Rosetti's work, and to pronounce him no common man, while the conviction of the uselessness of his labour stares us in the face. To borrow from Shakspeare, "he might as well go about to turn the sun to ice, by fanning in his face with a peacock's feather," as prove the truth of his system by all he has yet advanced in its support.

"love courts" were political clubs, are the ideas of the professor. The writings of Dante commence a new era in the mystery, and so on. Beatrice is of course an ideal being in one sense, and the daughter of Portinari, flesh and blood, in another. Dante's beatification of his mistress, his idealities respecting her, and his allegorical mystery at the conclusion of the Divina The censures of the early writers of Italy di- Commedia, are enlisted as proofs of the prorected against the licentiousness of the times fessor's theory, and made pregnant with eluciand the Pope, are no proof of their holding dations of the new system by which it is to be anti-catholic opinions. If history be consulted, presumed the professor imagines the flame of we find the Guelfs and Ghibellines, the ad-liberty has been kept unextinguished in the herents of the Pope and the Emperor, with world. Our Elizabethan poets must have bethe sword constantly drawn, yet both par- longed to this society, Spenser in particular; ties thinking themselves zealous catholics, and and how can we except the loveable and loving the temporal and spiritual powers never con- Sidney? founded. Dante was a Ghibelline, and most of the minds then in advance of their time, saw the usurpation of the temporal crown by the Pope, and its consequences, as we should now, with justifiable indignation. Ecclesiastics were not spared when they became agents of papal ambition. Euzius did not hesitate to seize or drown the bishops who were going to arm the Christian world against Frederic. The Popes fomented rebellions in states the princes of which were opposed to them, and filled Europe with blood and slaughter. Such an ill use of spiritual influence was quite enough to array against them the censures of all wise and good men. If we were to argue that these Italian writers were not sound catholics because they opposed papal usurpation, we may equally call Chaucer a heretic because he beat a friar in Fleet Street. Why might we not engraft upon the professor's plan, an illustration of the British poet? He was at Genoa, perhaps visited Arqua, in 1372, before Petrarch's death, and might easily have been united with this literary, or rather politico-amatory free-masonry, this grotesque setta d'amore.

There seem to be two kinds of obscurity in these Italian authors, the one confined to the mode of writing, arising out of the fashion of the Troubadours intermingling allegory and passion. Every knight had "a sovereign lady of his thoughts." The "love of God and the ladies," (says Velly, tom. iv. p. 9,) was one of the first lessons of chivalry. Hence the ladies figure foremost in the writings of these great poets: Beatrice, Mandetta di Tolosa, Laura, and others, are instances of this, so obvious that they need not be dwelt upon. Romantic love was the fashion, each poet having his mistress, in many cases most devotedly loved by him. No one sane will say that the love poetry of that time is a continuation of Egyptian symbols under another form, by a sect of illuminati; and that for love we must read politics. Yet does the professor's theory involve an absurdity as gross as this. With incredible diligence he seizes upon the faintest shadows that appear in favour of his system, and gives them body, skipping over the strong points against him, even those furnished by history and by nature itself. The second kind of obscurity arises from the religious dogmas of the time in which these authors lived; these are, it is granted, difficult to clear up, but they do not interfere with historical fact. Dante is thought by some to have adopted a part of his creed from the Sermo de verbis Apostolorum,' and 'Confessions of St. Augustine,' or else from the Platonists; but has the professor proved these suppositions to be erroneous, and his own to be correct?

That the love poetry of the Troubadours and early Italian poets, and indeed that of poets of a later date, was the symbolic language of a faction, old as the pyramids, and in existence so recently as the French revolution,-in fact, that all the great writers were united in the cause of liberty, and communicated it in amatory verse to conceal their object, so that even the

