and that notorious popular potentate whom our saucy friends over the water have facetiously denominated "the Yankee Justinian," had the supreme jurisdiction in Paris. The Journal de Paris was put down vi et armis, and its conductors and contributors precipitately scattered. Chénier was in imminent danger; many thought that he must have fallen a victim to the popular fury, and Wieland, the German poet, wrote to inquire if he were yet alive. But he was not dead yet, nor even silent; only his writings were now anonymous or pseudonymous. Owing to this fact, nearly all that he published in the autumn and winter of 1792-3 has been lost. It is certain, however, that he was the author of the letter in which Louis after his condemnation vainly appealed to the French people. After the king's death his friends persuaded him to quit Paris for Versailles, where he remained a whole year. By that time most of his personal enemies had disappeared, some torn to pieces by wolves, and some by their fellow Jacobins. But Collot d'Herbois still lived, and his power nearly equalled Robespierre's.

On the 6th of January, 1794, Chénier was arrested. The immediate and ostensible cause of his arrest was a visit to a suspected lady at Passy. The proceeding was utterly illegal, even according to such scanty remains of law as the Terrorists had preserved for themselves, for Chenier was not under the local jurisdiction of the man who seized him, and had a safe conduct and certificate of good citizenship from the authorities of his quartier. Indeed the gaoler of the Luxemburg prison refused to receive him, but the functionary at St. Lazare was less scrupulous.

As Joseph Chénier had been an influential Jacobin and a member of the Convention, there were not wanting persons afterwards to assert that he had neglected to save his brother's life when it was in his power to do so; nay, some even charged him with having contributed to his condemnation. This imputation his friends. have indignantly repelled. They maintain that, on the contrary, it chiefly through his influence that André had remained unmolested for the sixteen months preceding. They affirm, moreover, that Joseph had been for some time virtually disconnected with the Jaco

was

bins, having grown wiser as they grew more frantic; that he was then a suspected if not a denounced man, and would himself have shared the fate of André, had the rule of Robespierre lasted a fortnight longer. The two pleas are not perfectly consistent, and we think that generally the editors and biographers of the brothers have erred in trying to prove too much, and in giving to the accusation a greater importance than it deserved.* For our own part, we do not believe one syllable of it. The Chéniers had that strong family attachment which all families ought to have, and it is absurd to suppose that if Joseph regarded the wishes of his relatives, when the question was only about breaking off a paper war with his brother, he would have disregarded them when that brother's life was at stake. The advice he gave his father, who wished him to agitate openly for his brothers, "Rather try to let them be forgotten," was the very best that could have been given, as the event too truly showed. Had nothing been said about André, he might have remained unnoticed for two days longer, which would have been enough to save his life, and actually did save the life of Sauveur; but the memorial which his father addressed to that body called with a mournful irony the Committee of Public Safety, was his death-warrant.

*

And now comes a characteristic specimen of radical inaccuracy. Another of the Cheniers, Sauveur, formerly an officer in the army of the north, had been arrested and imprisoned at Beauvais. In such haste was the indictment against Andre drawn up, that it confounded him with Sauveur; attributed to one brother the acts and writings of both, and designated

Especially do we think M. Arnault to blame, for seriously confuting, in a narration of two pages, a scandalous story of Madame de Genlis, about Mademoiselle Dumesnil's reception of Joseph Che nier; as if a French actress would trouble herself about truth, when there was a chance of saying a mot, or making a scene.

And yet, after all, must we not say that, in a

higher sense, Joseph Chenier was morally guilty of

his brother's death? He had encouraged the Ja cobins in their earlier attempts; he had defended or apologized for their excesses; he had given them his pen, his voice, and his influence. In so far, then, as he had contributed to their triumph, must he be deemed answerable for the consequences of that triumph. Alas! it is not too well remembered even at the present day, that they who help to opes the flood-gates, are responsible for the inundation.

the poet-editor as ex-adjutant-general and chief of brigade, under Dumouriez! One of Andre's eulogists suggests that he made no allusion to this palpable flaw, in hopes that this confusion of personal identity might be the means of saving his brother. If so, his silence was successful.

