1818.] On Spanish Literature-Francisco de Olivarez. I am now erecting a pine and vine house 50 feet long and 15 feet wide, for V. Stukey, esq. at the above price, and a vinery for S. Chilver, esq. (both of London, and well known,) at one third less per foot, or exactly the price of a wooden roof. From 4 to 6s. therefore per square foot of roof; all expenses of painting, glazing, ventilating, &c. included, may be reckoned the price of curvilinear roofs, and whether houses of the common forms, and of the best kind, can be done for half this price, that is 2 to Ss. per foot of roof, all expences included, D-t will perhaps find to his cost, when he adds to his present range of glass, or when he builds, which, in either case, he will of course do in the common form. "Mr. Loudon is extremely unhappy," says D-t, "in his quotations even on the subject of beauty, as he ranks spheres and eastern domes, and globular projections, &c. among forms that are in themselves beautiful." It is really amusing to observe with what ease and apparent candour this writer presents the grossest misstatements to your readers. "It was singular," (only "singular,") that he should have quoted any thing so directly opposed to his scheme as Mr. Knight, &c. Now, O miserere mei! I am extremely unhappy" in having quoted Mr. Allison. Compassionate blame! misericordia vulgi! Poor Mr. Loudon! one would hardly think he could sign his name. What a pity it is that he has not the assistance of D-t in his literary compositions! If the reader will turn to the second paragraph of my letter, No. 52, p. 313, he will find the quotation and its connection, and I venture to assert that never was a quotation made from any writer with more fitness and propriety; no authority could be greater than Mr. Allison's, and no words so peculiarly appropriate for my purpose as those quoted. As to the assertion made in the face of this quotation, that I rank spheres and eastern domes, with forms in themselves beautiful, nobody but D-t would have ventured to make it. It may, without undue severity, be characterised as not less shameless than D-t's other assertions are splenetic. Having just stated from Allison that "the beauty of forms arises altogether from the associations, we connect with them;" it is not likely I should at all believe in the existence of "forms in themselves beautiful," (though probably D-t finds no difficulty in holding 66 221 both doctrines,) much less refer to artificial forms as such. The fact is, I have only recommended these forms when according to the magnitude and style of the mansion," but D-t displays too much spleen to admit of candour in his remarks. D-t concludes with conjuring up a picture of a house between two glass cages, spreading wide their bases, &c. but which has no connection with my letter, or any thing I have ever written, designed, executed or intended to execute: he has thereby, however, had an opportunity of using the words paltry and unpicturesque, and concludes with a side hit at my smiths; the whole of which, taken together, has, I hope, given due vent to his spleen. If not, and he should chuse in a succeeding number to pour out the dregs of the vial of his wrath, I hope he will favour your readers with his real signature, that they may know to whom they are indebted for so much advice and instruction, and that I may never walk out without a yard of solid iron sash bar in my hand, to defend myself against the new patent hieroglyphic stricture engine of D―t, or otherwise, as occasion may require. I am, Sir, yours, &c. J. C. LOUDON. Bayswater House, Aug. 25, 1818. ON SPANISH LITERATURE, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF FRANCISCO DE OLI- IT is surprising that notwithstanding our close connexion with Spain during the late revolutionary contest, the British public should have been made so little acquainted with the state of literature in that interesting country. Several books have appeared of splendid form, costly price, and lofty pretensions, descriptive of the war in the Peninsula; but not one of them presents any more information, respecting the genius of the people, or the condition of science among them, than if the writers had been engaged in narrating their hurried flight across the Arabian desert. I have travelled much in Spain, and when "havoc had let slip the dogs of war" in every province, circumstances led me into private recesses, where modest merit hid its head, and talent wept unknown. There I have met with many a literary flower bending but not broken by the blasts whistling around, and in spite of the storm, diffusing its fragrance far beyond the narrow, peaceful vale in which it was enclosed. 