It will be granted by the most dull of apprehension, who consider the historical circumstances which have been recorded respecting Dante, that the great poet (we are informed by a contemporary, he was, when young, of a most amorous disposition,) fell in love with Beatrice, who was very young, and saw in her, through his enthusiastic fancy, every ideal perfection. She was, in his eyes, the model of human virtues, almost of the divine. When she was dead, and Dante, by the advice of friends, whose advice in amatory matters is always injurious, married a Xantippe, his new situation served yet more to impress his mind with the excellencies of Beatrice-what is to limit the imagination of a great poet! In his retired, meditative, and melancholy moments, she appeared an angel in his sight, and her image was rendered still more effective from her belonging to the " perished past." Can it be wondered at, that he whose inventive powers could paint the Inferno, should embody Beatrice with things which relate to another and a better being in the manner he has done? The cherished memory of Beatrice became the pole-star of his genius. Byron's love for Miss Chaworth was an abstraction something like it in character. She was his earliest love, and the impression made by a first love is not erased in after-life, but deepened with time. Had Miss Chaworth not survived her "teens" she would have been more mingled with Byron's poetry than she is at present. We love past and old things more because they are beyond our reach, and brighten them in our recollection the further they retrograde. Dante's moody temperament and troubled life, connected with his mighty imagination, did the rest. This is an easy and natural mode of accounting for that which Professor Rosetti has, with so much pains, himself involved in a labyrinth of difficulties, by endeavouring to disentangle.

It would be a work of too much labour to compare passage with passage in these poets that militate against those which the Professor so adroitly brings forward in favour of his theory, The writer of the "Remarks" has shown how easily this may be done. I confine myself to the proofs which are obvious from historical information, and from simple nature itself, against a theory so absurdly ingenious.

To Petrarch we see the same reasoning and simple inference may be applied. Laura was unattainable-the wife of another; Petrarch's was also a hopeless love. The author of the "Remarks" has indisputably shown that, to a woman who was earthborn, many of the allusions of Dante could not belong-that they are applied to the Holy Virgin, unless, indeed, we admit a sort of blasphemy. Laura could not have existed as a mortal, if the theory of the Professor be correct; notwithstanding, he admits her existence, for Petrarch left proof enough of that in his own handwriting, as he recorded the day of the month and hour of her decease in the same book in which he afterwards entered the death of his son. His passion for Laura is so described, that affection or love of the most

per.

| intense character was never so truly and naturally painted by any poet, making allowance for the sentiments of the romantic age in which he lived. Who, but the professor, would attempt to convince those who have read this ardent poet lover, that all he has written was in gergo, a mystery or jargon, in which political sentiments were conveyed! It is impossible; reason revolts at it, and nature is outraged by the suppo sition. Duplicity, if so, must have been a most prevailing sin in those days, and reached a fection of evil, scarcely equalled in ours. Dante says, Guido Guinicelli, who died when he, Dante, was but eleven years of age, was his father in the art of making love verses. Could the great poet have intended by "love verses" the revelation of the "mysteries" of Rosetti? Again, there is exquisite purity and delicacy of thought in all which Dante and Petrarch have written of their mistresses, when the age and manners then prevalent are considered. This was not the case with Boccaccio and others, whose mystical language was part of the same system, as Professor Rosetti would make us believe, and their mysteries are anyway but delicately couched. How are the lines of Guido Cavalcanti, beginning

In un boschetto trovai pastorella,

Più che la stella bella al mio parere. &c. to be esteemed Platonic, when they are almost too broad for an Italian, as they are decidedly too gross for an English ear. Mandetta di Tolosa was another impersonation of the kind which the Professor imagines Laura and Beatrice to have been. Her praises are not very delicately sung. She is a being of clay-this is clear enough. Writing of Guido Cavalcanti, Foscolo observes, that his commentators--no less than seven in number-some in Latin and some in Italian, paraded their metaphysics upon his poem on the Nature of Love, and the more they wrote, the more unintelligible the text became!

Things in harmony with nature and proba bility, having the support of history, cannot be shaken; though surrounded with obscure allusions, they stand out in relief; while the obscurities may be taken in any sense by ingenious commentators. In the great writers alluded to, the obscurities are not primary, they form but a secondary part of their works.

Professor Rosetti's theory includes the earliest times, as well as our own, in his mysterious, political, love-disguised system. Long after Dante or Petrarch, Michel Angelo must be sup posed to write in gergo, in the sonnet (which I once rendered for my friend Foscolo), beginning,

Occhi miei siate certias well as the verses commencing

Ma non potea se non summa bellezza. Foscolo would certainly smile, were he alive, at Rosetti's theory, though he would extol his learning and labour; for, learned and laborious he is, and an honour to Italian literature, but too much imbued with speculative ideas. He adopts an opinion, makes it a point d'appui in a moment, strengthens it with materials of every kind, and forms the whole into a brilliant exhibition of his skill: no matter if his theory be absurd, his support of it is characterized by the same diligence and learning. He never troubles himself with the thought, that it is all (to borrow from Grotius,) but "laborious trifling;" and he leaves off after his toil, with the honest confession that his work is not proof against attack, or, as the lawyers say, "his case is not clear."

