1828.] 



Domestic and Foreign. 



309 



Not quite to forget the particular volume 

 before us its peculiar claims to attention 

 consists in the history it contains of the 

 island of Dominica the details of the mu- 

 tiny of the 8th West India Regiment, at 

 the time Cochrane Johnstone was governor 

 the descent of the French in 1805, and 

 the consequent destruction of Roseau, its 

 capital. " No regular narrative," the au- 

 thor says, " of these events has hitherto 

 been published. It is presumed, therefore, 

 that recollections of them, by an eye wit- 

 ness by an humble but active participator 

 in the defence of the colony will prove 

 gratifying to many individuals, and not 

 unacceptable to the general reader. The 

 writer describes what he saw ; he relates 

 occurrences in which he bore a part, or 

 which fell within the sphere of his actual 

 observation." The author's real know- 

 ledge of the West Indies is confined to 

 Dominica ; he was but an occasional visitor 

 in other islands, and of them his work pre- 

 sents nothing new and nothing different 

 from what we have heard a thousand times. 

 He lays claim to respectability but what 

 is the respectability of an anonymous per- 

 son ? What weight does he suppose his 

 sentiments are to have ? A name is a gua- 

 rantee ; every man has friends and con- 

 nexions, and desires to stand well with 

 them and however insignificant he or they 

 may be, that is a pledge to the country ; but 

 without it, no pledge of fidelity exists, and 

 it would be as well if we were to get to 

 entirely overlook what comes without this 

 stamp of authority. 



Mcmoires d'une Cwitemporaine, ou Sou- 

 venirs (Tune Femme sur les Priiii.ipaux Per- 

 sonages de la Re'publique, du Consulat, de 

 F Empire, Sfc. 2 tomes; 1827. This con- 

 temporaine was successively the mistress 

 of Moreau and Ney, and probably of many 

 more, of whom in due time we are to be 

 informed. The present publication ends 

 with her separation from Moreau in 1799, 

 and it is chiefly for the details of the pri- 

 vate life of that eminent man that these 

 volumes though very agreeably written 

 will present any general interest. The 

 lady repi'esents herself as well connected 

 by birth and alliance of great beauty, 

 some accomplishments, and the heiress 

 once of considerable property ; but all these 

 advantages were counterbalanced by strong 

 passions, a wayward fancy, a restless tem- 

 peramentall too much for the strength, 

 or rather the imbecility of her intellect- 

 though she is evidently no fool ; and 

 which at length brought her, as she more 

 than once hints, to a state of almost the 

 very lowest degradation. She was born in 

 1778 ; her father was a Tolstoy, the de- 

 scendant of a high and ancient Hungarian 

 family ; and her mother a Vanaylde, a 

 Dutch lady, the possessor of an income of 

 110,000 florins left a widow, after a mar- 

 riage of but short duration, by her hus- 

 band's perishing from the effects of a cold 



caught in rescuing a servant from drown- 

 ing. By her mother, who, thus bereaved, 

 was plunged into a state of melancholy 

 feeling, and lived in retirement, the child, 

 Mademoiselle, was suffered very much to 

 have her own way, and showed, naturally 

 enough, we suppose, a very early disposi- 

 tion to intrigue. Before she was twelve 

 years of age, when riding in the neighbour- 

 hood of her mother's residence, attended 

 by a servant, she encountered M. Van M.,< 

 who, himself a very handsome young man> 

 was struck with Miss's beauty and figure. 

 Though not twelve years of age, she says she 

 had the air and height of a girl of fourteen 

 was in size and shape a woman, though a 

 child in understanding already five feet 

 and an inch, the very stature of the Venus 

 de Medicis. The acquaintance proceeded 

 rapidly the young lady showing extraor- 

 dinary tact and precocity, in evading her 

 mother's and the servants' surveillance, 

 and the matter ended, the following sum- 

 mer, in an elopement, and a marriage be- 

 fore she was thirteen. 



M. Van M. was a man of considerable 

 fortune ; and, very soon after his marriage, 

 taking part with the French Revolution, he 

 was exposed to some inconveniences. At 

 Sgravesand, M. Van M.'s house was as- 

 signed as quarters to the late Duke of 

 York and his suite ; and her husband was 

 placed under arrest, and confined in a cel- 

 lar of his own house. The Duke seemed 

 disposed to pay the young lady some gal- 

 lant attentions, which she resented highly ; 

 and, though no Judith or Deborah, she 

 says, yet nothing but the hope of rescuing 

 her husband would have suffered her, for 

 a moment, to listen to the stupid compli- 

 ments of the British Holofernes. The 

 duke got tipsy at night, and she succeeded 

 in releasing her husband, who made the 

 best of his way to join the French army. 

 Madame followed at leisure, and was the 

 next day overtaken, and actually placed 

 in a carriage, occupied by Duke Holo- 

 fernes, and two very pretty women, and 

 escorted by twenty dragoons. What would 

 have been the event of this abduction, 

 heaven knows ; but, luckily, a party of 

 emigrants came in sight, and Madame, on 

 their coming up, sprang suddenly out of the 

 carriage, exclaiming, " if you are French- 

 men, protect me" not, however, before 

 she had given the Duke a good " slap in 

 the face," for attempting to detain her, by 

 no very delicate grasp, as she says. 



She now joined her husband at Brussels, 

 where they lived in great splendour and a 

 round of pleasure the lady overwhelmed 

 with attentions ; but in vain were all soli- 

 citations and seductions nobody had power 

 to please her ; or, at least, to make her 

 swerve from duty. From Brussels they 

 removed to Lisle, a little before the siege, 

 where they were visited by General Van 

 Daulen, her husband's cousin ; and by him 

 were introduced to numerous French offi- 