222 On Spanish Literature-Francisco de Olivarez Amongst those with whom I thank for tune for bringing me acquainted, and whose name will one day be better known, is Francisco de Olivarez, the Poet and Historian of Catalonia, Olivarez has the honour to be nearly related to the celebrated Monk, and Gene al Palafox; he was born at Zaragosa, and took his degress at Salamanca; but never entered the church for which he was originally intended. The time of his birth, I have (unaccountably) neglected to note in my manuscript; but I suppose him now to be thirty-two years of age. At Salamanca he three times obtained the medal for expositions of the Revelation, left by Gregoire, Bishop of Bayonne, in 1697, and he twice gained the Bachelor's prize for a Poem on the Resurrection. This prize is contended for every three years, and is either a piece of plate, value twenty doubloons, or the sum in specie. Olivarez quitted his peaceful abode with in the walls of Salamanca, and drew the sword as a Lieutenant of the Catalonian Artillery under the renowned Blake, He was present at the sacking of Tarragona, and was wounded in his flight. At Barcelona he wrote his celebrated song, The Spirit of Cortez ;" and the enthu siasm it gave rise to amongst the soldiers is inconceivable. It rivalled the strains of Tyrtæus, and like his eventually contributed to victory. From Barcelona driven by the French, Olivarez was amongst the few who retreated to Marfa,* and endeavoured to defend it against a superior force. The correspondence which preceded its capitulation was conducted by Olivarez; and when the Spanish garrison took post on the height of Rosas, General Blake presented him with a major's commission, and nominated him one of his aides-de-camp in Catalonia and Valentia. This was the summit of his military promotion. When the Castle of Rosas was defended by Lord Cochrane, and a small body of Spanish soldiers, Olivarez entered it as a volunteer. He was received on board the British squadron, and attached by order of the regency to the staff of the British Colonel Green, " employed on particular service in Catalonia." At the capture of the Medas Islands he was wounded, and conveyed on board the Blossom, British ship of war, where he wrote several addresses to rouse the spirit of his countrymen, which were distributed, [Oct. 1, I and had a powerful effect in rousing to I have been as brief as possible in this narrative. The military exploits of Olivarez are to be found in the chronicles of the times. His literary talents are the theme of applause throughout Spain. In 1815, he published The war in Catalonia," at Seville, in four was * Orensa is a Bishop's see; the Bishop not only an excellent divine, but a Marfa, a considerable market town, soldier, serving in person against the five miles east of Barcelona, 1. enemy. 1818) On Spanish Literature-Francisco de Olivarez. volumes. In 1816, he published "Anecdotes of Chiefs employed in the Catalonians war,and Memoirs of the Spanish Monarchy, from the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, to the abdica tion of Charles, and the usurpation of Joseph Bonaparte." This work fills six octavo volumes he has also published Thoughts on the Comet," a Quixotic Poem, addressed to Folly and Fear; "Time and Tide," an opera performed at Madrid; "The Wanderer's Welcome," a play inscribed by permission to the King; and "Moral Essays on the character of King David, considering his claims to the rank of a prophet." His minor works are numerous; some of which, translated by myself, were printed in the Military Panorama, and appeared in many of the diurnal publications. The talents of Olivarez are not of that brilliant nature which leads the understanding astray by the powers of melodious diction; he never sacrifices sense to sound. The flowers of oratory are thinly scattered in his progress. He seizes them rarely, extracts their internal sweets, but never adapts the glowing hues by which they were enveloped. In poetry his forte is the pathetic; the tender and artless tale, "Blanch of Tarragona," has drawn tears from the most brilliant eyes of Spain. "The Spirit of Cortez" is written in a more lofty style than his other poems; still the general feature is tenderness. The parent, the sister, the wife, sweetheart, and, as he beautifully expresses himself, "The child of love's summer day," are called in to awaken the heart of valour; and the reward promised is not wealth, or rank, the favour of courts and kings, but peace and repose in beauty's arms, exempt from care, encircled by olive bowers. sloping vineyards, citron shaded walks, and pledges of love threading every glade. He is always the poet of nature and love, and idolizes his country as the mistress of his heart. "The Comet," written in Hudibrastic verse, to ridicule the fears of his countrymen, who prognosticated nothing less than the world's immediate destruction by fire, is the worst of his poetical attempts. Humour is unknown to a Spaniard; the gravity of his muscles seldom unbend in a smile. Olivarez could not describe what he never felt. "The Wanderer's Welcome" is a mere vehicle for songs; it has become a "stock piece" at Madrid, and is more admired than it merits. Ferdinand presented the au 223 thor with a royal admission to every library and theatre in his dominions; and what was more gratifying to Olivarez installed him perpetually controuling president of the Royal college at Valentia-an office which he fills with universal satisfaction, and the salary (two thousand dollars per annum, he annually bestows upon the most meritorious of the poor students or sizars, any As an historian Olivarez will be assigned a high station in the annals of his country. He exhibits a profundity of research, and writes with that freedom, ease, and solidity of observation, which affiliates nearly to the classic style of our amiable Robertson. No traces of the haughty bigoted Spaniard are where discernible. He condemns the bigotry of his countrymen, and reprobates the Pope, for permitting the sale of indulgences, in a manly style of eloquence, when adverting to the miseries of South America. The fall of