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himself, induced the king to forgive him. In ten months the duke had the good fortune to become the father of a son. This son was the unhappy Duc d'Enghien. He was the sole progeny of a marriage which degenerated from the warmest passion to the coldest estrangement, though the blame must be entirely thrown on the wife. In the bitterest sorrow at the coldness of the duchess, whom he could no longer honourably love, the prince hurried, at the commencement of the revolution, across the Rhine, and, with his son, placed himself under the banners of his father, the old Duc de Condé. With the news of the execution of the queen, the duke also received the information that the duchess had assigned her whole fortune to the French nation, which pained and outraged his royalist sentiments. Her hope of saving herself by this sacrifice was futile; after a long imprisonment in Marseilles her head also fell beneath the executioner's knife.

On the restoration, the duke, who was now aged, returned to France, and lived principally at his country seats of St. Leu and Chantilly. The lady of his heart, however, if such a term may be employed, was very far from causing respect, and the riches and titles he procured for her were not sufficient to legitimate her. No respectable lady, possessing position or morality, could easily overcome her feelings of repugnance when circumstances compelled her to approach the Baroness F—— was known that Louis XVIII. would not allow her, on any condition, to appear at court, and she obtained this distinction only once, during the last years of Charles X.'s reign. Louis Philippe was more indulgent; but he was too much so, and excited the doubly dishonouring suspicion, that craving for money caused him to shut his eyes.

It

The Duc de Condé was the godfather of Louis Philippe's fourth son, the Duc d'Aumâle, to whom he, after being terribly robbed of his sole direct heir, left his very large fortune. This fortune was calculated at 125,000,000 francs, after all debts were paid.

The kind reception which Baroness F always met with from the Orleans family, the remarkable politeness with which, during the restoration, the then Duc d'Orleans and his duchess treated this baroness, who was in every respect far below them, on their visits at St. Leu and Chantilly, excited attention. It was well known what influence the baroness exercised over the old Duc de Condé, and at that day it was whispered that a secret agreement had been made between the inamorata of Prince Condé and the Orleans branch, in accordance with which the latter agreed not to make any claim to the considerable sums which the favourite had in her possession, if she, for her part, promised to maintain the will the duke had already made in favour of the Duc d'Aumâle without alteration till his death.

It may certainly be a very agreeable feeling for a good father, as Louis Philippe undoubtedly was, to know his children's earthly prosperity increased; but public opinion would not forgive a poor man such a disgraceful proceeding, much less a prince already abundantly endowed with wealth.

The events of July, 1830, made a very deep impression on the old Duc de Condé. The experience of "anno '90" had taught him whence such convulsions derive their origin, and whither they may lead. It is

certain, that from the moment when he learned the Tuileries had been taken, and the elder branch of the Bourbons in flight, he gave way to the deepest despair, though he became calmer when he heard that the royal family had safely escaped.

Whether the persons in his immediate neighbourhood would or could quite speak the truth, when they asserted that his calmness was feigned, in order to carry out his intended plan of following the royal family, without being prevented from doing so by the objections of Baroness F, is a question that cannot be answered. No one could know with certainty, what many insisted on knowing through party spirit, that the duke's connexion with the baroness had become a torment to him, from which he had long tried to free himself; or, what was of still greater importance in the affair, that he intended to partially alter his will in favour of the elder, expelled, and unfortunate line. It is a fact, that this last of the Condés was found at St. Leu, on the morning of the 27th of August, 1830, hanging by the window-cord, while the door of his bedroom was locked. The news of this event caused terrible excitement; for while one party asserted the duke was much too God-fearing, and at the same time corporeally too weak, to leave this earth in such a violent manner, and without receiving the consolation of religion; others declared that, after the way in which the corpse was found, the duke alone could have put an end to his life. The authorities interfered, the locality was most carefully examined, and suspicion officially removed from all the personnel. The public was less indulgent, and spoke of secret doors whose existence was only known to the most intimate friends of the duke. However, suspicion never rested on the Orleans family: their leniency was alone blamed.

After the body had lain in state for eight days, it was taken with princely pomp to the church of St. Denis. The much-revered Abbé Pellier, almoner to the Duc de Condé-Bourbon, raised the heart in a golden vase high in the air, and declared in a loud voice that, according to his firm moral conviction, and through his intimate acquaintance with the deceased, the latter most undoubtedly had not committed suicide. When the heart was taken to Chantilly, all the inhabitants went to meet it with great lamentation.

cases.

