and he does not appear to have attended companied Paget, we meet with no amthem in an official capacity; if he did, it bitious memoranda-no hints for governmust have been in a very subordinate one. ment or statistical collections-but a meIt seems tolerably certain, however, that thod of cultivating the willow is carefully with his characteristic sagacity, Cecil did set down, dated from Menen. This taste attach himself in some degree to Cardinal seems to have acquired strength as he Pole. The Cardinal,' says Burnet, 'was advanced in years. His temperate mind a man of a generous and good disposi- ever tempered all his actions,' says a cotion, but knew how jealous the court of temporary biographer;-'If he might ride Rome would be of him if he seemed to privatlie in his garden upon his little favour heretics, therefore he expressed muile, or lye a day or two at his little great detestation of them. Nor did he lodge at Theobalds, retyred from busiconverse much with any that had been of ness or too much company, he thought it that party but the late Secretary Cecil, his greatest happiness and onlie greatwho, though he lived for the most part pri- ness. As to his books, they were so vately at his house near Stamford, where pleasing to him, as when he got liberty he afterwards built a sumptuous house, from the Queen to go unto his country and was known to favour the Reformation house to take the ayre, if he found but a still in his heart, yet in many things he book worth the opening, he would rather complied with the time, and came to have lose his riding than his reading; and yet, more of his confidence than any Eng- riding in his garden and walks upon his lishman.' little muile, was his greatest disport.' If The question in how far Cecil conform- the reader ever dreamed away a happy ed to the popish church after his return hour in the picture-gallery of the Bodto England is one with which his biogra- leian, he will not require to be reminded phers have coquetted. There is in the that he has seen Burleigh pursuing this State Paper Office a document illustrative favourite recreation. of this subject, from which Mr. Tytler It would be an endless task to collect prints a few extracts. It gives the names all the curious evidences of the extent to of them that dwelleth in the parish of which Cecil indulged this passion for his Wimbleton, that was confessed, and re- garden and his library; but particularly ceived the sacrament of the altar,' at for his garden. Allusions to it occur in Easter, 1556: the first three persons being the official correspondence of many of our 'my master Sir William Cecil, my Lady ambassadors, and some high dignitaries Mildred his wife, and Thomas Cecil [his in church and state at home testified their son]' (vol. ii. p. 443): from which, view- solicitude to gratify the minister in this ed in connection with other documents particular by many an interesting postcited by Mr. Tytler, the fact that Sir Wil- script, and indeed often by entire letters. liam Cecil conformed to the full extent But above all, we have abundance of Ceduring Queen Mary's reign may be consi- cil's correspondence with his own stewdered as established. He confessed, at-ards and servants; where, amid the most tended mass with his wife, and brought miscellaneous notices relating to the up his son, Thomas, afterwards Earl of building of his house, the state of his Exeter, in the profession of the Roman farms, &c. &c., such passages as the folCatholic faith. The paper to which Mr. lowing are of perpetual recurrence :Tytler has called attention was apparent-Sir, I have sent to Burleigh seven pearly in the hands of Dr. Nares before him; tree stocks and six apple-tree stocks to yet could it extort from the latter nothing graft in; and if I can find any more, I will beyond the general admission,-'Of Sir send them thither.' This was written by William Cecil's conformity, to a certain Sir James Hurst, the vicar of Essenden. extent, there can be no doubt.' (Life, vol. Another passage from a letter of another i. p. 673.) Sir William Cecil's conformi- vicar and steward, Sir John Abraham ty was exactly what he found necessary (Lansdowne MSS., 3 75), is worth insertto his personal security. ing. At the time it was written, Cecil A more pleasing feature, which comes was busied enclosing his ground with prominently forward during this reign, quickset. When your swans,' says Sir was his strong attachment to country oc- John, 'are fat, I shall, as I sell one cupations, his love of his farm-of his of them. Your Jennet is, and shall be, garden-of planting and horticulture. In both favoured and foddered as well as we the pocket-book which he carried with can do it. I beseech you let us have either him into the Low Countries, when he ac- the grey or bay mare to draw, whereof may, To read his private journals, (of which several have been preserved,) one would seriously doubt whether, instead of the memoranda of a prime minister, we had not stumbled on those of some ancient and very methodical housekeeper, or at best, the precise steward of some small property. The wages of servants-the domestic arrangements; he tells us, for instance, that his Sunday dinner consisted of 'brawn and mustard, beef boiled, veal or pig, or such roast, roast capon, or some baked meat,' &c. Then we are treated with an inventory of his wardrobe; for which some excuse might perhaps be made, for we have much need, and she not worse a|ther into the depth of causes, and found pin. The hop yard was dressed above out more resolutions of dubious points in three weeks ago, and the holes in the or- his bed, than when he was up.' In vain, chard dug ready for fruit trees, but none therefore, did he exclaim at night, when came to be set but two dozen of crab-tree he put off his gown, 'Lie