My dear Mr. Provost,—Here we all are by God’s
mercy safely launched upon the voyage of 1849. Let us venture to hope that the
navigation may be rather less perilous than that of 1847 and 1848. It would
appear from the recent job of President-making that the heart of France is not, after all, quite so thoroughly
republicanised and deroyalised
| 308 | MEMOIR OF REV. F. HODGSON. |
What is to be the issue of it all? Another Restoration, if we may believe a French Vicomte whom I met some time since, and who said that there must, he feared, be terrible havoc and bloodshed before Henri Cinq should recover the throne of his ancestors; not appearing to entertain the faintest doubt that the recovery will take place, sooner or later; that he seemed to consider as a booked thing.
All the world is mad after the two volumes of the mighty Tom Macaulay; as mad as the opera-going and
concert-going world is after Jenny Lind.
I have not yet seen the thumping twins. To say the truth, I am haunted by
certain misgivings. Will the mighty Tom be able to
‘clear his mind of cant’—the cant of
Liberalism? Is there not something of mocking devil always at his elbow? Will
the Church of England get anything like justice at his hand? His strength may
be gigantic, but is he not likely to use it too much ‘like a
giant’? I am apt to distrust a man so destitute as he has shown himself
of all reverential
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON A THEOLOGIAN. 309
Your mention of Fleming reminds me of what I have heard recently, with great astonishment, that the Duke 1 has taken hotly to theology; that he holds post-prandial discussions on the Athanasian symbol, and turns out as a sturdy Defender of the Faith; nay, that he is actually mighty in the Prophecies. Now, only think of the Iron Man deep in Apocalyptics! Don Juan’s marble man sitting down to supper with him is scarcely more wonderful. Melbourne, they say, was latterly a great reader of Divinity. But, old ‘Up Guards and at ’em,’ one can hardly imagine such a thing! Saul among the prophets was nothing to this!
