tract he had presented Mr. Cardonel, his grace's secretary, with a gratuity of 500 ducats; and that he had paid Mr. Sweet, deputy-paymaster at Amsterdam, a separate allowance of one per cent. on all the monies be received.' The same individual further deposed, that Antonio Alvarez Machado, the preceding contractor, had advanced the like sums, in the same manner, from 1702 to 1706;' and the commissioners appointed to investigate this case, computed from these data that the duke of Marlborough had received and embezzled in the space of ten years, 664,851 guilders four stivers, making in sterling money, as has already been stated, 63,319l. 3s. 7d.

"But the malice of Marlborough's enemies ended not here. He was likewise accused of having illegally appropriated to his own use the sum of 282,3661. by deducting two and a half per cent. from the pay of the foreign auxiliaries, on a warrant unnecessarily concealed, and giving no account to the public as to the mode in which it was expended.

"Such is the substance of that infamous report, which, in defiance of his grace's letter written from the Hague, the commissioners of public accounts laid before the house of commons; and it was on such ground as this that Queen Anne consented to strip of all his public employments a man who, whatever his conduct might have been to others, had, during a long life, served her with the utmost fidelity and success.

"Our limits will not permit us to give of these disgraceful transactions the full account which, as matters of history, they deserve. We must content ourselves with stating, that though it was distinctly shown that the very same perquisites had been enjoyed by King William; though the ministers of the foreign powers averred that the per-centage was a free gift awarded by their masters; though the royal warrant, authorising him to accept the gratuity, was produced by Marlborough's friends, and evidence was adduced that a very large share at least of the monies arising out of it had been expended in procuring intelligence; a majority of 270 against 165 was found in this packed house of commons base enough to determine, first, that the taking several sums of money, annually, by the duke of Marlborough, from the contractors for furnishing the bread and breadwagons, in the Low Countries, was unwarrantable and illegal;' and, next, that the deduction of two and a half per cent. from the pay of the foreign troops in her majesty's service, is public money, and ought to be accounted for. The resolutions being communicated to the queen, she replied,

'that she had a great regard for whatever was presented to her by the commons, and would do her part to redress whatever they complained of. This was followed by an order to the attorney-general to prosecute the duke of Marlborough; and preparations for putting him on his trial in the court of queen's bench were immediately and ostentatiously made.

"The conduct of the duke all this while was such as became his high renown and extraordinary merits. His dismissal from the queen's service, conveyed in a letter written by herself, he received not without indignation, yet he replied to it in a calm and dignified tone. To the suggestions of those who urged him, in imitation of lord Somers, to vindicate himself before the house of commons, he turned a deaf ear. The only step, indeed, which he conceived it not derogatory to his own character to take, was to sanction the compilation of an authentic narrative of his case, and to permit its publication. Never did any document carry upon its face stronger marks of truth; never was any party pamphlet more generally read and approved. The house of commons itself, though severely and justly censured, dared not vote the statement a libel, and not a member endeavoured, because not a member was able, to answer it. Nor were the ministers more fortunate in the minute investigation which they instituted as to the mode in which the general had disposed of vacant commissions. They found, that while numerous abuses had existed, and had even been considered as justifiable, during the reign of king William, Marlborough had never acted except with openness and propriety; and their failure here tended not a little to weaken the force of their grand charge, not only with the public at large, but among the most prejudiced of their own adherents.

"The events thus described took place during the month of December, 1711: on the 5th of January, 1712, prince Eugene, the illustrious colleague of Marlborough, arrived in London. He was the bearer of a strong remonstrance from the emperor against the peace which the British cabinet seemed bent on concluding; and his pre sence, though it served not to divert the ministers from their design, seriously incommoded and displeased them. His honourable conduct towards his old companion in arms gave in particular excessive umbrage to the cabinet, by whom a direct attempt had been made to separate him from Marlborough's society; and he became in the end exposed, together with his friend and the whig leaders, to the foulest and most unfounded calumnies. Fresh stories

were got up of intended conspiracies, in which Eugene and Marlborough were to be the chief actors. The queen was to be seized, the capital set on fire, Oxford and his associates put to death, and the elector of Hanover advanced to the throne. We blush for the credulity of our countrymen, both then and at a later period, when we find that the credibility of this tale depended entirely on the assertion of Plunket the jesuit spy, yet that it was believed at the moment, and found a place as true in the written memorials of such men as Swift and Macpherson.

Disgusted with the conduct of those in power, and hopeless of effecting a change, Eugene returned to the Continent on the 17th of March. He had remained long enough in London to witness the commencement of those invidious attacks by which the commons strove, with too much success, to alienate the feelings of the English people from their allies; and be quitted it under the humiliating impression, that if the war should be carried on at all, it must be conducted without any aid either in men or money from England.