there, Lord stocks. The 19th of this month were Treasurer!' your sheep drawn and numbered. There was of young wethers seventeen, one ram, lambs with tithe lambs five score and four, ewes five score.' So wrote Sir John Abraham on the 22d November, 1557. Gerhard, the author of the well known Herbal, was for twenty years Cecil's gardener. It was in pleasures and concerns such allowances or little perquisites to the milas these that the secretary sought relief ler, brewer, butcher, cook, &c., are all from the overwhelming cares of such a prescribed in his own hand. Thus, beweight of business as, perhaps, never be- side the miller's name, Burleigh writes, fore or since fell to the share of a single 'He shall have but three hens and one officer of the state. Well might it be said cock;' opposite the butcher's, the Atlas of him by one of his household, 'I myself, of the state indites, 'Of cattle-socking he as an eye-witness, can testify that I never shall have but the head, offal, and the saw him half an hour idle in four-and-skin.' We have notices of his minutest twenty years together;' for through his hands, as well as through his head, every transaction involving in any degree the interests of the nation, seems to have passed. He was far, indeed, from being of Choiseul's opinion,-to wit, that there is ink enough in a premier's standish if there be 'de quoi signer son nom.' Was an ambassador to be despatched to some foreign court, the rough draft of his instructions is found in Cecil's handwriting; was any negotiation pending, any treaty contemplated-the arguments pro and con will be found drawn up by the same vigilant, unwearied pen, and the question, in private, decided by him alone. His endorsement is seen on most of the despatches of our statesmen, as well as on While speaking of such small traits, we most of those letters which he daily re- may notice one which we never remember ceived from the spies and emissaries which to have seen pointed out, viz. that Cecil's the dangerous complexion of the times handwriting was invariably excellent. He and the want of newspapers rendered seems to have been gifted with a calm it indispensable to have distributed over self-possession, which, even in moments England, Scotland, and the continent. of most pressure, never deserted him. In addition to his business in the council, Another peculiarity was his habit of prehe is said to have daily received never serving everything in the shape of a writless than twenty or thirty letters con- ten paper which came into his hands; and taining domestic intelligence, and, during this is deserving of notice, because to this term time, from sixty to a hundred peti- we are indebted for much of the accurate tions. Indeed, he left himself scarce information we possess concerning Queen time for sleep, or meals, or leisure to go to bed,' says his domestic:-'It was notable to see his continual agitation both of body and mind. He was ever more weary of a little idleness than of great labour. When he went to bed and slept not, he was either meditating or reading; and was heard to say that he penetrated fur6 VOL. LXV. Without black velvet breeches what is man?' But how shall we picture to ourselves the care-worn statesman at Wimbledon, finding time and inclination ever and anon to weigh himself, his wife, children, and servants, and gravely recording the result of the experiments in his memorandumbook? Elizabeth's reign. No one who considers his papers attentively will doubt for an instant that his intention was to have destroyed a large proportion of them, which, owing to their immense variety and extent, it is not difficult to understand that he never lived to accomplish. We have sometimes been much struck with this last-named feature of Cecil's mind; how does it happen that he became re-possessed of so vast a number of his own letters; and, above all, how is it that the rough drafts of letters addressed to him-by his son's tutor, for examplecame into his hands? There can be no question that he procured the surrender into his keeping of all the documents which in any way concerned himself, his family, or his affairs, as well as of a vast number with which he had no concern at all. His love of pedigrees must not be ranked among the minor features of his character; for, from his county-visitation books it was that he derived that intimate knowledge of the interests and alliances of private families, which he was enabled to turn to such good account on so many occasions. pre continuation of this work. The plea upon But it is time to close this sketch, with an allusion to the sincere piety which seems to have influenced Cecil through--that the papers of a later period inout the greater part at least of his life. The earnestness with which he looked upward for support amid his trials, as well as his habitual reference of every blessing to the source of all good, have been dwelt upon at considerable length by his contemporary biographer. In this practice we shall find the best explanation of the same writer's assertions respecting the calmness with which he received the most unfavourable, as well as the most agreeable intelligence-' never moved with passion in either case; and it was worthily noted of him that his courage never failed, as in times of greatest danger he ever spake most cheerfully, and executed things most readily, when others seemed full of doubt or dread. And when some did often talk fearfully of the greatness of our enemies, and of their power and possibility to harm us, he would ever answer, They shall do no more than God will let them.' Before we close this paper, we must say a word on what appears to us a most ridiculous matter. It is stated by Mr. Tytler in his preface that by far the largest portion of these original letters were, by