Commanders, then the Grand Officers, and highest of all, the Grand Crosses. Civilians on whom the Order is conferred have to pay certain fees for the privilege; but in the case of soldiers or sailors it carries with it a pension, varying between ten pounds for Knights and two hundred pounds for Grand Crossses. The Knight's insignia of the famous Order are a red ribbon at the buttonhole when in plain clothes, and a silvermounted enamelled cross when in uniform. The Officer has a red rosette when out of, and a gold-mounted enamelled cross when in, uniform; the rosette being worn also by all the members of the superior grades when in morningdress. In evening-dress or uniform, the Commanders wear a red collar with a cross pendent; the Officers a star on the left breast in addition to the collar; and the Grand Crosses a larger star, and a broad red ribbon or sash across the breast.

Officers of the army or navy receive the Cross of the Legion of Honor by right after twenty years' good service; but the private soldier or sailor is compelled to win it by distinguished conduct in the field, and often deserves it over and over again before he succeeds in obtaining the much-coveted honor. Civil servants, prefects, procurators, etc., also get the Order after a certain term of service as such; but authors, artists, poets, inventors, engineers, and others have to knock long and loudly at the official door before their claim to the decoration is allowed. None but persons of irreproachable characterthat is, those who have never stood as criminals at the bar of a court of justiceare admitted to the companionship of the Legion; and it is therefore looked upon everywhere and by everybody in France as a certificate of or testimonial to honesty and merit.

It is stated that the Commissioners of the Paris Exhibition having been entrusted by the government with the bestowal, upon persons who had rendered services in connection with the great International Show, of three hundred Crosses of the Legion of Honor, no less than twenty-two thousand applications for the honor were received! Certainly, the Order could not be better bestowed than in rewarding those who

have fought in the great battle of the Arts and Sciences, and thus done their utmost to promote peace and good fellowship among the nations. But it is somewhat strange that the great Cross which was the guiding star that led Napoleon's famous troops to so many victories, should have developed into a prizemedal for successful traders or a guerdon for political adventurers. There, certainly, is a decline, which, if not stopped, will work its own cure, by rendering the decoration valueless.

At Austerlitz, Napoleon bestowed the Cross from his own breast on a grenadier of the Imperial Guard who had saved the Emperor's life when he was fired at by a Russian sergeant of the line. The veteran dashed out of the ranks-in itself an offence against discipline which on ordinary occasions neither Napoleon nor Wellington would forgive-and with his musket struck up that of the Russian, whose shot was thus diverted from its object, only, however, to find another victim in the shape of one of the Emperor's suite. The old grenadier then despatched his enemy, and gallantly and successfully defended himself against a horseman and two other infantrymen who sought to avenge their comrade. Napoleon was a witness of the faithful guardsman's act; and riding up to him as the latter rejoined his company, he detached from his own breast the golden Cross which glittered there, and pinned it upon that of the veteran. Shouts of "Vive l'Empereur !" rang through the air from the ranks of the Old Guard, every member of which accepted the decoration of their comrade as a compliment paid to the regiment itself.

So much for the great French Cross. And now we will briefly recount the story of one which is as dear to the hearts of Englishmen-though in a quieter way as the Legion of Honor is to our neighbors across the Channelnamely, the Victoria Cross. This is a purely military and naval distinction, and is only conferred for gallant conduct in the field or in action at sea. Englishmen as a rule do not care much for Orders and Crosses, and the few which are in the gift of the sovereign as the fountain of all honor-namely, the Garter, the Thistle, the Bath, the St. Michael and St. George, and the Star

Per

of India are generally reserved for persons of high rank in the social or official scale who have rendered great services to the state in various capacities. haps the nearest approach to the Legion of Honor on this side of the Channel is the Order of the Bath, which is conferred upon all classes as a general distinction, and for long and zealous service in the cause of the state or in any particular profession.

