they were hooted out by general indignation. Their abrupt dismissal gave them not popularity-for they have long forfeited all pretensions to that, but a ground of appeal to the energetical efforts of all who were their friends, and the enemies of the country. The pear was not ripe. If he had suffered them to remain in office another year, we should have been now rid of them; but as he meant it for the best, so, perhaps, it has turned out for the best. Now, nobody can be in doubt as to the fitness of Lord Melbourne for managing a great state; now, nobody can mistake the sagacity and wisdom in foreign affairs of Lord Palmerston; now, nobody is deceived as to the utter subserviency of our home policy to those who are alien from truth, honour, or honesty, to the perjurors, without whom the Melbourne administration would lose their narrow majority in the House of Commons. We should, therefore, give his late majesty due credit for his good intentions, and not forget that he never in his last years lost an oppor tunity of shewing his zeal, as far as he thought it prudent to display it, in behalf of that church for the maintenance and support of which his family was called from the petty and modern electorate of Hanover, to sway one of the greatest and oldest empires of the earth- and for no other reason. What is to be the policy of the young lady who succeeds him we know not. We hope for the best, and therefore shall not hastily utter auguries of ill. It is impossible, however, for us to close our ears to the swelling expectations of the Whigs and Radicals. The queen, they tell us, is to make an unlimited number of peers, to swamp the House of Lords,-let it be tried. The queen is to break up the organisation of the army,-let it be tried. The queen is to drive from her presence and her household all the friends of her line, let it be tried. The queen is to fling the Protestants of Ireland to the pike and the faggot,—let it be tried. The queen is to make Mr. Daniel O'Connell attorney-general of Ireland, there to perform the part which in the time of James II. Jeffries performed in England,--let it be tried. The last thing is the only one of the threats which is practicable; and oh! that it were ventured upon by the Whigs; oh! that it were done to-morrow! Then, indeed, would the damnation of the party be so complete, that a month could not pass over before its ruin, utter, total, hopeless, -never to be redeemed. They would then find that there is, indeed, such a being as a people in England. Then, indeed, they might be prepared for the cry, even now scarcely suppressed,— Awfully and blindly ignorant of the current of public feeling are those who think that a retrogradation to the priest-riding over Ireland is a stride in the march of intellect. As we write, a silly article in Mr. Beaumort's review comes under our notice. It emanates from one of those great and philosophical reasoners who is more stupidly destitute of thought or observation than the most long-eared donkey that ever chewed a thistle. After setting forth various misfortunes which he anticipates for the aristocracy, if they do not suffer their throats to be cut without resistance, he proceeds to give the following advice to the ministry :— "To avert the possibility of such evils, let the ministers now shake off that listlessness and apathy which for the present gives an apparent superiority to the foes of the people; let them awake from their lethargy; let them endeavour to arouse once more the energies of the people; let them dismiss from among them the timid in council, and the irresolute in action; let them make up their minds to a bold and fearless course. Then the Liberals may be led on under their banners to fresh triumphs, and to fresh victories. But if in this crisis they dare not be resolute, their last chance is lost, their last die is thrown, their doom is sealed; and ere long the reins of government will fall for ever from their feeble hands, amidst the derisive shouts of their opponents. Contemned they will be by most men, lamented by few, regretted by none; and with them will be annihilated the honour, the renown, and, perhaps, even the name, of the once powerful party of the Whigs." It is easy to count on the fresh victories and fresh triumphs of the Liberals. With good Mrs. Glasse we say, "first catch your hare." But as we well know that the present ministry cannot accomplish a particle of the hubble-bubble rubbish here impressed upon them [they would be idiots indeed if they attempted t], we hope that the consequences predicted by the reviewer will be as speedily accomplished as possible; and that, ere long, "contemned by most men, lamented by few, regretted by none, with them will be annihilated the name of the once powerful party of the Whigs," a name which, the ill-read and unreasoning scribe ought to have added, was once intimately connected with Protestantism and freedom, and is now but another word for Popery, slavery, jobbing, place-hunting, meanness, perjury, lying, and corruption. But we can wait. Next month,-or, at all events, next January, we shall be in a better condition to discuss the prospects of the new reign. Of him who now