the Agamemnon on the port side, but slightly | parture of troops by railway or by transport in advance of both. A few miles below the mole the signal was given to form line abreast, and at cable length from each other the line from end to end extended for more than three miles. At 2:40 the signal was given to " chase," and later in the afternoon the review ended with a mock engagement between the principal vessels. The weather was fine, and the spectacle from the point of view of those who regarded it as a great warlike demonstration was magnificent. Most of the members of the House of Commons with the speaker went to see the great show by special steamers provided for their accommodation. It was said that a hundred steam-boats carried spectators, and the royal circle included the three grandduchesses, the Crown-prince of Wurtemburg, the Duke of Mecklenburg, and the Prince of Prussia, so there were plenty of witnesses to report the proceedings not only to the two neutral powers, but to the Emperor of Russia himself. Prince Albert afterwards wrote to Stockmar: "The great naval review has come off, and surpassed all that could have been anticipated. The gigantic ships of war, among them the Duke of Wellington with 131 guns (a greater number than was ever before assembled in one vessel), went, without sails, and propelled only by the screw, eleven miles an hour, and this against wind and tide! This is the greatest revolution effected in the conduct of naval warfare which has yet been known. Steam as well as sailing vessels will of necessity be cast aside as useless, and menof-war with the auxiliary screw will take their place. This will cost a great deal of money till the change is effected, and render many fleets, like the present Russian one, useless. We have already sixteen at sea and ten in an advanced state. France has no more than two, and the other powers none. On Thursday 300 ships and 100,000 men must have been assembled on one spot. The fleet carried 1100 guns and 10,000 men. The weather, moreover, was magnificent, and the impression which the spectacle presented sublime." Those people in London who had not been to the naval review were soon to witness what to them came nearer in significance the de ships, the marching of well-known regiments through the streets, the clang and fanfare of military bands, the tramp of men, and the "shrill squeaking of the wry-necked fife” or the drone of the bagpipe. They were to have part too in leave-takings, that were sad enough, and were remembered afterwards when, during the terrible winter, there came home tidings from the British camp which made men and women wail, and utter complaints that were little short of imprecations against a government which had prepared so ill for war that while men were upon the field to fight the foe, they had to fight cold and hunger and disease also, because food and drink, shelter and clothing, and medicine, and even mules and horses, had either not arrived or were beating about on shipboard at some port where they were useless, or were landed where there were no means of conveying them to the soldiers who starved and froze and sickened, but would not yield till death itself vanquished them. Before war had been formally declared both France and Russia had sent considerable forces to the East for the protection of Turkey, and to act as might be required for that object. The British army consisted of four divisions commanded by Lieutenant General Sir George Brown, and Major-Generals the Duke of Cambridge, Sir de Lacy Evans, and Sir Richard England, and a division of cavalry under the Earl of Lucan. Altogether 10,000 of our troops left England at the end of February, 1854, and landed at Malta, where they remained till the 31st of March, when they proceeded to Gallipoli, in European Turkey, where the French were already arriving in detachments, Marshal St. Arnaud, former minister of war, being in command, and under him General Canrobert and General Bosquet; a brigade of cavalry under General d'Allonville, and reserves under Prince Napoleon, General Forey, and General Cassargnalles. The number of the French troops was at that time 20,000, or twice as many as our own. The choice of Gallipoli as a basis of operations was that of the Emperor of the French, who had PUBLIC EXCITEMENT-PALMERSTON, COBDEN, AND BRIGHT. determined that to fortify that place would be to prevent the Russians from crossing the Balkan; but as a basis of operations it was too far from the Turkish armies and from Constantinople. The emperor had, however, instructed General St. Arnaud that though Gallipoli should be the strategical point and the place of depôt for arms, ambulances, and provisions, that need not prevent the troops from marching forward or lodging one or two divisions at the barracks at the west of Constantinople or at Scutari; while, if, after having advanced towards the Balkans, a movement in retreat should become necessary they would regain the coast of Gallipoli instead of that of Constantinople, because the Russians would never venture from Adrianople to Constantinople with an army of 60,000 good troops on their right flank. These instructions and the attitude afterwards assumed by the French general looked a little too much like taking the initiative of command of the entire allied army for the taste of some people here, but matters soon assumed a regular course. Lord Raglan did not arrive at Gallipoli