monarchy of France, than of that which fell a victim to its dia. bolical machinations: and thus he describes that consummation of subtlety, that source of all the blood-guiltiness of France, and of all the horrors which, for a quarter of a century, have been desolating Europe.

"It should ever be remembered," he says, "that Jacobinism is a perfect Proteus. It can borrow any form, it can assume any character, to effect its purpose. It can wear the garb of royalism for the destruction of royalty. It can declare for the house of Bourbon; in the hope of dividing that house against itself, and thereby ensuring its fall. It can extol the virtues of the King, or of a Prince belonging to a collateral branch of his house, with the intention of hereafter urging the want of those virtues as a reason for disturbing the succession, and in order to break in upon the dynasty. It can even admit that the King is recalled to his throne by the voice of the people. This is one of the most subtle of its artifices. An artifice which is calculated to impose even upon the Sovereign himself, to whom it cannot but be grateful to consider himself as possessing the affections of his people, and as the object of their choice. But the Jacobins are aware that the fact of a choice, though conceded to-day, may be disputed to-morrow; when they will take advantage of a momentary recognition, by the friends of Monarchy, of a right to choose, as necessarily implying a right to reject-proving in this as in so many other instances, that they concede only with a view to ensnare." P. 22.

"In all these changes, Jacobinism is perfectly consistent. It follows strictly the Horatian rule--to which its opponents would do well to adhere, servetur ad imum qualis ab incepto processerit et sibi constet. Its element is anarchy, towards which it is always impelled by the resistless force of instinct. The constant object of its hostility is regular and stable government; and it well knows that the only solid basis of government, is a clear and legitimate title to the sovereignty, according to fixed and fundamental laws. When, therefore, the times are not favourable to a direct and open attack upon the existing government, the Jacobins put on a mask,-they boast of their loyalty they shout vive le Roi. But all this while they carry on their attack upon the principle of legitimate title, in order to undermine the very foundations of government. Their grand weapon for this purpose, and that which they have constantly in use, is the insidious principle, that the people have a right to choose their government." P. 24.

We subscribe most entirely to all our author's reasonings, and participate in his fears. The events which have bappened subsequent to the publication of this pamphlet, have fully verified the predictions of its author. We see, as he does, in all that bas been done in France the secret workings of the conspirators of the revolution. We are satisfied that there is abundant evidence before

before the world to bear him out in his assertion," that these pests of society are spread over every country in Europe, that they have got a firm footing in America, and that the contagion of their principles is every where diffused;" and further our conviction is, that in this country their operations are exemplifying another of his positions," that they invariably make an attack upon the altar, preliminary to their attack upon the throne." In short when we see the Papists, the Dissenters, and the Jacobins, each intrenching themselves in societies of their own, formed after one common model, which are so many imperia in imperio wherever their ramifications extend, we cannot close our eyes to the catastrophe in which such combination and proselytism must terminate, we cannot but forebode a much more tremendous convulsion than that recently subsided, by which not Europe only, but the whole civilized world will be shaken to its foundations. We therefore consider the pamphlet before us a very seasonable production, and in order to give what furtherance we can to the author's truly philanthropic labours, we close this article with his description of the practical effect of that insidious principle that the people have a right to choose their own governors, which is the Jacobin's grand weapon, whether he acts under the mask of the religious or the political reformer: and we appeal to the state of vassalage in which both France and our own country have been fascinated at two distant periods of time, by the magic sounds in one instance of the Sovereignty of the people, and in the other of setting Christ upon his throne, in proof of the accuracy of the representation.

"Having, by means of popular commotion, obtained the ascendancy, these Demagogues will avail themselves of that advantage, to seize, into their own hands, the reins of power, which they will continue to hold, in spite of the people and their rights, until some rival faction shall, by similar means, force those reins out of their hands. In the mean time, in order to awe down that spirit of resistance which usurpation is ever sure to excite, they will be obliged to govern by violence and terror. Not, indeed, that they will disclaim the authority of the people: on the contrary, they will boast that they are chosen by the people;-they will do every thing in the name of the people;-they will pretend to be the mere organs of the public will;-they will flatter the people with an ideal sovereignty, even while they exercise over them the most galling tyranny-they will, perhaps, cajole them with a new Constitu ton, under the pretence of ensuring and perpetuating their liberty, but, in reality, as a cover to their own despotism." P. 32.

ART.

VOL. V. MAY, 1816..

ART. XIV. Travels through Part of the Russian Empire and the Country of Poland; along the Southern Shores of the Baltic. Illustrated with Maps and numerous coloured Plates. By Robert Johnston, A. M. 4to. 460 pp. Stockdale. 1815.

THOUGH written in rather too declamatory a style, this volume has considerable merit. The language is good, the descriptions animated, and the political sentiments enlarged and just. Mr. Johnston does not appear to have travelled in vain. He is endowed with a discriminating and observant mind, and his work will be read with no inconsiderable interest. His tour comprizes not only Poland and Russia, but all the southeru coast of the Baltic. In addition to his very picturesque and amusing account of the habits and manners of the various cities and countries which he traversed in his route, he has given us a considerable number of coloured engravings, which make no unimportant addition to the value of his work. The following is his account of the present state of Borodino, and of the celebrated battle which was fought on its plains.