There were, indeed, many reasons why Andre Chenier should have made no further opposition to the proceedings against him, than was necessary to expose their injustice and illegality in the eyes of future generations. To one whose patriotic hopes had been so cruelly disappointed, life was of little value. When a man of refined education, liberal principles, hopes of liberal institutions, and freedom from party fanaticism, sees all constitutional landmarks swept away, and the ochlocracy triumphant, his despondency is utter and hopeless. He has "lost the dream of doing and the other dream of done," and knows not how to help himself or others. In one case only can he be sustained. If his mind has been deeply imbued with the true philosophy-the philosophy of Christianity he may remember that "God

fulfils himself in many ways," and faith will illumine for him what, to the eye of reason alone, is thick darkness.

θάρσει μοι θάρσει τέκνον,
μέγας ἔτι ἐν ουρανῳ Ζευς
ὃς τάδ' ἐφορᾳ καὶ κρατύνει.

But we very much fear Chenier had not this consolation. His views, lofty and noble as they were, were still bounded by this world and the limits of human ability. And at that time it seemed as if no human ability could do anything for the French. The people, from whom the gallows was a more acceptable gift than the right hand of friendship,* had triumphed, and he had long before made up his mind which alternative to choose.

Chenfer was guillotined July 25th, 1794. His works were not collected till 1819, and complete editions of them did not aptill 1840.

pear

*"S'ils triumphent, ce sont gens par qui il vaut mieux etre pendre que regarde comme ami."-Avis aux Francais sur leurs veritables Ennemis.

FREDERICK WILLIAM the Fourth was born in the royal palace, at Berlin, on the 15th of October, in the year 1795. His father was then Crown Prince of Prussia, for his grandfather, Frederick William II., was still on the throne.

It must be confessed, that this monarch came into existence in one of the most stormy periods that mark the history of our world. The great French Revolution was well advanced in its wonderful career. Like a tornado, it had swept over France,

VOL. I. NO. I. NEW SERIES.

6

burying in ruin the ancient house of the Capets, and all the time-honored institutions of the Church and of the State. Al the old orders of society, all the former usages and opinions, all the cherished modes of administering the government, and even the very boasted military tactics of the age of Louis the Great, (as Louis XIV. had long been called,) had gone down together in the overwhelming vortex of that astounding movement; and a new social and political world was beginning to

rise out of the chaos. The Directory had succeeded the overthrow of Robespierre and his Jacobin friends; and it was preparing the way for its own dissolution, and the accession of the Consulate, with the Corsican at its head.

Nor had the moral volcano, which had levelled every ancient institution of France in the dust-just as the tremendous hurricane in the natural world, prostrates forests, overturns houses, and spreads desolation everywhere-been confined, in its ravages, to the limits of that beautiful, but then unhappy country. Its effects were felt in all the civilized world, especially in the European portion of it. Thrones which had endured a thousand years, trembled on their bases, and fear fell upon all the venerable adjuncts by which they had been so long propped up.

In no country was there more alarm among sensible and far-seeing men, than in Germany in none was there greater occasion for it. From immemorial time-at least from the downfall of the Roman empire-that country had been the prey of all sorts of despotism, from that of the poorest baron and the humblest priest, up through the double lines of State and Church, to the throne of the Emperor and the chair of the Fisherman.

Yet, strange as it may seem to men of our day, the trembling despotisms of that country-wholly insensible of their own weakness, and ignorant of the nation with which they had to do-combined their forces, for the purpose of reducing France to her pristine condition. Large armies were marched to the Rhine, there to meet inglorious defeat, and thence to be driven back, overwhelmed with shame, to the lands whence they came.

Nor is it wonderful that they suffered such disasters. The enemy with whom they went to contend, was a young giant, awaking up in all his energy, and intoxicated with the enthusiasm of newly-gotten freedom. The sudden acquisition on the part of the masses of liberty, or what was deemed to be such, had infused a new life throughout the entire nation. Old things had passed away, and all things had become new-alas! not always in the best sense. And when the old dynasties undertook to put down this most astonishing movement which the world has ever seen,

the Allons! and the Marchons! of the Marseillaise Hymn sent young France in overwhelming force into Flanders, to the Rhine, to the Jura, to the Alps. No hostile foot was allowed to tread the soil of France many days. The panic-stricken foe was pursued even into the marshes of Holland, nor found, in its dykes and its canals, the safety which it sought. Not only did the blue-eyed Germans retreat with precipitation back to the eastern bank of the Rhine, but were glad to surrender the western, and with it, four millions of inhabitants, to the Republic of France. The Austrians were chased out of Switzerland, and were compelled to retire altogether from their ill-gotten possessions in Italy! Such were the achievements of a mighty nation, when freedom had infused a new life throughout all the classes of its population.