till May, when more active measures than merely protective dispositions had to be adopted. The war may, in fact, be said to have begun much as it continued. The results were attributable more to the soldiers than to the generals. The French and English worked together harmoniously in a cheerful hearty spirit of emulation in making the seven miles of line of entrenchments on the crest of the ridge from the Gulf of Saros to the Sea of Marmora, just as they afterwards fought like brave comrades whenever there was fighting to be done, and they were allowed to support or relieve each other amidst the tempest of shot and fire. When the works were finished the forces moved to the Bosphorus, the French occupying the European side near Constantinople, and our men landing on the eastern side of the narrow Strait of Scutari. The positions taken by the allied fleets and the allied armies can only be estimated by reference to the map of Europe, and an acquaintance with the conformation of the territory where hostilities were likely to be commenced. The northern shores of the Black 41 Sea and also a part of the eastern shore belonged to Russia; the southern, the Asia Minor, and the greater part of the western shore was the territory of Turkey. The Black Sea itself was therefore little other than a lake, but it was the only outlet for Russia on the south, its own sole escape being the deep and narrow channel of the Bosphorus, seventeen miles long and repeatedly contracted to not more than half a mile in breadth, but deep enough to carry large ships of war close to the shore throughout its entire course. This channel passes between Constantinople and Scutari, and, flowing into the Sea of Marmora, may be said to reappear as a westward waterway under the name of the Dardanelles, which flow for forty miles till they reach the Mediterranean. It is little to be wondered at that the sultans of Turkey had always claimed the right to exclude foreign ships of war from both these channels,—a right which was confirmed by the five great powers of Europe in the treaty of 1841, which was the latest of several treaties having the same object. By its provisions the sultan had power to close the straits against all foreign vessels of war, and at the same time was bound to exclude any such force in time of peace. In time of war, however, he might admit a foreign fleet; and this proviso enabled him, in such a contingency, to shut up the western outlet of Russia, and actually to confine the Russian fleet to the Black Sea. No other equitable arrangement would have been possible except that of leaving the straits entirely open to the navies of the world, and that would have illsuited Russia, since it would have abolished the exclusive policy which left her influence foremost in Eastern Europe, and enabled her eagerly to watch for an opportunity of absorbing not only the straits, but Constantinople itself, or at all events of holding both in subjection by her influence on the Ottoman government. We have already tried to show that it is no part of the purpose of these pages to give prominence to deeds of war, or to show to each reader the soldier standing in front and becoming the figure "That hides the march of men from us." And yet such was the position which the nation chose to take during the earlier part of the Crimean war, that comparatively little attention was paid even to some important measures brought before parliament, and other equally important occurrences in society. Our soldiers and sailors deserved all the honour that they received, for they were actuated by a simple desire bravely to do their duty, and they did it nobly; but the war fever had hold of the body of the nation. People suffering from its delirium, would talk of little else than the Crimea and Sebastopol. Lord Palmerston had, as he was sure to do, made a distinct reputation as home secretary. He gave his mind to the work with his usual originality and blunt determined common sense, and he was as indifferent as ever to opinions with which he had no sympathy. Yet by his never-failing bonhomie and shrewd wit he contrived to avoid making enemies. Only very earnest and deeply serious people, who would not accept his worldly philosophy for true wisdom, were long at variance with him, and even these could scarcely be proof against his inveterate good humour. Between him and Cobden and Bright, and men of their school, there could be no real agreement, and Palmerston himself did not pretend that any such agreement was possible. He seems almost to have gone out of his way to make himself appear as flippant and irreverent as he was accused of being, for the purpose of showing how little he cared for the remonstrances and the opposition of Mr. Bright; and though during his home secretaryship he said and did things which were afterwards incontrovertible, he contrived to say them in such a way as to appear to carry a contemptuous expression to strait-laced and orthodox persons who (as he clearly saw) regarded him with suspicion, while they sought to influence his proceedings. In cases where most other ministers would have thought it prudent merely to make a brief statement or to give a simple reply, Palmerston could not refrain from giving his reasons, for the sake, as it would seem, of challenging an adverse opinion. There was an Irish side of his character which constantly came uppermost; and his humour, the quality which made