I should not have presumed to make these observations on one so much my superior in learning, did they not arise out of objections plain to any one who is acquainted with the general bearing of the subject. From the Profes

+ See the Purgatorio, Canto XXII, and the last eleven stanzas: How do they agree with the Professor's the ory? Is Guinicelli there a poet or a politician!

sor's knowledge of his native literature, it may
well be supposed few are so capable of discussing
those points which turn upon the meaning of his
own language, or upon the use of those stores of
literary labour which Italy possesses. The ge-
neral question is different. Petrarch and Laura-
Dante and Beatrice, are cherished images of love,
even in this northern land. We cannot afford
to lose our associations respecting them for any
price save that of truth, and the more when they
are historically correct, agreeing so exactly with
inferences drawn from the impulses of our
nature, the same in all ages. Finally, I trust
Professor Rosetti will pardon the freedom of my
remarks, when I acknowledge with how much
esteem and respect I regard him, as a man and
a scholar.

I am, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
C. REDDING.

Dec. 13, 1832.

JEAN BAPTISTE SAY.

The Chairman communicated a copy of a Greek inscription, on a monumental stone, lately found at the Savoy, and now in the possession of Henry Holland, Esq. of Montagu Square, accompanied by a letter from that gentleman, which was read to the meeting. The inscription purports that the monument was that of Hermophilus Strato, "which he built in his lifetime for himself and his commater (CVVTEKVOC: the term denotes a baptismal re

the Allier. He could not, however, be prevailed
on to enter upon this new office, and nobly
excused himself from "combining with the rest
to plunder his native land." Thus closing the
scene of his official career, he once more em-
barked in mercantile life, as a manufacturer,
but not to the neglect of his favourite pursuit,
which he enriched from time to time with a
variety of minor publications, all equally tend-
ing to throw light and accumulate important
facts on the great and difficult science of Poli-lationship.-See Ducange, in voc.) "Arctoria
tical Economy. He was Professor of the School
of Mechanics at Paris, where he delivered pro-
bably the most useful and perspicuous lectures
on the economy of labour and manufactures,
which have ever been given; and with these he
closed his estimable length of days.

(From a Correspondent.)

OUR WEEKLY GOSSIP ON LITERATURE
AND ART.

VARIOUS new works are talked of. A
Life of Cowper is promised, with a full de-
lineation of the man and his works: it will
require no little talent as well as considerable
delicacy to do this well. He is one of the
most natural and unaffected of our latter
poets his 'Task' is as sure of going down to
posterity, as any single poem since the days
of Thomson's Seasons; and his noble trans-
lation of Homer is but beginning to be felt
by his country. We have not observed
lately a repetition of the announcement of
Goldsmith's Life by Prior: these times, it
is true, are not very genial for such works;
but we should regret to hear that the Life is
withheld for want of due encouragement.

The Altrive Tales, by the Ettrick Shep-
herd, of which one volume only was pub-

is so much fine fancy and original nature in
all Hogg's works, that we have no doubt a
few more volumes, as good or better than
the first, will be made welcome: we would,
however, advise him to go over all his prose
compositions with a strict eye and unsparing
hand he will find something to lop, for the
tree of his genius is luxuriant, and runs, as
the gardeners word it, to wood.

