The minuteness with which the author has dwelt upon the revolting particulars of that scene is the only mark of a vitiated German taste which he has betrayed. The task of adequately depicting such extremity of suffering is one under which language and ima gination must equally sink; and here, perhaps, good judgment and good feeling should alike instruct us to shrink from the attempt. But if any doubt may exist on this point, of the impropriety of introducing such a narrative at all, there can assuredly be none that the story should not have proceeded from the pen of Gertrude. It is curious that so obvious an expedient as that of ascribing the relation to a third person a witness of the scene

seems never to have occurred to the author.

Our second objection is against the imperfect confession of the hero's guilt, which is offered in the tale. His chamberlain is made to utter a dying asseveration of his master's innocence, though Rodolph was present and consenting to the deed of murder; and in his last moments De Wart himself not only denies his guilt, but justifies the assassination of the Emperor. Some attempt, also, is made to establish a distinction between his crime in concerting and abetting the murder of Albert, (for he separated a faithful servant from the person of the Emperor, see p. 26.) and that of the conspirators who actually struck the blow:-a distinction as false in religion and morals, as it would be untenable before any human tribunal of judgment.

But in censuring these blemishes in the original work, we are bound to acknowledge that the translator has, in his English version, more than atoned for their partial influence, by his evident anxiety to apply the circumstances of the tale to a salutary conclusion. Nor can we close our notice of his pleasing labour without doing him the justice to add, that the ease and unaffected simplicity of his language have considerably heightened the pathetic interest of the original narrative.

ART. V.

Greece and her Claims. By Edward Blaquiere, Esq. 8vo. pp. 23. 1s. 6d. London, Whittaker. 1826.

WE own that we are not disposed to rely very implicitly on the authority of Mr. Blaquiere in matters of a political nature. Endowed with an ardent mind, and actuated, we are disposed to believe, by the most pure and honourable motives, it has been his fortune to look only at the favourable side of every question in which he has interested himself, and to exaggerate its merits beyond every limit of sober reason. Thus he extolled the constitution of Spain under the Cortes, and painted the enthusiastic determination of the people to support it, in such terms, that persons who had read his work were utterly amazed at the issue of the counter-revolution in the

Peninsula. Thus, also, we were told in his " Origin of the Greek Revolution," published two years ago, that the epoch of the emancipation of that suffering people was at hand; an anticipation which time has already falsified.

How far the interposition of Mr. Blaquiere himself, and of the statesmen with whom he co-operated in the affairs of Greece, has tended to reduce them to the lamentable condition in which they are now involved, we would scarcely wish to ascertain. The objects of the gentlemen who composed the London Greek Committee, as well as of the agents whom they employed, were, beyond all doubt, of the most unimpeachable, nay, of the most praiseworthy, character; but they ought, we think, to have seen from the beginning, that neither at home nor abroad did they possess that degree of personal influence, which was so necessary to give full effect to their operations, Nor was any one of those, who were most active in the committee, distinguished for experience, for sagacity, moderation, forecast, or, in a word, for a single qualification of the many that are necessary to those, who would regulate and impel from a distance the councils of a people struggling for their freedom. In their plans there was no sort of combination or prudence; in their administration of the loans which were entrusted to their direction they betrayed the most unaccountable folly: indeed, every measure which they have carried into execution, has been signally conducive to the disasters by which the Greeks are now encompassed.

At

It is not to be denied that the Greeks themselves have also contributed, by their petty jealousies and their provincial divisions, to accelerate the approach of their present misfortunes. the same time, let us take care not to dwell too much on the errors of any party. We should not forget that the freedom for which the Greeks have waged a war so protracted, so various, and so sanguinary, is yet to be won; and if we look attentively and with grief to the past, let it only be as a lesson for the future. Let the rocks be marked on the chart, but let us hope that the most perilous parts of the voyage have been left behind, and that the vessel may still reach the haven under the flag of victory.