"With the events which followed upon this radical change of system in the king's councils, every reader of English history is acquainted. Neither the equivocations of Louis, nor the remonstrances of the confederate powers, could divert Oxford and his colleagues from their purpose, which they continued to pursue with unabated constancy, even after the death of the dauphin had rendered it next to impossible that the crowns of France and Spain should not devolve upon the same individual. Peace they were determined to have, let its attainment cost what it might; and to accomplish that end, they consented to receive assurances, which the French monarch himself, while in the act of affording them, confessed that circumstances might render altogether nugatory. In like manner, though they despatched the duke of Ormond to succeed Marlborough in the command of their army, they secretly instructed him not to undertake any hostile operation, because a treaty was then in progress, of which the conclusion might hourly be expected, provided neither a defeat nor a victory intervened to cast insuperable obstacles in the way. The consequence was, that Eugene, after arranging an admirable plan of campaign, found himself paralysed at the very moment when it behoved him to strike, Ormond positively refusing to take part in a battle, and consenting, not without demur, to assist in the siege of Quesnoy.

"Powerful as the ministers were in both houses of parliament, they could not suc.

ceed in suppressing a burst of indignation which attested the impression made on the minds of all honourable men by conduct so unprincipled as well as unexpected. Out of doors, one feeling and one feeling only, seemed to prevail; while in the lords a keen debate arose, in which lord Halifax, the duke of Marlborough, the duke of Argyle, and earl Poulett, bore each a very conspicuous share. The latter nobleman, indeed, so completely transgressed the rules of decency and order, that he left to the hero of Blenheim but one resource in order to vindicate his personal honour from reproach. After defending the measures of government, lord Poulett went on to say, that no one could doubt the duke of Ormond's bravery; but he does not resemble a certain general, who led troops to the slaughter, to cause a great number of officers to be knocked on the head in a battle, to fill his pocket by disposing of their commissions.' On many previous occasions Marlborough had been compelled to bear up against the libellous insinuations of party writers, who accused him of protracting the war for the basest purposes; but an insult so gross and so personal as this had never till now been offered to him by one of his peers. He received it with perfect composure, did not so much as reply to it, but immediately on quitting the house sent lord Mohun to demand, in the language of the day, that earl Poulett would take the air with him in the country.' Lord Poulett became alarmed. He could not conceal his agitation, nor the cause of it, from his lady; and intimation of the affair being communicated to the secretary of state, the earl was placed under arrest. Finally, the queen interfering, and laying her commands on Marlborough that he would not prosecute the matter further, an apparent reconciliation took place; and the most illustrious man of his age was saved the mortification of appearing in the field, as the personal antagonist of one whose very name would have been long ago forgotten but for this act of atrocious iniquity and meanness.'

THE MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND REIGN OF

GEORGE IV. 3 Vols. Vol. 3. Longman and Co. London, 1832. We are glad that this work,“ The Memoirs of the Life and Reign of George IV." is brought to a close it has been conducted with a degree of acrimony and bad faith, which render it in our opinion disgusting and insipid-there is too much red hot whiggery in it to render it any thing like an impartial history. It concludes with a comparison at once odious and misplaced.

THE CHAMELEON. Longman and Co. London; Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh; Atkinson and Co. Glasgow; 1832. This volume contains a number of prose and poetical pieces" of various hue and shade," wherein "the grave and gay" are alternately resorted to for the amusement of the reader. Our limits prevent any lengthy extracts, and therefore we must content ourselves with the following, though we sincerely hope that none of our fair readers will ever be in the hopeless predicament of the "sweet lady."

"Sweet lady, there was nought in me to win a heart like thine ; No stamp of honoured ancestry, that spoke a noble line;

Nor wealth, that could that want repay, had I to lure thine eye,

When all but thee and thine, still pass'd

the boy-bard coldly by.

Can I forget the blushing hour, when by

thee led to dance,

Amid the proud, who on me lower'd with

many a haughty glance?

A radiant smile there was to me-to them a lofty look,

Which graced my very bashfulness, and gave their scorn rebuke!

Beside thee, in thy kinsman's hall, amid the banquet throng,

For me was kept the place of pride-from me was sought the song! What had I done-what can I do-my title to approve?

Alas! this lay is all my thanks-my heart is dead to love!

It is not that that heart is cold-nor yet is

Vowed away;

But that, amid the spring of youth, it feels

itself decay.

Ambition's spell, if aught, will lure; but whatsoe'er the part,

In after life I do or dree-the praise shall all be thine,

And all the fame I e'er may win be offered at thy shrine !"

There are many pieces in this volume more finished, and we will add more animated, than the one which we have selected, therefore in giving it as a specimen of his powers, we have hardly done justice to our author, and we doubt not but that the fair one who resorts to the book itself will readily agree with us.

MY OLD PORTFOLIO, or Tales and Sketches. By Henry Glasford Bell. Smith, Elder, and Co. London, 1832.

This is, indeed, a most entertaining portfolio, replete with the ingredients of imagination, wit, and thought. Mr. Bell's style is easy, gay, and graceful, and we take the liberty of selecting from his volume the

History of the Rise and Progress of a small volume of Poems, with some Account of their Decline and Fall.

Ha! who art thou? What art thou?
The sun of phantasy,

Whose world's o' the air, to mortal vision else

Impalpable.'-Sheridan Knowles.

