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    March 7; ISSTj^^ TBB LEADER, 231

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    5TtftVt*ftfitrT^ S-'W-vi-UlW- *'* #

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    Critics are not the legislators, but tli...

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    The question of Style in literature is b...

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    SIR ROBERT PEEL'S MEMOIRS. Memoir* hi/ t...

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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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    March 7; Isstj^^ Tbb Leader, 231

    March 7 ; ISSTj ^^ TBB LEADER , 231

    5ttftvt*Ftfitrt^ S-'W-Vi-Ulw- *'* #

    Hiterittare-

    Critics Are Not The Legislators, But Tli...

    Critics are not the legislators , but tlie judges and police of literature . They do not makelawa—thej ^ interpret and try to enforce them . —Edinburgh Jtevieto . . ' ' ' . ¦ a- . ¦

    The Question Of Style In Literature Is B...

    The question of Style in literature is both interesting and important ; but , like many otlier questions which present obvious superficial characteristics easily seized , its real nature is seldom recognised . Only the otlicr day "we had to notice a paper in the JWorth BritishHevieto on this subject ; and this mouth Eraser opens with the first part of an Essay of some pretension , m-which the writer errs , we conceive , at the very outset . He compares the relation of style to matter , with the relation of cookery to food : — Or , to vary the metaphor , we may compare literary to architectural style , and as the same stones in . the hands of the t > uilder will form the most beautiful or the most unsightly edifice—the Parthenon of the Acropolis or the National Gallery of Trafalgarsquare—so from the same suhject-niatter the pen may produce the dullest or the most interesting book . This we believe to be a profound misconception of the nature of Style , and consequently it vitiates all the conclusions which the writer draws . To show that we are not holding Mm responsible for the meaning of a mere metaphor , but that this metaphor does express his conception of style , we quote this passage : — - ¦ There are some hooks—few indeed , in number , we admit—¦¦ which have been , kept afloat on the stream of time , almost solely by the buoyancy of their style . And hy this we do not mean merely the grammatical and proper arrangement of words in each sentence , hut the due relation of sentences to each other . A rhythmical structure ought to exist , not only in the separate but in the collective periods ; and the warp and woof of the entire texture should he so woven as to preserve continuity of pattern , and produce the effect of an harmonious whole . Against the common error of supposing style to be the " dress of thought , " we maintain that it is in all cases the incarnation of thought . However needful certain canons of syntactical or rhythmical arrangement may be , no Style can be made of them . It is necessary for a writer to learn certain , elements of

    verbal composition , just as it is necessary for a dancer to learn his steps j but the Style of the one , like the Grace of the other , is only made effective by such acquisitions , it does not spring from them . No initiation into the mystery of construction will make a good Style . It is in vain that men ape Macattlay ' s short sentences and epigrammatic antitheses , his geographical and historical illustrations , and his eighteenth century diction ; they cannot seize the secret of his charm , because that charm lies in the felicity of his talent , not in the structure of his sentences . We are perfectly aware that writers may by study improve their Style , as by cultivation they may enrich their ininds . We admit that certain defects of expression , inay be cured , and certain effects attained by attention to the structure of sentences , and precision . of expression . But no study , no attention , no rules will give the easy turn , the graceful idiom , the fine felicity , the movement and the power-which constitute the sepai-ate

    varieties of style . A picturesque talent will * express itself in concrete images ; a genial talent will express itself in pleasant turns ; a rapid , tmhesitating mind will express itself in quick incisive phrases ; a full , discursive mind will overflow in ample paragraphs of suggestive eloquence . But the charm of a Cab-iym , a Ciiaulus Lamb , a Macatjlay , ot a De Qtjincey , is not to be attained by imitating their manner , unless the imitator be himself of kindred nature . When books snccccd by style , in spite of the mediocrity of thenmatter , the success is not chic to airy felicitous arrangement of sentences , except in as fur as this arrangement is itself , the expression of a felicitous talent . We may be indifferent to the matter directly treated by the writer , as in Paul Louis CoimiEii ' s immortal pamphlets and Buhkh ' s Letter to a Noble Lord , but we arc delighted with the mind of the writer , charmed with the matter indirectly treated by him . This is the secret of style , and this is a gift .