The Victoria Cross was founded in the year 1855, the period of the Crimean War, and was instituted as a special military and naval distinction for distinguished conduct in the field. It consists of a plain unpretentious piece of bronze-metal in the shape of a Maltese Cross, and is manufactured from guns which have been taken from the enemy. On the front of it is the figure of a lion above a scroll, which bears the simple and appropriate motto-" For Valor;" and on the reverse are inscribed the name of the recipient and the date of the deed of bravery for which it has been conferred. On the top of the Cross is a crown and the initial letter V, through which passes the ribbon by which it is suspended. The Cross is conferred on all ranks alike in the army and navy, and when worn is distinguished by a red ribbon for the army, and a blue one for the navy. It also carries with it a pension varying from ten pounds for a private to one hundred pounds for an officer. Apart from this there is no distinction whatever; and its bestowal on a drummer or private as well as on an officer is duly announced in the Gazette, accompanied by a full recital of the brave deed which has won it, and giving its possessor the right, if he chooses to exercise it, of placing the letters V. C. after his name. In the case of officers this last named privilege is taken full advantage of; but the privates or drummers have never, as far as we are aware, attached these honorable initials to their names. Perhaps this is because their superior officers have never encouraged them to do so, and the modest fellowsfor the truly brave are ever modesthave never had the moral courage to assert their right in this respect.

The Victoria Cross is very sparingly bestowed, and its value is enhanced by the fact that it can only be obtained by

It

a genuine act of bravery performed in the presence of others and certified by the hero's commanding officer. The recommendation is then forwarded through the general commanding to the Secretary-at-War, who in his turn submits it to the Queen. Though conferred on officers as well as the rank and file, it is essentially a soldier's distinction; and the majority of the members of this most honorable of all military Orders consists of non-commissioned officers, drummers, and privates. reflects great honor on the drummers of the British army that so many of their comrades have gained the Victoria Cross; the records of the Crimean, Indian Mutiny, and other later wars containing splendid deeds of bravery and devotion performed by the holders of this once despised rank. This is the more to be admired, as the bugler or drummer has very few chances of distinguishing himself; but when an opportunity does occur he is never remiss. It was a drummer who helped to fasten the powder-bags on the gates of Delhi, the destruction of which resulted in the capture of the mutinous city of the Great Moguls in 1857. The act was performed amid a perfect shower of shot and shell, and was rewarded-some months afterwards-with the Victoria Cross. It was also a drummer who, while acting as field-bugler to Lord Napier of Magdala in the Abyssinian War, left the general's side, and dashed first. into the stronghold of the tyrant Theodore.

Perhaps the most daring deed that ever won old England's Legion of Honor was that which was successfully performed by Kavanagh during the Indian. Mutiny. Lucknow was besieged, and its garrison was starving. Besides the little band of devoted men there were also women and children cooped up in the Residency, at the mercy of some fifty or sixty thousand savage and relentless foes.

Daily, nay hourly, the little garrison was growing weaker and weaker, and nearer and nearer were pressing the dusky sepoys, until it became a matter of life and death to the heroic few that Sir Colin Campbell, who was known to be advancing to their relief, should be at once informed of their real state and their utter inability to hold out much

longer. A volunteer was called for, a man who would consent to be disguised as a sepoy, and who would risk his life among the mutineers, in order to make the best of his way to the advancing army. The call was immediately responded to as it generally is by Britons in the moment of supreme danger-and two or three men expressed their willingness to undertake the task.

From these brave volunteers an Irishman named Kavanagh was chosen, who, to his other various qualifications, added a knowledge of the enemy's customs and a thorough acquaintance with their language. The Commandant shook the brave man by the hand, and frankly informed him of the dangerous nature of the task he had undertaken; how it was more than probable that he might meet his death in the attempt. But the gallant fellow persisted; and his skin was at once colored by means of burnt cork and other materials to the necessary hue. He was then dressed in the regular outfit of a sepoy soldier. When night set in, he started on his lonely and perilous mission, amid the hearty "God-speeds" of the famishing garrison. In his breast he carried despatches for Sir Colin Campbell, with the contents of which he had been made acquainted, in case of their loss.

