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Article REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Page 1 of 4 →
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Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
The Annual Register for the Tear i ^ yi [ CONTINUED FROM OUR tAST . ]
AS a specimen of this performance ,, in our last number we selected the character given of Mirabeau , but of which , for want of room , we j- . ave only a part : we shall now conclude the extract , with our commendation of the spirit , the diction , and execution apparent throughout the whole of this highly interesting volume . ' In the pillage and bloodshed of the revolution , Mirabeau does not seem to have felt any positive ' pleasure of wanton malignity , but he deliberately
encou-aged all the early insurrections , hazarded all their consequences , and defended whatever happened , because he thought all necessary to the pur . poses of bis ambition .. ' His skill in the management of the national assembly was conspicuous . But to his influence there fie did not scruple to sacrifice his opinions . When . he could not induce the majority to go with him , that he might still keep his station at their head , he was ever ready to go with them ; and if he was
accidentally caught in a minority , commanding the press as he did , he had the art the next day to represent his defeat as a victory . In the last months of his life , when he became more decided and fixed in the support of order , the reception which he sometimes experienced in the assembly , as well as in the jacobin club , made him sensible , as he said himself , that it was but one step from the capitol to the Tarpeian rock : he perceived that not only his popularity , but his existence was likely to be involved in one common ruin with t ; ie monarchy , which , he had been one of the foremost to shake . If ,
however , against all probability he had prevailed , and become the ' minister of a free state , the spirit of his government may be collected from one of his speeches which he had prepared , but not ventured to deliver : ' The rule of liberty ( observed he ) is perhaps more austere than the caprice of tyrants . ' A sketch of the most prominent features in the character ' of Gustavus , the late _ King of Sweden , seems to be drawn with impartiality ; as such . it merits attention . It does not often occur , in the page of history ; so apt are
we to be blinded by prejudice , interest , or motives of illiberality . ' Gustavus possessed very eminent abilities , and talents not only splendid , but equal to the performance of the greatest things . Among these , together with a most fascinating address , which rendered every stranger at first si ght mteresled in his favour , was a very powerful and persuasive eloquence , admirably suited to popular assemblies , and from which he eierived the most si gnal benefits in many of the most trying exigencies of his life . Indeed he
valued himself on his management of the diet , and observed , that he was the only sovereign who had succeeded in convoking a public bod y of that description . His presence of- mind , immediate recollection , and instant decision , in all sudden cases of difficulty . or danger , were perhaps only equalled b y his uncle the great Frederick ; while the firmness anel fortitude which he manifested in the many severe conflicts on governmental and public affairs which he was obliged to sustain , were in no degree inferior to that exalted courage which he displayed in the field of battle .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Review Of New Publications.
REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS .
The Annual Register for the Tear i ^ yi [ CONTINUED FROM OUR tAST . ]
AS a specimen of this performance ,, in our last number we selected the character given of Mirabeau , but of which , for want of room , we j- . ave only a part : we shall now conclude the extract , with our commendation of the spirit , the diction , and execution apparent throughout the whole of this highly interesting volume . ' In the pillage and bloodshed of the revolution , Mirabeau does not seem to have felt any positive ' pleasure of wanton malignity , but he deliberately
encou-aged all the early insurrections , hazarded all their consequences , and defended whatever happened , because he thought all necessary to the pur . poses of bis ambition .. ' His skill in the management of the national assembly was conspicuous . But to his influence there fie did not scruple to sacrifice his opinions . When . he could not induce the majority to go with him , that he might still keep his station at their head , he was ever ready to go with them ; and if he was
accidentally caught in a minority , commanding the press as he did , he had the art the next day to represent his defeat as a victory . In the last months of his life , when he became more decided and fixed in the support of order , the reception which he sometimes experienced in the assembly , as well as in the jacobin club , made him sensible , as he said himself , that it was but one step from the capitol to the Tarpeian rock : he perceived that not only his popularity , but his existence was likely to be involved in one common ruin with t ; ie monarchy , which , he had been one of the foremost to shake . If ,
however , against all probability he had prevailed , and become the ' minister of a free state , the spirit of his government may be collected from one of his speeches which he had prepared , but not ventured to deliver : ' The rule of liberty ( observed he ) is perhaps more austere than the caprice of tyrants . ' A sketch of the most prominent features in the character ' of Gustavus , the late _ King of Sweden , seems to be drawn with impartiality ; as such . it merits attention . It does not often occur , in the page of history ; so apt are
we to be blinded by prejudice , interest , or motives of illiberality . ' Gustavus possessed very eminent abilities , and talents not only splendid , but equal to the performance of the greatest things . Among these , together with a most fascinating address , which rendered every stranger at first si ght mteresled in his favour , was a very powerful and persuasive eloquence , admirably suited to popular assemblies , and from which he eierived the most si gnal benefits in many of the most trying exigencies of his life . Indeed he
valued himself on his management of the diet , and observed , that he was the only sovereign who had succeeded in convoking a public bod y of that description . His presence of- mind , immediate recollection , and instant decision , in all sudden cases of difficulty . or danger , were perhaps only equalled b y his uncle the great Frederick ; while the firmness anel fortitude which he manifested in the many severe conflicts on governmental and public affairs which he was obliged to sustain , were in no degree inferior to that exalted courage which he displayed in the field of battle .