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    780 T H E X E A D E R. [No. 437, August ...

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    THE MAGAZINES. The Monthlies are rapidly...

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    Medlevaii Architecture. The Mediaeval Ar...

    t-lie authors or publishers may g ^ ain thereby , but from an enlarged conviction that it is one of those publications that tend to render easier the educational process , and therefore more likely to prove advantageous to the general mass .

    780 T H E X E A D E R. [No. 437, August ...

    780 T H E X E A D E R . [ No . 437 , August 7 , lS 5 ft

    The Magazines. The Monthlies Are Rapidly...

    THE MAGAZINES . The Monthlies are rapidly losing their original character as "light reading . " They have , of late , generally taken a more ambitious flight , rivalling , in every tiling bat size and price , the more ponderous Quarterlies . We do not very much admire the change ; perhaps the " advancing spirit of the age " requires it ; perhaps the higher intellectuality of the present generation , compared by the standard of their fathers , demands a greater proportion of subjects , aiming at solid information rather than mere amusement ; but whatever may be the cause , certainly the change is one that creates in our mind a shade of regret . We miss the Magazine of our youthful days—^ the pleasant , easy reading , the light , graceful essay and sparkling tale ; we miss , in short , the days when Lamb and his clique of genial collaborateurs were the prominent and welcome contributors to the serials of tkeir day . But the critic's task is : before us , and we therefore commence with

    BiiACKWOOD . —The number for this month opens with a very long article on " Gladstone's Homer . " The reviewer has gone to work inright down earnest . Two-and-forty columns of criticism ought to satisfy the veriest" literary glutton , whatever may be its effect on the distinguished author . The upshot is that the work is " damned , " not so much , with "faint praise" as with a civil but obvious determination on the part of the reviewer that the world shall know he , at least , does . apt regard the work as an authority , and that he is at issue with Mr . Glad stoiip on most of his theories and conclusions . The

    arlicle , of course , will contribute to the delectation of Grecians to whoni it is mainly addressed ; it will , however , be caviare to the millioo . The " Circulation of the Blood" appears to us out of place ; its object is to question the title of Harvey to the great discovery hitherto attributed to him , but in this doubting age nothing is more common than for critics ^—especially Scotch critics—to set about depriving one set of time-honoured names of the paternity of great inventions and transferring the laurels to brows that no one before ever dreamt of as worthy of wearing them . Classics and Medicine uavuig iiueir 01 attention

    . nau . suure , juivimty prop erly comes next , and here we have its claims indicated in a very good article on "White ' s Eighteen Centuries of Christianity . " The original work , of course , will onl y be read by a limited class , and the criticism ? therefore , can only expect to be welcomed by a limited few ; but by them it will be welcomed with true gusto . " London Exhibitions and London Critics / ' the formidable title of the next article , looks something like a defiance to the press—a daring feat equal to that of running a stick into a hornet ' s nest . We were prepared for an onslaught upon that brood of callow Cockneys , raw Scotchmen , and Hibernian Jackeens

    ¦ winch are too frequently the representatives of the critical power and higli art force of no insignificant portion of the metropolitan press , but we soon discovered our mistake . The article is little more than a popgun assault on Mr . Husk in and the art critic of the Times . The "Byways of Literature" touches upoa a question that might havo been made a great deal more of had the writer been thoroughly " up " in the subject of the cheap literature of the day , or " reading for the million /* but still the article is able and tells some good truths . " Kings-Je ^ s And romeda" ani " What will he do with it , " a continuation of a novel , concludes the number

    Titan—opens with nn article on "The Hecent Literature of Painting and Beauty " - —as lengthy and irritating aa the drone of the Scotch bagpipe . " Jjeviter Legenda" is a gossiping bit of travel very readable . We will give a taate of its quality in an extract which we commend to the notice of Cardinal Wiseman in his next " History of the Popes" : ~ - Appear the Pope ; aloft in a chair borne by men in red . He ia clothed all in white , and wears the large

    and very ugly mitre which locks at near view less gold than gilt . He seems as if he -were about to fall forward out of the chair ; the motion of which ia uneasy , at least to the onlooker . The poor old Pope ! he really looked precisely like a groat bambino ( i . e . something between a boy and a bfcby ) dressed up for fun , and with a holiday gilt cap on . Ever and anon he raised his hand in benediction , while a -weakly smile moved the layew of fat on hUjxxlgy old face . So patiaed down the