We have not the space at our command to give all the particulars of his remarkable journey. He succeeded, however, after many narrow escapes and great hardships-during which he often had to pass night after night in the detested enemy's camp, and to march shoulder to shoulder with them in the daytime; and when he left them, to swim across rivers, or to crawl through the tangled thickets where the deadly tiger asserts his sway-in reaching Sir Colin Campbell's camp; where, to finish his stirring adventures he was

fired at and nearly shot by the British outposts. Kavanagh's narrative was listened to with rapt attention by Sir Colin, who immediately gave orders for the army to advance as quickly as possible to the aid of the gallant defenders of the Residency. How the latter were rescued is a matter of history. Kavanagh lived long enough to wear his Cross, though he lost his life shortly afterwards in battle with the same enemy; but the noble example he left behind him was not lost on the brave hearts who eventually saved India for England.

In concluding our article, we wish to give expression to the feeling of satisfaction with which we, in common we believe with all Englishmen, have heard that the Queen has bestowed upon certain officers and men England's Cross of Honor; amongst other deserving officers and men, to Lieutenants-now Majors-Chard and Bromhead, of South African fame. Their noble deed-how, with about a hundred men, they covered the retreat of an army, and saved a whole colony from ruin and devastation-is fresh in the public mind, and needs no recapitulation. It will ever live in history as an exploit unique in military annals, and will shed a bright light over a period of dread and unparalleled dis

aster.

Such then is the story of these two famous Crosses; but whole volumes could be filled with the glorious deeds of those whose breasts have borne or are now bearing the honourable insignia. Though somewhat disimilar in the manner in which they are now conferred, yet both carry out the intentions of their founders by keeping alive within the hearts of the people that spirit of chivalry and honor which is the real strength of a nation.— Chambers's Journal.

The Spectator.

FRANCIS PARKMAN, one of the most distinguished of American historians, is the son of the late Rev. Dr. Francis Parkman, an eminent Unitarian clergyman, and was born in Boston on the 16th of September, 1823. He entered Harvard College in 1840, and was graduated in 1844. While at college he usually spent his summer vacations in the Canadian forests, or on the lakes and rivers which lie along the border between Canada and the United States. In November, 1843, while still a student, he visited Europe, touching first at Gibraltar and then at Malta, and spending the winter in Sicily and Italy. In the spring he travelled through Switzerland to Paris and London, and returned home in time to graduate with his class in the summer of 1844. During the next two years he devoted himself to the study of the law, but not finding the profession congenial, he abandoned it in 1846 and started to explore the remote regions of the Far West. The literary result of this journey was a charming book of travels entitled "The Oregon Trail" (1849).

Even as a boy, it is said, Mr. Parkman conceived the idea of writing the history of the rise and fall of French Dominion in America, and he never afterward abandoned his design; but before entering upon its execution he turned aside to write a work which, without belonging to the series, yet admirably supplements it-"The History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac" (1851). The conspiracy of Pontiac and the resulting war was the last great struggle for empire of the Indians east of the Mississippi, and Mr. Parkman's account of it is one of the most picturesque, ro

mantic, and touching historical narratives ever written.

In 1858-59 Mr. Parkman made a second visit to Europe, chiefly for the purpose of examining the French and English Archives of Colonial History, and ten years later he spent the winter of 1868-69 in Paris in the prosecution of similar researches. The result of his labors was the publication in rapid succession of three volumes of his historical series under the following titles: "Pioneers of France in the New World" (1865); "The Jesuits in North America" (1867); and "The Discovery of the Great West" (1869). These were followed by "The Old Régime in Canada" (1874), and Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV." (1877); and the author is now engaged upon the history of Montcalm and the fall of New France, which he considers the most interesting subject with which he has yet had to deal, and for which he has gathered a large amount of entirely new material.

