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t the political poeticalboth longand wri...
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political, one poetical, both long, and ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Northumbhrland, And Thjfl Boudek. By Wal...
tions of his journey begin at Pennth , and lead to some Cumberland stories and associations that will amuse the reader . Brougham castle and the < roodXord Clifford-toe not forgotten . . But we must plunge into the more immediate subject ^ of the Eook ; and here we find ourselves at Nent Head , among the miners of the London Lead Company , With them are no signs . 6 f want or privation ; yet illegitimate births are frequent . Mr . White , however , defends them on the score of morality . " For here , in this leadrminingcountry , a girl does not lose caste by having borne a child out of wedbe occasioned at first
lock ; though trouble may , she continues to live on in her father ' s house , sharing still in the privileges of home , and . is not desDlsed bv her mother and sisters . Neither is her chance of marriage diminished , though not as a matter of course with her first lover ; and once married , she becomes a faithful wife and as mother of a hardworking family is there to participate in all the ameliorating influences which time and circumstance may bring . But should she play the wanton , and repeat the offence , then she forfeits her position and prospect of matrimony . " Here in Nent Head , as I am told , the Companyrequire that the father of the child shall marry the woman whom he has , so to speak , betrayed ; or quit their service . " Looked at fairly , we thus see that this lullcountry has , after all , a good notion of morality . We may not , perhaps , hear of bastardy in the Haymarket ; but who will contend that the Haymarket is more moral than Nent Head ? Is there not among these miners' wives and daughters a manifestation —' inarticulate , ' if you will—of the charity that hopeth all things ? It seems to me that women in other parts of the kingdom , even in places that regard themselves as re Sued and highly civilised , might learn a lesson from the unrefined . How many a virtuous woman has been made vicious by the cold scorn and neglect of her chaste , and it may be , untempted sisters \
peculiarity which stumbles so awkwardly at the r . ? Yes , the baw-ies aw fine this yeaw , ' he said ^ in reply to my praise of the gooseberries , meaning ? the berries are fine this year . ' Ask a Northumbrian to say courier , and you will get a cooheous answer . ' What do they burn in that kiln ? ' I inquired of a woman at Ovingham ; and she , though meaning bricks , said ' B-hicks . ' " ' Tupny ( twopenny ) awnges goin' f a pennyy used to be the cry of the girls who sold oranges in the streets at Newcastle . __ _ _ -. _ __ a ¦ ^« 'iff .
" Dr . Smiles in his Life of a famous Northumbrian ^ says that the burr is a sign of robust energy of character , wherein it seems to me he makes a mistake . Defects are hardly the result of energy . Comparatively isolated from the rest of the kingdom , the Northumbrians got into a slovenly habit of using then ? rugged speech , and so an accident became hereditary . They would be isolated , whether or not ; and baffled even William the Norman . He had to leave Northumberland out of Domesday Book . "
We remark , as we proceed through this volume , that the author is quite up in the folk and other lore that belongs to his subject , and his pages are as rich in literary ^ illustration as in local description . The writer is a scholar as well as a naturalist and tourist , and loses no opportunity of showing his research as well as his observation . His materials are superabundant , but his disposition of them is highly judicious . The description given of the miners and their work is graphic and grand in its gloom and grininess . The scenic accessories are , besides , adroitly
thrown in to augment the horror and interest . We may point attention also to hrs description of Allenheads , where miners dig out . the heart of the hills . Owing to this a carriage could not draw up to the gate of a mansion , because of two deep holes that had sunk a few days before , by the giving way of something under ground . They ' had been filled up indeed ; but who could tell whether they might sink again with the weight of a carriage ? Allenheads sweeps its chimneys only once a year ; but school-houses have been built . The master of one of the schools was a miner but
a fews years ago ; and the incumbent of Allentown is a miner ' s son . Here the author spent three hours hi subterranean travel ; " a weary waygate . " Subsequently , he had a twilight walk up the hill towards Eookhope , where Sir William Armstrong first tried his new gun . " No fear of hitting any thing up there except stones or fin £ . " He saw the forty-horse hydraulic engines doing all the work of the mines—quietly ; a power not wont " to roar tremendously when it stops , as if to say , See how clever I am , " Thus much by way of example of this volume , which ought to be extensively read .
