without their combination, no Government could have been formed in succession to that of Lord Palmerston. The Dissolution, therefore, became, by the confession of these very candidates, less the alternative of a Ministerial crisis than the only expedient on which the business of the country could be conducted; and out of their own mouths are they answered.

Nor is it less striking to notice-whatever be the truth with which the assertion of a coalition is denied-how closely the addresses of the Peelite and Conservative leaders to their constituents approximate, not simply upon the Chinese Question, but upon the whole curriculum of our anticipated domestic policy. Sir James Graham's address to the borough of Carlisle appears designed to show how closely Liberalism may trench upon Conservative opinions; and that of Mr. Disraeli to the county of Buckingham to evince how nearly Conservatism may approach to Liberal opinions; until the differences of the two statesmen are narrowed to a single word: for while both exclaim alike for 'Peace' and 'Retrenchment,' the demand of Sir James Graham for Reform,' Mr. Disraeli promises' social improvement.' We believe that the people of England will look forward with confidence to Lord Palmerston's Government for these three requisites -honourable peace, wise economy, and expedient reform. But we are equally certain that they will never record their votes either for disgraceful capitulation, for military defencelessness, or-for a militia franchise.

We have efficiently consulted-as a nation represented by its Government-the obligations at once of good faith towards our countrymen in the East, and of humanity towards the Chinese. We have despatched military forces for the maintenance of our national rights; and we have sent out a Plenipotentiary in a spirit of honourable conciliation. The civilized world, at least, will accept this evidence that the enforcement of our just demands is tempered by a policy of forbearance; and that we are ready to seek our rights by negotiation rather than by force.

OUR EPILOGUE

ON

AFFAIRS.

NUMBER FIFTY-Half a century of times the British Quarterly has delivered its message to its readers on the appointed day :-and we see not why this first half century of appearances should not be followed, under Providence, by another-and still another.

The great events at home during the last thirteen years have been, the steady progress of Liberal Principles at the cost of Old Party Relationships, and the Law of Free-trade. The great events abroad have been the Revolution of 1848, the ascent of Napoleon III. to the throne of France, and the Russian war. At home, particular reforms. have been much impeded; but a ground-work has been laid which ensures that more than has been aimed at will be realized. Abroad, English policy has been timid, selfish, servile, until the outbreak of the Russian war. In that struggle Government and people did their duty. Russia has received her lesson. Europe may breathe again. Only let the law of international policy be hands-off,' and the nations which deserve liberty will get it.

But the world is not at rest. Canton is in commotion. Lord Palmerston is upon his trial. For the nonce, Lord Derby has become very humane, Mr. Gladstone very religious, and Lord John Russell very liberal. But Lord Palmerston outvoted-what next? Yesthat is an awkward question. Should it not have been asked before? The combination which was potent to destroy, soon finds itself powerless to construct. Parliaments, like cats, are said to lose temper by age. It was time there should be a change.

Lord Palmerston is not, in our eyes, a model statesman; but on the whole, and for the present, he takes precedence of his rivals. The Chinese affair may not have been without fault; but the nation will not judge a government or a man by a single act. Lord John complains of ingratitude; but why should a people who are so mindful of the services of Lord Palmerston be unmindful of those of Lord John? Perhaps some of Lord John's best friends could best answer that question. It is possible for a man so to remember his services, as to compel other persons to seem to forget them. Lord John has done much to deserve friends, but, unhappily, he has done nearly as much to convert them into enemies. Our creed,' says Lord Palmerston, 'is, peace abroad, and progressive improvement at home.' These last words admit of large interpretation, and we are not without hope that Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston may see their way together to a large explanation of them.

OUR EPILOGUE

ON

BOOKS.

LITERATURE.