And what if liberty was perverted to licentiousness, and new despots mounted to the deserted seats whence the old had so recently been hurled? Still the people possessed the emblems and some of the substantial fruits of freedom. Old monopolies were gone. The enormous landed possessions of the church, of the nobili ty, and of the crown, had been, for the most part, confiscated, and a new order of things, so far as the agricultural population was concerned, had commenced. And if despotism had again taken the place of liberty, even while wearing its garb, it was some consolation to the masses, that the despots were from among themselves, and not of an ancient, privileged, and longdetested caste. And then, if it was a despotism, it was a glorious one, which to Frenchmen is a great deal. What if it gave them chains at home? it gave them consideration and glory abroad. more, if it was a despotism, it was one of their own making; and we all know that men will submit with much more contentment and better grace, to burthens of which they themselves are the authors than to those which others impose on them

Still

But let us return from this digressiondigression, however, needed to illustrate the subject-to the state of Germany a the epoch of the birth of Frederick Will iam IV. Two great military governments ruled the Germanic and Germano-Sla vonic races-the Austrian and Prussian

Both had attained to an acme of hauteur, at once insupportable and ridiculous, on account of their achievements in arms. But the grounds of this insolent bearing were not equal. Austria had for a long period been distinguished for her warlike propensities and illustrious deeds. She had met the Turks in a hundred battles, and, aided by Poland, had been the bulwark of Christendom against the Moslems. She had often measured her strength with the Gallic race, and not without success. She had, therefore, something like an ancient greatness in military affairs, and her renown was world-wide extended.

As to Prussia, she was a parvenu among the great powers, not having, in fact, completed a century of national existence.* She had been singularly fortunate in the main, in her rulers; no royal house in Europe having, from the first, produced more great men than that of Brandenburg. But Prussia is, for the most part, a poor country, and originally its extent was very limited. Its position, too, is one of essential and innate weakness. But Frederick the Great, whose equal in military talent has seldom been seen, either in ancient or modern times, had raised her up from the condition of a third or fourth-rate power, to a place in the very first rank. In his Seven Years' War, he resisted, successfully, Russia, Austria, France, Poland and Sweden, together with several of the smaller powers of Germany. Indeed, at

The national existence of Prussia dates from January, 1701, when Frederick III., Duke of Brandenburg, assumed the title of King of Prussia, and the name of Frederick I. of that kingdom.

+Frederick William-the Great Elector, as he is commonly called-was the real founder of the Prussian kingdom. He came to the ducal throne of Brandenburg in 1640, and reigned more than forty years. He was in every sense a great man, and a decided Protestant. He invited the persecuted Huguenots of France to his dominions, and thousands flocked thither, carrying with them their industry-not to say their riches-as well as their piety. He was the father of the first King of Prussia, referred to in the preceding note.

At the commencement, Prussia was a very small kingdom. Even when Frederick II. (commonly

called Frederick the Great) ascended the throne in 1740, Prussia was not larger in extent than the State of Pennsylvania, and its population was about three millions! He left it greatly enlarged and quite powerful. At present, Prussia exceeds 120,000 square miles, and has about fifteen millions of inhabitants. Its disjointed state, as well as its natural position, is a great obstacle in the way of its being a very strong country. For its defence it mast emphatically depend, under God, on the wisdom and valor of its inhabitants.

one time, it seemed as if he should be com pelled to stand against all continental Eu rope. And what a spectacle did he pre sent!

At one moment, we see him beating the Russians on the Oder, and driving them back towards Poland; anon he is fighting the Austrians amid the mountains of Silesia, or attacking and battering down the battlements of Prague! At one while, all seems to be lost! The enemy takes possession of his blazing capital, whilst he flies with his shattered legions to the banks of the Elbe. But soon victory perches again on his standards, and "Old Fritz" is in possession of his sandy, pineproducing realm. Nothing could daunt him. He might be beaten, but conquered, never. His mind was as active as his body, and his right hand wielded the goosequill as readily as the sword. For him to write "two hundred verses on the eve of a great battle, was almost an ordinary night's work!