awaits the dismal honours of a royal entombing we can speak only in the words of praise. He was just, kind, and honest of nature; he lost no friend in the course of a long life; he made no enemy. His talents might not have been of the first order: but in business he was clear, decisive, regular, and prompt. His occasional speeches were marked by a heartiness which sometimes approached to eloquence, and could often claim the praise of that truly refined taste which is identical with honourable emotion. He was English in his habits and feelings, and, of all English interests, most deeply attached to that which is most English. His intentions were always good, his political course free from dissimulation or guile. No mean or angry passion disturbed his bosom. No trace of such feelings was to be observed in his private life; in his public life we have the high testimony of the Duke of Wellington, who had officially, and Lord Denman, who had personally, insulted him, that he "bore no malice or hatred in his heart." All his ministers, varying as they do in politics, accorded to him the praise of justice, impartiality, and a desire to promote the good of all. The companions of his youth dwelt upon the remembrance of the days they had passed together with kind affection; that he returned the feeling is proved by a hundred handsome actions, and by such memorials as his touching tribute to Sir Richard Keats. The young who grew up around him, and the men whom he met in the jarring contact of every-day life, sometimes under adverse circumstances, looked upon him with unaffected regard. Loved and esteemed in his own household circle, and by all parties and sections in his far-spreading empire reverenced with a personal esteem that seldom falls to the lot of monarchs, William IV. has departed from among us full of years, to meet a tribunal where the fame of earthly glory or genius will weigh nothing in comparison with those apparently secondary virtues which make up the character of an honest and an upright man. JULY SONNETS. RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE KING, "CITA MORS VENIT-ET VICTORIA LETA." Quintus Horatius Flaccus in Satirarum, libri primi, satiræ primæ, versu octavo. I. "QUICKLY," as Flaccus, in the quoted line, Remarks, came death," swift smiting on the king. Yet be it thought not that the honour done The kindly memory of the monarch dead, His heart right-seated, his well-meaning head, The frank demeanour, and the honest face, That marked the school in which his youth was bred. II. Light on the Sailor-King the dust will lie, Till the last boatswain's whistle-call is heard. By violent stumbling of a horse did die ; Sir Walter Tyrrel let the arrow fly Which sped, to heaven or hell, the Second Will. To the red tyrant in New Forest slain ; Not decked with deathless glories as Nassau, In peaceful guise ending his peaceful reign, Last William yielded to mild Nature's law.— May she who follows not forget to own That William's creed to which she owes her crown. July the first or near it - London:-J. Moyes, Castle Street, Leicester Square. M. O'D. THE boldness of the movement lately effected by a division, headed by Don Carlos and his gallant nephew, first into Aragon and Catalonia, and next into Valencia, by crossing the Ebro, will not be readily understood by those who are unacquainted with the relative positions of the belligerents at the commencement of last spring; nor can the consequences to which this important change in the theatre of war is likely to lead be duly appreciated by any but those who have watched the events connected with the rise and progress of the Carlist cause. The Navarrese and Basques, previously disarmed, rushed into the contest with only 1500 men, and such precarious resources as they could obtain from the mountain peasants. They had neither arms, ammunition, artillery, nor money. Left to themselves, they scarcely knew what was passing in the nearest provinces. The seaports, towns, and central points, were in the hands of their enemies, who commanded all the resources possessed by the Madrid government, and were, besides, backed by two of the most powerful nations of Europe. The prince, whose standard they had unfurled, was, besides, an exile in a foreign land; and they knew nothing of his plans or his prospects. Such was the situation of Zumalaccarregui, in January 1834, when he took Orbaizeta, and obtained his first supplies of arms and gunpowder. Gradually his force increased; and, descending from the mountains, he The routed the armies sent against him, dislodged his opponents from their strongholds in the interior, and commenced offensive operations, in which he was uniformly victorious. queen's authorities in the provinces clamoured for more troops, and they were sent; but fresh supplies could not put down an insurrection that daily gained strength. Army succeeded army; and yet all did not suffice. The commanders were blamed and changed; butcheries and incendiarism resorted to; nevertheless, volunteers continued to flock to the ranks of the Carlists, who wrested arms from the hands of their enemies, or found them in the fortresses as they were captured. The Madrid