THIS eminent writer, whose death took place at Paris on the 14th of last month, was born in Lyons in the year 1767, and descended from a family of no mean celebrity in the commercial world. They were of the same extraction as the Saye and Sele family; the common ancestor of both being William de Say, who passed over from Normandy under the banners of William the Conqueror.-Say was destined by his family to be a merchant, and the knowledge thus acquired proved of no little avail to him in after life, when he devoted himself to the study of Political Economy. Being introduced to the celebrated Mirabeau, the latter quickly discovered the abilities of his young friend, and employed him in editing the Courrier de Provence,' and continuing his Lettres à ses Commettans.' After this, he was appointed Secretary to Clavière, the French minister of Finance.lished, will, we hear, be continued. There We next find him connected with Champfort and Guingene in the Decade Philosophique, Littéraire, et Politique;' which made its first appearance in 1794, and was the parent of the presentRevue Encyclopédique.' Champfort was unfortunate enough to fall under the ban of the Committee of Public Safety, and weak enough to destroy himself in prison; Guingené, too, one of the most elegant of French scholars, was, likewise, confined with his fellow-labourers, Roucher and Andrew Chénier. Say, though thus left single-handed, was too firm to abandon the good work which he had undertaken; and he, therefore, enlisted Andrieux, Amaury, Duval, and others, in his cause. Upon the departure of Bonaparte for Egypt, Say was deputed to select the publications intended for the use of the savans who accompanied that memorable expedition; and, when the hero of the Pyramids found his way back, and invested himself with the dignity of First Consul, he conferred the appointment of Tribune on Say, whose qualifications, as it subsequently appeared, were not peculiarly adapted for such an office. He had a strong aversion for the selfish and arbitrary principles which the government of that day began to unfold, and it has been said, that he could ill brook the growing despotism of its chiefs; in this state of his feelings, Say avoided taking much part in public business, but, happily for science, commenced that study, which forms the basis of his admirable 'Traité d'Economie Publique;' a work which not only improved under his hand with every successive edition, but has been translated into most of the European languages. He was now called upon to vote in favour of Napoleon's assumption of the imperial crown; this he resolutely declined, and was in consequence deprived of the Tribuneship, for which some compensation was made to him by the tender of Receiver-Generalship in the department of

Turner and Callcott have, we hear, united to render the embellished edition of the Bible, promised by Mr. Murray, as worthy of public approbation as possible. The proprietor is in possession of many original drawings of Babylon, Tyre, Jerusalem, and other cities and scenes mentioned in the Scriptures-accuracy may, therefore, be depended on.

SCIENTIFIC AND LITERARY

ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE.

Dec. 19.-W. R. Hamilton, Esq. in the chair. The following documents, relating to the affairs of Col. George Gunter, one of the royalist sufferers in the period of the civil wars, copied from the originals in the State Paper Office, and presented to the Society by Mr. Lemon, were read by the Secretary +-viz. 1. Inventory of the Colonel's real property and debts, and amount of fine levied, dated August, 1646. 2. Petition from the Colonel to the Commissioners for compounding with delinquents, dated April, 1646, praying to be admitted to his composition. 3. Letter from General Sir Thomas Fairfax to the said Commis

sioners, in favour of Colonel George Gunter.

+ It will be recollected by our readers, that Colonel Gunter was the author of the Narrative of King Charles the Second's escape, after the battle of Worcester, read before the Society at two former meetings, and that he was a prominent actor in that affair.

Onesime, and for her husband Zosimus, the son of Menestratus, and her son Zosimus, the son of Zosimus." This inscription is believed to be one of the vast collection made by the Earl of Arundel, in the early part of the 17th century, and placed in the garden of Arundel House, which extended along the river where Norfolk and Arundel Streets now are.

The chairman likewise read the very interesting introductory essay to a work on Roman Topography, now preparing for the press, by Sir W. Gell; and of which some passages were read before the Society in the last session. This valuable paper tends to show the groundlessness of the system of incredulity, in regard to the early history of Rome, advanced by Beaufort, and supported by the learned Niebuhr.

Among the recent donations to the library of the Society, announced upon this occasion, was a copy of the publications of the Record Commission, consisting of 78 folio volumes, presented by Mr. Petit. Sir W. Ouseley, being about to reside for some time on the Continent, has

deposited about 700 valuable volumes of his

books in the Society's library, for the use of the members, in the meantime.

LINNEAN SOCIETY.

Dec. 18.-A. B. Lambert, Esq. in the chair. Several valuable donations of books were placed on the table. The Secretary read a paper by Mr. David Don, Librarian to the Society, on the Tropæolum Pentafolium of Lamarck. The object of the communication was to describe some peculiarities of structure, and the mode of fruiting in this species of Indian cress, which produces a small dark-coloured berry, a circumstance apparently unknown to those botanists, who had previously described and figured this plant. The concluding portion of Professor Essenbeck's paper was also read, after which the meetings were adjourned over the Christmas recess to Tuesday, January 15, 1833.