STATE AND PROSPECTS OF MEXICO.*

It is the fate of old nations to be frequently placed in wrong positions. This arises from the spread of young and antagonistic powers, which obliges them to preserve the old state of things, or, as it is commonly called, the balance of power, to side with the weaker party. Thus, in the Old World, England and France unite to support Turkey against young Russia; and, in the New World, England is called upon to support Mexico against its own Anglo-Saxon brethren. The thing is absurd in both The countenance and support of a highly civilised nation is alike lent, in both instances, to bigotry, corruption, and vice, in opposition to the true interests of humanity. It has long since been time that European nations should have settled the Turkish question among themselves, and to the mutual advantage of all. By doing so, it could no longer be as it now is, a bone of contention among neighbouring nations, a sore in the side of civilised Europe, and an apology for lighting up the dying embers of war among the most powerful nations of the earth. So, also, to support Mexico against the Anglo-Saxons, is to countenance a bigoted, corrupt, and vicious people, against a young race, full of enterprise, energy, and love of civilisation; who would do more for the land of the Aztecs in ten years than the Spaniards have in three centuries of occupation. It is very questionable if the occupation of Mexico by a civilised and friendly nation, would not also be more beneficial to the commerce of Great Britain than the giving to it a factitious support in its present fallen and debased condition.

But let us see what Mr. Robertson, who is a great upholder of Mexican independence, and a warm advocate of the support and interference of Great Britain, even to the extent of a proposed colonisation of the country, has to say upon the subject, as also upon the actual condition of the country. It is impossible not to feel an interest in the magnificent realms of Montezuma, the last retreat of Spanish chivalry, but now an emancipated nation, without political experience, civil probity, or a sense of true patriotism. How is such a country to be upheld, or to be regenerated? It is but fair to read the arguments and experiences on both sides of the question.

Mr. Robertson and his daughter landed at Vera Cruz in February, 1851, after a narrow escape and much suffering, entailed by their having been among the unfortunate passengers of the Forth, wrecked like the Tweed on the Alacranes. The town he describes as presenting a handsome and imposing appearance; but with San Juan de Ulloa, of which he says he had heard so much, he was quite disappointed. "It presented a black, dilapidated, ruinous look, without any of that frowning grandeur with which I had invested, in my own mind, this celebrated fortification." Then, again, of the houses:

The Spaniards are famous for building strong and substantial houses, but as for repairing, they seem scarcely ever to think of it. Thus after a century or

A Visit to Mexico, by the West India Islands, Yucatan, and United States. with Observations on the Way. By William Parish Robertson, Author of "Letters on Paraguay," &c. 2 vols. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.

two the house begins to get shabby, goes on to fail, shows symptoms of decay, and at last, from pure want of "a stitch in time," goes to ruin. The process is not often interrupted, and the ruined remains of the house not always removed. Bare walls, in many a town, are left to proclaim that there once stood a house. The cause of this is mainly to be found in the mode of renting. The landlord scarcely ever disturbs his original lease with a tenant. But it is not the custom for landlords to repair, and the tenants at will do not choose to incur the expense. Then many houses belong to corporations, to the church, to testamentarias, executorships, something almost equal to the blessing of being in Chancery. The landlords never raise the rent; the tenant does not even clean his house till after a long series of years; and sooner than clean and repair it himself, he moves off to another habitation. Thus, repairing is not the common custom, and hence the general aspect, in many Spanish towns, of gloominess, uncleanliness, oldness (which, to make a word, may be termed used-up-ness), and decay. There are many exceptions to the general rule; more especially in those cases where English residents, and English capital, and English comforts have found their way. Indeed, since the emancipation of the colonies, a most decided improvement has taken place in the aspect of the cities and towns generally. The much-maligned Vera Cruz is one of those which showed to me at every turn, in the better quarters of the port, handsome houses in tenantable order. The English have set the example, and including at once proprietors and tenants, it has been largely followed by the people.

While Mr. Robertson was at Vera Cruz, its constitution as a free federal state was sworn to. Another of the constitutions, he many he says, had seen sworn to throughout South America; and straightway sworn at and abolished to make room for some other, having more parts, sections, chapters, and articles than its predecessor, and consequently more difficult to be carried out. The conducta, or train of carts and waggons, which, escorted by a military force, periodically conveys remittances of specie and bullion from Mexico to the English packets, also arrived, bringing, in sixty waggons, a million and a quarter of dollars; Messrs. Manning, Mackintosh, and Co.. shipping, at the same time, five or six hundred bales of cochineal, of 200lbs. each.

