MIKABEAU HIS CHARACTER AND CORRESPONDENCE. 207 



this question. Emanating from an institution (the Royal Society of Literature) 

 arose a few pensions four, if we recollect right of 100 a year each, to Sharon 

 Turner, the historian, Coleridge, the poet, and some others. One of the earliest 

 acts of the present reign, was to stop these pensions ! And this, too, whilst the 

 Pension List, with all its hideous enormities, was unblushingly staring the public 

 in its face." 



But we must hasten to a close of this somewhat hurried, and, we con- 

 fess, inadequate notice. 



Considering the literary, oratorical, and political celebrity of Mirabeau 

 -considering the extraordinary events with which his career, brief as it 

 was dazzling, abounded it is not a little remarkable that, to the present 

 time, no life of him (except the meagre sketches in our meagre and con- 

 temptible biographical dictionaries) should have appeared in this country. 

 To a certain extent the desideratum is ably supplied by the memoir pre- 

 fixed to these volumes ; from the pen, as we understand, of Mr. Harral, 

 the late editor of La Belle AssembUe. Evidently, however, to render 

 ample justice to his subject, the writer required far greater space. In 

 fact, disclaiming the details of biography, he professes his aim to be, 

 " simply, by a few slight touches, to offer a graphic portrait of his 

 character to exhibit its more prominent features in a literary, moral, 

 and political light." Mirabeau' s moral character, in particular, is vividly 

 and powerfully sketched. It is, however, no flattering likeness if it 

 sin, it is on the side of severity. It was the fate of Mirabeau to be 

 cursed with a savage, remorseless scoundrel of a father. His boyish 

 character was misunderstood, not only by that father, but by his early 

 tutors ; consequently, " throughout his life, Mirabeau had no fixed prin- 

 ciples ; he was the child of impulse ; constantly vacillating ; and, like a 

 feather, subject to be wafted in any direction by the breath of the 



moment." " Unfortunate, too, with respect to the gifts of mammon, 



he acquired vices apparently foreign to his natural character. Having 

 felt the want of money of money to nurture his extravagance he be- 

 came little scrupulous by what means his purse might be replenished. 

 This was one of the numerous evils which, in his case, resulted from 

 the absence of fixed principles of a high-toned sense of honour. His 

 genius was all-commanding ; but the glory of its fire was dimmed by 

 sensuality by a sordid thirst for gain. He was prodigal, but not gene- 

 rous. He was ambitious, but his ambition was unaccompanied by 



greatness by nobleness of soul." " Mirabeau was a vain rather 



than a proud man. He was vain of his person his learning his ora- 

 tory his acting his fencing his authorship his mode of correcting 

 proofs for the press vain of every thing. Yet, as a litterateur, he was 

 one of the most notorious and unblushing plagiarists that ever existed. 

 As a writer, or as a speaker, he never scrupled to avail himself, to what- 

 ever extent occasion might require, of the labours of others. A proud 



man would not have thus acted." " Mirabeau was not profound ; 



but he possessed the art of seizing upon grand points, and making the 

 most of them. His facility in appropriating the ideas, thoughts, and 

 expressions of others was wonderful : with a Promethean touch he made 



them his own." " Mirabeau was not ' in wit a man, simplicity a 



child :' he was a man of splendid genius ; but his genius was not subser- 

 vient to his reason. He was deplorably wanting in self-respect ; he was 

 impetuous, violent, and indiscreet he possessed not the discretion of a 

 child ten years of age. His shrewdness his perspicacity were prodi- 