government became alarmed, and every courier brought down remonstrances and fresh plans for the pacification of "the revolted provinces." Sarsfield, Valdes, and Quesada, were, in their turn, discomfited. A fourth commander, favoured by the prestige of victory, was commissioned to crush the insurrection, and a seasoned army placed at his disposal. The martial bearing of these heroes, and the skill of their leader, inspired confidence; and it must be confessed that Rodil was unwearied in his efforts. Amply supplied, and encouraged by the seductive promises of a young and fascinating queen, he set to work in real earnest. With impetuous zeal and ardent devotion, he traversed valleys and ascended mountains, never relaxing in vigilance or vigour. Desolation marked his footsteps; and yet the Carlist cause prospered, while his own army became dispirited and exhausted. Select Spanish officers gave their opinion as to the best mode of terminating the war-the Bayonne staff were consulted-all information in the Paris war-office was placed at the disposal of the queen's generals; and it was at length determined that no other mode remained than that of establishing garrisons on commanding and connecting points, blockading the coast, and guarding the French frontier. By these means it was hoped that the mountaineers, confined to the wilderness, and shut out from supplies, would lay down their arms. The plan was pronounced effectual as soon as the fortified line across Navarre was completed, and assurances of renewed vigilance on the part of the queen's allies received. The experiment was tried, and utterly failed, Zumalacarregui continuing to extend the scale of his operations. The direct intervention of the queen's allies was now called for, and refused by France. The next expedient devised was the co-operation of foreign auxiliaries, when one of the oldest international laws known in Europe was sacrificed to the ambition of individuals. The British and French legions, followed by a Portuguese division, entered Spain; but still the war lingered; and it became evident that the Christinos and their allies would never sing the song of victory, unless over tombs and desolation. Blockades were straitened, persecutions redoubled, and British seamen and marines at length landed to take part in the contest. These efforts were alike ineffectual. The last plan formed for the annihilation of the stubborn Carlists was a combined and simultaneous movement of strong columns from St. Sebastian, Pamplona, Vittoria, and Bilboa, upon Tolosa and Oñate, in which 70,000 men were to be employed. It would be a waste of time to shew the folly of such a scheme, in a mountainous country, and at so inclement a season as the month of March, when it was undertaken; nor is it necessary to dwell upon the other difficulties which four armies, coming from a distance, and commanded by different generals, would have to experience in reaching a central point, even if they acted in concert, and perfectly coincided in views: suffice it to say that the attempt was made, and proved abortive. Such was the state of things in the northern provinces at the commencement of last spring. The hardy Basques and Navarrese had for more than three years borne the brunt of the war; and Europe saw a territory of 450 square leagues, inhabited only by 650,000 souls, furnish a sufficient force to bid defiance to the power of the Madrid government, aided by foreign allies. When they could not be conquered, it was expected that the insurgents would have been tired, or starved out. Their energies, however, rose with every difficulty; and while the men were employed in the camp, the women tilled the fields. They husbanded their scanty resources; and that they might not be unprovided, manufactured arins and gunpowder. Over and over again, the certain annihilation of the northern Carlists was announced by the conductors of the war against them. When Zumalacarregui died, the chaunt of victory resounded in Madrid and Downing Street. "No one can be found to succeed him, and, consequently, driven to despair, they will disperse." Such were the forebodings of every Christino. This delusion went on till the close of last year, when we were exultingly told of the "never-fading glory and important results secured by the relief of Bilboa." On this exhilirating part of his subject, the eloquence of Lord Palmerston's pamphleteer was irresistible.* keen eye at once penetrates into the depths of futurity; and, after telling us that "every resource which Don Carlos could command, all the energy his partisans could display, his best generals, his foreign engineers, his picked battalions, and the whole of his artillery,all were concentrated against Bilboa," he declares that the failure had scat His * Vide pamphlet entitled "The Policy of England towards Spain." This joint stock company's production, the result of great labour in Madrid and in London-this epitome of the Spanish question, that was to astonish Europe by the accuracy of its facts and the brilliancy of its ideas,-has been answered by three distinct volunteers, viz. first by a nobleman, next by Mr. Walton, and lastly by Lord Carnarvon. |