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Monthly Review of Literature, 



the acute, being told of a new work, in 

 which the author had made a well-argued 

 defence of the queen " Has he shown," 

 said he, " that the queen did not marry 

 Bothwell ?" He was answered, of course, 

 in the negative. " Then," replied Hume, 

 " in admitting that fact, he resigns the 

 whole question." 



Sir Walter traces, perhaps, too curiously, 

 some of James's peculiarities, and espe- 

 cially his timidity, to the consequences of 

 the brutal assault upon Rizzio, committed 

 in his mother's presence before his birth. 



A weakness in his limbs, which he never en- 

 tirely recovered, gave him a singular, odd, un- 

 gainly, and circuitous mode of walking, diame- 

 trically opposite to that which we connect with 

 the movements of majesty. The same shocking 

 scene, probably, gave rise to a nervous timidity, 

 by which James was affected to a ludicrous de- 

 gree. It was remarked of him, that different 

 not only from the disposition of his fathers, but 

 from that of his mother Mary, who could look with 

 an unshrinking eye upon all the array of war, 

 James wanted the most ordinary personal cou- 

 rage, a virtue, and one is sometimes tempted to 

 suppose the only one, of that age. The king 

 could never behold a naked sword without shrink- 

 ing, and he turned away his head even from that 

 very pacific weapon which he was obliged to 

 draw for the purpose of bestowing the accolade 

 on a knight dubbed with unbacked rapier and 

 from carpet consideration. The same species of 

 timidity ran through his whole mind and actions, 

 like an extensive flaw in a rich piece of tapestry, 

 defacing and rendering of little value that which 

 would have otherwise been rare and precious. 

 Thus, while nature had given him a sound and 

 ready judgment, and a wit, which was sometimes 

 even brillant, she withheld from him that accurate 

 knowledge of propriety, which is manifested, in 

 applying to its proper place, or using in its fit 

 time, either what is serious or what is humorous, 

 without which tact or sense of propriety, wisdom 

 sinks into a vender of proverbs, and wit into a 

 mere buffoon. To remedy, if possible, these na- 

 tural defects, James's education had been se- 

 dulously cared for ; his tutor, George Buchauon, 

 being not only one of the best scholars of the age, 

 but capable of rivalling the purest classics in the 

 composition of their own beautiful language. In 

 this art he accomplished his pupil James, just up 

 to that point where strength and vigour of 

 thought is demanded to give animation to lan- 

 guage, but unfortunately he could conduct the 

 royal student no farther. The ordinary subtleties 

 of scholastic learning were easily comprehended 

 by a mind which delighted in ingenious trifling, 

 but a timorous disposition cannot form ideas of 

 dignity and resolution, nor, of course, can a 

 timorous mind frame, or a hesitating tongue give 

 utterance to, a daring conclusion. 



Stricture of the Rectum, $c., 3d. Edn., 

 by Frederick Salmon. 1830. Books of all 

 professions find their way, occasionally, to 

 pur sanctum, and Mr. Salmon's volume 

 struck us, some time ago, as remarkable for 

 the vigour of the composition, and the 

 clearness with which he discussed his sub- 

 ject. The particular classes of disorders, 



which it concerns, are notoriously very 

 widely diffused, and being, as they are, at 

 once painful and formidable, it deeply con- 

 cerns the world to have the causes well 

 sifted, for the purpose of getting the cura- 

 tive process placed upon the basis of full 

 knowledge and rational principle. A third 

 edition, within a very short period for a 

 medical book proves we were not mistaken 

 as to its apparant value. Mr. Salmon re- 

 gards piles as a salutary consequence of 

 stricture, and fistula in ano, as a necessary 

 one. Of these diseases, however, stricture 

 is not the only source, and he deprecates 

 misconstruction on that point. With Mr. 

 Salmon's extensive practice, in this particu- 

 lar department, his opinions must be worth 

 weighing. 



Reminiscences of Henry Angelo, Vol. II. 

 Angelo's book will amuse numbers. It 

 is essentially coarse, as may be supposed, 

 relative as it is, for the most part, to odd 

 and eccentric persons to such as have won 

 the laurels of notoriety, by profligacy, folly, 

 foppery, pretension, or impudence to de- 

 merips and swindlers among high and low. 

 Angelo's profession brought him acquainted 

 with many of the young nobility and bucks 

 about town with people of the theatres 

 especially, and stage-struck amateurs. 

 With some talents for acting, he was one, 

 regularly, of Lord Barrymore's corps, and, 

 for the same purpose, impressed, occasion- 

 ally, for the service of the Margravine of 

 Anspach. These distinguished persons are 

 accordingly brought forward frequently 

 upon Angelo's stage. His admiration for 

 lords is of the profoundest kind, and he 

 favours the public with a list of at least a 

 hundred of the peerage whom he has taught 

 to handle the foils. The Chevalier d'Eon 

 figures Weltjee, the Prince's cook at 

 Carlton House, Old Grimaldi, Peter Pin- 

 dar, Dr. Kitchiner, Antony Pasquin, Lady 

 Hamilton, her whole story, by the way 

 Graham, his earth-bath and celestial-bed 

 quack, Matthews, Lord Byron with scores 

 of others of the last forty or fifty years. 



We quote an adventure of Dr. Johnson 

 in his Scottish tour, not recorded by Bos- 

 well. It is a favourable specimen of Ange- 

 lo's manner, and sufficiently ludicrous. 



Dr. Johnson's Pudding. Last summer I made 

 another excursion to Scotland, with the intention 

 of completing my series of views, and went over 

 the same ground described by the learned tourists, 

 Dr. Johnson and Boswell. I am in the habit of 

 taking very long walks on these occasions, and 

 perceiving a storm threaten, I made the best of 

 my way to a small building. I arrived in time at 

 a neat little inn, and was received by a respect- 

 able-looking man and his wife, who did all in 

 their power to make me comfortable. After eating 

 some excellent fried mutton-chops, and drinking 

 a quart of ale, I asked the landlord to sit down, 

 and partake of a bowl of whisky-punch. I found 

 him, as the Scotch generally are, very intelligent, 