The Life and Correspondence of Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B., late Envoy to Persia, and Governor of Bombay. From Unpublished Letters and Journals. By JOHN WILLIAM KAYE. Smith, Elder, and Co. 2 vols.-The portrait prefixed to this memoir goes far to confirm all that the biographer says in praise of Sir John Malcolm. It is a magnificent head. Vigour of body and vigour of mind are present alike, and that combination of intellectual power with goodness which results in wisdom. Young Malcolm was a boy of fourteen when he joined his regiment in India, there to become one of the greatest of those statesmen and diplomatists who have administered and confirmed our Eastern rule. The combination and equipoise of various kinds of ability, in his case, was very remarkable. As Mr. Kaye observes :—

SIR JOHN MALCOLM.

'I do not know an example, out of the regions of romance, in which so many remarkable qualities, generally supposed to be antagonistic, were combined in the same person. It is no small thing to cope with a tiger in the jungle; it is no small thing to draw up an elaborate state paper; it is no small thing to write the history of a nation; it is no small thing to conduct to a successful issue a difficult negotiation at a foreign court; it is no small thing to lead an army to victory; and I think it may with truth be said, that he who could do all these things with such brilliant success as Sir John Malcolm, was a very remarkable man in a very remarkable age.'—Vol. ii., p. 615.

The composition of works such as the History of Persia (alone sufficient to make a reputation) appears to have formed but an episode here and there among the activities of an indefatigable life. He was always busy, and always cheerful. The ordinary courage of the soldier was combined with a moral courage and a courtesy as conspicuous as invaluable, at a crisis like that of the Madras Mutiny. Absent, accidentally, from the great victory of Assaye, he embraced with eagerness the first opportunity of distinguishing himself in the field as well as in the council. In the battle of Mehidpoor he held the chief command, and won it by hard fighting rather than by strategy. In this, as in so many of our Indian engagements, formidable batteries were carried in headlong style, and at the point of the bayonet. After much delay, and some trying disappointments, which failed to touch his generous temperament with the slightest taint of envy, his long services were wisely honoured by the appointment to the Governor

ship of Bombay. At the farewell banquet, the Duke of Wellington expressed himself as follows:

:

WELLINGTON'S OPINION OF HIM.

'A nomination such as this operates throughout the whole Indian service. The youngest cadet sees in it an example he may imitate-a success he may attain. The good which the country derives from the excitement of such feelings is incalculable. It is now thirty years since I formed an intimate friendship with Sir John Malcolm; during that eventful period there has been no operation of consequence, no diplomatic measure, in which my friend has not borne a conspicuous part. Alike distinguished by courage and by talent, the history of his life, during that period, would be the history of the glory of his country in India.'-Vol. ii., p. 491.

Sir John Malcolm was in Paris after the battle of Waterloo, and again at the coronation of Charles X. Mr. Kaye gives us some interesting extracts from his journal. During the interval between the two visits, his literary reputation had been made, and his writings had found their way into Germany, France, and Russia. Among other literary and scientific celebrities, he saw much of Humboldt, of whom he gives the following account :

HUMBOLDT.

'There is no instance within my knowledge of a man of real science living so much in society as Humboldt, and to this he owes much. His rank and reputation enable him to command the best. He seeks and is sought by all minds of the first order. His manners are pleasing, and he has some wit and constant cheerfulness. He is as ready to mix in trifling as serious conversation. The consequence is, none are gênés with him; and he is not only in the constant exercise of his faculties, but in that collision with men of calibre which gives him an opportunity of proving every idea as it rises in his mind, and saves him from many of those dogmas to which insulated philosophers give birth, and which, even when convinced of their errors, they cannot bear to abandon. He is quite strong enough to confess error, and he has that best symptom of a really great man-an insatiable thirst for information, grounded on the conviction that he, with all his talent and all his efforts, is only at the portico of knowledge. In him there is no affectation of lightness; he never appears a philosopher condescending to his company, but is natural throughout, having learnt, no doubt, that what sapient fools call folly is often sense, and that, were it otherwise, the bow will never retain its elasticity which is never unbent. 'The man that is always wise is a fool.''