Of Jalapa, with its beautiful situation, and its old-fashioned, crooked streets, Mr. Robertson, like Bullock, Mrs. Ward, Lyon, Ruxton, and other travellers, speaks in terms of high admiration-although this seems more especially bestowed on the picturesque than on the intrinsic merits of the place. The neighbourhood is also charming, and presents many beautiful sites. The universal theme of conversation between Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico, is that of the robbers. "Robbers! Robbers!! Robbers!!!” as Mr. Robertson has it, like a placard at Astley's. There was in the diligencia a Mexican general of division, who was frightened out of his wits about the said robbers; but the robbers themselves, it appears, were in reality engaged as an escort; and notwithstanding the bumps of the notoriously bad roads in Mexico, as they arrived at Jalapa, so they got to Perote and to Puebla, and from Puebla to Mexico, without any sight of highwaymen but what, as we said before, constituted their mounted escort. Puebla, with a population of from sixty to ninety thousand souls, is one of the second cities in Mexico, and is favourably known for its manufactures. Mr. Robertson describes the houses as massive and handsome, the rectilinear streets wide, well-paved, and clean, and the whole denoting the possession of quiet and comfort, with no small share

of opulence. Puebla "de los Angeles" is also celebrated for its noble cathedral, with gorgeous interior, and the accepted tradition (whence the name of the place) is, that during the erection of the cathedral, angels descended every night and doubled the work which the human labourers had performed during the preceding day.

At Jalapa our party had heard of a pronunciamento (for nobody is ever in Mexico for a month without hearing that a pronunciamento-a rickety essay at revolution-has taken place); at Puebla they heard that it had been put down. "Indeed!" says the recipient of the news at Jalapa, lighting his cigar and puffing away; and when at Puebla, he is told the pronunciamento is put down-" Vaya pues," he adds, very well!" And again he smokes his cigar, forgetting the matter altogether. Notwithstanding the favourable description of Puebla given by Mr. Robertson, according to his own showing one-half of the lower class are said to subsist by street-robbery and pillage!

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The approach by the Vera Cruz route to Mexico-still perhaps the most splendid city on the American continent-is generally admitted to be disappointing, and not to give a favourable idea of the capital, or of the country about it. Yet, according to the testimony of all, the valley, which is about sixty miles long by forty in breadth, with its shady paseos, bright fields, and picturesque haciendas, the spires of the distant city, the lakes of Tezcuco and Chalco, glittering in the sun like burnished silver when not shaded by vapours, and the framework of mountains and volcanoes (Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl), is still, as it was in the days of Cortes, a sight that has nothing that can be precisely compared with it in the world.

The name of the first-mentioned extinguished volcano is pronounced as if it were spelt Itstaséewattle, and the second has been rendered by Anglo-Mexican wit into Pop-the-cat-in-the-kettle. Both stand out in bold relief, crowned with eternal snows. A mass of ashes and very dense vapours were observed by Humboldt to issue from the crater of Popocatepetl in January, 1804, but no eruptions of consequence have taken place since the time of Cortez.

The absolute height of Popocatepetl is 17,884 feet, and of Iztaccihuatl 15,704 feet. From their bases, whence they rise in great conelike masses, they may be 10,000 and 8000 feet respectively. De Humboldt thought Popocatepetl was the loftiest mountain of the temperate zone; but the Great White Mountain, 1500 miles north of the parallel of Mexico, is more elevated, if Pike's measurement can be relied on as correct. Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl are only two out of a belt of volcanoes that cross Mexico from east to west, beginning with Colima and ending with Tuxtla. Among these Jorullo is of recent origin, having sprung up in 1759; the small volcano of Tuxtla is also very active, exhibiting frequent and violent eruptions.

We are happy to have it in our power to give here an unpublished account of an ascent made of the lofty Popocatepetl, in the spring of this year, by a party of English, French, and others:

Extract of a Letter, dated Mexico, April 2, 1853.

I had been wondering what to do with myself during Holy Week, and had nearly arranged to go to Cuernavaca and the hot country, when I heard of a

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