"Leaving Mojaiske, we entered on a rising and extensive plain, partly covered with brushwood and dwarf oak. About ten miles from the town we reached the monastery of Bolgin, situated on the plains of Borodino, where the memorable battle between the Russian and French armies was fought, on the 7th September, 1812. As we came in view of the village we could not but gaze, with horror, at the scene before us: one complete mass of destruction and desolation presented itself. Wretched mothers and naked orphans immediately surrounded us, and their extreme eagerness in intreating, and their unbounded gratitude in receiving the smallest donation, too plainly bespoke their distresses, and could not fail to excite sympathy in the coldest heart. Nothing but the sad remnants of its desolation now remain; the whole is almost a desert. The ruins of the monastery and village are, situated on a gently rising ground, on the west side of a small river, which is crossed by a temporary floating bridge of planks. Not a single house of the village is capable of sheltering the wretched inhabitants from the inclemency of the weather. The walls of the monastery and roof are still standing, though otherwise in a state of ruins; the popes have left it. The surface of the ground, on the south side of the river, is flat, but gradually rises up to a plantation of fir, in front of which is the breast work of the French battery, on which it is said nearly one thousand pieces of artillery were placed, during the action. On the opposite side of the river, and on each side of the road, is seen the spot on which the Russian cannons were placed. The monastery stood almost in a line, between them,

and

and was taken and retaken three times successively. No spot could have been better selected for the operations of a battle. The country is, in general, flat and cultivated: the river, which waters the valley, is not above ten yards wide; its banks are steep and partly covered with brushwood. It flows into the Moskwa. Here we learned that the Russian army lost thirty-five thousand men, and that of the French, somewhat more. The bodies of the killed were burnt on different parts of the fields-layers of trees and bodies were piled alternately above each other, to a considerable height, and thus consumed. The Russian Commander in Chief, Koutousoff, had made such excellent preparations to oppose the enemy, that the army of Napoleon was foiled at every attempt, and, after three days continued fighting, both armies retired from the combat. The Russians waited for a supply of men, while Napoleon took the advantage and pushed an advanced guard on to Moscow. The victory was claimed by both parties. On the first and second day the French were completely beaten; and, after the third, the Russians were only prevented from renewing the attack, from the want of men. Nothing can be a more convincing proof of the ardour with which they fought, than the number of the enemy which was killed." P. 336.

As very few of our modern travellers have given us any description of that long forgotten and oppressed country, Poland, it will not be uninteresting to our readers to present them with an account of Warsaw, which will also afford them a fair specimeu of Mr. Johnston's descriptive powers.

"The approach to Warsaw, from the north, affords the most pleasing view of the city. It stands on a rising ground, on the south-west side of the Vistula; which, on ascending, extends into a level plain, towards the south. The houses are old, clumsy, and irregularly built. Many large palaces in a state of neglect, and gothic churches without spires, fill up; together with occasional spaces, occupied by mean hovels and gardens. Passing through the town, the stranger is both pleased and distressed, at the contrast of huge piles of building mouldering into decay, and paltry hovels filled with Jews. The streets are narrow, badly paved, and without any regular footpath; on each side is a broad kennel to carry off the rain. The houses are either of wood, as in the suburbs, or of brick, stuccoed to imitate stone. The principal

houses are those of the nobles; but most of them are abandoned by their once opulent and noble possessors, and now converted into hotels and shops. These houses are built extremely plain, and without any ornaments; they are only conspicuous from their immense size. In the town there are forty churches, sixteen of which are monasteries or nunneries. The cathedral stands in the centre of the city it consists of a lofty body, without either spire or dome; its interior is neatly decorated with private altars, and

the seat of the late king. The other churches and convents are more heavy and clumsy. All the churches are built with the gable end to the street, and some of them terminated at each corner with a lower square tower. In the whole city, there are only five or six small spires, the highest not more than two hundred feet. The largest, and best built church in Warsaw, is that of the Lutherans. It is of a circular form, surmounted with a large dome. The late king, though a Catholic, gave from his private fortune three hundred thousand florins towards building this church. From the gallery, at the top of the dome, we commanded a boundless prospect of the surrounding country. Nothing can be conceived more flat than the surface of the country; the distant plains and forests seem to extend beyond the reach of the eye, and lose themselves in ether. The windings and sandy banks of the Vistula are seen, far from the east, majestically rolling on its course towards the Baltic, while its floating bridge undulates with every wave. On the north side of the river are the mouldering ruins of the Fraga, pointing to the unhappy Pole the horrors of the Russian massacre of 1794. On the opposite side of the river is the other part of the suburbs, called the Kraka-where, in former times, during the elective monarchy, the kings were chosen; and which was often the scene of contention and wars. In the reign of the late king the new constitution of Poland was formed, and the monarchy became hereditary in his family. This has the worst and meanest buildings attached to the city, but it makes the most picturesque appearance. These wooden huts are built in a most irregular and straggling manner, each surrounded with orchards full of fine fruit trees. Through this part of the suburbs the road passes to the summer palace of the late king, situated about a league from the city. Viewing the scite of the town from the top of this church, the houses appear low and large. The scites are not extensive, but the number of gardens spreads its boundary beyond what the population should allow. Excepting two tolerable streets, crossed at right angles by other two, with the houses closely built together, all the other parts of the town are divided into gardens, which vary in size, from a few roods, to four or five acres. They are all thickly planted with fruit trees, which gives the town the appearance of being placed in the midst of a luxuriant forest. In this respect, Warsaw appears even more singular and picturesque than Moscow. Such is a bird's eye view from the Lutheran church. In walking along the streets, an air of former grandeur every where arrests the attention, but now sadly divested of its former glory. In the principal street is the college, a large and not inelegant structure, at present shut up. The ancient palace of the Dukes of Saxony is now converted into a public school, where the students are well instructed in the various branches of literature, particularly the classics.

"The palace is a large square building, close to the river; the public rooms are few, but superbly furnished and painted: the

whole