66

'Mr. Parkman," says a writer in Appleton's Journal, from whose article most of the foregoing facts were gleaned,

66

has gathered the materials for his works not only by personal observation of the scenes of his history, but by costly and laborious researches in the manuscript archives of France and Canada. The difficulty of the task would have been immense to any one even with perfect health and the use of all his bodily faculties ; his bodily faculties; but during the greater part of the time Mr. Parkman has been an invalid, to whom mental exertion was forbidden by his physicians, and whose eyesight was so seriously im

paired that for three years the light of day was insupportable, and every attempt at reading or writing completely debarred. He has written his works by the aid of an amanuensis, and by patience and energy of the most admirable order has overcome obstacles far greater than those which impeded the labors of the historian Prescott, whose eyesight, though impaired, was still serviceable to him, and whose bodily health in other respects was better than that of most literary men."

The historical works of Mr. Parkman have all been reprinted and widely read in England, and have also been translated into French and German. They have been violently attacked by the ex

treme Ultramontane party in Canada, and as warmly defended by the more moderate Catholics. They have also been the subject of one or two hostile pamphlets in France; but no antagonist has successfully impeached the accuracy of Mr. Parkman's facts. His works combine in a remarkable degree qualities which are not often found united, exhibiting the most painstaking thoroughness of research, and at the same time possessing the picturesque fascination of a romance.

It only remains to add that Mr. Parkman was for some years President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and is now one of the seven members of the Corporation of Harvard University.

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF MADAME BONA PARTE. By Eugene L. Didier. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

The career of Madame Bonaparte was perhaps the strangest that ever fell to the lot of an American woman. Some have called it romantic, but to our mind there was extremely little of romance in either her nature or her experience. If her biographer's portrait of her is accurate and it is for the most part selfdrawn, through the medium of her own letters -Madame Bonaparte was as thoroughly worldly a woman as ever lived. Mr. Didier says of her: This Baltimore, girl, married at eighteen and deserted at twenty, seems to have possessed the savoir vivre of Chesterfield, the cold cynicism of Rochefoucauld, and the practical economy of Franklin ;" but this is using language far too fine for the occasion. Madame Bonaparte was simply an abominably selfish, shrewd, and practical woman; and no one would have been more contemptuous than herself toward any attempt to throw around her the halo of sentiment.

It is evident that from the very beginning Madame Bonaparte set herself two objects, to which everything else was wholly subordinate: to secure a brilliant social position, and to acquire wealth; and in both she attained an extraordinary degree of success. Though deserted by her husband, and thwarted in her ambition to become a recognized member of the Napoleonic family, then dominant in Europe, she achieved a social career in the Old World as brilliant as that of any woman of her time; and, with little assistance save her own shrewd management, she became, as Dr. Johnson would say, "rich beyond the dreams

of avarice." Judged by her own standard, her career was one of almost unqualified success, yet even as depicted by herself there are very few we imagine even of those "mean-spirited" American women for whom she felt such unbounded contempt, who would be willing to live it over again. The cynical selfishness that underlay it is too transparent even for those in whom selfishness of a more elusive type is a predominant motive; and its essential dreariness, hollowness, and flimsiness seem finally to have overcome even her proud and obstinate spirit.

As already intimated, the volume is comprised mainly of Madame Bonaparte's letters, most of which were written to her father during her several visits to Europe. Mr. Didier has confined himself to providing a brief sketch of her life prior to her marriage and desertion, and to linking the letters together upon a slender chain of narrative and explanation. His work is on the whole judiciously done, though many will regret that he did not make ampler use of the biographical material which must have been at command or easily accessible. The letters are vivacious and entertaining, but can hardly be called agreeable reading, since every other paragraph challenges dissent. Their most characteristic quality, we should say, is ill-nature-an ill-nature perfectly indiscriminate when provoked, but usually exercised against her own family, friends, and countrymen. The wit is caustic and bitter and too often degenerates into raillery, and the sentiments are frequently such as La Rochefoucauld himself would have shrunk from avowing. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu used to say that women never respect each other,