"The miners are , for the most part , sober and industrious ; there appears to be something in their metalliferous employment which makes them , as a class , more respectable than coal-miners . Go down to the Durham coal-field , visit and observe the mining villages , and you will , hear of coarse indulgences and brutal propensities that shock every sense of propriety , and make yon shudder for human nature . Fornication is rife , and worse—incest , and to such an extent as to have passed into a
byword among the miners themselves ; and it is worthy of remark , that this depravity prevails most in the mines most neglected by the proprietors ; where tommy-shops demonstrate to the men the indifference or cupidity of their masters . Contrasted with that unhappy region , the lead-mining districts stand out in bright relief : and the Bishop of Durham might well envy his brother of Carlisle , in whose diocese only two cases of incest could be heard of on diligent inquiry . " The above citation is for the thinking to ponder and weigh well , as bearing on more than one social evil which seek a remedy in Christian charity . Mr . White ' s first experience of Northumberland was not favourable . Everywhere the rights of hospitality were denied him ; but the cause appeared to originate in an error , Our tourist was mistaken for a sapper , and the " members of her Majesty ' s Corps of Engineers , who were engaged in the O rdnance Survey of Northumberland had won a reputation for gallantry , as well as trigonometry , so that here ana there an increase of popu- ? lation took place in a way not recognised as lawful by the Registrar-Gl-eneral . " Take the following as to the Northumbrian burr , " About four miles on the way I turned in to a lane , and with the usual result ; finding that however pleasant a high-road may be , lanes arc always pleusanter . In the lanos we arc in closer companionship witli Nature . I came to a couple of cottages tennnted by farm-labourers ; and could not help admiring the well-stocked garden , where gooseberries hung in thousands on the bushes . One of the men haying an ? off-day' was at homo nursing the baby , while the wife had gone to market at Hexham ; and ho invited me to take a turn round the garden , of
which half bolonged to each cottage . The abundance betokened industry and no small amount of comfort . There were currants , rhubarb , cabbage , carrots , potatoes , peas ; and flowers at the end where they could ho beat scon from the windows . I congratulated tho man on his lot , and he answered that ho had nothing to complain of , could earn sixteen or eighteen shillings a week , and ate beef , mutton , or bacon every day . Ho did not think it right for a man as worked hard not to eat moat , "He had the Northumbrian burr in perfection , ( hat
T The Political Poeticalboth Longand Wri...
No . 489- AoG . fi . 1883 . 1 ™ LEADEB , 919 M ^ . ^*^^^^^^^^^^^ B ^ m ^ fl ^ M ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ - ^^— ^^^ j ^^^^^™^*^^^^^ " ^ " ^^^ ^^^ ff
Political, One Poetical, Both Long, And ...
political , one poetical , both long , and written with apparent sincerity . There is also an estimate of letters and society in France , which is characterised by considerable shrewdness . To the musical season due attention is rendered , and the brief notices of new books are for the most part just . Christian Examiner is remarkable for three religious articles— - " namely , " The Religion of the Present , " " The Modem French Pulpit , " and " The Doctrine of Endless Punishment ; " to which perhaps should be added " The Lord ' s Dealings with George Miiller . " This man ' s narrative is certainly one of the most wonderful with which we are acquainted . The review of American literature contains more than one curiosity . continues its sided _ 1 * X ? - _ . '_ - 1 '^ . ¦ - m . ' _ a ^« a 4 . 2 «^*^ ¦ X * *^ . 1 i * 1 '^ . _« . ¦ . _ __ * 3 . _ 1 _ j . _ . _ ' * . ^
Constitutional Pkess onebiography of Mr . Charles Kean , and its story of " Hopes and Fears . " A new novel is begun , entitled " Ladies and Leaders . " A dissertation on the present state of the drama abounds in erroneous assertions and false conclusions , with some remarks which are suggestive and beneficial . On the papers touching Church and State , we need say nothing—a term which best represents the amount of influence they are likely to have . . National Magazine . —The number for August opens with an eloquent paper on Tennyson ' s " Idylls , " and continues Mr . Brough ' s tale . . The articles are numerous , and mostly well written . There are eight engravings . Morten ' s " Last Boat , " and Hodgson ' s " Early Morning , " are striking and well executed .
The Virginians , No . XXH . —This story has got into the second generation , and there seems no reason it should hot go on until it gets down to the present time . There is some natural and pleasant writing in this part . / ' _ Knight ' s History of England , No . XLII . — This part contains the accession of George the Second , the fall of Walpole , the short Spanish War , and the commencement of the Rebellion of 1745 . Though the accounts of the various transactions are brief , they are distinctly narrated and touched in with much pictorial effect . If the illustrations were as good as the text , there would be little left to be desired in this compendious history .