    In Jilaclcwood there is a paper which will illustrate our remarks . The writer of " JEsthetics among the Alps" lias really very little to say of a direct kind ; the propositions or " views" of his essay would make but a meagre appearance if separately stated ; yet we read the essay with pleasure , and receive a certain mountainous impression of the grandeur and supgestiveness of the Alps . Another specimen of style , in its best sense , is " Mr . Gilul ' s Love Story , " which commences No . II . of the " Scenes from Clerical Life . " Story , at present , tjierc is little , only preparations for story to conic ; and yet these preparations arc so vividly and truthfully painted , that , as we accompany the writer , we seem to be recalling an experience of our own lives . There can be no doubt as to this writer ' s fondness for children . In the former story there were some delightful touches , and the sceno we arc about to extract , between the old vicar and Master Tommy , appeals directly to the parental bosom . We urc introduced to

    ^ Little 'lonimy Bond , who had recentl y quitted frocks and trouaors for the Revere simplicity of a tight suit of corduroys , relieved by numerous brass buttons Tommy Was a saucy boy , impervious to nil impressions of reverence , and excessively nddictoatoliuminnig-toi . sniiclmnrble . s . witli which recreative resources lie was in the liab . t of immoderately distending the pockets of his corduroys . One day smnnin « Ins top on the garden-walk , and hcuiiir the Yiear advance directly toward !) it ™* , . , ?! ii " » "t when it was Login , iiii to " sloop " magnificently , he shouted ouMwth all the fore ; of his lungs— " Stop ! don't knock my top down , now ! " From inatday littlo corduroys " had been mi espnc-inl favourite with Mr . ( liiai who do lighted to provoke hi . s ready scorn and wonder by putting questions which imVe tommy tlic meanest opinion of liis intellect . u ^ 011 ' liUl ° Ctmll > roy 8 , have thev milked tho flccso to-day ?" Milked the geese ! . why , they dJn't milk the yecsc ; ycr Hilly ! " ,

    "No ! dear heart ! -why , tow do the goslings live , then ?" The nutriment of goslings rather transcending Tommy ' s observations in natural history , he fei gned to understand this question in an exclamatory rather than an interrogatory sense , and became absorbed in winding up his top . " Ah , I see you don't kno-w how the goslings live ! But did you notice how it rained sugar-plums yesterday ? " ( Here Tommy became attentive . ) "Why , they fell into my pocket as I rode along . You look in my pocket , and see if they didn't . " Tommy , -without waiting to discuss the alleged antecedent , lost no time in ascertaining the presence of the agreeable consequent , for he had a well-founded belief in the advantages of diving into the Vicar ' s pocket . Mr . Gilfil called it his -wonderful pocket , because , as he delighted to tell the " young shavers" and " two-shoes" so he called all little boys and girls—whenever he put pennies into it , they turned into sugar-plums or gingerbread , or some other nice thing . Indeed , little Bessie Parrot , a flaxen-headed " two-shoes , " very white and fat as to her neck , always had the admirable directness and sincerity to salute him . with the question— " What zoo dot in zoo pottet ? " .

    Paved with Gold is a new serial , commenced by the Brothers Mayhe"w , witli the intention , apparently , of conveying in the form of fiction , many of tkc terrible realities of the London Streets , with which the authors are so . familiar . There is too much , set description in this number , the description having tlie appearance of being introduced for its own sake , instead of being , the scenery of the drama '; but when sack scenes as that of the Asylum for the Houseless Poor are described , our interest in them makes us forget the sacrifice of art . Did the reader ever chance to hear , of this Asylum ?—An asylum which , is opened only , be it said , when the thermometer reaches freezing-point , and which offers nothing but dry bread and warm skelter to such as avail themselves of its charity .

    To this place swarm , as the bitter winter ' s night comes on , some half-thousand penniless and homeless wanderers . The poverty-stricken from every quarter of the globe are found within its -wards ; from the haggard American seaman to the lank Polish refugee , the pale German '' out-wanderer , " the tearful black sea-cook , the shivering Lascar crossing-sweeper , the helpless Chinese beggar , and tho half-torpid Italian organ-boy . It is a ragged congress of nations , a convocation of squalor and misery , of destitution , degradation , and suffering , from all the corners of the earth . Almost every trade and calling are there too : agricultural , railway , and dock labourers , thrown out of work by the frost ; unemployed artisans , chiefly belonging to the out-door trades , sucli as carpenters and painters 5 sailors without their registry tickets , who have either been castaway , or cheated of their all by the " crimps ; "