It is certainly an auspicious circumstance, as Mr. Blaquiere remarks in the little pamphlet before us, that not a single Greek has yet submitted to, or offered to treat with, Ibrahim Pacha,' notwithstanding that he has traversed the Peloponnesus from one extremity of it to the other. We admit, also, the force of Mr. Blaquiere's reasoning in the following animated appeal:

The Mahometans are in possession of Patrass, Navarino, Modon, Coron, and Tripolitza, and have, perhaps, twenty thousand men, Turks and Egyptians, in the Morea. I am convinced the number does not far exceed this estimate. The whole of their supplies must come from without, and it is totally impossible for them to undertake any operations in the open country before the end of March. It is scarcely necessary

to add, that they are surrounded on every side by difficulties and dangers of the most appalling description.

To oppose the above force, even supposing it to double what I have stated, there is a Greek population of a million of souls, of whom seventy thousand are in arms, and fighting for their existence, as well as that of their wives and children. Besides the occupation of their inaccessible mountains, whence no force that the Porte or Mehemet Ali could muster can dislodge them, the Greeks are in possession of Athens, Corinth, Napoli di Romania, Malvasia, and Missolonghi, any one of which places may be easily defended by a handful of men against the whole forces of the enemy, if they could even be united against it, After all that has been said on the subject, and the experience of five years, it is needless to dwell on the advantages which the Greeks possess, not only for attacking their enemies, but avoiding them if too closely pursued. Their early successes, and the heroic fortitude with which fatigues and privations of every kind were sustained, afford an ample guarantee of what they are capable of suffering, rather than risk the inevitable destruction which would attend their submission.

'While such are the motives of resistance and means of defence in Continental Greece, those which the islands present are not less worthy of attention. In the first place, of the Greek population in these gems of the ocean, so dear to the admirers of that early science and civilization, for which we are indebted to ancient Greece, there is but one sentiment — that of the same hatred to the Turks, and desire to be free, which prevails throughout the Continent.

The number of seamen are estimated at thirty thousand, and of armed ships two hundred. Their achievements are already known. But the grand point of interest among the Greek islands is Candia. This terrestrial paradise, rich in all the productions of nature, must share in the triumph of the Morea, Attica, and Western Greece. Since nothing but the impossibility of supporting the frequent and often successful efforts of the Christian population has prevented them from retaining advantages gained under apparently insurmountable difficulties. When I state, that out of the two hundred thousand Greeks who inhabit this island, there are about thirty thousand with arms in their hands, some notion may be formed of their hopes of success, whenever another favourable occasion presents itself. It should be observed, that the fortress of Gabrusa is still in the hands of the Candiots, and that the Turkish garrisons have never attempted to penetrate into the interior.

When the spirit by which the whole Greek people are animated, and the certain consequences that would follow their subjugation or submission, are coupled with the recent providential event, which has placed the early and sworn friend of Greece on the Russian throne, surely there is every reason to anticipate still more propitious results for the cause. The occupation of Moldavia and Wallachia would of itself turn the balance, and should this act of justice to the oppressed and unhappy people of these two provinces be followed up by the humane and truly politic measures, which His Majesty's ministers are said to have long since decided on with regard to Greece, there is little doubt but that the European family and Christian world will yet avert the heavy responsibility and irrevocable disgrace of allowing a whole Christian people to perish, when the voice of God and nature so loudly proclaims the justice of their cause!'-pp. 11-13,

The latter paragraph was written, we presume, under the impression that Constantine had ascended the throne of Russia, Of course, any hopes that depended on that supposition, if they ever had any just foundation, have vanished since the accession of Nicholas. But if the Russian troops which are stationed in the south shall occupy (as would seem to be intended) the two provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia, the next event which we may expect as the consequence of it, will be the union of the Greeks with their brethren of the Ionian isles under the protection of England. We by no means despair of seeing a consummation so devoutly to be desired as this take place.