..

Mr. Kaye's biography is at once a contribution to the history of our policy and dominion in the East, and a worthy memorial of one of those wise and large-hearted men whose energy and principle have made England great.

Giulio Branchi, the Story of a Tuscan, related by Himself, and translated from the Italian MS. by ALFRED ELWES. Addey and Co. This is the well-written and interesting story of a youth who, through many vicissitudes, including shipwreck and captivity among brigands, raised himself from rags and rag-picking in the streets of Leghorn to be a successful painter and the husband of a beautiful English girl. The part of the story referring to his life among the brigands of Sardinia is the best in the book. These gentry, after taking him prisoner, make him one of themselves, and he accom

panies them on their predatory excursions. Here is an account of a fight with a rival band. Giulio's party have heard that their foes have secured a prize, and are returning home with a valuable supply of plunder; they therefore lie in wait, intending to fire on them as they pass:

BATTLE BETWEEN BRIGANDS.

On them, lads,' now screamed out the little chief, and let not the mules escape!'

"The latter injunction seemed scarce needed; every one had his eye upon them. As soon as we began pouring down the bank,-straggling, by order, as much as possible, to distract their fire,-shots whistled from the opposing troop, who stood manfully to receive our attack,-a grim bevy, fellows made desperate by their position, headed by a gigantic man, with an enormous mouth, from which large white teeth slightly protruded. I felt this must be 'Il Lupo,' the dreaded chief whose name I had so frequently heard mentioned, and whom I now for the second time encountered. He galloped hither and thither, encouraging his men, and apparently waiting to single out some one of our party worthy of his arm. I saw Jacopo draw near him, but I saw no more. I found myself attacked by a fellow on a black horse, who aimed a blow at my head with the butt-end of his gun; this I easily dodged; the piece was heavy-the missed stroke made him swerve-and before he could recover himself I had stabbed him in the side. At the same moment a ball tore away a piece of my jacket, grazing the skin of my shoulder, and I turned round to see whence the salute came. A ferocious-looking bandit, unhorsed, approached me running, and I stood upon my guard; he stumbled, and in trying to recover himself, ran a few paces past me; I did not lose the advantage, but, aiding him with a blow from my foot, struck my dagger into his neck with such force that I could not recover the weapon. I seized his stiletto, which he at that moment let fall, and hurried towards my comrades, who, mixed up with their adversaries, who were all dismounted, were fighting with a fierceness impossible to describe. Cries, yells, blows, groans, made the air around tremble; the earth shook with the stamp of many feet, and birds came fluttering around us in dread alarm. There is something very striking in the hand-to-hand fights, where both parties have equal courage and ferocity. The long knives glittering in the air; the clash of meeting weapons; the red stains following each successful blow; the panting breath; the starting eye; the sharp shriek, and deep, quivering groan, -are only some of their peculiar features. All these, and a score of minor ones, were visible here; but our adversaries began to yield. It was an unequal contest; Il Lupo' saw it, and called off his men. Such as could do so fled; everywhere, through the briars, down the precipitous bank towards the rivulet; up the rising ground which we ourselves had descended; these, however, were followed and cut down. Most escaped along the road they came; but there were some who heard the order for retreat and could not obey, such as writhed upon the ground in agony; they were all despatched,—a shocking sight, which I, thank Heaven, had no hand in. Their pockets, too, were rifled; everything that was found there of value was added to the general stock; and all anticipated heavy purses at sight of the baggage mules patiently standing apart, guarded by four of the troop.'-p. 111.

The episode with the young Marchioness De' Tempi, though perhaps too true to Italian manners, does not add to the worth of the story, and were better omitted. In the course of the narrative, some spirited descriptions are introduced, illustrating Italian life and customs. Such is the account of the rush of the waters into the bed of the Arno; of the rustic wedding and the banquet among the vines; and of the triennial festival at Pisa, with its gaiety and illuminations.