Spain he attributes to the progress of superstition engendering the weakness which relied on saints and miracles, and neglected the physical strength of a nation well able to guard its own rights, if rights are ever worth guarding. The Cortez and the Regency are alike justly condemned, and he hails the return of the king with joy, whose power he remarks, even if it were unmited, were a change for the better. One tyrant is preferable to thirty. Sparta groaned under her kings; but expired under the Ephori. On the whole, his history stands unrivalled in Spanish literature, and I wonder much that it has never appeared in an English dress. Situated as the author now is, enjoying in peaceful tranquillity domestic happiness and splendid fortune, whether he will be content to repose upon his laurels, or exert himself to obtain more, is very problematical. The natural indolence of a Spaniard, I fear, will predominate. He himself told me at our last interview, that the visions of his early days were no longer enchanting; he had obtained in his wife and family all he wished in the world, and believed he should trouble the world no more. In a letter, dated September, 1817, he says, “I am here as idle and as happy as a Musselman could desire to be in his paradise. I seldom go to Valentia; Meara," with its brooks and groves, is sufficient for * Meara, the country seat of Olivarez, three miles from Valentia, is a perfect para dise. me. I neither write nor am written to, and have neither joys here, nor cares beyond the precincts of my own family,"&c. JOHN MITFOrd. June 8th, 1818. ON FORGED NOTES. ALTHOUGH the substitution of promissory notes in place of the precious metals may be, on the whole, an invention of general utility, yet the principal advantage must accrue to him who issues them. Their general good, however, may be disputed, while their evil, in some particulars, is acknowledged and certain. The greatest grievance undoubtedly is their frequent forgery, of which it happens, that all the vexation and loss falls on the public; while the banker, who enjoys the profit, sits secure under the protection of his private marks. If no plan to prevent their forgery can be discovered, (which does not seem likely,) it were better that their services were in a great degree dispensed with; and, however inconvenient in some respects, coin made to supply their place. Counterfeited metal is much more exposed to detection than counterfeited paper; accordingly we find that the counterfeits of the late silver coinage could hardly shew their face, and begin already to disappear. While we possess various pretty certain criteria to discover fraudulent imitation in metal, such as colour, weight, sound, bulk, the application of aqua fortis, &c. it seems difficult by any means to detect an exact imitation on paper. It were on the whole, much preferable, I think, that we endured all the inconveniencies of coin enumerated by Mr. BRIGGS, in your Number for August, p. 492, such as its luggage, its expense, its wear, and its accidental loss, than the dreadful evils of forgery. I could wish, then, that in place of the smaller notes, sovereigns and crown picces were issued, of such weight that government would sustain no degree of loss by their fabrication; and in sufficient quantity fully to satisfy domestic, or even foreign demand. It is impossible, as your correspondent has observed, that any bad consequences could arise from such a measure; the most evident consequences would be an increase of trade by a greater importation of gold and silver, and by the exportation of coin; and an additional supply of employment to our workmen. I confess I feel myself at present somewhat sore on the subject of forged notes, [Oct. 1, having myself lately taken a two pound one. Merelyto oblige a respectable tradesman, my neighbour, I gave him cash for it, but when its forgery was discovered he flatly disclaimed all connexion with it. I had not only the precaution to write his name on the note, but the transaction having taken place only a week before, it was fresh in my mind; it happened also to be remembered by his shopman and by mine. In such circumstances I had not the least doubt of obliging him to indemnify me. But although instigated both by a sense of interest and by provocation at the man's impudence, I felt that after cool deliberation I had not sufficient courage to plunge into the gulf of law, and finally lost the note. I found that I could not summon him to a court of requests, it not being under 40s.; nor could I, in order to accommodate it to that court, reduce the sum like a common debt. On consulting with an attorney, he represented to me the imprudence of risking perhaps 501. expenses or more in a higher court, in pursuit of so small a sum. It was impossible, he observed, to foresee what difficulties might occur, or what defence might be brought forward by the opposite party. I have happily had little experience of law, yet I could not but infer from the candid advice of this gentleman, given contrary to his own interests, that there must be something extremely wrong in the mode of our proceedings, when a point so very simple and clear could not be settled without being first tost backwards and forwards in the maze of antiquated usages; and for little other purpose than to create expense. Criminal cases, when human life is sometimes at stake, and which are equally liable