That such a consummate general, the monarch of the nation, should be surrounded with able commanders, is no way astonishing. Himself sharing in all the fatigues aud exposures of the camp-with as much patience drilling a company of grenadiers, on foot, in the midst of a drenching rain, as he marshalled a hundred regiments on a Champ de Mars-it was inevitable that his spirit should be imparted to the officers around him, be they princes of the blood, nobles of high birth, or plebeians from the lowest ranks. The same enthusiasm pervaded the non-commissioned officers and common soldiers. And at his death he left Prussia the most distinguished nation in Europe for military prowess. too, an able corps of great commanders, whom his own genius and example had trained up. And Prussian tactics were adopted, as the French are now, by all the civilized world, and the plans of her campaigns and of her battles were studied, as master-pieces, by cadets and all others who sought distinction in military life.

He left,

In the year 1786, died Frederick the Great, and with him the military glory of Prussia went down to the tomb, and remained there for a quarter of a century. Frederick William II. succeeded to the throne of his illustrious uncle, and ingloriously reigned till the year 1797. Neither the nation nor the world had very elevated

It augured anything else than greatness, that "Old Fritz" had driven him in his younger years from the army, telling him to go home and take care of his children! And most certainly and amply did his life and actions establish the correctness of the great warrior's opinion. The best thing that can be said of his reign is, that it was one of peace. But it was one of wasteful extravagance and mal-administration. A large army was maintained in idleness, corrupting, by its relaxed discipline and dissolute manners, the moral atmosphere, far and wide, wherever any portion of it was stationed. Nothing could exceed the pride and audaciousness of the officers, especially those of the lower grades. Every one thought himself the heir of all the military capacity and glory of the "Great Frederick." He who had served with the renowned Captain, in whatever rank, deemed himself invincible! And when, in the early part of the French Revolution, the Prussian troops met with some pretty serious defeats (though they gained some victories) on the Rhine, their disasters seem not to have opened their eyes to the possibility, either that they had lost any of the prowess which they had acquired under Frederick the Great, or that their enemies had made any advances upon the tactics and the discipline of a by-gone generation. Nothing of the sort seems to have entered their heads.

They heard, indeed, with some degree of astonishment, of the victories of the French in Flanders, on the Rhine, under their Republican generals, Dumouriez, Jourdan, Bernadotte, Moreau, and others, and especially those of Napoleon in the north of Italy. But they attributed them to the inferiority of their antagonists. Even the victories of Marengo and of Austerlitz, at later epochs, scarcely agitated their selfcomplacency, or made them believe it possible that similar reverses might await them in their turn. "They have beaten the Austrians, but they have not met the Prussians!" "Let Prussia," said they, "but once enter the lists with France, and the superiority of her high-born officers, of the school of Frederick the Great, over the French bourgeois troops, will soon appear."

Nothing could exceed the arrogance of the Prussian officers, save their contempt for the French. And yet, to the eye of

couraging. The officers who had served under the great Frederick, were mostly old and infirm men: some were afflicted with the gout, and others were unfit for service from other causes. Among the younger officers, infidelity and immorality extensively prevailed, as, alas! too generally in the nation at large. The common soldiers were ignorant, and treated too much like machines, or like beasts. There was no morale among either officers or men. Among the former the prestige of the great Frederick and his victories, was almost the only stimulus that was effective to wake up their courage. Among the latter, there was little enthusiasm in behalf of any cause. A blind, unreasoning obedience was all that was expected of either officers or soldiers. Count Henkel says, in his "Memoirs," that when Frederick William II. died, the colonel of the regiment to which he belonged assembled his men, and made them this remarkable speech :—

"His Majesty Frederick William II. has been pleased to die. We have therefore to swear allegiance to a new king. What his Frederick, we cannot exactly tell; but that does name will be, whether Frederick William, or not signify. Herr Gerichtschreiber, read the oath aloud."

In the year 1797, Frederick William III. ascended a throne environed by many trials. Napoleon was conquering everything before him in the north of Italy, and preparing to enact the part of another Alexander of Macedon. The King was still young. Conscious of the many difficulties which beset his path, and distrustful of his own capacity to meet the storm, which he soon saw was approaching, he was disposed to act with a caution that bordered on timidity. But he was surrounded by rash counsellors, who clamored for war with France. War with France was more and more earnestly demanded by a large party every year. At the head of this party was the King's cousin, Louis Ferdinand, a man of great influence among the younger officers, and of vast popularity with the people.

At length, after years of very complex, and it must be confessed, of very doubtful diplomatic manoeuvring, in which her character for wisdom, not to say justice,