We are rather surprised that Mr. Blaquiere should have afforded so much credit to the French committees in favour of the Greeks, as he has given them in this pamphlet. Does he not know that their object is to fix a Bourbon on the throne of Greece, or, at all events, to counteract the influence of England in that quarter? If he does not know this, he has visited the Morea to little purpose: if he did know it, no false delicacy should have prevented him from declaring it to the country.

We very much apprehend that Mr. Blaquiere's call for further pecuniary assistance to the Greeks will be made in vain. Two loans already squandered, the last loan fallen to a discount of 18 per cent., the prevailing commercial distresses, the gloom that lowers over our domestic as well as our more distant horizon, are circumstances fatal, we fear, to any hope of fresh contributions at present. The emancipation of the Greeks must now depend in a great measure upon themselves, and upon the counsels which our cabinet shall follow.

ART. VI. Mémoires inédits de Madame la Comtesse de Genlis, pour servir à l'Histoire des Dix-huitième et Dix-neuvième Siècles. Tomes Septième et Huitième. 16s. English; 14s. French. A Paris et Londres chez Colburn. 1826.

MADAME DE GENLIS will not, we hope, be displeased with us, if we most unfeignedly congratulate her, upon having at length reached the termination of these Memoirs. The first six volumes, which were noticed in the former series of this Journal, were, it must be owned, tedious enough. There was, however, a redeeming spirit about them in the vivacity which they occasionally displayed, and in the anecdotes which they contained of the author's early life and of the distinguished circles in which she shone. Few writers of our age possessed so many materials as Madame de Genlis for illustrating the manners of the latter portion of the last century, and the commencement of that which is now advancing. The use, indeed, which she has made of those materials, has by no means corresponded to the degree of interest and importance which seemed to

have belonged to them; and from the careless manner in which she has mixed her recollections together, as well as the inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and repetitions by which they are blemished, we apprehend that, however amusing they may be, they will possess very little value for the future historian.

Madame de Genlis seems in many points an exact contrast of Madame de Stael. The former gives to the most common occurrences which she relates so many traits of levity and invention, that one can hardly depend upon their authenticity even when the writer is most dispassionate. The latter infused into romance the fervour of philosophy, and sometimes the sternness as well as the dignity of history. Madame de Genlis takes half a dozen pages to describe a sentiment which Madame de Stael would condense in a line. The one is an enthusiast in religion; the other was a worshipper of nature. Of the two, we think Madame de Genlis the more amiable, for she possesses a heart perfectly feminine that is to say, a heart ever anxious to promote the happiness of others, and prepared, if necessary, to sacrifice even without a thought her own interests, provided she might thus secure the welfare of those who were dear to her. Madame de Stael wore beneath a female form the heart of a man, which, though capable of strong affections, was rather of an exclusive character, and centered chiefly in herself.

It is true that the very generosity and frankness which constitute the leading traits in the character of Madame de Genlis, seem to have been carried almost to the extreme of a fault. Her attachments are often as sudden and as undeserved as her antipathies. An insinuating grace of manner, a tolerable stanza, or a nicely penned note of compliment, particularly from a young person, will put her judgment aside, and the writer is instantly set down in her journal as one of the most learned, accomplished, and fascinating of human beings. In the succeeding paragraph, the chance is that she solicits our admiration for a new friend still more attractive than the former; and thus she goes on from day to day, never satisfied without making new acquaintances, and just as rapidly forgetting. them.

It is a remarkable feature in her life, that though from her earliest entrance into the world, she has never lost an opportunity of performing offices of kindness, and often of kindness of the most essential description, for those of her own family and friends in whose felicity she was interested, she has been left in the long and dreary evening of her days to live on the produce of her literary exertions, and to spin out the thread of her existence in solitude, and often in sickness. The habits of a mind accustomed to much composition, and deriving its principal delight from those labours to which the presence of others is rather an interruption than an auxiliary, have indeed rendered her independent even of the society of her relatives. Perhaps she was desirous of escaping the restraints of

VOL. I.