permission of Lord John Russell, then Home Secretary, selected from the invaluable stores of the State Paper-office; but we have heard with some surprise a report that Lord John, shortly before he transferred himself from the Home Office to the Colonial, in deference to the remonstrances of certain royal Commissioners for the publication of State Papers, was prevailed on to interdict any crease so enormously in numerical extent, that fifty volumes, at least, would be required to embrace-on their plan-the annals of Elizabeth; and that the materials for history swell out in such an enormous ratio throughout all succeeding reigns, that it becomes absolutely impossible to say where the labour of publication would end. Next, it must be stated that the volumes in question were originally published at three guineas each, so that it was contemplated that a person, to possess himself of a copy of the State Papers, was to disburse-it cannot be an exaggeration to say-several hundred pounds. No one will deny that it was intended that the State Papers of Henry VIII.'s reign should cost about £60; since, to prevent any one from buying a single volume, or at least to prevent any use being made of it when bought, the index has been reserved for the end of the last volume! Although the price of the volumes has of late been lowered to one guinea, we apprehend that we are not far from the mark in asserting that a complete set on the scale originally projected, would still cost some hundred pounds sterling; and let them cost what they might, the work cannot certainly be meant for the present age-it is obviously meant for posterity, and for a very remote posterity too. No living man must hope to see the State Papers of even Queen Elizabeth's reign; happy if he lives to possess the index to the volumes already published, relating to the history of her father. And all this it cheerless as the prospect is-is on the in the opening of the second volume, supposition that the work will be con- where the fall of Somerset is discussed) tinued. Notwithstanding that the price-all these features of his work effectuhas been so considerably reduced-a ally disconnect it from and render it dismeasure, we may be well assured, not of similar to the State-Paper publications ;choice, but of stern necessity-the work and they are features, we must say, which has no sale ; nor was a sale ever to be we had strongly wished to retrace in a expected for it. It is, as far as it goes, collection respecting the glorious reign well and carefully done; we have no fault of Elizabeth. to find in its execution; but it is not a We do not comprehend the Commisbook to be read; it is a book to be refer- sioners. To anticipate what booksellers red to; and of most books of reference call a lively sale' for their productions may be truly said, not only that they would be about as reasonable as to expect are to be found in all public libraries, but a Treatise on the Cube Root from Lady that they are not to be found anywhere Stepney-Mr. Sydney Smith to circulate else: while of the volumes hitherto pub- papers for an addition of St. Jerome in a lished, it is obvious that their utility as score of folios-or Dr. Pusey to start books of reference is almost annihilated another Book of Beauty' in opposition by the want of an index. The pains to Lady Blessington. Their sole ambition which have been taken to preserve the in following out their colossal scheme ancient orthography is also a serious ob- must be to become the means of depositstacle which they have to contend with; ing in each of the principal towns of the for in point of fact, those who have never United Kingdom, as well as in each of served an apprenticeship at the British the capitals on the continent, a complete Museum, or elsewhere, cannot decipher a series of most important materials for sentence so as to render it intelligible. history. To accomplish this must be the Scarcely, therefore, does it seem an ex- summit of their ambition; and they need aggeration to say of the volumes in ques- dread no collision. General as the love tion, that they are parts of a work which, of history undoubtedly is, it is quite obin the first place, will never be complet-vious that a taste for the study of its oried; which, if completed, would never be ginal documents is still with the mass of bought; and lastly, which, if bought, would never be read. society in its infancy. The public is like a great child: it requires to be led; and it is our deliberate opinion that, so far from interfering with the sale of the of ficial State-papers, a series of volumes, conceived and executed like Mr. Tytler's, would conduce more effectually to promote the objects for which the commission was appointed than any scheme which could be devised for that purpose. The whole of this business appears to us absurd: and we are sure we are only doing Lord John Russell justice when we avow our belief that he never found leisure to bestow personal attention upon its bearings. If Lord Normanby should remain any time in the Home-office, we hope he may some fine morning happen Mr. Tytler has printed, in all, 191 letters; of which about 160 are preserved in the state-paper office: these 160 letters extend over a period of twelve years, viz., from 1547 to 1558. Now, considering the official volumes to contain on an average, 450 letters each (the first volume contains 468, and we have not the others at hand to refer to)-it appears that thirty years of Henry VIII.'s reign (for the earliest date is 1517) will claim illustration from about 9000 letters! This comparison must of itself demonstrate how groundless is the assertion, that one of these publications interferes with the other. It would be almost as just to say that a literary man selecting a few instru- to take up the fancy of overhauling the ments or treaties to illustrate some ques-outrage' of these Chartists. tion of national history, finance, or politi cal economy, was encroaching upon Rymer's Fœdera. Moreover, the modernized spelling which Mr. Tytler has adopt. ed-the narrative with which he connects his letters his criticism-his biographi- ART. IV.