Memoir of the Queen of Etruria. า Memoir of the Queen of Etruria. 625 ours may perhaps prove the source of some Then the great and immortal Pius VII. before God. Well,' returned the General, my life this very instant, sooner than violate the nd on me, and at the comm'ssion I the Holy Father changed the General, I em grieved at the nothing shall move me.'- Since had hitherto mainta tad, acter, and asuming for the Genero. t draw dow A 627 is capital to France, recorded his triumphant re- .vn. should be watched with ery country in Christendom, Is it to be endured by the can is again to direct the proceed e decisions of an English parliament? nat the leaders of faction, and the patrons of readily prostitute both themselves and their the spiritual tyranny of the pope, as they formerly We mave done to the temporal dominion of Napoleon, could a measure deliver the reins of government into their own nands. The wary, cool, and persevering resolution of the pontiff, which this Memoir so peculiarly displays, may yet be the cause of much tumultuous disturbance in these dominions. are of opinion, that his Holiness has much more wit than those who would call in his interference to promote the success of their own party; and if by their factious intrigue he once gains a footing in our sister island, he will improve it to the advantage of himself, and not of those who placed him there; of those who would have placed Mahomet there also, could Mahomet have promised them similar hopes of success for themselves, or of annoyance to the government of the country. Upon the whole, we are of opinion, that these two Memoirs will not be read without interest. We must express our wish, however, that in some instances the translation of the latter had been overlooked by some one who was better acquainted with the English language than the translator himself, who, we shrewdly suspect, knows more of the Italian than the English idiom. We should not then have met with such words as imperturbable, &c. nor the following character of the bishop of Savona, a prelate "whose sanctity and good odour are known to all men." We are happy to hear of this wonderful instance of eccle ready assembled populace, he then ordered the city gates to be shut, keeping open only that by which we were to take our departure. We remained about twenty minutes the objects of this popular convulsion, so glorious for Avignon, and which will be eter, nally memorable in its particular annals, till Boazar, breaking through the crowd by main force, with pistols charged and levelled, extricated himself from the surrounding dangers, and precipitately quitted the city, together with the Pope's retinue, in extreme disorder. "In the short space allowed us, every inhabitant of Avignon had a thousand things to say, and a thousand questions to ask, running from one to another, like the successive waves of the sea, without interruption: as, for instance, one man of mild aspect and civil demeanour came up to me, and asked, If it were true that the Pope had formally excommunicated the Emperor Buonaparte. On my laconic answer, that I could not satisfy him, because it was death to speak, That is enough for me,' he exclaimed, that's quite enough-I understand;'-and, so saying, hurried away into the thickest of the crowd. "A little way out of Avignon we were met by an order from Paris, not to proceed any further in France, but to return by the interior of Provence into Italy, in the direction of Nice, where we were to await, in security, the regulation of our ultimate residence. The whole of this, however, was not communicated to us at once; but we continued our journey under the most profound mystery, without being able to guess at what place we were destined to rest. This order of retrocession was probably issued in consequence of. the informations sent to government by the vice prefect of Grenoble, and the principal magistrates of the other towns on our route; all of whom had been spectators and cruel witnesses of the devotedness with which the Pope was received in every corner of the land, and by every description of people." P. 134. Upon the arrival of his Holiness at Savona, he was treated with greater lenity, and a free intercourse with the people was allowed him; and what is more extraordinary, indulgences, particularly in matrimonial cases, found a ready market, as appears from the following declaration. "Thence have arisen incalculable spiritual advantages, which he has been enabled to communicate to all the faithful, particu larly to the church revenues, by means of matrimonial causes." It appears, however, that the Pope, having been unwise enough to issue three bulls, bruta fulmina indeed, against as many bishops of Napoleon's own election, was immediately com/mitted to close confinement by Buonaparte, who could ill brook any other tyranny except his own. With this the Memoir concludes; nor has the historian, who has recorded his melancholy journey journey from his capital to France, recorded his triumphant return to his dominions. We consider this little scrap of cotemporary history as not unworthy of the attention of the public, inasmuch as it shews, in the clearest point of view, the character of that pontiff, who is now restored in triumph to the ancient seat of papal usurpation. We view with respect, nay even with admiration, the calm and collected dignity with which he endured the bitterest insults, and the most atrocious and tyrannical inju ries; but, at the same time, we look forward with no small degree of alarm to the effect of that cool determination, and that cautious intrigue, which has characterized every proceeding it which his Holiness has appeared. The re-establishment of the order of Jesuits cannot but awaken the attention of all the po tentates of Europe, who have a just dread of a spiritual, no less than a temporal tyrant. The proceedings at the court of Rome are such, even at this present moment, as should be watched with a jealous eye by every monarch and every country in Christendom, and by none more than our own. Is it to be endured by the' English nation, that the Vatican is again to direct the proceedings, and to regulate the decisions of an English parliament? We doubt not but that the leaders of faction, and the patrons of liberality, will readily prostitute both themselves and their country to the spiritual tyranny of the pope, as they formerly would have done to the temporal dominion of Napoleon, could such a measurè deliver the reins of government into their own hands. The wary, cool, and persevering resolution of the pontiff, which