    aisle , and into a side chapel , followed by his clanking guard splendidly marshalled , and many of them looking , as they all should look , high Roman nobles . The Frenchmen were then inarched off , and the crowd flowed about at its own free -will . So then I had seen the Head of the Church , and gazed upon the Vicar of Christ . I had beheld one infallible , with power to forgive sins , to bind and loose—the holder of the awful keys . That weak old man in that gilt chair ? I would believe it if I could , but somehow it will not go down . I never could bring myself to acquiesce in a manifest humbug , and the Pope as Pope is a monstrous one . The other articles are of average merit , with the exception of " Behind the Scenes in Paris , " of which eight mortal chapters are given—none of which Candour obliges us to confess are to our taste .

    Fbaseb .- —Our Tory friend commences with a capital article , " The Common-place Book of Richard Hilles , " a manuscript in Balliol College , written hy aii English gentleman in the sixteenth century . We are enthusiasts in mediaeval literature . Of the massive intellect of that famed age the more it is studied the more profound -will , he our wonder and respect . The wider our knowledge of the strong thinkers of that period the less will be our difficulty in understanding how a Shakspeare and a Bacon took their rise in that age . "Telegrapli-Cable Laying iu the Mediterranean" is a minute narrative of the difficulties , and the scientific means of overcoming theni , which attended the submerging the . telegraph which connects Europe and Africa . The " Geology and Eitinct

    Volcauos of Central Trance" is one of those specialties which will have few charms for the general reader , but which will not he ¦ without its interest and value . " Catarina in Venice , part the second , " is of deep interest , of questionable morality , but powerfully written . " Concerning a great Scotch Preacher" has reference to Mr . Caird ' s claims as a popular preacher and sermon writer . The reviewer is evidently disappointed at finding the published sermons bear no proportion in their special merit to the great popularity of the author , and lie attempts to account for the circumstance by attributing it to the peculiar and impressive delivery of the preacher , wanting , of course , in their publishedform . To those who are curious in word portraits we present the following extract : —>

    His appearance is natural and unaffected . Of the middle size , with , dark complexion and long black hair , good but not remarkable forehead , a somewhat careworn and anxious expression , and looking like a retiring and hard-wrought student of eight-and-thirty—there we have Mr . Caird . He begins the service by reading the psalm which is to be sung , and we are struck at once by the solemnity and depth of his voice , and we feel already something of the indescribable charm there ia about the whole man . The psalm is sung by a choir so efficient that the lack of the organ is hardly felt . Then the minister rises , and , the whole congregation standing , offers a prayer . After describing the preliminary prayer , the author goes on : —

    edited by some strong-minded woman , who is ere ^ t on the disputed question , whether womaa ¦ -shall reta » n , her present domestic position , or come forward boldly m the field of industry as the rival of masculine monopolists ? Upon , that subiect w are not aualified to enter . The '' Gallery of IfluV trious Italian Women" contains examples of women with learning enough to set up half a dozen modem mathematical aud classical professors . The " Work house Visiting Society" is a collection of sketches of workhouse interiors ; among them St . Martin ' s-£ ieias wiucii

    m-me- , a worKouse , say the Marlboroueh street magistrates , jjives them more trouble than all the other workhouses in their district put together We cordially approve of the main purpose of the Workhouse Tisiting Society , which appears to us to be to awajfcen public interest to the most important subject cf pauperism in our workhouses . There are several Notices of Books , among them the " Memoirs of Rachel , " which is not a work we should like to see in the hands of every English family . °

    The Durarx TJu-iversity Magazine . — -Altogether a very excellent number , second to none of Its rivals in variety , and superior to many in talent . The first article from 1 hc pen of "Harry Lorrequer " is "Gerald Titzgerald , " a serial , to which three chapters are added . The novel is framed rather too much after the Dumas pattern , but it is lively , full of incident , and very readable . " Indian Commerce" does not go quite deep enough , into ' the subject , and we suppose found its way into the

    Magazine because India is the engrossing topic of the day . " Cheap Security , " by Slartin Tuppcr , is the article least to our liking ; the drift of it is based on the not very novel suggest ion of a national rifle club , and might have heen told more effectively iaa briefer and simpler form . " French Politics and French Philoso-phy , " is admirable throughout . The speculations of ' Hegel , Comte , Considerant , and Proudhon are . ably analysed , and their consequences foreshadowed with great ability . The closing remarks are very suggestive : — - "