to doubt and perplexity, are surely more deserving of grave protracted deliberation than a matter of 40s.; and yet they are capable of being completely decided at one sitting. Civil cases, as we know by daily experience, may be determined, if we choose, with the same promptitude and certainty. In courts of requests, where a cause is generally decided in the space of a few minutes, and at the expense of a few shillings, wrong sentences are as rare as in courts of the greatest pomp of apparatus. It may be said that the sums litigated in these courts are small; but exact justice is equally necessary on all occasions, and the difficulty or complication of a cause has no kind of connexion with the large ness or smallness of the sum in dispute. It appears to me unaccountable that in the 1818.1 Description of Claremont. courts of requests in the county of Middlesex the debt sued for must be under two pounds, while in the city, where the value of money is the same, it may amount to five pounds. How very easy would it be for the legislature to revise and to rectify these glaring anomalies; and what an immense favour would it not confer on the whole mass of the nation: an advance to twenty pounds in all these summary courts would be the most salutary measure that could be imagined. That some new plan is necessary to facilitate the recovery of great and small debts, has long been the universal opinion. It is impossible that there could be any danger in simplifying or entirely clearing away most of those ceremonious and expensive forms, which, for the most part, only embarrass and interrupt the execution of justice. On this subject it is that Englishmen have the best reason to lift up their voices in the way of censure and complaint: and I wonder that our reformers do not prefer to dwell on such topics; of which, undoubtedly, the evils are more obvious and striking, and the benefits resulting from their reformation more interesting and more intelligible to the people than the doubtful and remote advantages of shorter parliaments and universal suffrage. This last change, however, would more readily open the way for reformers becoming rulers themselves, whereas the other would only benefit the people. It may perhaps be of service to some of your readers to mention, that in detecting forged notes I find it most useful to attend minutely to the small female figure in the corner. The human face, particularly when in miniature, is of all things the most difficult of imitation. Rejected forged notes may now commonly be had, and by comparing them attentively in this particular part, the difference as well as the superior execution of the good ones will soon be discovered. CRISPINI FILIUS. Strand, Sept. 10, 1818. 225 Upon your arrival at the park gate you present your ticket, which generally authorizes the admission of yourself and friends, to the porter, who, upon registering your name as a visitor, and returning the ticket directs you the way to the house, which is situated nearly in the centre of the park. with an elegant portico in front, to which you The building itself stands upon an eminence, ascend by a flight of stone steps. On reaching the entrance, you are received by several pages in waiting, who, on examining your ticket, and ascertaining your title to admission within the walls, introduce you to the first of a suite of four rooms, furnished in a style of great neatness and tasteful elegance, but exhibiting nothing of that magnificence which might be supposed to belong to a lour on the right of the hall, in which there Royal residence. The first room is a parworkmanship; the walls are adorned princiare many cabinets and tablets of curious pally with portraits, the most conspicuous of which are the full length portraits of Prince Leopold and her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte, which are situated opposite to each other at the ends of the room. There are also in this room her late Royal Highness's harp and piano. Mention is made of some music of her Royal Highness's own copying having been in the first longer to be seen. instance open to inspection; but this is no It is understood that the execution of these copies is most exquisite. also the work of her Royal Highness, illusEach piece is accompanied by a drawing, trative of the character of the performance, whether serious or gay; and this generally consists of the human figure, represented in some situation appropriate to the idea meant to be conveyed. From this chamber you pass into the dining room, the furniture of which is extremely plain; over the chimney piece is a full length portrait of his Majesty. You next come to the library; this room is of the best works of ancient and modern fitted up with book-cases, containing some literature. There are several pedestals on which are placed specimens of sculpture, and a great many casts and busts. Among the latter, the bust of the Princess Charlotte is most prominent. The walls are adorned with engravings of persons who have distinguished themselves in modern times, and portrait of the Duchess of Brunswick. Reat one end of the room stands a full length turning again to the hall, you are lastly ushered into a second parlour, or withdrawing room, the furniture, hangings, and walls of which are of a bright yellow. There are here also some excellent portraits, the most attractive of which is a half length likenes VOL. X, 2 G |