English Ctclopjesdia of Arts and Sciences ( conducted by Charles Knight ) progresses satisfactorily . Part VII . carries the alphabetic arrangement to the word " Check , " and comprehends several illustrations of classical value . Choker ' s Revised Edition of Boswell . Part VI . — ( J . Murray . )—This number carries us into the sixty-ninth year of the philosopher ; and we can only repeat that we rejoice to see so capital an edition of so capital a book placed within the reach of all classes of readers . Murray ' s Complete Edition of Lord Byron ' s
Woiucs- Part VII . —This portion , contains the occasional pieces and the commencement of "Don Juan . " Le Follet starts with some excellent remarks on long and short waists , the latter of which appear to be poming into fashion . Three coloured engravings are given ; and the literary contents of the number are light and amusing . Comprehensive History ov England ( Blackie and Son ) . —Parts XXI . arid XXII . lie before us , and fully maintain the character of the publication , and carry the narrative down to 1746 . Routledgb ' s Ili-tjstrated Natural History . — Part V . is full of interest , and the illustrations are indeed abundant . The whole redounds to the credit of the editor , the Rev . J . G . Wood , M . A . edited b Staun
SERIALS . Blaokwood . —The number for this month contains a good ghost story , with a mesmeric solution , which has the merit of compelling the reader to peruse it to tho end . The first part of a new tale , entitled " Felicita , " and Part VL of " The Luck of Ladysmede " will amuse . Lord Maqaulay , Dr . Tulloeh , and tho artists , also , command elaborate articles ; the question of the Peace , however , is briefly discussed , and not under favourable aspects . Speculations on this subject could only be formed on incomplete data . Maga will know more about it next month .
Fraseii . —There is much neat and careful writing in this nipnth ' s number , and a poom , by Alexander Smith , of some lyrical merit . " Ilolmby House " is continued , and also " Sword and Gown . " The Peace likewise is duly articled , but unsatisfactorily treated . DunniN . —There is a good article on Sir W . Hamilton , by Dr . M'Cosh . That on our Toroign Policy is moderate in tone . " Tho Season Ticket " contimies to be amusing , and to catch all flsh that may venturo near the writer ' s not . A growl at Peace is ventured , and . " The Royal Academy" comes in for many strictures , some of them not a little
severe . Titan commences with a curiotis subject—" The Philosophy of Literary Forgeries , " in which the writer states that the fact of history being " full of monstrous shains , which , when first originated , subjugated thousands , and subjugate hundreds now , " is not to bo ovaded ., A searching rovlowof tho Vatican manuscript is next ventured , and forms a paper ofsingular importance Part II . of "In and Out , " and several additional chapters to " Getting 1 On , " are glvon , Altogether the number ia meritorious . Univmksal Rmvjh-w . — -Thero are two searclungr reviews of Mr . Gladstone and Mr , Tennyson , one
Roctledgb ' s Shakespeare ( y II . - ton ) . Part XLI .-r-This part concludes " Hamlet and commences " Julius Ccosar ; a strange arrangement of the plays , by tho way . The editor has been extromely careful and judicious in his comments on " Hamlet ; " and one of them deserves particular recognition for its sagacity , and , no doubt , truth . It has been objected as to the inconsistency of Hamlet s lugging out Polonius ' sbody with a cram expression ; but Mr . Staunton has discovered , by a careful induction , that it was a rulo of the theatre , in Shakespeare ' s time , for the actor on tho stage to «» more a doad body ; and thus tho necessity devolved on Hamlet . This mode of clearing tho stagou . proved by many appropriate oxampltis m n f ? lia } ° ?? eaJQ + * own ploys . Wo cannot admire the Illustrations to " JulFus & sar : " thereie not anoble Roman amongst
tlVol ixc ™ W « ks or Thomas MoonB .- ( Longman and Co . p ? S V . contains ' < The Summer SSto , " " Evenings in Greece , " " Legendary Ballads , " and miscellaneous poems . « nn * n . inn nlwli * Mookb ' s National Airs .- —No . II . contains eight more of these copyright molodios , tho symphonies andI accompaniments of which have been revised or rewritten V Mr . Charles W . Glover . The print is ( exceedingly legible , and tho gotting-up uniformly ff Tiira Lazar-Housb ov Lbhos , forms No . VjL of tho Historical Talos published by John Hoary and Jamoa Parker .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06081859/page/19/
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