    brokendown tradesmen , clerks , shopmen , and errand-boys , who , either through illness or guilt , have been deprived of their situations ; and , above all , Irish immigrants , who have been starved out of their own land . Moreover , there are poor needlewomen , driven for back rent" from their lodgings ; servants out of place ; charwomen ; real "frozenout" garden-women ; street-sellers , who have eaten up their stock money ; tramps 5 beggar-women ; and old habitual vagrants . Nearly every shade and grade of misery , misfortune , vice , and even guilt , are to be found in the place ; for characters are not demanded previous to admission , and want alone is the sole qualification required of the applicants . The asylum for the houseless is at once the beggar ' s hotelj the tramp's town-house , the outcast ' s haven of refuge—the last dwelling , indeed , on the high road to ruin .

    Let us take a glimpso at the men ' s dormitory : — The siaht was utterly unlike all preconceived notions of a dormitory . Them was not a bedstead to be seen , nor even so mucii us u oliect or Wankpi . visible . The ward itself was a long , bare , whitewashed apartment , with square post-like pillars supporting the flat-beamed roof , and reminding the visitor of a large unoccupied store-roomsuch as are occasionally seen in the neighbourhood of Thames-street and the Docks . Along the iloorwere ranged what appeared at first sight to be endless rows of empty orange-chests , packed closely side by side , so that the boards were divided oft" into some two hundred shallow tanpit-like compartments ; and these , the visitors soon learnt , were tho berths , or , to speak technically , the " bunks" of tke institution . In each of them lay a black mattress , made of some shiny waterproof material , like tarpauling stuffed with straw . At the head of every bunk , hanging against the wall , was a leather , a big "basil" covering , that looked more like a wine-cooper ' s apron than a counterpane . These arc used as coverlids , because they are not only strong and durable , but they do not retain vermin .

    In the centre of this ward was a large double-faced grate , with a bright piled-up coke fire , that glowed like a furnace both behind and before . The space around was railed off , the railings serving in xainy weather as a clothes-horse upon which to dry the wet rags of garments of tho inmates whilst sleeping . Around the fierce stove was gathered a group of the houseless wanderers , the red rays tinting the crowd of haggard faces with , a bright lurid light that coloured the skin as red as wino ; and ono and all stretched forth their hands , aa if to let the delicious heat soak into thoir half-numbed limbs . They seemed positively greedy of the warmth , drawing up their sleeves and trousers so that their naked legs and arms might present a larger surfaco to tho fire than even tho wide and frequent holes in tlieir rags permitted . They appeared all as if longing to stretch themselves like cats at full length before tho stovo . Not a laugh nor sound was heard , but tho men stood still , munching their bread , their teeth champing like horses in a manger . Ono poor wretch had been allowed to sit on a form inside tho railings , for ho had tho ague , and there ho crouched , with hia legs near aa a roasting joint to tho burning coals , aa if ho were trying to thaw his very marrow .

    Then how fearful it was to hear the coughing , as it seemed to pasa round tho room from one to another , now sharp and hoarse as a bark , then deep and hollow as a , lowing , or—with the old—feeble and trembling an a bleat .

    There were boys of ten , like dwarfs of twenty ; and old men , with tho bent kangtiroo-liku hands and drivelling mouth , ho indicative of idiocy . Every ono seemed to have been made apathetic by long misery ; even strong , stalwart follows Hat in lumpish silence , Nturing vacantly at tho floor ( for your true vagrant ' s mind is a dull blank ) ; whilst others , who were footsoro and-worn out with their day ' a tramp , were busy unlacing their stiff , coat-iron-like boots .

    Sir Robert Peel's Memoirs. Memoir* Hi/ T...

    SIR ROBERT PEEL'S MEMOIRS . Memoir * hi / the Rigid I fan . » S tV Hubert Peel , Bart ., M . P . Published by tho Trusteos of hi * Papers , Lord Mali on ( now Earl Stanhope ) , and tho Eight Hon . E . Cardwell , M . I' . II . —The New Government , 1884-5 .. 111 . —Repeal of the Corn haws , 1815-0 . Murray . Tins second volumes of Memoirs by Sir Robert Peel displays even more conspicuously than the first his immense intellectual and moral superiority over the party so long distinguished and strengthened by his leadership . With him Toryism h . id become Conservative , not reactionary ; when he abdicated , it was nguin degraded into the pulseless , formless , policy of prejudice and obstruction , lie proves by conclusive evidence that it Avas

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 7, 1857, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07031857/page/15/