him popular, and often not only saved him from defeat but secured his success, had in it much of the Irish quality. It was amusing, although it is somewhat painful, to note the thrill of aversion with which people holding certain dogmatic opinions were affected by some of Lord Palmerston's sayings, that were uttered in perfect good faith as maxims of practical experience and without any reference whatever to so-called religious doctrines. This of course does not wholly apply to his answer to the Presbytery of Edinburgh, who had written to be informed whether it was proposed, on account of the epidemic of cholera, to appoint a day of national fast and humiliation. His reply gave great offence at first, and it was probably designed as a smart rebuke. "There can be no doubt," it said, "that manifestations of humble resignation to the Divine will and sincere acknowledgments of human unworthiness are never more appropriate than when it has pleased Providence to afflict mankind with some severe visitation; but it does not appear to Lord Palmerston that a national fast would be suitable to the circumstances of the present moment. The Maker of the universe has established certain laws of nature for the planet on which we live, and the weal or woe of mankind depends upon the observance or the neglect of these laws. One of these laws connects health with the absence of those gaseous exhalations which proceed from overcrowded human beings, or from decomposing substances whether animal or vegetable; and these same laws render sickness the almost inevitable consequence of exposure to these noxious influences. But it has at the same time pleased Providence to place it within the power of man to make such arrangements as will prevent or disperse such exhalations so as to render them harmless, and it is the duty of man to attend to these laws of nature and to exert the faculties which Providence has thus given to man for his own welfare. The recent visitation of cholera, which has for the moment been mercifully checked, is an awful warning given to the people of this realm that they have too much neglected their duty in this respect, THE "ADVANCED" SCHOOL IN THE CHURCH-MR. MAURICE. and that those persons with whom it rested to purify towns and cities, and to prevent or remove the causes of disease, have not been sufficiently active in regard to such matters. Lord Palmerston would therefore suggest that the best course which the people of this country can pursue to deserve that the further progress of the cholera should be stayed, will be to employ the interval that will elapse between the present time and the beginning of next spring in planning and executing measures by which those portions of their towns and cities which are inhabited by the poorest classes, and which, from the nature of things, most need purification and improvement, may be freed from those causes and sources of contagion which, if allowed to remain, will infallibly breed pestilence and be fruitful in death in spite of all the prayers and fastings of a united but inactive nation. When man has done his utmost for his own safety then is the time to invoke the blessing of Heaven to give effect to his exertions." Of course this was not an exhaustive answer, and a good deal might reasonably have been said against so rough and ready a way of reply; but it was not an irreverent one, and there were but too many obvious proofs in the streets that the Scottish as well as the English municipal authorities had not faithfully attended to their immediate duties. There was an outcry against the letter, of course, and while some of the religious sections of the community denounced it from their point of view, it was made use of by unscrupulous satirists as the foundation for a jest to the effect that the ex-foreign minister treated Heaven itself as a "foreign power;" but the jest was a very poor one-so poor that its want of reverence was not to be excused for its wit. This was in the autumn of 1853, and there were at that time other symptoms of orthodox significance, one of them being the dismissal of the Rev. Frederic Denison Maurice from the professorships of ecclesiastical history and of English literature in King's College. Mr. Maurice had long been as remarkable for his piety and simplicity of character as for his attainments. He was perhaps not so much 43 the head of what was known as the Broad Church, as the leader of those young and generous enthusiasts who desired to make their religion a living power, and who therefore advocated what has been called Christian socialism. We have already glanced at the position taken by Charles Kingsley and others in relation to the often painful and always solemn social problems of the time. It is enough here to say that Mr. Maurice was the master to whose pure and unselfish teaching they had listened, and by whom their religious opinions had been greatly influenced. Mr. Maurice made no secret of his views on the subject of the professed doctrine of eternal punishment, and it was to a correspondence on this subject, as it was treated in his Theological Essays, that the attention of the council of the college was directed by Principal Jelf. The council came to the conclusion that the opinions set forth and the doubts expressed in the essay were of a dangerous tendency, and likely to unsettle the minds of theological students; and that the continuance of Mr. Maurice's connection