consolation.

"In the court of our Sovereign, where her lofty virtues and example were duly appreciated, her death is a national loss. Her intellectual powers, her naturally pleasing yet dignified manners, her elegance and refinement of mind, must have endeared her to any court. But her high and holy principles, her firm and conscientious observance of duty, her faithful allegiance to the King of kings, rendered her official service and attendance inestimably valuable in a British palace, and amidst a British court.

"But to close this very imperfect sketch-who may invade the privacy of those, whom she has left in the mournful chambers of home, the now wintry solitudes of Penn and Gopsall; the desolate widower and motherless children? Pecu

liarly fitted by nature, habits, and acquirements, for the beloved husband of her youth and choice,

Made for the man, of whom she was a part, Made to attract his eyes, and keep his heart,' she has indeed left a void in his deeply affectionate breast, which neither time nor change can fill up, nor human professions nor consolations alleviate."

The remains of the Countess were

deposited on the 3d Nov. in the family vault at Penn church, followed by the Earl, his three eldest sons, and a respectable retinue of tenants, but with as little state as possible. Besides a still-born son, she had ten children, seven sons and three daughters, who all survive her.

ADM. LORD DE SAUMAREZ, G.C.B.

Oct. 9. At Saumarez, his seat in the Island of Guernsey, in his 80th year, the Right Hon. James Saumarez, Lord de Saumarez of the Island of Guernsey, and a Baronet; G. C. B. G.C.S. Admiral of the Red, and General of the Royal Marine Forces.

This very eminent naval officer was born on the 11th March, 1757, the third son of Matthew Saumarez, esq. (third son of Matthew Saumarez, of Saumarez, esq.) by his second wife Carteret, daughter of James le Marchant, esq.

He entered the naval service at an early age, and, after passing through the usual grades, during which he was actively employed, principally in the West Indies and America, he obtained the rank of PostCaptain at the age of twenty-four, and was appointed Acting to the command of the Russell, 74 guns, then forming part of the fleet of Lord Rodney. Very shortly after this appointment, the action of the 12th of April, 1782, took place, in which the Russell bore a distinguished share. At the commencement of the revolutionary war, he obtained the command of the Crescent, of 36 guns, and on the 19th Oct. 1793, received at Spithead an express from the Admiralty, with orders to look out for a French frigate which was expected daily to sail from Cherbourg. He lost no time in putting to sea, and had the good fortune of falling in with La Recession, a fine French frigate, the very next morning. He succeeded in capturing her after a close action of two hours and a half, without the loss of a man, while 120 were killed or wounded on the part of the enemy. This was the second ship taken in the war. For this gallant action Capt. Saumarez received the honour of knighthood, and a handsome piece of plate from the merchants of the city of London.

On the 8th of June, 1794, Sir James

Saumarez was cruising off Jersey in the Crescent, of 36 guns, in company with the Druid, of 32, and the Eurydice, of 20, when, about half-way between that island and France, they fell in with a squadron of French ships of war, consisting of Le Scævola and Le Brutus (razés) of 44 guns each, La Danae and La Félicité, of 36; together with a brig of 12. The superiority of the enemy being much too great to be opposed with the least chance of success, or even safety, it became the sole object of Sir James to escape from them. He felt confident that the Crescent and Druid could outsail the French squadron; but the Eurydice was neither in good condition, nor at any rate a fast sailer. He therefore ordered her to push on for Guernsey roads, whilst with the Crescent and Druid, he followed under easy sail, occasionally engaging the enemy. The French perceiving that they gained on the Crescent and Druid, entertained great hopes of being able to overtake and capture them; but, as soon as the British Commander perceived that the Eurydice was sufficiently ahead, he ordered the two other frigates to crowd all sail they could. The French squadron, on their part, were not deficient in skill or activity of manoeuvring, and they had succeeded so far in gaining upon the Eurydice and Druid, that the capture of at least one of these vessels must have followed, but for a masterly manœuvre. On seeing the perilous situation of his two consorts, Sir James hauled his wind, and stood along the French line, an evolution which immediately attracted its whole attention, and the capture of his own ship, the Crescent, seemed for some time inevitable; but he had in reserve, for his own preservation, a scheme which in the first part of its execution required great courage, and in the latter part consummate knowledge of the Channel, and great skill in the management of the ship. Being well acquainted with the coast him. self, and possessing an experienced pilot, a native of Guernsey, as soon as he had completely succeeded in his object of se curing the escape of the Druid and Eurydice, he ordered his pilot to push the Crescent through an intricate passage never before attempted by any ship of her size. The attempt completely succeeded, and in a very short time the Crescent, with her two consorts, safely reached the roads of Guernsey, to the no small surprize and discomfiture of the French squadron.

The Lieut.-Governor of Guernsey immediately published, in public orders, a flattering testimonial of the "consummate professional skill and masterly maGENT. MAG. VOL. VII.

nœuvres which had demonstrated, with brilliant effect, the superiority of British seamanship and bravery, by repelling and frustrating the views of a squadron of the enemy, of at least treble the force and weight of metal."

Sir James subsequently commanded the Orion 74, and was in Lord Bridport's action of the 23d June, 1795, when the Orion was one of the ships fortunate enough to be engaged. He was afterwards attached to the Mediterranean fleet under the command of Sir John Jervis, and shared in the glories of the 14th of February. Having, the following year, been detached to join Lord Nelson, he was second in command to his Lordship in the glorious victory of the Nile. Late in the action he received a wound in the side from a splinter, which killed his clerk. A circumstance occurred at the commencement of this battle which we cannot avoid noticing, as proving the certain and destructive fire of the Orion : - when taking up her station in line, she was annoyed by the "Sérieuse" frigate at anchor, which the Orion had to pass. Sir James ordered the starboard guns to bear upon her, which were discharged with such good effect as to sink her even before the Orion dropped her anchor abaft the beam of the " Peuple Souverain." Sir James, after the victory, was sent home with the captured ships, and appointed a Colonel of Marines.

On the 1st Jan. 1801, he was made a Rear-Admiral of the Blue, with orders to hoist his flag on board of the Cæsar of 84 guns, which ship he had previously commanded in the Channel fleet.

In this year he was created a Baronet, by patent dated 13th June; and was appointed to the command of the squadron off Cadiz. On the 6th of July he made a daring attack on a superior force in the Bay of Algesiras; but, the enemy's ships being warped under some strong batteries, and the wind failing, Sir James found every effort to get nearer the enemy prove ineffectual, and was constrained to withdraw his forces after an action of five hours, leaving the Hannibal aground, and in their possession; the squadron returned in the evening to Gibraltar to repair their damages. Although this action was not crowned with the success it merited, there have been few attacks on record in which the perseverance and bravery of the British navy were more conspicuously displayed.

With an expedition unparalleled in naval annals, he repaired his shattered ships, and on the 12th inst. put to sea, and offered battle to the enemy's fleet, now considerably reinforced, consisting of

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