Portraits of the Principal Female Characters in the Waverley Novels, No. III. Chapman & Hall.

THIS number contains Lucy Bertram,' by Briggs, Jeanie Deans,' by Leslie, 'Miss Warby Chisholm. Of the four, Jeanie Deans' is dour,' by Wright, and the 'Lily of St. Leonard's,' by far the best: she is pictured with clasped hands and ardent, imploring looks, such as she appeared when she conquered the spirit and heart of the queen: Lucy Bertram' is also good, and has a Scottish air, but the head seems too large for the body: Miss Wardour' is lovely and life-like, but bears no resemblance to the lady in Scott, who was proud and reserved, and had nothing of the sort of forward air of this portrait: the Lily of St. Leonard's' is natural, and has a graceful rustic air: she lacks something of the beauty which rendered the original so captivating. On the whole, the number is a pleasing one.

The Popular Portrait Gallery of Illustrious and
Eminent Persons. No. I. Strange.
THERE are six heads in this number-viz.
Young Napoleon, Sir Walter Scott, Earl Grey,
Lord Byron, Napoleon, and Lord Brougham:
these are accompanied by an equal number of
biographies. Of the heads, it is enough to say,
that they are on wood, and convey a kind of
rude idea of the looks of the originals: Scott
and Byron are the least successful, and Lord
Brougham the most. The memoirs are limited,
and seem correct. The great marvel is, that all
this is to be had for a shilling.

Memorials of Oxford. No. II. Oxford: Parker
and Slater; London, Tilt.
THOSE who were pleased with the first number,
will be sure to like this: the beauties of Christ
Church are exhibited by the pencil, and explained
by the pen, in a way much to our taste.

Illuminated Monuments, selected from Missals and
Manuscripts of the Middle Ages. By Henry
Shaw. Part IX. London: Pickering.
THIS is one of the works which we like to look
at: it was a happy idea to collect in a cheap and
accessible way the long concealed treasures of
our public and private libraries. The illuminated
margins and title-pages of our manuscripts are
the earliest and best specimens of art which have
survived time and accident; and the author who
gives us a look at them in our own rooms
merits encouragement.

Chatsworth House. Drawn by W. Daniell, R.A.
Engraved by Armytage.

THIS very pretty landscape-for such we con-
sider it is for the forthcoming number of the
Court Magazine. The view is from the Bakewell
side of the Dove, and exhibits the new statue
gallery, designed by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, in
addition to the noble mansion. The view is
faithful and beautiful.

Mrs. Honey as Psyche. London: Dickinson. THIS is a portrait, partly real and partly poetic: all that is woman has a touch of the opera, and all that is fanciful has a spice of extravagance : a moth on her head sets up its wings like the broad horns of a stag, and the lappets on her shoulders seem about to fly. It is beautifully drawn by Novello, and as beautifully executed on stone by Lane.

MUSIC

My Beautiful-My Bride! The Words by F.
W. N. Bayley; composed by A. Lee.
A pretty little simple ballad, likely, we think,
to be popular. The lithographic portrait of
The Beautiful, the Bride,' is better than one-
half the designs in The Book of Beauty.'

the middle of conversations. This sort of ope ration is not his forte, and we cannot with truth say, that his verses are polished enough to apologize for the intrusion. Mr. Barnett has evinced his usual taste and talent, and wasted here and there some pretty melody, which might have been better spared to a better piece. Here there is nothing in the situations to excite him; and, as far therefore as the music in question is concerned, his fame remains about where it was. It must be owned, that he had not a fair chance, for the general execution of the music was slovenly, and bore the marks of the usual carelessness and haste, in which things are brought out at English Theatres. This will always be the case, until somebody is placed in the stage management of some theatre who has taste and feeling-who can look beyond the boxsheet for the night-and who, in short, does not proceed upon that long established penny-wise and pound-foolish system, which has, time out of mind, been the misery of authors, the destruction of composers, and the ruin of proprietors. Owing to the exertions of Mr. Farren, Mrs. C. Jones, and Mr. Dowton, this play was acted much better than it deserved to be. The igno rance and inconsistency displayed in the costume were more conspicuous, if possible, than

The Irish National Quadrilles for the Pianoforte. usual.
By William Forde.

CONTAINS many favourite Irish airs, which, from
their light lively character, are suited for qua-
drilles; and, the whole being well arranged, we
can recommend the work.