with the college would be seriously detrimental to its usefulness. It was in vain for him to remonstrate, calling upon the council to state which of the articles of faith condemned his teaching. "I cannot, my lords and gentlemen," he said, "believe that, great as are the privileges which the right reverend bench has conceded to the principal of the King's College, their lordships, the bishops, ever intended to give him an authority superior to their own, superior to that of the articles by which they are bound. I cannot think that they wish to constitute him and the council, arbiters of the theology of the English Church. Such a claim would be as alarming, I apprehend, to the public as to our ecclesiastical rulers. If some parents have been suspicious of the influence I might exercise over their sons, I believe that there are few parents in England who will not complain that the college has departed from its original principle when it gives such a scope to the private judgment of its chief officer, or even to the judgment of the body which manages its affairs. . . If I have violated any law of the church, that law can be at once pointed out; the nature of the transgression can be defined without any reference to possible tendencies and results." These representations were of no avail; the council "did not think it necessary to enter further into the subject." The two chairs held by Mr. Maurice were declared vacant, and were filled respectively by Dr. A. M'Caul and Mr. G. W. Dasent, whose orthodoxy was presumably unquestioned, or who at all events may be supposed to have said nothing to lead to its being suspected. But the dismissal of Mr. Maurice from the professorships made him none the less a professor. The men who had been his pupils remained his friends, and he remained, until his too early death, the recognized leader and teacher of a "school" of religious thought which included many of the best and noblest of the large number of those who have since, without rebuke, openly avowed opinions for holding which he was deemed unworthy to be recognized as Christian teacher. a It may be worth while here to note that only a month after Mr. Maurice had been discharged from his appointments at King's College Dr. Colenso was consecrated Bishop of Natal by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and the Bishop of Lincoln. At the same time Dr. Armstrong was appointed to the other new see of Grahamstown, and the Bishop of Oxford preached the consecration sermon, taking for his text the words, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul." He spoke with such positive intensity of the certainty of the call to the sacred office to which both the new bishops had been appointed that the sermon on this occasion, the demands of a declaration of orthodoxy, and the limits of the articles of profession of faith with regard to certain supposed dogmas, all became significantly prominent topics of discussion when, nine years afterwards, Bishop Colenso, the heterodox, was prohibited from preaching in the churches of most English dioceses. It might have been thought that Palmerston had enough to occupy even his untiring industry in carrying out the sanitary measures which he was determined should be no dead letter under his administration of the homeoffice. He had spoken pretty plainly to the Edinburgh corporation, and in London the provisions of the public health acts were being enforced in a very practical fashion. Foul neighbourhoods were being destroyed or disinfected; the smoke of factory chimneys was abated, churchyards were being closed and sealed with cement, and he declined even to exercise the right of making privileged exceptions to the law against intramural interments. In answer to Lord Stanley of Aldersley, who had written for special permission for the interment of the remains of a church dignitary beneath the sacred edifice, he said: "The practice of burying dead bodies under buildings in which living people assemble in large numbers is a barbarous one, and ought to be at once and for ever put an end to. . . . And why, pray, should archbishops and bishops, and deans and canons, be buried under churches if other people are not to be so? What special connection is there between church dignities and the privilege of being decomposed under the feet of survivors? . . . As to what you say about pain to feelings by shutting up of burial-grounds, that is perfectly true. I am quite aware that the measure is necessarily attended with pain to feelings which excite respect, as well as to pressure upon pecuniary interests which are not undeserving of consideration. But no great measure of social improvement can be effected without some temporary inconvenience to individuals, and the necessity of the case justifies the demand for such sacrifices. To have attempted to make the application of the new system gradual would have reduced it to a nullity. England is, I believe, the only country in which in these days people accumulate putrefying dead bodies amid the dwellings of the living; and as to burying bodies under thronged churches, you might as well put them under libraries, drawing-rooms, and dining-rooms.” Such language as this would have been cynical if employed by most men; but it was a part of Palmerston's " common sense" relieved by a jaunty expression. It is astonishing how few people were offended by plain utterances which, though they read somewhat |