    We are not prepared to pronounce beforehand on the fate of the Napoleon dynasty ; we only see a fragment of the bas-relief : we look up on the prancing of horses , on shielded warriors hurling javelins , on brave men biting the dust—these nil stand out in stone , but which side is in the right , and whom history will crown , we cannot even conjecture . The conclusion is , we admit , a most lame and impotent one—but what other can shortsighted mortals presume to arrive at . It is enough to know ( and tin ' s shall save us from utter scepticism ) , thftt there are eternal principles at bottom of all this troubled sea of French politics . Dissolute principle ? , and an absolute ruler , are but as the great serpent wound round the mountain , with which "Vishnu churned the ocean , to extract the amrit , or water of life .

    Beneath all the mire and dirt , the amrit is at bottom in France—her people can never rest—but are under a spell of turbulence , because the scum is a-top , and the amrit at bottom , of that seething ocean . Kighteousnes 3 exalteth a nation—l > y wisdom kings reign , and princes execute judgment . Unhappily , these are not French principles , as yet . Christinnity in Franco ia but a shadowy thing , a sentiment about 1 e Ion Dieu—a vague impression that Voltaire was as great nn impostor as the priests he ridiculed—and a respect for the genius of Christianity , as set off by tlie rhetoric of Chateaubriand . This is the sum total of the Christianity of average Frenchmen . What leaven is thia to lenven the grent lump of national character ? It is a wander that witli littl-e religion , there is less morality , and no liberty at all .

    "hen Mr . Caird begins his sermon . He begins quietly , but in a manner which is full of earnestness and feeling ; every word is touched with just the right kind and degree of emphasis ; many single word ? , and many little sentences which when you recal them do not seem very remarkable , are given in tones which make them absolutely thrill through you : you feel that the preacher has in him the elements of a tragic actor who would rival Kean . The attention of the congregation is riveted ; the silence is breathless ; and as the speaker goes on gathering warmth till he becomes impassioned and impetuous , the tension of the nerves of the hearer becomes almost painful . There is abundant

    " Rides upon Mules and Donkeys" is from im experienced hand . It gives the reader a very clear insight into Egyptian doings and manners , and not the least entertaining and valuable portion , is that which cleverly hits off the respective attitudes of Prance and England in the coveted region of Egypt . " Doinus Doinomm , " " A Glance at Irish Art" ( not written in a too Irish spirit ) , a review of " Sea Drift , " and several other articles , altogether furnish a least which will satisfy most literary nnnetites .

    ornament in style—if you were cooler you might probably think some of it carried to the verge of good taate ; there is a great amount and variety of the most expressive , apt , and seemingly unstudied gesticulation : it is rather as though you were listening to the impulsive Italian speaking from head to foot , than to the cool and unexcitable Scot . After two or three such climaxes , with pauses between , after the manner of Dr . Chalmers , the preacher gathers himself up for his peroration , winch , with the- tact of the orator , he has wade more striking , more touching , more impressive than nny preceding portion of his discourse . He is wound up often

    The National . —If this Magazine does not nsc into the higher regions of literature it certainly docs not sink to the level of the cheap literature which now inundates the lower musses of society . The selection of anecdotes , original talcs , niul oilier p leasant reading is judicious , and the accompanying illustrations arc in several instances of very considurablc merit . Tub Aivr Jouk . na . Tj has some first-class engravings from first-class pictures , principally the work ot British artists . Tho " II Pcnscroso" of Horsley is capitally engraved , but wo have always felt that •• he monastlo appearance aud attire of tho three

    forcto an excitement which is painful to see . Tho full deop voice , bo beautifully expressive , alrcndy taxed to its utmost extent , breaks into something wliich is almost a shriek ; the gesticulation becomes wild ; the preacher , who has hitherto held himself to some degree in check , seems to abandon himself to the full tide of his emotion : you feel that not oven hia eloquent lipa « an do justice to the rush of thought and feeling -within . Two or three minutes in this impassioned strain and tho sermon is done . Altogether this is a very good number . The Englishwoman ' s Journal ia , we presume

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 7, 1858, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07081858/page/20/