Just like Love. Newly arranged for three
Voices by Vincent Novello.

THERE is but little originality, but the parts are
well distinguished, and flow smoothly.

Thou art another's. Composed by T. Nathan.
THE melody wants connexion.

THEATRICALS

DRURY LANE.

66

'Win her and wear her,' a comic opera, which, being interpreted, means an alteration from Mrs. Centlivre's comedy, called, 'A Bold Stroke for a Wife,' was presented here on Tuesday last. As this comedy has, for many years past, been acted occasionally, we imagine it forms a portion of what the generality of critics are in the habit of holding up as scarecrows to modern writers, under the name, style, and title of " The Standard Dramas of England." And little better than scarecrows, indeed, they most of them are. "Authors," say these critics, 'cannot write such plays now-a-days." We know not whether they can or can't, but we are happy to say they don't. The character of Feignwell, which is meant to be the great feature of the piece, is nothing unless admirably acted, and even then it is like a portion of one of Mr. Mathews's entertainments without the fun. Mr. Braham's personation of it, or rather of them, for it is a part of assumption and disguise, is a failure-not for him, but to the audience. It may be curious, that he can do as well as he does, but it is a great bore to those who are obliged to sit and see him, that he can't do better. The dialogue dragged terribly, and the whole thing was extremely soporific. Entire scenes in the early part went through almost unbroken by a laugh. The introTHIS is another of the many proofs Mr. Horsley lends itself to it, could have no other effect than duction of music in a piece which in no way has given us of his talent.

Bow down thine Ear. Solo Anthem. Composed by Thomas Attwood.

IF Mr. Attwood were not well known as a classical and elegant composer, abundant proof of his talent would be found in this anthem. It is very beautiful.

Let thy merciful Ears, O Lord, be open. Collect for the tenth Sunday after Trinity. Composed for four Voices, by William Horsley, Mus. Bac. Oxon.

God save the King. Newly arranged by Vincent
Novello.

THERE is nothing very novel in the harmonies
of this arrangement, but the parts are well dis-
tributed.

that of increasing its original dulness. Mr.
Beazley, theatrically known as a clever and
tasteful architect, and the author of several
highly entertaining comic pieces, has, in this
instance, had the unpleasant task put upon him
of taking songs and concerted pieces by the
shoulders, and thrusting them on to the stage in

MISCELLANEA

Panorama of Stirling.-To all who delight in splendid landscape, in rich, varied, and picturesque scenery, in fields of old renown, where every stone is hallowed by recollections, this Panorama will be attractive. The situation of Stirling Castle, whence this view is taken, is perhaps unequalled in Scotland-standing on the bold summit of a basaltic rock, it commands a magnificent panoramic view over a luxuriant country, with the Forth winding like a serpent through it, and bounded by the Ochill, the Pentland, and the Campsie Hills, while westward the plains of Menteith stretch to the very base of the Grampians, of Ben Lomond, Ben Venue, and Ben Ledi.-This is a natural scene that few equal, and it includes Bannockburn, and Dunblain, and a dozen battle-fields, with the ruins of Cambuskenneth, and Doune Castle, and other objects of interest, not the least of which is the Meeting of the Highland Society, which Mr. Burford has most judiciously introduced and represented as taking place on the esplanade of the Castle, though, in reality, it is held in a field not visible from the spot. The Panorama is well painted, and we should have noticed it last week, but that on the day appointed for the private view we had one of those fleecy-hosiery atmospheres, which make it impossible to see anything.

·

New Periodicals.-We have latterly ceased to announce these ephemerals. There was no keeping pace either with their entrances or exits. A newspaper, however, has more vitality in it, and we have now on our table the first number of the Reflector,' a new journal “devoted to the People." It is undertaken, atcording to the Prospectus, to supply those new wants which have arisen with the acquirement of new ideas; and it is devoted to the right direction of the people's judgment. It is never fair to judge of a work by a first number—but we may of the tone and temper with which it will be carried on, and we could not but admire the sort of equable justice of the Reflector. It is radical in its politics, but neither virulent nor personal.

Antwerp. Several maps and plans of this city and its vicinity have been lately published. One of the most interesting is that by Mr. Shrewsbury, in which the position of the French army is laid down from actual observation.