"The history of a small volume of miscellaneous poems, from its first conception to its final completion, from its cradle to its grave, may afford materials for a curious chapter, illustrative of the phenomena of

mind. Many a time and oft' have we wondered within ourselves what on earth could ever tempt a young or middle-aged man gravely to print one hundred and fifty or two hundred pages, consisting of detached pieces of rhyme. We have said to ourselves, what possible advantages does the author of this publication expect to arise out of it? In these days, when the power of versifying is almost as common as that of eating or walking, can he anticipate, that a little book in blue, yellow, red, or green boards, with a neat title-page, and a modest preface, and a very tolerable collection of pretty thoughts, under the heads of Lines,'Stanzas,'Sonnets,' Canzonets,' 'Serenades,'' Songs,' Impromptus,' or Fragments,'- -can be, by any chance, anticipate that such a little book will fill his coffers with money, or crown his brow with laurels? Upon what principle is it that he voluntarily undergoes all the whips and scorns' of authorship,- the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,'-the

The spurns

Which patient merit of the unworthy takes?' Why and wherefore has he brought down upon his own head so great a load of misery? We have revolved this question a thousand times, and after keeping it long--alta menta reposta-we can answer it satisfactorily only on the supposition, that most of these miscellaneous-poem-publishing authors go on step by step, from little to little, until, upon awaking some morning, they see a book upon the breakfast-table, and blush to find it their own. Let us for a moment look a little deeper into the heart of this mystery, and if possible, trace the rise and progress of the phenomenon.

"A strippling about the age of sixteen, who has been hitherto rather short and dumpy, suddenly finds himself shoot out like an asparagus, and all at once become portentously long and thin. His mother and sisters, with every possible expedition, proceed to let out reefs from the cuffs of his coat, and the legs of his trowsers; but to little purpose, for the sleeves of the one arrive only a short way below the elbows, and the trowsers, as if their legs had been cut away instead of lengthened, terminate in a very ludicrous and Highland fashion, somewhere about the knees. There is at length no alternative; recourse must be had to a skilful artist, by mortals called a tailor, and in his new suit of clothes, behold our hero is instantaneously, and to his own considerable surprise, a young man! Adieu at once to marbles and paper kites; the king's birth-day fades into obscurity, and blind-man's-buff becomes undignified! At dancing parties he is considered a very eligible partner, and ladies quiz him upon the subject of his being in love. No won der for being naturally susceptible, and having read a considerable number of novels, and not a few romances, he seldom falls asleep before he has vowed eternal fidelity to some Adelaide, Clara, or Matilda. Then, in a most unaccountable manner, he suddenly conceives the idea of taking a solitary walk-a walk away into the country where there are some green trees, a good way off the dust of the high road; and a stream tolerably clear, only that there is a large dyeing establishment on its banks; and a bill or two in the back ground, try ing to look as picturesque as they can; and

fields from which he can hear what he knows to be the voice of birds, without enquiring too curiously whether it be only the chirping of the sparrow, or the warbling of the nightingale.

"Under the influence of sights and sounds so harmonious, he puts his hand first into his breeches' pocket, and takes out a silver pencil, and then into his coat pocket, and takes out a memorandum-book, in which there are several blank leaves. To one of those leaves the youthful poet entrusts his maiden effusion-a sonnet, perhaps, or Lines to -,' and then with a trembling thrill restores the memorandumbook to its accustomed place, and, with a more than ordinary flush upon his countenance, returns home to dinner. For weeks

it may be for months-he is like the little girl described by Montgomery, who had a secret of her own,' because she had disco. vered a bird's nest. He knows that he has written poetry, but he breathes not the fact to mortal man; he is ashamed to confess the weakness. But he takes some more solitary walks; and at length all the blank leaves of his memorandum-book are filled, and he finds himself under the necessity of purchasing a second. Still, like Von Dunder in the farce, he sticks to his incognito,' till the fatal hour at length arrives when the lady of his heart determines on keeping an album. He is asked for a contribution, and he dare not refuse. The snowy white. ness of its exquisite gilt leaves and spotless Bristol-board is entrusted to his keeping; and fully impressed with the weight of the responsibility, he mends half a dozen pens in a manner calculated to secure the fineness of their hair-strokes, and, with much agitation, commits some of his own verses to the sacred book, modestly affixing to them his initials only. But now his fate is sealed. The intelligence flies like wildfire; he is a poet; his verses are the sweetest things ever written. Albums pour in from all quarters, accompanied with most irresistible three-cornered pink coloured notes: Will he do Miss A. the honour?'

Will he so far oblige Miss B.?'-' Might Miss C. venture to request?' At the same time all the young ladies assure him, that several 'real judges' have pronounced his poetry most beautiful.' The Editor of Blackwood's Magazine said, his Lines to were full of genius. The Editor of La Belle Assemblée said, his Stanzas to a Lady' were equal to any thing Moore had ever written. Surely he intended publishing.' At all events, he should write for the periodicals. No being claiming kindred with humanity could resist such an attack as this. Without saying a word to