this Memoir so peculiarly displays, may yet be the cause of much tumultuous disturbance in these dominions. We' are of opinion, that his Holiness has much more wit than those who would call in his interference to promote the success of their own party; and if by their factious intrigue he once gains a footing in our sister island, he will improve it to the advantage of himself, and not of those who placed him there; of those who would have placed Mahomet there also, could Mahomet have promised them similar hopes of success for themselves, or of annoyance to the government of the country. Upon the whole, we are of opinion, that these two Memoirs will not be read without interest. We must express our wish, however, that in some instances the translation of the latter had been overlooked by some one who was better acquainted with the English language than the translator himself, who, we shrewdly suspect, knows more of the Italian than the English idiom. We should not then have met with such words as imperturbable, &c. nor the following character of the bishop of Savona, a prelate "whose sanctity and good odour are known to all men." We are happy to hear of this wonderful instance of eccle ecclesiastical cleanliness. Let it be inscribed upon the tombstone of the prelate of Savona, "Non redolet, sed olet, que redolere solet." ART. VI. Travels in Sweden during the Autumn of 1812. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. Illustrated by Maps, and other Plates., 4to. pp. 457. 2. 2. Baldwin. 1813. SWEDEN is a country which will ever be a source of interest to every order of mankind in the literary world. To the statesman, its political bearings, resources, and dependencies, will be a subject of the utmost importance; to the mineralogist, a scientific description of its mountains and its mines will afford a perpetual spring of deep and curious investigation; to the historian, the mighty exploits of a long line of ancient monarchs will furnish ample room for meditation and instruction; to the botanist, and the natural philosopher, the name of Linnæus alone will consecrate the soil which gave him birth. It is therefore with the utmost satisfaction that we can recommend to our readers a volume which will present them with a full, clear, and satisfactory account of all the different objects which can attract their attention in this extraordinary country. Upon all points which respect the mineralogy or natural history of the regions which he may traverse, few persons have a supe rior claim to our attention and respect than Dr. Thomson. Upon these subjects, the information which he affords us, is always scientific, often new; upon every other point, indeed, he speaks with much good sense, and displays the collections he has made, partly from his own investigation, partly from the observations of others, with much good taste and judgment. Dr. Thomson sailed from Leith in the August of 1812, and within a week arrived at Gottenburg. In so celebrated a place, and so great a thoroughfare, we should not have expected to have heard of the total want of all inns and places of accommodation for travellers. We much wonder that no Englishman has adopted our author's suggestion, and opened a large hotel within its walls. The English, above all other nations, understand the arts, nay, even the comforts of inn-keeping. The population of Gottenburg is considerable, and within seven years it has much increased in 1811 it was 24,853. Our author has given a very full and entertaining description of this magnificent city. From Gottenburg Gottenburg our author proceeded to Kärra and Trollhätte, at the latter of which the falls of the river were particularly the objects of his attention. His account of the Swedish peasantry in general will, we are assured, be grateful to our readers. "The appearance of the Swedish peasantry is very striking to a native of Great Britain, who is accustomed to so great a diversity in the features of the people with whom he associates. The Swedes have all light flaxy hair, and a ruddy countenance. I woukl say that a certain degree of flabbiness is visible in their complexions. There is nothing to be seen which indicates the existence of the more violent passions ; but every one expresses a docility and good humour in his face, which I believe all possess, almost to a man. I have often gone into a Swedish cottage in the middle of the night, where the whole family, to the number of six or eight, were asleep in different beds; awakened the whole family, and sent the hollenkarr to ramble through the woods in the dark, to a distance of three or four miles, in quest of horses. The family were made to get up, and kept out of bed perhaps for two or three hours. An the while they preserved the most perfect good humour, never attempted to persuade you to stop all night, nor seemed to feel the inconvenience to which they were put. The scarcity of copper on the road was so great that it was sometimes impossible to give the postboy the sum which he considered as his due. In these cases he continued to request you to remember him with the most perfect good humour and politeness, and never attempted to abuse you as an English coachman would have done in a similar case. On one occasion I offered a post-boy a skilling banco, which was all the copper money I had in my possession: he returned it to me again, with the greatest good humour, and when I gave it to a boy that was standing beside him he seemed quite delighted with the joke. "The peasants in Sweden seem to be a most amiable and innocent race. Most of them can read and write: they are all clean and well dressed in coarse blue cloth, manufactured in Sweden. I do. not mean to say that blue is the only colour which they wear, but it is by far the most common. They have all round hats, and mostly wear silk handkerchiefs about their necks. The women are dressed somewhat like the common people in the north of Scotland; but they are all distinguished by a white handkerchief doubled into a triangular shape, which is thrown over their head, and tied under their chin, while one of the corners hangs between the shoulders behind. They have one fault common to them with most nations where the communication is not very frequent. They have no fixed prices, and are always inclined to take advantage of the necessities of ́ strangers to get a greater sum of money than is consistent with strict honour and generosity. In this respect they resemble the inhabitants of Sutherland and Caithness in Scotland, who have the same fault in a degree if possible still greater." P. 29, |