-Mémoires d'un Touriste; par cal sketches—and, above all, the protracted disquisition which he brings to bear upon a disputed point-unbroken, occasionally, l'Auteur de Rouge et Noir. 2 tomes 8vo. Edition seconde. Paris, 1839. throughout the space of twenty pages (as WE have read these volumes with lively interest: much amusement is to be found | ten per cent.-what signifies the result of the conin them; not a little of valuable informa-cern? The original share-holder realises his advantion: the observations, reflections, jokes, ed: never will our clever journalists have patience tage. The subject is too troublesome to be explain. and sarcasms, of a clever man-a very to clear up the tricks to which a railroad scheme favourable specimen of the libéral of the may give rise. Adroit people, therefore, may specpresent time; noted down from day to ulate in tranquillity on this important subject; for day, as he repeatedly asserts, in the course 5000 francs for a railway that could never yield example, what say you to founding 2000 shares of of journeys undertaken for professional more than three purposes, through several of the finest, and one or two of the obscurest, provinces of France. The book is undoubtedly one of the ablest that the Parisian press-vol. i. p. 255. more than three per cent. on the cost of construction-persuade the public, by means of the newspapers, that a return of ten per cent. is certain-sell 2000 on each share, and good bye to the enterprise?' all your own shares at 7000 francs-pocket your has lately produced; and we are inclined Elsewhere he asks- to believe that it offers better materials for an estimate of the actual social condition of the France of Louis Philippe than could be gathered from a score of works holding forth graver pretensions. What will become of railways, should they really succeed in making steam-carriages to travel on the common roads?—Ibid. 57. We suspect that this gentleman's connection with the iron-trade amounts to his having been bit in some little tampering with a railway bubble. If not, his shares just at present would seem to lie in the Entreprise Marseillaise.' We understand it is generally ascribed to the pen of M. Beyle, who, in former days, was pretty well known under the nomme de plume of M. Stendhal. About twenty years ago, in particular, he published two little volumes, entitled, we He has one or two shrewd and very think, 'De la Physiologie de l'Amour et gloomy pages on the state and prospects du Mariage,' which had a great vogue in of the silk manufacture of Lyons; and he his own country, and were read, admir-enters con amore, we must allow, into the ed, and abused here. He met Lord By- history and management of some of the ron at Milan; and his reminiscences of most celebrated vineyards of Burgundy; the poet are included in Mr. Moore's bi- but these things will hardly induce the ography. We are not well acquainted simplest reader to believe that this volupwith M. Beyle's personal history; but it tuous wit travelled over the French prois evident that, if he be the author of vinces with specimens of iron bars in the these Mémoires, he has endeavoured to well of his calèche;-which calèche, bymystify his readers by the account which the-by, he is almost as fond of alluding to the Touriste is made to deliver of himself. as if he had been much more familiar M. Beyle must be a good deal older than with the coupé of the diligence. the traveller says he is; and never was chatters about it and his valet Joseph, althere a thinner disguise than this gentle-most as pitiably as Prince Puckler did of man's assumed character of an iron mer- the barouche and my people.' chant. There is not one mercantile atom in his composition. He is evidently a practised professional littérateur, who has spent a considerable part of his life in Italy, and is so imbued with Italian ideas as to the fine arts that he must needs have the supremest contempt for French sculpture, painting, and architecture-but whose notions on all other subjects whatever are intensely and exclusively Parisi an. Beaumont and La Chapelle might as well have tried to support the characters of a couple of Epiciers-or the author of the 'Voyage autour de ma Chambre' that of a Doctor of the Sorbonne. 'I do not believe,' he says, 'that any possible railroad in France could ever pay six or seven per cent., except one to Lyons and Marseilles. But is good sense to decide such questions? I do not be. lieve one word of it. Fashion, aided by handsome douceurs, will give us abundance of railroads. It is so convenient to create shares on which one gains The author's time of life is not much better disguised. He is by no means in love with the popular literature of la jeune France, which, we are sorry to say, is giving its colour to much of our own. He has hardly one allusion, other than contemptuous, to the names now in vogue. Their whole plan of writing merely for effect he considers as a melancholy symptom of the extent to which taste has been vulgarised in consequence of the Revolution of 1789, and its sequel of the Barricades; of which last performance, however, as a step in the march of liberal policy, he seems to be a decided admirer. In his view all great revolutions are, and must be, accomplished at the expense of the temporary destruction of social refinement, an obliteration of the reign of elegance in manners and arts. He prophesies better things for the hereafter; but |